Hello!
12/25
I’ll
try not only to update you about our year but to share the funny parts of our
lives in this Christmas letter.
Seth
continues to work as a custodian and do school full time. Adriel has two jobs although the law office job
has picked up to full time and the Commonwealth skateboard shop has less
hours. Bobby continues to work as a
youth pastor. We have been at West Hills
for over 18 years. I enjoy working for
the Employment department very much and volunteering with our church and the
Union Gospel Mission thrift store.
And
now, on to the entertainment:
Several
things have been endearing with Seth. I
do have a perpetual popcorn bowl that I like to keep full. One day Seth texted with, “I think I ruined
the popcorn.” This interested me and he
responded that he had added butter. I
immediately thought of how popcorn sometimes melts when you pour butter on it
and assured him, he was fine. I just
thought it was sweet of him to be concerned.
Another incident was his concern about fraud
on his card with an Amazon purchase.
“Mom, did you use my card on Amazon yesterday?” I did not, so I thought he should report the
fraud. Later that day, “False alarm – it
was a return.” There are so many firsts
in life. It’s interesting to be part of
Seth’s as he is a young adult.
One of
our former youths made my day by asking if I liked his new tattoo and sending a
picture of something quite hideous. I
hedged and was at work, so I didn’t say yay or nay. I did ask clarifying questions. Given enough time, I was happily surprised
with, “APRIL FOOLSSSSSSSSS. I didn’t
actually get that tattoo.” I had a great
laugh and shared the story with coworkers who were also quite
appreciative. Ahhh – to laugh.
I knew Seth wouldn’t appreciate a story, so
when I got home, I bared my ankle and asked if he liked my tattoo. When he looked and said, “I can’t see it,” I
said, “It’s very tiny.” As he was
looking closer, I whispered, “April fools.
I love you.” I got a smile out of
him, and that was super fun.
Seth helped so much to make our yard
beautiful this summer. I appreciated his
efforts immensely. Our yard is
manageable this year, yeah!! Since Seth put
hours into the yard I haven’t cried once because it was overwhelming. Seth even swept our sidewalk. It was so beautiful! I then had time to take my wheel barrel and
clean up two or three other blocks on Wallace that were trashy. I bicycle every day and want to live in a
clean neighborhood. During that task I
saw a lovely lady from church and had several amazing interactions with
neighbors. I felt so loved, blessed and
happy to live exactly where I live.
Adriel was a camp counselor for a couple of
weeks. She was a one on one (or helped
two at a time). She had some wonderful
weeks and has a new appreciation for caregiving and camp in general.
Bobby came home early from his 100 mile hike
this summer for an entirely different reason than past hikes. No tent malfunctions, fire, or extreme
mosquitoes. This time they simply hiked
faster than expected. How fun. Bobby was
home just in time to help Seth spread gravel.
He was so excited about that. 😉.
I asked for and
received a very short hair cut in the summer.
I love it because it bugs me when hair gets into my face or eyes. Bobby wasn’t very happy – he did pray that it
would grow fast. Seth doesn’t care but I
told him he could at least say, “Nice haircut.”
Bobby said, “You can say, ‘You are still pretty.’” It’s funny how our outward appearance does
affect others. Care or not we can notice
and be nice about it or mean. I mostly
don’t care about what it looks like. My
hair is going to be crazy no matter what kind of cut I have.
I had
a fun moment with Seth. My friend had
texted saying she wanted to pick me up early for a woman’s retreat trip. I mentioned that I was coming home and
expected to leave in half an hour BUT if she wanted to help unload groceries, I
would love her company. She said she was
coming right over. When I got home, I
asked Seth to help unload groceries and he was in the middle of something, as
usual. I mentioned it was OK; my friend
was coming over to help. He untangled
himself from his computer work and was beginning to help when my friend came
in. Seth was curious. “Did she come over just to help unpack
groceries?” I said, “Yes” and he was a
bit confused. Then I said, “Nah, you can
take over.” And he did. It was fun to
see him pondering the situation.
I am
so glad that I was evaluated for allergies this year. It was a much better prognosis than being
allergic to Bobby or our cat. I am more
allergic to dust mites than anything else.
Cats – a little. Now we can
manage my allergies quite easily – since we know what to do. Yay!!
I think the allergist found me amusing.
I told him that if I was allergic to cats I must be allergic to dogs as
well because I don’t want a dog. He
said, “That’s not how it works.” Drat.
I
commented on how cool Adriel’s pants were and she mentioned that she had sewn
the part I liked on. How cool is that?!!
Adriel and I enjoyed sewing projects when she was a child – we didn’t ever
follow a pattern – we just had fun with extra cloth and made things. We have a picture of little Seth hugging
something she made for him. I really
love that Adriel is continuing the tradition!
I even felt inspired to alter a Rooted sweatshirt. It turned out well. The sleeves have thumb holes and are thinner
now. I love my very old, newly remodeled
sweatshirt. It’s not just cool, it’s
better than new to me. I’m thankful for
Adriel’s inspiration.
All
this fun and silliness brings me to the most important point. We are free because of others sacrifice. We are free to live in peace because soldiers
have fought for this freedom. Bobby is
free to be a pastor because Jesus gave his life. We are free to not sin because Jesus’ death
made it possible. Such gratefulness
wells in my heart when I share our stories.
Thank you for reading them. Thank
you for caring 😊.
Love
and hugs,
Cristy
VanKleek
and my
Monday blog is https://vankleekblessings.blogspot.com/ )
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