Christy Christmas 2022
2022 was a
big year for our family. I’m pretty sure that every year since 1993 has been a
big year for us.
Nick (29) and
Audriana have been been married for 4 years now and moved into a new home in
Lee’s Summit. Nick got a job at DH Pace. Since Covid, they each get to work
from home much more often.
I took Mary Kate (28) out of her program for adults with special needs so she has been home every day. It is nice to have a chaotic and loving home for her to fall back on if things are not working out where she is. She continues with Special Olympics. She still has the same boyfriend she has had since she was 5 but has not been able to visit him since he moved to a hospice location in Warrensburg.
Samantha (23) got married to Charles on Aug. 6th. It was the biggest and best wedding I have ever attended and I have been to nearly 100 in the past 6 years. They had around 350 guests because they have both been active in the Catholic community with missions and youth and young adult groups. Charles and his family are from Kenya and their wedding traditions made everything exponentially more exciting.
Max (22) and
Lucy were scheduled to get married on January 1, 2022 but due to the ice and
snow storm predicted for that day, they were able to move it to Dec. 31, 2021.
I’ve never heard of a wedding getting moved with 2 days notice but they did it.
Max started as a fireman at the Belton Fire Station just after his honeymoon.
In June, Max participated in a boxing match at the KC Convention Center against
the metro police officers. He boxed against a big man named Jose. I had little
hope that my skinny white boy could beat anyone named Jose but the joke was on
me. Max barely won in a tie breaker. He cried for an hour from his beating but
he got to take that big belt home. His family was screaming like lunatics in
the crowd.
Theresa (19) and Jordan got married on November 26th. Yes, that is 3 weddings. Prior to that, her and Jordan began renovating our rec room downstairs into an apartment. My boys removed the spiral staircase. Now we have a much bigger living room and they have a very spacy living area. They have their own kitchen and laundry room, and driveway. Roy and I extended this offer to all the other kids but Theresa was the only one to take us up on it. Everyone questioned whether these newly weds would want to be so close to us but it turned out to be a blessing beyond what any of us expected. Whenever they open their doors, the kids pile in. If you come over, you may find Jordan and Matthew playing hockey on the floor or Theresa painting Juliana’s fingernails while having girl talk with Josie. Or maybe everyone will be piled on their couch watching another family movie.
Ben (17) got
is a gas explosion accident in August of 2021 and it forever changed his life
for the better. He got 2nd and 3rd degree burns on 33% of
his body, had 3 surgeries, spent 4 days in the trauma center, and several
months in continuous pain. The only thing that soothed him was having his feet
rubbed and massaged. Lucy and Max came every day to visit and rub his feet. He
was worried about getting addicted to pain killers so he suffered through the
pain. I knew this would change his life. He has forever been a difficult child.
I’m not sure if I said anything nice about him in previous Christmas letters
because he was in trouble every day from conception until his gas explosion.
Now, I get sad at the thought that he will get married and move out one day. We
work together at Jack Stack and I light up whenever we pass each other in the
halls. As a matter of fact, everyone loves his company – except maybe one
manager that would like to throw him in a shredder. There is still some old-Ben
left. Lol. He has been dating the perfect girl (red hair even!). She is Max’s
sister-in-law and Lucy’s sister, Camille.
Josie (15) has worked at Chick-Fil-A since she turned 14. She plays volleyball for the local homeschool league called the Kansas City Lions. The homeschool community is so large that she is able to play against other homeschool leagues and attend a 4-state tournament just for homeschoolers with well over 100 teams. Even though she spends too much time in her room and hisses at me when she comes out for food, she still spends a lot of time helping the kids with school work and chores. Her best friends are her sister-in-law, Audriana, Ben’s girlfriend, Camille and Theresa. She is keeping it in the family.
Matthew (12)
got an 85-Kawasaki dirt bike this year. We turned our pasture into a dirt bike
track with jumps and turns. Between homework assignments, he can get on his
bike and jump on the track. He once asked me and Roy, “Do you know any dirt
bike tracks that are open right now?” We both said in unison, “Yours!” He is a
blessed and grateful boy. He grew out a hideous mullet. After all my boys found
out how much I hated mullets, they all grew one out. No respect.
Andrew (9)
is still my sweet and quiet boy. He is always thinking about other people and
wants to make everyone happy. I think he is God’s gift (or apology) for dealing
with Ben. He loves his momma so much. He wants to have mommy/Andrew time as
much as he can. He and Juliana have been spending entirely too much time
playing Roblox together while they have their little friend, Terese (also Max’s
sister-in-law) or Phillip (Max’s Brother-in-law) on Facetime while they all 3
or 4 play together.
Juliana (6)
is my baby. I haven’t changed a diaper in over 3 years. Sometimes I wander around
in circles over here, wondering what to do with all my time. Not having babies
is weird and freeing and boring! It doesn’t matter that I have 11 people living
here, it is still quiet without a baby. Juliana is brave, bossy, confident, and
fun. We love her personality and faces she makes. She fits right in. She is
bullied by all of us and handles it well. She is tough and raised tough. She
takes ballet, jujitsu and dirt biking. She is pretty well-rounded.
Beth (19),
is my niece and has been living with us since Aug. 4th, 2021. Ben’s
explosion was Aug. 5th. Welcome to our family Beth where it’s an
adventure every day. It has been a blessing having her here. She is so simple
and pius. She loved her little corner we made for her in the rec room. She
graduated to a real room that she shares with Juliana but I’m sure she feels
like its her own room. We never really know the exact location of Juliana but
if CPS comes, we can point to a bed that belongs to her.
Beth, Ben,
and Samantha work with me at Fiorella’s Event Center. Ben sets up events while
Beth works and sometimes lead the events.
Samantha and I work in the catering where we pack up our vans with the
best BBQ in KC and drop off lunch and dinner for parties. Sometimes, we work
the events in the building. We all love the job so much more when we get to
work together.
Roy is still
in the Army and is one of the very very few that made it unvaccinated. Whew!
That has been a thorn in our lives. For a while, we were wondering when he
would be fired and kicked out of the Army but so far, I think the higher-ups
are tryng to forget that it was ever a mandate. Besides that, Roy has been
working and fixing and working and fixing all year. He built a volleyball court
that he is proud of. He has a few more odds and ends to finish with it but its
ready for family volleyball. People liked to make jokes – “You are going to
have enough kids to make your own volleyball team!”. Jokes on them – we have
enough to make 2 volleyball teams with subs to boot. Lol.
I hope you
had a great 2022 and that 2023 is even better.
God Bless!
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