2019 in Review...

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 24^th 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 18^th we celebrated baby Jesiah’s 1^st Birthday, then flew to Seattle on the 20^th.  We spent 2 & ½ days with R&T & the kids before coming home on Friday the 23^rd.  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 10^th), 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 1^st, 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 12^th.  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. 

 

2018 in Review

2017 brought the sale of our property 
where we had lived for 29 years, 
the move was horrendous, 
& we were very happy when it was over. 
(and the started the 4^th house on the first lot we lived on in Kelowna)

January for me was spent settling a little and catching up on desk work I had neglected during the move.  For Hector it was clearing the stuff he had stored on our own property (neighbouring the acre we had sold) because the purchaser didn’t like the looks of it and called the city.

February, we got out of here!!  We bussed to Seattle for a few days with Ron and Tiffany, then one week in NY visiting Hector’s sister Cindi & family.  One week in Florida included the 75^th birthday party for sister Ruth.  Nine days in Michigan with Royce and Michelle, during that time we drove an hour down into Indiana, to visit my pseudo-family.  We had a great time with them all.  Arriving back in Seattle, Ron & family brought us home stopping along the way to pick up a door and some lights from our pseudo-son Edgar.  An hour after our stop, 20 min up the steep Coquihalla mountain pass, the traffic came to a halt, and the road was closed behind us.  We sat there 3 hrs, while they cleaned up an accident on the other side of the divided hwy.  While waiting about 6 inches of snow collected.  They opened a single lane plowed, and we all followed a tow truck traveling below the speed limit, which was good… No one could pass and blind us in a cloud of snow. 

Pseudo-Family 
In a general sense, it refers to any group of people who are not actually related 
to a person, but who care about and protect that person 
as they would a member of their actual biological family.

March and April, for me were spent doing desk work and getting ready for the tax man to come do up my taxes. Hector was finishing the new house. In the mix were several trips to Vancouver to see Hector’s brother Art who was in hospital with subdural hematoma, (same thing Hector had after his accident in Guyana in 2015) The last week of April we went to Seattle to spend a couple days with Royce and Michelle as they were on their way to Arizona for a family vacation with her parents, brother and his fiancé.

June was a trip to Vancouver to meet up with Ronald and the kids and we all visited Art. Edgar and family joined us Saturday afternoon and evening.  July, we made a trip to Alberta to see family and celebrate my aunt’s 90th birthday. Ronald and Leah flew up to join us and we all had a lovely time. We skipped our church camp meeting at Hope BC as none of the kids could be there with us this year.

August 26^th, we met Mai & Matt at the Seattle Airport, 
and spent 3 days with them at Ronald’s place.  
Then Hector flew to Florida for his niece’s wedding, 
I went directly to Michigan to meet our 5 day old 
newest grandson “Jesiah Hector”
(pronounced like messiah) 
–Hector is in honour of both his grandfathers, 
(both called Hector, but not legally named that.) 

At 2 am when Nana finally arrived... He was awake and his parents were exhausted.

Hector joined me after the wedding,
we could only stay a week.
We had to rush to back for the quickly picking up
chimney season,
and to get a couple more days with Mai & Matt.   

They drove our van from Seattle to Vancouver
and used it for several days on business and visiting friends,
then picked us up at the Airport on September 7^th.
They came home to see our new house
and have some bonding time with us.
They flew out of here on the 11th.

Auntie Mai & Uncle Matt visited Jesiah in September,
on their annual leave.

After 33 years, we had been trying to sell our business for over a year, finally in mid-Sept the 9^th interested party turned out to be the perfect couple!!  He trained under Hector for a month, during which time he paid Hector to “work for him” and everything above the expenses he put into paying for the business, and he is now, “The happy owner of John’s Chimney Sweep!”  He calls himself “John Jr”.

I answered the phone for them a while, but his wife quickly caught on to the office work and how to answer the phone, and soon we transferred it over to her, and that was a relief.  

October, having the business sold, allowed us to be able 
to grab last minute tickets to Florida 
at word that Royce’s father-in-law passed away on Oct 21. 
Which was followed 2 days later 
by a car crashing into the family home early in the morning
while everyone still slept.
The devil is out to kill steal and destroy, 
it seems the Figuroa family, 
(possibly Royce) was his target that week.

“Praise God” Kathy, Michelle’s mom, although injured in a fall due to the stairs being demolished, suffered non-life threatening injuries, it could have been a whole lot worse.

We were in Florida till November 4^th, 
when Hector flew to Guyana, South America 
to work with his brother on an evangelistic series.  
The same day I went to Michigan to be with Royce 
till Michelle and her mom came on Nov 11^th.  
I helped him with cooking & cleaning, & just being there. 

Ronald, Tiffany & kids came on Nov 15 
for the weekend to see the new baby.

  Sunday, we had an early Thanks Giving dinner and invited my Indiana parents to join us.  They got to meet Tiffany, Jadon & Leah, for the first time, as well as baby Jesiah.  We had a wonderful time, and it was so good to have them with us for the afternoon, and so hard to say good-bye.

(My Nancy-mom) Nancy Hile with Jesiah and Jadon.

Monday Nov 19, Ronald’s family and I drove to Chicago and caught flights out at 8 am.  They went to Nebraska to spend Thanks Giving with her family, and I came home to Kelowna.  It was great to be back in my own bed!!

I have organized some boxes since home.  But have a long way to go!  I need time and space to sort, sell, throw, or give stuff away.  I am not going to stress about it.
Que Sera, Sera

Right now (Dec/Jan 2019), we are working on getting Royce’s house ready to re-rent for Jan 1^st.  It was left very clean, but a lot of damage to repair, and total repainting is needed, and I have to find and approve the new renters.  (UG!!!)

December, Hector is safely back from Guyana.  They had a successful series of meetings, with 12 baptized the last weekend, and more to follow bring the numbers up to about 30.  Property has been found to buy for a church, so next will come the building project.

Christmas this year?  No idea yet.  We could stay home, drive to Ronald’s, or go back to Florida to attend Jesiah’s baby dedication.  I am not ready for another trip, I would just like to hunker down, do my own thing, and pass the winter.  I haven’t been able to sew anything that takes more then 10 minutes for such a long time, and I have painting materials I would love to (find) and use, I still have a lot of desk work to do that has been pushed to the side (but needs to be done before April).  Staying home could be a “real good thing”!!!

Whether the Baby of Bethlehem was born in December or Spring, let us remember, he came with the special purpose of giving each of us the opportunity to accept His love, and His invitation to spend eternity with Him.  May we commit to spending time learning of Him and His ways in 2019, so that we can each answer YES to the questions in the lyrics below.