...At the top of our windswept hill...
From holidays in small woodland cabins to the weddings of two most beloved family members to the birth of the soon-to-be newest member of the immediate family, "Baby G", this year promises to be full of splendid, joyful things.
Last year (goodness, is it really January already?) somewhere in between the months of August and September I was joyously informed that my cousin (for all practical purposes we'll call her "Rese") had gotten engaged. Now, of course, as exciting as this was and as ecstatic as we all were, it was by no means an unexpected surprise. My cousins and I had been speculating for months over when Rese's sweetheart would "Pop the question". And then the flurry of planning, giggling, finding, seeing, smiling, exclaiming, and re-planning began (and hasn't quite yet ended). The wedding (scheduled for the twenty first of this month) is sure to be a smashing success and I am honored to be one of her bridesmaids.
In the last days of September the younger of my two brothers (and one of the two siblings closest to my age) left for Basic Training for the National Guard. I am so proud of my military brother! He is so smart, and strong, and I know that he loves God and also his family. After basic he came, like a good boy, home for Christmas. We spent a lovely week and a half enjoying his presence. Which includes going Christmas shopping in Corvallis and seeing "The Adventures Of Tintin" in theaters (which was, by the way, fantastic!). He left again yesterday morning for AIT and I cannot wait to see him again in another three months.
November brought along many interesting events, the most notable of which were the slashing of my father's tires (never fear, they were in need of replacement anyway) and the engagement of my second to oldest sister. Now, this engagement was a surprise (although said sister told us later that they, at least, had been talking about it for a while). My youngest sister and I were a wee bit disappointed by the lack of a ring. The qualm, however, was soothed over on Christmas day when my sister's fiance presented her with a ring and the end of Christmas dinner (a better time, there couldn't have been). She is now happily in the land of wedding planning and today we are off to search for her wedding dress (oh, what fun!).
In December (the seventeenth to be exact) Mother dear told us that in month of August we are to welcome into the family the youngest sibling, whom we have taken to call "baby G" due to the fact that the wee thing is destined to have a name beginning with that letter. There we were, warming ourselves beside the fireplace, and we could hardly believe our ears, so happy and surprised were we! Indeed, my younger sister truly thought that she was dreaming (although it was for only a moment).
Last week (and year) a few of my cousins came to celebrate the ending of one year and the beginning of the new with us. We had a lovely time, which consisted of walks in the woods, tales 'round the bonfire (marshmallow alert), the (partial) recording of a most traditional Christmas story, and gales of laughter of silly, cousin things. They left yesterday at noon, and we did our special goodbye... ritual (long story) for the last time with five unmarried cousin girls.
This week we will be headed to what we now call "Our Cabin", though it isn't ours at all, where we shall spend a relaxing weekend (as though we won't have already have had three weeks of winter break) sitting beneath the boughs of pine trees and playing long games of Carcassonne and Settlers Of Catan.
All in all, the last half of the year bodes well for the first half of this one. And I'm sure there will be some unexpected surprises along the way. I cannot wait to see what is in store (though I suppose I'll have to) for the coming months, and I hope that all of these beginnings are simply glorious.
As Tiny Tim once said (or at least fictitiously) "God bless us, every one!" Happy new years (albeit a teensy bit late), everyone!
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