Christmas, 2024 * Shady Acres Farm * 7484 Shawnee Road * Milford, DE * 19963
Dear Family and Friends,
All the best greetings of this season to all of you.
It has been comforting to me to think about the way that Jesus came to earth all those many years ago, born to poor parents, in less that ideal circumstances, and with a very real threat to his life that must have dogged his parents’ thoughts. And yet, they knew that this was not an ordinary baby, and they had to trust God to do what He promised.
This last year, our family has had to exercise the same sort of trust. I look back over the years that this letter has been written, and I can trace God’s provision and care for us. When I look back on this year, the same has been true. He’s never failed us yet! There have been answers to prayers that have been nothing short of miraculous. There has been laughter and progress and vision and victories and joy. There have been valuable friendships made, and strangers that have stepped into our lives to help and comfort and bless.
That being said, there have been times when it hasn’t been easy to trust, and there have been times of reversal, loss, confusion and pain that have threaded their way throughout this year, leaving indelible marks that have colored all of our lives and given us pause to think and choose how we are going to respond. The comforting thing to me is that Jesus continually invites us to choose Him. He walks with us through these times that have stretched us in ways we wouldn’t have chosen.
Eldest Daughter, Christina, her husband Jesse, and daughter, Charis are still just down the road from us. Their chicken chalet that houses varying numbers of chickens (depending on whether their exuberant dog, Maisy, has gotten into them) has been occupied ever since its completion, and many families have been blessed by the eggs produced there. Jesse is still working at Burris (celebrating 30 years there this year)! Christina is a stay-at-home mom and enjoys being home more and more the older she gets! Charis is a tenth-grade student whose favorite class is shop. She has brought some of her projects to her Grandpa’s shop to work on and it’s impressive. She continues to be active in her church, and between church and school, we don’t get to see enough of her! I told her the other night that no matter what happens or who comes into our lives, she will always be the grandchild that we have had the longest!
Middle Daughter, Deborah has had a most eventful year. In January, she accepted into her home an 18-year-old Guatemalan refugee, Flor, and became an instant mother. It is an exceptionally exhilarating, but stressful journey as we have all worked towards doing this legally and carefully. Flori has become an integral and much-loved part of not only our family, but also our church. Asylum has been filed for, and we are now praying that the judgement could be expedited. Please pray with us for this. Healthwise, it’s been a very rough year for our Deborah girl. Early this year, she had her third bout with covid. Although she remains cancer free following her bilateral mastectomy in 2022, it was determined that she needs a hysterectomy and after much struggle and rescheduling, that is coming up on the 17th of this month. A few weeks ago, she ended up at the emergency room with a kidney stone. Through it all, she has been a constant employee of Delaware Hospice as an admissions nurse, added a pair of pygmy goats to the woods around her beloved Ambleside cottage, took care of her gardens, and delighted in having a “daughter” sharing her home.
Out in Canton, Ohio, Eldest Son, Raphael and his wife Regina also had some major life changes. Early in the year, they pursued an opportunity to build a new home, sold their house, and by the middle of June were in their new house. Daniel and I visited them in September, and it is a delightful space for their family. The diversion was good for them as they dealt with harsh and conflicting emotions when their oldest son, Simon, made the decision to no longer be a part of our family, and was irrevocably gone in April. The other three children are doing well. Liam (14) and Frankie (13) are both extremely athletic, intelligent, and personable young men. This Grammy keeps close tabs on report cards and in keeping with a reward system set up years ago, I’m about to go broke! I’m not wanting them to start doing poorly in school or anything, but I just might have to adjust my system! (Not really! It is worth it)! Elise, now 7, just crossed a milestone in her cancer surveillance when her scans were stretched out to 6 months. She continues to face the prospect of surgeries to correct damage to the growth plate in her leg from radiation, but she remains plucky and irrepressible. She recently won an award for good behavior at school and is absolutely glowing in her successes. Raph continues to work for NuCamp, and Regina was promoted to a team leader at Christian Healthcare Ministries and is still able to work from home.
Youngest Son, Lem and his wife, Jessica are still in DC and have had an exciting year of travel as well as a challenging year of change and Health issues. In January, Lem officially became part owner of Alvord, Baker and Associates, the counseling group that he has been associated with for over 11 years. In late March and into April their family took a trip that took them to Hawaii, New Zealand and Australia. Stella, (7) had the time of her life, and still has stories to tell. In August, the family spent most of the month at the ocean in Jessica’s parents’ beach house. It was a much-needed break, but as the month progressed, Jessica experienced more and more disturbing health issues. Testing revealed a Chiari Malformation that was exacerbating, and in October, she had surgery to correct that. The recovery has been “brutal” and complicated by the ongoing issues with her confusing stomach disease, but she is improving, and we are hopeful that she is truly on the side of full recovery.
Youngest Daughter, Rachel and Rob are also still in DC. Rachel began work on her Doctorate in Clinical Social Work and commutes to New York City once a week for classes. In September, she joined her brother in the practice at Alvord, Baker and Associates, and is very happy in her job there. I don’t mean to be a proud Mama, but it is nice to hear that she is highly recommended and in great demand as a therapist. Rob continues to work on his master’s degree and is very close to being finished. He works at Rose’s Luxury, a Michelin starred restaurant, and he is well liked and is excellent at his job. They and Lem’s family are often together to share a meal or to just provide support for one another. It’s been a comfort to me for them to have each other.
Daniel and I are both 71, and with the aging process has come the inevitable decline that we somehow thought would never happen to us! Daniel has been struggling with two pinched sciatic nerves for nearly eight months. He had an MRI in February that was lost, but in the meantime his orthopedic guy had him try chiropractic treatments. That provided no lasting relief as did neither physical therapy nor injections. A second MRI has brought his doctors to the point of referring him out, and at this point he is scheduled to see a surgeon in January. It sounds as if they do not intend to resection or fuse, but rather, enlarge the passageways that have been narrowed by arthritis so that the nerves are allowed free movement. The pain has been debilitating, and it has been hard for me to watch, but he has continued to work a few days a week at a private inspection agency, as well as tending to the things on the farm. Deborah’s daughter, Flori began helping in the chicken house this summer, and it has been a game changer for Daniel. She picks up the dead chickens every morning, and helps with the many chores associated with setup and maintenance. She also enjoys helping with feeding the few beef cattle that Daniel keeps on the farm.
We have been mostly at home this year, but did take a trip to New York and then to Ohio to see family. I’ve had several jaunts to DC to help out there when needed, and there is always enough here in Delaware to keep my head and heart and hands occupied. There are many days when I think of My Sweet Mama when I realize that I’m walking just like her when I get out of a car or try to do something that I maybe shouldn’t be trying to do at this stage of my life. I have always loved my good, good parents, but I’m suddenly understanding them better than I ever have, and there is something familiar and comforting about that.
Merry Christmas, Dear Ones. May the Wonder of the Message of Christmas, “Immanual – God With Us” bring hope to us all– not only in this season, but all through the year.
With love,
Daniel and Mary Ann
Delaware Grammy 