It They Was Were a Very Good Years

Dear Family and Friends,

We want to wish you a very blessed Christmas and a joyful new year!

I have some male friends who made the decision to not get their haircut again until after all the COVID restrictions are lifted. (Actually, I think a couple of them cheated and got trims.) Instead of taking that step, I would like to say that I made the decision to not do another Christmas letter until COVID is over. Really, I would like to say that. It would probably sound better than admitting that I'm just…             Hey, how about those Seahawks!

Enough has been said (and experienced) regarding the pandemic and everything associated with it. 

In 2020 and 2021, we have been very blessed and I will now attempt to prove it in short bites so I don’t put you to sleep. I only wish I could show you a current picture of the whole family. Maybe next year.

Cathy 

• The love of my life had her first two years as a retired person. Our individual impressions about that are the same: WE LOVE IT!!! She does not miss work at all and has been able to keep in touch with some of her former colleagues.
• She has spent her “free time” being on the VBS Training Team (not the official name of it but it is more descriptive) for the Northwest Baptist Convention and Olympic Baptist Association. 
• She is teaching her kids again in Sunday School (observing all of Washington’s rather stringent mandates).
• She goes to the YMCA about five times a week!
• Our house is clean!… all the time!… every bit of it!… but never clean enough. (You always hear folks complaining about having to clean the house. You will never hear my Cathy making such a statement.)
• Our average meal time (dinner) is much, much earlier now that she is not arriving home around 5:45pm after leaving home no later than 6:30am.
• She is happier! (So am I.)

Jim

• I am in my 16th year as the pastor of Kitsap Lake Baptist Church (KLBC), Bremerton WA.
• I still have a passion for seeing people grow spiritually.
• I still enjoy being able to preach from God’s word each week. The preparation time continues to be very meaningful for my own spiritual growth.
• I learned how to record, edit, and put worship services on YouTube.
• I learned how to do meetings on Zoom… all the time… way, way, way too often.
• I have had opportunities to continue doing some writing for LifeWay Christian Resources.
• I know where the YMCA is.
• My body is older. Really. I feel it.
• Hair is overrated.
• I have had some basal cell skin cancer taken care of and my left ear rebuilt.

Us

• We have been able to take a number of trips to spend time with my parents in Eugene OR. For those who want to know: Dad and Mom are still married (75 years the day after Thanksgiving), Mom had back surgery to relieve the sciatic pain (She woke up here instead of in Heaven but wasn’t too upset because the pain was relieved), they are doing well enough physically for being 96 and 92, they still live in their own home but our niece spends most nights there, and Dad had a “significant” stroke in April of this year. On June 18, my siblings, our niece, some medical personnel, and I had a Zoom meeting to learn more about Dad’s health. To make a long story short, he has already lived past the prognosis. He does have increasing dementia but usually does fairly well during the daylight hours.
• We have also made a couple of trips down to Eureka CA to spend some time with Shane, Alison, Cecilia, Avery (our newest grandson, born on August 31), and all their animals.
• In March 2020, we flew down to Phoenix to visit with David, Jordan, Levi, and Maelie. In November 2021, Cathy returned to visit for a week only this time it was to Indiana where David is now on staff in New Albany.
• Like everyone else, we have had a lot of stuff called off and trips cancelled, too.
• We enjoyed the summer, including the vegetable garden and fruit trees.
• We continue to enjoy living close to Aaron, Denise, Sélah, Emma, and our foster granddaughter, and are very grateful for getting to see them frequently.
• We are grateful for opportunities to travel, visiting friends and family. Someday, we hope to do it much more, visiting more friends and family as well as seeing areas of this country to which we have never traveled.
• Sometimes, we hunt for mushrooms. Most of the time, they succeed at hiding from us.
• We treasure the time we have together, now as throughout our 47+ years of marriage.

Finally, Cathy and I want you to know that we are in awe of the countless ways God has blessed us. It is our prayer that you will experience His blessings, too.

Love to all of you!

Jim and Cathy