Happy President's Day!

Just finished making chicken enchiladas for 15 - Daniel's Robotics Club needs lunch today. Even though school is out - they are meeting as their deadlines for competition end soon. The recipe is a Kathy-designed one, looking at several sources. I will post it to my recipe blog - as it turned out really good! And if you cook the chicken ahead of time in the crockpot - it is quick to put together.
I'm going to put in a few hours at work today, even though our office is closed - just to catch up from being on vacation. With the banks and post offices closed, I can't do much - but I can have everything ready for tomorrow and get a little jump start on the week.
It's still cold, but nothing like the past few days. Right now it's 35 and hopefully we'll hit 40 today. All the ice is beginning to melt. Well, time to get those enchiladas out of the oven and over to the school.

Beauty in Cincinnati

I came home from my 2 weeks in Houston yesterday during a sleet storm. No problems on the flight but once we landed in Dayton it took 2 1/2 hours to drive home - as long as it took me to fly from Texas! What a rude awakening - back to snow and ice. But God is so gracious - He gave us a beautiful sunny day today to ease my homecoming and the beauty of the trees covered in ice cannot be described adequately so here are some pictures

A Picture is worth 1000 words

GALVESTON

CINCINNATI

Wednesday in Houston

We had the opportunity to visit the Houston Holocaust Museum today.

It was similar to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. Excellent displays, heart-wrenching pictures and films. Important for everyone to see. They also had a special exhibit about Rwanda. "Through the Eyes of Children" is an exhibition of children's photography from orphans of the Rwandan Genocide. A country roughly the size of Massachusetts and located in central Africa, Rwanda was the site of one of the most horrible events in history. As a result of ethnic clashes between the Hutu and Tutsi populations, the 1994 genocide left nearly 1 million people dead in approximately 100 days and caused the flight of 2 million internally displaced persons and 2 million refugees. I was glad to see that they were working to spread the word about the atrocities that are happening right now during our lifetime.

Another beautiful day here - almost 80 and sunny. The weather is about to turn and they are expecting lower temps by Friday. But with Cincinnati having snow and temps in the teens - I won't complain about 58!

72 today in Houston!

And I know all of you up north wish you were here! It is beautiful. Drove up to College Station and Texas A & M yesterday to visit the Bush Museum. It was very nicely laid out and my mother and I really enjoyed looking at the displays. They have a special section right now of all the famous Texans - so that was very interesting also. My favorite part was a display of every president's picture and a sample of their signature.

Today my Uncle Dick and Aunt Kay are driving up from Mission Texas for a visit. Can't wait to see them. I will try to get some pictures of Georgia & Jim's house loaded up soon. Looks like we might be able to try out the pool if this weather keeps up!

Way to Go Colts!

What a great superbowl! And I was so excited that both the owner and the coach of the Colts were not afraid to give God the glory and declare to the world that they are Christians.
Texas Trip Briefs:
Friday night dinner at Applebee's - great time with Georgia & Jim & my mom!
Saturday: walked around neighborhood with Georgia - they have a neat trail around a waterfall. Good exercise - great conversation! Then Georgia took Mom & I to Old Town Spring and we visited a few shops, made a few purchases and got some sugar-free chocolate at the Dutch store. My aunt has learned that sugarfree chocolate should be eaten in moderation - I'll let it go at that.
We travelled north about an hour to Lovelady where my cousin and her husband live on a little ranch. We were able to celebrate their son's 12th birthday and it was nice to meet Ben and his family. I got to go to the field and meet the cows also! Now I don't just want a farm, a ranch would be even greater!
Sunday: Church in Conroe at the Lord of Life Lutheran Church - really great service. And a driving tour of where Georgia used to live, including a stop at Lake Conroe. Just beautiful and 65 degrees today! Lunch at Cracker Barrel. Georgia and Jim had to work on the pool and I enjoyed sitting in the sun. Made Skyline Chili dip for the superbowl and at halftime Jim had grilled Angus steaks over pecan wood - the best steak I've ever had! Topped off by a Colt's win and I am going to bed one happy girl today!
Tomorrow: Bush Museum!

Arrived in Texas

Despite lightening hitting the airfield at Houston causing us to land in Louisiana and wait for clearance - we arrived safely yesterday only 90 minutes late. My cousin Cammy and her 2 year old Jackson waited patiently at the airport for us. Jackson loved riding the little "train" that runs between terminals, so Cammy assures us it wasn't too much of an inconvenience for her. We are excited to see my aunt Georgia's new home and even though they just moved in - she has it decorated so nicely. Mom and I feel like royalty in our beautiful bedrooms.
I will keep you all updated here on what we are doing. Today we enjoyed a leisurely morning to celebrate our vacation and to recover from our 3 AM wake up call yesterday to catch our plane.
We found out that Dayton airport security is much more strict than Buffalo's and several items that my mom was able to bring through security there didn't make it through at Dayton.
We've had our devotions, breakfast, I tried out my aunt's nordic track trainer, got our showers and are headed out for The Woodlands Market Square - cute shops and a river walk.
More later!