2021 has been a year of good and bad and everything in between and we are so grateful for it all. While we would never ask for trials, we are grateful to have gotten through them and come out the other end with a little more “character” - what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? Our highlights this year:
Emily began school at Brigham Young University-Idaho in Jan., and LOVED it, frigid weather and all! Girl after my own heart. She especially loved her Art Classes and learned so much. Her talent amazes us! She also discovered she loves everything Latin: the language, the music, and the DANCING each week at the weekend Latin Dances.
We finally updated Emily’s bedroom with new paint, new flooring (engineered vinyl planks that look like wood), and new furniture (still working on that part.)
Emily’s dog, Honey, got pretty depressed with Emily gone for 7 months and got SO happy when Emily returned that we thought her tail was going to fly right off, it was wagging so much and so fast! LOL!
Bob & I celebrated our 32nd Anniversary in February and are thankful for our happy marriage and family. What a ride it’s been!
The middle of February also welcomed our Great Texas Snowmaggedon! Wow - power was out completely for a few days, but thankfully it did come on for anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours at a time, 2 or 3 times a day, just enough to allow us to prepare my homemade Chicken Tortilla Soup which fed us for almost a week straight! We learned what needed to be replaced or fixed from among our Emergency Preparedness items, so this proved another blessing! Thank Heaven for our small generator which helped to power our room heater and keep us warm. It was a crazy time! Many others had pipes burst, pool pipes burst, roofs break/leak and other house issues. We were thankful to not have any of those major problems with our home!
Bob was hospitalized for a few days at the end of Feb. and found out he now suffers from Vertigo. It was a pretty serious episode he had that first day (and scary), but learned how to manage it and eventually get back to 90% normal. Grateful Jonathan was close by and able to follow the ambulance to the hospital (and call me on the way), so we could get Bob checked out and checked in.
Jonathan turned 27 in March and we celebrated with dinner and a movie. We get to see him often, as he lives near by. YAY! He also bought a 1970 Ford Truck this year that he is updating and working on. Can’t wait to see it when it’s done!
I (Teri) came down with a pretty bad “cold” in mid-April. Turned out it was Covid and I ended up hospitalized with Pneumonia for 7 days. At the same time, Jonathan came down with Covid and Pneumonia and was also hospitalized - same floor as I was on, and just around the corner from my room. It ended up being a tender mercy that we were so close and were “given permission” to visit together while there - which was nice, considering no one else was “allowed” to visit us, not even Bob - even though Bob had Covid too! But his case was mild and he was able to stay home to recuperate. Presbyterian Hospital in Plano has nationally award-wining food, by the way. Not too shabby. Thankfully within a month all three of us were 100% back to normal. More blessings!
While in the hospital, I learned I have Diabetes 2, just like Bob. So it’s actually been nice to try and improve our eating habits together & manage Diabetes with diet/exercise. We’re both doing really well, and our A1C is barely higher than normal, so another blessing!
Bob continues to help out at Church events, weddings, dances, etc. with lighting, music and sound. He’s in high demand it seems.
Bob attended our Church’s Young Women’s Camp, and the Young Men’s Camp two weeks later, as an advisor this past Summer, both of which were a couple hours away. Honey even went with him to Girls’ Camp and really enjoyed being outdoors for several days and all the attention she got.
Emily’s1st kayaking trip while in ID was a hit! She’s my girly girl who is also outdoorsy and artsy.
We had Jessica and clan over in June to celebrate our granddaughter, Orli’s 8th birthday. How did she turn EIGHT already!? We had a fun day with balloons, cake, family, a couple of hours at the indoor Urban Air Trampoline Park, followed by dinner and a movie (Peter Rabbit 2) at our favorite theater, Studio Movie Grill. The girls were pooped out by the end of the day and slept soundly that night. Ha!
Emily attended the Stadium of Fire 4th of July Celebration in Provo, UT, with her bestie, Kathryn and her family and had loads of fun, especially with Lee Greenwood, David Archuleta and Collin Raye performing!
Bob and I began doing empty-nester things and found that we really enjoy going target shooting together. So far we’ve tried out three of the newest gun ranges in the area and I also learned that I haven’t lost my eye-hand coordination! I did pretty well on keeping my shots mostly grouped together near the center of the target! It’s also been fun to just be able to “get up and go” whenever the mood strikes! Eat out? Sure! Go see a movie? Sure! Sit outside and listen to birds, my wind chimes, and enjoy the cool weather while Honey lays on the grass like the Queen of Sheba? Sure! I could get used to this! (With the occasional tears for missing the days when our babies were home and we always had places to go, school to do, and extra-curriculars to attend.)
A super highlight came late July: Emily surprised Bob with an oil painting of his official military photo taken when he first joined the Army back in 1985. She painted it as her Final Exam in her oil painting class (and got an A!), and presented it to him belatedly for his birthday (which was on July 15.) He was light-hearted until he unwrapped it and saw what it was - then the tears flowed … which made Emily happy. Her goal was achieved! It was a very touching moment.
July also brought my cousin Kim and her family to town, and that meant a dinner get-together for us Wagner cousins (Kim, Chrissy, and me plus our families) for good ol’ Texas BBQ. We had a grand time as usual and enjoyed seeing everyone’s kids.
In August Bob had surgery on his wrist. It had “popped” several months before, but never really stopped hurting. Ended up he tore the tendons and ligaments and his bones were separating now. So it’s been 3 months of healing, and he’s finally getting back to almost normal. He will only recuperate about 90% of his flexibility in the wrist, but no more pain! (I'll spare you the joy of seeing the detailed photo of the metal bar sticking out of his wrist. You're welcome. However... below is a photo showing Honey all happy to be in her regular "throne" after Bob was home from his surgery....)
In September, Orli was in a 4-car pile up accident, and thankfully came away with only a few stitches on the top of her head and nothing more. Whew! That was scary for a while!
Another big highlight: Emily and Jonathan attended the EAGLES concert in Dallas at the end of September. This was Emily’s 2019 Christmas Event gift from Santa, but thanks to Covid it was postponed several times. FINALLY it happened! And it was GLORIOUS!
Not to be left out, Emily took her turn at the hospital when she ended up in the ER at 3am twice in October for serious breathing problems. She couldn’t breathe! We still haven’t figured out exactly what is causing this as we await appointments with the Pulmonologist and Allergy Specialist but she is managing it well and the herbs I gave her, as well as the humidifier are helping a lot. Time will tell. This has been THE hospital year for us! Wow! We’ve never been to the hospital, so I guess Fate said it was time to make up for that! Hopefully we’ve got that checked OFF now!
On October 1, Bob took Emily and me to The Original Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit in Dallas. Wow! Van Gogh is both Emily’s and my favorite artist, so this was, as Emily whispered to me during the exhibit, “a dream come true!” Yes it was! Even Bob thoroughly enjoyed it. It was the perfect “double birthday celebration” for us - Emily turned 20 in Oct and I turned 20+ in Sep.
A fun happening in October: Emily made her first homemade Flan! The best recipe ever from Doña Elena Puente!
Throughout the year Bob and HAM Radio have gotten to be BFF’s as he participates with our local and Church HAM Radio events. He recently helped out at our local community-wide outdoor Winter Emergency Preparedness Fair by manning the HAM Radio booth. He’s learning quite a bit and has recently learned how to send emails through HAM Radio! Should we ever lose power for days again, he will be able to reach out to family through HAM Radio-email (through Winlink) to let them know we’re ok, and do the same for any needs the Church may have. Not many people know how to do that evidently, or don’t have the special equipment to do it. Bob is all about service and helping in emergencies!
Emily goes back to BYU-ID in Jan. Jonathan still works from home & is finishing up his CIT Degree online from BYU-ID; Jessica and Taylor both recently started new jobs; Orli is in 3rd grade; and Genna will be starting Kindergarten within the year. Time keeps rolling on.
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L-R: Taylor, Orli, Jessica and Genna in front
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Here is some of Emily's art -
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A painting of a photo taken in ID the day Emily went kayaking - beautiful countryside with the Tetons in the background
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This is the model for the following sketch...
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This is the model for the following sketch -
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This is the model for the following sketch -
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We have been blessed greatly this year, and pray that 2022 will bring
all of our Father’s tender blessings to each of you. In a world gone
insane, the Reason for the Season continues to bring true peace, true
joy, and true comfort. How grateful we are! We love you each!
