Dear family and friends,

Every year, the “blinks” seem to go faster, and remarkably, more and more of our memories seem like they were just “yesterday”. Here is brief overview of our yesterdays of 2022.

While we have explored downsizing to a smaller house, you would never know it by the improvements we made to the house this year. We put in new downstairs windows, and the downstairs tub was removed and a new walk-in shower installed in the guest bathroom. We averted a dryer fire, and we gave the trees a substantial “haircut.” Our upstairs is the “Jet Zone”. All four of our hockey players were on the same Chicago 18U team last year. We enjoy them and our dinner table is always very lively. We fill our weekends either watching on TV or attending junior hockey games.

The girls again win the “biggest changes” award. The most notable is the addition of our son-in-law, Caleb, in May. After an already busy month of Abby graduating from Baylor, Caleb graduating from UT, the beautiful wedding took place the end of the month. We were blessed and thankful so many family members and friends made the trip. Caleb and Abby had to postpone their cruise due to a COVID test failure, but they got to go in July. They now reside in Moore, OK where Abby is completing her dietetic internship and Caleb is studying for his Master’s in Music both at the University of Oklahoma. Rachel enjoyed her internship at Procter & Gamble in eastern PA this summer. She now knows plenty about making diapers. She is anxious to get her first job after she graduates in chemical engineering from Texas A&M in December 2023. She stays active within her major, and she has a group of close friends.

Even though Tim and Jeff are men, they are still our boys. Tim is still planning to complete his degree in Construction Management in June. Once he does, we are looking forward to the trip we are giving him as a gift. (More on this next year.) He continues to work in the water restoration business, but he has been talking about changing industries. He plays soccer when he can, and he has been to a few hockey games with us this season. Jeff continues to love working with the hedge fund in their IT department. He oversaw the intern program this summer and will do so again next summer. He also enjoys playing soccer and being social.

Andy and Judy rode life’s rollercoaster this year. In January, Judy lost her job. She spent her extra time focusing on helping Abby plan her wedding for a few months. By July, she had secured a hybrid consulting and eventually a full-time position at Toyota Bank. She’s enjoying working a normal 40 hour work week after many years of a 24/7 work life. Andy continued to work his job until late October. He also got the “we won’t be needing your services any longer” talk. He will start looking harder for a new job the beginning of the year. They are both very much in a “close to retirement” mindset.

Our summer was full of travel. After shooing out the hockey players and exchange students and passing our COVID test in late spring, we were able to go on a Bahamas cruise. We love having the Galveston port just a few hours drive away. In July, we visited Rachel in Philadelphia. She drove from her internship in northeastern PA to meet us. We had 3 great days exploring many historical sites. Finally, in late August, we took an Alaskan cruise. It was Andy’s 49^th state visited. Just Hawaii remaining. The weather was great, and the scenery wasn’t bad either. 😉

Other than our families visiting for the wedding, we didn’t do any family trips to Ohio or North Carolina. We enjoyed an October visit from last year’s German exchange student, Helene, and her sister Charlotte. Yes, we filled all of the beds in the house, but it was really good to have them here.

What an amazing year we had! Not always what we planned, but it is not about our plan. We are looking forward to the New Year and what God has in store for us. In our household, we are grateful for our firm foundation. From our very full house to yours, we pray each of you, cling to a firm foundation in the coming year.

Andy, Judy, Tim, Jeff, Abby and Caleb, Rachel and our hockey boys: Colin, Jimmy, Ryan & George