Post Newsletter Note: Right after mailing out our Christmas card and newsletter, the unimaginable tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, took place. Words cannot express the sorrow that we as a nation are feeling. Our hearts go out to the families whose lives will forever be changed by this horrific shooting, and we will continue to pray for them.

Another tragedy that occurred this past September was the death of Shawn Dollar, one of Scotti and Zack’s best friends and a groomsmen in their wedding. We have kept him, his mom, Jackie, and his family in our thoughts, hearts, and prayers. Shawn, you are missed terribly by so many.

These heartbreaking situations only drive home the importance of counting our daily blessings, of which we have so many.

Dear Family and Friends
The cards are ordered, and I am writing our newsletter. Bill always wonders why it takes me so long to write this. I spend so much time reviewing past letters (yours and mine), pictures from the year and Facebook postings. It’s literally a walk down memory lane and one I enjoy immensely.

Our big news is, of course, Scotti and Zack’s wedding in August.

We think Scotti had the perfect wedding she was hoping for, and all the activities leading up to it were just so much fun. We are so blessed that all of our family were able to attend the wedding.

Shana was maid of honor and Zack’s four sisters plus five more of Scotti’s friends were the bridesmaids.

The wedding ceremony was performed by Zack’s dad and after the ceremony was blessed, the entire wedding party—all 22 of them—danced down the isles to “Forever.” I have to admit that I was a little nervous about the dancing. Is it ok to dance in church? The minister reassured me and it was absolutely joyous.

The reception, what we call Canadian style, was emceed by Krysta and Adam, who did such a fantastic job. They kept the after-dinner program moving along and were funny, really funny,

The dance floor was still full of people at midnight when the dancing ended. Truly a day to remember filled with love, laughter and joy.

Bill is doing well. We made our first trip to the Mayo Clinic in January. It was quite the experience. The beautiful buildings that make up the Mayo Clinic complex are as amazing as the physicians and staff, who offered us nothing but encouragement and support. Bill underwent numerous tests during the four days of appointments. He has been diagnosed with Lewy Bodies Dementia, a progressive neuro-degenerative disease, and like PD, the symptoms may be treated. Among the varied symptoms of this disease, I think our biggest challenge has been his unstable blood pressure, which is so low at times to cause him to become very light headed. Our fear is that he will fall and our physician urges him to use salt liberally—can you imagine? His abilities fluctuate on a daily and even hourly basis—just part of the overall illness. We try to spend time each day appreciating the little joys of life. We know that everyone has “something,” and so we continue to pray for everyone else’s “something,” and, of course, for us.

After our Mayo Clinic visit, we headed south to Gulf Shores for February. On the way down, we stopped at Graceland in Memphis. We toured the mansion and grounds, Elvis’ automobiles, and his custom planes. I thoroughly enjoyed being on Elvis Presley Boulevard and eating one of his famous deep fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, my first and last one.

Our Gulf Shores stay was exactly what we needed: Good weather, many barefoot strolls on the beach, a little golf, and several really good dinners out with Winnipeg friends.

Shana and the boys visited us in Gulf Shores for two weeks, and Scotti was able to fly down for a extended weekend.

Raines and Pax loved the beach and the water. We dug holes in the sand everyday and marveled for hours each time we’d find a dead fish or other interesting item on the shore.

No matter the weather, the sand beckoned all of us, even as nighttime descended, or perhaps especially. On saying goodnight to me one night and while wearing his sunglasses, Raines said to me, “Nana, I will meet you tomorrow at the beach!” Yes, you will, honey.

We returned home to just a bit of snow in March. Our spring was actually quite warm, and I think the warm weather confused our blueberries, which started growing only to be frozen by a blast of chillier weather. We opened camp in March with a list of projects that needed completing before the “day after the wedding gathering.” My friends, Gay, Ann, Marchelle, and Mary went into shower planning mode in April and threw one of the best wedding showers for Scotti in May.

Shana and the boys were able to fly in for about a week for the shower, which made this all so extra special. Scotti and I spent hours planning the wedding details, like her candy table, arranging the fabric, searching online (Pinterest) for candy suggestions (we bought locally, yay!). We sampled meals for the wedding dinner, ate way too many samples of cake, and made three trips to Milwaukee for dress fittings. The dress she chose was so “Scotti” and was the first one she tried on (I knew it was a keeper when she started to cry).

Shana, Raines, and Pax arrived in Marquette on July 14 for four weeks and rented a house just four blocks from Lake Superior. What a find that house was. Shana and the boys walked to the beach and downtown for lunch. We went to Shana’s for dinners, she and the boys helped to weed my garden plot, and we all ate kettle corn at Art on the Rocks.

We had a beautiful, hot summer and spent most days at camp, probably a record number for us. The two weeks leading up to the wedding and the camp gathering were the busiest. We cleaned the outhouse for the guys to use and cleaned and touched up so many things inside and outside camp. One week before the wedding, my friend Gay and I replaced the lattice work under the porch ourselves as a surprise for Bill.

We measured, sawed and hammered, and we did it when all the guys were gone for the day. It looked great! Two days later while Bill and I were in town for the rehearsal dinner, the Goldens and Oslunds were putting an extension on our dock complete with outdoor carpeting as another surprise. It proved to be an MVP the day of the gathering. And what a gathering it was. We owe the Oslunds and the Goldens big time for all that they did. Gay and Sam made and served amazing food, and Jim and Ann were in charge of beverages, setup, and photos. Words cannot express our gratitude for such loving friends.

We have so many wonderful pictures from the wedding and our camp gathering—most of which are posted on Facebook and many are here:

And speaking of websites, if you have not yet checked out Shana’s two websites, you must give them a try: http://www.aintnomomjeans.com is her fashion blog and http://www.mikeandshanadraugelis.com is her personal blog, where you will find her very funny post: “The One Where I Get a Smack-down…On an Airplane.” If you need a good laugh, this post will do it!

In September we were in Calgary and Canmore with Adam. After spending one night in Calgary we drove to Canmore, which is always so enjoyable, especially our daily walks around the “Fully Circle.”

Krysta had a meeting in Calgary, so Adam, Willie and I spent Friday night together and Adam shared a treat with us—the No. 1 rated beer in the world, Westvleteren 12, made in Belgium. I mention this only because it was so amazingly tasty.

Their condo in Canmore is only 15 miles from Banff (how lucky are they?) so Adam and Krysta drove us to Banff for an afternoon of sightseeing, always a treat.

Back in Calgary, Adam is at a meeting, and Krysta is getting dinner ready; she and I need to pick out a bottle of wine from Adam’s collection. Four rows! Is the top shelf the most expensive or the bottom row? I quickly say, let’s choose something from the least expensive. Krysta can’t remember which is which; we text Adam. No response. We choose one and start sipping. Oh this is not bad for an inexpensive wine. Adam’s face when he came home was priceless. We chose from the wrong shelf? Ah, no wonder it was so good. He was such a good sport.

Jakob is a tall, handsome teenager now and will play us a tune on his guitar. Zachary, 9, is a great soccer player and has taken up the trombone. Having them all come to camp is still the biggest treat.

We flew back to Winnipeg and had our yearly visit with the Schicks and our annual night at the Downs to watch the horses run and to enjoy the Clubhouse buffet with a group of Bill’s high school pals and their spouses.

We arrived home in time to help Scotti get her apartment cleaned up for their moving out. The newlyweds bought a home and then worked like crazy to paint the interior walls to move in by the end of October. And just in the nick of time as Scotti and Zack hosted their very first Thanksgiving, with four generations attending. And talk about a win-win. My storage areas are now cleared of Scotti’s things. Ah, life is good.

As Hurricane Sandy came ashore in New Jersey, American Airlines canceled our scheduled flight to Philadelphia for our first Halloween visit with Raines and Pax. So we rescheduled our flight for Pax’s 2nd birthday on November 18.

A great time with the kids and the big ones too. Shana and Mike took us into Philadelphia for our first view of the city and the Liberty Bell.

Shana and I drove into Philly for a bit of shopping and saw the amazing Christmas Light Show at Macy’s Department Store. Big cities do Christmas really well, although Marquette’s Christmas tree has it’s own charm—just not 45,000 lights. Shana and Mike are arriving on the 23rd and will be here until just after the New Year. We will all be at Scotti and Zack’s for Christmas day; with a 5 and 2 year old, how can that be anything but spectacular. But as that wise 5-year-old Raines said recently, ”I hope Santa doesn’t bring any more instruments … but you get what you get from him I guess.”

Bill and I work out almost everyday (weights, walking, a bit of running) and enjoy the little things that life has to offer. We stay connected with our family by text, Facebook, and FaceTime. So nice to see the boys antics over the cell. I am still the treasurer for Marquette’s beautification committee and was elected President of my P.E.O. group this year; lots of work, but a labor of love. I use this quote in my email messages: “So here’s the plan: we go forward with joy, hope, gratitude, courage and humor, we boost each other up with love and encouragement, and we don’t take things too seriously . . . ”
We look forward to hearing from you and wish you all the joys of Christmas.
With love, Tina and Bill