In last year’s Christmas letter we said our year had been “eventful”. The pace continues—much of 2006 seems a blur. And, at this time of year everything seems to accelerate. Yet, we love the Christmas season because of the angel’s proclamation, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”
Here are a few of the past year’s highlights. Contrary to what we thought when we sent our last year’s Christmas letter, Karen’s cancer treatment wasn’t quite over. Her oncologist/radiologist team recommended radiation therapy to lower the probability of recurrence. Treatments lasted about a month and required a commute to Concord on a daily basis.
Our church recognized the need for a pastor with visionary leadership skills (a directional pastor) and started a search in January, along with a staff reorganization. Phil was asked to be the interim directional leader—a position in which he felt neither directional nor pastoral J. Thankfully, our new pastor came aboard in November, so perhaps Phil can concentrate more on being retired.
We cannot seem to be done with cancer, as Karen’s Mom was diagnosed with metastasized cancer in March. Karen has tried to go to most of the doctor appointments with her, and as a result has spent many weeks with her Mom.
May saw Phil traveling to Fayetteville and Little Rock for a church conference. He made some unforgettable acquaintances and built some free time into his schedule for just sight-seeing. The Ozark Mountains are beautiful, and he had a wonderful, contemplative walk in the woods during a rain shower (and later a terrifying drive in a thunderstorm). Getting soaked was worth it.
In August we spent our annual family vacation week in Bend OR with the kids and grandkids. What a great time of hiking, geocaching, swimming, taking pictures, and shopping. Dan, Janet, and Phil did a bit of geocaching, including a half-mile scramble to the end of Skeleton Cave (a lava tube cave). Mark, who is developing into a talented amateur photographer, took a trip to the Painted Hills, and all of us made the hike to Doris Lake, a relatively flat hike so the girls could enjoy it too.
Phil bought a new toy in August—a Honda Ridgeline. While mostly a comfortable road vehicle, he has enjoyed taking it into the Sierras for some easy off-road excursions.
In October, we returned to Bend for a spur-of-the-moment getaway and used the Ridgeline to explore a number of areas we’ve not seen before. We had a couple of exceptionally clear days, and from one of our vantage points had a beautiful view of the Cascade peaks all the way north to Mount Adams in Washington.
Thanksgiving was special this year with both Karen’s and Phil’s moms spending the long weekend with us. It was pretty neat watching Cortnie and Audree interacting with their great-grandmas.
We wish you a merry Christmas—one filled with reflection and rejoicing, family and friends, gift giving and receiving, and a clear vision of Him who is far more than a baby in a manger.
Here’s a very recent photo of us with our favorite granddaughters, Cortnie (on the left) and Audree. Before Phil’s short haircut, it was nearly as long as Karen’s.
One of our favorite things to do with the girls is take them to Tilden Park where we enjoy the Little Farm (and they can feed the various farm animals), ride the Carousel, and of course, ride the steam train (a 5” scale running on 15” guage track). Audree tends not to like unstable, moving platforms, so getting her to ride both the Carousel and the train was great.
Cortnie is taking ballet lessons and once a year they put on a recital. Here she is posing after the performance and with proud Mom and Dad.
We spent a few days at Lake Tahoe in early July. We stayed in South Lake Tahoe (what a busy place!) and explored different trails off of Highway 89 to the south. We also explored a bit around Carson City, Minden, and Gardnerville.
On our vacation to Bend, OR, we stopped for a brief visit at Sundial Bridge in Redding. This is a suspension bridge with a cable tower on just one side. The tower doubles as a massive sundial. Farther on we stopped at a war memorial outside of Weed with some impressive metal sculptures. Dan and Phil did some geocaching here and got caught in a rain squall while still half a mile from the car.
Just outside of Redmond, OR, is Smith Rock, a rock climber’s paradise. We just hiked some of the trails (pretty steep ones, though). Janet was brave enough to hang her boots over the cliff edge.
These are a couple of photos from when Phil took his new Ridgeline to the eastern Sierras.
The Aspen’s were gorgeous in their fall colors.
When Dan and Phil go geocaching together, Dan gets to be the mountain goat.
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