New Year's Catch-up 2008

Happy holidays from our family to yours!

We wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May the New Year bring better luck to you, whether you had good luck or not so good luck last year. We also wanted to thank you for the wonderful Christmas cards we received. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to get all the things we wanted to do done in time to send ours out. Jamie finally had the last week of December off work and was able to enjoy a much needed rest at home with Anthony and Joshua. Unfortunately, it is back to work as normal on the 2^nd of January 2008. As we all begin a new year, we send our love and prayers to all.

Joshua and O2BKids!

In the early part of the year, we found a wonderful place for Joshua. O2BKids! Had just been built near our house, and offered extracurricular activities as well as a safe place to play. We toured the place and we all fell in love with it. We felt it provided the necessary social interaction Joshua would need before he went to Pre-School since he never went to day care and we certainly do not have a neighborhood that has other children his age, nor a safe place for him to play. April will be his 1st anniversary there. He has been exposed to art, science, Karate, music and sports. They are all based on age groups so it’s not too in-depth at the moment. And, there is a free play area where he just loves “The Big Toy”—you know, the jungle gym slide thing you usually see at McD’s, but bigger.

Joshua’s big step—Pre-School

Joshua took a big step this year. He started Pre-School in August. Florida provides a free Volunteer Pre-K for every resident and we certainly did not want to deprive him of as much knowledge as he could soak up. Before he entered, he knew his ABCs, colors, shapes, and we even had him working on spelling and reading 3 letter words. He had his good days and then he had his days where he just refused to do it. But, at least he understood certain things. Both MomMom and Daddy aren’t experienced in teaching the young mind, but we think we faired rather well. Joshua has always been inquisitive. He never had the “why?” phase. His has always been, and still is, “what would happen if?” And we do our best to explain to him how things work. Anthony is better at these explanations than Jamie, but she tries. He has his own children’s encyclopedia—which we bought when he was 3. And, we have received a set of books from Jamie’s cousin that he so enjoys and he can read them himself.

His first day of school he was so excited. He wasn’t your typical clingy child. Oh, no. He told us, “You can go now.” And off he went to meet his new friends. He’s on his Christmas break and every day he asks, “When do I go back to Pre-school?”

Anthony & Jamie

This year marked their 18th anniversary. We’ve been through so much that it seems like a lifetime, yet when we look back it really only seems like yesterday. I guess that’s a good sign, and when you both like and love your spouse, that’s just the way things are supposed to be. Through thick and thin, forever together. We wish you all the same blessing.

Anthony still suffers through his chronic pain. The VA has picked up MOST of his medication and SOME of his medical care. Although they are slowly catching on to certain things, others still elude us. On December 18th, he had his second Cryogenic Nerve Block on his occipital nerves and will be returning for a follow-up and possibly more in the New Year. Luckily, his civilian doctor has picked up a VA position and now cares for him through the VA system.

Medical expenses have been quite cumbersome, to say the least. On top of the many things the VA does not pay for, Jamie is still suffering through her car accident ordeal nearly 2 years past. The settlement is taking longer than her lawyer thought, due to certain aspects of the case, and she has now run out of the car insurance monies to pay for the medical expenses. Things are going to collections, but we shall manage. We always do, right?

Despite the full schedule of work, pre-school, and Joshua’s extracurricular activities, we did manage to see the Space Shuttle lift off twice, once from St. Augustine Beach, and once from a beach near Cape Canaveral. Next time, it will be inside the Space Center!
Anthony is still attending college. However, he’s changed his major (to Political Science) and his school (Troy University).
 

Until Next Time!

Not much has changed. Joshua keeps us on our toes. The busy schedule of work and play tend to keep us extra busy. When there is down time, we usually stay in, lounging in our PJs and watching TV or playing the xBox 360. TV and gaming are very much a luxury. Thank goodness for TiVo!
Again, thank you all for the wonderful cards we received. Please enjoy our short, but heartfelt letter along with some pictures. May your year be full and prosperous.