Christmas 2024

Hello dear friends and family,

Hope this letter finds you all healthy and happy. 2024 has had its ups and downs, but all in all we are doing well. Here’s a little of what’s been going on in our lives this past year.

Allen is working at Tinker. They had a huge flood in his building this year when a drain on the roof came loose during a terrible storm. It was really a disaster! Took forever to get everything patched up. He’s had a few trips including a recent one to Colorado Springs. So few that I can’t even tell you this year how many days he was on the road. It’s getting better every year. He attended the OU football games without me again this year. I just can’t handle the walk, the stairs and the seats in the stadium. He still plays golf, but not as much as he’d like to play. He attended the Texas Pinball Festival this year in Frisco, Texas. David and Joseph joined him one day. He’ll be going down after Christmas to the Armed Forces Bowl again this year. Hannah and Courtney are joining the guys for the game this year.

My blood sugar is finally just about where my doctor wants it to be. My ankle that was injured last year has remained strong. I’m so happy about that. I’m getting frequent biologic infusions for my PsA and my Spondylitis. They help suppress my immune system to keep it from attacking my joints and my organs. I try to be very careful to stay away from germs, so I don’t get sick, because that ramps up the inflammation and “friendly fire”. I’ve also been diagnosed with hip bursitis. It’s something that I’ve had for probably 20 years, so it’s good to have a name for it. I’m doing Bible study and Bible journaling on my own. Playing with watercolors is my new love in my Bible journal. Once I got over the fear of painting in my Bible, I found it’s so fun! I’ve found solo study to be a real gift. I can work at my own pace, but I do miss my Bible study girls. I still get together regularly with Jacque to scrapbook and chat.

Amy’s health continues to slowly improve. Her test this year showed that her Bartonella is probably in remission. She’s preparing to begin a strong Lyme protocol that might put her Lyme into remission too. That would be such a blessing. She is still struggling with her POTS at times, but her medication keeps it mostly in line. Autoimmune Encephalitis has taken a back burner to her other issues, but possibly we can address it again. Her doctors didn’t want her on multiple protocols at the same time, so we’re taking baby steps towards health. We’re down to two specialists in Texas, and sometimes we can do remote appointments. We’ve been on the road less this year, as well. Amy auditioned for a part in a concept musical this year. It was something she could do from home and didn’t involve regular work hours. She was one of 20 to get a callback out of over 800 people. She did not get a part, but she felt good that she did so well after not auditioning for anything for years. We were proud of her. She’ll be watching for something else that she might be able to try.

David is a tenure track Assistant Professor at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. He loves his job and his classes are popular. He’ll be teaching his first Jan Term course next month. They moved to Grapevine about a year ago and are happy there.

Courtney stays very busy working with Oak Hill Advisors. Her office is in Fort Worth, but she’s based out of New York. She makes several trips a year to New York City. Courtney and the kids went with David to a conference in San Diego last month. Courtney and the kids had some adventures while he attended the conference, and then they all went to Disneyland together. They also all went on a cruise this year. I’m jealous, but so happy that they are getting to have these experiences.

Hannah is enjoying her last year at her elementary school. She is in a 6 th grade math class at middle school. She enjoys singing, competitive swimming, cheer club, and has expressed an interest in acting. (Amy is thrilled that she likes to sing and would love to act.)

Joseph is in first grade and is taking 2 nd grade math. He loves playing flag football, going to football games, and watching on tv. Joseph also likes going to hockey games. He enjoys video games pinball games, like his Paw-paw.

My mom loves having a car again. She’s very active at church. She was elected to the church vestry and planned a homecoming event this fall, celebrating 50 years of St. Michaels. It was a big job! Mom is now officially 5 years cancer free. She had no additional strokes this year. We feel very blessed. Mom continues to have very low platelets. She experiences terrible bruising and sees a hematologist regularly. She’s not supposed to climb a stepladder, but she does it anyway. In last year’s letter I mentioned that Mom’s dog Bitsy had cancer. Mom lost her this fall. She was heartbroken. I’m glad she still has Prince to keep her company.

Allen’s mom found out that she has stage 3 breast cancer. Allen took her to MD Anderson for a second opinion. Doctors suggested surgery with no chemo. She decided that she’d rather just take estrogen blocking medications to slow the spread and possibly shrink the tumor. So far, she’s doing well on the new meds. She is staying in a little more, to keep from getting exposed to anything. Still enjoying Thunder and Sooner games, reading the Bible, singing and watching Hallmark movies.

We lost our 13-year-old Lucy to heart failure early this month. Pugs are prone to heart issues. We knew she was in heart failure for about a month. We are all broken-hearted. She was a special dog and cannot ever be replaced.

Minnie has had a hard time dealing with the loss of her “sister”. She’s been depressed. She’s almost 6 and Lucy had always been there to boss her around and snuggle in bed. So we decided to foster two terrier mix puppies from the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter. They were on the euthanasia list, because they are only 7 weeks old and not old enough to get spayed/adopted. We’ll foster them until they are big enough for surgery, then adopt them. The plan is to find a home for one. If that fails, we’ll keep them both. We are hoping this perks Minnie up and helps heal all our hearts a little. It’s certainly going to be a busy Christmas. We picked up Ella and Gus today, and they are very sweet. Minnie seems overjoyed.

Figaro is still with us. He turned 19 ½ years old. He’s in kidney failure and we never dreamed he’d outlive Lucy. He’s mostly skin and bone, but still runs, jumps, and purrs. Ro is like the energizer bunny. Bagheera (or Baghee) is 14. He thinks he’s the boss of this house. He talks constantly and orders us all around. Luckily, he allows us to live here, since we provide the food. Thomas is 7. He’s the spoiled baby. He mostly does his own thing, but he loves to cuddle and purr, when it’s his idea.

Mary the parakeet’s gotcha date is coming up. We’ll have had her for ten years, so she’s getting up there. Her favorite activity is removing a bell from a toy and throwing it across the cage. It’s her work and she is very efficient. Amy’s job is to put the bell back so she can throw it again. It keeps them both very busy.

2024 gets mixed reviews, but we continue to have much to be thankful for. We are looking forward to Christmas and a much-anticipated visit from Courtney, David and the grands. I told Amy that the foster pups are going to force us to get our exercise every day. It’s going to be an Eexciting holiday around here! Blessings for a wonderful Christmas season. We love you all.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Love, Missy, Allen and Amy