The Cahill Family Christmas...2015...Building New Memories

The thought that Christmas number three in this house waits in the wings stirs some memories and nostalgia. I looked on my Facebook feed earlier this morning and lo and behold, a message told that I had memories to take a gander upon from years past. Of course I looked! A number of them stuck out to me and made me smile:

Spencer’s first time really helping decorate the tree back in 2008. His face glowed with excitement as he hooked the ornaments up on the branches of the Christmas tree. Fast forward to last night and he still lights up as bright as strands on our current tree when I pull out the ornaments. He loves this time of year. He remembers a lot of the ornaments. This year he set up the little Christmas Village for the first time all by himself. 

Chandler’s 7^th grade play, American Idle, made me chuckle. It blows my mind that this feels like yesterday yet at that the same time looks like so long ago. An incredible reminder to me to not blink too many times. Chalin is in 8^th grade now. He will be in Chandler’s shoes soon studying for finals in college. It all goes so fast.

Christmas at the barn with my sis. She just recently moved her horses from the old and famed Trails End in Kingwood to another barn which has opened so many doors for her when it comes to lessons, riding, and personal time. The memories of Christmas at the Barn though will always remain in a special place in the heart though. My sis went all out by dressing up her horses, hoisting up kiddos to feed carrots to them, and posing for pics with everyone.

Three years ago, the boys and I moved into Ohana. The move stood for something. The sojourn from Bear Branch to the new place marked a new beginning for the three of us. Seeing some pics from 2012 of the view from the second story window with literally brought back the emotions from when we first got here. Filled with the hope of a new beginning, little did I know where these moments would take me. Today, the last home in the neighborhood begins the construction process. The cleared land awaits preparation for workers to start plotting plumbing, cables, and then the inevitable foundation. Once that finishes up, time starts ticking away and in just a few months this last home in the neighborhood will stand and construction will cease in this small location in Kingwood.

On the horizon, the sun’s rising colors invade a darkened sky. New memories anticipated around each corner. My one year old family put up our Christmas Tree last night – minus Chandler as he is in Corpus studying for finals, but we saved some decorations for him – and each person put up some decorations around the house. Terra had a splendid idea. Let the kids put all of the decorations out wherever they wanted, so that we start making it completely new. She’s such a blessing and wonderful bride.

I look forward to the future when I get to look on the timeline of memories, whether it is Facebook or sitting and looking at pictures on the Mac, and seeing these pictures of the tree and remembering the feeling of Chalin helping with the lights. Spencer creating the village, and Terra putting some ornaments on the tree. The banister awaits Chandler’s touch when he arrives from Corpus. It’s his specialty.  

My grace is sufficient for you...One Day At A Time!

Blended - "They're blendiiiing..."

Terra and I watched a funny movie this summer as we were going through what we termed "pre-engagement" counseling. I didn't want the pressure of a ring and an engagement as we dealt talked about challenges, baggage, etc etc etc.

Okay I'll admit it. I'm an Adam Sandler fan. Happy Gilmore still brings out belly laughs to this day. When I heard a new movie hit theaters with him and Drew Barrymore, Terra and I decided to go because it looked like something right up our alley and might even hit on some things that we were about to experience as well. Needless to say, if you have not seen the movie Blended, put it on your list. It's not only funny, but heartwarming.

We laughed throughout the flick. Sure it was over-the-top. What Adam Sandler movie isn't?! It was refreshing to see a good dad and a good mom from differing backgrounds come together and make it work despite the challenges. Yes, it ended with the Hollywood "happily ever after". What else would anyone expect? You can see it coming and, in this case, I applauded it.

In all my years, I never thought I would have a blended family. Like my tagline states, I "thought" my life was headed in one direction. Life doesn't always work out the way we intend it to nor does our big picture turn out to be our picture. Sometimes, we end up on a different canvas altogether. This is my story. Now, the dad to three boys (9, 13 and 18) and husband to a woman who compliments me in ways that I never conceived. Who would ever have thought that a dorky goofball like me who has had crazy dreams of voice-over acting, stage acting, and racing in the Tour (need Steve Austin's 6 million dollar man legs for that now with my knees!) would marry a woman with a PhD in Chemistry who is literally one of the smartest people I have ever met in my life. Cool? For sure!

A blended family. Not for the timid. One of the greatest assets in our favor? All three boys get along quite well. All three boys do well on their own. All three of them like to laugh. All three of them bring a unique personality to this family. (On that note, Terra brought up a great term that we both use now all of the time. Our boys are not "step-children" to each other. They are "bonus boys".)

We took these three boys - all of which are sort-of dare devils (this also brings a fun and unique blend of entertainment) to go snow tubing on the last day of our Christmas vacation trip to Asheville, NC. The rain didn't seem to stop most of the week, so our plans changed a bit from active outdoor activities to a more subdued sojourn around town. Even though it wasn't what we all had planned, we made it work. So, when the sun came out on the final day, as we drove from Asheville to Charlotte where we would spend the night to catch a flight the next morning home, on a whim, we decided to go snowtubing! The drive turned out to take us through a gorgeous part of the state with scenery from postcards, small cute towns, numerous Christmas tree farms and even a stop to fill up with gas at a fueling station with a gas pump from 1975...you know...the non-digital kind where the numbers actually rolled like a slot machine. This blew Spencer's mind since he'd never witnessed a machine like this before in his life.

Once we arrived, we paid, waited, looked around and eventually walked over to get in line and receive our tubes. The lines were long, but that didn't bug us as the wait didn't seem to last long. The of the daredevils to go was Chandler. Head first. Chalin stood behind him. Of course - head first. Terra waited to go next. Head first. We leaned on the conservative side with Spencer. He blasted down the slope feet first. I took off in a running start head first as well. All of us flew down the slope rebounded off the snow/iced barrier that separated the 5 lanes. At the end of the run, mounted on all four faces (okay 5....I grinned ear to ear as well) were smiles and laughter and the normal jabber after a cool experience like this. Much like a first roller-coaster experience, I heard "do it again", "this time lets do this lane", or "lets try this one!". Memories etching in all of our minds. Something to look back upon that is happy, fun and well, memorable.

I couldn't help hear the song that Terry Crews hilariously sings throughout the movie Blended. "They're blending. Oh yes...they're blending". A smile. A memory. A new family. Not a bad way to end 2014. A wonderful way to start 2015.


My grace is sufficient for you...One Day At A Time!