Christmas 2016
Hello Everyone!
It is time again for you all to suffer
through another one of those annual updates from me! We have had a not very interesting and not
really very busy, but at the same time, very eventful year!
On Keith’s health front, his
Parkinson’s is doing great. His neurologist is totally happy with the “lack of”
progress that this disease has made.
Such a good thing! I credit that
with his absolute dedication to maintaining as much independence as he can and
taking pretty good care of himself. On
the other hand, … this blasted arthritis is kicking our collective butts… Last fall, Keith suffered a couple partial
dislocations of his left shoulder. In
March, problems with that shoulder caused a reverse shoulder replacement
surgery, a second surgery to remove the prosthesis a month later, and a
collective two month stay in rehabilitation center after the surgeries. That took us up to middle of May before he
was released from the rehab the second time.
Thankfully, he is still recovering his strength and is faithful in going
to physical therapy twice a week to maintain and try to improve balance
issues. God is good!
Concentrix (where I was working)
closed their doors in February, so I was not working for the time period when
Keith was going through the surgeries and initial recoveries and was able to
stay close and entertain him when he was unable to get around at all. I went to work at Lowes during the spring and
was there until August, when Keith began having issues with his right arm and
shoulder which made me feel as though I was needed more at home J and they seemed unwilling to work
with me on scheduling. So I again became
Keith’s major pain in the hiney
haha!
In family
tradition: In April, our granddaughter
Brayana left for the Army! She has
decided that she wants to be a Combat Medic and we are so very proud of
her. Our hearts break at the thought of
this precious baby being out in COMBAT, but at the same time are so proud that
her heart is leading her to wanting to help others and stand for our Country. She is
currently at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX. In November, Grandson Jay (Jaleel) also headed
out for Army life. He is currently in
Ft. Benning, GA. It will be a quiet
Christmas getting used to both of these two being on their new life journeys.
In May, son in law Rod retired from the Navy after serving for 22 years. It was great to be able to host Rod’s parents and brother when they came to visit and attend a most beautiful and moving ceremony. It was great that all 4 generations of his family is so photogenic! Bray was missed greatly and one of these days I will figure out how to put her into this picture…. I know… where there is a will …. Hahaa!!
We were able to take a short trip down
to visit Dad and Evie during Labor Day.
It was a short visit and I was so glad to be able to go down and visit
for a bit! Then in October they
unexpectedly sold their winter place in Arizona, and S’te volunteered to “Papa
sit” (LOL) so I flew down to AZ, met them and Tanya, and we packed them up for
them to move all the rest of their worldly goods (hahaha) together in
Oregon. So dad is once again, an Oregon
resident!!! Another clue to the “never
say never” adage…. And I got to spend a bit more time with Dad! He is doing pretty well. He is now 84 and gets around much better than
many his age. He still cannot hear much…
even with his hearing aids – which he does wear these days… and he still likes
to tell the same stories… but still enjoy spending what time I get to with him!
It has
been a blessing for April to have been able to bring Logan out and visit twice
this year! Due to the extended recovery
we have not been able to get back to the mid-west and visit with Mom Beatty and
the rest of the family. It has been
really great to be able to be host to Keith’s nephew Jason and his buddy Cotton
also!!! Keith had an absolutely, the
most awesome 75th Birthday with them here! It was wonderful! Wish I had gotten a photo of everyone! We had a houseful with great fun and good
food! It was a great day! Logan is growing so fast and furious… he is a
joy to see – each and every time we are blessed to get to.
Elizabeth’s fantastic volleyball talents have earned her the offer and she has committed with Marquette Golden Eagles at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We are so very proud of her, her hard work, and how well she uses her talents and abilities. Brennan worked another whole summer in baseball. Traveling all over with tournaments and doing so very well! He is loving his first year in High School, playing basketball, and just being 15! They are all just growing up way to fast!
We were
absolutely blessed with the ability to do a family cruise to Alaska during
August! I hunted for the photo that was
taken when we boarded – but didn’t find it …. But here is the back half of the
van when we got underway! It was a great
trip. Glacier Bay was in it’s glory
being midsummer and we could do the train to White Pass as it has handicap
availability. Makk connected with a
group his age and really did the teen party trip… he seemed to have a blast and
the rest… well… everyone seemed to have a great time! I was so happy and content seeing my chickies
being busy and enjoying themselves. It
was quite different from the family trip of 9 years ago … where swimsuits and
horserides were the thing… beings at it was a Mexican cruise… LOL
What a wonderful world we live in!
So, enough is enough… all in all, we
are well, healthy and ready for a wonderful 2017!!!
Merry Christmas to All!!! And a Happy and Prosperous 2017 to
everyone!!!
