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2004 Christmas Letter
Posted on Dec 12, 2004 03:12 PM |
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Merry Christmas! I hope this letter finds you having a wonderful holiday season surrounded by family and friends. It’s pretty cold here in Nashville right now … thank goodness for fleece socks and warm blankets! As I write this, I’m sitting in the glow of 
the lights on our Christmas tree – and I’m thinking it would be great if Christmas lights were also a heat source. If they were, I’d be warm and toasty by now! Speaking of warm and toasty … in April we got to spend a few days in and around Tampa. Since we don’t have kids yet (despite our families high hopes … ha), we’re trying to take advantage of being able to go on vacation during the school year when places aren’t as touristy-busy. While in Florida, we spent a day in Y'Bor – that’s Old Town Tampa. They have several areas beautifully restored - you can walk around (or ride the trolley) and shop, get an ice-cream cone, and sit and watch the ships coming and leaving from port.
One of the best things to happen to us in 2004 has to be the addition of a new member to our family. We adopted a dog in June – he’s a purebred Siberian Husky. MacGyver Jack Tite. He’s pure-white with blue eyes and weighs about 50 pounds. He's extremely sweet-natured and fun-loving; he LOVES meeting new people. Siberian Huskies are an extremely intelligent breed of dogs, and we are continually amazed at what MacGyver does sometimes. Once, Steve was outside putting up a post for Deck-Project-Part-345, and he was holding the post and gently tapping it to get it level. MacGyver is watching him and comes over and with one paw - starts tapping the post exactly like Steve was. He does stuff like this all the time - and sometimes it's just freaky! He loves power tools - and comes RIGHT up to you when you're drilling or screwing something in. His nose is right there in the middle of everything. I call him "Steve's little herlp" - he just needs his own little carpenter's belt!
In July, my maternal grandfather (hereafter referred to his ACTUAL name, Grampy) was diagnosed with lung cancer. Just over a year ago, we were dealing with my paternal grandmother’s cancer – and now this. It took a few days to process this diagnosis … but Grampy’s doctors were on top of everything. Within three weeks of his diagnosis, he has a cutting-edge surgery with not one, but two very talented surgeons. His prognosis is positive … and he doesn’t even do any chemo or radiation. He’s doing great now – and just a few weeks ago received the “all-clear” to resume his normal activities around the house. In thinking over the past 6 months - I truly believe God had His hand over my Grampy; miracles aren't just when someone is inexplicably healed; sometimes miracles occur in the form of just making a cancer treatable.
In September we left on my 27th birthday for a two-week tour of the West Coast. There isn’t enough room here to talk about this fantastic trip – so here’s the Cliff’s Notes Version.
Lake Tahoe is peaceful beauty. San Diego is wild, but 2 days was enough. Phoenix is hot and cactus-laden. San Francisco is a mecca of fun and trolley-hanging-off-excitement. Las Vegas is spectacular and alive and sad all at the same time. 
Reno is Harley-filled and stark landscapes. The Grand Canyon is majestically breathtaking.
It was a great two weeks. Simply great. We have LOTS of photos online if you’re interested … I definitely recommend looking through the Lake Tahoe and Grand Canyon sections – these are two of the most beautiful places in America.
Just in the last week, Steve and I have both had some pretty big changes.
Steve has finally been taken on as a full-time employee at H.C.A. He has been a contracted employee there for over 3 years now – and on Thursday, they offered him a full time job (and a substantial raise)! He’ll still be doing what he was doing before (in simple non-geek terms ? network security and administration) … he’ll just be working directly for them.
On the SAME day Steve was offered the full-time job at HCA, I had LASIK eye surgery. It went perfectly; on the day after surgery, I went in for my first post-op appointment and my left eye was already at 20/15 - my right eye is still stabilizing – but together, my vision is at 20/20. It really is amazing. I have lots of medicated eye drops to take for a month – and my vision won’t truly stabilize for up to 3 months – but it is amazing that I can see the alarm clock in the morning. I can see what a book title is on the bookshelf across the room. After wearing glasses and contacts for over 15 years, this is just fantastic. I’ve already been “LASIK-evangelizing” to all my friends and family … I want everyone to experience this miracle of science!!
Needless to say, we think Thursday was a pretty great day! Steve is hired and Lacy can see without her contacts!
If you’re ever in Nashville, give us a call and come visit us in our house in the woods! MacGyver will be there to greet you!
May God Bless you, your family and friends in the coming year,
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