So one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is getting to read my dad's Christmas card. Well the time is here and figured I might as well share it with my blog family.
I wish all of you a VERY merry Christmas! (I'm sure I'll be talking to you all before new years, but if not Happy 2011 peeps!)
Merry Christmas 2010
As 2010 draws to a quick close we take time to look back on this year. A fairly mild winter which turned into an early spring helped the corn and beans to be planted quickly and get off to a good start, then WHAM it all changed. First we received a 6-inch rain and then watched over 200 acres of corn drown under flood water. When it did finally dry out enough to replant the corn little did we know that it was the last rain we would receive for nearly 6 months. Yields suffered but it was better than I expected but far from being a great crop. We started harvesting in mid-August earlier than we ever have before and that’s about the only benefit of a drought I can think of.
Christy entered the real world of home ownership this year by purchasing a home in east Nashville right before the flood. The floodwaters got within a ½ mile of her house, but she is on a hill so there was no damage. It was really heartbreaking to see what the rain did. Parts of Nashville will never be the same. Christy is still working with Ingram Barge Co. and manages the Ingram traffic on the Tennessee River and Kentucky Lake.
Sarah and Nick surprised all earlier this year announcing that they were expecting a baby. On December 7, Carter Ray Huelsman entered the world. That makes Cindy and I grandparents and that’s not all that bad. The biggest smile I have ever seen on Cindy was when she held Carter. I knew then he was a keeper. I can tell he has a little of his Granddad Mitchell in him, he sleeps every chance he gets! Sarah is still a branch manger with PNC Bank and Nick works with Flynn Brothers Construction in Louisville.
The excitement of Carter’s birth was quickly subdued as Cindy’s dad, CA, passed away 2 days later. He fought cancer and other health problems for many years. He never did let his health problems deter his drive. He just made them another obstacle to overcome and forged ahead. Sarah and Nick were able to attend the services with Carter. It was interesting to watch as people expressed condolences and excitement about a birth at the same time. I believe CA would have liked this very much. Cindy is still delivering the mail and driving over 80 miles every day one box at a time.
As for me, I have just sat back and observed a roller coaster ride of emotions over the year. Floods, drought, death, birth, my dads 6 weeks in the hospital over the summer with an infection in his heart, my Mom’s continuing back problems and even a wedding. Cindy’s brother got married the day after Thanksgiving. But the Christmas season isn’t complete without thinking of our friends scattered out everywhere. Be it just down the road, across the country or even on another continent. Your memory or a wave as we meet puts a smile on my face. This year the sounds of a baby returns home after an absence of many years. I thought what a wonderful thing to have a baby crying and a cow mooing on Christmas morning. It’s the same sounds heard by another proud mom and dad some 2000 years ago.
As 2010 quickly closes and 2011 knocks on the door, I wish each and all a Merry Christmas and a prosperous and healthy new year.
Chris
Merry Christmas to all! :)
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