A Real Christmas Letter

It's December. Christmas is coming! 

It's time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Savior. Now, I know that's not exactly new news, but it's still the best news ever. God sent a Savior!  He was born, he lived and died, and he lives again.

Merry Christmas! 

That being said, the fact that I'm attempting to write a real, actual Christmas letter before Christmas is not typical for me. Let's just blame it on retirement, and the fact that I have a few extra daytime minutes to accomplish things without distractions.

It's been a busy year. That's life in the twenty-first century, I guess. Everyone seems to be too busy. I don't want to bore you with our family's busyness this year, but I do want to touch on the most memorable events of our year. So, here goes.

It was just one year ago that Aunt Ellen died. It wasn't unexpected, since her health had been failing for quite some time. Since then, we've been working together with many family members to settle her estate. That same week, granddaughter Evelyn celebrated her first birthday. So, I guess you could say that we experienced a realistic picture of the cycle of life.

Grandson, Tobin, turned three in January. He stayed home with Andy in February, enjoying a father-son Star Wars marathon, while the rest of us made our almost-annual trek to Snowy Range, in Wyoming, for skiing and good food at the guest ranch. Victoria and I stayed at the ranch with Evie, while Bill, Erin, Meagan, and Levi hit the slopes. We all had a great time.

I had cataract surgery on my most troublesome eye in March, and started wearing a contact, under my glasses, in the other eye to try to fool my brain into thinking that both eyes have equal abilities. It has been a challenge, but I continue to be grateful for modern medical procedures that have rescued me from a sentence of certain blindness. And, I'm really glad that I can still drive!

In April, Bill was surprised with a heart attack. Two stents later, he is doing well. He has not had to make any additional lifestyle changes, since he had already changed his diet and adopted a regular exercise routine in hopes of preventing that kind of episode. If he had not made those changes, our story might be much different now. As it is, we thank God for graciously caring for Bill and for providing the essential medical care that he needed.

May was an eventful month. Victoria graduated from high school, and I retired from teaching. And Meagan decided to take a break from teaching to spend time raising her kids. As she said, "They're only little once."

Our summer was more hectic than usual, as we helped get ready for Aunt Ellen's estate sale, sent Levi off to church camp (twice!), painted a couple of bedrooms and supervised some other, more major, home improvement projects, and helped Erin move from California into her new house in Cheyenne, where she has a new job as a college professor/director of instrumental music. In the midst of it all, I helped organize a last minute VBS at church. And, we were saddened when Uncle Lee left this world in July, even though we know that we will see him again in heaven someday.

I was about ready to breathe a sigh of relief when school started again in August, in hopes that I could experience a little retirement rest and relaxation, but I've come to the conclusion that "retirement" has morphed into "stay-at-home mom" and "eternal taxi driver." We are all rejoicing that Levi has had a much improved school year for sixth grade, mostly because he has a caring, dedicated teacher, and Victoria has eased into a successful semester of college, at WNCC in Scottsbluff, without much angst. And, after a bit of a rough start, Tobin is finally enjoying preschool. I'm glad to be available to care for Tobin and Evelyn occasionally, when Meagan has appointments or errands that are best accomplished without their "help."

Bill took on a new project in August, near Birmingham, Alabama, which means that he has been working away from home about half the time, ever since. It looks like this project is finally starting to wind down, at least a little; we are all glad to have him home more often. One unexpected perk emerged, when he was offered tickets to the big Nascar race at Talladega, which is located just a few miles from his work site; so he took Andy with him to the race in October. I think it's safe to say that Andy has a new convert to car racing!

We have been blessed with abundant rain this year, resulting in lush backyard vegetation that has reminded me of summer in Michigan. Even now, in mid-December, we are enjoying mild days and green grass. We are looking forward to family Christmas celebrations here at home and in Fairbury, and we anticipate a great start to the new year, with the impending birth of grandchild #3. Baby Girl Stobel is expected to arrive in late January.

I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but I do have some family goals for 2016. I plan to finish the two books I'm writing--one for people who work with at-risk children, and the other for young children and their grandparents--and find publishers for both. I also hope to continue writing and sharing the songs God has given me. I really want Victoria to become a safe, confident driver. I hope that Levi will learn to take responsibility for his actions. I want Bill to enjoy more free time with our family. I pray that each member of our family will grow closer to God this year.

And, I pray that each of you will experience the love and joy that come from knowing God. May he bless you abundantly in the coming year, in ways that you could never expect.

Bill and Levi raced their Pinewood Derby cars

I enjoyed a fall women's retreat

Erin, Victoria, Evelyn, Meagan, Andy, and Tobin, at the zoo