Family Activities for 2021
January 2021 - The weather was again beautiful and warm enough to start the new year off with a trip to the park. Because Caroline's school was still closed, we meet her speech therapist at the park. Unfortunately, the kids started getting colds, etc. off and on, so we didn't get back to park much the rest of the year.
In Loving Memory - We lost another dear friend in February. Sue Brown passed away suddenly while still working with her husband, Bill, in Xiamen. It was so hard to watch Sue's service and not be able to be there in person to support Bill and other friends.
Spring is starting to show up in Columbia. Maxcy Gregg Park is still a favorite and easy place to get outside and walk as it's so close to the apartment.
March 17 - St Patrick's Day. Again, we haven't been able to celebrate Tracy's birthday now for two years. Maybe next year! But we had some fun with the kids.
I was attracted to this beautiful pre-Easter cross at a church near our neighborhood. And Caroline continued to explore and find spring on our walks in the park.
April 4, 2021 - Happy Birthday to our sister-in-law Susan All. After a full year of being locked-in at her care facility, Sue was finally able to get out. Maxine arranged a family lunch for her.
Michael and I took a short trip to Ridgecrest, NC and then stopped at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC. It was a beautiful weekend. I was especially moved not only by the graves of The Grahams, but also the Barrows and George Beverly Shea on site.
WELCOME TO 3167 SIERRA DRIVE IN WESTGATE SUBDIVISION! After a lot of prayer, thought, and looking, we found a house in the subdivision we lived in before we went to China. We found the house in April, settled the purchase in May and moved in on July 5 The Columbia International Festival was taking up all of Michael's time, and we wanted to do a little work before moving in. Our friends, Anita and Randy were a great help getting our stuff moved. This is the first time since 2000 that all of our stuff is now in one place!
Thanksgiving 2021 found us going to Myrtle Beach instead of Georgia as planned. Fran hurt her back again and had to have surgery, so we didn't get to go see them this year. It turned out that Vicki, Laiklyn, Maxine & Larry decided to go to the beach too, so we spent a couple days together.
December and Christmas. With more space in our new-to-us house, we had our family Christmas Eve at our place this year. We started early so the kids could play in the yard and together a bit.