Complete Catch Up!

Biggest praise that it’s literally 78°F!!! We did have a few freezing days & one of Houston’s coldest winters, but the fact that those days are rarer than these is God’s answer to my years of prayer when we were in northern exile!

Another revelation on why cold weather is so bad for me: I have a 30 oz yeti cup that stays with me at all times, and I drink water from it constantly - all day long. When I drink cool water, I get chilled from the inside out. (I am so hypersensitive to cold that yes, drinking cold water gives me chills.) When it’s cold outside, I can’t stand to make my body even colder, so I realized the last few weeks that in winter I drink way less water = I’m not as full or constantly hydrated, so I think I’m starving all the time = I eat waaaaaay more, including junk = I have little problem maintaining my weight over the feasting holidays from Thanksgiving to Christmas, but January & February every year? I gain & gain, no matter how I change my exercise routine, and I think this cold/water revelation plays a significant role. #themoreyouknow

Will: unlike Annelise, a teen boy doesn’t want his picture taken. Ever. Much less blogged about. So while it sounds like our whole world is constantly the Annelise Show, trust that Will is thriving just as much, just not here online. ;-)

I can share his basketball updates, though. Official pic (of course, the day before he got his hair cut! :-/)

His team – that remember, was cobbled together with waitlisted kids 3 weeks after everyone else had started practicing – is still undefeated & absolutely dominating their youth basketball league! Winning scores & division stats:

(Point differential!!!! :-O) It can’t *ALL* be their professional coach…although I’m sure Coach Harris is definitely a big factor. :-D There are 2 other dominant teams in 2 other divisions that we won’t see until the playoffs, and they may certainly give us a serious challenge; so the championship is definitely not guaranteed! We have 2 more regular season games & then a week of playoffs, culminating in the finals – if they make it that far – March 3rd.

I watched Judd Apatow’s Avett Brothers documentary the other day; they’re from my hometown. Will walked in, asked me a question, & said that my “accent’s big, again.” (It gets thick when I’m sick, tired, or hear other Southerners. He will always point this out. :-D) Randoms: I’ve lived away from our hometown now for longer than growing up there. Loved seeing Miss Bonnie! (Their sister assistant taught my tap class.) I vividly remember Doc Watson playing at our school in 7th grade. Seth Avett & I won a community talent show when we were in high school - him for playing, me for singing. At some point in one of our moves, I found the mortifyingly hilarious newspaper clipping of our win, but it must be in a garage mystery box here...

I’m not ever actively trying to cover up my original accent, but I naturally tend to speak more like whomever I’m around. Living abroad & in so many different areas, as well as having so many international friends here, I’ve always found it easier to be instantly understood if I’m more neutral. I know *I* appreciated Germans going as hoch deutsch (neutral accent like newscasters) as possible for me to understand easier living there, too. It’s never an active cover-up, but on the flipside, whenever I’m around real Southernness, I can’t turn it off! :-D

Last Sunday, we had an awesome afternoon of all our cheer gym families coming together to edify each team in prep for NCA All-Star Nationals in Dallas next weekend! My 2 favorite parts: seeing the hard work Annelise’s group has put in on the little things shine through in a big way, and seeing her cheer *sooo* hard for our other gym teams. ❤️ Pray for Heat to do their best at the biggest regular season national championship of the year next Saturday & Sunday!

Annelise & her cheer sister, Alex:

Valentines Day: JB was on a business trip for work… But trust me when I say that this was an EXCELLENT thing! I can’t wait to share details in the future. Please know, those of you who have been praying for his work situation, God has faithfully heard you & answered! ❤️

The kids made & decorated yellow dough cookies, (a type of sugar cookie - one of our super special family tradition recipes!)

Annelise had a little solo in her sixth grade choir Pop Show this week! Check out our sweet little alto (pink bow) in “My Guy”:


Final FYI - we don’t want to talk about it beyond this, so I’m sharing here so we don’t have to say anything else: our almost-16-year-old beagle’s health is declining. Weekend before last, we thought she was going to die at any second; but she's been stable now for over a week. She’s eating & drinking fine; she's limping significantly, but isn't in any pain – no whimpering or yelping anywhere you touch her. She has shaking tremors, but she's not in pain or freaking out during them like a seizure - it’s just old lady shakes. We honestly have no idea what's ahead - I feel like she could go suddenly at any moment, but also like she could be stable like this for weeks & weeks! Just trying to give lots of love & attention every day w/o changing our normal life routine now too much. Pray for her comfort! (She’s 110 in people years - prayers for her health & longevity have obviously already been answered! :-D) And esp. pray that when God’s perfect timing comes that the 4 of us will be ok...