Christmas 2017

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2017 from the Marks'!

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

     Chris, Liz, Erik, Ron, Nancy, Kathie, Bethany & Ike

2017 has found Ron and I continuing to enjoy our retirement. We each work a little- Ron as an autism consultant for the state of Montana, visiting schools and helping educators work with students with autism. I keep busy with a small business Plan it Montana assisting with event planning including an annual conference and a Women's Spring Retreat as well as helping build and maintain websites.

Bethany & Gillian:   Baking at Nana's

Ron, Nancy, Bethany & Luke

enjoying our summer outdoor time!

Our major “job” is building relationships with our 2 ½ year old granddaughter Bethany (3 days a week) , 6 1/2 year old Gillian (after school on Thursday) and 3 ½ year old Luke (Friday mornings). It has been so fun to watch them grow. We regularly spend time outside with them as well as finding time for books, baking, crafts, and gardening.

Our summer was spent in the midst of a major remodel of our house. We took existing space and created two large bedrooms and bathrooms with accessibility in mind for our future. We added a large sliding glass door to each bedroom that opens out to a deck with a great view of our yard and pasture. We spent the summer living in our RPod (camper) in the pasture, while the “worker guys” (as Bethany called them) were in the house. Of course there were a few rough spots, but we managed to find the humor in most of it. Check out my Remodel Humor video. We are very happy with the results.

REMODEL HUMOR

Our yard and garden keep us busy during the spring, summer and fall. I’ve begun to sew and quilt again (our remodel now includes the Sewing Palace). I am enjoying making short videos.  Be sure to subscribe to my youtube channel below if you want to view future videos! Ron continues to enjoy working in the garden and orchard, plowing snow and of course hunting! He and son Ike both got elk. We enjoyed boating this summer as often as we could.

We had a record apple harvest this year. The trees were loaded and as with every year, we needed a lot of help. This year we were able to get a grant from Thrivent and sold apple juice, sliced apples and apple pies to support Family Promise, an organization that provides support for families who are homeless. We were so thankful for all the people who came and helped with the harvest. Enjoy a short video about our fun harvest!

MARKS MACS APPLE DAYS 2017

Ron spent several days going back and forth to Great Falls fixing up his mom’s house to sell. On one of those trips in late July, I went with him and on the way home we had a major head-on collision which totaled our truck, when a woman came into our lane. I had injuries to my feet, knees and neck. Ron came out unhurt. We were blessed being able to walk away.   It was an experience that really made us realize how fragile life can be. It could have had a very different outcome.

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:4-5

We enjoyed some traveling this year. In the spring we went to Arizona and visited with our son Erik, my sister Jane and her husband and my nephew James and wife Sarah. It was a great respite to get some sunshine during a bleak Montana winter.

Erik, Nancy & Ron enjoying some spring training baseball

In late September we packed up our truck and delivered some of my Mom’s things to brother Joe and his wife Lori and some of Ron’s mom’s things to his sister Lorrie and her husband John in California. We enjoyed time playing in the ocean and enjoyed a sunny fall days and California wine tasting. It was great to get away from a smokey summer and enjoy time with family.

Ron with his sister Lorrie and her grandkids Andrew and Hayley

Looking forward. We have been busy planning for the wedding of Liz to Christopher Brault on December 30th. We are so excited to see family and friends and celebrate this great time. Congratulations to Chris for graduating from law school. They will continue to live in Baton Rouge while Liz finishes her doctorate.

Ike & Kathie and Bethany are looking forward to a new addition to their family the end of February. Bethany can’t wait to be a big sister! We are excited to have a new little one around!

Blessings to you in 2018.

Love,

Ron and Nancy (with Bethany, of course) 

Stay in Touch with us

mslamarks@gmail.com   Nancys blog: http://missoulamusings.blogspot.com

 Nancy’s Youtube channel: http://youtube.com/mslamarks

See you on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mslamarks 

3524 South 3rd St West, Missoula, MT 59804

PS... Upon later reflection, I realized I forgot an important event in 2017.  In January 2017, our beloved Madison went to doggy heaven.  She was 13 and we had many good years with her.   We certainly miss her.  

Because she died in January, we had her cremated. In March, Ron and I decided to let her go.  Something amazing happened as Ron let her ashes go.... 

One last swim!   We miss you Madison!