Wayt Family Newsletter

Happy holidays from our family to yours!

She said:
Merry Christmas!!!
&
Happy New Year!!!

2004 has been a year of “hello” & “good-bye”,

of soaring heights & drowning lows,

of incredible love & extreme turmoil.

First of all, I apologize for not getting last years newsletter sent out…or Christmas cards. So this year, I am starting before Thanksgiving to hopefully get this out before New Years. Hey, procrastination is a gift. ;-) Who am I to argue with God over what qualities he gave me. ;-)
Now, let’s talk Mother Nature. We have been very blessed where so many in the world have been left homeless, spouseless, childless, parentless, between Tsunamis, Hurricanes, Tornados, Forest Fires, Floods, Earthquakes…2005 took quite a beating.

Talking about taking a beating…

Avatars in John’s computer games have been taking quite a beating. John has been conquering quite a few first person shooting war games. Now he is playing Quake III which he has pretty much mastered.

Besides computer gaming, another hobby John seems to have conquered is fishing. We have been fishing with Dad Ullom a few times where Dad Ullom and John have caught countless fish. On our last fishing trip to a dam in Ohio, John & Dad Ullom fished for about 5 hours straight. They caught walleye, sauger, and white bass by the hundreds. Even I caught over a dozen fish that day, and I suck at fishing. John was really a sweetheart and patiently took the fish off my hook and would toss them back into the river for me. We were all using artificial bait (yes, John fixed that for me also…being married to a fisherman does have its advantages. ;-))Besides fishing and computer gaming, John found time to be an Engineer. Actually, he does work very hard. Around this time last year, he was employee of the month. I am very proud of him.

Now about the cats…

Poor Moocher had been sick. The vet believes he ingested something he was allergic to. We still do not know what it was.

Moocher had x-rays taken and blood work done. The x-rays showed that his liver is about half the size it should be. The blood work showed his lymphocytes were low. We have also been given orders by the vet to get Moocher’s weight down as Moocher is up to 13 lbs now. Moocher is still John’s little minion, and as cute as can be.

While Moocher follows John everywhere, Rusty is usually with me. He is great about making sure I do not stay up too late and that I get lots of attention.

Ashley is still our beautiful independent girl. There is no place in this apartment that she cannot reach.

He said:

Another year has come and gone, and where did the time go? There is never enough of it spent with family and friends. Technology is supposed to make more time for our personal lives, yet it seems responsible for consuming more time than it makes.

Since the holidays are once again here, it’s traditional to look back on the past year and ponder all of the things we are thankful for, no matter how big or small. It is also a time to plan for the coming year, to dream of how we can make life better in our lives and in our world.

During the past year, I’ve traveled to Israel and Malaysia (and I am preparing to go to Malaysia again between Thanksgiving and Christmas). I fished more this year than in recent years, and fly fished more than ever (successfully…). We nursed a sick Moocher, who continues to find ways of proving that he’s my cat. I would prefer that he not copy my stomach problems just to make this point…

I hope that the past year has brought you much joy and happiness, and that the new year is every bit as special and magical as you could hope for it to be.

Rusty, Ashley and Moocher wish to send everyone their best wishes and prayers for a happy holiday season! And as they put it, a very Merry, Mousey Christmas!

She gets last word:

November of last year, Dr. Hertle operated on my eyes to straighten them. Then in the beginning of 2005, John went with me to my eye doctor appointment. Dr. Hertle showed me a 3-D picture of a fly that caused me to jump in my seat and scream. John laughed so hard, I thought he was going to bust a gut. It was the first time I recall seeing a 3D image on paper that actually jumped out at me.

A few days between Christmas & New Years, we received a visit from my parents. It was the first time my parents ever visited me.

John had been seeing a stomach doctor in Pittsburgh, and amazingly enough, John found a solution to his own stomach problems…yogurt. It really works.

I have been seeing an infertility specialist. He did lots of tests. Good news is that John is perfectly healthy as far as having a child, and we are compatible. Bad news is that I have tumors, scarring, and Factor V Leiden. We were told that it is too dangerous to operate until I get at my ideal BMI. The other alternative is invetro-fertilization. I told the doctor I would rather get down to my ideal BMI since it will be healthier for the child anyways.

I was doing well until I was rear-ended at a stop light at noon on 30 June 2005. I ended up with whiplash and a vertebra not positioned as it should be. So I had been seeing a chiropractor, and will be seeing a neurologist and orthopedic surgeon.

Around the same time of John’s birthday was John’s company picnic where we had a great time at Idle Wild Park. John even rode on a roller coaster with me though he is not a fan of heights
In August was the Ullom family reunion where we played miniature golf. John did really great right up until the third hole. I would have done well if my golf ball did not continuously aim for a wall. After the reunion, Steve, Karen, Andrew, Drea, John, & I went to Cabalas, It was really adorable watching Drea dramatically try to choose a belated birthday gift for herself.

Thanksgiving, we drove to Steve & Karen’s new house. I am so impressed by how Karen got everything organized in such a short time, and yet John & I still have boxes that need to be unpacked after almost 2 years. Like I said before, procrastination is a gift. ;-)