Christmas Letter 2022
Another year has come and almost gone. Here is the 2022 Christmas card and letter. I keep hoping I will get back to my blog writing once again but until then...
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
What a year 2022 has been in so many ways! Remember when we didn’t think a year could be as bad as 2021? HAHAHA Let’s not say that as we are on the verge of kicking off 2023. :)
This summer, my friend, Brown, and I took an amazing road trip. We left Winston-Salem on June 17th and arrived back in Winston-Salem on June 30th. We drove (mostly I drove) over 3500 miles—Nashville, Laurel, MS (that’s right-Home Town with Ben and Erin), to TX (Atlanta, TX, Waco (of course Magnolia and the Silos and the Dr. Pepper Museum), Fort Worth (met a ton of Brown’s family and got to go to her cousin’s very fancy wedding), Dallas (had to see where JFK was shot) to New Orleans,LA (wild and crazy and so much fun), to AL, to Panama City, FL, to GA, and back to NC. We mostly stayed in AirBnBs (love this option) and we had so many fun adventures in all of these places. I could write this whole letter just about our trip. Of course we would decide to take a road trip at the height of the soaring gas prices! We also had to stop at every Bucees we passed along the way. IYKYK :o) I LOVE road trips!
This year was a birthday milestone… I turned SIXTY-that’s a doozy number! Yes, 60, on Nov. 27th. I am having a “more difficult” time with this one, but couldn’t be more thankful for another birthday with a year full of incredible memories, adventures, good health, love of family and friends, and countless blessings all to carry with me into this next year.
The kids… My 3 Grands…growing like weeds. Cannon, is 9 years old, in the 4th grade and loves doing STEM projects. He is smart as a whip! He plays baseball in a local rec league. He is very much into computer coding for games. A laptop is the #1 item on his Christmas wish list this year so he can write codes and such. Perhaps this is the beginning of his future job.
Ella, is 8 years old, in the 2nd grade, and she loves to do arts and craft projects. She is still enjoying pretend play with her stuffed animals (yay!), and she is the best big sister to Caroline. Ella’s personality is very much a Love Dove and her heart is so kind and loving. Cannon and Ella have THE MOST gorgeous red hair. I am in awe of it. Caroline, is a precocious 3 year old. She talks like she could be 16 and understands life and how to live it better than many adults. A couple of months ago, she fell off the back of Nick’s parked truck in the driveway and split her chin open… it was a scary ordeal for her little self (also us) and did I mention her emotions and feels are over the top when she gets the most minor of “boo-boos” so you know this split open chin and drive to the ER and hours stay at the ER and getting her glued back together was no small feat, but she was a trooper and didn’t move a muscle as they fixed her up. (she was tightly wrapped in a blanket, but she still didn’t try to move). The kids also have a new pet—a very baby kitty that they named Scarlett. They found her walking down the street in their neighborhood and couldn’t resist keeping this cute little furry baby and having her become part of the family.
Jacob, 26, living in Clemmons, NC, and doing contract work for FedEx. Jacob decided to join the CrossFit action a few months ago. He gets up very early, goes to the CrossFit gym, then off to work. He is also a runner and ran his first half marathon the weekend after Thanksgiving. He still enjoys playing golf. He finally upgraded his middle school golf clubs to custom-made for a left hander golf clubs. Jacob had all 4 wisdom teeth taken out this year (before insurance ran out); he got his trusty car repainted, and in July, he got to go to Aruba for a week with Aunt Julie and 3 cousins and some of their friends—all inclusive resort—snorkeling, ATV riding, beach—he had fun times.
Jared, 29, has had a HUGE year of happenings. He was in North Dakota the entire month of January for medical training. He was basically in Canada! Jared completed all trainings for the “Q Course” and graduated in August when he officially received his Green Beret and tab for “Special Forces.” Jared has been in language school (Spanish) for the last several months. On September 3, he got married! The wedding was in SC, just over the edge from NC. All siblings were in the wedding as well as nieces and nephew. It was a beautiful ceremony and they are going on their honeymoon to DisneyWorld the week before Christmas. Chandler is a personal trainer and coaches CrossFit. Jared and Chandler will be moving to Florida (Ft. Walton area) sometime early 2023. Jared will be assigned to post there for the next few years. I try not to think about that too much. Jared and Chandler also ran a half marathon on Thanksgiving day. Maybe all 3 runners can run a marathon together one day.
Katelyn, 33, had two shoulder surgeries this year. For the last couple of years, her shoulder has been giving her a lot of trouble and considerable pain. Her doctor told her she had a torn labrum-“slap tear” and doctor had to reattach her bicep tendon. She had to take a lot of time off from work, do PT, and at the end of it all, her shoulder was not moving like it should so a second surgery was needed to “bust up” that scar tissue. Currently she is doing PT with a different person and it seems to be going well. Nick has taken a lot of courses over the last 12 months; he has been gone for several weeks throughout the year for various trainings. He has been very busy with his job. His parents moved to Fayetteville from WA State. It has been nice getting to know them.
John Robert, 34, lives in Austin, TX, and continues working in the plumbing trade and doing very well. I’ve said it before and I will keep saying it, Bub works harder than anyone I know. Being a plumber is hard work and takes a toll on one's body. John’s favorite weekend activity is no activity at all. LOL Rest and sleep are his top priorities so he can be ready for Monday morning. John drove to Ft. Worth to stay with Brown and me for a few days when we were there in June. We spent a day at the Stockyards and got to see a street full of Longhorns. It was awesome. Sadly, he has to be “on call” Christmas week and Christmas day so he won’t be home ON Christmas for the first time EVER, but good news, he is flying to NC on the 27th for a week! I also hope to visit him in Austin in March or June. I’ve been to several cities in Texas now, and I have come to the conclusion that I really love Texas. It is beautiful. Maybe I can convince Bub to explore a bit of the west side of TX when I visit. :)
So that’s it. Here we are about to close out another year—another year of so much heartache and cruelty and devastation and senseless acts of all kinds of violence around our world, but apart from all of that, we have lived life and survived some of our own types of hardships and heartbreaks. We have loved and laughed and shared our lives with friends and family. We’ve given and we have received. Remember in last year’s letter that I shared my niece had just been diagnosed with breast cancer? Well, I am happy and thankful to report she is doing well after months of chemo, radiation, surgery, etc… I got to spend a week in Iowa with her right after her surgery-special time with her that I will always treasure. During this wondrous season of Silent Nights, I hope you find moments of peace and stillness and calmness even in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of “doing things.” The magic of Christmas is a baby born in a manger in the city of Bethlehem—for you and for me. Merry Christmas and I hope you enjoy every single drop of December! I would love to hear from you. Blessings to you and yours.
Love,
Dawn~
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