Has it been that long?
Well, I know that it's been nearly a year since I posted here, and so much has happened. I decided that I would take our "Christmas Letter" that we send to many of our family members and friends and post it here. (We didn't send to everyone this year, due to our income situation, which is explained in the Christmas letter.) So, here it is:
Well, another year has passed, and what a crazy one it has been! We almost didn’t write a letter this year, but changed our minds at the last minute. It just wouldn’t feel right not sharing what’s going on with all of our family and friends.
Well, another year has passed, and what a crazy one it has been! We almost didn’t write a letter this year, but changed our minds at the last minute. It just wouldn’t feel right not sharing what’s going on with all of our family and friends.
First, for those of you who don’t know, last year, Curt started working only four days per week. He has continued working only four days through 2010, unless he had a big project to complete. In addition, Erica lost her job in February. She really never thought that it could happen, but it did...after 13 years of working with the same people. Anyway, as they always say, every cloud has a silver lining. Since Erica lost her job, she was able to spend nearly two weeks in Myrtle Beach and was there for the birth of our granddaughter, Gracelynne Elizabeth, on February 28. What a blessing to be able to share such a special time with Scott, Jessica, and the boys! We don’t know that they’ll ever know how much Erica appreciated their putting up with her during such a tough time in her life and such a hectic time in theirs!!!
In April, we had the chance to visit Myrtle Beach together. It was the first time Curt got to meet Gracelynne (aka Gracie). We had a wonderful long weekend visiting with everyone. At home in Youngstown, we also celebrated Matthew’s third birthday, and Cari was home to visit for a few days.
In May, Erica had a rather exciting experience. Elton John (one of Erica’s favorites) actually played a concert right here in Youngstown! Although we were not thrilled with our seats, it was such a fun day...especially since we didn’t have to travel to Cleveland or Pittsburgh to see him.
June brought along Regionals, as usual. Although Curt’s skaters skated well, none of them went to Nationals, which is the first time since Curt became a coach that he did not have to travel to Nationals. It was a nice change of pace.
In August, Erica had her first overnight stay in the hospital (since she was a toddler). She went to the doctor with a pain in her side and a fever. When the doc saw her temp of 103, he sent her straight to St. Elizabeth's Hospital. Although they never figured out the problem, the fever was down, so she went home the next afternoon. On a brighter note, Cari and her boyfriend, Jeff, came to visit later in the month. We got to spend a great weekend with Bill, Amy, and Matthew at “camp,” while Cari and Jeff were here. We also went with Cari and Jeff to Cedar Point, where Erica realized that she’s really too old for that stuff! We also spent a day at the Canfield Fair with Cari, Jeff, Bill, and Matthew.
Then, in September, we took our annual week-long trip to Myrtle Beach for Ethan’s and Logan’s birthdays. We had a great condo, and the weather was perfect! Our September trip is always so much fun, whether we’re just sitting around, playing with the grandkids, or sight-seeing. It’s always so difficult to leave!
October and November were filled with the normal Autumn fun. We got to take a trip to Pittsburgh to see Jake play in a shoot-out tournament at the new Consol Energy Center. He did great, and we even got a behind-the-scenes tour of the Center. What fun! We went all-out for the Halloween decorations, as we usually do, and we had our annual Three-Dinner Thanksgiving. (For those of you who don’t know, we have our own turkey dinner for breakfast. Then we go to Curt’s family’s for another meal at 1:00 PM, and then we go to Erica’s family’s for another dinner at 4:00 PM.)
We’ve had so many fun and exciting things happen this year, that we almost forgot one important “little” piece of info. We forgot to mention that little Gracie is going to be a big sister sometime in the beginning for 2011. That’s right! Scott and Jessica are expecting another baby—a boy—on April 2, 2011. This will make baby #4 for them and grandchild #5 for us. (It seems like we are announcing a new addition to the family every year, doesn’t it?)
As of right now, we are preparing to have a great Christmas. Although Erica is still looking for a job, she has a possible opportunity that we hope to confirm over the next couple of weeks. Cari is coming for another visit during the week of Christmas, which is going to really brighten things around here. We are just so blessed! We wish we could share more, but we’re quickly running out of room again. So, we’ll close and wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year. God Bless!
Much Love,
Curt and Erica
Reclaim the Passion? Is it possible?
Have you ever lost passion for something? I guess I should ask first if you’ve ever been passionate about something. I guess it’s hard to lose passion if you never had it in the first place. Anyway, as you may or may not know, I was a competitive roller skater. Although I am no longer a competitive skater, I am currently a certified skating coach (who has no students).
Recently, I’ve realized that I don’t like skating very much. I sometimes cringe when I think that I have to go to the rink. At first, I thought that it was just burnout. We were always at the rink, going to a competition, spending our vacation time on skating events. It was as if our whole life revolved around skating, and that was fine…for a while. So, I took a bit of time off.
After a few years of only going to the rink a few times a month, I thought that I’d be ready to get back into it. Curt kept up with it by coaching, and I would still go to competitions with him, including Regionals and Nationals. There were a few times that I thought, “Wow, I miss this.” But the thought would leave as quickly as it came.
Recently, Curt has decided that he wants to skate again. So, he’s been going to the rink on Saturday mornings (which is not normally in our schedule), and I, of course, have been going with him. However, I just can’t seem to get it back. It makes me sad to know that I once loved doing this so much, but now…it’s just not the same. I have so many people encouraging me to come back. I even have some who are challenging me to come back, but I’m still not sure that I want to.
I think much of my problem is that I’ve gained a lot of weight since I quit skating. Because of that, I’ve lost a lot of the skill that I once had. I’m afraid of embarrassing Curt (not to mention myself) by not being able to perform as well as I once did. Second, the sport seems to be dying a slow death. The national governing body doesn’t seem to be doing much to help things out (other than adding new events and sliding scales so that everyone can go to Nationals, if you consider that helping). Finally, I can’t get any students who are interested and willing to work. I can sometimes get them interested, but then they don’t want to stick with it. I end up spending most of my time poking my nose into Curt’s lessons, which makes him crazy, I’m sure.
If there is anything I miss about skating, it is skating with Curt. It was something that the two of us did together. Some couples bowl, some dance; Curt and I skated…and it was fun.
I just wonder if there is any way to get the passion back. I’m going to keep trying; I won’t give up. I just wonder if I will ever have the same passion for it that I did before.
Recently, I’ve realized that I don’t like skating very much. I sometimes cringe when I think that I have to go to the rink. At first, I thought that it was just burnout. We were always at the rink, going to a competition, spending our vacation time on skating events. It was as if our whole life revolved around skating, and that was fine…for a while. So, I took a bit of time off.
After a few years of only going to the rink a few times a month, I thought that I’d be ready to get back into it. Curt kept up with it by coaching, and I would still go to competitions with him, including Regionals and Nationals. There were a few times that I thought, “Wow, I miss this.” But the thought would leave as quickly as it came.
Recently, Curt has decided that he wants to skate again. So, he’s been going to the rink on Saturday mornings (which is not normally in our schedule), and I, of course, have been going with him. However, I just can’t seem to get it back. It makes me sad to know that I once loved doing this so much, but now…it’s just not the same. I have so many people encouraging me to come back. I even have some who are challenging me to come back, but I’m still not sure that I want to.
I think much of my problem is that I’ve gained a lot of weight since I quit skating. Because of that, I’ve lost a lot of the skill that I once had. I’m afraid of embarrassing Curt (not to mention myself) by not being able to perform as well as I once did. Second, the sport seems to be dying a slow death. The national governing body doesn’t seem to be doing much to help things out (other than adding new events and sliding scales so that everyone can go to Nationals, if you consider that helping). Finally, I can’t get any students who are interested and willing to work. I can sometimes get them interested, but then they don’t want to stick with it. I end up spending most of my time poking my nose into Curt’s lessons, which makes him crazy, I’m sure.
If there is anything I miss about skating, it is skating with Curt. It was something that the two of us did together. Some couples bowl, some dance; Curt and I skated…and it was fun.
I just wonder if there is any way to get the passion back. I’m going to keep trying; I won’t give up. I just wonder if I will ever have the same passion for it that I did before.
When the Police Knock on Your Door...
Okay, so here’s the deal. I got tickets (through work) to go to a Lake Erie Monsters’ hockey game in Cleveland on Tuesday night. So, we invited our friends, Tom and Crystal, to join us. The plan was to meet at our house, grab a quick bite to eat, and head to Cleveland.
So, I get home from work Tuesday to find Curt and Tom chatting in the kitchen. Crystal was expected to meet us about 15 minutes later. Curt explained that he had backed his car into the driveway and had Tom help him unload a large box and put it on the back porch. (Curt and I had picked up a rather large Christmas gift the day before, and we had left it in Curt's car.)
I went back to the bedroom to change clothes, and as I was coming back out, I saw Crystal pulling up, parking on the street with Tom’s vehicle. I let Crystal in, and we met the guys in the kitchen. After a few minutes of chatting, we decided to get on the road.
Crystal and I headed into the living room, only to find a police officer standing at the door, getting ready to knock! Before he could knock, I opened the door. He asked if I was the “homeowner,” so I said, “Yes.” (The first thing I thought was that, for some odd reason, he was going to tell us to move the cars that Tom and Crystal had parked on the street.) However, he said, “Your neighbor called and said that someone was breaking into your house. Can I come in and have a look around?” As I stepped back to let him in, I looked outside and saw 2 or 3 other officers in the front yard and 3 police cars on the street in front of the house.
As this was going on in the living room, Curt and Tom were still in the kitchen. Tom went to lock our back door and said to Curt, “Hey, there’s someone walking across your back yard.” When they went to look, there was a strong knock at the back door, which is when Crystal, the officer, and I walked into the kitchen. There was another officer (hand on his weapon) knocking at the back door. Tom unlocked the door to let him in...so, now we have two officers (not counting the ones still outside). Freaky!
We weren’t sure what was going on at this point. We headed back to the living room, and the first officer explained that a female neighbor “directly across the street” had called in that she saw someone trying to break into our house. He also said, “Although, we have reason to believe that she’s losing her mind.” We explained to him that our neighbor across the street wasn’t even home, so it couldn’t have been her calling. We thought that it must have been the elderly lady in the house diagonally across the street from us. He checked the address, and said, “Yep. That’s the house.”
By that time, the neighbors from two doors down were walking over to see if everything was okay, and I was nervous about leaving the house. Remember - We were about to leave for Cleveland and probably wouldn’t get home until after 11:00 PM. Did she simply mistake Curt and Tom for two people trying to break in or did she really see someone trying to break in? Who knows how long it was between the time she called and the time the police arrived? Maybe Curt and Tom has scared away whoever it was - if there was someone. It was nice to know, however, that the members of the neighborhood are watching out for each other! With this in mind, we went on our way, with our other neighbor promising to keep an eye on things.
Despite the rough start to our evening, we had a good time, and the Lake Erie Monsters won the game, beating the Grand Rapids Griffins (the Detroit Red Wings affiliate team) by a score of 6 to 2. What an evening!
So, I get home from work Tuesday to find Curt and Tom chatting in the kitchen. Crystal was expected to meet us about 15 minutes later. Curt explained that he had backed his car into the driveway and had Tom help him unload a large box and put it on the back porch. (Curt and I had picked up a rather large Christmas gift the day before, and we had left it in Curt's car.)
I went back to the bedroom to change clothes, and as I was coming back out, I saw Crystal pulling up, parking on the street with Tom’s vehicle. I let Crystal in, and we met the guys in the kitchen. After a few minutes of chatting, we decided to get on the road.
Crystal and I headed into the living room, only to find a police officer standing at the door, getting ready to knock! Before he could knock, I opened the door. He asked if I was the “homeowner,” so I said, “Yes.” (The first thing I thought was that, for some odd reason, he was going to tell us to move the cars that Tom and Crystal had parked on the street.) However, he said, “Your neighbor called and said that someone was breaking into your house. Can I come in and have a look around?” As I stepped back to let him in, I looked outside and saw 2 or 3 other officers in the front yard and 3 police cars on the street in front of the house.
As this was going on in the living room, Curt and Tom were still in the kitchen. Tom went to lock our back door and said to Curt, “Hey, there’s someone walking across your back yard.” When they went to look, there was a strong knock at the back door, which is when Crystal, the officer, and I walked into the kitchen. There was another officer (hand on his weapon) knocking at the back door. Tom unlocked the door to let him in...so, now we have two officers (not counting the ones still outside). Freaky!
We weren’t sure what was going on at this point. We headed back to the living room, and the first officer explained that a female neighbor “directly across the street” had called in that she saw someone trying to break into our house. He also said, “Although, we have reason to believe that she’s losing her mind.” We explained to him that our neighbor across the street wasn’t even home, so it couldn’t have been her calling. We thought that it must have been the elderly lady in the house diagonally across the street from us. He checked the address, and said, “Yep. That’s the house.”
By that time, the neighbors from two doors down were walking over to see if everything was okay, and I was nervous about leaving the house. Remember - We were about to leave for Cleveland and probably wouldn’t get home until after 11:00 PM. Did she simply mistake Curt and Tom for two people trying to break in or did she really see someone trying to break in? Who knows how long it was between the time she called and the time the police arrived? Maybe Curt and Tom has scared away whoever it was - if there was someone. It was nice to know, however, that the members of the neighborhood are watching out for each other! With this in mind, we went on our way, with our other neighbor promising to keep an eye on things.
Despite the rough start to our evening, we had a good time, and the Lake Erie Monsters won the game, beating the Grand Rapids Griffins (the Detroit Red Wings affiliate team) by a score of 6 to 2. What an evening!
"Scripture Memory made easy" - HA!
A few months back, I started a booklet called “Scripture Memory made easy,” which is supposed to be “an easy-to-understand pocket reference guide.” When you read the first few pages, it sounds so easy. You just write the theme, the subject, and the verse on a card, and you memorize 2 verses each week. As you go, you just keep adding verses each week, 2 per week, until you’ve learned 100 in a year. Sure, sounds easy, doesn’t it. Well, it’s not! The guide is easy to understand - absolutely - but that doesn’t make the memorization part any easier.
I was motivated to memorize scripture for several reasons. First, I could recall a verse that said something about hiding the word in my heart. After some research, I found it, and it actually reads, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11 NIV) I also wanted to have scripture easily accessible to share Jesus with others.
So, I started out with the recommended two verses a week. I found that I could usually learn the verse pretty easily, but the reference (book, chapter, and verse) was throwing me off. Then, the more I added on, the harder it got.
A couple of weeks ago (week 20 in the plan), I made a decision. I am not going to worry about memorizing 100 verses in a year. Instead, my plan is to learn each verse instead. I felt that it would be better for me to read the surrounding verses - sometimes even the whole chapter - to determine what that verse actually meant and how it should be used. So, I am now not only using note cards (as the guide has me doing), but I am also keeping a notebook that shows the verse, the context of the chapter, any special notes (from my study Bible), and my own observations, such as how I can apply that principle, subject, topic, etc. to my own way of living. After starting the more in-depth learning of the verses, I found that I really only knew about half of them.
Now, I am spending more time in the Word nearly every day, whether it’s studying my note cards, reading the surrounding verses, or reading the study notes. I am also able to see more clearly how I can apply the Word to my life - and hopefully share it with others!
I was motivated to memorize scripture for several reasons. First, I could recall a verse that said something about hiding the word in my heart. After some research, I found it, and it actually reads, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11 NIV) I also wanted to have scripture easily accessible to share Jesus with others.
So, I started out with the recommended two verses a week. I found that I could usually learn the verse pretty easily, but the reference (book, chapter, and verse) was throwing me off. Then, the more I added on, the harder it got.
A couple of weeks ago (week 20 in the plan), I made a decision. I am not going to worry about memorizing 100 verses in a year. Instead, my plan is to learn each verse instead. I felt that it would be better for me to read the surrounding verses - sometimes even the whole chapter - to determine what that verse actually meant and how it should be used. So, I am now not only using note cards (as the guide has me doing), but I am also keeping a notebook that shows the verse, the context of the chapter, any special notes (from my study Bible), and my own observations, such as how I can apply that principle, subject, topic, etc. to my own way of living. After starting the more in-depth learning of the verses, I found that I really only knew about half of them.
Now, I am spending more time in the Word nearly every day, whether it’s studying my note cards, reading the surrounding verses, or reading the study notes. I am also able to see more clearly how I can apply the Word to my life - and hopefully share it with others!
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