Christmas Letter 2022

                                   

 We were so blessed to have all our children and grandchildren home for Christmas in 2021.  We will not have everyone together this Christmas, but Randy's family and Jeff and Lesa are planning to be here.  Elizabeth hopes to come over from Bedford.  Emily is still residing with us, so she will be the resident Auntie in charge of fun and delight for the nieces and nephews.

 In April this year, Rowen, Janet, and Emily had a weekend vacation at a cabin in Union, Ohio, provided by the Karen Wellington Foundation, which exists to help cancer patients have fun while they are going through treatment.  We enjoyed the time away, the nice place to stay, and fun activities to do in an Amish area.

 In June, Janet had a complete hysterectomy.  Thankfully, she recovered well and there was no cancer found in the pathology.  

In August, Elizabeth and Emily joined Rowen and Janet for a short vacation in Shipshewana, Indiana.  We had a delightful time in that wholesome Amish town.  We enjoyed shopping, a dinner theater (live play), a bike ride (the girls), and lots of relaxing and enjoying each other.

 Later in August, Jeffrey and Lesa came for a fun and busy week's visit.  Jeffrey and Rowen remodeled our little half bath.  It was our first time to have our granddog visit us.  Preston was very well behaved, because he is a well-trained dog, and we survived his visit. J 

 Emily finished her last semester of college!  She got done this month!  She went to Brentwood, Tennessee from May 27-August 1 for Deaf Camp at Brentwood Baptist Church, which combined both of her cognates (American Sign Language and children's ministry) into one internship project.  She was a camp staff teacher for nine 8-9-year-olds, who are deaf, hard of hearing, or are children or siblings of Deaf.  All of the communication was in sign language during the camp.  It is a yearly camp with the goal of helping all of the kids (ages 3-16) to be proficient in ASL.  Emily attended the Deaf Church there at Brentwood each Sunday and really enjoyed being immersed in ASL.  She had one hearing roommate and one deaf roommate in the lovely apartment that the church provided for the camp staff.  Janet and a friend went down to Tennessee for a weekend visit.  The highlight of that weekend, besides seeing Emily and going to the Deaf Church, was getting to go zip-lining near Nashville!!

Elizabeth and Emily went to Missouri for a Thanksgiving trip.  At Joplin, they got to see Tim and Brenda, Charissa, Felix, and Piper and do some fun things with them.  Then they went on to Columbia to spend time with Janet's parents (Rex and Wanda Scoles) and several aunts, uncles, and cousins.  They had a wonderful trip and a good time with everybody. 

 Elizabeth keeps very motivated and busy with her work for Evangelistic Faith Missions and Shepherds Global Classroom, and with children’s ministry at her church.  She enjoys her little apartment, cooking, hosting friends for meals, and infrequent trips to see her family in Florence.

 Jason and Karen continue to live on campus at God's Bible School.  Jason is teaching several classes. He also supports teachers and students with the online class portal. 

 Rowen and Janet went to Missouri for a weekend early in December for her niece's wedding, and they got to see some of the dear family the girls recently visited.

 Rowen has been working half-time or less for Budget Blinds this year, but also does handyman jobs for friends, and has begun some computer work for Shepherds Global Classroom in the last couple of months.  He resigned BB effective Dec.31.

 At God's Bible School, Janet is splitting her work time between manning the phone/reception desk and working in the Donor Records office.  She enjoys greeting people who pass by the phone desk.  Janet continues in the drug study with every four week appointments and labs, and every three month bone and CT scans.  The bone cancer has been arrested in its progress, is not spreading, and likely is shrinking, so we feel very blessed.  When Janet is home, she is likely in the basement piecing and quilting to her heart’s content.

 God has been so good to us this year.  Our lives are His and we are living ready for Jesus’ return to take us to heaven!

 Our prayer is for you to have a Christ-centered Christmas!

 Rowen, Janet, and Emily Albertson

Family Pictures taken December 31, 2021

 We had a very patient photographer and a lovely place to have our family pictured while everybody was here during the week between Christmas and New Years.  Laura Boyd Clark was our photographer, and the place was Darrell and Regina's new family room that Darrell added to their house in the last couple years.

Randy and Joy's family.
Back:  James, Mandylyn, Randy, Joy, Josiah, and Micah
Front:  Jonathan, Mishael, and Jewelyn

Tim and Brenda's family
Piper, Felix, and Charissa

Jeffrey and Lesa

Jason and Karen

Elizabeth and Emily

Rowen and Janet

Rowen and Janet, Elizabeth and Emily

It was such a blessing to get these family pictures.
We really wanted a grandparents/grandkids picture, but it was just impossible. 
Anyone with young kids will understand!

Long Arm Machine Quilting in 2021!

This is the first quilt top I quilted after we got the quilting machine in January.  

This is the nap quilt I made for Hope Brown's high school graduation.  

This is Danette's quilt in the quilting machine.  I made it while I was in quarantine with Covid early in May.  Thank the Lord I wasn't very sick, I just had to stay home anyway, so it gave me time to make her queen size wedding quilt.

This is her quilt on Emily's bed after it was all done.  She had picked out all the fabrics from my stash.

I used more leftover squares from 2020's Covid quilting spree to make Josiah a blanket.  I quilted his with random hearts and quilted his name "Josiah Nathaniel Peter Albertson" in the top border and 

"Lots of love from Grandma A" on the bottom border.  I wrote it on the quilt before quilting, as you can see in this picture.  Then I knew where to quilt when I got started with the quilting.

I quilted three table runners in 2021.  The Spring one is probably the first thing I quilted on the quilting machine.  It was totally practicing!  I found I couldn't see where I was going or where I had been with white thread on much of the white background, so I drew the random pattern in to know where to go.  I have special pens with ink that disappears when you iron it.

The watermelon one I did for Summer, and made six placemats to match.  I quilted a much tighter meandering pattern on these two runners and placemats so that they lay very flat.  I don't quilt that tightly on quilts, because they need to feel fluffier than placemats.
The Fall runner I pieced with leftover strips from Danette's quilt borders and added in the fall leaves fabric I bought in Amish country when I got to go to a Women of Worth conference in September.

After 52 years of my parents living in Joplin, Missouri, this summer they moved to Columbia, Missouri.  My sisters helped them sort and pack.  Marlene found a box with 16 inch quilt squares that had been packed away since 1960!  These blocks were made by Grandma Smith and the names embroidered on the blocks were people Mother and Daddy had known and been associated with in Kansas City when they were in college in the 50s.  They moved away in 1960 to Nevada, Missouri to start their first pastorate.  One block had 1960 embroidered by the person's name.  Marlene sent the box to me in Kentucky.  When I had time to look through the box, I got the idea of putting the blocks together into a quilt and giving it to Mother for Christmas.  This was a surprise to her.  Usually I show her the projects I am working on when we videochat, but I kept this one a secret.  

This is in our quilting area of the basement after I finished the quilting and binding.

Rowen and I were privileged to go to Columbia to see Mother and Daddy and all my siblings December 10-12, and I took the quilt to Mother.  She was very surprised to see these blocks she had nearly forgotten about and remember things about the people embroidered on there.  Many of them are already gone to heaven.  Aunt Velma Hinds, Daddy's aunt, was the Dean of Women when they were in college.  She is still living at 111!  Her name is on one of the squares.

I am always anxious to make another quilt project, but working fulltime does give me only limited time for this hobby.  I joined several Facebook quilting groups that I follow and dream about what I should make next.

 

(Mostly) Sunday guests throughout 2021

January 31st, we had Danette Teed, and Mike, Regina, and Brooklyn Yancey over for Sunday dinner.  We knew the Yanceys in Colorado.  They moved to Cincinnati in January and starting in March, Mike took the position of Director of Development at GBS and is Janet's boss.

February 7, Danette Teed, Brittney Ewald, and Rebecca Bennett

February 12, we babysat the Harms' and Stroud's kids

February 18, movie night with GBS girls:  McD Wantaki, Victoria Dupte, Anna Winter, Danette, Dasha Sobie

February 21, Danette and all Rebecca's family, the Bennetts

February 28, Mike and Brooklyn Yancey, Lonnie and Leta Witt, Rick and Mary Tallman, Rebecca and Danette

March 7, Rebecca, Danette, Lori Yoder, Moriah Yoder, Audrey Yoder.  Audrey is Janet's student helper at GBS. Moriah and Audrey are sisters, and Lori is a good friend, though not kin.

Emily's 23rd birthday, celebrated a little early on March 14 with Danette, Brittany Stamper, The Stroud family (Wilson, Marshall, Pastor Andy, Ellisyn, Sherilyn, and Karilee) and Sister Regina.  Pastor Darrell was sick that day and didn't get to come.

Easter Sunday, April 4, Rebecca and Danette, Marvin and Joyce Cooper, Retha Elger

Retha and Janet

Retha, Janet, Emily, and Rebecca

On April 11, we had the Redmond family:  Byron and Amy, Owen, Felicity, and Griffin.  We apparently forgot to take a picture at the table.

Elizabeth was home and this is a picture from suppertime.

On April 16, our Colorado friends from Wyoming visited us:  Mathew, Nicole, Phoebe and Ethan Hinkle.  What fun it was to see them again!

We had to play Mathew's game "Interstate," a game of vacationing across the country while having multiple interruptions!

April 18 Danette, Gaby and Abi Montero

April 25, Rebecca, Danette, and the Soderna family:  Jim, Alanna, Mary, Grace, and Susan

April 29, Joanna came to visit us!

May 16, Brittney, Rebecca, and Danette.  This was after two weeks of Rowen and I missing church because of having Covid.  Thankfully it was not too bad and I got to make Danette's quilt during it.

June 13, we had Tim Sedlacek, Jonathan and Jeffrey Brewer over for dinner. (No picture)

Father's Day June 20, Jason and Karen came over!

June 27, newlyweds Jimmy and Danette, and the Harms family:  Korin, Stewart, Steve, Daniel, Stephen, Emmalee, and Annabelle

July 3, the Wilson family: Pam, Tim, Aiden, Maddie, Emma, Noah, Eliana, Sophia, and Levi

July 4, Jimmy and Danette

July 30, our sweet neighbors, Wendell and Cheryl Kegley.

August 1, Bill Lee and his granddaughter Loralei Biswell from Kansas. (Bill's a friend from Miami, OK in Janet's growing up years) and Lonnie and Leta Witt.

Bill took this picture of us at church.

Jimmy and Danette came over on August 8, no picture.

August 11, a fun spontaneous evening with Hope, Dr. Cara, and Dr. Matt Brown from Colorado on their way to Asbury, KY for Hope to start college!

Janet's 60th birthday party on August 14:  Elizabeth, Tim and Brenda, Charissa, Felix and Piper, Jason and Karen, Danette and Jimmy, and Ron and Becky Profitt celebrated with us.

Ice cream cake!

August 29, Brittney Ewald, Brittany Stamper, Katie Young, Janaye Byers, Autumn Stevens

Katie was Emily's CFA co-worker, Brittany is friend from church, and the rest are GBS girls.

We had the Stamper family over after church that night.  Elizabeth was home just for the evening and part of Monday.  Katie, Kara, Jacob, David, Kelly, Joshua, Kelsey, and Klarissa

Joanna Johnston spent Labor Day weekend with us.  On September 5, Marvin and Joyce Cooper were also with us.

Joanna and Emily

September 26, Elizabeth's 28th birthday.  So privileged to have Jeffrey and Lesa visiting us!

We had Jeff and Lesa, Emily McKay, Autumn Stevens, and Elizabeth.

Emily McKay and Autumn knew each other already and they were glad to see each other.

October 5, Dessi visited us for 10 days.  We enjoyed having her with us and we shared her with others she wanted to visit in the area.

October 10, Emily was gone with the choir, but we had Dessi, Rebecca, Jimmy, and Danette for dinner.

October 17, Sister Rachael Hill, Lonnie and Leta Witt.

October 24, Pastor Darrell and Regina, Wilson, Marshall, Pastor Andy, Ellisyn, Sherilyn, and Karilee were our guests for Pastor Appreciation.

Shawn and Nancy DeOrnellis visited us on October 31 and ate Sunday dinner with us.  They live in Seattle, but Janet knew Shawn in KC.

November 7, Jimmy and Danette, Nikita Black, Emily and Caleb King

Our Burning Bush was so pretty that day!

November 14, we had Rebecca, Kristy her sister, Brittney Ewald.  We forgot the picture!

November 21, we had Anthony Paulus, Chandler Witter, Jenna Walter, Brittney Ewald, and Lonnie and Leta Witt, and we forgot the picture!

Janaye Byers stayed with us all of Thanksgiving Break.  She and Emily practiced their SWSE Christmas music.

Thanksgiving Day:  Maunica Gera, Marvin and Joyce Cooper, Janaye Byers, Elizabeth

Later, Jonathan and Jeffrey Brewer came over too, but we missed getting their picture.

Emily, Elizabeth, and Mounica.  Mounica is a GBS student from India.  She didn't know if she would like American Thanksgiving food, but she said she loved everything!

On November 28, we had Jimmy's mom, brother Danny, and sister Perl, Jimmy, Danette, and Janaye with us.

December 5, Janaye, Jenna Walter, and Autumn Stevens.

Jenna has been over for Sunday another time when we forgot to get a picture, and she also stayed the night with us and Emily took her to the airport for Thanksgiving. 

Christmastime we plan to have people over, but that will be another post for another time!