Merry Christmas, Everyone!
I pray you had a good year! We sure did!
In January, we celebrated three birthdays – Laura turned 26, Melanie turned 23, and Devion – the cutest, smartest, sweetest toddler ever seen – turned 2! He loves bananas, so we celebrated with a banana cake. Mike and Laura also started teaching him American Sign Language. He learns really quickly, so we have to scramble to keep up! It also seemed that, once he started on ASL, he learned spoken words more quickly. He is very articulate, and speaks in full sentences now.
In March, we all got together and drove down to Missouri. We stopped in East Peoria and visited with my Grandma Hosbrough on the way down. She turned 84 this year, and was still living on her own in March.
Then we drove on down to Rockaway Beach, and stayed with Dad and Mom. While we were there, we took in some of the sights – Todd and Peggy gave us tickets to the newest Silver Dollar attraction: Celebration City. Devion liked the merry-go-round the best. We also took him to a guitar shop, because they advertised child-sized guitars. His favorite thing to do at our house is play guitars with Grandpa (Fred). He sat on the floor to try them out, because he sits on the floor with the guitars at our house. (That’s so he won’t accidentally drop the one he’s playing.) He strummed the first one a few times, and made the motions of fingering the chords. Then he asked for another, and tried that one. By this time, he had an audience. People were pretty impressed that he knew how to strum and to finger the neck. Then he tried a third guitar. Well, that one didn’t sound right, so he started cranking the pegs, as he’d seen Grandpa do. Then he asked to play a “bass geetar” which is what Fred plays in church. The bass guitars were really too big, so I asked if he could try the ukulele. He really took to that – it had four pegs and strings, just like Grandpa’s bass guitar. Naturally, we bought it for him. The rest of the time we were in Missouri, he wanted to play his “bass geetar”. After they got home, Mike and Laura decided he should know the proper name of the instrument. For a while, he played an “ugly lady”!
Only down side was, by the end of the week in Missouri, Devion and I had bad head colds. After we got home, the rest of the family took turns getting one! So, for about a month after getting home, one or another of us was sick!
In May, Fred and I had the privilege of going to Antigua, Guatemala with some friends on a mission trip. We worked with a group called Arms of Jesus for the Children, and built two homes, distributed lots of clothing and shoes to a few families, and helped with the monthly food distribution. All this in a week. The homes were each two rooms, made of cement board. But, compared to corn stalk walls and corrugated aluminum or even black plastic roofs, they were a huge improvement. To have the food ready for distribution, we packed what seemed like HUNDREDS of bags containing fortified cereal (similar to Cream of Wheat in texture), cooking oil, bleach, beans and rice. That was most of a days work for three women and two girls. And those two girls were dynamos! Allie is 12 and Leah is 8, and they each did at least as much work as we grown women. We were tired, but very satisfied with what we’d accomplished, by the time we got on the plane to go home.
Later in May, Fred and Melanie drove her truck to New Jersey, where she has been studying wilderness, tracking and awareness at Tom Brown, Jr.’s Tracker School. She had a couple of breaks, and was able to come home in the late summer, and again just after Thanksgiving for a week. She will finish on December 18. I’m flying out on the 19th to drive back with her. We’re looking forward to having her home again. We’ve worried about our little girl being so far away!
Fred started a new job in June – he is now a City of Madison Plan Reviewer – the guy who decides whether or not a residential permit is issued for that add-on or new building! He really likes it, and the people with whom he works. A few of them even get together once a week after work to “jam”. We both have fun with that.
My work is going well, but there’s a reorganization underway. It will be interesting to see how that all shakes out. I’m pretty sure I’ll have my job when all is said and done, but several others aren’t so fortunate. We have a caroling group at work, and I love doing that! This year, one of the divisions that asked us to sing at their “holiday party” asked especially that I would be there and sing a solo! I was very flattered. We sang for that one on December 7, and it went very well! Helps to have an appreciative audience-and all of our coworkers are very appreciative! We sing a mix of Christmas hymns and secular tunes, such as “Jolly Old St. Nicholas”. My solo is on “Joy to the World” (the one without the bullfrogs).
Melanie and I plan to be back in Madison by the 21st or 22nd, which will allow plenty of time to get ready for celebrating Christmas with the rest of the family at our home on December 24. Mike and his family will be here, and typically leave Christmas Day for Juneau, WI to celebrate with Laura’s family. It is absolutely terrific to have our family so close!
Love, and may God bless you and your families with peace, joy and good health in the coming year!
Gramma Sheila!
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