Merry Christmas!

I ponder why life goes faster as we get older, when we actually move slower! How fast time seems to go, and here we are, at the time of the year when we can celebrate the best gift ever given to mankind! What a blessing that is each day. Though life is not always a bed of roses, we can have joy and peace through it all!

George has had 3 major surgeries on his left eye this year and is still

recovering. Last year he had 2 on his right eye. The good part is that he has had a fantastic eye surgeon from the USC Dohney Eye Center, one of the best in the nation. Dr. Bhatti has been the best and we have become good friends. With all the retinal detachments, he can still see fairly well, and we pray for no more! George says the rest of his parts are gradually wearing down, but he feels good.

Sadly, our Son-In-Law, Ken Lloyd, Debbie’s husband passed away at Thanksgiving. This has been especially hard on Debbie as she is raising her granddaughter, Taylor who is 13 years old and now has very little income to live on.

I am still busy teaching AP & regular Chemistry at Glendale High, and am having a good year this year, for which I am very thankful. I hope to be receiving a “smartboard” for my classroom if you have heard of those. It provides for a lot of student interaction, which is fun for them and me!

George is still working for Azusa Pacific University as a Mentor Instructor for new teachers, helping them as they work toward their State Teaching Credential. George and I attend as many of APU’s home basketball games as possible. This past year at the NAIA National Tournament they lost by one point in the final game by .09 second. Very disappointing having to settle for #2 in the nation.

We sold our big Mac 1955 Firetruck last year and were able to downsize to a 1997 4 WD Ford Fire Brush Truck. George said the Mac “was getting a little too big to handle for this old guy”. We can still use the brush truck to put out a fire if we had to, and we use it in parades, etc. You can see the pictures on our website: www.firetruckforfun.com

In the Spring we head up to the cabin in Idaho where we do our annual clean up for a week. We really love the place as it is so serene and beautiful. We go back in June and stay until Sept. That is the time of year when we have a lot of fun. We invite company to come and stay for several days and, as usual, we had many takers. If you would ever like to drop in for a visit, feel free in letting us know.

Believe it or not, this coming August will be George and my 25th wedding anniversary. We decided to throw a barbecue and renew our wedding vows. George’s cousin, a pastor who lives in Calgary, Canada will perform the small ceremony. There will be hay wagon rides, as it will be on a big horse ranch that overlooks the water; a beautiful site. This will all take place in N. Idaho near our cabin on Aug.13, 2011. If you would like to attend, please let us know.

One of our favorite activity’s is supporting the best Boxer Dog rescue anywhere. It is called Take Me Home, and their web site is Takemehome.TV. The Boxer Dogs are very special to us as we have two of them, Princess 8 yrs. and Bear 18 months. Bear has just about chewed up everything we have, which is another story. But he is so loving, cute and fun.

George and I have had a fantastic year together, as we always do. He is truly the love of my life. We do just about everything together. He is such a blessing in my life. He constantly lifts me up and keeps me happy. God gave me an Angel in disguise.

We are very fortunate in that we get to see George’s children often (they are like sisters to me). Cathy, the eldest is unmarried, except to 4 cats. Ha! She moved to Desert Hot Springs this year after losing her teaching assistant position she had in Pasadena for about 30 years. Her son Josh, our eldest grandson lives in the area. Cathy is finishing up her teaching credential so she can now be a full time teacher to handicapped children. Debbie, is now a widow and finding it very difficult. Ken was a good husband and we all loved him.

The youngest, Mindy is happily married to Dr. Rick and they live in Spokane Washington with the 3 of their 4 children. They are about half an hour from our cabin so we have the joy of seeing them during the summer. The eldest, Alex is married and finishing up his bachelor’s degree. He will work on his Pharmacy MD next. Aaron, age 15, is quite the baseball player. He is planning to play American Legion baseball this summer. Zach is still the ladies man at 10 and Carrie, age 17 is just too beautiful on the inside and outside for her own good. We are very proud of them all.

For Christmas day we have been invited to the Fire station 42 by our good friends the Roewarts. It is a real honor for us and we always love celebrating with them and the men at the station.

We are very blessed as we have the best by living in Idaho on a lake in the summer, and here in Pasadena Ca. in the winter. Maybe one of these days we will see you in Idaho at the cabin.

I am now on facebook. Just type in Sharon Lusk Taylorson. I figured since George was doing it, I might as well too. I will say it is a great way to reconnect with school mates and friends that you haven’t heard from since prehistoric times. J

We are available on SKYPE and just LOVE being able to talk face to face online with video calling when you are available online. Skype is free. Just download it from: http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/home

It is awesome and is available for Mac & PC. They use it a lot on the News. You can talk to anyone around the world for free. Even without a camera on your computer you can still talk to someone. Check it out! Our Skype name is: georgetaylorson

Hope to “see” you!

Princess, Bear, George and I all wish you the best and hope you have a very, very, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.

Sharry & George Taylorson