Christmas, 2019

Merry Christmas!!

Time for the annual updates....

January 2019 involved a 12-hour drive to and from South Carolina for Laura and Katherine to spend two weeks at the hospital with where my mother slowly emerged from a diabetic crisis, and from which she went (in February) to a nursing facility.

February saw Jason and me celebrating my 50th birthday aboard the Carnival Triumph with our friends Ken and Emily, with stops in Cozumel and Progresso, Mexico. 

In March, we went to Milwaukee, WI, for a Yellow Ribbon workshop for Sailors who had been deployed to process the impacts the deployment had on themselves and their relationships.

April saw Katherine and me on the road again, spending 3 weeks in the Boston area awaiting the birth of our first grandchild.  Charles Judah finally arrived on April 25th.  During that time all of the rest of the family was able to come for a week with Frances and Nick.

May was relatively uneventful for most of the family, though Justin was able to spend some time in New Orleans with his friend Jayden, celebrating Jayden's high school graduation.

June included my mother's death after 6 months of battling for her life, and a trip to South Carolina for her memorial service.  In addition, Katherine and Leah went to Cincinnati, OH, for our church's annual trip to work in an inner-city neighborhood.

July was a lot of working, and enjoying the summer days, a trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indi 500 and preparing for a family trip in August. Also, Leah became a "Certified Barrista" at Starbucks, and Justin started working there, as well.

August saw almost the whole family gathered in South Carolina for a few restful days of family, friends, swimming, and pictures.  While we were gone to SC, Heather moved out to her new apartment in Carbondale, IL, where she is managing a Journey shoe store.

September was busy, with Jason having surgery on September 11....

...and a trip to Virginia Beach for me to attend our nephew's wedding...

...with a huge plus of seeing a whole lot of friends AND our son!!

We were also able to make another trip to Indianapolis for the Indy 400, and to spend some time with Jason's cousins.

October was our 27th wedding anniversary and the 28th anniversary of our dating, with a date to one of our favorites.










November was also very full....

At the beginning of the month, Jason and I were in Great Lakes and Chicago for a Navy Retirement workshop for a week.

While there, we were able to see some friends...

...Justin was in the local production of the musical "All Shook Up", loosely based on Elvis Pressley's music.

Heather and her boyfriend Darien were able to come to visit for part of the day for Thanksgiving.

In December, Leah and Justin finished their school semesters (both did very well), and Leah is now officially finished with her high school work and will be moving into her first semester of being an official college student.  I got a job (FINALLY!) working in a private practice as a counselor, and we again had a full table for Christmas lunch today, with Kyah, Heather, and Darien, as well as Jason and I, Justin, Leah, and Katherine.



Here's praying that 2020 will be less eventful, but also full of great memories!! 
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Lonely

Lonely doesn't even begin to cover where I am today. 

I'm sad. 
I'm grieving. 
I'm angry. 
I'm afraid...afraid that I'm on the edge of depression...afraid that a terrible injustice is going to ruin our lives...afraid that evil will prevail. 
I'm overwhelmed. 
And, yes, I am LONELY. 

I am so VERY lonely. 
Yes, there are friends. 
And yes, I can talk to some of them about some of the things. 
But, really I don't have anyone with whom I can talk about ALL of the things. 

So I pray...my heart bleeds...my eyes leak...my chest feels heavy...my brain feels tired. 
And I know He hears...
...which is comforting...
...but still I am lonely. 

Because right now, I need someone with skin on to be Jesus to me...
...to wait for answers with me...
...to be parent-like to me...
...to hug me while I cry...
...to insist that I eat when I feel more like vomiting from the stress...
...to help me laugh...
...to distract me.

Lonely. 

Today's News

May, 1987

Due West - Lynn Hestir Wegener, 74, died Wednesday, June 12, at AnMed Health in Anderson, following a brief illness.

Lynn is survived by Joseph, her husband of 52 years, her brother Brad Hestir and sister Lee Hestir Silver of western NC, sons David and James, daughters Laura and Naomi, 8 grandchildren and one great-grandson, and numerous family and friends. She is preceded in rest by her brother Brent and son John.

January, 2019

Raised in Texas, Lynn developed an early passion for literature and languages, earning a degree from Eckerd College.  She employed her linguistic skills in numerous local papers and periodicals, teaching at local public and private schools and colleges, and in homeschooling her children. Lynn also instilled a deep love for arts, language, science, and the Bible through daily readings to her family.

  

Lynn wrote, edited, and published articles in publications throughout upstate SC, including The Abbeville Press and Banner, The Honea Path Chronicle, Organic Gardening, Mother Earth News, and various other periodicals.

  

Lynn enjoyed volunteering with the American Red Cross, where her linguistic skills in Spanish, Russian, and German were used. She and Joe also sponsored multiple refugee families from southeast Asia and former Communist countries throughout the 80s and 90s, providing homes, jobs, and teaching English.

  

A graveside service is held on June 13 in Due West, and a memorial service will be at Temple B’nai Israel in Anderson June 16th at 4:30 pm.

Life goes on...and other indisputable facts...

Mayan ruins in Progresso, Mexico

It has been more than a year since we arrived in Illinois, and took up residence in what can only be described as the stinkiest town I have ever experienced. 

We have found an incredible church family, made friends, are part of a small group, are involved in music, and ministry, and school, and jobs...mine, Jason's, Heather's, Justin's, Leah's...Katherine is the only one who has yet to acquire a job...not for lack of desire. 

This year has been FULL.
January saw me and Katherine driving 12 hours to South Carolina, to spend the next two weeks while my mother was in the hospital, and then driving 12 hours back in a snowstorm.

Cruise pic

February is my birthday month...this year was my 50th, and Jason and I went for a cruise with some friends to Cozumel and Progresso, Mexico.  

Cruise pic

March was the month Jason and I went to Milwaukee, WI, for a weekend workshop for veterans who had been deployed, and visited with friends from our Bible college years who minister in Racine, WI.   

April 17th was the due date for our grandson, though he didn't arrive until the 25th.  Everyone was able to spend some time in Massachusetts, and I was privileged to be there for the birth, and act as doula.  Then Katherine and I drove 16 hours back to Illinois so I could be back at work. 

May is Indy 500 month...Jason and I were able to go for the first time, and he was honored to be included in some of the pre-race hoopla...and apparently ended up on TV.  We also had a visitor for a week, Justin spent a week in Louisiana for his best friend's graduation, and Jason was able to go back to Massachusetts to see the grandson for the first time. 

Meanwhile, Leah and Katherine finished up another school year.  Justin started classes at the local community college and has started the application process for some other schools.  Heather is working as a Manager-in-Training/Co-manager for her store.  Jon is still in Virginia Beach, working 2, or 3, or 4 jobs.  Frances and Nick are adjusting to life with a not-so-little new baby, and Frances is getting ready to go back to work...trying to figure out daycare logistics. 

Still waiting for life to slow down a little...someone please let me know when that happens!!

Jason wearing his Quilt of Valor

Four of the kids together in Massachusetts

Frances and baby boy Charles Judah

Justin went to visit his best
friend in New Orleans

Charles Judah...what a handsome little man!

Charles Judah is 1 month old!