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Christmas Newsletter 2015

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Well, all we continue to say after last year is that we are so glad Roger is with us this year!!  As I wrote last year, he was in the rehab center all last Christmas and it continued into February.  He was finally able to come out then and recuperated at his parents’ until sometime in March.  We were so happy to finally see some strength return by about April and May, and I continued to do a lot of work with him on data entry.  We truly are a team!

We still go to our Youngstown courthouse every few weeks and enjoy getting a lunch together at a local Chinese restaurant.  We also were blessed to enjoy a family vacation (https://criscollrj.com/2015/10/22/october-2015-maryland-vacation/) for the first time in 9 years.  Even though it was a bit colder than expected (with a little snow even!), we all really really enjoyed it and hope to return again soon.

We did completely have our basement renovated last year–as I wrote in the last newsletter that said renovation had begun–and then had our bathroom repaired in May.  With school again from July until just a few days ago, I am yet again ready to start cleaning out corners and cobwebs and ready to finally get Ryan in his own room as we had planned last summer, that didn’t happen.  I am on another term break now until March 1, when I will start yet another semester.  Three more semesters until student teaching!  A bit scary, actually…

We returned to Kraynak’s again a few weeks ago with our friends the Jevnikars, and reunited with my high school friends Annette and her family, and also our mutual friend Becky.  It was very enjoyable, and we especially found delicious the food at a new place, Hickory Grill.  We had unseasonable warmth through much of December except for a few brief snows.  It has been in the 60s this Christmas week. Strange to see daffodils coming up in places — will they come back in the spring?

We were thrilled for Chris to be enrolled in a new workshop in October where the focus is on autism intervention/training for workshop.  He is doing so much better and also has seen a new medical expert that has tried some new medicines for him.  He is sleeping better and is usually in a great temperament!

Colleen found a fantastic job this year and has been working since April at a pet store.  She is a lizard/fish expert and that of course is right up her alley.  She works a lot of hours and is very content with that.

Ryan moved on to the high school this year, in the 8th grade.  He continues to excel in his academics and made honor roll this semester!  He is now taller than all of us except Roger.

With all of the things that have occurred in this past year and before, we continue to trust that God has us all in His Hand and is watching over us.  We have had many challenges and trials, but am so grateful that many things are resolved now, with just a bit more to get through yet.  Some time ago this popped into my head, particularly the part that begins at 2:14

 

I didn’t realize I posted this on Facebook on December 10, 2014.   Guess I should have posted it on last year’s newsletter, but here it comes now for some reason…

From Facebook 12/10/14:  “This is a song I used to sing all the time in high school, and I’d forgotten about it. Starting about 1:03, listen to this song (though the first song is good too!). The part that says “I want to thank you for the gift of your son,” just randomly came in my head when I got home from the hospital today, at 2:13 on the track. Word for word it came out of my mouth, and I hadn’t heard the song in about 33 years. I felt like thanking God for seeing Roger today and that things hopefully are going to look up soon, and I thanked God, and then just started singing this song. Didn’t even know who it was by until I found on YouTube! Just knew I was in high school probably when it came out. I needed to hear the words today… been such a struggle.”

“I want to thank You for the gift of Your Son,
And for the mystery of prayer,
And for the faith to doubt and yet believe
That You’re really there.

The mysteries of Your Word are the questions of my days.
I search them now to understand the wisdom of Your ways.
Jesus walks before me and clearly walks the path
To guide me to the Father and to peace at last”

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  1. Chris visiting Daddy in the hospital, Jan ’14
  2. Rog programming his new IPhone 5c
  3. The place where Rog should be sitting in Youngstown court next to me…

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4.  I am at Youngstown Courthouse

5.  February 2015 – and the snow just keeps coming.

6.  And the cold!

A particular memory is how the heat quit working in my car when I was driving to Youngstown, and the real temperature outside was -17.  Talk about cold toes!!  Later found out it was my radiator, which I had replaced in May of 15.  You’ll see below what happened in June…

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7.  February – the amazing photobombing bird!

8.  A start to one of Colleen’s amazing paintings.

9.  Ryan writes so much like I did..

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10.  The cold just keeps up.

11.  March – painting almost done!

12.  Rog is back at his mom’s, and we finally had Ryan’s and my birthday parties!!

 

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13.  Boys at mama’s and papa’s house.

14. Ryan’s SpecialSports Basketball πŸ™‚

15. March also finally got Rog back in that special chair at Youngstown Courthouse!

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16.  That was an amazing temp after all that cold!

17.  April brought new glasses, after years, that turned to sunglasses!

18.  Colleen’s beautiful sculpture.

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19.  Another one of her gorgeous art show entries.

20.   Rog and I got to Meadville to work May 1 and ate at 5 guys!

21.   Ryan at the football camp in May for Specialsports!

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21.  It was Flag football…

22.  Got our bathroom redone in May!

23.  Colleen turned 21!

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24.  June – Ryan’s really enjoying summer!

25. End of June said goodbye to Old Bess after she caught on fire.  13 years — 195,000 mi.  Yep, a month after replacing radiator.  I was pouring radiator fluid and power steering fluid in it for months…

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26.  A few weeks later this 2014 T & C joined our family.  30,000 miles, and now it’s already up to almost 44,000.

27.  Sophie and I enjoying our  basement, much nicer after the Christmas ’14 repair!

28. July, a little trip we took Chris on where Colleen was doing some fishing.

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29.  Mom and her friend Allen Helm helped us plant a lot of beautiful plants and shrubs my uncle Don gave.

30.  I saw Rainbows on Chris’s wall on 3-4 separate occasions this year, amidst worry and struggle.

31.  Sometime the summer/fall Peach went to live with my mom.  She is flourishing!  She lost her “sister” Pumpkin a few months before that.   

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32.  July – my mom and Chris and I enjoyed attending the Montville bicentennial.

33.  Ryan always enjoys getting his Dairyman’s Chocolate milk,  a daily trip he calls “getting Biggerline Dairymen’s chocolate milk here.”….  and boy what a fit if one of the stores has run out of stock on it…

 

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34.  September – we did get 15-20 tomatoes!

35.  Mantua potato festival πŸ™‚

36.  Getting rid of old couch and fridge.  Lots of newer furniture and a fridge, and lots of boxes and other things, came in when Mama/Papa moved!  I’ll be sorting and arranging all these on the current break I just started.

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37.  Took Chris to the shore one night, Lake Erie.

38.  Our trip in October to Maryland.  More pics on my blog!  Runaway ramps in WVa.

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39.  One of the parks in WVa or Maryland.

40  Fire in our cabin πŸ™‚

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41.  First views of the hills.

42.  I want this mailbox!

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43.  Our cabin.

44.  November after Gayle/Chuck moved, Chris visited before they gave away the keys — Emotional!!

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45.  Breathtaking view of the lake in Auburn on the way to Youngstown.

46.  Happy birthday Chris, mom, Papa, Nancy!

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47.  48.  49.  50.  Kraynak’s trip with Jevnikars, Kromer’s, and Becky Freeman πŸ™‚  Boys are at the chocolate store, and Colleen took this lovely selfie in the car (didn’t take a selfie in the Santa chair that I asked her to πŸ˜‰  )

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51.  Our one snow event a few weeks ago.  Before and after, unseasonably warm!

52.  Chris at Broadmoor party.

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53.  Pretty house decorations.

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