Dear Friends and Family,
Normally,
we just send out a Christmas card but this year things were a little different
so we decided to change things up and send out this note instead.
We’ve
celebrated Jessica’s 16th birthday. That was a very special day for all of us here and we were
very grateful for all of you that attended.
This
year Isabella started Kindergarten.
She’s done amazingly. Her
teacher says she’s very bright and hardly ever has to explain the work to
her. However, her teacher does
complain that she doesn’t finish her own work because she’s too busy helping her
classmates with theirs. She’s too
much.
Christopher
continues to excel in school. Though
he was a little behind, his scores on the state’s exams are OK considering his
difficulties. One of his most special skills is that he is a powerful
swimmer. He has no problem getting
through the waves and out past the breaks. It is amazing and fun to watch. Two summers ago (2011) we stood at the Jersey shore (thanks
to Kenny and Christine) until the last day before we had to evacuate because of
Hurricane Irene. Chris was still
able handled the waves and swam. I
tried but I got wacked. The wave pulled
me down and then out, then to the shore, I get pulled back out to the water
again; this happened back and forth three times. And throughout the whole time I hear Chris laughing the most
hearty laugh I’ve ever heard from him.
Then he tells me after I finally escape the wrath of the waves, “do it
again!!”
Sylvia
was tested beyond comprehension this year. On top of her responsibilities as mom and homemaker, she
became the house custodian, landscaper, grocery shopper and part time nurse and
gopher. And now she’s a
contractor; she oversaw about a ten-member crew to successfully upgrade the
house to meet my handicap needs.
Before that she organized a very enjoyable fundraiser without ever
having the experience doing one before.
Throughout all this she maintains her advocate label for the medical and
educational needs of her family.
My
year was a bit quirky. Aside from
my illness, I had to have open-heart surgery and I came out of it a bit
psychotic. I actually kicked two
nurses because I thought they were trying to kill me off in a way that would
look like I did it to myself. I had so much pain medication that I started
hallucinating. It was like I was
on LSD. Now
its Christmas, our favorite time of year. We eat great food, share fond
memories and stories and forged stronger bonds with our friends and love ones. We do this in part to honor the
birth of our savior, Jesus Christ.
We’d like dedicate
this Christmas to our very special sister and wife to John Caban, Elsie
Caban. A truly loving and
thoughtful woman. A woman who made
us all feel
special and unique with her gift giving perfection.
Elsie didn’t give you the most exquisite looking gift because you were someone
of stature; she did them her way because we all were persons of stature to her.
Gift giving holidays with be lacking from now on. Rest in sweet Peace, Elsie, we love you.
