Rose and I were going over the last couple days and remembered at least one disaster that I failed to post earlier today. As we were leaving to go to Chris's on Friday for the Christmas party and were all loaded in her car, she turned the key in the ignition and nothing happened. Someone {Scott knew right away the culprit was Brayden} had left a door open and the battery was run down. We didn't have jumper cables and Goldman wasn't home. The handy man assisted us in starting it.

That handy man is the one who was in trouble this morning. He finally showed up this morning while Rose was at the grocery store. I started to tell him what to do when he interrupted and said Rose had spoken with him on the phone, told him what to do and then hung up on him.

Again HAPPY NEW YEAR to all. I'm hoping my future will be as checkered as my past.

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE It has certainly been an eventful year here in Missouri. Right now Rose and I have Scott's two boys who keep us busy and laughing. Goldman and I met Scott half way to Louisville on Wednesday and picked them up. Tuesday Goldman and I took Maddog down to the lake and checked on things at the lake house. I had doctor's appointments all day Thursday so Goldman watched the boys and delivered Shirley to the airport. Thursday evening Goldman delivered me and the boys to Doug and Suzanne's for a pizza dinner and play session with Luke and Josie. On Friday we convinced Goldman to join us at Chris and Shelly's for at least part of our Christmas celebration. We did give him a day off and let him sleep in on Saturday.

We had a lovely dinner at Chris and Shelly's Friday night. As usual, their house was decorated like the North Pole inside and out. Mark, Karen, Katie, her fiance Austin, Andrew, Scott, Sherry, Jalen, Brayden, Rose, Chris, Shelly, and I enjoyed a lasagna dinner set on a lovely table that was almost too pretty to mess up. Katie was sporting a diamond engagement ring. Austin will graduate from KU this spring and pursue employment in elementary education. Kate's degree will some day [as Mark puts it] be in interior design.

Shirley's brother-in-law is quite ill in Louisiana so she flew down last Thursday to visit and help out. She hated to miss our Christmas celebration but has a new niece there that she was excited about seeing.

Rose just got up. She's hoping today is better than yesterday. She took the boys to an indoor swimming pool for 3 hours yesterday. She put Brayden's shoes in the wrong locker and they couldn't find them as they were leaving. On the way home he was in the back seat in his carseat and dejectedly said "I guess I won't get to play baseball next year". After a short silence he decided that maybe he could play in his socks.

The handy man came to install some cabinets in the laundry room that Rose and Shirley had ordered special made. When the handy man and his assistant opened the box, one was damaged. The special order takes 6 weeks.

Last night we took the boys out to dinner. Brayden puked all over himself, the carseat and the backseat on the way home. Rose couldn't get the carseat out to clean so just had to do her best effort to clean it, and she left all the windows down in her car to air it out. She threw all the pukey stuff in the washer and bathed Brayden. Suddenly the burglar, fire, flood alarm siren sounded LOUDLY. The handyman had not put the washer hose in the drain. The alarm was sounding, the laundry room was flooding, and Brayden was on my lap absolutely terrified. The alarm stayed on for at least half an hour because the flood had shorted out the phone line to call the alarm company. [We could have been burglarized, robbed, kidnapped, on fire, raped - well maybe not raped because the lights stayed on - and the police, fire department nor neighbors showed up.]

Rose didn't know that when she rolled the windows in her car down to air it out, she inadvertenly set the alarm. [In fact, she didn't kow her car HAD an alarm.] The boys and I were already in bed when she went out to the garage and set it off. Again, no response from police, fire department or neighbors. This is supposed to be a safe and friendly neighborhood we live in. I'm wondering.

The final straw for Rose was when she came downstairs in the middle of the night and stepped in a puddle of water. RAIN, LEAKY (NEW) ROOF!!! The handyman is late this morning. It may be because he's afraid to show his face because Rose gave him a phone blast after mopping and coping with the alarm.

We're going to Doug and Suzanne's for a prime rib/lobster dinner tonight. Jalen is going to spend the night. Rose and I are not sure we can stay awake to usher in the New Year, but we're going to try.

Up until a few months ago, Rose did the typing for me. She devised a poker for me and now I do it myself. I'm slow but I get it done.

As we usher out 2006 I want to thank everyone for their love, prayers, assistance and caring.
Thanks to everyone.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone. We're having a great day here in Missouri. Santa was good to us. Rose, Shirley, and I had a quiet dinner at home last night before Santa came. Shirley's friends from Indiana arrived sometime after Rose and I had gone to bed. They have two children who we thought would wake us at the crack of dawn but Rose and I were the first ones up. The two children, Jamil and Layla, made the occasion much more special and meaningful.

Remember, mark your calendars. We're planning a big get together at Lake of the Ozarks sometime around the Fourth of July next summer.

The FeLLins are congregating for Christmas in Portland. Sandi, I envy you. Hostessing such an occasion is one of my favorite things in life.

The Abbotts had their clan yesterday afternoon and evening. Pete and Janet are back in Idaho Falls to be with their girls and families but Kelly and his boys couldn't make it from Boise. I had a great conversation with Kelly yesterday. It sounds like he and Scott are raising their boys in much the same way - just the way I taught them. Kelly, the only way I could get you to be quiet while your mom taught piano lessons was to frighten you with the vacuum sweeper in the closet. Scott, it seemed like you were never going to get potty trained. As soon as I would let you go outside you would fill your pants. Your dad said you'd be fine if you were a dog.

Jana, Ellie, and John left Friday morning for Kansas. Joe's lucky. All his are nearby. Pete said Donald and Vita were spending the holiday in Plattsburg with their offspring. We're getting together on Friday at Chris and Shelly's. Shirley's brother-in-law is very ill in Louisiana so she's going down there on Thursday and won't be joining us.

Maddog's dad had his leg amputated above the knee last week. He's in the hospital in Jefferson City but Maddog is up here for Christmas. Goldman and I plan to take him back tomorrow. Then on Wednesday Goldman and I will meet Scott half way to Louisville and bring Jalen and Brayden back to stay with us for a few days.

Cyndi, Cheryl and Sandi at Cecile's cookie exchange.

Hi everyone! I'm writing this now since the festivities are beginning today for all of us here in Portland and I know I won't be able to wish you all a Merry Christmas until after-the-fact!

Mom and Dad arrived last night around 4:30 and had an uneventful trip...except Dad lost his cell phone somewhere along the way. Glenn is going to take him to get a new one today, (along with 500 of their closest friends at the Verizon counter!). He'll have the same phone number, but has lost all of his contacts from his old phone, so please call Mom's cell (509-990-2487) until his is reactivated if you wish to get a hold of them.

The rest of the family is arriving today and tomorrow and so this is the quiet before the storm. (I've text messaged and called brother Glenn so many times today to run errands for me he'll be ready for a break when he finally gets here! Bless you, Glenn!)

Mike's son Jordon was delayed coming in from Virginia because of the Denver airport shut down. He was to arrive last Wednesday, but will get into Spokane tonight. Anna and fiance' Dan arrived on time on Wednesday and will be in Spokane for the holidays.

Hope all of you enjoy your time together - post some pictures for us of your festivities and we'll do the same!

Merry Christmas!

The Biker Chicks!

Brother Joe visited the Marshfield Cemetery where he took this photo of our parents' gravesite. Donald and Vita, as they do every year at this time, sent the beautiful wreath which you see here.

We had been worried because of all the bad weather in the Pacific Northwest. Here is Sandi's e-mail, giving us detail about the situation there:

"Hi Aunt Sue,

What a week! Here in Portland we got hit with some wind and short lived power outages. Glenn was without power for a few hours. Up north, however is another story! Cyndi and Dave have been out of power since Thursday night at 9pm. Cyndi came down Friday after work for our shopping weekend and if we had had any idea their power would still be out we would have had her bring the boys. They have a gas fireplace in their family room, a gas water heater and stove, so they can keep warm and cook some, but with no power for their refriderator or blow dryer or laundry or lights or t.v....it is getting a bit old by now. They have lost all the food in their refridgerator and have carted off some of the freezer stuff to friends. What an ordeal! Dave said his restaurant is doing a record business because so many people are having to eat out! It's been a long few days for them.

I haven't heard about Tammy, she is away on vacation and Tyson is in Spokane, so I'm not certain if they are still out of power or not.

In Seattle, Doug called to say that a tree fell on their house. No one was hurt and it apparently did little damage. Mostly, it took out the covering over the deck and and just laid across the roof. He had to get up there and cut it down. I don't know if he's making light of it or if it was not a big deal. He called today to say that they got their power back this afternoon - finally! They'd been out since Thursday night at 10pm. Honestly! School had been cancelled and is now out until after Christmas break.

Mom and Dad are doing okay in Spokane although it is getting colder - tomorrow it's getting down to 14 degrees. Tyson is there helping them keep warm with fire wood and nice fire.

I told Aunt Margret that since I work for the BPA, I guess I got special treatment! I had power the whole time!

Thanks for checking in with us.

Love,
Sandi"

We've had a busy few days here in St. Louis getting ready for Christmas. Rose, Shirley and I put our tree up last night. I spent the weekend with the Abbotts and their house is ready for Santa, too. Shirley is baking some fruitcake goodies while I'm in the process of typing this.

Mark and Karen took Rose, Chris and me out to a special lunch last Friday. Rose and Shirley spent the weekend in Chicago. Goldman dropped me at the Abbotts and Margaret and I spent the weekend laughing and talking about the old days on Turnbo. We had to get some clarifications from the older brothers about some fuzzy remembrances which weren't very clarifying. Chris and Shelly took us out to dinner on Sunday.

Scott got his two sons a go cart for Christmas. Scott said he had always wanted one when he was a kid but I said I don't remember his ever asking. He said he and Chris never asked because they knew it was either dinner or a go cart. I asked Chris if he remembers it that way and he said yes and he only went to school so he could get lunch. You would think they would be a bit kinder with Christmas so close.

Here is an e-mail we received from Sabrina (Margaret and Norman's daughter) this morning:

Our first grandchild...and the first great-grandchild for Meemaw and Peepaw.

Up to the minute news...Announcing our newest addition! Tristan Joshua Barrett. Mom and baby are doing fine. Mommy and Daddy did a great job delivering this beautiful baby boy. You would all be proud! He is a sweetheart of a baby with a set of powerful lungs and a seemingly sweet disposition. (photos attached). Tristan Joshua Barrettborn at 10:26 pm on Thursday, December 14, 20067 pounds 9 oz.

Technical difficulties have halted an upload of photos of the newborn.

Hi folks! Sorry to be so tardy in getting an update out. Between technical difficulty and being behind the eight-ball with work and Christmas just around the corner, I'm just now taking a few minutes to say hello. Thanks again for all of your support for us while Dad had his latest bout in the hospital. It's so nice to know the rest of the family is there for him. We feel your support!

Mom and Dad at home in Spokane!

As you know Dad got out of the hospital on Saturday and he and Mom headed off to their Christmas party! Well done, Mom and Dad! Each day I talk with him he sounds better and better. He says the progress is too slow, but I'm encouraged. Today my son Tyson is heading over to Spokane for a few days to help his grandparents get the 5th wheel ready and secure their home for a two or three month road trip. Mom and Dad plan on spending Christmas in Portland and then meeting up with their camping club in Eastern Oregon and heading south to Arizona. They will visit Uncle Pete and Aunt Janet on the way there and stay some of the time with Kaye and her family in Mesa. Once they get past the snow in the north they should have a toasty visit in the desert. I hope they remember to bring back grapefruit!

Cyndi and Dave are dropping Tyson off at the Sea-Tac airport on their way to the Seattle area for Red Robin's annual Christmas event. Dave is the General Manager of the Red Robin in Olympia and this is a gala affair. I texted Cyndi just now and reminded her to take pictures of them all dressed up for the party. If she does, I'll post those here for others to see.

Tyson and I in Olympia on the Puget Sound.

Anna left today from Spokane to go to Florida for another week of school. Mom took her to the airport this morning. Anna will then go to Virginia to visit with her finace' Dan and head home to Spokane on the 21st. She has been sick with a cold/flu bug, so I hope the traveling won't aggrivate her health. 'Tis the season...If she and Dan are up to it, they will join us in Portland for Christmas.

I'm off to work for another graveyard shift. I get off Thrusday morning and then on Friday night Cyndi and her good friend Lori will arrive for our annual Girlfriend's Christmas shopping weekend. It's the last push to get it all done! I've taken invetory, wrapped what I have, and made my list for the rest of the loot. It is divide and conquer time! As usual, we will incorporate a nice dinner out or a girl movie while we wrap our gifts. Good times!

Hope this finds you all well and looking forward to the Season upon us.

Love,

Sandi

Rose has switched to an updated version of blogger which has confused me considerably. If any of our contributors has problems, Rose's email address is roseholt@aol.com

Back to news. Rose talked to Bernie Sunday afternoon. He sounded like his old self and said he felt good. He got out of the hospital Saturday, and he and Maudie went to a dinner in an ice storm Saturday night. Sounds like he's back to his old self. They did take the truck because of the sleet but, other than that, he didn't slow down.

Pete called Saturday morning. He and Janet were packing for their trip home to Idaho for Christmas. They were leaving Monday morning in the recently purchased Ford Focus. He should know the way by now but was perhaps taking a new route. He told me they were not stopping at any casinos.

We put our Christmas tree up on Sunday. Shirley insisted on a real tree so we had to enlist the help of our Jewish friend, Mark Goldman, to get it up. Once when Mark and Scott were in kinergarten, we invited Markbto have dinner with us. Scott took me aside and told me "Don't pray. He's Jewish, you know." That was 35 years ago so we didn't scare him off. He is one of my loyal helpers. He and I went to Doug and Suzanne's for dinner one night last week. They are another two of my loyal helpers.

Chris took me to St. Lukes to physical therapy this week and last. The hand therapist is trying some electrical stimulation among other things. The physical therapist is concentrating on helping me improve my balance. There's a jogging path there that Chris frequents while he waits. He is reluctant to park in handicapped spaces in his jogging attire so I have to limp.

I just tried to call Bernie in his hospital room and found out he went home yesterday. When I called last week, I talked to Lonnie, the guy who took his room in the other hospital. After some conversation Lonnie, realized I wasn't his sister Sue. I did wish him well. We haven't heard from the west, but sounds like good news if Bernie is already home. I also had a correction to make based on a recent conversation with Janet. Pete cannot buy a car in Arizona. He had to go to California this time. He had been to dealerships in Arizona before.

Just had a call from Sandi out west. Bernie is out of surgery and doing fine. I may have the particulars wrong but they were able to go through his arm and correct two blockages. Sandi thinks they will keep him over the weekend but doesn't know for sure. Maudie was with the doctors and Sandi hadn't talked to her yet but the procedure was successful. I'm sure one of the FeLLins will add a more accurate update when they have time.

I should have posted a picture of my mom. Here she is the morning and evening of their 55th wedding anniversary party.

Dad and his little sister, Sue at Grammie's 100th birthday celebration in June this year.

Here's the latest on the Old Guy... He had a pretty good night and today they put him through a stress test and also injected an isotope into his veins to trace the flow of blood through his heart's arteries and valves. They have him rescheduled for the heart catheter through his arm tomorrow, (Friday). My understanding is that they are doing all of these preliminary tests in order to do as much for him as they can when they actually get into his heart tomorrow.

Mom has been at his side for most of this week's ordeal while still keeping up with her Grange activities and at home in her "spare" time. (She was up until 10:30 p.m. after being at the hospital all day on Tuesday night making carmel corn for some Christmas baskets.) Dad said she made it to the Grange meeting last night and even carried out her duties as an officer. If only the rest of us could keep up with her...

Dad told me today that our brother Mike is going to be Santa Claus again this year for their annual Christmas party, although Mike doesn't know it yet. Mike has been Santa for many years so I'm sure he's planning on this year's escapades. Some of the children are on to him. About 3 years ago Austin (Carrie's son who was then about 7 yrs. old), recongized Uncle Mike's shoes and had to confide in his mom that he thought it might be Uncle Mike Santa Clause. Mike keeps getting more crafty to fool the younger ones, but I think the word is out. So, if you talk to any of the little kids help Mike out and tell them it really is Santa himself!

Aunt Sue reminded me that I forgot to update the phone number for Dad's room since they moved him to Deconess Hospital. He can be reached @ (509) 473-3719 and loves a good chat.

Thanks again for standing with us as we all wish we were there to hold his hand and give Mom a big hug. Your heartfelt wishes are felt across the miles. We'll keep you posted when we hear more...
Mike and Ryan (Carrie's 2nd son). Notice anything familiar about the rosy cheeks and grey whiskers Mike has? Hmmm...I wonder...(Do I hear jingle bells?)

Hi Family! Just a quick update on how Dad is doing. The surgeon's went in this morning (Wednesday) to do the heart catheter, but were unsuccessful because of too much scar tissue in the main artery system from Dad's leg up to his heart. This process took only about a half an hour as the surgeon, Dr. Bishop was afraid of poking around too much and creating a secondary injury.

The next step will be for Dr. Lubie, (not sure how to spell it), the same surgeon who has helped Dad before, to go in with the heart catheter through an artery in Dad's arm. I think it is less of a direct route, but a viable option. Since they are fitting Dad into the surgery rotation tomorrow, we are still unsure of what time they will operate. If they find a blockage that is repairable by implanting a stent, they will do it at that time. Dad is conviced he will be home then on Thursday or Friday.

He and Mom are in very good spirits and wish to thank everyone for their prayers, concern and phone calls. I hope they will both get a good night sleep for their big day tomorrow. We'll keep you all posted.

Anna's birthday at Tammy's home in Olympia.

Back row l to r: Steve, Tyson, Cecile, Kyle, Doug
Front row l to r: Matt, Monica, Cyndi (center), Anna and Tammy. Jake is right out front - as usual.

Janet, whose birthday was December 4 

Shelly 

Rose 

Shirley,Ellie, John (barely) 

Ellie and Jana 

Ellie and Jana 

Ellie, Sue, and Shirley 

Scott 

Shelly (barely) and Mark 

Drew, Mark's son who is a student and Truman