Christmas 2008

Dear Friends and Family

Once again it is that time of year when we prepare for the Savior’s birth and his second coming.  It is also a time when we reflect on the past year and count our blessings which include our friends.

 

Deb and Tony and their kids still live outside Linwood with their menagerie which provides chores and responsibility for Jennifer and Jacob.  Tony still works for the consulting firm and travels about a fourth of the time.  Deb works one to one and a half days a week at a veterinary clinic in Olathe.  On top of the Crohn’s Disease she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia this year.  She has been feeling better since she’s been on medication.  Deb and Tony are active in their church. In July, their church in Bonner Springs merged with a church near Basehor and changed their name to Risen Savior. Tony served as president of their congregation while working out the merger. Deb currently is their new congregation’s president of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League.    Jennifer is in fourth grade at Linwood Elementary and Jacob is in all-day kindergarten.  They both like school.  Jennifer is learning to play the viola.  Jennifer played softball this past summer and Jacob played t-ball.  Jacob’s attention was distracted whenever he heard a train whistle, and one of the diamonds was next to very busy railroad tracks.  In November, Deb and Tony took the kids to Florida to Disney World, to see the ocean, and other sights in the Orlando area.  It was Jenn and Jake’s first plane rides.

 

Mike and his family still live south of Valley Falls.  Mike still works for the State of Kansas and Melinda works for Prairie Band Casino (formerly Harrah’s).  Mike is helping with the Wednesday night children’s program at church and also helps with the puppet ministry.  The kids attend Valley Falls schools.  Jessica is a junior.  This semester she is taking a pre-nursing course at the Kaw Area Technical School.  She played basketball last winter, softball last spring and volleyball this fall.  She also was in the school play last month.  She took two forensics pieces to the state meet and received a 2 on each.  Her small ensemble took a piece to the state music festival and received a 2 rating on that also.  Jessica went with the senior youth from church to Michigan in June for a mission project.  That was her first plane ride.  Kelly is a seventh grader.  She played softball this past summer and played soccer in Topeka both last spring and this fall.  She played volleyball and basketball at school this fall. She also is a cheerleader and is in confirmation class at church.  Kelly serves as an acolyte at church when needed.  Kelly plays flute in the band.  Kelly went with the junior youth to South Dakota in August for a mission trip.  Both Jessica and Kelly are in Girl Scouts.  Joshua is a second grader.  He played baseball this summer and soccer in Topeka this fall.  He received his second-grade Bible at church in October and sure is proud of it.  Joshua is in Cub Scouts.  

 

We celebrated Tony and Melinda's birthdays and our 46th Anniversary at Nicole and Chuck's home. Nicole is like a second daughter for us. Deb and Nicole were friends in high school, room-mates one semester in college and friends ever since.  Austin, Nicole and Chuck's son, was in a couple of play productions this summer which we attended.  We also attended a couple of Ashleigh, their daughter’s volleyball games this fall.  We also had a couple of other get-togethers with all three kids and their families.  

 

This past year has provided many opportunities for family get-togethers.  Between Memorial Day weekend and the end of June we attended weddings for Melinda’s brother and the children of three of Karlea’s cousins.  What a surprise! When we attended Melinda’s brother’s wedding, some of Dean’s cousins were there and we found that Dean was already related to the bride. In June, we also attended the funeral for one of Dean’s distant cousins in Smith County.  The second weekend in July we attended the Gordon Family Reunion in Garnett and the end of September we attended the Price Family Reunion in Marysville. We planned to attend the Farley reunion, but when the time came, it slipped our mind. The end of July one of Karlea’s cousins from Ohio and her husband stopped at Cassoday on their way through Kansas.  We were able to get several of the Rohmeyer cousins together for her visit and had a wonderful time.  In November we visited Dean’s mother’s cousin in Coldwater.

 

As you can tell from the above paragraphs we keep busy attending grandchildren’s functions.  Dean and Karlea continue to be active members of Faith Lutheran.  Dean taught the Bethel Bible Series at church on Wednesday nights the first part of the year.  Karlea finished her term as Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) president at church in June.  Dean has been named co-archivist for the Kansas District of our church.  Karlea and Dean both attended the Kansas District convention of the LWML which was held in Topeka in April.  Karlea helped with the convention and Dean had an archives booth.  Karlea also served on the 60th Anniversary Committee for Faith.  Dean also serves on the Ministry Planning Committee at Faith.  Dean and Karlea attended the Kansas District’s “Saints Alive After 55” meeting in Wichita the end of July.  Dean had an archives booth at that event also.  Dean and Karlea continue to serve on the Adult Education Ministry Team.  Both Dean and Karlea currently are serving in a leadership capacity for a capital campaign effort at church.  Dean and Karlea attended the Children’s Christian Concern Society dinner in Pratt in November. After the meeting in Pratt, Dean and Karlea travelled on to Coldwater to visit Dean's cousin, Eldon Hecht and his wife.

 

The highlight of the past year was our trip to Germany in September.  We revisited some of the places we had seen in 2004, but also were able to visit in the Hannover area and do some genealogy.  We visited several churches and cemeteries.  Dean found the church where his Grandfather Landman was baptized. 

 

Dean continues to serve the community through the Downtown Optimist Club for which he was on the board this past year.  Dean also is the treasurer and newsletter editor for the Topeka Engineers Club. 

 

Dean and Karlea continue to attend K-State’s home football games and the K-State women’s home basketball games.  They also are members in two different investment clubs.  Dean serves as treasurer in one club and Karlea serves as secretary in the other club.

 

Dean’s sister, La Neta, and husband are still in Atchison.  Their oldest daughter, Kristen, is a captain in the Air Force, serving as a nurse and spent several months in Iraq this summer and fall.  She and her family live in Florida. Kristen’s husband and son, Trent, came back to Kansas to celebrate Trent’s second birthday. La Neta’s youngest daughter, Kara and her family live in Atchison.  Karlea’s sister, Karen and her family still live in Wichita.  Their daughter, Amy, is a junior at K-State.  Karlea’s brother, Graydon and his wife, Brenda, and their daughter, Deneice’s family live in North Carolina.  Their son, Derrick’s family lives in northern Georgia.

 

We have been blessed with good health this year.  Dean did undergo a lithotripsy in February for kidney stones, but the remainder of the year saw us both very healthy.

 

We would love to hear about your year from each of you.  We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

 

 

                                                                                                Dean & Karlea Landman