Christmas
2013
Another year has come and nearly gone. Seems that as
you get older, the years pass with increasing speed.
This year has brought joy in that everyone in the
house has been relatively well. There have been no trips to the ER.
No hospital stays. No debilitating illnesses. But there has been
sadness, as well. This year several friends and members of our
extended family have passed away. The latest was Richard's brother
Benny. His wife Christine died in late September, a first cousin and
a dear friend both died about the same time. There have been others
as well. Our generation is rapidly coming to a close. We need to
prepare to meet our Lord Jesus. He alone provides hope of life, life
without fear, pain, or strife. Hope of being united with our loved
ones who are in Him.
Richard and I have stuck pretty close to home this
year. Just leaving the house has become a challenge for Richard. His
power wheel chair allows him to get around the neighborhood and to a
local pond where he enjoys feeding the wildlife. But if he needs to
go anywhere else, he must use his manual wheelchair. It is very heavy
to lift in and out of the car trunk. I was able to travel to
Washington to celebrate our oldest grandson's graduation from
training as a deep sea diver. But other than that, we have not left
Corvallis more than a couple times all year. However, we have not
been isolated.
In the summer, we hosted the family of a dear friend
from Taiwan and our daughter Amy, along with one of her sons came for
a visit over Thanksgiving. Then too, there have been many visits by
other friends and family spread throughout the year. They brighten
the day and give a sense of connectivity.
Last summer also brought a flurry of activity as we
had both a plumber and carpenter busily working on a remodel for our
back addition. Both bathrooms had their floors replaced. The plumbing
was relocated for the toilet in the master bath and the sink in the
main addition. The entry stairs for what we call “Harry's Room”
needed to be torn down and a new set of stairs and porch built. It
all turned out great. Then there was the garden. We had a fairly good
vegetable garden this year. It provided many a great salad, summer
squash, and other seasonal produce. The flower beds got a nice layer
of compost and were weeded by kids from our church. That was a chore
I am glad I didn't have to do. Rick gave me an electric mower so I no
longer have to struggle with the heavy gas powered version. It really
helps a lot.
Today we are sitting in a deep freeze. It has not
been above freezing for several days. The news says that it is
breaking records and was actually down to as low as -10 a couple
nights ago. It looks like Christmas out there. I measured an
accumulation of 8 ½ inches of snow on the table outside our living
room and it isn't melting. Not to worry, we have plenty of food, heat
(gas fireplace) and so far the electricity is on. I am taking
precautions to prevent water pipes from freezing and so far so good.
It is supposed to get up to 33 on Wednesday, followed by another
storm. Hopefully it will not be another Arctic blast. Cloud cover
actually acts like a warm blanket and holds in the heat.
We are grateful this year for all of our family and
dear friends. We are blessed for our being in our own home. We thank
the Lord for our relatively good health and we look forward to 2014
with all the promises that it holds.
Our best to you and yours,
Richard & Nancy Moreno
