More Photos - Birthdays and Christmas 2014

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Birthday Luncheon at Ya-Ya's Restaurant on December 20, 2014

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Jalen's 17th Birthday and Brayden's 12th Birthday Celebration + Christmas

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Snow But Not Much

I'm sitting here this afternoon with a bit of snow, but sunshine too.  Amanda, my helper today,  and I are visiting and getting acquainted.  Rose and Shirley are with clients.

Even with a bit of snow, I think Scott, Beth and the boys will make it over from Louisville
for our birthdays and Christmas celebrations.  Jalen's 17th birthday is December 23, and Brayden's 12th is February 12.  We plan to celebrate both this weekend.

I'm still riding the exercise bicycle along with other exercises at home besides going to the physical therapy gym three times a week. The therapists asked me last time if I wrote in my blog about them.  I told them yes.  The place is just north of us about a 1/2 mile, very convenient.  The staff is lovely and most helpful.

Short Post

It's a sunshiny day so I'm sure  the blue lights will shine tonigh,t but it's  cold outside.  We haven't been out but believe the forecast.  Marnett is coming over to assist me with some of my therapy and my lunch and to take me to physical therapy.  It's Shirley's day to go grocery shopping at Whole Foods so I know we'll have chicken for dinner tonight.  I'm not sure if I will get home from therapy in time to see Mark Goldman, but I hope so.

I still ride the exercycle here at home along with other exercises.  Rose and Marnett are diligent seeing that I do do them.

Just News

Thank you John and Jana for the lovely Kansas update.  Now we need a Washington/Oregon update.  Rose and Shirley are currently seeing clients.  Marnett just left for the day.   Goldman is coming over after school tomorrow.

I had my second out-patient physical therapy session yesterday and will have two more sessions this week,  one tomorrow and one Friday, then a couple more before Christmas.  I hope to have many more sessions.  They are helpful and keep me motivated.

The house looks great, and the Christmas tree adds a lot of cheer.  Shirley put new blue lights on the fence behind the  house which  only light up at night--after the sun  shines in the day time.  And though it was gloomy today, the blue  lights were shining tonight.

Moore Update

Hello again.  Jana and I wanted to give a quick update on how things are going here.

I started a new job in August at a company called B/E Aerospace.  It is here in Lenexa so my drive is nice and short and they are in a growth mode right now so things are very exciting.  B/E makes life support systems (oxygen masks) for commercial airlines among many other things.  I have never worked in aerospace before so this is an interesting experience but I think it will work out just fine.

Jana is in her second year at Sprint and she is still a recruiting machine.  Sprint just got an aggressive new CEO so they have a lot of changes in store for them as well.

Ellie finished her summer soccer league and started in an indoor league.  I don't know if you are all aware, but indoor soccer is non-stop action because the fields are so small.  They play 4 on 4 so each player gets 20x as many touches as they would in a normal soccer game on a full size field.  She is a really good goalkeeper and it has been a lot of fun watching her improve and become more confident and assertive on the field as the season has progressed.  She even scored 2 goals in her game today!!!  Ellie also qualified for the school spelling bee as a representative for the 3rd grade.  She was marvelous and she made it to the third round before getting knocked out on "parameters".  Tough word considering the next girl got the word "bounce".  We are very proud of her.

Kaitlyn is chugging along in Kindergarten.  She has been getting excellent grades and is having a great time every day.  Her teacher told us at parent teacher conferences that she will never struggle with school so that was nice to hear.  We have been blessed with very smart kids.  She took a break from sports after T-Ball this summer but is looking forward to playing soccer and softball again this next season.

The girls both had remodels of their rooms lately.  Ellie got a new loft bed (that I had to assemble) from IKEA.  Not fun, but she loves it and her room is so much more comfortable with the extra floor space that the loft provides.  She now has a really nice desk underneath to work at.  Kaitlyn is the beneficiary of getting the bunk beds back in her room.  She now has 3 beds in their with the additional trundle.  The only problem is that when we have her cousins over, she doesn't like anyone to sleep in there with her because she needs her space.  Right.

This past weekend we had the Henderson's visit for our family Christmas.  It was great to see everyone and we had a great time opening presents and socializing.  We took the kids to Coco Key, which is an indoor water park, on Saturday.  They swam to their heart's content and we relaxed and drank a few beers.  Today we went to Bass Pro Shop to see their winter display and get the kids pictures with Santa.  Santa got an earful from all 4 to the point where he had to ask Ellie what her most important request was.  After lunch we said goodbye and that was the end of our family weekend.  It is always fun to see them and we look forward to seeing them again in a few weeks.

That is all for now.  We hope you are all doing well.  Have a great week.

John, Jana, Ellie, and Kaitlyn

P.S.  I am having trouble uploading pictures to blogspot so I will post them as soon as I get it to work.

A Good Day

We're all using our computers again tonight after a really nice day.  I believe Sis had a poor night's sleep, but maybe she will rest better tonight.  I've already updated about last night and Joy and Mark helping us with the Christmas tree.  Today Shirley and Rose went to a concert, and Chris took me to lunch at TGIFriday's while they were out.  Rose and Shirley still won't let me stay alone.  That's okay. I love Chris's company.  

Shirley has some solar lights strung on the fence in back of  the house.  They only light up when the sun shines during the day.  They are shining blue now.  We had sunshine and sixty degrees today.  

Plane Crash in Springfield

Brother Joe sent the following news:

Small Plane Crash

Two hospitalized, Other two passengers able to walk away from wreck .
No one on ground injured . Location 2 blocks west of Glenstone, south side of Pythian st across street from Evangel college.

Chris and Sue

Chris

Joy and Sue

Mark Goldman

Saturday Update

Sue e-mailed me this update for posting:

"After a really bad day on Thursday, I've had two much better days today and yesterday.  I suffered from insomnia last night and don't think I ever really did go soundly to sleep.  I have recovered my sense of humor and have been able  to do a lot of the exercises that the new therapist assigned.  I've been able  to walk with a walker but when I went for my initial therapy they had not told me to bring mine.  I think there will be more evaluation on Monday when I  do bring mine.

Mark Goldman and Joy came over this afternoon and helped us put up the Christmas tree.   It is beautiful.  I thought they were bringing the kids with them and was disappointed when they did not.

Rose and Shirley have dinner ready so  I'm going to going to sign off now

First Day of Out-patient Physical Therapy for Assessment

I had physical therapy and the initial evaluation this afternoon.  I will go for regular sessions three times a week, and after ten sessions, the therapist will send another evaluation to my physician.  If he  decides I am progressing at that point, therapy will continue.  I have had therapy before but this therapist, who had previously worked at Barnes, didn't have access to earlier records.  I  have a lot  more exercises the therapist has assigned me to begin at home besides keeping up the ones I am already doing.  He had me set some goals.   He really has a nice sense of humor.

While I was at the evaluation, Rose and Shirley had an appointment at the Apple Store.  First time (I think) Rose was at the Apple Store this week (I'm not sure of that), and Shirley went with  her.  Chris took me to dinner one night this week to HiLander where we usually go because I love crab cakes.  Rose and Shirley and I actually had crab cakes tonight at home!

Shirley,  Rose, and I are all on our computers (they are playing scrabble while I  am working on this post).  They got back from their appointments before Marnette  and I got back from therapy.  We picked one of Marnette's kids up from school on time.  She's a  good  mother--and timely.

Rose is feeling like she should practice on her guitar more than she does.   Her teacher agrees.  The Apple Teachers all know her well.

Bed time.

Erica, Amanda, Linn, and Connor Abbott

Scheduling and Rescheduling

Chris and I are going out to  dinner tonight.  I did my exercises today as usual.  Rose is with a client right now and Shirley is on the phone with one of her relatives.  I will start outside physical therapy on Friday.  This will be an evaluation and will set up appointments after the evaluation.  Perhaps I  will soon be able to get back down to the lake house. I'm hoping that might be before Christmas.

I had an appointment with one of my neurologists tomorrow at which time Rose had a clients scheduled.  Rose rescheduled her client and then the neurosurgjst called and couldn't keep his appointment.  I now see him on January 7..

Kyle Langston's Recital

Kyle is the son of Cindy and Dave Langston. [ Cindy is the daughter of our late brother Bernie Fellin and his wife Maudie.]  Kyle is quite a talented musician.  Dave sent us some beautiful photos of Kyle's recital, and we have copied some of them here.

Top Photo Kyle and Cindy

Middle Photo Brothers Jake and Kyle

Bottom Photo Cindy, Jake, ?, Kyle, and Tammy

Quiet Sunday

When we talked to Scott and Chris this morning, they still had a long drive to go and were extremely disappointed about the results of  the game, but both said they had fun. Too bad, MU lost.  As Scott said, they sucked.  Donald said in an Email that he wasn't sure which team he was for, Missouri or Alabama, so perhaps he wasn't disappointed with the results.

Rose is practicing her  guitar and Shirley, has gone to Walgreen's.   I'm just sitting here typing slowly.  Wasn't that a good picture  of Rose and  also of  her and Shirley?   They were on there way to Rose's presentation on Friday. They don't always dress like that. 

Rose and Shirley

Rose

Quiet Saturday

Waiting for Pete and Janet's Saturday morning call and  have already had coffee and breakfast. Rose is on her way to  the  grocery store for several items we need.

Rose gave a talk last night for her Jungian Group.  She was nervous about it but I'm sure it went well.  She is usually the photographer at our events, but got someone else to take her picture when she was leaving the house.  I hope I can get her to post it. By the way, Pete and Janet have called.  All is well in Idaho.

I thought Goldman and his family were coming over this afternoon to help us put up the Christmas tree but it's next Saturday, not today.

My sons are at a Mizzou football game in Atlanta.  I'm not sure what time it  starts and don't  care for football, but I may be watching to see if I see them.

Rainy Day

I'm getting ready to go to  bed but wanted to fill in a last word before I did.  Rose and Shirley have been playing Scrabble after a delicious dinner of crab cakes.  Shirley has also been addressing Christmas Cards in her spare time.

Chris stopped by on his way home from work to let us know he is going to meet Scott in Nashville to go to the Mizzou football game in Atlanta on Saturday.  We won't be watching the game will  be watching for Scott and Chris.

Thursday Morming

We're up and have had breakfast.  Waiting for Marnette who comes most days to help.  Ii's cold and dreary looking outside, but I'll just do my exercises inside. The neighbors next door have installed a new roof.  They chose a very cold time to do it but it't done. There's been a lot of traffic on our street but it's quit now.

Goldman and his wife and her son are coming Saturday afternoon to help us put up the Christmas tree.  It's become a tradition for him to assist to us.  We're looking forward to it,   (I'm not sure what happened to all the ornaments I had.  Denny's years of Star Wars ornaments are stored in the basement here.)

I believe Rose and Shirley have several clients today.  Rose has been practicing her guitar and feels guilty if she slacks off.  Pete, she hasn't been to the Apple Store yet this week.

After Brayden was a little sick on Monday, he is fine now.   Uncle Chris shipped his computer back on Monday but it had not arrived in Louisville as of last night.

MARSHFIELD

That was quite an interesting article that Brother Joe sent about our dad and his involvement in building Fort Leonard Wood before World War II.  Rose and I can both remember items Joe mentioned.  We were also recalling the chicken  house, the barn, and the actual house in Marshfield.

Some of the Abbott's went to the Jefferson Barrack's Graveyard on Sunday and took decorations for Margaret and Norm's graves.   We didn't go because we still had company.   We got to  see more of the Louisville visitors,  though not much because they left  early for the Rams Game, then drove home from Stadium.  But at least, the Rams did win.

Marnett came both yesterday and today.  She will help me the rest of the week.   She can't go to the lake house because she has small children, but I hope  Linda is still  available.   This is the longest I've been away from the lake house ever.

Historical Note

Joe Felin sent the following from "Ozarks History" in an e-mail today:

"Dec. 3, 1940:  Formal groundbreaking ceremonies were held for Fort Leonard Wood.  Four Iowa contractors-Newman of Des Moines, Kilinger, Lytis and Western of Sioux City -- had the job building the base.  Denton Smith, A Springfield businessman, served as personnel and labor relations manager for the contractors.  He recalled, "The contractors were from Iowa and thought the weather would be like Iowa-- that there'd be a hard freeze and they could go right ahead and work the ground all winter.  But at Fort Wood, it would freeze at night and thaw during the day.  They hadn't counted on all that mud." Approximately 32,000 men worked in shifts around the clock to build the base.  Despite the cold weather and mud, 1,600 buildings, 17 bridges, 29 miles of railroad and countless miles of road were constructed within five months. In February 1941, one million board feet of lumber was laid every 24 hours, and a standard 63-man barracks was completed on average of every 37 minutes.  Springfield News & Leader"

PERSONAL NOTE BY JOE, Dec. 01, 2014 - Our dad (James Louis Felin) rode from the farm to Fort Leonard Wood daily in the back of Dave Genetti's pickup truck (which had  the resemblance of what we now call a camper shell) to work.  Probably half a dozen other local men were in the group.  Later Dad stayed at a rooming house near the Fort.  He had to furnish his own bed and purchased a Day Bed.  (You probably remember it as I think we had it at Marshfield?)  The 45 MPH speed restriction for WWII probably was not in place as the war had not broken out yet, but it was a very crooked hwy. 66.

Not mentioned in the article.  O'Reilly General Hospital in Springfield (where Evangel College is now located) was built about the same time (both before Pearl Harbor)

PERSONAL NOTE BY ROSE, Dec. 01, 2014 - Hard to imagine what it must have been like commuting that distance to find work.  Hard also to imagine the working conditions during those winter months.  True heroes don't fly to the moon.  True heroes work under terrible conditions to provide food and shelter for their families.  Thank goodness for our mom and dad, James Louis and Margaret Marie Felin!  What they managed to do was a whole lot more heroic than simply flying to the moon and back.

Snow and Ice Today

We woke up this morning to snow and ice, but Marnett made it over here just fine.  She drives a Chevrolet Impala and didn't have any trouble getting here at all.  There's more cold weather in the forecast, and  it's cold outside.  Rose went to Schnuck's and Shirley went to Whole Foods so we're set for a while.

Rose and Shirley went to a poetry presentation last night, and Chris came and stayed with me.  Brayden had forgotten his computer.   Uncle Chris took it with him and was mailing it home today.  Chris made turkey noodle soup from some of the leftovers.  Except for BBQ, I didn't know he could cook.  It was delicious.

Scott just didn't have enough time for every thing he wanted to do.  They will be back for Christmas with Jalen along to celebrate both his 17th birthday (!) and Christmas.  Scott did visit some of his old buddies Saturday night but didn't stay out late knowing he was going to the Rams game on Sunday and also getting back to Louisville.

We didn't get to see much of Beth but hope we will for  Christmas break.