Diary of a New House: Merry Christmas 2016

Dear Friends and Family Near and Far,

Christmas is fast approaching this year! In fact, the entire year has been moving at a rapid pace! It is hard to remember everything that has happened, so I looked back on the 2016 calendar to get a glimpse of the passing year. Most of the calendar reflects ordinary days filled with cleaning, cooking, errands, and keeping house, but there are several highlights that sear the memory:

Our oldest son E.J. turned forty years old in February, a milestone in his life but a shocking realization to his old parents! E.J., Sarah, Ashleigh and Alexis are still living in Ft. Worth and stay busy chasing their teen and preteen girls. Ashleigh and Lexi have taken up golf,
a true delight for their golfing father and grandfather; in fact,

E.J. won the Nader Cup Golf Tournament this year!

We traveled to Big Bend / Rio Grande country in April and played golf with long-time friends Curtis and Sylvia Gleaton at LaJitas Golf Resort. The views were majestic! We traveled through Big Bend National Park on the way to the border, stopping for a night in Marathon at The Gage Hotel. After golfing in LaJitas, we drove the winding highway to Presidio and Marfa. The Hotel Paisano (1929) in Marfa and the Gage Hotel in Marathon were designed by famed architect Henry Trost, which led to a study of some of Trost's designs in the region. We scouted out several of the buildings and hotels he designed in the 20's and 30's.

James teeing-off toward the Rio Grande!

In May, we celebrated James' dad's ninety-first birthday. We try to play dominoes with him every week, and we are continually amazed at his ability to play the game with skill. He has short-term memory loss, but his long-term skill of domino playing is fully cognitive. He regularly beats us like a stick!

We took our oldest granddaughter Ashleigh with us on a trip to Philadelphia in May, and James attended the American Institute of Architects (AIA) convention. The best part was spending time with a precious child, who is growing into a beautiful young lady - and starts high school next year! Ashleigh was the best traveling companion. What a great learning experience in the birthplace of our nation!

John, Casey and three-year-old Adalyn moved to Hillsboro, TX, in June. John is pastoring First United Methodist in Hillsboro, and Casey is the director of the Wesley Foundation of Hill County College. Baby Pieper Elizabeth is expected in February so their little family will increase to four and our grandchild count will rise to eight! We are excited about the newest addition to the Nader Nation!

James and I both turned sixty-five this year and enjoyed a birthday party hosted by Becky and Dan. It was a fun night celebrating another milestone in our life with friends and family.

We left the next morning for a cool fourteen day trip to New Mexico and Colorado celebrating our Medicare July birthdays. The first stop was Cloudcroft where we played golf for three days, then on to the Inn of the Mountain Gods for more golf. We visited friends in Alto, NM, Snowmass, Colorado, and met up with Joseph, Mary Kathryn, Lydia and J.J. in Estes Park.

Joseph continues to minister to the college students at the University of Texas at Arlington through the Wesley Foundation. Mary Kathryn is a counselor and Lydia and J.J. are in Third and First Grade this year.

Bear Lake with Joseph, MK, Lydia and J.J.

We celebrated our youngest granddaughter's first birthday in October. It is hard to believe she is now a year old! Ellie and her big brother Emmett are having fun playing together. They keep Jen and Jordan on their toes! Jordan continues with JQ Engineering developing 3-D models of structural constructs, and Jen is busy at home with the little ones.

On November 30, James had rotator cuff surgery on his left shoulder, successfully repairing the tear that occurred when he fell on a muddy slope on the golf course in April. He is recovering nicely. He is two weeks post-surgery and I can tell he is doing better. He went to get something out of the garage the other day, then I saw him crossing the yard hauling a bucket in his surgery arm and the golf ball retriever in the other. I yelled out the door, "Don't do anything stupid!" (or was it "Don't do anything, Stupid?"). I can tell it is going to be hard to keep him from playing golf with his good right arm. (He is already talking about trying a new right-handed swing.) Breaking his good, right arm is an option too!

We are thinking of each of you during this season of Advent. As we prepare for the birth of our Savior, we prepare our hearts to receive Him into our lives each day. We know many of you have suffered a loss or a heart ache this year, and we pray the new year brings you God's divine PEACE. Many of you have sent us photo cards with pictures of milestones and celebrations in your life, and we rejoice with you. From our family to your family, may you have the merriest of Christmases!