HAPPY NEW YEAR

Please turn your speakers on and take a few minutes to listen to Kenny G's version of Auld Lang Syne. The overlay is a chilling history of the last 60 or so years. We have certainly experienced unforgettable events in our time here in the United States. May the next 60 years be filled with better memories for our grandchildren.

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I hope all of you had your fill of Christmas/Hanukkah meals. Maybe you had your fill of family, too! At any rate, may all of you be full of good feelings and thankfulness for the blessings you received this past year. A few of you have more to be thankful for than the rest of us.

IRENE PIEL BATTS has had recent checkups with both the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor and the plastic surgeon in San Antonio. Both are very pleased with the outcome of her lengthy surgery as well as the results of the chemotherapy and radiation treatments. She doesn't appear to need any more surgery, and the treatments have been successful in eradicating any signs of the original cancer! She is eating some soft foods now. Hurray! The feeding tube is not nearly as satisfying as the taste of real food, although the doctor told her it might be a while before her taste buds are back to normal. When I saw her shortly before Christmas, she had a smile as big as Texas. What a wonderful Christmas present for her and her family!

JAMES HAYS may not be an angel, however he recently got his "wings":

"I got my Christmas gift early, my new flight physical arrived Friday in the mail, renewable annually with a stress test and other stuff for six years. Then they will need a re-evaluation, all just because I had my chest cracked 8 months ago. I celebrated Friday by boring holes all over the sky."

I hope you are very careful, JAMES, as I don't want to hear another story like the following.

BILL KING had a family "incident" that reminded me of the scary events of last Christmas, when my daughter and her family skidded on ice in Colorado and flipped their car into a ditch. BILL sent me the following email:

"Reflecting back to about 24 hours ago to a time that could have been one of the worst times of my life that turned out to be one of the best times of my life... On the morning of Friday December 26, 2008 my youngest son Keith, his wife Lea Ann, and my little 8-year-old granddaughter Bailey headed out to Albuquerque, NM in his 4-place Mooney airplane. My oldest son Terry, his wife Catherine, and my grandson Michael live in Albuquerque. I was at my farm in Ballinger when I received a brief call from Terry that Keith had crash landed his airplane 20 or so miles out of Albuquerque and everyone was fine and they were headed out to the scene of the crash. A few minutes later I received a text message from Keith assuring me everyone was fine and he would contact me as soon as rescue found them. Needless to say I burned a lot of cell phone minutes over the next few hours. Keith and his family were checked out at the scene and had no bad injuries, just sore all over from the bouncing around during the crash landing. They were transported out of the crash area where Terry and Catherine picked them up and headed back to their house.

Talking to Keith later I found out the crash landing was in a small field free of trees in an area that is almost all forest. Anyone familiar with the area east of Albuquerque knows about the heavy forest type area and high mountains. Keith told me he was flying on instruments and was over a mountainous area when his engine failed. He was able to back away from the mountains and started to look for open sky to find a landing site. When he was no more that 500 feet above the ground he broke out into clear skies and all he could see was trees and a small open area a short distance in front of them. His approach to the open area was too fast but he was able to force the airplane down and skid to a stop before he reached the trees in front of them. Take a look at the attached pictures Keith took at the crash site. Might have to work on that propeller just a little.

On this trip Lea Ann was sitting in the back seat with Bailey. Keith was flying the airplane with a vacant seat next to him, or was it vacant? I am not sure if Keith was the pilot or the copilot. For anyone that says there are no guardian angels looking over us I would have to disagree with you. Oh, by the way, I broke my foot on that same day while at the farm, but what a very minor happening compared to what could have been.

Everyone stay safe, and count your blessings."

BILL, I am so happy to hear that everyone came through this horrific ordeal unhurt! Also, we hope your foot heals quickly!

Not everyone celebrates the holidays in the same manner. NANCY THOMPSON BAKER and hubby Jake (Class of '54) decided to hold their Christmas with their family the weekend before Christmas. Everyone was there except their son Rodger (and his wife and children) who is stationed in Spain. We celebrated Jake's 70-something birthday at the same time. Two days before Christmas NANCY and Jake left on a road trip to Tunica, Mississippi, where they had a good time playing the slot machines. NANCY said they won enough to come home with as much as they left with, plus all of their expenses were paid for! Another plus: the temperature was 70 degrees on Christmas Day in Tunica!

I shared a wonderful Christmas with all my children and all but one of my grandchildren in Amarillo at my daughter and son-in-law's home. The kitchen was the busiest place in the house, with three gourmet cooks on hand -- my daughter Carajean, my daughter-in-law Amy, and BOB BURTON, my daughter's dad. There was plenty of food all day long every day we were there. The children had the most wonderful time before and after "Santa". There were five children under 10 and three teens. Unfortunately, so many either had a cold when they got there or took cold when they were exposed, that we didn't get to hear the singing of carols as usual. But we made up for it in lots of domino games, while the children played with the Wii they got for Christmas. It filled the house with music from the "Rock Star" game. (Not exactly Christmas music!) Although Cameron's voice was suffering from a cold, he played a piece or two for Grandmama on the piano. The youngest child there was Kelly, who turned three last month. I really believe she played the hardest.. and possibly ate the most Christmas gingerbread men. As you can see in the photo on the right, she didn't want to give in or give up her cookie, even when she was so tired she couldn't stay awake any longer!

All in all, it was a good time for everyone. As usual, Carajean (and husband Branch) was the "hostess with the mostest". The only thing that could have made it better would have been to have her housekeeper Graciela on hand to help with the cleanup. She was on vacation!

I feel certain all of you remember BOB BURTON's sister Emilie. She was a BHS cheerleader for four years. She and her husband "Doc" live in Amarillo. Emilie stopped by for a visit with us on Christmas Eve. She looks the same as always, with just the addition of silver in her hair.

One can take dozens of pictures at a family Christmas, but still not capture all the memories that we will hold in our hearts forever. I feel more than ever the need to treasure each little memory, as we never know when this will be the last Christmas we share with our loved ones.

The years are slipping away too quickly. Remember when the year 2000 seemed eons away? Everyone was fearing the worst from the Y2K bug. May all of our fears of the passing of time be as pointless as the Y2K scare! And may you all be blessed with the very best in the coming year.

Let me hear all the "good stuff" that happened to your and yours over the holidays! And share your pictures with us.

Peace and love to you all,

Marilyn

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

LET'S CELEBRATE!

If any of you have checked the blog lately, you may have heard a song playing that does not fall under "traditional" Christmas music. Of course, it's not. It's a traditional Jewish folk song. ~ one you even may have danced to if you have been fortunate enough to attend any Jewish celebration. I went to an engagement party in Brooklyn one year, and had a wonderful time dancing to Hava Nagila!

You may or may not know that the Jewish holiday, Chanukah (or Hanukkah) begins at sundown on the 21st of December this year. At that time, the first candle of the menorah will be lit. Each night during the next eight days, another candle will be lit. There are beautiful Jewish songs that are sung before and after the lighting of the menorah, however, I was unable to put them on the playlist of music that I have on this site -- they just weren't available there. I did find a wonderful website that explains a lot about Chanukah, it's meaning, prayers, songs, and sacred traditions:

http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/media_cdo/aid/104620/jewish/Ner-Rishon.htm

I encourage you to visit this site. I promise you, you will not be disappointed. There are many delightful songs and a wealth of information about the Jewish faith. I have bookmarked it for my personal perusal in the coming year. I am woefully ignorant of this faith, as I am of so many others in the world. I remember when I was young I felt sorry for the Jewish children, as they did not celebrate Christmas, i.e., get all the presents!! Then I was told that during Chanukah each child was given presents every night during the eight-day celebration. Wow! A whole week of receiving gifts! My bubble burst when I was told that only one present per night was given, and that might be one of a pair of gloves one night, and its mate the next!

I am reminded of the first time I experienced religious ignorance as a young child. I was seven and attending a (protestant) church with my great-grandmother in San Antonio. A little boy in my Sunday School class was extolling about the beautiful interior of a church he had seen while passing by when the doors were open. He told of many candles lit, and described an altar with a cross and statues. I was frightened by the reaction of our teacher that morning. She immediately scolded him and told him to never go into such a church -- to pass it by quickly, as they were "idol worshipers", and God would be angry with them and him, too, if he ever went inside. I was more than a little confused, as I had been so enthralled with a loving God -- one who loved all the little children, "red and yellow, black or white, they are precious in His sight" -- an all-encompassing, forgiving, loving Father. How could this same God not be proud to have a pretty church in which we could worship Him? I struggled with many similar questions for years in my youth.

One of my favorite memories of Christmas is of trying to "catch" Santa in the act! I was determined this could be done if I could only stay awake! One year we spent Christmas at my paternal grandparents who lived on a ranch in Miles at the time. This was the first time in my memory that there was an actual fireplace in the living room, with the Christmas tree standing beside it. Santa would surely come down that chimney! That night my sister and I were to sleep in twin beds in the guest room. I had the ingenious idea that if we tied a string to our big toes and stretched it from one bed to the other, we could keep each other awake by pulling on the string when we thought the other was falling asleep! So much for that good idea. After several tugs, we both fell asleep at the same time!

I got a few responses after the Thanksgiving blog. PAUL MOTA wrote this:

"My daughter and the grandchildren spent a few days over Thanksgiving and even our son-in-law managed to arrive on Wednesday after dealing with pet problems in Houston. But we all had a great time and at our age, we have to cherish all the good times available to us. Our plans are to spend a few days in Houston over the Christmas holidays. I hope all of the Class of '57 have a great Christmas."

"Merry Christmas and a Harley New Year!" wrote TER COTHRAN. He was to take his lady friend (not on the Harley, I hope) this weekend to the Glendale Police Association's annual Christmas party, which he attends as often as he can. Then he is delivering Christmas gifts to his daughter and her husband, Amy and Paul.

Someone asked me what my Christmas plans are this year. Whoa! Do we have plans!! This year most of the family will meet at my daughter Carajean's home in Amarillo. I got a tentative count of around twenty who will be in attendance. My sister is too ill to travel, so her family won't be represented. One year we had over 30 sleep over. There were beds everywhere! I went to let the dog out through the laundry room, and discovered an air mattress next to the dog's bed. My great-nephew Justin had decided to come at the last minute, so he got the "dog house"! This was in 2000, and the year a lot of us got snowed in! It was also the year that the day everyone finally started to leave, a vicious stomach virus began to make the rounds. It was a memorable Christmas for many reasons!

My daughter's home is extremely large. So large that when they moved in, my granddaughter Ashlyn, who was only three years old, complained loudly about how far it was from her room in one wing to the kitchen, family room, and Mom and Dad's room in the other wing. She shortened that distance by riding her tricycle to get from one room to the other! In 2000, my dear mother who was suffering early stages of Alzheimer's kept getting lost trying to find her room. Once we found her at the door to the garage. She was puzzling over the Security Alarm buttons by the door. When I asked her what she was doing there, she said she was trying to open the door to her room! When I told her where she was, she said, "Oh! I thought this was a hotel."

There are five (5) fireplaces in their home. How confused Santa must be when he delivers the goods to that family! In 2000 he made a personal appearance on Christmas Eve, but the two youngest children were frightened by him, so he was asked to keep his visit secret in the future!

So many in the family are musical, that we started a tradition of singing Christmas carols and having everyone who plays an instrument perform for us when we are together.. Usually on Christmas Eve. Since we started this tradition, there are six more grandchildren (two are BOB and Ann's) added to our family. Carajean and her family play stringed instruments ~ Carrie plays viola, the two girls play violin, and her son plays cello. Her husband Branch took piano lessons, so maybe he will accompany us this year. My son Craig, who played guitar at Carajean and Branch's wedding, always delights us with Christmas music. Now his son Cameron plays guitar also, and has been requested to sing some operatic music (not accompanied by his guitar!) for his Aunt Carrie this Christmas. I remember the first Christmas he performed. Not having discovered his "voice" yet, he played a short piece for us on his harmonica! I'm not certain what the other "little" ones will do this year, but I'm certain they will perform in one way or another. I hear that Travis (age 6) and his little sister Kelly (age 3) have been learning a piece to play on the piano for us. The ones of us who are musically challenged will be more than happy to join in the chorus when the carols are sung!

During all the celebrations, BOB (BURTON) reigns king over Carrie's kitchen. (Although, Ann is the reigning queen of omelets, even flipping them into the air!) He is quite the gourmet cook, and most of the women are happy to relinquish the cooking to him. We do join in for cleanups, however, and I can be talked into making a salad or two, and maybe a vegetable casserole. I will bring my gingerbread men and decorated Christmas cookies for the little ones, fudge for the big boys, and we all usually join in to help create a gingerbread house for the annual contest held by the Archer clan. I am really looking forward to this family get-together, as you can probably tell.

One more thing before I close. DORIS (STOKES) AND DON WHITE have twin grandsons who are five months old now. When I went to get the flu vaccine in September, I ran into DORIS. Her daughter and those adorable twins, three months old at the time, were in the car. DORIS told me at the time that one of the babies had a stroke shortly after being born, but no effects had shown up yet. She recently emailed me the following: "My new grandsons will be five months old the seventeenth. Garison and Graham are their names. Garison had a stroke ~ we are not sure when, but we discovered it when he was three weeks old. He is doing okay for now, so please keep him in your prayers. We are doing fine. Hope you are the same. MERRY CHRISTMAS." May these beautiful babes be happy and healthy.

And may you all be happy and healthy now and throughout the coming year. As Tiny Tim said, "God bless us everyone."

Marilyn

POST-THANKSGIVING GREETINGS

I hope all of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving as much as I did. However, I hope you didn't put on the pounds like I did! I was so glad I took a pair of my "fat" jeans with me to Austin. As I prepared to make the trek home, those "fat" jeans were the only ones that I could button! I know I gained at least five pounds. Everywhere I went the desserts were so tempting. I ate pumpkin pie, French silk pie, peach cobbler, chocolate cloud cookies, and oh, so divine New York cheesecake. All in more than one sitting, of course. I also put away an inordinate amount of ham, turkey and dressing, sweet potato and apple casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, and assorted other vegetable casseroles. You know, it's fun being the guest at such feasts. That means you rarely do much of the cooking or planning. And sometimes you even miss the cleanup! More time to relax and eat.

We had some pretty big eaters at my son's house, as is evident from the following photo:

Here are some of the latest medical updates:

“I have not had any more heart problems; the monitor is in there just waiting for something to go wrong. Thank goodness I have had no problems. The battery is good for 3 years, so they plan to leave it in..”…ROSALYN URBANTKE HOELSCHER

"I will be dancing at my first granddaughter's wedding in December! The leg is doing great. Glad to hear all the rest are doing well, too."...BARB SHARPES BROOKS

JERLENE PIEL STEEL has also had good health news for two members of her family in recent months. One has had successful cancer treatment, and the other surgery on his knee. She had requested prayers for them.

In a recent blog post I wrote about WALTER and Diana THOMAS'S son, Gregory, undergoing treatment for a malignant pancreatic tumor. I am so happy to report that he has had successful surgery. Diana forwarded an email that Gregory's wife, Imelda, wrote to all their family and friends. It was a lengthy, heartwarming story of the events leading up to his hospital stay and the surgery. I want to share a small portion of what she wrote about their wait during the surgery:

“..And then I prayed. And then I texted most of you all to help me pray. And then guess what? God heard us all! His (the surgeon’s) assistant came back an hour or so later and said ‘They got it out! All of it!! It just slipped off the artery!!’ A miracle had been granted to us! I couldn’t believe it!! …Greg is in recovery now and will be for six weeks. It’s not been easy for him so far but I know we’ll get through it. The doctors think that this operation may have been curative for him. I witnessed a miracle!! I live with one!”…Imelda Thomas

I know all of you have been concerned about IRENE PIEL BATTS. I have good news to report. Not only is she feeling much better -- no longer feeling the side effects of the chemotherapy or radiation, but she is now buzzing around her house making plans for Christmas. There is only a small place that hasn't completely healed on her leg from the transplant area. This week, the best news of all -- she had the tracheotomy tube removed and they tested her swallowing of food-like substances. By the time you read this, she may be eating small amounts of food for the first time since her surgery. So far, she has been amazing in her ability to cope with all of this, and seems to be healing at a rapid pace. She will undergo more oral surgery, but it will be nothing like the major ordeal she went through in the last one. Please keep her in your prayers, and of course send thanks for all of the prayers answered thus far.

Well, guys, you know what's coming up next! I wish I could say I am prepared, but I'm afraid this year I am woefully behind on my Christmas preparations. I'm still in the afterglow of a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

It just keeps getting better and better. Keep the good stuff coming...and enjoy the holiday season we are about to experience!

Peace on earth,

Marilyn