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Christmas Eve was pretty routine over here. We went to 4:00 PM Mass, and Rebecca cantored with Vienna. I was so proud of her.
One sweet little girl had refused to take a nap earlier that day, so she feel asleep for about 45 minutes. I can't remember the last time that happened!
Back home afterwards, the kids are allowed to open one present. Squeals of delight and cries of happiness...music to a Mother's ears.
Can I just say what the best Christmas gift was this year for us?
David's new job.
I didn't need anything else this year. Period. Just the fact David is employed again...I was grateful at Thanksgiving, but even more so yesterday. I was thankful we had presents under the tree for the kids. I was grateful we were able to put all the kids' favorite food out in the afternoon to nibble on. Even though Rebecca came down with a stomach bug...we still had a beautiful, happy Christmas.
Because were were up most of Christmas Eve with a sick child (thank goodness 11 year olds know how to aim!), David and I were in bed before 9:00 PM on Christmas Day! LOL...we were exhausted! I offered up my usual prayers of gratitude, but asked God to please bless all those who:
Didn't have a job
Didn't have presents under the tree, especially those children who didn't get anything
Didn't have a warm home and a soft bed to sleep in
Didn't get the day off and had to work
Didn't have anyone to spend the holidays with
Didn't have any food to eat on Christmas Day
Didn't do anything except struggle to stay alive yesterday.
I kept thinking how different yesterday might have been if David hadn't gotten his job. I know we would have been blessed, no matter what. But...being unemployed is stressful...I haven't forgotten how that feels just yet. And my heart truly hurts for those who were laid off before Christmas...or will be by the end of the year. It's never a good time to lose your job!
Father...thank you. Thank you once again for your gift of employment. We didn't deserve all the graces and blessings we were given over this past year, but I pray we will be able to pay it forward some day.
I wanted to leave you all with my favorite gift I received yesterday. Theresa made this for me at school...and I will cherish it forever...her little hand prints in the shape of angel's wings. :-)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Another year has come and gone for the Reisingers. It's been eventful to say the least!
I'll give you the run down on the kids first...going in birthday order instead of birth order, just for the heck of it. :-)
We started the year off with Rebecca turning 11. She requested the same cake as the previous 3 years, strawberry with strawberry cream cheese frosting. Only one more year before she officially becomes a teenager (since she'll be 12 in January)...yikes! Rebecca started cantoring last year during the Children's Liturgy, and graduated to the "big church" in October. Plus, she's an Explorer in American Heritage Girls (earning 4 badges on her own), taking private tennis lessons, and is a straight A student at Regina Caeli Academy. We're seeing a young lady growing up right before our eyes, let me tell you. Look out world, here she comes.
Next up, Theresa. She turned 2 on Feb 14, our sweet Valentine gift we will always treasure. She's tiny, but man...she sure became a mess and a half this past year. I dare anyone to try homeschooling with a toddler! We have to keep finding ways for her to have fun without destroying the house or the bigger kids' schoolwork. She also had the privilege of getting ear tubes in March, and having surgery again in November to replace one of them...bless her heart. Her one saving grace was being the easiest child to potty-train ever. Theresa was fully trained, day and night in less than a month! Woo hoo! She loves giving hugs and "sugar" to anyone, including the dog and being in the nursery 2x a week while Mommy works.
Gabriel turned 6 in February. \ He's become a Lego fanatic (big brother got him hooked and taught him well!), and spends hours endless making different configurations of Geo-track rail for his trains. Gabriel and Theresa do butt heads, but he's quite the little gentleman otherwise...he always runs ahead to open the door or the back yard gate for Mommy. :-) On Monday nights, he runs to get his Cub Scout uniform on and says, "Come on Daddy, let's go...hurry up!" He loves going to Regina Caeli and is happy to have Mommy assisting in his first grade class.
Joshua is our lanky and lean 14-year-old. It's hard to believe he will start high school next year! He is still doing track at school, and we were so proud of his advancement to the Symphonic Band this fall. Joshua continues to earn merit badges in Boy Scouts (5 so far this year), and would probably spend all day on the computer if we let him. He gamely does his own laundry, start to finish, and is on lawn duty with Rebecca. Oh, and he was inducted in the the National Junior Honor Society back in May. Yeah...he's a total nerd. It's all David's fault. ;-) More on that later...
Sweet Christina is now 9. I don't know what I'd do without her. She wakes Theresa up every morning (well... okay...Theresa wakes Christina up!), serves her breakfast, gets her dressed, and fixes her hair with a cute clip or bow. Honestly, she's the best mother's helper I could ever hope for. Christina loves her gymnastics class, crafting, braiding her hair, and is a bit of a nerd herself, making straight A's herself at school; even though she'll sneak candy and thinks we don't know about it. We loved watching her come into her own this past year. So you want her? Nope...not happening. ;-) We need her too much!
David was laid off from his job at Trend Concepts in April. After one initial round of interviews, he decided he needed more initials after his name. So he hit the books (and Lone Star Community College) and is working towards his CPA certification. He's still a nerd after all these years...he made A's in his first 5 classes. He's already passed both tests for the CMA (Certified Managerial Accounting), and ultimately hopes to get an Executive MBA. It was a stressful time for our family, but with the love and support of our family, friends, and a truly wonderful church community, we had the faith and strength to hang on until David was finally offered a job with Strategic CFO in October. He really enjoys the consulting aspect of his new job. He will travel around the city depending on where he is assigned, but the first client he was placed with is only 10-15 minutes from the house. Kimberly isn't complaining about the short commute at all!
Kimberly started working at the kids' home school hybrid program, Regina Caeli Academy in August. It's been quite the transition, going back to work after 14 years of being a SAHM. But she loves being with the kids and teaching music and drama. She went along with the 6th graders to the Houston Museum of Natural Science to see the Hall of Ancient Egypt and was just as enthralled as the kids, if not more so. There isn't much time for sewing, blogging, crocheting, or crafting, but the household is humming along fairly well, thanks to the kids pitching in just a little more on school nights. As long as the dishwasher is emptied and everyone has clean underwear...that's what matters, right? ;-)
She traveled to Austin in July to stand for life, met plenty of amazing pro-life advocates, and attended the pep rally...what a rush! On the urging of friends, she also went on an ACTS retreat last summer...a real spiritual oasis in the middle of David's job search. God is good...all the time!
So...what else? We visited the San Jacinto Monument and the Battleship Texas last May with family, and welcomed home Kimberly's brother Chris after a 9 month deployment to Afghanistan. We meet up with him at a rented house on Lake Austin over Labor Day weekend, where Uncle Chris took the kids out on the water for swimming, boating, and tubing. Funniest thing he said?
"I had no idea girls could scream so loud!"
Ha ha, welcome to my world brother!
David won tickets to Moody Garden's "Dino's Alive" exhibit and the water park (Palm Beach) over the radio, so we were able to enjoy one fun day in the sun! The older three kids have now been to Midnight Yell Practice at Texas A&M University 3x (WHOOP!) and we're pretty sure they're as indoctrinated as any future Aggies could possibly be. Game days are a total joy in this house...cheering for Johnny Football has never been more exciting. A day with the football team back in February for The Aggie Experience sealed the deal. These kids bleed maroon ya'll. Gig 'em Aggies!
We made 2 trips to Dallas for a reunion with David's old St. Mark's youth group and Steve Angrisano came to help break open a time capsule and reminisce. Imagine this artist singing and playing guitar for us...just a small, intimate group where the kids could run around freely. It was awesome. We helped surprise Grandma Reisinger with a 70th birthday party in October, and got our picture taken by a family friend the same day. We clean up good, don't we?
David and Kimberly celebrated 15 years of marriage in June. Wow...just wow. Time flies when you've got five kids, a minivan, the house with the picket fence, and a dog! But man...are we blessed. We really are. We weathered quite the storm this year with David's period of unemployment, but are so thankful for all the graces God sent us.
We truly hope 2013 has been good to you and wish everyone a blessed Christmas and a joyful New Year!
