Christmas greetings to our family and friends! I hope 2025 has been a fantastic year for all of you. As usual, we have mixed reviews, but we can’t complain much. Here’s our year in review: 

This summer we had to replace one of our heat/air units and we had them moved into the attic with all new duct work, since our old floor ducts were leaking. In the process, one of the workmen fell through the garage ceiling. Thankfully he was not seriously hurt. We hope our other unit will last a little longer. At the same time, they replaced our sewer line. 

Allen has gained additional responsibilities at Tinker this year. Work is keeping him very, very busy. He’s had several extensive work trips, but not as many as he was making a few years ago. He had an angiogram this year and the cardiologist was pleased with the results. He claims the doctor prescribed more golf games. Not sure I’m buying it, but I’m glad when he makes time for his hobby. In November, he had glaucoma and cataract surgeries on both eyes one week apart. They claim his eyes will no longer be severely near-sighted, so that will be an interesting perk. He’s still enjoying our football tickets. We’re wondering what’s going to happen to our seats with the new plans for the expansion, since we are about six rows below the press box. Fingers crossed. 

My blood sugar is still stable. My PCP is ending his practice at the end of this year because his father has stage 4 cancer. He wants to take care of him. I really hate to see him go. I’ve had a good relationship with him. Amy spotted a growth on my back this spring. It turned out to be pre-Melanoma. Dr. Urice wanted it removed asap due to Mom’s history. So I had surgery while Allen was on one of his trips In May. Shout out to Amy who took great care of my while I recovered from a 3 ½ inch incision that pulled when I used my right arm. I’ve had to quit one of my Psoriatic Arthritis drugs this year. It was causing gastrointestinal distress. So now, I’m only taking my biologic infusions. My rheumy says we’ll probably try something additional in February, after my gut heals. Right now, I’m struggling a little. Today I had another ablation in my lower back to kill a nerve. Hoping that will help some. My Bible study group has stopped meeting regularly, so I’ve done several studies alone. I continue to find that no matter how familiar I am with a book of the Bible, I always find verses that speak to me in new ways. It’s amazing. I’m still scrapbooking with Jacque but not working enough on my albums when I’m at alone. I need to step that up in the new year. It is a good creative outlet for me.  

Amy’s Bartonella test came back clean. Her strong Lyme protocol has ended, and the test looked like it was also in remission. She is due to take a second Lyme test to make sure and then we can move on to working on her Autoimmune Encephalitis. She was diagnosed with ADHD this year and her new medication is extremely helpful. She is also still struggling with MCAS, POTS and EDS. But things are slowly improving. She is driving again and even taught a Kunihimo class at The Well (local community center) this year. And she saw the traveling Broadway Wicked production, too. 

If you read last year’s letter, you know that we took in two foster dogs after we lost Lucy. They were tiny, terrier mixes. Gus was the smallest at about 3 pounds and Ella was about 5 pounds. We ended up keeping them both, as I suspected we would. But surprisingly they grew a lot more than we expected. They are now a year old. Gus weighs about 55 pounds and Ella weighs about 60 pounds. Amy always wanted a bigger dog, so she got her wish. They are a joy and we love them dearly. Minnie loves her new brother and sister. Unfortunately, she is somewhat reactive, so we are working with a trainer.   

2025 was a year of losses. Mary the parakeet passed away. We’d had her for over 10 years, so she had a nice long life. Bagheera (Baghee) crossed the rainbow bridge a few months ago and Figaro (Ro) followed him 8 weeks later. I guess they wanted to stay together. They were 15 and 20 respectively. It was not easy to lose them both so close together. Thomas is now an only cat and seems to like it. 

 Allen’s mom still says no to most of the breast cancer drugs. She has undergone 2 rounds of radiation therapy. She is more tired, but she’s doing as well as can be expected. She attends church regularly and meets her friends each day for dinner.  

My mom is busy. She’s on the vestry at church. She just worked on a huge jewelry sale with the proceeds going to St. Michaels. She’s been having more back pain and feeling faint. I went with her to the dermatologist and he agreed with me that she has Psoriasis on her scalp. So we got her referred to The Oklahoma Arthritis Center. Hoping they can figure out what’s going on with her. I’m wondering if she has Psoriatic Arthritis like I do.  

David continues to teach at Austin College. He led the Disability Panel for his annual conference. Courtney joined Sagard as the CFO of their credit division. She works from home with frequent trips to Canada. Hannah is in 6^th grade. Hard to believe she’s in middle school. Time flies. She acts and dances through Upright Theatre. Joseph is in 2^nd grade. He loves sports. This year he played baseball, football and basketball. David and Courtney took their family on a long-awaited trip to Italy and Spain this year.  On the trip, Hannah loved history and Joseph loved visiting all the McDonalds.  

As we prepare to welcome 2026, our wish for you is a year filled with faith, peace, and love. Hug those around you tightly. Let’s look for all the things to thankful for. We love you all. 

Love, Missy, Allen and Amy