Our Christmas Letter 2016/Obligatory Check-In

It has been another long, interesting year for Andy and I.  Someday, we might actually sit down and mail out a Christmas letter, but this year, it's going out as a blog post with handy bullet points.

• We both are continuing to work for Skyward.  I have been promoted up a level at work and the two of us continue to see more responsibility added as we go.  As part of my travel, I went to Rhode Island where I happened to bump into another Skywardian on the flight.  Andy ended up playing the accordion for a group of first graders at one of his onsites, since he brings his accordion with him to practice in the hotel room.
• We enjoyed being a more active part of the political process this year, campaigning for Bernie Sanders.  Andy had the chance to meet him back in February.  This has meant digging into problems and having new conversations which have been simultaneously inspiring and depressing.
• With the switch to a ketogenic diet and subsequent improvement of energy levels, I have lost over forty pounds this year.  On the whole, feeling pretty good, if slightly sad that my favorite winter wear doesn't fit as well as it used to.
• There has been a great deal of drama at our church, to put it mildly.  I'll refer you back to May's entries if you want additional details.  As a result, I have joined the Finance Committee, taking my own suggestion in trying to be part of the solution.  We seem to be moving in the right direction as a whole. 
• Andy has been continuing his studies in both accordion and voice and made some wonderful strides forward.  We participated in Verdi's Requiem this year, too.
• We finally hit on a method of feeding Sprinkles where he seems a little less picky--it involves sticking him right next to the heat lamp to make him hungry.
• We hit our fundraising goal for Norway!  We are officially going on February 10th and will be gone about two weeks.  Sprinkles will be guarding the house.

I'm sure there are many more things that will jump out at me as soon as I hit post, but those are some of the main highlights from the Peterson Household. 

2016 had its share of surprises, both good and bad.  The choices that we've made and the chaos of the world has led to a lot of anti-2016 sentiment, but it's not bad luck--it just is.  The new year does not start us back at zero again--the same problems will be waiting for us on January 1st, even when this supposedly cursed year is gone.  If you don't like how this year turned out, make some active changes.  Be part of what makes 2017 a good year.  I'll see you on the other side.

The First Snow of the Year

Groggily wandering toward the bathroom after my alarm went off Sunday morning, I started to pull up my phone and noticed a weather notification.  As soon as I finished reading it, I rushed to the main room where Andy was.  Normally, I find him in the morning to spend a bit of time cuddling before the start of the day and he began to adjust accordingly but was confused when I went right past him to the blinds on the room and threw them open.

The "It's snowing!" was then accompanied by happy bounces.  

He is literally in his element

And, yes, he had to build a snowman

That's the reaction that snow always gets from Andy, whether it is the second, third, fourth, etc., but there is always something special about the first big snow of the season.  I enjoy snow, but I don't think I have enjoyed it as much as I do now.  Andy's unbridled joy is infectious.  

I look forward to his joy more than I do the snow itself.  That being said, when the snow is falling quietly on an otherwise still night, I gladly take his invitation to go for a walk and watch the snowflakes in the streetlights. 

...or throw the first snowball before he has a chance. 

If you Can't Beat Them...

So for years, Andy has been vehemently against glitter.  Threatening my sparkly clothing, pulling faces when I joke about spraying his tires with tire glitter, and all else.  And I wasn't the only one who knew about this--we had a few friends in particular who enjoyed hugs particularly to rub their glittered cheek against his shirt.  Andy's a good sport and would shake his head at us.  This year for Halloween, though, Andy had a brilliant idea.

I present Glitterbeard the Fabulous

We bought containers of glitter and literally poured them into his freshly-oiled beard.  It looked like tinsel attached to his face.  When he first rounded the corner, visible to all of our compatriots for the first time, well, people collectively died of laughter.  He also won sparkliest male in the costume contest.  Instead of shying away from everyone else's glitter, he was spreading it across the house, sprinkling it anyone (accidentally or otherwise) who came within a two-foot radius.  This created some real confusion, then, from those used to teasing Andy--he had taken their best weapon.  They could not out-glitter him.  He had embraced the glitter.  He had become one with the glitter.  

Sometimes, we have to embrace the weapons that people would use against us.  Playful or otherwise, those weapons then cannot harm you in quite the way they did before.

There is still a lot of glitter where his costume sat by the dresser.  Andy will tell you, though, that it was definitely worth it.  Going to be a few shades of difficult to top that next year...

A Break

There is a small group of people out of the many people that I know that I have created a category in my mind for called "people who just cannot seem to catch a break."  These are the people that you know that in addition to one life struggle, another adds on, and another, and another, when they've barely recovered from the first.  I'm not saying that life is harder for them than others, but there seems to be the strangest kind of universe-dumping happening in their particular sphere than in other places.  Health problems, car problems, family drama, work concerns, house problems, etc. all at once.

Well, we have a few friends that are in just that camp.  To cap off a number of concerns, one of them has had major heart surgery recently.  

It makes me absolutely furious to see how much just trying to stay healthy can bankrupt any family.  An accident at work or a genetic component that you have no control over shift the tide from functioning to limping overnight.  At one time, I was getting a medication every eight weeks that cost $28,000.00 a dose.  And yes, I did put the correct number in there.  If I were on an insurance plan that covered 80%, that's still a huge chunk of money every two months.  When I studied abroad in Scotland on a student visa, the National Institute of Health took care of everything but the medication itself--insurance would not make an overseas payment so we put in for a reimbursement of (after all foreign transaction fees, exchange rates, etc.) about $3,000.  For the exact same medication.  Recent changes to see more people insured is a great bandaid, but we truly need to look at why a procedure costs many times more in the States than it does ANYWHERE else.  Between medical costs themselves or losing a job because of health concerns, how are we collectively supposed to keep up when our health is held for ransom?  In the end, the money has to come from somewhere, be it food bills, electricity, whathaveyou.

I have a lot more to that rant, but that's not the main point right now.  I have some friends that need help.  Prayers are appreciated, most certainly.  However, I would ask people to take a step further than that and be prayers in action.  Please take a look at the link below.

This link.

It takes a great deal of courage to ask for help.  It's hard to admit that you need it, let alone put it out there.  They don't feel entitled; they just need a break.  

Whatever you can donate to them would be appreciated more than you know.  Please click on the link and share what you can.