Happy New Year er'body. :) Greetings from Texas, y'all!

Given that I wrote last year's "holiday" letter in April, I'm feeling pretty good about myself right now (INSERT smug sense of self-satisfaction).

2015 was a year of ADVENTURE. Seriously, I remember starting 2015 and thinking to myself, I'm going to do some things that really push me out of my comfort zone. Turns out the whole family sort of followed suit. Funny how that happens.

January started off with an exciting to trip to Chicago! We gave this trip to Mahalia for Christmas to celebrate her friend Lily's Bat Mitzvah! We flew into a blizzard at O'Hare and had an epic adventure just getting in to the city. We ate at all our favorite spots, visited the Art Institute and even caught a show at Second City (which was the start of Mahalia's new found love of comedy, improv and the likes of Tina Fey, Amy Pohler and Amy Schumer). READ: We have now transcended the realm of PG-13. Gulp! The Bat Mitzvah was such a special time and gave us a chance to reconnect with some our Chicago "family!"

At the Art Institute

Frozen Lake Michigan

Our Chicago family!

When I got home from Chicago, I promptly turned right around and flew to New Orleans for the Society for Social Work Research conference. I stayed with my academic partner in crime and one of my best friends, Dr. Anita Tucker. She and I presented our wilderness therapy research and then made the most of being in one of the most amazing cities in the world! Balancing work and play here, people. How many times do I have to tell you that?! :)

Bayou swamp creatures!

Cafe Dumond

Sidewalk art at the Frenchmen Street Art Market

In February, Will and I went to our annual KU game, only this year, we drove to Waco and watched them defeat Baylor. UT (those bastards) chose not to sell single tickets to the KU-UT game, so tickets were almost $70 on StubHub; whereas, they were $18 a pop at Baylor. We decided to make a day of it, play hookie, see a movie, go out for lunch and dinner and then catch the game. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Lifelong fan!

#truth

In March, I was hired by Gettysburg College to co-lead a 10-day rock climbing and backpacking trip to Red River Gorge for the 2015 GRAB Wilderness Institute. I was so honored to be asked to step into this role by my close friend John Regentin, who helped create and lead this program for 20 years. It was so great to be back in the field, working with college students, and rappelling off a 150 foot waterfall. I could've done without the 14 degree, snowy winter camping (this girl has gotten SOFT living in Texas!), but the payoff of being an outdoor, experiential educator again was well worth the discomfort! (Besides, I had a GIANT sleeping bag to keep me warm.)

Overlooking Red River Gorge

My return from Kentucky was timed perfectly with Spring Break. It was hard being apart from the family for so long, but when I got home, we all headed out for a week at the beach on the Bolivar Penninsula outside of Galveston. My dad and his wife, Elizabeth, and my mom all joined us, and we got to stay at my dear friend Lann's beautiful beach house! Though the weather was rainy at times, we made the most of it, and enjoyed the simple pleasures of beach living.

April in Texas means springtime wildflowers, Easter and bluegrass! We enjoyed our 5th annual Easter winery gathering with family and friends. We also pitched our tents and spent four glorious days in our happy place: Old Settler's Music Festival. This gathering has become a longstanding tradition for us, so much so that it is what Billy and I now give each other every Christmas. Yeehah and CaCaw!

Classic Texas Bluebonnets photo op! (Wendell even stepped in a pile of fire ants!)

Billy herding children during our annual Easter Egg Hunt!

Camp CaCaw!

A day after our bluegrass fest, Mommy (you know it's bad when I'm referring to myself in the third person!) decided it would be a good idea to ride her bike 102 miles. I mention this because it was my first real introduction to Project Rebirth and Ride2Recovery, two programs doing amazing work with veterans. I did the century ride of their 10-day Hero Ride from Houston to Dallas. I didn't train, but seeing Wounded Warriors with prosthetics and adaptive bikes, gave me pause to shut my mouth and stop whining. Peddle on I did, tired, but able-bodied.

First Century ride!

In May, after a actually maintaining a rigorous training schedule (despite my travel), Billy (who had served as my mentor and running coach) and I ran the Box of Rocks Trail Marathon at Reveille Peak Ranch in Central Texas. 26.2 miles of rocky, hilly, thorny, spiky cactus ridden trails! It was an amazing accomplishment and a moment neither of us will ever forget. I never could've done it without the constant love, support and confidence my husband has for me. And I can honestly say that long training runs (which became our date time) were some of my sweetest memories of that winter and spring.

Box of Rocks Trail Marathon

At the finish line!

Several days after the marathon, I flew to Lake Tahoe where I was worked for Project Rebirth as an Adventure Therapy Advisor to Ride2Recovery's Women's Initiative. I developed and implemented a trauma-informed, mindfulness and wellness curriculum for this therapeutic cycling retreat and spent four days with some of the most amazing, strong, resilient women I have ever met. We biked through the mountains surrounding Lake Tahoe, and participated in the AMGEN Women's Tour of California Hero Ride. It is a strange thing how this opportunity has fallen into my lap, and I've had to battle the impostor syndrome feeling that their is someone else who is more qualified or knows more about trauma or veterans or even cycling who could do this better than me, and yet, I am the one doing it. And so it goes...I continue to learn, grow and humbly change lives, even as my own life is changed.

Struggling up a hill during this race, I was assisted by one of the veterans who gave me a gentle push and said, "Even the helper needs help sometimes, Doc!"

In May, my good friend Nati came to visit from Budapest to study with me at Texas State. She is a social worker getting her PhD in Psychology and also researches adventure therapy. She and I visited several programs in Texas, New Mexico and Colorado en route to Denver, where we attended the 7th International Adventure Therapy Conference, which I helped plan and convene. There were attendees from 18 different countries gathered at Metro State University, sharing ideas and thinking outside the box about how to help people heal and grow through outdoor adventure in various cultural settings. So inspiring!

7th International Adventure Therapy Conference: Metropolitan State University, Denver, Colorado

In June, Billy and I returned the visit and went to Prague and Budapest to visit Nati and her family. After a very exciting (read: stressful) near miss with Billy's passport, we finally made it to the Czech Republic where we packed in more sightseeing than most people would in the short amount of time we had. You may remember that I visited Prague three years ago and fell in love with the place. It was so special to bring Billy back and share everything I loved with him. Makes it even more special.

Jet-lagged but happy to be having a Pilsner Urquell on the banks of the Vltava River!

Nettle beer and topinka! Classic Billy!

At the John Lennon Peace Wall

Love Locks Bridge in Prague...give me your forever.

We took a train to Hungary and Billy and I both presented at the 1st Annual Hungarian Experiential Education Conference in Dobogoko, Hungary. It was wonderful to be around Hungarian therapists, educators, trainers and other practitioners all using experiential education to create community. We also enjoyed meeting the other presenters from around the world. And of course, we took time after the conference to enjoy Budapest, which now has a piece of my heart as well. We were blessed to stay with Nati's family and got to see the city firsthand through the eyes of Hungarians and not just tourists!

Tourists on the train...

With our friends from Hungary, Slovakia, Belgium and Australia!

Sampling Hungarian brews!

Overlooking the Danube...

POLITICAL SIDE NOTE: One thing that is so special about traveling internationally is how small it makes the world. So when the asylum crisis erupted in Europe and we were reading and listening to news stories about the thousands of refugees camped at the train station in Budapest who were being turned away, we could visualize the exact place. We also knew that our dear friends, Nati, Gabor, and Csaba were all there giving out water and food and being a humane presence in the face of a narrow-minded government often dictated by hatred and fear. We prayed for them each night, and felt closer to the brotherhood and sisterhood of humanity, moreso than if we had never been there. For this, I am forever grateful.

Okay, back to a year in the life of the Nortons...

You guessed it! July and August were spent on a 6-week, cross-country road trip! You know how we do. We drove from Texas to Indianapolis to Chicago to Cleveland (with a wet stop in Niagra Falls) to Boston to NYC to DC to North Carolina to a week at Myrtle Beach, SC to Cartersville, GA to Birmingham to New Orleans and finally back to Texas. We did it in our new Honda Odyssey, who we named Homer...because it was an EPIC journey (nerdy, literary humor supplied by Billy Norton).

Lynn Family 4th of July Reunion: Indianapolis, IN

Niagara Falls!

Beach Day: Plymouth, Mass

Hot tub fun for the whole family: Myrtle Beach, SC

Norton Familia: Myrtle Beach, SC

Storyland at City Park: NOLA

August and September was the usual...back to work, back to school. Will and I did our annual mother/son camping trip at Pedernales State Park. This year, however, we camped in the back country sites, so we had to backpack in, carrying all our gear. This was a first for Will, but he seemed to enjoy the adventure!

Mother/son backpacking trip: Pedernales State Park

River joy!

At then end of September, Billy and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary with a weekend at the Songbird Meadows Bed and Breakfast and a 30K trail race benefitting Back on My Feet (http://austin.backonmyfeet.org/), a local non-profit our friend runs that helps people living on the street rebuild their lives through running. I came in third in my age group and actually won several prizes (ignore the fact that there may have only been three women running in my age group!).

Songbird Meadows B&B

With my prizes! :)

October brought more travel for Mommy (There's that pesky third person again! I guess I use it when I'm feeling guilty too!). I presented at TAPG pre-conference and the International AEE conference in Portland, Oregon. My colleagues and I facilitated an urban adventure, exploring social justice and diversity in adventure therapy, which ended with a visit to Right To Dream Too (http://right2dreamtoo.blogspot.com/), a safe and supportive tent city for people living on the street. We did a sock, sleeping bag and blanket drive and got to listen to their stories of loss and hope. As always, I feel so blessed that my professional community in the Association for Experiential Education is also like family to me. It's not often that you find colleagues with whom you share a common mission and values.

On our urban adventure, crossing the Willamette River!

October is also HALLOWEEN, and in my neighborhood, we go all out! We had a fun gathering and celebrated our community together (with candy for the kids and jello-shots for the moms!).

Wendell dressed as a vampire Native Texan (not sure which is scarier!)

Elsa, the Ice Princess

Halloween in Plum Creek

In November I flew to Wonder Valley, California for my second Project Rebirth/Ride2Recovery Women's Initiative. The terrain was very different than Lake Tahoe, a bit less grade (thank God!) in the foothills. The experience was even better though, as I was able to tweak the curriculum to meet the women's needs even more. I also felt more competent, which freed me up to give myself to these women in new ways. We also combined our cycling with a high ropes course that brought out the resilience of these amazing women even more!

With my friend, cycling coach and Olympic medalist Ina-Yoko Tuetenberg in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Sometimes life shoves Beauty in your face in the midst of your brokenness, and it's like a shot in the arm of hope.

For Billy's birthday, he and I flew to NYC for a weekend, which corresponded with a fundraising and marketing event for Project Rebirth. It was such a treat to get to attend this event and then to have Billy, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law with me made it even more special. NYC does not disappoint, and it's an added bonus having family there.

From the 46th floor of the Met Life Bldg

We continued our trail running with the Wild Hare Trail Run! We rented an old farmhouse with friends and hit the trail together, Billy completed the 50K and the ladies banged out 25K. Running with some of your best friends in the world is like group therapy, and I am grateful that my body, mind and soul had this time to heal and grow with my sisters.

We got Billy to stop for a picture with us, though he was busy lapping us on the trail!

Group therapy! xoxo

We spent Thanksgiving at home this year, which we love. We hosted almost 25 people and enjoyed a delicious FEAST, copious amounts of wine, and drowned in gravy and gratitude.

December brought the end of the semester and Christmas break. Sadly, it also brought the unexpected and untimely death of my Uncle Ken Klug. I miss him and grieve for this loss on behalf of my aunt, cousins and their children who are directly affected. Fortunately, since we drove to North Carolina to visit Billy's family, we were also able to stop and see my cousin Andrew and his wife, Brie, to be with them in their time of sorrow. It was a good reminder that the best we can do in life, no matter what, is to stay connected. Being with Billy's family and engaging in our usual Christmas traditions--baking cookies, La Noche Buena, pernil, pasteles, coquito, caroling, Nanny Lynn's carrot cake, etc.--reinforced this notion. Family is a foundation, the soil from which we come and return to. It is good to experience gratitude for this foundation, especially during the holidays, a natural time of both celebration and reflection.

Uncle Andrew and Aunt Brie!

Merry Christmas from Raleigh!

 Of course, this year, brought other family visits as well. We continue to be blessed to have family who are healthy enough and have the means to come visit us in Texas. My dad continues to get cancer treatment and is healing each day! We continue to pray for him and believe that 2016 will be a year of miracles in his health.

The Nortons

My dad (who is continuing to heal--Praise God!) and Grandma Elizabeth!

We are also blessed to have some of Billy's family here in Texas, which has grown thanks to the blessed birth of baby Noah, born to Billy's cousins Marc and Felicia!

Faders and Jimenez's in Texas!

And of course, we are lucky to have my mom (GADIE!) who lives with us, so we are spoiled in that way! Gadie continues to help with the house and kids, especially since I traveled so much in 2015. She is still self-employed as a personal assistant of sorts, which gives her lots of flexibility. Along with helping us, she was moved by the Spirit to respond to some of the worst flooding in the history of the State of Texas. These incredible floods hit in both May and October, and God led Gadie to a family who owns a Christian retreat center on the banks of the San Marcos River. She has aided and befriended them in their distress and went above and beyond to help them in so many ways. The funny thing about it is that in doing so, she, herself, has been forever changed. The irony of these horrible floods is that they seemed to open up a well of compassion in my mother that she hasn't experienced in quite some time, proof that even in tragedy, God works for GOOD. She has acted on this compassion in many ways, including spending Christmas day with people living on the street in downtown Austin, giving out socks, water bottles and, well, cigarettes! :) She is Gadie, after all (though she, herself, just QUIT--a BIG New Year's resolution...more on this in 2016!).

Slumber parties with Gadie are a big hit!

So is time spent one-on-one!

Billy entered into his second year as an instructional coach at Hays High School. He is responsible for coordinating professional development, curriculum development and training and assisting teachers. Though he excels in this role, he vacillates between feeling very useful and then longing for the immediate gratification of a classroom full of deranged yutes (as my dad would say!). He started a fun project this year in order to promote college among his high school students, in which he requested former students, friends and family to send him various college t-shirts. Not only was this fun project a great chance to reconnect with lots of good folks, he now as quite the collection that he wears to school!

From the VA Klugs!

This year, Billy took an active role in several school board meetings where he spoke eloquently in favor of abolishing Dixie as the school song. (Yes, we're still fighting those battles down here in Texas. Incidentally, we won! "The night they drove old Dixie down..."). Billy continues to grow the Hays High School ultimate Frisbee community, and he manages the insanity of Texas public education (and being left alone with my mother and our children while I travel) with ultra-trail running. After a trail marathon, a 30k and a 50K in 2015, he has his eye on another 50 miler in 2016.

*Before the Back On My Feet 30K...6am start required headlamps!

 *It wouldn't be a Norton holiday letter if I didn't post a picture of shirtless Billy!

Of course, Billy is still quite a birder and enjoyed the plethora of migrating birds we got to view during our spring break trip to Galveston. He is sharing this love with Will, and they often walk around the neighborhood lakes, binoculars in hand.

Sharing a scope with some other bird nerds we met (who happened to know my 5th grade teacher--random!)

Though Billy doesn't travel nearly as much as I do, what those of you who know him well are very much aware of is the fact that he very good at being present in his daily life...in our daily lives. Here are a few of my favorite 2015 photos that capture the essence of Billy in the NOW.

Ready to enjoy a flight of tequila!

Salt Lick! Classic Billy photo!

Morning cup of coffee while visiting NYC in his favorite childhood owl mug.

Two William Norton's out birding on a chilly November morning in Brooklyn

TOSTONES!

Along with my travels, I continued my work as an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Texas State University. I continued to grow the FACES (Foster Care Alumni Creating Educational Success) program and was appointed as the Foster Care Liaison to the Texas State Higher Education Coordinating Board. In this role, I was invited to attend a foster care convening in Portland, Oregon in December hosted by Gateway to College and Casey Family Programs, and am hoping to push state and federal legislation to create more accessibility and support for former foster youth in higher education. I taught my adventure therapy class, and published a new book on international adventure therapy (http://healthandsociety.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.294/prod.1). I have also served as the Chair of the Doctoral Program Planning Committee, which is a humbling and daunting task. I completed my service to the TAPG Leadership Council, and also ended my role as representative to the Adventure Therapy International Committee. In lieu of finishing up these service roles, I took on more outside work--consulting, research and supervision, and am at a cross-roads trying to figure out where I really want to leave my mark, professionally. I lost my sweet office in the old Victorian house and moved into a rather sterile space on main campus, but I have great new colleagues, and I continue to see academia as a pretty sweet gig. I always just want to make sure I'm at the right place at the right time, per God's perspective, not mine. So 2016 will be a year of listening...

Stopping to listen during a trail run in Asheville, NC

...and gentleness. Sometimes in the stress of all of this activity, I am harsh with myself and others. My "medicine" includes trail runs, yoga, book club, and church, but I feel I need to also be still and heed this advice:

Speaking of wild, Mahalia is now a TEENAGER!!! Honestly, though, she is more grounded than I am. :) She is very focused and determined in her academic and theatrical pursuits, and I am impressed with the friend group she has chosen. She is in all pre-AP classes (as an 8th grader--was that even an option when I was in middle school?!!) and took the SAT in the spring, scoring high enough to get into my university (which made me both proud and concerned that maybe our admissions standards aren't high enough-ha!). This qualified her for the Duke Talent Search program, but we opted for a Norton summer road trip as her educational experience instead. I mean, it's not exactly home-schooling, but getting to learn the history of Selma and walk across the Edmund Pettis bridge together is not something she will soon forget.

Learning about civil rights experientially!

Mahalia continued in the pre-professional acting company at Zach Theater in Austin, and was in her first professional show in the children's ensemble of Evita. She also helped write and choreograph her 8th grade school play this fall.

Broadway Rocks at ZACH

The kind of choreography that makes a mom nervous! :)

Barton Middle School Fall Production

As I mentioned, Mahalia has a new love of comedy and improv, which means she is now addicted to SNL, Parks & Rec, and other Tina Fey/Amy Pohler shenanigans. She is actually quite witty herself, so I gave her Amy Pohler's book "Yes, Please" as a gift to inspire this creative, comedic streak, but politely asked her to skip the chapter on sex, to which my very wise  brother-in-law scoffed, "Yeah, right. You know that was the first thing she read!" :) But, we're open to any and all conversations here in the Norton household...politics, religion, and even SEX. (Now, you want to come visit, don't you?!!)

Enjoying summer...still a kid!

1st day of 8th grade

Flowers for her birthday performance of Evita!

Happy 13th Birthday! Ice cream at LICK!

Belated birthday camp-out, now a longstanding tradition! (@ Camp Ben McCollough)

Will is 11 now and as a 5th grader with a big sister, benefits from all of the inappropriate tv and sex talk. He just smiles that wry, knowing smile, as if to say, "Don't worry. I got this." :) Will got his black belt in 2015 and then decided to take a break from tai kwon do, focusing solely on basketball. He was on a select team this year, the Hill Country Hawks, and traveled for tournaments in and around San Antonio and Austin. This winter will focused on strength and conditioning and played ultimate Frisbee at the high school with Billy every Wednesday. He also got to do some one-on-one performance sports training and is signed up for a winter basketball league, with his eye on select in the spring.

1st day of 5th grade! ("Mom, do I have to take this picture?!")

Will has a heart for social justice and has closely followed the Black Lives Matter movement. He is reading Just Mercy by Bryan Samuels and is developing his critical thinking skills about how to reform the justice system. His future career choices have bounced back and forth between civil rights attorney and social worker, but are always prefaced with "After the NBA, I'm going to..." So far, the top two choices have been civil rights attorney and social worker. Makes a liberal, social work mommy proud! :)

Small, but mighty!

Truly a double dribble!

Will attended the 5th grade adventure program at the Outdoor Leadership Center this fall. He loved getting to fish, climb, do archery and other outdoor adventure activities! He also got to go to his first concert this year, Pentatonix! He and his big sister felt pretty cool dressed in their new concert shwag!

It clearly got away...

Unafraid!

Will's first concert!

Wendell started Kindergarten this year and absolutely LOVES school. Her teacher is Mrs. Corn and she affectionately refers to her students as "Corndogs." Wendell thinks this is pretty great. She is learning to read and write and well, she may have watched a few episodes of Parks & Rec too. :) She finished up gymnastics earning her first trophy in the spring, but she decided to go back to dance this fall. I think she likes the outfits better!

First day of Kindergarten!

Ballet!

Christmas jazz performance!

Wendell loves art and nature and spends her time incessantly chattering and exploring her world. She is always asking questions and making insightful, if not, slightly fanciful and bizarre statements about life. She is the joyful glue that holds us all together, and she reminds us not to yell at the dog. If we do, she will say, "You are NOT showing love to ChaCha right now." And if, God forbid, you yell at her, she starts to cry these big crocodile tears and says earnestly, "But I am still just LEARNING!" Oh, sweet Wendell Jane...aren't we all?!!

Here are some of the many faces of this wise, little monkey...

With Will's spirit animal...the armadillo.

Hippie chick @Old Settler's Music Fest

Urban hip in NOLA

Posing with a new hairdo

Yes, the big, black dog is still with us. She is almost 10 years old and is definitely getting long in the tooth. Her hips aren't what they used to be and she has elbow sores and hidden tumors, but she's not in pain and still gets frisky when you tell her she gets to go for a W.A.L.K. so we'll keep her around until that's not the case. We love her, but are starting to anticipate losing her. And this is strange, but beautiful. Sometimes when I pet her, I say softly, "I will miss you when you're gone, old girl." This makes the kids nuts, but I told them it helps me appreciate her and really be in the moment with her. Heck, maybe this is how we should all greet and love one another. This ride doesn't last forever, you know.

Sleepy dog...

Which is why I write this letter...I heard Margaret Atwood on NPR today discussing how hard it is for any of us to imagine not existing. It's true, but what we say, what we write, what we create, our work, our relationships...really anything we do that springs out of LOVE...may last or at least outlast us. So I hope this yearly update informs, inspires and doesn't make you too tired--ha! We do love to live the shit out of our lives, sometimes at the risk of being exhausted and overwhelmed. But we wouldn't have it any other way. After all...

Now is all we get. So get out there. Live a great story! Stop reading this never-ending holiday letter and do something a little out of your comfort zone. Adventures await you in 2016, and we hope they might include spending time with US!

Thank you for your love and friendship, the tireless ways you support us, pray for us, make us laugh, hold us when we mourn, and pick us up when we fall. You are the real reason for the season. After all, Christ was born and died for us...humanity. Pure love, that we are now called to offer to one another.

Until next year...

Christine, Billy, Mahalia, Will and Wendell Norton (and Gadie & ChaCha!)

P. S.