Out With the Old; In With the New

I will start off this NEW YEAR by sharing a few pictures from our final road trip of 2015. The day after Christmas, we loaded up the car, then traveled "over the river and through the woods" to get to Indiana.

On December 27th, we spent our 28th anniversary with a good representation of people who were with us at our wedding -- minus the three Smithlings, of course, and a few newer additions to the fam. The headcount totaled twenty-one for our after-Christmas family gathering. We cannot imagine a better way to spend "our" day.

While in the Midwest, the three Smith "kids" took a day trip to the Windy City. Despite being a cold, blustery day, they had fun seeing the city, meeting up with a friend, and enjoying Chicago-style pizza.

We made it back to Texas for New Year's Eve, and we somehow managed to stay awake until midnight. As you can see, we had a "wild" evening, full of bubbly stuff. To be honest, the bulk of the champagne went down the drain, but the sparkling cider was a hit. 

On New Year's morning, this trio rolled out of bed and headed to the other side of the Metroplex to lend a hand with Operation Blessing's cleanup efforts for the communities that were hit by the December 26th tornadoes. Nine twisters hit Texas and eleven people were killed, not to mention the hundreds who lost their homes and pretty much everything to the storms. 

Here are a few pictures that M. took while they were in Rowlett:

Oh, there were many stories that were shared... Every picture tells a story.

One of the happier tales was of a gentleman who lost his home, his beloved pet cat, and pretty much everything. He then went on to explain that he found his cat, alive and well, a few days after the storm. He was encouraged by getting his pet back, and was eager to get his home and life rebuilt.

 Perhaps finding humor amidst the tragedy aids in the healing process.

We are surely counting our blessings as this new year begins.