Dear friends and family,

I can’t believe that it’s almost Christmas. Our trips around the sun seem to blur faster every year. I have to say this has been a pretty good one for our family.

Allen only had 26 nights on the road this year. In 2022 he was away 75 nights, so a big improvement (and 75 was a big improvement over 2021).  I look back to when we were first married and laugh that I cried when he had to go to a conference. The house seemed so lonely.  Honestly, it’s been strange (in a good way) to have him home so much this year. There was a rhythm to his travel, and I hate to say that I got used to it.  It’s been wonderful to have a more normal life again. He’s still working at Tinker and enjoying his job. This year he injured his foot. It’s feeling much better, but it kept him from playing as much golf. After saving for a long time, he bought a new set of clubs. He’s itching to take them out and break them in!

Amy had a visit from a dear friend this year. They enjoyed catching up in person. She also went to see the Broadway traveling productions of Six and Hamilton this year. Musicals are still her jam, so that was a big deal for her. It looks like her Bartonella is possibly going into remission. This would be a much anticipated improvement. Bartonella is possibly what is keeping her from Lyme remission. Fingers crossed. Her Lyme doc said not to get sick with anything this winter to cause a setback. So, she’s being very careful. Her mast cell dysfunction is under better control with dietary modifications. She hates the restrictions, but she feels so much better. We are still seeing doctors in Texas for many of her issues, but we do a lot of the consults online these days. One good outcome of the pandemic, I guess.

My Bible study group has never started meeting regularly again, since the pandemic. We do get together more regularly to visit and catch up. I’ve been doing my Bible studies alone. I’m now 22 years cancer free. I can’t believe how blessed I am. I challenged myself to scrap 365 pages this year. It didn’t happen. I kind of stalled out at just over 200 pages, but I still count that a win. Jacque and I went to the scrapbook convention in Tulsa this year. It was so much fun! I fell last fall and twisted my ankle. I kept hoping it would heal, because I felt like they’d put me in a boot. I was chauffer for Mom and Amy’s doctor appointments, as well as my own. I finally gave in and saw a doctor in the summer. An MRI showed a torn ligament. Yay. They put me in a boot. But they did agree to me driving if I’d put the boot on again before I walked. The boot and PT healed the tear, but the scar tissue was still causing pain and swelling. They suggested I try   shock wave therapy, which was a game changer. It was like magic. I’m now in orthotics to support my arch and doing so much better. I’m still taking infusions for my Psoriatic Arthritis. It makes my immune system less able to recover if I get sick but helps keep my body from attacking itself. I’m very careful about getting exposed to anything. As I write this I’m recovering from a procedure on my back to kill a couple of nerves. My spondylitis was causing a lot of lower back pain, so they decided to see if this would give me some relief. I’m in the days immediately following the ablation so I’m dealing with inflammation. Fingers crossed that it’ll be much better.

David accepted a tenure track Assistant Professorship at Austin College in Sherman, TX. He’d been teaching there for several years, semester to semester. He’s thrilled with the new job. This prompted their family to plan a move to Grapevine. They’ll be moving over the Christmas break. He’ll still have quite a drive to Sherman, but Courtney works in Fort Worth, so they’re splitting the difference.

Courtney was promoted to Principal at Oak Hill Advisors and has taken several trips this year for her job. She tripped and broke her foot in the spring or summer. We were in boots at the same time. She finally needed surgery to fix it. So glad she’s finally doing better, too.

Hannah is in 4^th grade. She placed at the district science fair. Nana and Pawpaw were so proud! She also joined a local swim team and is loving it. She’s following in her Daddy’s footsteps, I guess.

Joseph is in kindergarten. He’s enjoying being a “big kid”.  He played flag football this year. His team made it to round 2 of the playoffs. He’s really into football and hopes to play for the Sooners someday. This thrills and terrifies his Nana. He and David came up to attend two games with Pawpaw this year, and Allen is going down to attend the Armed Forces Bowl with them in December.

Mom Schones had her 90^th birthday. She would not let us throw a party for her, so instead we collected birthday cards. We also had a small family dinner to celebrate. She is active with Bible study, drumming and her work with the women’s auxiliary at Concordia.

Mom Bibens has had a healthy year. No new strokes. Her doctor recently cleared her to have salt again, which was a lovely surprise. Her eyesight has improved considerably. She still has a blind spot in one eye but has been cleared to drive again. She had been without a car for over a year. Hers burned the summer of 2022. She finally got a replacement in November and is thrilled to have wheels again. Thank you to all who helped get her to church and Bible study while she waited to get a car. She lost her boyfriend Ted in the spring. Now one of her dogs, Bitsy, has developed bladder cancer. It’s been a tough year for her.

We still have a zoo. The cats are Figaro 18, Bagheera 13 and Thomas 6. Ro is very thin and frail. He’s in kidney failure, but still happy. Baghee is grouchy and trying to assert that he’s the new boss. Nobody really cares. Thomas is very sweet. He’s a little timid but is learning to hold his own. The dogs are Lucy 12 and Minnie almost 6. Lucy has lost so many pug teeth that her little tongue hangs out almost all the time. She sleeps and snores the day away unless she’s bossing Minnie or the cats. Minnie is a big cuddle bug. She loves to snuggle and kiss. We’ve had Mary the parakeet for 8 years now. She likes to “talk” to us, but she’s less social since she lost her partner Burt. She likes listening to music and looking in her little mirror.

I better wrap this up. We need to get this uploaded. I pray that all of you will have a blessed Christmas and a healthy and happy new year. Don’t be strangers. We enjoy hearing from you. Love to all of you.

Much love,

Missy, Allen and Amy Schones

Hello friends and family. 2022 was a whirlwind! The years seen to fly by faster and faster. We have much to be thankful for this past year, but I look forward to new beginnings in 2023. Let me catch you up on our past year.

David is Director of the Veterans Onward program at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. He is also teaching in their Religious Studies department. 

Courtney is the Vice President of Private Deal Operations at Oak Hill Advisors. She’s back working from the Fort Worth office part of the week and from her office at home the rest of the time. As I write this letter, she’s on a trip to New York, which I believe is actually considered her “home” office. 

Hannah is in third grade and loves science and animals. She says she’s going to be an engineer during the week and a vet on the weekends. This girl has goals. Her school just selected her to be a Mathlete. She’s also active in Girl Scouts and loves swimming.

Joseph made the jump to public pre-k from Montessori this year. It’s been an adjustment, but it’s exciting to be at the same school with big sister. He loves Baby Yoda and playing soccer. He’s also becoming a big football fan. Both kids are starting Ninja Gymnastics which sounds exciting to me. 

The kids visited in the summer and will be here again again during the holidays. I regret so much that we don’t get to see them more often. 

Amy finally saw the new mast cell specialist earlier this year. Her new diet is very limiting, but she’s feeling better. Everything she eats is fresh or occasionally frozen and hardly anything she eats is processed. This means meals, made from scratch, using only low histamine ingredients, and if she can’t eat it immediately it must be frozen. Now her doctors are wondering if she has narcolepsy. She’s on a sleep protocol that is helping with sleep, but she will probably be taking another special sleep test this year. Amy got an implanted loop recorder in February , because her POTS cardiologist thought she might have afib. So far, it has not recorded afib, which is a relief. Lyme and coinfections continue to be a struggle, as does her PANDAS /PANS. We are having to travel to her doctors appointments more than during the pandemic, but so far we still have some doctors doing virtual visits. Amy’s doctors do not want her exposed to Covid or the flu. She has reacted poorly to the covid vaccine (probably due to her mast cell issues) so she has not received recent boosters. Her blood brain barrier is open due to her autoimmune encephalitis, so Amy and I try to stick close to home to avoid germs.

Allen is no longer a total road warrior. Since the summer, he’s only doing frequent trips instead of being mostly on the road. It’s a huge improvement! He completed his online classes through Air War College in September. Less homework and less travel means we are seeing him a little more. He had knee surgery in the late summer. His knee still isn’t back to normal, so he’s missing his golf game. Then he ended up with pneumonia. Our doc recommended the pneumonia vaccine, so hopefully that’ll keep it at bay in the future. 

I have now celebrated 21 years cancer free. I’ve spent a lot of time in the past year watching online scrapbook and art classes. I’m seriously contemplating designing cutfiles that scrapbookers use with cutting machines.. We will see what the year brings. I’ve been put on biologic infusions for my psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. My hands are already feeling a little better. My doctor thinks maybe this will help keep my arthritis from progressing. I’m making a plan to take more self care time in 2023. My doctors say I need to work on bringing down stress levels. Easier said than done. I do a lot of Bible studies at home and watch church services online. Neither are the same as being with my people, but I’m thankful to have these options.

The cats are doing okay. Ro is in renal failure and very thin. We really need to coax him to eat three times a day, but he still hasn’t told us that he’s ready to move across the rainbow bridge. He’s still very happy, but getting OCD, which is interesting in cat form. He has elaborate rituals that MUST be followed. Baghee is still attempting to show that he’s now the dominant cat, so his grumpy old man attitude continues. Thomas seems to have finally found his place in the family. Baghee still intimidates him, but he stands up to him occasionally. It was a big day when he smacked his older brother the first time. Baghee just blinked in disbelief. Amy and I silently cheered Thomas on.

The dogs are doing well. Lucy takes frequent naps with her little pink tongue hanging out. Minnie spends much of her time hunting bunnies, squirrels, and other critters on our property. When she’s not doing that, she’s barking at golfers.

Mary, the parakeet, seems to have adjusted well to being alone, but she still misses her mate. Mostly, she’s content to dance along to her favorite songs on the radio.

My mom has had a rough year, but she’s doing better . This year she started having excessive bruising. We found out through blood work that her platelets were very low. Her hemotologist and her PCP think it’s an autoimmune issue, because the numbers go up and down and it wasn’t a deficiency. So she needs to be extra careful about being around anyone who is sick because it can cause her platelets to drop. In the summer, her car caught on fire and was totaled. Before she could find a new one, she had several strokes that all impacted the vision in one eye. She was in and out of the hospital a couple of times with sky-high blood pressure. Then, as the strokes resolved her blood pressure dropped too low. She’s now on a special diet, blood thinners and no more blood pressure meds. The blood thinners are contraindicated for someone with platelet issues, but necessary because of the strokes. Her vision has improved considerably. At this point she does not have a new car, but she hopes to find one soon. She’s feeling very cut off from the world without her own transportation, and feels like she is bothering people when she asks for a ride. Thankfully, the church offers her rides and so do her  friends. And I’m happy to take her whenever she needs me.

Allen’s mom is doing well at Concordia. She stays busy with church and caring for plants in the building. She also sings with a group in Memory Care every week. She’s always busy quilting while watching Hallmark movies, basketball, or football.

We resurfaced our pool this spring and added new coping. It looks great. Honestly, it seems even more beautiful, because for several months our yard looked like a war zone. We were hoping that this would help with water loss, because the plaster in several places was getting mushy. But no. It’s still losing water. So eventually they are going to need to replace the old pool plumbing. For now, we just keep adding water.

This summer we got squirrels in our attic. This is similar to bats in the belfry. It wasn’t good. We tried to identify where they were going in and out. Allen and I put up one way gates, but it didn’t work. We paid a wildlife relocation team to try to trap them. No dice. Luckily our roofers arrived to put on a new roof. Turns out squirrels don’t like an army of noisy roofers upstairs. They left on their own and we put new squirrel proof vents on the roof to keep them out. Turns out that was their entrance. So if you get squirrels and need a new roof, this method might be the answer. However, it won’t be cost effective if you don’t need a new roof. In that case good luck. They are sneaky!

Most of our damage from the hail in 2021 has been repaired. When we put the new roof on the house, we roofed the deck. It’s much nicer than the fiberglass roof we had on the deck before. We still have a tiny window in the sunroom that is boarded up, because we can’t seem to find anyone to replace the thick, tempered glass. We also still need to replace a couple of minor items and the dents in my car (from the second time hail storm), but I need my car to transport Mom, Amy and myself to doctors appointments, etc. Hard to do if my car is in the shop and Allen is traveling. It took 6 weeks last time, so I’ve been hesitant to commit. 

One of my favorite moments of 2022 was when Allen gave me a horseshoe for our 38th anniversary. As a kid I always wanted to appear on the Foreman Scotty TV show. They would always give away the golden horseshoe to some lucky kid on the show. I wanted it so much that my sweet daddy bought me a horseshoe that is still hanging outside my mother’s door. The one Allen got me has our wedding day stamped into it because he told me, “That was my lucky day!” 

Hope all of you are doing well. I really miss all my friends and family. I must admit that I enjoy social media even more, now that I am cut off from most in-person activities. It’s nice to see your smiling faces and hear what’s going on with all of you. We pray that these variants will die down, so that we can start to get out a little more in 2023. Please take care of yourselves. And I pray for a blessed new year for all of you.

We started 2021 with a big snow. It was very pretty and a sign of a new start. Although this year was not all that different for our family. Allen is still on the road a lot. He’s taking online classes, so that also takes up a lot of his time.  It seems like his time at home is full of chores and homework.

I turned 60 and have now celebrated 20 years cancer free. I’ve spent a lot of the past year watching online scrapbook and art classes. Allen got me a new toy this past spring. I now have a Silhouette Cameo and I’m in love! I have painful joints in my hands from Psoriatic Arthritis, so paper piecing was getting increasingly difficult. Now I can cut complicated pieces for my scrapbooks, and it’s so much fun!

We got vaccinated, but Amy’s doctors do not want her exposed to Covid. Her blood brain barrier is open due to her autoimmune encephalitis, so Amy and I stick close to home. I think we only had to make two trips to Texas this year for tests. The rest of her remote doctors have been doing tele-med. I could get used to that! We do have to see some local doctors, but it’s been nice to not have to hit the road several times a month. We are adding two new doctors in the next month or so. She’s got an appointment with a new mast cell specialist (the last one was boggled by her complex case). We have a referral for a sleep specialist. The ones in Oklahoma say she doesn’t have sleep apnea, but her sleep remains an issue. She may be getting an implanted loop recorder soon, because her cardiologist thinks she might have afib. Some of you helped her celebrate her 30^th birthday this year by sending cards. Thank you for making it special for her.

Amy lost her sweet parakeet, Bert, this year. He died in her hands. It was very traumatic. His mate Mary has adjusted well to being alone, but she still misses him. Our dogs, Minnie and Lucy, are doing well. Lucy had to have a few teeth pulled this year, so her smile has changed a little. She often has a pink tongue hanging out with that one tooth showing. Minnie spends much of her time trying to catch squirrels and trying to find the fox that we believe lives in our yard. Our cats, Figaro, Bagheera and Thomas are still co-existing. Ro is in early renal failure and very thin. Baghee is attempting to show that he’s now the dominant cat, so he’s turned into a grumpy old man. Thomas is a hoot. He’s the youngster in the group. He’s playful and looks for chances to bat at one of his brother’s tails.

David accepted a new position as the Director of the Veterans Onward program at Austin College. He is also teaching in the Religious Studies  and Classics departments. He’s Youth Minister at Trinity Episcopal Church in Ft. Worth, so he wears many hats these days.

Courtney is now the Vice President of Private Deal Operations at Oak Hill Advisors and has been very busy expanding and training her new team.

Hannah is in second grade and is interested in all things magical. She particularly loves reading about dragons and other mystical creatures, as that encompasses her other passion which is animals.

Joseph has turned four and is getting ready for pre-k next year. He is getting really good at counting and writing his letters. He loves everything to do with Spiderman and superheroes.

The kids visited in July and again in December for an early Christmas. Allen sees them more often when he’s in Texas. Visits are good medicine for Nana and Dodah (their name for Amy). Nothing makes my heart happier! Video chats are awesome, but they just aren’t the same as a hug.

We had an epic hailstorm in April. Our neighborhood looked like a war zone. Many windows were broken, and no one can get glass to replace them. We were lucky that we only lost one window in the sunroom. We still need a new roof, but it’s not leaking. Our deck roof is gone. That also needs to be replaced. It totaled Allen’s car and damaged mine. It took 6 weeks to repair my car, and then a second huge hailstorm came within days. We lost my new windshield and the one in Allen’s new car. Both need to be repaired again. I’m done with crazy Oklahoma weather.

My mom is doing well. Robert took her to Houston for a check up this year. She’s cancer free. She still has shortness of breath, probably due to her thymoma surgery a couple of years ago. Ted started having more trouble getting around this year and having issues with dementia. As much as Mom hated it, he was getting to be too much for her to handle on her own. He’s now in a skilled care facility. She’s lonely, but able to go to church and Bible study regularly (things she couldn’t do while caring for Ted). She also stays busy running up and down the highway to visit Ted. It’s just challenging to get out in the world during a pandemic safely, when you are high risk.

Allen’s mom is doing well at Concordia. She’s resumed going to church and working with their Women’s Auxiliary. She also sings with a group in Memory care every week. She’s always busy making a quilt while watching Hallmark movies. She does beautiful work.

Hope all of you are doing well. I really miss all my friends and family. I must admit that I enjoy social media even more, now that I am cut off from most in-person activities. It’s nice to see your smiling faces and hear what’s going on with all of you. Thankfully, Amy and I are introverts, so we’re doing okay. But we pray that these variants will die down, so that we can start to get out a little more in 2022. Please take care of yourselves. And I pray for a blessed new year for all of you.

Much love,

Missy, Allen and Amy

It has been a challenging year for everyone. So much sadness.  So many people sick. Staying home instead of going to holiday parties. Most of you have probably know at least one person who has died or know someone currently in ICU. You probably know someone who is high risk, or maybe you are? I wondered how to even begin to write a Christmas letter this year. While pondering the year 2020 … I started to think about 20/20 vision, that perfect vision that we all wish we had. What is there in the year 2020 that we really need to see? That led me to pick up my Bible. I asked the Holy Spirit to lead me to some helpful verses.

2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”

No matter how bleak things seem right now, God wants us to have hope.   I don’t know about you, but I’m looking for ways to be kind to people around me. A little kindness always makes everything a little brighter. In a world that seems to be divided right now, we all need to try to pull together.  God wants us to look for the things that cannot be seen, and to have faith in Him.

I don’t have a lot to share about this year. I quietly celebrated my 19^th year Cancer-free in the fall. I have mostly been at home. I’m high risk and so are my mom and Amy. We don’t’ get out much.  I’m trying to keep us COVID free. I do grocery pickup. I am becoming highly creative when it comes to getting whatever we need without going in stores. I have done a lot of painting classes, scrapbooking, needlework, sewing, and Bible journaling. I took a one-week class on how to write children’s books. A gift shop in Oklahoma City closed their doors due to the pandemic, and we bought their shelving for my craft room. Since we got those installed, I have been organizing all my craft supplies. I help decorate lunch sacks for homeless meal delivery in Norman.  I have completed several Bible studies on my own. I sure miss my Bible study ladies, it is not the same without our discussions, and when we meet again two spots at the table will be empty. This year has been so hard.

Allen had to travel a lot this year with his job. We really hope that will improve this coming year. We had the weirdest 36^th anniversary ever. He was out of town, so we talked on the phone. We wouldn’t have gone out anyway because of the pandemic, but it was strange to celebrate without him here. The recent ice storm in Oklahoma brought down a bunch of tree limbs. That triggered tree trimming, and we have really cleaned up the yard. We refurbished 4 metal deer and covered them with lights for our Christmas light display this year. They were a lot of work, but it was fun working together. 

Amy is 29. She has really been struggling with her health again this year. Her Lyme specialist is trying to get her into remission. He finally sent her to a Mast Cell specialist. That has been suspected for a long time, but we did not have a referral. The new doctor gave her a MCAS diagnosis. The medicine has been making her extremely ill, so they just changed it. Her POTS is either getting worse or the medicine isn’t working well. She has passed out several times in recent weeks. She is spending December in a month-long heart monitor. Her doctor’s appointments have been almost exclusively virtual. We have only made one out-of-town day trip to a doctor for testing all year. I took a zoom, basket-weaving class with her, and we each made two baskets.

Lucy the Pug and Minnie the Rat Terrier mix are doing well. Lucy is getting a little gray, but so am I. We still have our three cats: Figaro, Bagheera and Thomas. Figaro is in early renal failure. He lost a lot of weight, but he is doing a little better. Amy also still has her two Parakeets. They are getting old, and Bert is sleeping most of the time. We know he probably will not be with us next year, but they were rescues and have had a good life with us.

David and Courtney bought a house in Ft. Worth.  I have only seen pictures, but it’s beautiful. David has been teaching a mixture of in-person and online classes at Austin College and Paul Quinn. He also is the Youth Minister at their church. He spends a lot of time writing and presenting papers. Before the pandemic, Courtney was traveling to England for work. In the spring, they were going to take a trip to Italy with the kids, but it was cancelled. They have attempted to reschedule that trip.  Fingers crossed for them.   Courtney has been working from home with international clients since the original lock-down.

Hannah is 6 and in First Grade. She was not a big fan of distance learning, but she loves to read. Now, she is back in the classroom. She loves gymnastics. She is into Disney princesses, My Little Pony, foxes, and Star Wars.

Joseph is 3. He loves school and gymnastics. He is into cars, Star Wars, Spiderman, and Sonic the Hedgehog.

They all came to Norman for a visit in the fall. We spent a beautiful day in the park together. Pictures and phone calls are awesome but seeing them in person was priceless for this Nana.

My mom had surgery in Houston in January to remove a pre-cancerous spot on her head. Thankfully, this surgery was less complicated than her surgery in 2019. She celebrated her first-year cancer-free and had a wonderful checkup in Houston in the fall. She had diverticulitis but recovered from that without a hospital stay. In August we welcomed Hattie to the family. She is Robert and Susan’s first grand baby. Mom looks forward to meeting her third great-grand.  Mom’s boyfriend, Ted, got C Diff and landed in the hospital this fall. While he was in rehab, he ended up with COVID. He is doing well, but still very weak. We are hoping he will be able to return home soon once the physical therapists think he is stable. For now, they talk on the phone or make facetime calls.

Allen’s mom has been locked down most of the year. She lives in Independent living at Concordia. They deliver their meals to their apartments and take wonderful care of the residents. Allen has visited her infrequently, because he does not want to expose her to COVID if he is encountered it in his travels. She has spent her time sewing, crafting, watching movies, singing, and with her plants. She laughed that over the past year, her plants had formed a jungle. I think they are going to have a Christmas sale to benefit charity at Concordia with some of her plants.

I believe God wants me to stay safe and wear a mask to protect those I love and myself.  But I also believe that he wants my faith and trust. I am working on it. Please contact us and let us know how you are doing. We miss all our friends and contact with the outside world. Take care and stay as safe as you can. Please let me know if I can pray for you.

Love,

Missy, Allen and Amy Schones

This has been a very challenging year, in many ways.  I almost hate to rehash what has happened the past 12 months, but for those of you who haven’t followed our saga, I guess I need to fill you in.  Before I begin, I want to say that through all the trials of the past year, we still have thankful hearts.  Things could always be much worse.  God is so good.

Early this year I went to the dermatologist.  He diagnosed me with Psoriasis.  My hands were also hurting, and my fingers kept locking up, so he suspected that I also had Psoriatic Arthritis.  He sent me to the Oklahoma Arthritis Center, where that diagnosis was confirmed with x-rays and blood tests.  I also have Ankylosing Spondylitis.  So basically, my skin cells develop too rapidly, and I have an autoimmune that makes my body attack my joints.  My instability in my back is compounded by my body trying to grow extra bone to fuse my spine together.  I’ve known for years my joints hurt, but I guess I thought everyone my age just had aches and pains.  While that may be true, I got an extra dose.  There is no cure, but I’m now on medication to slow the progress.  The dermatologist also found a Basal Cell Carcinoma on my head that needed to be removed.  I had to have Mohs surgery in April.  My surgeon was great, but the wound was about the size of a silver dollar…. too big to sew shut on my head.  I had to go back the next day for huge flaps to be cut in my head by a plastic surgeon to close it.  I ended up with something like 21 staples in my head.  I’m now cancer free and all healed up.  I’m also active in a Bible study group of women from different congregations in my area.  They are precious friends that I treasure.  My roommate from college moved back to Norman, so I’m thrilled to have another close friend here in town.  I still scrapbook when I can find a spare minute.  I don’t have a lot of free time right now.  I’m in PT for my back and caring for Amy.  I also have been taking care of my mom, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

After we found the skin cancer on my head, my mom announced that she’d had a spot on her head for a long time.  She’d shown it to her hairdresser, but never to a doctor.  I pressed her to go to the dermatologist, who did a biopsy.  Hers was not as simple as mine.  It ended up being invasive Melanoma.  That was in late June or early July.  We’ve been making trips to Houston to MD Anderson.  She is now cancer free, but it’s been quite a journey with many bumps along the way.  The story involves four trips to the ER, four hospitalizations, two surgeries (so far) and a possible stroke.   She’s doing much better now.  If you want, you can read more about everything she’s been through.  She is also trying to sell her house and downsize, so we’re house hunting and packing boxes.

Allen finished up his work with a group in Dayton.  He really enjoyed his time working with the people there.  He has since taken an assignment working with people in Texas on a weekly basis.  When he’s not in Texas, he is traveling to other locations throughout the U.S.  It isn’t every week, but he’s been gone a lot.  Hopefully, this coming year will see him spending more time working here in Oklahoma.  He is also working on a new certification, so he’s taking online classes through the Air Force Institute of Technology. One more class and a capstone and it will be completed.  I think we’re all looking forward to his classes ending.  He still loves playing golf, when he has time.

Amy’s Lyme doctor retired.  She has a new doctor in a Houston suburb.  (I’m beginning to wonder if we just need to move to Texas!) We have just started seeing him, but we think we like him.  After almost fainting in May, Amy’s cardiologist ran a few more tests and decided that she has adrenal POTS as well as her previous POTS diagnosis.  He adjusted her medications and she’s doing much better.  She now sees him once a year, unless she has additional issues.  She spoke at the state capital this fall at an interim study.  We are trying to get a bill passed that says insurance must pay for IVIG treatment for PANS/PANDAS patients, if a doctor orders it.  This treatment is very expensive and insurance companies often deny the treatment.  Other states have passed similar bills.  I was very proud of Amy standing up to speak to state senators on behalf of her fellow PANS/PANDAS patients.  She has so many challenges in her life, but she faces them with a positive attitude and such grace.

Our dogs Minnie and Lucy are doing well.  They started going to day care when Amy and I travel out of town to doctor’s appointments.  They love their “school”.  Minnie is learning to use a “talking button” to tell us she needs to go outside.  Minnie is only up to one word compared to the dog in the video. Lucy is busy bossing everyone around in a true Pug fashion.  Both love chasing squirrels in our yard.  Our cats Figaro, Bagheera and Thomas think they rule the roost.  Ro and Baghee still are getting used to the “baby” Thomas who has boundless energy. We still have Mary and Bert the parakeets, but we lost our cockatiel Tinkerbell last winter.  Our hearts were broken when she passed.

David earned his PhD from Southern Methodist University and has a publishing house looking at possibly publishing his dissertation.  He taught this past semester at Paul Quinn College. He’ll be teaching a class there again in the spring, as well as teaching again at Austin College in Sherman.  He’s looking for a permanent teaching position at a university that’s a good fit.  I feel sure that will happen soon.  He’s also presented papers he’s written at several conferences.  He’s the Youth Minister at Trinity Episcopal Church in Ft. Worth.  Courtney is a Senior Manager at Oak Hills Advisors in Ft. Worth.  She will be traveling to London frequently this coming year for her job.  It’s all very exciting.  We are so proud of both of them and their accomplishments.  Hannah is five and in Kindergarten.  Her teacher says she’s a real leader.  She’s reading now and loving it.  She loves Captain Marvel, Disney princesses and My Little Ponies.  Joseph is two. He is starting to talk a lot.  He loves Mickey Mouse and Spiderman. Both kids take gymnastics classes.  Their family has added a new addition of a kitten named Boots.

Allen’s mom still lives at Concordia in Oklahoma City.  She volunteers in their little store and is active in the philanthropic group at Concordia.  She goes to weekly Bible study and attends Concordia’s church services.  She also stays busy baking for her friends and the employees of Concordia.

Allen’s birth mom, Lorraine, has also been dealing with health issues.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer this year.  She is currently undergoing treatment and doing well.  All our mothers remain in our prayers, and we hope they are in yours as well.

We were thrilled when OU won the Big 12 Championship.  We are looking forward to the upcoming playoffs.  We didn’t get to attend all the games this year, but hopefully next year will find our family in better health.

I feel so blessed.  This year could have been so much worse.  I must admit that there were times that I wondered how it was all going to turn out.  It’s been a real trial for us all.  But I trust God and have faith that it will all turn out okay in the end.  Thank you to all the wonderful friends and family who kept us in their prayers.  We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year.

Love, Missy, Allen and Amy

Here I am again.  It’s December, and I’m trying to gather my memories.  Here is my feeble attempt to share all the good and bad of the past year.  I never cease to be amazed at all the changes in one trip around the sun.  At least we are never boring. Hang on for the ride.  Here we go.

We ended December of 2017 with Amy having surgery.  It was a D&C and abdominal scope.  They wondered if what they were seeing in her ultrasound could be cancer.  Thanks be to God, after testing they decided that it was not.  But the surgery caused a flare of her autoimmune PANS/PANDAS, so she ended up with Scarlet Fever.  She had a terrible rash, especially on her face and chest, sore throat and nausea.  On top of that, she had terrible rib and clavicle pain. Again, the anesthesiologist suggested that Amy had sleep apnea.  This continues to make us shrug, since she’s had a sleep study.  Possibly it was due to her POTS.  More about that later.

January: We again had a quiet New Year, since Amy didn’t feel good.  We stayed home and watched Christmas movies.  Amy had a bunch of tests to try to identify the new pain.  Doctors suspected her gallbladder, but tests showed it was functioning properly.  We didn’t want another surgery if it wasn’t going to fix the problem.  She’s still suffering with this pain and other doctors suspect it’s actually due to her EDS.

February: This month finally brought Amy’s disability hearing.  She was quite nervous, since Allen and I couldn’t go in with her.  She did a fantastic job and so did her attorney.  We found out later that she qualified for Social Security Disability.  This gives her a little bit of money every month, since she can’t work right now.  We continue to hope it will eventually allow us to get her back on our family insurance, since most of her specialists are not covered by Medicare.  For now, we are just paying for private insurance.  Disability also has allowed her to get a handicapped parking permit for the times that she is having a lot of issues.  She still isn’t driving because of her irregular EEGs and seizures.  She’s contemplating selling her car and getting a new one when she is released to drive again.  We also ran the DNAConnexions test, which confirmed that Amy does have long-term Lyme, Relapsing Fever, Babesia, and Bartonella.  Honestly, I believe this is the best Lyme test out there.

March: This month, Amy and I checked into Presbyterian Hospital in Flower Mound, Texas for another three-day EEG.  This was not as fun as the previous three-day EEG that she did as an outpatient.  This one was a sort of fishbowl experience.  For three days our room was continuously on camera, with a tech sitting in the hall watching every movement and listening to every word.  We didn’t get to do fun things like going out to eat or shopping, and the hospital had very little in their cafeteria that Amy could eat.  Honestly, it was a couple of months before she’d even look at a grilled chicken breast.  Unlike the last test, no seizures showed up.  Just periods of slow brain waves that the neurologist couldn’t explain.  They couldn’t even induce seizures with flashing lights.  So, we decided to decline seizure meds, in the hope that maybe the Lyme had caused the previously documented partial seizures.

April: This month, Amy turned 27.

May: A good friend of Amy’s gave her two tickets to Les Mis in Dallas, before we found out she could no longer drive due to seizures.  Amy asked me if I would go with her.  Allen actually drove down with us, so that we could visit David’s family.  Then he was an angel to wait in the lobby and watch on the monitor while we actually went to the show.  It was a fun day.  Amy loved seeing the Broadway cast of her favorite musical.  We all loved spending the afternoon in the park with our grandchildren Joseph and Hannah.  Joseph is changing so quickly.  It’s amazing how much they change from visit to visit.  We finally had our appointment with the geneticist for Amy’s EDS.  Ehlers Danlos is a genetic collagen disorder.  His clinical diagnosis was that she definitely has EDS.  After questioning me, he also said he suspects it came from my side of the family and that I have it, too.  He wanted to do genetic testing to confirm it and rule out some of the variants.  Allen, Amy and I were all tested.  Amy’s came back that she has none of the confirmed genes that cause EDS.  That ruled out vascular, the one I was the most concerned about.  They continue to research to find the gene that causes her variety.  One suspected gene is one that I share with her.  I strongly suspect we got this from my dad.  Bibens relatives, read up on EDS.  This could be something that could turn up in your family.  Anyway, for now they say she has Ehlers Danlos Hyper-mobile type.  This month we lost our Jack Russell Terrier, Captain Jack (Cappy).  He was getting old, but it was a tough day for all of us.  Lucy was especially sad without her canine pal, so we started looking for a friend.  Before long, Amy, Lucy, and I drove to a rescue in Davis, Oklahoma to meet our newest family member.  Minnie is a black and white mix that we found online.  The lady at the rescue explained that her mother was a Rat Terrier/Shih Tzu mix and her father was a “traveling salesman”.  She is very affectionate and playful.  The only real problem is that she chews up and eats everything. And I mean EVERYTHING!  Her latest victims have been a pair of my scissors and a chair cushion.   She ate the handles off the scissors (I mean she ATE them) and she ripped open the chair cushion and ate the foam rubber.  All it seemed to cause is a bounce in her step.  I really worry about her, but so far, she never seems to eat anything that makes her ill.  We honestly are not starving this dog.  I don’t know what her problem is.  Allen took his mom to Texas for his cousin’s memorial service.  Even though this was very sad, he said it was good to reconnect with cousins he hadn’t seen in a long time.  Allen’s mom is still at Concordia.  She stays very busy.  She bakes for the nursing care staff and for her friends at her dinner table.  Another resident writes a Christian reflection and Mom Schones has a “paper route” where she delivers them for him.  She also works as a volunteer at the little gift shop, where her plants are a popular item.  This month, we also celebrated the first birthday of Amy’s kitten, Thomas.  I guess I shouldn’t really call him a kitten any more.  It’s just hard not to see him as the baby.

June: Our granddaughter, Hannah, celebrated her 4^rd birthday in Ft. Worth.  She’s changing so much!  I really wish we could spend more time with her.  She’s such a bright light in our lives.  She is very well rounded.  She loves playing soccer, ballet, gymnastics and watching the Dallas Stars.  We made a quick trip down to be there for her party. This month also brought David’s 31^st birthday.  It’s hard to believe that my first child could possibly be so grown up and mature.  As I write this letter his dissertation is written.  He’s in the re-write stage and will defend it in the spring.  It won’t be long before he has his PhD!  In June, Allen and I built a fence in our backyard, to make a large dog run that keeps our dogs away from the pool.  That’s been a real worry for me since we moved into this house.  Some of you might remember when our epileptic poodle fell in our pond at the old house and drowned.  They now have a whole side yard and some of the back, and I can leave them outside unattended.  This was one of the requirements I had for Allen if he planned to travel more….see July.  I also said he had to get a new sleep study, but that hasn’t happened yet.

July: This month Allen started traveling about half of the time.  Neither of us are really thrilled about it, but it’s temporary.  Hopefully, it will allow him to move to a position he’s really interested in at Tinker, in the future, so I grin and bear it.  Allen and I celebrated our 34^th anniversary, but unfortunately, he was in Ohio at the time.  Amy didn’t feel well on the big day, so I went to see the Mr. Rogers documentary by myself.  That sounds depressing, but I actually had fun.  And I got butter on my popcorn.

August: Hannah started Pre-K in the Ft. Worth schools.  She looks so cute and grown up in her uniform.  She’s like her daddy and isn’t fond of change, but after a few rough days, she’s now loving her new school.  With Allen traveling so much and all our medical trips to Texas, we had to look for a doggy day care that allows drop-ins.  We found one that even has a cut rate for half days.  So occasionally, our dogs go to “school”, which they seem to love.  We also made a day trip to Texas to attend our grandson, Joseph’s first birthday party.

September: This month I celebrated 17 years cancer free. David and Courtney came to visit this month.  We had a family birthday celebration for Joseph.  He’s such a cute, little guy.  He’s almost always smiling and laughing.  He loves to run.  He also loves Mickey Mouse, soccer and Star Wars.  This month my old church camp buddies met for the weekend at St. Crispins.  Allen was out of town, so I couldn’t go out and stay.  I don’t like to leave Amy alone that long, for fear she’ll pass out or have a seizure.  But I did go out for a few hours and it was heaven to be with them for a while.  Almost like a little mini vacation.  I doubt any of them realize how much that day meant to me.  They are such a loving, caring, extended family for me.  And it was great to see all the changes that have been made to our camp.  I hardly recognized it!

October: Amy started on a new medication for her POTS, a type of dysautonomia.  Her high salt, high protein and high fluid/electrolyte diet just wasn’t cutting it.  She was having too many issues with her vision graying out, seeing spots and even had one time that she completely blacked out and woke up in her bathroom floor.  So far, so good.  The medication seems to be helping.  Her only complaint is that she can only take it six days a week.  If you take it every day, your body gets used to it and they have to up the dosage.  Her doctor says she’s just got to suffer with they symptoms one day a week.  October also brought the birthday of our daughter-in-love, Courtney.  She continues to enjoy her management position at Oak Hill Advisors.  She’s a wonderful mother to our adorable grands, and a fantastic partner for our son.  We are lucky to have her in our family.

November: My doctor is happy with my A1C results, so I’m handling my diabetes well enough.  Still no need for insulin.  I did tell him that I was having a lot of trouble with my hands.  My fingers hurt a lot and I’m having trouble with trigger fingers that lock up on both hands.  He asked me some questions, and said he was afraid it could be rheumatoid arthritis.  He sent me for anther blood test.  It showed that I do have some sort of autoimmune thing going on.  He wants me to see a rheumatologist, but Amy’s Lyme doctor is running some tests for me first.  He told me a few months ago that he suspects that I also have Lyme.  I don’t want to get steroid injections or anything, if that would make Lyme worse.  Oh boy!  I sure with insurance would cover Lyme treatment.  I was hoping to wait until Amy was in remission before I went down this rabbit hole, but I guess God’s steering me a different direction.  A nasty virus swept through the family this month.  Amy and my mom even missed Thanksgiving due to it.  Mom’s doctor said she went into pneumonia from it.

December: My mom continued to be sick from the virus, so she went to the minor emergency.  They did an x-ray that showed she did not have pneumonia.  Instead they found a questionable spot on her lung.  A follow-up CT scan showed a two-inch mass.  Maybe cancer?  A follow-up test has them now suspecting a pericardial cyst.  It could still be cancer, but the doctors don’t think so.  Prayers are appreciated.  God is good, and everything will turn out okay.  Amy’s Lyme doctor is trying her on two weeks off all his prescriptions for her, to see how much her Lyme has improved.  Fingers crossed.  We are excited that OU won the Big 12 title and is Orange Bowl bound.  We’ll all be watching that game the end of the month.

Allen says to mention that he’s still enjoying golf, but all the traveling cuts into his golf games.  When he’s home, I’ve always got a honey do list.  I’m finding his traveling gets in the way of my scrapbooking days, too.  I have all his jobs to do on top of mine, when he’s away.  I am still blessed to be included in a fantastic Bible Study group.  They are so much support for me, and I consider them all my sisters.  Speaking of “like a sister”, one of my college roommates might be moving to Norman this year.  I’m so excited that we could be seeing each other more.

Our family pets include our two dogs (Lucy and Minnie), three cats (Bagheera, Figaro and Thomas) and our three birds (Bert, Mary and Tinkerbell).  Minnie is still learning not to chase the cats or wrestle non-stop with her “sister”.  Lucy, the pug, loves her, but isn’t into roughhousing.  The older cats are still trying to acclimate to Thomas and Minnie.  But we are making slow progress.  Dog training is the plan for 2019.  We really need help with Minnie.

Things are a little rough around the edges around here.  Everything could be better, but could also be worse.  We feel blessed to have good friends and wonderful family.  Thank you all for your love and your prayers.  Sometimes I wonder what God is trying to teach me, when some new problem creeps up.  Yet, we also know that God is with us, through all our trials.  Maybe next year we’ll have all kinds of positive news to share.  We hope that this letter finds you and your loved ones well.  Please give us a call or drop us a letter to let us know what’s happening in your lives.

Much love, Missy, Allen and Amy Schones