Hope you are finding time today (Christmas) or this week to remember the birth of the world's Saviour and that you have been well all this past year! Thank you very much to all who kept in touch with us this year by fb and other ways. And if you weren't able to, we understand. Life is (too) busy! Alice and I have had (another!) very interesting year with its share of highlights and lowsomethings … not sure whether the word here is supposed to be "lowlights" – probably not!
Milestones
We remember most of all that this past year my mom and died: Mom in the spring; Dad a couple of months ago. These were sad losses for all of us six children and all the other family. But by the end for both of them their quality of life was gone, and I think that we were all ready to leave them in the care of God till we will see them again.
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| After Dad's funeral, Mike third from left with all his siblings. |
Nick became a full time student in Architectural Technology at George Brown Community College in Toronto. Yeah Nick! He is working at a restaurant to keep a roof over his head. Gwen, in Halifax Nova Scotia, is again at Dalhousie U and working at Starbucks. The Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky is still her favourite author; she loves studying his thought and its effects. Chris continues his work as a doctor just outside of Toronto!
Adventures
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| Alice and Mike. That's Gwen behind the cam. |
We had some awesome family times. All five of us were able to get to the bi-annual Tacoma-rama family reunion – this time in the Rocky Mountains. Flying over Canada, driving through the Alberta prairies, through the foothills and then the mountains – amazing! Alice and I on the way home spent a week lollygagging at Wasaga Beach on Ontario's Georgian Bay and were joined by many family members and a few friends from "former lives."
Involvements
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| Alice jetsetting in Fredericton. |
Alice continues to love her work as math faculty at the Nova Scotia Community College a few miles from where we live. The other day we went to the staff Christmas dinner and dance. (They had me open in prayer.) As for me, in January I started leading worship at a slowly diminishing church, Emmanuel United in the next village over, Kingsport. Somehow, things seem to be turning around. From the usual 15 on a Sunday morning we sometimes approach 50. Alice was able to start Kids' Time (Sunday School) after 20 years of there
being none. We decided to have a Community Christmas Service and over 200 people came.
That's a part time work for me – although it could be terrific if it became full time! So, I also took a contract chaplaincy position at a nearby youth correctional facility (a jail with lots of programs). The contract ends in March. But at this time that ministry is also going very well as far as I can tell!
Our house in Canning got painted a soft green after many repairs to the exterior and the grading. Alice and I did lot of work to it. It's over 200 years old and hopefully this year we'll deal with the inside! And for the new year, we expect to have living us with a third cousin, or something like that – I can't really figure that one out – of Alice's. Tara Teune will move into our place for her next semester at Acadia University. She is studying music therapy. So we are sure things will be very pleasant around here for these next few months as she fills our place with music!
God bless you all through 2013! - Alice and Mike
Our house in Canning got painted a soft green after many repairs to the exterior and the grading. Alice and I did lot of work to it. It's over 200 years old and hopefully this year we'll deal with the inside! And for the new year, we expect to have living us with a third cousin, or something like that – I can't really figure that one out – of Alice's. Tara Teune will move into our place for her next semester at Acadia University. She is studying music therapy. So we are sure things will be very pleasant around here for these next few months as she fills our place with music!
