I’m writing this post on my 71st birthday. John and I have spent the better part of December enduring our first ever case of Covid. Praising God for no hospitalizations and for His constant presence with us.
Here is a summary of our year:
January: I fell on ice and hurt my hip, Kathryn had pneumonia, Bri & Mel and family had a terrible cold, and I worked on a slideshow for our upcoming 50th anniversary. I had a sudden vitreous detachment in the back of my right eye that resulted in lots of new floaters and intermittent blurry vision in that eye.
Food prepared included:
· chicken fajita casserole,
· chicken salad,
· chicken rice soup,
· cinnamon rolls
· pecan cinnamon rolls for a raffle at school
· 5 lbs taco meat for freezer,
· Five layer casserole. (link to Dolly Parton’s 5 layer casserole)
February: Bekah to ER for an x-ray of her arm, not broken! The Chief’s won the Super Bowl for the second year in a row and we celebrated at Bri and Mel’s! John had a virus that made him dizzy. On the 17th both our kids’ families spent the day in four different towns for their kids’ basketball games. Nicole’s fever went sky high with Covid. Jonathan mildly ill. Isaac had the stomach flu. I made chicken soup. On the 26th we bought a 2023 GMC Terrain as our 50th anniversary gift to one another! Jonathan flew to Houston. John spread fertilizer and anhydrous.
Food prepared included:
· Chocolate chip cookies made with Bekah
· Sweet and sour chicken
· Chicken fajitas
· Chicken enchilada noodle casserole
· Cinnamon rolls
March: I republished 100 Days to Freedom with a new subtitle: Finding Rest in the Love of God. Lebo girls and boys headed to state tourneys. Over spring break I had increasing pain in a wisdom tooth and could find no one available to pull it or treat it. Panic! On the 14th I had a root canal at Touchstone Endodontics in Lenexa. John had a thyroid ultrasound; all clear. I had to go on bedrest for three days for my hip and lower back. Daniel to ER with cluster headache; he had a severe sinus infection. We found out we are going to be grandparents for the 6th time come November! Melinda and Brian celebrated their 20th anniversary on the 27th, and we celebrated our 50th anniversary March 30.
Not much food prep this month because of tooth debacle and hip pain but I did bake a ham, stew a chicken, made up some hamburgers for the freezer, and had the little boys out for a meatloaf lunch; Isaac’s favorite.
April: Stomach virus hit the Born grands. I made 1.5 gallons chicken noodle soup and split it among us and both our kids and their families. We all got out our eclipse glasses on the 8th to watch an 80% solar eclipse.
Food prepared included:
· Lots of chicken noodle soup
· Baked & shredded 2 pans of sirloin for bbq sandwiches or taquitos
· Chicken salad
· Cinnamon rolls
May: On the first of May, John’s dad went home to be with the Lord. I saw Joan Grother for a swollen gland under my chin. Cousin Pam came down for Johnnie’s visitation on the 4th. I became very tired with auto-immune symptoms; had a neck ultrasound and blood tests. On the 15th we lost our huge elm tree, the only tree I ever planted. So sad; we have no shade for the deck now. My friend and classmate, Diana, passed away on May 27. I suffered profound exhaustion and swollen glands with sore throat for most of the month. Quote for the month: “We aren’t given grace to handle ‘what-ifs.’”
Food prepared included:
· Lemon bars and blueberry bars
· BBQ chicken for Mother’s Day
· Layered salad
June: Logan to ER for a little cut on the back of his neck—3 stitches. Had family out for Father’s day. All of our grands (except Kathryn) were busy all month with baseball/softball. Had the Rausch boys to lunch on the 21stand Rebekah to breakfast on the 26th. Since I break out in a rash in the sun, I spent a lot of time watching ballgames on the Gamechanger app.
Food prepared included:
· Father’s day supper: southwest chicken casserole, green beans, apple pie
· Cinnamon rolls
· Homemade chicken broth
July: On the 4th we celebrate Irma’s 96th birthday and enjoyed unseasonably cool temps of just around 80 degrees or so. Melinda had a wonderful sonogram showing a very healthy and active baby! We enjoyed a trek to Burlington to look at the kids’ fair projects, they all did amazingly well. Brian is redoing their family room, and we had supper there one night. I made 3 double batches of play dough for Melinda for Bible School. Had the grandkids out for a “make your own pizza” lunch.
Food prepared included:
· Sweet corn for the freezer, 80+ pints
· Meatballs
· Pull apart bread
· Spaghetti and meat sauce
· Homemade pizza
· Chicken salad
· Cinnamon rolls
August: I began deep cleaning house with John’s help, preparing to give a little baby shower for Melinda. Struggled with profound exhaustion, sore throat, swollen glands. Irma had her fourth cancer surgery on August 6. I painted the church pew and re-did the front door with quarter round trim and a new peephole. We received 4.5” of rain with an early morning storm on the 13th. Cousin Pam sold her house in K.C. and moved to Florida. Had all the kids to supper on the 31st.
September: Hip x-ray showed no fracture. Blood tests showed white count a little high. The men began harvesting an amazing corn crop—on the hill the monitor said 200 bpa in places, averaged over 150 bpa and 180 bpa in another field. Hosted a little baby shower for Melinda on September 28; very sweet.
Food prepared included:
· 3 kinds of cookies and 2 kinds of mini cupcakes for the shower.
· Sent several meals to Mel’s family, chicken breasts and rice, spaghetti & meat sauce, chicken soup and cinnamon rolls, smothered steak. I took sloppy joe & rotel dip & chips to feed the workers on the 30th as the boys installed new windows in Brian and Melinda’s remodeled family room.
October: We received our flu shots on the 7th. Nicole brought baby clothes for Melinda to sort through. I laundered them and laid them out on tables for her to take what she needed. We hosted Jonathan and Isaac’s birthday supper here on the 20th sans Kathryn and Nicole who were home sick. Irma was hospitalized with low O2 on the 22nd. Irma home and on hospice as of the 27th. I put food in the freezer to have for when the boys stay while their baby sister makes her appearance; chicken soup, sloppy joe, spaghetti sauce, hamburger patties.
Other food prepared included:
· 6 pounds of hamburger browned and seasoned for the freezer,
· Crockpot butter beef & potatoes,
· Roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, Born corn for Jon and Isaac’s birthday supper with apple pie for dessert.
· Made Chicken rice soup and chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles for the Rausch fam on the day of Isaac’s birthday.
November: Lydia Grace Rausch arrived, 8 lbs 12.9 ounces, 20.5” long, 1:37 pm. We met her for the first time on November 2. On November 10, John’s mom went home to be with the Lord. I got to hold the baby about an hour a day on the 11th through the 15th. Had a CT scan of my neck at Newman’s and all looked fine but my white count was higher so I have an appointment in January to see a hematologist. I prepared nearly the entire Thanksgiving meal in advance, even freezing the cooked sweet potatoes and it all turned out great. We had a sweet gathering on Thanksgiving Day, so much to be thankful for but also grief to process with Johnnie and Irma’s absence.
December: Both John and I had Covid this month. I came down with it the evening of the 8th and was miserably sick on the 9th and 10th, moderately sick another 5 days. Had stomach upset for another couple of weeks. Finally better on the day of my birthday. John got well faster than I did but had hard chills and deep cough. We both suffered mild rebound symptoms with headaches and sinus congestion and still-positive tests in the third week of Covid, and so we postponed our Christmas celebration with family to New Year's Day.
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