The 'perfect' Christmas card

This year I tried more than ever to enjoy the moment and not get stressed out about all of the things I had to do in order to get ready for the holidays.  One of those things on my 'list' happen to be pictures for our annual Drewery Christmas card.  In years past, we I have taken the girls' pictures at church.  They always sing in the 'Hanging of the Green' ceremony the weekend after Thanksgiving.  The church sanctuary is all decked out in greenery and poinsettias. The girls are already dressed in their Christmas outfits, so it works out great...  unless someone decides not to cooperate.  Perfect hair, perfect outfits, perfect background - as I was trying to convince the girls to smile and stop punching each other, I could feel my blood starting to boil. 'We have to have the perfect picture for our Christmas cards!!   What is Christmas without that perfect picture!'   Just as I started to lose it, my friend Terrie came by and smiled, making light of the situation.  I can't even remember what she said, but I know that she was there to remind me that it's not about 'perfection' this season.  I was beginning to focus on the wrong thing - thank you Terrie for your smile and kind words at that moment!    I'm getting better.  As I look back on this Christmas, I am grateful for family and the blessings that we receive.  It's about simplicity. I am beginning to appreciate it more and more.  

As for the Christmas cards, we took some shots right before leaving for church that night - it worked out just fine!!

Missle Toe Champs!

Emily played in the 'Missle Toe' Indoor Soccer tournament the weekend before Christmas with her club soccer team, Andromeda.  They won the championship for the second year in a row.  It was a riveting match - they were tied 1-1 at the end of the championship game.   After double overtime and a shoot out, they finally took the title.  

The Trot

Kris and Kelly (Lonnie's twin brothers) met Emily and I in Downtown Dallas on Thanksgiving morning to run the Turkey Trot. Well, for me it was more of a walk/run. Emily and Lonnie went last year with Coach Stephen, Emily's Andromeda Soccer coach. This year, Kris and Kelly were going for the big 'W' and left us all in the dust. Emily beat last year's time by almost 10 minutes!! She was able to run the whole 3 miles this year. She was so proud of herself and is already setting goals for next year. As for me, let's just say that I finished.

Dear Santa,

I want a real live puppy and that barbie dog walking thing. You can surprise me with the rest.

Gloria Drewery



This was her letter to Santa. She is bound and determined to get a puppy. She told me this week that she wants a puppy that she can sleep with, that will play with her and a puppy that will wait for her to come home from school.

During Fall Break last week, the girls were playing outside. I was painting Emily's room, sort of in my own little world. After a long period of peace and quiet, the front door swung open and Gloria yelled in her 'outdoor voice', 'Mom, we found a puppy and it's lost. Can we keep it?' I climbed down off the ladder afraid of what I might see. Gloria was holding a cute little gray Schnauzer, no collar or tags. In my preoccupation with painting, I told the girls that I was sure he belonged to someone, so they needed to go back outside and see if they can find his owner. A few minutes later, they were back inside with the dog. Emily decided they needed to make a flyer to hang in the neighborhood. Emily took a picture of the dog, uploaded it on to the computer, and made flyers. I'm amazed at how quickly she figured it out. She is my technical advisor for all electronics. While the flyers were being made, Gloria was getting to know the little guy quite well. She found a pink leash and collar from one of her stuffed animals and put it on him. She even had him in our bed! She made sure he was well fed and watered as well. He seemed to like the cat food she gave him! The girls went back out into the neighborhood and posted the flyers. As I continued painting, it dawned on me that our neighbor Kathleen had a Schnauzer that resembled the 'lost' puppy. Upon their return from hanging the flyers, I told the girls to run down and see if Mrs. Kathleen was home. A few minutes later, the girls came walking through the door. Gloria was sobbing, holding the empty pink collar and leash. 'Mom, I really wanted to keep him!'

Well, I'm not sure if we are quite ready for a puppy. We had to have our Ashley put down back in July of this year (the picture was taken in her last days). She was a beautiful greyhound that we rescued 12 1/2 years ago. She had been bred to race, but was too slow. She was going on 14 years and her quality of life had gone way down hill. Ashley was Lonnie's dog. She would lay on her mat all day long while I was home, but the second Lonnie would walk through the door after work, she was up to greet him. She was a sweet dog - you could tell Lonnie was her favorite. He's not quite ready to try and replace her. We'll see what happens!

Don't Kill Bambi!

Lonnie is hunting with Kelton in West Texas. Bless his heart, he hasn't gone hunting since I've known him. He's certainly tried, but something (usually me) has gotten in the way. He's spent the last couple of weeks building up his hunting gear with several trips to Academy and Walmart. Now that he is completely outfitted, hopefully he'll get to go more often. When he told the girls he was going hunting, Gloria asked, 'What are you hunting for, Dad?' When he told her that he was going to hunt deer, she had all sorts of questions. You can't get anything past Gloria. She finally decided it would be okay if he shot a deer, but gave him specific instructions.. 'Don't shoot a mommy deer, a baby deer, a rabbit, a turtle, or any animal that is nice to you'. She even called him last night and left a voice mail reminding him of the 'rules'. He called back to assure her he was following the rules, as he hadn't gotten anything yet. However, Papa Kelton had already gotten his deer - it was a daddy deer, of course!