"In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan... earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone..."

The mood of the opening words to this hymn mirror the sort of winter we had last year. The Northwest had record rainfall totals, due to La Niña, which brought us non-stop rain for several weeks. It indeed felt very bleak.

Compounded by the outward weather, the emotional weather was full of uncertainty, fear, grief, and worry, with occasional glimpses of hope. Most of you know from last year's letter that my father died in August of '98; and that we were concerned about Mom's health last December, especially regarding a persistent bedsore that was not healing well. In early December we had hope that Mom would soon return to the nursing home, maybe even before Christmas. It was not to be, however; she developed a gall-bladder infection, which weakened her and necessitated another surgery. The primary concern was whether she would have the strength to survive another invasion of her body; her surgeon was quite concerned. After much prayer, the family decided to put her life and their trust in God's hands; if it was to be her time, then Amen, so be it. So Christmas Eve morning found us waiting together at the hospital while the surgery took place. It was a holy time, in a way; we sang songs together, prayed, and otherwise distracted ourselves from the fear that lurked just behind our eyes. She made it through, and after a few days in intensive care, was well enough to be moved back to her regular hospital room. Hope began to grow again, and we began to plan for her return to the nursing home. But, no sooner had we begun looking ahead, when her pressure ulcer again needed treatment. This time it was decided to do a skin-graft, and hope that would fix it for once and for all. That surgery went well, and she seemed to be recovering nicely from it. Around the latter part of January it was decided that she could recover about as well at the nursing home as in the hospital, so we gave her the happy news that she was going home! February 3rd was the day, and her friends at the home were happy to have her back; she was greeted like a celebrity!

Whether it was the relief at being back where she was loved, or the culmination of the effects of 30 years of MS and the surgeries on top of that, we may never know, but she died February 5th, surrounded by her nursing home family, and secure in the love of her children. I was blessed again with the answer to prayer, in being at her side when she quietly acquiesced to death. I have to say, she was beautiful in death; there was a peace in her face, and serenity seemed to emanate from her. We celebrated her life with a party at Mason UMC, complete with Winnie-the-Pooh themed balloons (her favorite Disney character) and one last round of her favorite game, BINGO. Many friends joyfully recalled the ways Mom had touched their lives, and we all seemed to have a vision of her being free to dance and run, and leap, as she hadn't been able to for such long years.

In April nine of us participated in the MS Walk, as the M'Emily's Legacy team; we raised nearly $2500 for the MS Society! This year our goal is $4000.

Early in the year, Doug and I had been asked to take part as staff in a junior high camp at Ocean Park Methodist Camp during the summer; we had never done this before, and for some reason thought we needed to stretch our comfort zones, so we said yes! Doug's brother Blaine was one of the deans, his wife Tammy was the nurse (Hellooooo NURSE!), my brother Jon was camp pastor and dean-in-training, and his daughter Kristen was the camp go-fer. Quite a family affair! Add to that campers Jon-Michael and Lauren to complete the family domination. We also brought the camp "mascot": Oscar, our diabetic kitty. He received special dispensation from Laurel Ankeny, the camp director, and did quite well that week, soaking up attention from the many staff who filled the dean's cabin at all hours. Tammy became his favorite, though; she let him cuddle on her bunk! Also, as nurse, she gave him his shots when I wasn't able to do them. It was a good experience, and Doug and I have agreed to do it again; we feel awed by the thought that we, plain as we are, can be instruments of God in these young peoples' lives.

I have continued to research my genealogy, having successes large and small. I found previously unknown cousins on both my mom's (Gilliams and Ginsburgs) and dad's (Wardeskas) sides; together we are putting the pieces of our shared heritage in place. The internet plays a major role in my research, but I know the value of leg-work, as well. I have yet to trace some of my lines, but that's the fun of genealogy!

As usual, Doug is involved in our church bowling team, functioning as captain once more. The team is right around .500 with two weeks left in the half. But they have fun! He also played on our Huggermuggers team, which has been together for nearly 19 years now. They finished just under 500, with a 4-6 record.

Baseball was on our minds a lot this summer, as the Seattle Mariners opened their new ballpark, Safeco Field. An outing on Doug's birthday gave us a chance to inspect the new premises; it's very nice! Comfortable seats, great views of the field, and many little extras, like the glass bat sculpture in the main entrance, make it a fun site to visit. We made another couple of excursions in late August, taking our nephew Clinton for an 18th birthday treat one time, and going with Blaine, Tammy and Mike Devine for a day of fun another. In late September we went again; having bought the tickets through Boeing, hoping we'd see the team in a playoff bid.

The cats continue to keep us busy, entertaining us with their antics and touching our hearts with their sweet natures. We still have our eleven: Kalice, Luke, Tarli, Marlena, Arielle, Graysi, Geordi, Eli, Tsuni, Oscar, and Marmalade. We were briefly at twelve this spring and summer, as Panzer, Mom and Dad's cat, joined us for his final months. He had developed cancer, requiring daily chemotherapy. We did what we could for him, and learned what a sweet kitty he could be, if he "wanted to"! But the disease won, eventually making it clear the kindest thing we could do for him was to let him join Mom and Dad in heaven.

Doug and I continue to sing in the choir at our church. We had to say a reluctant farewell to our volunteer director, Matt Deller, this fall, as he, wife Leann, and her parents, Myron and Rilla Weitz, made a move to Arizona for work and health reasons. This also meant an end to Jean and Rilla's organ/piano duets. Stepping in as an interim "rehearsal director" is our former director, Laura Tippie. As Laura's position at her "other" church requires her to be there Sundays, I have been tapped to (ahem!) "direct" on Sunday mornings; it's not entirely natural for me yet, but our choir is blessedly tolerant and seems to do okay, inspite of my uncoordinated waving. Matt called us "the little Choir that could", and it seems even more true now, as we continue to give God glory through our music.

Last spring our Nurture committee at church decided it was time for another edition of the cookbook, since it had been nearly ten years from the latest one. Many changes in membership can occur during such a period, and we wanted to include as many new members' recipes as possible. After collecting the recipes through the summer and early fall, transcription and editing followed, then the final print in time for publication and sale at the Holiday Boutique and Roast Beef dinner on December 3rd. Sales are going well. (If you'd like a copy, let me know).

Doug has been busy at work this year, splitting his time between the OSA group, where he has been the past four or five years, and the AWACS group, who needed a bit of help meeting deadlines this past summer. He seems to enjoy the variety, although it has meant some overtime and less availability at home at times.

As co-executor of Mom's estate, with my brother Bob, Doug has learned a few of the intricacies involved with settling matters after a death. One dilemma was what to do with the new, never-used electric wheelchair Mom had purchased last fall, right before entering the hospital. It was delivered after she had entered the hospital, so she never even got to see it. Bob, Doug, and the rest of the family debated the options: have the company take it back (which proved fruitless), sell it on our own, or donate it. It was apparent, after a lot of exploration, that we would not be able to sell it for anything near the purchase price, even though it was new. So we honored Mom's generous spirit again by donating it to the MS Society's Loan closet, where it will be used by anyone who has a need for such a chair.

Doug and Bob were able to close the estate by early October, having the happy job of giving everyone their small inheritence. I don't know about my brothers, but I never expected any greater legacy than Mom and Dad's love; and truly no monetary amount can surpass that.

Our extended family expanded this year: Tom and Erin welcomed Evan Thomas Short to the fold this summer. He was born July 12th while we were at camp. Proud papa Tom has been learning the joys of diapers, burps, and baby giggles. And "big brother" Roki, Tom's "firstborn" (part Rottweiler/Lab) seems to take particular interest in the little fellow. He's already growing like a weed, of course, and has his family well-wrapped around his tiny little finger.

I continue to write and read poetry; it was a great means of expressing my grief and trying to come to terms with how to live with the loss of both parents. I have learned not to expect to "get over" it, but to make room for it, accomodating this change in the room of my heart.