Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
There’s been a similar theme to many of the letters we’ve received this holiday season. It’s no secret that 2020 (and 2021) has been full of the unexpected. I’ll refrain from expressing my disdain.
2020 started out just about perfect. I had planned out almost the entire year. I felt very accomplished the first few weeks with journaling and meeting daily and weekly goals. We had a healthy balance of work, social gatherings, sleeping well, and eating right. I was looking forward to a birthday trip to Mexico in April with my girlfriends. We were going to go camping several weekends in the Summer. We planned a family vacation to Florida for Christmas. The budget was dialed in, all activities would be paid for without going into debt. Winter term was going smooth, with only 3 more classes left to earn my degree.
As February approached, the wind was knocked out of my sail. I had what seemed like a more severe case of the occasional laryngitis or flu that I had experienced in the past. This took a bit longer to shake off, but I slowly regained my strength and pressed on to finish well with my online class. We heard of the Coronavirus, but it seemed too far away to affect us here in the US. Our favorite February activity is the County-wide fundraiser; The Melt Down. We belly up to several of the 40+ varieties of grilled cheese as local entities fight for the best cheesy creation. We feel it is our duty to participate. It’s the last chance to wear elastic waist pants and oversized sweaters before the weather changes. While Dale attended the annual Daddy Daughter Ball with the girls, I took the boys to the Monster Jam in Portland. Noah, Hayden (Hannah’s BF), Michael (Hayden’s BF), and I met up with some friends and had a blast, literally. As the spring buds began to poke out from the earth, we prepared for a low-key Spring break. Late in the evening on March 17, Hannah was in a car accident. A gentleman blew threw a stop sign as he was driving himself to the hospital. She hit him, totaling her car. We arrived as the first responders were pulling up and were very thankful to see that Hannah was standing. She is still recovering, with frequent visits to the chiropractor, physical therapy, and massage. Who knew days later, the kids would leave their school buildings for an early Spring Break and begin the whole new world of distant learning? We planted a garden in late March and Noah learned how to ride his bike without training wheels. Hannah got a newer car and Hayley sold our 2004 Urban Assault Vehicle (caravan) and upgraded to a newer car.
Easter came and was much different than years past, but celebrated at a much deeper level. My trip to Mexico was postponed due to Covid-19. The non-profit company I work for had to decrease our workforce, reducing the accounting department in half, then my boss resigned in May. I am very thankful I am still employed. I have been a part of many great changes, using my strengths and helping me to feel more confident in Accounting.
We welcomed our German Shephard, Arlo, home on May 6th. He was born March 22nd and a much needed distraction from distance learning and stay at home extended guidelines. In June, we helped put together a small, socially distanced, Prom for a few Seniors that were missing out on all their “last” activities of their high school career. It was so much fun to dress up and let loose. As our garden grew, so did Arlo.
Covid-19 created a bit of a challenge with our camping plans, so we connected with Rena, Dale’s aunt, and headed over the mountain to Gateway, just outside Madras. Our trip was full of all sorts of surprises. Dale’s truck broke down in Government Camp. After sitting there over 30 minutes, I decided to ask God to provide us what was needed to get to Rena’s and help us to make it home and then we would look into purchasing a newer vehicle. Just as I finished praying, I heard the truck start up. Without asking questions, we headed out, had a great weekend, and made it home. While visiting Eastern Oregon, we stopped by an outdoor family gathering that was cut short by a storm that came out of nowhere. Complete with gale force winds, hail, rain, and running from a dust cloud. That was one for the books. We also took time to visit the place we scattered Verla’s ashes (Dale’s Mom). It’s so peaceful in the canyon. We loved camping in Rena’s yard, waking to the sound of cows, the train whistle echoing against the canyon walls, and the peaceful sound of sprinklers watering the fields. A few weeks later, we headed to the lake house to celebrate Noah’s birthday and our 24th anniversary. Upon returning, I jumped off Dale’s new truck and felt a tear in my ankle. The pain gradually got worse and I recently found out I have a bone spur. I’m way too young to feel this dang old (or something like that). The pain wasn’t enough to stop us from many activities in the Summer. We fixed up the yard, created a fun space to watch movies outdoors, played many outdoor games, and set up the pool for hours of fun. We went on several hikes to find local waterfalls. On one occasion, not too far away from home, we came across a momma bear and her cubs. Let’s just say I was completely elated. I have searched my whole lifetime for bear in the wild. Who knew they were so close?
We planned a quick trip down to the wildlife safari in Roseburg. It was so much fun and another first for us. Fourth of July was the most exciting celebration we have ever experienced. The whole town was lit up with fireworks with explosions throughout the night. Speaking of celebrations. Hayden turned 16. We had a parade and a small socially distanced progressive birthday party with Hayden and a few friends. We are so thankful for our village that has come around our girls and those who participated in praying for her and hosting a “meal” to celebrate. Covid-19 created a few challenges for her to get her license, but she finally got in to take the drive test, passed, got a job and is paying insurance and gas. Welcome to early training to adulthood little bear. Noah has been able to spend some much needed time with his sister, Amelia, throughout the year. This has been a major blessing to him. It seems his anxiety has decreased with knowing she is well.
One of the most exciting events this Summer was a visit from the Stolpe family. My sister and her family blessed us so much with a week of yummy food, birthday celebration, great conversation, beach trip, and gathering with old friends and family. Our hearts were filled. We finished out the Summer with a few more hikes. I participated in a 40 over 40 photo shoot with Legacy Images. What a confidence booster. I recommend an experience like this for all my mature lady friends.
September started off with a trip to Depoe Bay to drop flowers over the bridge for Grandma. It’s just our way of celebrating her, even though she is not here. We had our last hike of the season on September 7th. As we were heading home from the Otis area, we noticed the wind was picking up and there was smoke off in the distance towards Salem. By 10AM the next day, the entire sky had darkened and fires had sparked across Oregon. An orange hue hung over us while ash fell on our cars, into our pool, clogging car vents and smoke filling buildings. Masks were no longer required for Covid, but for us to breathe. The next week was the first day of Distance Learning School. After lots of tears and tantrums (from all of us), we were able to get Noah into a program at the school where he can have 2 hours of face to face learning five days a week. I can write a whole page on that process. I won’t. We are very blessed to have a great team of teachers and counselors to guide us through this crazy time. Noah has many struggles day to day, but we are so proud of how far he has come. Just as we were getting into the rhythm of Fall, Covid-19 became way too real for us. Our bonus son, Kyle, had been sick and died. He was only 26 years old and honestly the most gifted, talented, and amazing young man we had to privilege to walk along side with for over a decade. We were blessed to have a very strong community of friends that gathered to honor and remember his life. Halloween was quite interesting. Distance trick or treating meant long waits in cars and fun and creative ways that our community came together to have fun. We had the opportunity to spend some time with some great friends that taught us how to make sushi and we have been creating fun sushi dishes ever since. Christmas came super early this year, as we started decorating the day after Halloween. It was a much needed light in such a dark time. The annual banquet for Men in the Arena, the company Dale works for, was much different than originally planned. It was a great success and we had so much fun presenting the auction live on social media. Finally, the day came that the ladies and I were off to Mexico to get away. This vacation not only refueled my soul, it literally filled my tummy with the best tacos ever!! We had lots of socially distanced fun by the pool, hiking in the rain forest, hitting up taco stands, and exploring the beautiful area of Puerto Vallarta. When I returned to the states, I self-quarantined and worked from home. This was both a challenge and a blessing. It became very clear that Arlo was not thriving to his fullest potential in our home as everyone was focused on distance learning and working throughout the day. We had to make the very hard decision to find him a better home, where he could be the center of attention. We were blessed to find him the most loving family and know he’s getting all the love and attention he needs. It still leaves a very big hole in our hearts, but sometimes the hardest things are the best things. Thanksgiving had much deeper meaning as we looked around to find that all of us had been blessed with good health, jobs, and love; nothing to be taken lightly or for granted. December was full of peace and joy. We enjoyed Christmas lights, baking cookies, making fudge and family togetherness. We ended the year in Florida. We experienced the joy of a child who had never experienced Walt Disney World and the adventure of being away from home. We enjoyed getting away as a family even though two of our children are adults. We brought in the New Year all three times and headed home on the 1st. It’s been an eventful year. One we won’t likely forget for many years to come, one that has brought us closer together and challenged us to love deeper and more intentionally.
Our hope and prayer is that your New Year will be filled with love and grace, peace and joy, wonder and delight. We have decided not to book too many things this year, as it unfolds, we will cherish the moments and make time to love one another. This year the kids continue distance learning, our town has dining, outside, inside a tent (so weird), and Hayley will be getting married in October. We cling to the hope that God will continue to use us, guide us and transform us on our journey.
Blessings,
The Collver’s
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