Christmas 2022

We spent the year trying to balance normal life with Covid precautions. While we’ve returned to our three-days-a-week gym visits and become active in a new home Bible study group (like back in the days of Rota, Spain), we are keeping up with our vaccinations and don masks when needed.

Ed continues to manage eBay sales for a local thrift store which supports an animal rescue, and Marilee is becoming an accessibility tech expert with a rigorous schedule of virtual classes. Marilee has also learned to knit, and when Ed needs a break from technology, he’ll be invited to learn as well. (If that ever happens, we’ll let you know!)

A photo gallery follows and represents a rough timeline of the year. We have a very small backyard but it provides big opportunities to observe the colors of nature. If you happen to be using screen reading software, each photo should be described. (Let me know if you find a blank. It might only say “image.”) Scroll past the photo gallery to catch up on the rest of the family.

Here’s the family update:

Tabitha returned to the US in August after completing an MSc International Relations at University College Dublin. She’s been doing volunteer work and advocacy with a few disability organizations in Ireland, the US, and the UK. After an intense job search, she will be joining the American Council of the Blind (ACB) in January as the audio description project coordinator. 

Everybody needs a little “down-time” and Tabitha used hers to knit. Shown are a pair of hand warmers which is only one of many projects completed.

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Seth & Jess – Seth continues to work in New Zealand with Red Hat as a technology writer and technology supervisor. Jess has recently completed a certificate in museum practice. At their town’s museum, she curated exhibits highlighting local talent (a natural-dye weaver and a painter) and coordinated a permanent exhibit on Chinese artifacts on the nearby goldfields.

When not in front of a computer or coordinating encounters with history, they find ways to experience the environment with just a hint of adventure. Photography from a kayak offers a unique perspective to the waterfall visit seen here.

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Joanna & Doug – Doug continues his work with the Air Force at the Pentagon. Joanna, after fifteen years working in the field of addictions and mental health, started a new (and 100% remote!) job in June. She’s proud to be a contractor with the Navy; she supervises a team of mental health professionals who provide clinical case management to sailors who have experienced a suicide-related behavior.

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William is in his ninth year of living in Washington, DC. In August, he started a full-time position teaching music theory at Howard University. He still composes and performs music regularly, has several private students, and teaches part-time at the University of Maryland. His travels this year included a trip to Ireland to visit Tabitha (where he drove on the left without incident!), and to Italy, where he bicycled through the countryside.

Here are a few photos of their touring in Ireland. (Double click the images to see the full photo.

As for the critters, all are doing well. Guide dog Ryder is always ready for duty and guides Marilee through cluttered store aisles and keeps her safe in parking lots when out and about. The cats Tigger and Patches maintain their routine of simply ruling the house.

That’s the report for another year’s worth of God’s blessings. We pray in this season that you will reflect on how God has blessed your life. Give thanks for all things and know His peace.

Merry Christmas