Happy New Year 2013!
I know I say this every year.... but where does time go? It seems to fly by quicker and quicker!! So much has transpired!! Receiving news from friends who are far away is always something I look forward to at this time of the year.
First and foremost, now that David and I are emptynesters, we decided to move into a small town house, about half the size of our previous home. We have been here now for 4 months. We have settled in but there is a lot of painting yet to be done which we hope to make a dent in during the Christmas holidays. Our new address is 617 Eastbridge Blvd, Waterloo, ON N2K 4C3. We are only a few blocks away from our previous address.We did not have any holidays left for our yearly trip to Florida but are eagerly waiting for May of next year for 2 weeks in the heat and sun! But we did manage to have 4 days in New York City with David's brother Peter, right after Tory's wedding. Too much to see in so little time, but we did get to see 4 Broadway shows and take a bus tour of NY City.
DAVID
David seems to have travelled more than ever this year! He started with a conference in Oxford, England in February and has spoken across Canada various times over! Travelling is not all it's cut out to be... it gets very tiring!!DIANA
Work has kept me busy as I put in quite a bit of overtime due to shortage of staff. In between work, we had a busy few months preparing for Tory's wedding in late July, and our move a few weeks later. Each week I visit my Mum who is now 92 years old. One of the highlights for her is my taking her to church each Sunday. I also love to spend time with my grandkids here in Waterloo as much as I can and try to schedule a couple of trips to Lethbridge, Alberta to visit Tyler, Susan and the girls each year. I was just with them a few weeks ago. Always so hard to leave! I am so thankful for Skype! Being a grandma "Nana" is the best job in the world!!TYLER, SUSAN, ABBY AND MIA
It was wonderful to have the whole family here in July for Tory's wedding. Abby was one of the flower girls at the wedding and did a wonderful job! She is now 4 years old. A very smart, curious and energetic little girl. She attends Montessori school 3 mornings a week. Mia is just over 1 year old and growing fast!! Susan keeps busy with family and business. Tyler and Susan are looking forward to a business trip to Hawaii in January. The whole family is going to enjoy a bit of rest and relaxation.
MATTHEW, HEATHER, AVA AND NOLAN
Heather is back to work on a casual basis as a nurse in ER at Grand River Hospital. Ava just turned 3 years old and was also a flower girl at Tory's wedding. She did such an awesome job! Nolan will be 2 in March. Fun to have a grandson!! They also moved to a new home in the summer, just a 5 minute drive from us. The fun part is that it has a wonderful swimming pool which they definitely took advantage of during the month of August!
SCOTT AND TORY
The highlight of the year was Tory's wedding to Scott which took place July 28th. She looked beautiful and everything went off without a hitch! They are living in Kitchener close to Tory's work. She is working at State Farm Insurance and is now a Licensed Insurance Representative. Scott is back at school in his year of teacher's college. He is planning on teaching Geography at middle school (grades 7-8). They both graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in June.As another year begins, I want to share a prayer with you that I read about "getting older":
"Lord, as I grow older I think I want to be known as... thoughtful rather than gifted, loving versus quick or bright, gentle versus powerful, a listener more than a great communicator, available rather than a hard worker, sacrificial instead of successful, reliable not famous, content more than driven, self-controlled rather than exciting, generous instead of rich, compassionate more than competent."
That brings you up to date with some of highlights of the year in the Macfarlane family!
I wish you and your family a very Happy New Year for 2013. May the blessing from Numbers 6:24-25 be with you all. "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace"
David and Diana
