Christmas Letter 2021

 

Merry Christmas 2021 friends and family and Gentle Readers.  This year I would like to quote one of my favorite Christmas poems (and carols) as I share our update: 

In the bleak midwinter

BY CHRISTINA ROSSETTI

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

As this year ebbs away and we feel the world winding down, we find ourselves in the next stage of one of our major ministries this year: caring for Dave's mom, Marilyn.  

Marilyn was hospitalized first in July, and then in October, both times dues to small strokes and other complications of a weary and failing heart.  For someone who at 95 has never had surgery, she did not want to consider the only thing the hospitals had to offer: surgery to implant a pacemaker. And she was tired of returning to the hospital. So we brought her home.  On December 11, she suffered a stroke again, this one with more effects than the previous ones. With the help of hospice, we have kept her home, and are now seeking to keep her safe and comfortable.  She has had no pain, and in just 5 days has made remarkable physical recovery.  Please keep her weary heart, damaged brain, and determined spirit in your prayers. And pray that we may honor Christ as we love and serve her.  

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;

Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.

In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed

The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Despite the trials of this year, we have seen God's faithfulness:  Faithful to sustain our little church family through trials and tribulations; faithful to meet our needs and bless us well beyond them; faithful to keep us pulling together after 41 years of marriage; faithful to keep growing our faith and teaching us more about Him! 

We were overjoyed to have the blessing of all the kids and grandkids with us for Thanksgiving, which only reminded us again of God's goodness to us.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,

Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;

Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,

The ox and ass and camel which adore.

The thought of the eternal God as a baby is amazing and humbling, and ever a source of rejoicing for us.  We are so grateful that Jesus is our peace, our Savior, and more wonderful than anything.

We see God's care for us as we continue to serve our church, be good neighbors, and love our family. Dave has accomplished more amazing feats of home improvement, and Chris continues to quilt.   

And as we love on our grands, we see anew God's purposes and promises.  We thank God for time together last summer in the White Mountains of Arizona for our seventh annual "Cousins Camp". Indeed, our grandchildren have been one of our greatest blessings!

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,

Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;

But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,

Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;

Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

And so, friends and family and gentle reader, this year is closing with great hope: hope in Him who became a baby and bore our sins, and proves Himself faithful over and over.  We hope you, too, will marvel at Him this season and in the year ahead.

In Him,

Chris and Dave

What I'm reading

 “For mankind is ever the same and nothing is lost out of nature, though everything is altered.”

 JOHN DRYDEN “On the Characters in the Canterbury Tales,” in Preface to Fables, Ancient and Modern

~From A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman

What I'm reading

 

When we work to redeem the time, we reflect our Creator.  God is the ultimate time-redeemer: He redeems all of time, and he redeems at just the right time.  We are charged with redeeming the years he has given to us as a reasonable act of worship.

~Jen Wilkin, None Like Him, p.77 

 

Christmas Project report

 Well, now that all Christmas celebrations have finished (including what we called Second Christmas in Arizona) I can safely share the projects I had going on behind the scenes...

Our budding entylmologist received a new quilt for his bed.  He had requested one because the quilt for his junior bed no longer fit properly... The paper-pieced bug patterns came from Etive and Co on Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/listing/701956233/insect-foundation-paper-piecing-patterns) and I designed the rest with lots of advice from friends.  The entymologist loves it.

One granddaughter received her doll bed, made by Dave, painted by us both, and the sheeets, quilt and pillows made by me.  She was thrilled.

The two grandsons each got a set of castle blocks embellished by Dave, along with a little set of knights and dragons.  I made draw-string bags to store them in.

I embellished a t-shirt and made some bibs for Tim and Nikki's foster baby.

I also enjoyed making a plethora of star ornaments for the grands, the nieces, and several friends.

A small quilt for granddaughter #4, with a pillow, for use in the car... I used a fun panel on the back.

And a baby quilt for the foster grand.  So cute (the baby... and maybe the quilt, too!)

And did I mention that second Christmas in Arizona was just grand?  No one got sick, we hung out at our rental home, hiked, and enjoyed one another immensely.  I am so grateful for that time!  Now, quarantine is over, and the real world of put-off appointments reasserts itself this week.  But here are a few happy pictures to leave you with, Gentle Reader!

Christmas Letter 2020

 Dear friends, family, and any gentle readers that remain here,

Welcome to our 2020 Christmas Letter.  I ended last year's Christmas letter this way:

So as we look ahead to 2020, what surprises are ahead?  I'm sure there will be challenges, but I know to the core of my being that there will be blessings to meet those challenges, and joy to surround them.  Our prayer for you, dear family, sweet friends, and Gentle Readers, is that you may know the abundance of our good God in the coming new year. May we all see his provision clearly.

That seems almost prophetic as we  look back on this past year.  Who would have thought?!

Challenges

We all have a LONG list of these this year.  In addition to the isolation, distance from family, and cancelled plans that we have all been experiencing this year, we have faced a few particular struggles.  

Dave has endeavored to be a faithful elder in our church and lead it through a tumultuous time full of government restraints, fear, and conflicts of vision. We would appreciate your prayers for our little church family as we struggle to be faithful amid change and disillusionment.

We have been kept away from Chris' parents due to the pandemic, and isolated with Dave's mom, Marilyn, as she has increasingly lost her memory.  We are unable to help either of them as we would like, and it is tough figuring out how to support them as they age.

And, of course, we age along with them.  Dave is remaining free of cancer and serious illness, but continues to deal with the imbalance, headaches, and jaw/teeth problems that former chemotherapy and radiation treatments have made a mostly daily part of life for him.  Here at the end of the year, after successfully going an entire year without infusions for her auto-immune disease and cutting down to very low doses of her immune-suppressant, Chris has had a flare-up of her disease and must start increasing her meds again.  We know these things are more irritants than serious health problems, but would covet your prayers all the same.

Blessings

As is often the case, the blessing far outweigh the challenges.  

In June, we spent a few days in Phoenix helping Ben and Elsa move to a new home and Ben to a new school.  How graciously God provided for Ben and his beautiful family! And we got to celebrate Carys' birthday, too.

Eliana, Everett, Carys, Ezra, Adeline, and Emma

We celebrated our 6th annual cousins camp with the four eldest grands with a trip to Brianhead, Utah in July, followed by a celebration of our 40th wedding anniversary with both our kids and all our grandkids.  There were blessings abounding!

Pampa and the the four Cousins Campers at 11,000 ft.

FinFam 40th celebration.  Here we are at Bryce Canyon National Park.

The grown-ups

In October, we got to spend a long weekend with the Tucson Finnegans at their house, followed by a camping trip to Southern Arizona with the Phoenix Finnegans. While our visits have been few, they have been most precious.

A different kind of family portrait on a sunset picnic in Tucson.

Hiking at Patagonia Lake in Southern Arizona with the PHX crew.

We are both grateful: we are both still loving retirement, both living cancer-free, and both trusting the God who has so abundantly blessed us to carry us into the future, whatever it brings in 2021. 

We pray you are able to count many blessings along with us, dear ones.  May we truly rejoice in the Savior born for us, and continuing to make a way for us where there doesn't seem to be a way.

With much love,

Chris and Dave

The Tucson Finnegans:  Ezra, Nikki, Emma, Eliana, and Tim at Cedar Breaks National Monument.  And they have a three-month-old foster baby, too!

The Phoenix Finnegans: Ben, Everett, Ada, Carys, and Elsa, at Bryce.

Dave and Chris at Brianhead Peak.

P.S.  Feel free to hunt here for more details, photos, quilting projects, books I've read, etc.!

Summer/early fall projects

I completed a few things for gift-giving in the summer and early fall.  I thought I'd post pictures for you while I am hard at work on Christmas projects!

I made some purses/treasure bags for Cousin's Camp, and I made each of the children a whole-cloth quilted large placemat/table topper.

I also completed a felt activity book and a little purse for E3's birthday.

 And now, back to Christmas sewing!

A poem for every day: