McVal's Christmas Letter 2012

Well, "I" didn't write it.  My hubs does that.  But my blog helps keep things fresh throughout the year, so we know how to sum it all up in December.  Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

 

 

It’s that time of year again.  The weather has turned colder.  Nights are getting longer.  The family is fighting over the one ice scrapper we can find.  In short, what you have been dreading all year has come to pass.  You have received another annual McVal Christmas Letter.

            Our biggest news of the year is the birth of our grandson, Leon, born to Ryan and Tiffany in February.  He is simply a joy.  His blue eyes and blond hair remind us so much of Ryan at his age.  At nearly 10 months old, he is a very happy, and rambunctious little boy.  Leon is on the verge of walking, taking a step every now and then, but mostly crawls.  He chases the dogs, who love him for his tendency to drop food.  It is amazing to see how he plays and figures things out.  Our neighbor gave us a train set for Leon.  He loves to get it going, watch it for about three seconds, and then attack.  The train then sounds “We’re off the track”, for the next minute or so while Leon chews on the engine.  We have had to gate off the Christmas tree in order to protect it from Leon.  He likes to stand next to it, reach over the gate/fence, grab branches and shake off the ornaments.  I wanted to try an electric fence, but Val decided to move the ornaments higher.  Leon has been talking quite a bit.  His main vocabulary consists of “momma”, and “dada”.  I have been working hard on getting Leon to say “Grandpa”, but have had little success.  Maddy has been pushing him to call me “G-pops”.  I’d probably settle for it.  Anything is better than the way he referred to me for the first several months.  He would throw up almost every time I held him.  I’m sure it was a term of endearment.  Knowing my luck he will probably say “Grandma” first, and not learn “Grandpa” until he needs money.  We get to see him fairly frequently and love every minute of it.

            Meredith (Meri), will turn 13 in January.  (I’m sure she is doing this just to make me feel old.)  She is in 7^th grade this year and generally enjoys school.  She plays the clarinet in band and is happy to participate in the 7^th grade jazz band.  She still loves singing and had a solo at the school Christmas concert.  Speaking of the Christmas concert, last year I started a bad tradition.  In helping Meri pick out an outfit for the Christmas concert last year, I convinced her to get a rather unique (ugly) sweater featuring a reindeer pattern.  She ended up loving it and decided this was her new tradition.  So for this year we went online, found the site “overpricedthingsyouwillregretbuying.com” (or something like that) and got the ugliest sweater you could imagine.  It is red with a cloth snowman sewn onto to front, and a small battery pack to power the actual lights around the snowman.  It is hideous, and Meri loves it.  She wore it to the Christmas program this year, but had the lights off when the band played.  Surprisingly enough, she received many compliments.  Meri is also active sewing and in 4H.  She took several of her projects to county fair, but still hasn’t reached her goal of going on to State Fair with 4H, but has entered the State Fair in Open Class and won ribbons.  Meri is also active in Val’s sewing group.  Meri earned her 1^st degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do this past spring.  She worked very hard and we are very proud.  She is currently taking some time off from Tae Kwon Do.  This past summer brought another moneymaking opportunity for Meri.  Her golden retrievers, Duke and Ellie, had another litter of puppies.  Only seven this time.  Meri spent as much time as possible taking care of the puppies.  With this being the second litter, we had the division of labor down pretty well.  Meri did the clean fun jobs like holding and playing with the puppies, and showing them off to potential buyers, while Val did the unimportant tasks like feeding them, cleaning up, and paying for food, vet bills, and advertising.

            Maddy turned 18 in October and has come down with a serious case of Senioritis.  While this isn’t a real illness in the strict definition of the word, it can have a serious effect on her motivation.  She is what I would call “Über” involved.  So involved that 6:30 breakfast is one of the few times we see her on a regular basis.  She says that this is preparing us for next year when she is gone “attending a four year college at an undisclosed location”.  Maddy is planning on studying elementary education and getting a graduate degree to become a guidance counselor.  She is involved at her school in music and theater.  She played the vibes and accordian (that’s right, accordian) for jazz band, and competed at the State Jazz Band competition.  Maddy also took a job at a local daycare, working after school 3 to 4 days a week for a few hours.  She enjoys the work and the kids.  Due to the afterschool job, she was unable to go out for Cross Country this year.  At the Christmas concert earlier this month, Maddy sang a solo, “I’ll be home for Christmas.”  She says it was about her time at college.  She’ll only be home “in our dreams.”

            On the medical front, this summer proved too eventful.  Ryan went to the hospital with the complaint of generalized muscle pain.  After our fear of menigitis was relieved, they called his condition muscular aplacia, involving the breaking down and rebuilding of muscle tissue, leaving too much protein in the system and causing intense pain.  Usually this condition is reserved for triatheletes, but they think a virus triggered it.  The treatment was fairly simple, painkillers and IV fluids to flush his system.  After a few days he was feeling better and was ready to come home.  The next week, Leon, came down with the same condition.  It was heartbreaking to see him in so much pain.  Same treatment for Leon, painkillers and IV fluids.  After two stays in the hospital, Leon thankfully came home. 

            My mother M- continues to live with us, and has had her own medical event.  In August she had shoulder replacement surgery.  Recovery is taking awhile, but she is continuing to improve her mobility and strength.

            Val continues telecommuting for XXXXX.  She is active as a preschool Sunday school teacher, ASG (which apparently stands for “American Sewing Guild”, not “Angry Sewing Gals”, my mistake), and various sewing projects.  I continue to work at YYYYYYY and play the bagpipes whenever people want me to, and quite often when they don’t.  Performances this past year have included St. Patrick’s Day and four parades over the summer.

            Remember to keep the true Spirit of Christmas this year.  God sent his son Jesus to live, die, and rise again to save us from our sins.  We have been empowered through the Holy Spirit to be a light in this dark world.  Let your light shine this Christmas season.  (Matthew 5).   Merry Christmas, and have a blessed New Year.

Love Robb, Val & Clan