Life on Newark-Granville Road: 2018 is a wrap, view from the 7th Day of Christmas

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

2018 is a wrap, view from the 7th Day of Christmas

On the 7th Day of Christmas in our Life on Newark-Granville Road we:
-left the traditional Leithauser New Year's gathering at Apple Valley at 8 am (Clare had basketball practice at 10 a.m. Shout out to the great service at McDonalds in Mt. Vernon- Miss Liz could not have been nicer. Thanks for working, I needed that latte.
- are ready for good luck food: herring is in the fridge Joe has already indulged- lot of luck for him this year, brats and sauerkraut for lunch and black-eyed pea dip for cocktail/OSU-Rose Bowl watching!!
-still confused by what day of the week it is- mid week holidays are fascinating- feels like the longest weekend ever- love it!
-reflecting on the awesome family Christmas time. Both were filled with ahhh moments: Stoner Christmas in Baltimore and Leithauser at Apple Valley with thoughtful gifts, memory making meals and hang-out time. Sarah and Greg get bonus points for the multiple day coordinating, incredible fires and a lot of mess that comes with gift exchange of 14! The Stoner Christmas meals of creamed chip beef and then turkey with oysters, sauerkraut and angle pie made me very happy. Leithausers kept on the theme approach to NYE and went Italian this year. Love the dance party that happened to end the year and kick off 2019- our kids have rhythm, we could tell from our post in the lower level.
-grateful for Mom and Dad hosting us before and after Christmas in Hagerstown. Always a great place to recuperate- next stage ankle surgery- the cast- red and white: candy cane for the season. Sitting has been hard, different beautiful venues appreciated. Ranch style house helpful, but the highlight was Jeanne Stoner's hospitality and care. Nothing beats starting and ending the day at the white table and cocktail hour in Hagerstown. Oh and a FHCC crab cake and hot fudge Sunday is quite the treat. Merry Christmas indeed! So good to see family and friends for a small gathering.

We arrived home to get the kids back to their sports, pick up our sweet new Lucy who had her own surgery and keep moving forward with important projects like our New Years Cards- see earlier post and enjoy things like Gypsy at Weathervane!! So good to be home in Granville, together as a family to reflect on 2018 and plan for 2019. We're very aware of how blessed, fortunate, lucky we are in our life on Newark-Granville Road. Thanks for reading and sharing. Signing out on this 7th Day of Christmas on the first day of 2019 ready to be filled with wonder.

Pictures with some "why" captions!