
2012_christmas_letter_version_3.pdf |

Seems like the year flew by again and it is already Advent Season. Thankfully we are both in good health and surviving our old age. We realize that we have to take things a little slower and not worry about getting everything done, but we are enjoying the beauty of the area, the people we know and love and the blessings we have in our lives.
Our big project this year was to redo our family room and living room spaces. With the help of Rita’s daughter, Keri and her husband, Eric, we repainted, hung draperies and pictures. Our old furniture was given to the rummage sale at church and we bought a new couch and tables for the living room. It is fun to make a change. It all started with a new flat screen TV. You just can’t use the old entertainment center so we had to buy a new one. Then one thing lead to the other. We replaced the carpet in the family room with laminate floors, got rid of the wood burning fireplace we never used and made room for a corner unit to hold our phonograph CD player.
Rita was the traveler this year going to California for a celebration of life, working on a Cursillo weekend, and attending her niece’s wedding with daughter, Keri where we reconnected with siblings, nieces, nephews and cousins. It was like a mini family reunion. Ron enjoyed staying home with our dog Maggie and puttering around the house.
We also had visits from Chris and his family and Greg and Cheri. It is wonderful to see the kids. We keep in touch with the rest of the family by Facebook and phone. Isn’t modern technology great?
A large crop of apples has kept Ron busy climbing the ladder and pruning the tree limbs while picking the apples. We have had an abundance of applesauce the last couple of months. More apples await peeling and cutting. There will be pies in the future and other tasty delights. Now the needles from the pine trees and the leaves from the trees are occupying Ron’s time. Never a dull moment, and soon there will be snow. Rita keeps active with volunteer work in the community she maintains a web page and updates events and in her church ministries, monthly doing the Respect Life mailing and flyer, leading the Vocation ministry and now she is working on Landings for Returning Catholics. There are two sessions going for 9 weeks each, one on Saturdays and one on Wednesdays with 6 people who are returning to church after years of being away. Plus she has made a personal web page and is inputting data and pictures for her genealogy projects.
After Thanksgiving, Rita will work on the preparation for the 14th Noel Christmas Day Dinner for those without family. Last year there were 168 attending. It grows each year. Announcements cards are in the mail and soon Ron and Rita will be busy receiving calls from people making reservations for the dinner.
We will have another addition to the family tree next year, Right now we have a total of 17 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!
May God’s Blessing Be Upon you and yours.