There, it’s Christmas. That’s a simple sentence but it can be said a variety of ways. Depending on the pitch of the voice, which word or syllable is emphasized and even the body language, the meaning can range from disdain to joy. We hope this season is truly one of joy for you and, as you reflect on the past year, you will recognize God’s wonder and majesty. Don’t be in despair over headlines in the newspapers or on the internet. A Christmas cartoon has been reminding both the churched and unchurched in America what Christmas is all about. What Linus quoted in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was true in 1965 and it’s still true in 2015 (and beyond). For a refresher, check out the Bible book: Luke, chapter 2, verses 8 through 14.
Or rather — it WAS Christmas. Yes, you may now return to the first paragraph and change the tense accordingly. You see, the time-line for production and mailing of cards and letters went completely out the window when Marilee broke her hip. Whatever I was going to report is pretty much surpassed by this single event in our lives. And of course you want to know, “What happened?”
Mishap analysis puts the main cause-factor squarely into the “in-a-hurry” arena. An old song from the late 1960’s comes to mind “…slow down, you move too fast. Gotta make the morning last….” The last line of the chorus says something about “feeling groovy” but clearly she was not feeling groovy. But we are blessed. Marilee fell down 13 steps in our house from the very top to the very bottom step and ONLY broke a hip. Not another mark on her. An ambulance ride to the hospital and 12 hours later she was the proud recipient of total hip replacement. The new hip is made from titanium, cobalt steel, and plastic.
Now she gets to carry this through airport security:
The other milestones for Marilee were retiring her guide dog Geisha and then some months later receiving a new guide dog.
Sadly, just two months after Marilee’s trusted and dear friend took Geisha as a pet, Geisha became seriously ill and died while in the care of the attending veterinarian. Geisha was laid to her final rest at Rikki’s Refuge, a local animal rescue farm.
Months later, Marilee went to Guide Dogs for the Blind where she had trained with and for her other dogs. On 21 November 2015, she graduated with a male yellow labrador retriever named Ryder.
Two weeks later Marilee had the mishap mentioned earlier and Ryder had to be returned to the school because Marilee could not work the dog. Ryder will continue to have his skills maintained while at the school and be re-issued to Marilee upon her regaining normal walking speed. Based on her progress thus far, she anticipates seeing Ryder in March 2016. Already she has graduated from the walker to a support cane.
With a new contract in place, I continue to work as a contractor for the Marine Corps. The new company leadership was very helpful during the first week after Marilee’s mishap and allowed me to work from home to care for Ryder while Marilee was in the hospital and then rehab. (Ryder was returned to the school when Marilee entered rehab.)
Here’s a quick report on the kids activities:
Tabitha is half-way through her three-year contract as an English professor at the American University in Dubai. When she gets a break from reading student essays, she visits with us. She and Marilee enjoy horseback riding lessons together. Tabitha is shy about having her image on these pages but I knew she’d like to see a photo of “her” horse. 
Now I am NOT a horseman by any stretch of the imagination. Therefore, you can be certain this was a posed picture for the benefit of Tabitha. I might be smiling here but let me assure you that I am much more comfortable with an “iron horse” (like a Harley) than this large animal (even as tame as she is.)
In addition to her visits to the US, the UK, and Dubai, she has also traveled to Oman, Istanbul, and Reykjavik this year. She began tango classes last year and has been told that in another five years, she will be quite good. (There’s more to it than meets the eye.)
Seth and Jess have received confirmation that they will be in New Zealand for another year as his contract has been renewed and Jess continues her work in the technical education field. Seth traveled from New Zealand to Raleigh, North Carolina to do a technical presentation.
His presentation was about computer and human interfaces, using menus, and layman access to a non-graphical user interfaces. I had no idea that I was to become a test subject during his talk. At one point in his presentation, he wanted a “seasoned computer user” (read: the guy with gray hair in the front row and he never let on that we were related). He walked me through several command-line exercises which I “properly” failed with the results of my failures vividly displayed on a very large projection screen. He explained it was to illustrate a particular point in his outline. Later he thanked me for being a good sport about being put on the spot. But he could tell we were having fun with it in the moment. There was a good bit of animated conversation between us at the podium and it was a lot like little theater of the improv variety.
Jess began running classes under her own MakerBox brand and teaches technology to young learners age 9 through 16.
She has held community group events which showcase creative uses of technology and has assisted on individual projects under contract with local schools. Currently, she is working on a global, collaborative project with FabLab Wellington for 2016.
Joanna and Doug celebrated their second wedding anniversary with a trip to Jamaica. While I was happy for them, I was also a bit jealous that I could not tag along as their scuba diving guide. If I get any photos from their vacation, I’ll post them here. Otherwise, we’ll cut to their other hobby they enjoy together.
They continue to be active in community theater and are currently appearing appeared as Mr. and Mrs. Cratchit in a local production of A Christmas Carol.
William is in his final year of study for Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Composition. When his teaching schedule allows, he visits us and fills the house with music and song. I searched the school’s website for what he’s been up to and I found this: “In 2015, he received the Walsum award for “Five Fantasies on Bach Chorales,” and received performances of other works by Opera On Tap (Washington DC), through the Church of the Advent concert series (Boston), at the Fresh Inc. Festival (Chicago), and as a fellow of the Cortona Sessions for New Music (Italy).” You can know more about his adventures in music by visiting his website:
And yes, the next photo was taken well before Marilee’s mishap but the message is same. Ride safe (all the gear, all the time) and for the rest of the year, join us in praising the Lord for His unconditional love and countless blessings.
