by Dear Friends and Family:
This year’s letter comes a bit after the fact, a delay that can only be excused by the distractions of the season. So, with Christmas more than a week in the rearview mirror, this isn’t so much a Merry Christmas missive as it is a reflection on the past year.
First, I will say that, as usual, God has blessed our family with many wonderful things this year and that we are grateful for them! In more-or-less chronological order then, here are some of the events of the past year.
In January, I, Marc, passed the 10-year mark working at The Texas A&M University System where I am the manager of the Enterprise Software Development team. A decade’s service gives rights to state retiree medical benefits, which could come in handy down the road.
In March we gained a new member of the Moore Dynasty when Mitch married BethAnne, a wonderful girl who is a student at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Jake flew to Atlanta to stand up with them. Since then they’ve put a lot of miles in driving back and forth. They were also here for Christmas this year.
In April Monica and I went to our last “official” youth sporting event and watched David run his best ever mile time in his final race.
In May David graduated from Iola High School and became the 3rd and final Moore to do so. He finished 10th in his class and won a few local scholarships to help with his first year in college.
In June, Monica and I went to Georgia where I went to a Big Nerd Ranch training course and we got to visit with Mitch and BethAnne in the evening hours.
In July, Jake and Dave went with a combined church mission trip to Romania with our pastor, Dave’s friend Will, Dawn and Kitaira from IMBC, and several other people. They came back with many stories of the trip, the relative rural-ness of life and cost of living in Romania, and a new appreciation for the blessings of America!
In September, Monica and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary in quiet fashion. We’ve been at it long enough that we only get worked up every 5 years now!
In October, I went to Indiana to mark the passing of my Uncle Dave Waggoner, a great man and one who was a tremendous influence on me. That same weekend, Jake defeated his brother Dave to win the 5K Bulldog Dash here in Iola, becoming the first Moore to win that race (Dave has finished 2nd three years in a row). Later in the month, Jake came down with the shingles – ouch – putting a temporary end to his athletic endeavors.
In November Jacob asked Amberly Carey to marry him and she agreed. She unknowingly agreed to be dubbed “Moore Dynasty 7”, just because we like to number things! They are planning to get hitched on May 21st of this year, probably here in Iola. As a result, the Moore Dynasty took Thanksgiving on the road, spending it in Tyler with Amberly’s parents and grandparents. Much turkey was eaten and disc golf was played and it was a successful celebration!
In December Monica celebrated her birthday, finally catching up to the age she’d forgotten she wasn’t all year long. I won’t say how many years that is, but it’s enough to forget one here or there, apparently! As I mentioned, Mitch and BethAnne came to Iola for the twins’ 22nd birthday and Christmas week. Jake and Amberly were here several days when not in Tyler so that we were all together for the first time in too long.
This last point is heavy on my heart at the moment since Jake and Amberly went to Tyler last night and Mitch and BethAnne just left this A.M. to spend some time with her parents in N.C. The house is quiet now as Dave does not make much noise and I have time to reflect on how much it means to simply be in the same room with the members of my family, even when nothing much is going on. That is, it is everything and it seems to become more and more important the older I get. Just one of the little things they don’t tell you when you’re younger, or they do tell you and you’re not able to process it out-of-context. Probably the latter.
Anyway, as Bugs Bunny used to say, th-th-th-that’s all, folks!
Love,
Marc, Monica, Mitch, BethAnne, Jake (and Amberly), and David Moore
