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Dear friends and family,
It's another holiday season. Where did 2011 go? As we prepare to ring in another new year, I'm contemplating the past 12 months. We've had lots of changes in our family. We feel very blessed that it's been a year with mostly good. So here's a little update on the Schones clan.
David is 24. He married Courtney Gatlin in May, soon after she graduated from OU. So now I can say we have 3 children instead of 2! They are certainly a handsome couple (if I do say so myself) so choosing wedding photos was a challenge for this scrapbooking mom. After a 7 day honeymoon cruise, they moved to Ft. Worth, TX. Courtney works at Ernst & Young while David is attending Brite Divinity School at TCU. He finished his 1st semester and is really enjoying his classes. David is the CCFJYF Administrator (in English that means he's a youth sponsor at an area church) and an Academic Assistant for the TCU Athletic Department. There he works with some of the Freshman football players. He and Courtney attend Trinity Episcopal and both teach Sunday School.
Amy is 20 and a Junior at OU. She cut off her long hair this past summer and now has a short pixie-type cut. It's really cute and so easy to care for. She will apply to the Pre-Communications Sciences & Disorders program in February which means (if she is accepted) she will be going to school at the Health Sciences campus in Oklahoma City the next couple of years. After graduation, she hopes to pursue an advanced degree in Audiology or Speech Pathology. She's one class shy of a minor in French, so she plans to complete that this coming semester along with Zoology and Physics. Something tells me she's going to be busy. She became a member of Sigma Alpha Iota, an all female music fraternity this past year. She's really enjoying time spent with her sisters. She's also active with the Episcopal Canterbury group on campus and Intervarsity (an interdenominational campus group). She's rooming with 2 good friends, so life is pleasant. She's still having issues with Trigeminal Neuralgia, the disorder that causes her to have the shocking pain in her face. But this year the duration of episodes seems to be shorter, so that's good news. She still isn't on medication for the pain, and she hopes to keep it that way. Amy is still working in the St. John's nursery and babysitting. If anyone in our area needs an experienced babysitter, give her a call.
Allen is still working at Tinker AFB. His work continues to be challenging and fun. Two of his Boy Scouts made Eagle this year. He's very proud of the work he does mentoring these boys, and I enjoying lending a helping hand to the process. It's fun to watch them start with a very basic idea and see it blossom into a completed Eagle Project. As we look back, we see such changes in each boy as he works to pull it all together. It's very rewarding work. Allen and I haven't been taking as many photos lately. We've been very busy. But with the holidays approaching the camera has come out. He's thinking of taking up golfing again, so I just bid on golf lessons at St. John's Bazaar for him. We recently had an estate sale for Allen's parents. (More about them later in my letter.) It was quite a job cleaning out their house and selling everything. She told us to keep anything we or the kids wanted, which created another issue. We need to get rid of a lot of our things in order to make room for what we kept. So you can imagine where we are now. One bedroom is more or less a closet and we rented a storage space for a few months. So while we've come a long way, we still have much to do. Allen looks forward to celebrating his 50th birthday this coming May, on Courtney and David's first anniversary.
I've been trying to meet weekly with my good friend Jacque to work on scrapbooks. We've completed a lot of pages and laughed a lot along the way. Last February I had a surprise birthday party. Who knew it would be so much fun celebrating 50! All I have to say is that 50 has treated me fine. No tears from me. I'm just glad to be here to mark the next phase of my life. This fall I marked my 10th “Cancerversary”, or 10 years Cancer free! It was a huge milestone. Jacque took me to lunch and Allen took me out for a romantic dinner. I felt very spoiled that day! I was in charge of the Basket Auction at St. Johns in December. It just ended today. The auctions alone made over $4000 so I feel very proud of what we accomplished. Mom and I also painted an OU table and chairs for the auction. It was quite an undertaking, but it turned out great.
The remodel has ground to a halt. Last year I mentioned that we were preparing to access attic space. Well, that never happened. Allen changed his mind about the location of the ladder. Then he started thinking about maybe finishing our remodel and moving to a home with accessible attic instead of reworking this one. This is an option we are seriously considering. It's not that we necessarily want a larger home. We just want a home with more storage and maybe larger closets. I'd also like to gain a second living area. So once we deal with cleaning out and getting rid of stuff, we hope to finish painting and floor covering....then maybe put this house on the market? More on that in the future, but as you can see we don't move very quickly. So we'll probably still be here when my next letter arrives. LOL! We did manage to clean out David's old room and buy a queen sized bed for it. So we now have a guest bedroom for when the kids come to visit. Maybe that's not a lot, but at least it's some kind of progress.
We still have our Bichons, Sasha and Holly. Amy informs me that I have been listing their ages incorrectly. Sasha just turned 16. Amy says Sasha is now old enough to drive a car, which is a frightening thought. She's pretty deaf and mostly blind. I'm not really sure we'll have her around much longer. She needs pet stairs to get up and down and sometimes has trouble finding the steps. Holly is 14. She's pretty spry for an old girl, but moving slower than she did last year. In July we rescued a stray Jack Russell Terrier mix from the streets. He had a chip, but it turned out his previous owner just wanted us to take him to the pound. Finding a home didn't happen, so Captain Jack (or Cappy) came to be a member of the family. He has been abused, so we're still working with him, but we hope he'll someday be fully integrated into the zoo we call home. I'm pretty sure he's destined for doggy school. He has learned we love him, but now he needs to learn to obey a few basic commands. A few weeks ago, my mom found a Pug puppy. We couldn't find her owner, so Lucy is now terrorizing the old girls. But she's fast friends with Cappy. Maybe he knows that she also was homeless and needed a friend. Lucy might be short for Lucifer. She's full of energy and spunk, a child that is into everything. And yet she melts your heart when she rolls those chocolate eyes at you. The cats, Figaro and Bagheera (Ro & Baggy) aren't so sure about these 2 new additions. But we're sure in time they'll accept their new canine family members. So yes, we've grown to a 4 dog and 2 cat family. It's insane! Feel free to say we've lost our minds. We think so too.
Last summer, we took Amy with us to Las Vegas. This time we flew instead of driving, to make the most of our limited vacation time. We met up with Allen's Uncle Clay who showed us some places off the beaten path and went to a couple of shows with us. We experimented with a little gambling this trip. Allen won a few dollars and I lost what I bet. I just don't think it's that fun. I'd rather spend the money going to shows. We really enjoy the Vegas shows.
Allen lived with his parents for several weeks last February. His mom had cataract surgery and couldn't lift for 11 days after each surgery. They spent much of the time he was there sorting family pictures and filing them for future albums. Then Allen's parents moved to Assisted Living in Concordia on Britton Road in Oklahoma City this past summer. This explains the estate sale. Allen's mom had to quit doing all the lifting. She talked about having help come in, but decided she wanted out of the responsibility a home brings. They're adjusting to the changes. Their apartment is very small, but Concordia is beautiful. I think they like living there. They love the meals. They don't get out much, but almost everything they need is right there. So their home is currently for sale. Hopefully it will sell in the near future. Let us know if anyone is looking for a cute house in Bethany.
My mom also had to have cataract surgery this year. Hers were very impressive. Her doctor said they were some of the biggest he had ever seen in the US. She's seeing much better, but her colors still are a little off. Her best friend in the world, Ann Shatzer passed away recently. I think she's feeling a little lost. They spoke daily on the phone and were a lot like sisters. Mom's health seems to be good, but as the years go by she's hurting more. But it's not keeping her down. She stays active. She's president of St. John's women's group again this year and is on the Diocesan Council.
So as you can see, the Schones clan had a very busy year. But busy is good. We may not get everything done, but we're staying active.
Take a minute to see the blessings around you. Smile as you watch silent snowflakes fall. Laugh until you hurt. Give someone you care about a big hug. Unexpectedly do something nice for someone around you., even a stranger. Take a few minutes to think about the reason for the season....the Christ child that God sent to live among us.
Well, that's about all for our year. We've stayed busy and in the blink of an eye I'll be back to write the letter for 2012. Please drop us an email or give us a call. We love each and every one of you.
Missy, Allen, and Amy
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