Christmas 2017

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Greetings to our family and friends,

As we get closer to the day that we celebrate our Savior’s birth we hope that you join us in the preparations for this time and pause to consider its meaning for us all. We hope that these greetings reach you in good health.  Our activities this year have again been varied and spent enjoying visits with family and friends.

WOW! What a year!  As many of you know, we have moved into a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), not because we had to, but because we could.  Incentive was that taking care of a home wasn’t any fun anymore.  We also knew that we didn’t want to move again.  A CCRC give us that luxury.  Our new address is: 100 Timber Ridge Way NW Unit 7309, Issaquah, WA 98027-2962.  Phone #’s remain the same.  We had been looking here for a couple of years and got the call to check out a couple of apartments.  We signed the papers in November and then the fun began.  Downsizing by half meant getting rid of more than half of our “Stuff.”  The boys got a lot of items, we gave away a lot more and tossed the rest.  We sold our house in one weekend. 

We moved into Timber Ridge at Talus on March 2nd and have loved every minute of it.  There are currently about 400 residents spread out over 8 floors+ and four wings. Some of the residents are from our church and participate in a bible Study group. The food is too good, but the fitness center and programs keep us relatively fit.  There are too many activities, so we say “NO” a lot.  We do sing in the resident choir, “The Rusty Chords.” 

Carol was able to keep the Steinway! YAY!  She has become quite popular, even playing in the Lounge (bar) before dinner sometimes.  Sometimes on Monday’s we hike one of the many trails in the area with a group from Timber Ridge. In October, we did the Issaquah “Run with the Fishes” 5K, we both came in second in our age groups. We enjoy going out for walks as Timber Ridge is located in a wooded area in the foothills of the Cascades.

In February, Mary, Duane and Mark came for visit and then helped load a truck of furniture for Mark to take back to Arizona.  In March we completed the move in one day (3 miles).  In April we drove our Accord to Georgia, stopping in Nashville and visiting the Grand Ol’ Opry (fun).  We left the car there with Brian’s family and flew back.  Tyler is a Sophomore in college, Grant is a Senior and Alyssa a Junior in HS.  All busy.  Jennifer switched schools this year and is teaching closer to Home.

In May we flew to Arizona for Lauren’s Graduation.  She is now going to Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL, premed and a soccer scholarship.  Mark and Thomasina are both busy with their work and Mark coaches a soccer team.  Zachary is a Junior at U. of Arizona and will be going to Paris in January for foreign studies.  Aidan is a Sophomore in HS and plays soccer for Club and School. In July, Tim and DeEtta visited us on their way to Alaska. Enjoyed visiting Chihuly Garden & Glass, & Space Needle

We continue to sing in the BelPres Sanctuary Chorus. Werner also sings in the smaller chamber Ensemble. This year we split Season tickets to the Sounders FC soccer team with a friend of ours.  They are still in the playoffs. GO SOUNDERS!

We are now looking forward to a visit over Thanksgiving week by Brian and his family.  Then, we have to find an artificial tree that fits in our living room. No real trees allowed here.We wish you all a Christmas of Joy as we celebrate Christ’s birth and a New Year filled with Happiness and Blessings

Our Best Wishes,

Werner & Carol