December 2011

Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends!

Not too much has changed for us this past year (except that we’re older and probably grayer!), but we’ll try to give you this year’s highlights.

One of our sad/happy occasions was the passing away of John’s mom on March 31. She had been struggling with dementia for several years, so it really was a blessing for her to go to be with Jesus. Another blessing was having our sons with us at the funeral in Wadena. It was a good time of celebrating her life. The whole family (about 44 were there) sang “In the Sweet By and By” at the end of the service. What a wonderful, musical way to remember a faithful mother!

John is still working for Musco Corporation. He has a variety of tasks to do from plowing snow to pouring cement to painting to building and repairing things and generally enjoys each day’s work. He is in two Fantasy Football leagues right now and has good records in both. That’s a good thing because the Minnesota Vikings aren’t doing well this year at all.

John played basketball with a team from work for a few weeks last winter and then retired from basketball because his knees, etc. told him to! He reffed a few games and also cheered his team on. Golf was a favorite pastime this summer as well. Prudy likes to walk along when the weather is nice.

We enjoyed attending the Lien Family Reunion in Wadena in July. Tubing down the river on a beautiful warm day was a highlight as well as catching up with relatives that we haven’t seen in awhile. John did not win first place in the reunion golf tournament so he says that he’s mad and can’t wait until the next reunion so that he can get even.

Another highlight was a trip to Ashley to visit Prudy’s mom and siblings including her sister Paulette from Texas. The girls (sister-in-law Faye was driving) made a road trip to Minot, ND where we dropped off some donated books and viewed the extensive flood damage. Those sights were very sad.

Prudy is still giving piano lessons to seven students. Last spring she accompanied the high school chamber choir on a difficult contest song. (They got a superior rating – Yea!) Another undertaking was joining a group of piano teachers to organize a music fest where students play for a judge who rates them. She also enjoys playing bassoon in two different bands and an orchestra. This summer she was elected as the city band secretary so now she has the responsibility of organizing music and keeping track of rehearsal and performance appearances so that the band members can be paid. The city band season lasts about ten weeks during the summer.

We both do quite a bit of volunteer work at our church. John is on the trustees committee so he has “fix-it” projects throughout the year, Prudy is on the church council and we both are on the praise and worship team. We also occasionally volunteer at the SHARE Iowa food warehouse.

We are both rehearsing with the Oskaloosa Chorus for a Christmas concert on December 18. Prudy will also play in the orchestra for that concert – it will keep her busy going from choir to orchestra!

We hosted Thanksgiving this year with Bob and Valera (John’s sister) and Kevin and Tracy (John’s nephew) and family all pitching in to provide food and help. We had a wonderful day together, including a nice walk in the 60 degree weather.

We praise the Lord for His faithfulness and provision for us all the time. Remember:

Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

Love,

John & Prudy