{"id":1722,"date":"2019-01-01T10:08:52","date_gmt":"2019-01-01T16:08:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wattmans.com\/blog\/?p=1722"},"modified":"2019-01-01T23:21:08","modified_gmt":"2019-01-02T05:21:08","slug":"2018-christmas-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.wattmans.com\/blog\/general\/2018-christmas-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"2018 Christmas Letter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Celebrating Changes!<\/span><\/h1>\n

This year offered challenges, changes, and celebrations in many forms, each an opportunity for growth and reflection.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Regular Reunion:<\/strong> Rich, Katie, Nick, Diana, Grant, Esther, Andrea, Mike, Theo, Byron, Shannon, Claire, Joseph, Elise (with Lettie), Rick, Judy, Alex, and Anna (left to right) gathered in Lutsen, MN, for a Coenen family reunion this year in August. The shore of Lake Superior served as a spectacular setting.<\/p><\/div>\n

CELEBRATION:<\/strong><\/span> To begin 2018, Judy<\/strong><\/span> continued the role of road warrior. She spent time in California, with her mom Theo<\/strong><\/span>, fending off the winter blahs, communing with the ocean. She sojourned to Niagara Falls, NY<\/strong><\/span>, serving on a college accreditation committee. A trip to Colorado<\/strong><\/span> with Andrea<\/strong><\/span> was cancelled due to her sister\u2019s illness, but a trip to Houston<\/strong><\/span> to visit a former coworker was not.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Our group selfie at \u2028Muckross Abbey<\/strong> (founded in the 15th century) in present day \u2028Killarney National Park<\/strong> in Ireland.<\/p><\/div>\n

One of our goals for Judy\u2019s sabbatical year was to return to Europe<\/strong><\/span>. We coordinated schedules and booked our flights for two weeks in May, excited to visit the \u201ccousins\u201d on Judy\u2019s side of the family. Anna<\/strong><\/span> and Elise<\/strong><\/span> had earlier been unable to commit to going with us, but when it came right down to it, they made room in their schedules so we could travel together\u2014perhaps the last such opportunity for just the four of us. We had a marvelous time and explored new family dynamics.<\/p>\n

We split our time between Western Germany<\/strong><\/span>, where the relatives are, and Dingle, Ireland<\/strong><\/span>, which both girls had previously visited and HIGHLY recommended. The German families welcomed us with open arms and warm hospitality. We hiked and toured and visited and ate to our hearts\u2019 content, and didn\u2019t really want to leave. When we did, we were blessed by the sights and sounds of Ireland. We enjoyed current-day music and dancing\u2014and made some of our own\u2014as well as ancient ruins and timeless scenery. We had great weather\u2014but were surprised at how many sheep photos we brought home!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

2018 in a Flash: (top to bottom) many family gatherings at the Dronen<\/strong> home [e.g. 6\/17]; fall birthday celebration at home [9\/7]; visiting Elise in Chicago [9\/29]; fall camping with church friends [10\/13]; Wattman reunion in Oregon<\/strong> to celebrate Rick\u2019s mom Doris\u2019<\/strong> 90th birthday [11\/9].<\/p><\/div>CHANGE:<\/span><\/strong> The result of years of planning, Elise finally relocated to Chicago<\/strong><\/span>, after spending the summer in living with us at home in Bloomington<\/strong><\/span>. She landed a position with The Second City comedy club as a music director, and has a charming walkup apartment. By all accounts she LOVES Chicago, and the work, and the collaborative environment, AND especially the food. Apparently Chicago cuisine is renowned. On our visits, we have seen no evidence to the contrary. It is VERY nice to visit after only a 7-hour drive (as compared to over 15 hours to drive to Texas). Matt<\/strong><\/span> moved to Colorado<\/strong><\/span> to live with his mom temporarily, intending also to migrate to the windy city.<\/p>\n

CHANGE:<\/strong><\/span> Anna is done with school! She finished her Master\u2019s degree in school counseling and began in earnest the effort to find a career position. It took her a while (with several promising but ultimately disappointing opportunities) to find two part-time positions. She is absolutely loving her role in impacting kids\u2019 lives, the educational environment, and in mentoring teachers and parents. Alex<\/strong><\/span> continues his second year of teaching English at Eden Prairie High School<\/strong><\/span>. They (with their 2 kitties) moved to an apartment in Richfield<\/strong><\/span>, two blocks from Judy\u2019s childhood home (and a brief 5-minute drive from us).<\/p>\n

CHALLENGE:<\/strong><\/span> The fall brought bouts of pneumonia to both Rick and Judy, which required a surprisingly long recovery period.<\/p>\n

We pray you have a Merry Christmas<\/strong><\/span> and that you will also have a blessed New Year<\/strong><\/span>!<\/p>\n

Other Highlights<\/span><\/h1>\n

Judy is teaching nursing at Normandale Community College<\/strong><\/span>, having completed her sabbatical year (a challenging transition!). She plays in the church worship band, volunteers caring for raptors at Richardson Nature Center<\/strong><\/span>, and works periodically in a women\u2019s clinic. She continued lessons at the Women\u2019s Drum Center, and participated in public performances, a recital, and the parade at the Minnesota State Fair<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Rick still ministers at FaithSearch<\/strong><\/em> International<\/strong><\/span> as Director of Communications (2 days per week due to ministry finances); and works part time at the Apple Store<\/strong><\/span> as a technical specialist. The FaithSearch<\/strong><\/em> offices moved from Minnetonka<\/strong><\/span> to Edina<\/strong><\/span> this fall, so his commute has shrunk to about 5 minutes (unless he misses a light)!<\/p>\n

To download a printable version of this letter, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Celebrating Changes! This year offered challenges, changes, and celebrations in many forms, each an opportunity for growth and reflection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,3,5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.wattmans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1722"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.wattmans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.wattmans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.wattmans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.wattmans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1722"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/www.wattmans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1740,"href":"http:\/\/www.wattmans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1722\/revisions\/1740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.wattmans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.wattmans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.wattmans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}