Cristmas 2013

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