THE GERBER GAZETTE
2016 has been an interesting year for the Gerber family. There have been lots of highs and a couple lows, but it certainly has been a year to remember.
We continue to marvel at the girls as they grow and expand their horizons. Sky, now 13, is our social butterfly. If there is something to do or a place to be, she's involved. Sky continues in a very active Girl Scout troop, earning badges, doing volunteer work, selling loads of cookies, and having fun. She also was confirmed in May and attended the church outreach camp in Philadelphia last June. Of course, there was her two week summer camp as well. This year, she was old enough to care for the animals, horses in particular. She continues to bring home excellent grades too.Abi, age 16, prefers to stay home and do her "art thing"! But, she is beginning to find more fun things to do outside of her room. Abi joined Job's Daughters this year and is beginning to get involved in those activities. She also spent part of the summer as a volunteer at the local Humane Society. However, art has remained her main interest. She has scheduled two art classes in school this year and is really enjoying the variety of work available. This is a quick sketch Abi did the other day just to practice pen work.
Our brindle girl Daegan, American Mastiff, began year three of her almost weekly vet visits at a new hospital in Bowie, Maryland. That is about an hour's drive from home. She continued to take all the travel, the constant testing, and various medications to try to resolve whatever was causing her problems so very well. However, in August, she finally gave up the fight. She was a sweet, wonderful, beautiful girl and is still missed very much by all of us.
After our sad farewell to Daegan, the most blessed event took place. Our first great grandchild was born. Zanaya Isabell made her appearance a month early and a bit under 5 pounds, but she has been catching up over the past couple months and is a happy, smiley baby now. We don't see her as often as we would like, but she is close enough that we can visit and we get to see pictures on Facebook.
Although Kieren, our fawn male American Mastiff, didn't seem to object to being the only center of attention, having just one pony-sized dog in the house just wasn't enough. So, in the beginning of November, we adopted a 4 year old apricot brindle American Mastiff girl named Jessie James! We call her our "mini Mastiff" because she is only 141 pounds. The other two hit the 170-175 pound mark. She is sweet and gentle and has fit in very easily. She is a bit shy, lets Kieren play alpha dog, and loves to sit at (usually on) my feet.
As for old Papa and Grandma, we continue to get older, fatter, grayer. I was able to spend a lovely long weekend in New Hampshire attending my nephew's wedding and visiting with family. I have not seen Ben and Colin since they were little boys. They have grown into bright, handsome young men, and Ben's wife, Lianna, is a treasure. Then, Sister Dorothy and I were able to take a few days to have our yearly birthday celebration with brother Charlie who now lives in an assisted living home in Buffalo, New York. We missed sister Sue by a week. Her education conference brought her close but the timing was off. However, she did get to spend some time with Charlie, so we all got to celebrate. There is a "Photoshopped" picture of the 4 of us on the photo page. Poor "Papa". He is sitting here counting his pennies. Our whole heating/air conditioning plant had to be replaced. It was expensive enough, but if not paid off in one year (interest free), they add an additional $9,000. So, we are sticking pretty close to home. Abi has gotten Papa into playing Fallout 4, she on the Xbox, he on the computer. So, there are often conversations about strategies!
The weather here has finally turned cold, after many warm and dry months. The predictions are for only 6-12 inches of snow this winter. But, whatever the climate, this time of year always brings memories of family and friends, some near-by, others too far away. We are sending our love and best wished for a wonderful holiday season of each of you. May your 2017 be a wonderful year filled with love and joy
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