Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
December 2017
‘Tis
the season for baking, wassailing, celebrating the birth of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ, and for catching up on the past year’s activities. We
hope everyone has had a wonderful year of joys, good health, accomplishments,
and plenty. We’ve had a relatively calm, quiet year. Sometimes uneventful is a
very good thing!
Tony
and I are still enjoying condo life. It will be 2 years April 1st
since we moved to Water’s Edge, and we have great neighbors and friends here.
Water’s Edge is a microcosm of the kind of living we’d yearned for, and we are
very happy with the decision to downsize and move here. Retirement life
definitely agrees with us, and we have lots of folks here in the same place in
life with whom to fellowship and enjoy. Being right on the lake in God’s
creation is an added bonus and, as you can see, it’s also a great backdrop for
family Christmas photos!
Our
kiddos are the mainstay of our lives, and we are so thankful they live so close
to us. Zoey is almost 11 and is the loveliest young lady. She is a good student
and a joy to all her teachers. She and 4 school friends have a Lego robotics
team, the RoboPatriots, and they meet weekly at Jenni’s and Dave’s home as Dave
teaches them to build and program their robots to perform tasks in preparation
for competition. They recently had a meet and will have another in January.
While the team practices, 8 ½-year-old Ruby is upstairs caring for Maggie
(almost 7) and Sam (5). She entertains them and gets them ready for bed so all
Jenni and Dave have to do is tuck them in. The Cribbs home is a well-oiled
machine in which everyone works together in harmony and balance. There is lots
of love within those walls, and it extends outward to their neighborhood,
church, extended family, and beyond.
We
are SO BLESSED that our 4 kids and 6 grandkids all love each other and enjoy
spending time together. This is one of the greatest gifts God has given us. It
is pure pleasure when all 12 of us are together.
This
year Erika is working 3 days a week at a Christian preschool in Denton, and
thankfully her school schedule lines up with Leo’s and Etta’s school drop-off
and pick-up schedule. Josh, Tony, and I are always available to jump in if
necessary. Leo (9) and Etta (almost 7) are doing great in school and with their
piano lessons and basketball. In fact, all the grandkids (except Sam, who is
looking forward to playing once he’s in school) are playing Upward basketball
right now and are learning skills and sportsmanship in a Christ-centered
environment. It’s a very cool program, and Papa and I love to go to their games
to cheer them on. Leo also plays flag football, which he loves. Etta is our sparkly,
cuddly girl who is always giving hugs and loving on us. Josh continues to enjoy
his position as head graphic designer at Irving Bible Church as well as the freelance
design work he does from home. His design skills continue to amaze his
unartistic mother-in-law.
The
Wiese 4, Papa, and I recently took a fun road trip to Florida where we spent
Thanksgiving plus a few days at Lisa’s and Bob’s. They are getting ready to
leave their beautiful big home of 35 years and are building a gorgeous new home
on the St. Johns River, so this was the last time we’d have the opportunity to
visit them before the move. After a great few days with the Deasons, we 6
headed to Disney World for 5 days of theme park craziness. Fortunately, we’d
had an amazing Disney travel specialist (she goes to church with Erika and
Josh) who guided us through the wonderful world of Disney and made our visit
there extra special. Next week, Jenni, Dave, and their 4 kids will do an almost
identical repeat of our Florida trip, spending a few days in Jacksonville with
the Deasons, then driving down to Orlando to spend Christmas and a few days
following with Dave’s family. When they return, we will have our family
Christmas here on December 30.
We
also spent a nice weekend in St. Louis in March, visiting Tony’s family. His
mom is 93 and is as sharp as ever. We had a great couple of days with them, and
we always enjoy the 12-hour drive each way. I’m serious!! Half the fun is
getting there, and the drive through Oklahoma and Missouri showcases some
beautiful scenery.
This
has been a mostly encouraging year as our courageous President and his
administration work hard to make America great again and to drain the D.C.
swamp. Despite the constant barrage of negativity from most media and
derailments by the anti-Trump establishment in Congress, some very promising
things are happening and will continue to happen during his term of office. We
couldn’t be more pleased with what he and his team are trying to accomplish.
We
want to wish all of you the loveliest of Christmases, and the most hopeful New
Year. May the Lord bless you with every good gift and ever keep you in His
loving care.
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