Happy New Year 2024, everyone!
Through the 2023 holiday season, we enjoyed making many beautiful memories. While some events were hard – really challenging, others were experiences I hope I never forget. We’ve had so many friends come alongside us to help us through the inevitable changes that accompany terminal illness.
On one Saturday, friends from a small group within our church came to help start the “purge and pack” process. The saying, “many hands make light work” rang true that day. Each person had their own strength and used it to help us. We had Thanksgiving dinner with Phil’s brother’s family.
Christmas was jam-packed with quite the flurry of activity, especially during the time my son and his family were in Ohio. On the Saturday before Christmas, we visited the Trains and Trees event in downtown Lorain; we were blessed to have my sister and brother-in-law join us. Our grandson created a scavenger hunt to find wondrous treasures at the event; he found all his items – Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was the most challenging and last fun thing to be found.
On Christmas Eve, our daughter came over in the morning to “help” make German Christmas bread, called stollen. It took several hours, and I must say, it was one of the best batches we’ve had. This same daughter also hosted two Christmas events to build lasting memories for all of us. Our younger daughter had a surprise of her own to share on Christmas morning; she is now engaged – we’re gaining another family member!
Our daughter-in-law gave each of us a wooden ornament with the phrase “One last Christmas on Tower Blvd 2023” and an image of the house burned onto it. As you can imagine, there was quite the emotional reaction to such a thoughtful gift. Another special present from all of our children was a photoshoot with our entire family included. I can hardly wait to see the pictures!
Amidst the flurry of holiday activity, we have continued to forge along with the aforementioned “purging and packing.” We are seriously downsizing! We are hoping to bless others with some of the items we cannot take with us. Our new place is a new-built in a community here in our home town. While the residence is technically called an apartment, it feels like a condo-type rental. It has two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, two full baths – one of which has laundry hookups within it, and a huge garage. And it is all one-floor living, which is what we need in this next season. Some amenities include a clubhouse with a fitness room and an outdoor pool, lawn care, and snow removal. While we have conflicting emotions about leaving our house of 25 years, we are starting to anticipate and embrace our new home with joy.
I want to express how grateful we are to those of you who have extended help to us, whether it be cards, monetary donations, time spent with Phil, meals prepared, helping us with moving, or praying for us. We feel loved and blessed. We appreciate each one of you so much!
Thank you for going through the journey with us.
We love you.
