2019… Gone!!
At letter writing time last December, we didn’t know what
our Christmas plans would be…
Christmas 2018: We ended up traveling on Dec 24th to Ronald
&Tiffany’s (R&T), there we did the Christmassy thing with them.
Hector worked with Ronald on his shower project. Jan 1 Hector left for Florida, to help his sisters with projects they needed to do. I was fearfully expecting to drive home alone, over mountain roads, but in the end, a friend caught a ride to Seattle to see her kids, and rode home with me. We studied the roads and chose Stevens Pass, and had only a few miles of wet roads, then bare and dry all the way. God does care of us!! Hector came back to Seattle mid-January. R&T drove him home, and stayed to do some skiing for the weekend.
Spring 2019: All the year-end desk work for taxes was about the same as other years, (we owned the business till Sept of 2018). We also had to transfer everything to the new owners, & changed our land line to cell phones, etc...
In May, we spent time at our cabin in Westbridge BC, about 1.5 hr drive from Kelowna, mostly south, and a little east. The Cabin is about 25 km North of Rock Creek and the US border. We worked mostly on the kitchen: removed the “old” cabinets, put down new lino, and put in newer cabinets that a friend gave to Hector when renovating his house. The cabinets were originally oak, but someone had painted them white, so they look very nice and brighten the kitchen. We replaced the 20 gal hot water tank with a 40 gal tank. We finished the carpet in the larger bedroom (had started it in 2017 during our big move). It had laminate, but was too cold when the main heat is a wood stove located in the kitchen…
End of May, Hector went back to Florida, to help his sisters complete what they had started in January. He also went to Guyana, to help his brother start building the church we mentioned last year as the next project. While he was gone, I got some sewing, sorting of boxes, and some office stuff done. On my birthday, I stayed home, got out my paints, and spent the day painting. I didn’t finish anything, but I did enjoy the day.
Hector got back on the evening of July 10 and the next day we left for Alberta to see my mom’s 2 remaining siblings. We visited my cousin Fay in Calgary, then went to the Alberta camp meeting at Bowden for 1 night & day, where I get to see all my cousins in one place. On Sunday we went to Lacombe to visit my aunt and then on to Wetaskiwin to visit my uncle. We headed home on Monday and arrived by 11pm. Royce and Michelle (R&M) were here from July 22-25. We all went to Camp Hope where R&T joined us for the first weekend. On Monday we all went to Ronald’s for a few days.
Aug 2: R&M went to meet up with her family in Yellowstone while Hector and I flew to Florida for a great-niece’s wedding. We arrived just in time for the family supper on Friday evening. Their beautiful wedding was Saturday afternoon. On Sunday most of the family spent the afternoon and evening together. After that Hector flew to NY to help his other sister with a renovation project from Aug 7-13. I wasn’t up to traveling again, so I stayed in FL till he came back. 9 days after the wedding, R&M came to FL to spend some time with her mom. Hector & I spent a week with them as well. On the 18th we celebrated baby Jesiah’s 1st Birthday, then flew to Seattle on the 20th. We spent 2 & ½ days with R&T & the kids before coming home on Friday the 23rd. Upon getting home we had the burden of trying to rent one of our houses that came empty. I listed it on Facebook Marketplace. I had over 1700 views, over 70 inquiries, and about ½ dozen viewings. Many were students with 4-6 occupants and multiple vehicles. Since the house is only 15 feet from the one we live in, we wanted to be very careful about who we got as neighbours. In the end, we accepted someone we know well.
Sept 17: We went to Vancouver to pick up Mai-Rhea. She came home to be here in BC for the birth of her baby which was due Dec 30, but “SURPRISE!” Mathea (Ma-tay-a) Hazel (my second name) Violet (named for one of my mom’s sisters) arrived on Dec 13. She was a tiny 5lb 7oz and 19 in. Mai was hoping she would come early, but also, wait till her daddy came (He arrived on the 10th), and not to be born too close to Christmas, so she met all the requirements. She is healthy, happy, a good sleeper, and cute as a button. It was love at first sight…
R&M are finished at Andrews and assigned as a pastor in the Salmon Arm District of BC Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. They will officially start their new job on Feb 1st, 2020. Royce arrived on Dec 5 to be here to accept his shipment of household goods. Michelle and Jesiah had been in FL with her mom after American Thanks Giving (to save paying Dec rent in Michigan), and arrived here on Dec 12th. Traveling alone with a baby was hard, but she still had energy to go visit Mai in hospital after 18 hrs of travel. We came home to rest at 8:30 pm, thinking we would go back in the morning for the arrival of the baby, but by morning she was here!
By 9 am Hector and I went to see them and find out her name. R&M went in the afternoon. We are all happy with the little button and so happy she is here.
Matt, Mai-Rhea, and Mathea are booked to fly back to Timor Leste Feb 18 from Vancouver. By then they need a birth certificate, passport, first shots, and a visit to Ontario to meet Matt’s family Feb 2-12.
Not knowing the date of the baby’s arrival, R&T arranged their trip up here for Jan 12-19.
R&M went back to Florida to her mom’s for January. Royce is finishing his last research project while there, and will be back soon.
