Christmas letter vol. 1

While other families have consistently and kindly sent out Christmas letters each and every year, Terry and I have enjoyed, read, contemplated, procrastinated and haven't. I have however found a new avenue in the world of blogging and have therefore decided that this year will be volume 1 of the Family Christmas letter.

We have had a wonderful year. There has been nothing earth shattering so it's all good. We've worked and played and learned to be a empty nest couple. Terry and I often look at each other and realize how blessed we are to be in love. How is it that a couple of 19 year old kids can date for 4 years of high school, get married and as far as it is humanly possible . . live happily. So now we are finding a new balance in our lives of wanting to enjoy our adult children and at the same time allowing them to have a new center of gravity in their own homes.

Terry has continued to enjoy full time work on our laying hen farm. His highlight this year was building the shop. We had our tractor stolen from behind the barn early this year and realized that we needed to have a secure area for our equipment and also for Terry to have a workspace. I have jokingly said that I need to install one of those big rounded mirrors on my porch so I can see if the lights are still glowing in the shop. He is the handyman of handymans and tends to lose track of time in his new favorite dwelling.

I have enjoyed some time helping Dorothy at her Bed and Breakfast. It has been purely for pleasure and they treat me so well. I've learned much about hospitality in their home.

The highlight of this year was taking our family including our Mom to Maui in May. We left the same day that Bea handed in her last assignment at university. We had such a great time together and will forever enjoy the memories of that uninterrupted family time. Bea had the misfortune of breaking her arm but she is a noncomplaining trooper and continued to smile.

This has been a milestone year for Bea. She graduated from university and has started to teach. She has recently accepted a position and we know that she will be a blessing in her class. Terrence and Bea built a house this summer and have been busy making it a very welcoming home. Terrence continues to work in the Steel Industry and this year he started a side business with a friend, wiring and installing home theatre systems.

Stuart and Karlee continue to work hard in their careers. Stuart is a software developer and Karlee is a Registered Nurse. They have begun a renovation in their basement and have completed the media room. They worked together to redo their entire yard and have done a great job of making their home really cozy.

While our children are grown up, we are still their parents and we still feel joy when they are excited and full of anticipation. We stress when their plates are too full and they are exhausted and we want to carry them and not let anything sad ever happen to them but that would not be realistic. We try to do what our parents did for us. We pray for them and trust that God will bless them and strengthen them and make them a blessing to others.

As for Terry and I . . well on most days if you drive by the bungalow at 7:00 am, you'll find us sitting at the island in our kitchen having breakfast. If you drive by at noon, we'll be sitting there eating our lunch and at 6:00 we'll be enjoying our dinner.

It's a wonderful life.