2010 "Christmas Card"

WD holds the ornament he picked out for our 2010 Christmas tree - a silver bird.

Well - as most of you may have noticed I did NOT write a Christmas letter this year. I barely managed to get any cards out. Some of you got Thanksgiving cards, some of you got Christmas cards, and those of you who didn't get any cards...I'm sorry. I promise you it doesn't mean that I weren't thought of. Here's an update and a blog-version of 2010 in the Forsythe-Kluver household.

The Dogs -

I haven't mentioned the pups in some time, so I'll start with them. Poor Raspberry and Buddy Too have taken such a back seat to everything else. Raspberry has battled ear infections all year off and on, and is now 6 years old - but my math must be off. She has to be older than that. hmm... And Buddy Too - he is aging gracefully as well. He's estimated to be roughly the same age as Berry but he's graying a bit more in the face, and this year has some growths that we are concerned about. We drag our feet getting them removed and checked for fear we don't want to know what they are. Raspberry is still all mine, and Buddy Too is all Dave's. You should see them try to weasel in when WD is on our laps, they are gentle, but certainly not shy about where they want to be.

Raspberry & Buddy Too keep WD company when he's not feeling well.

William -

WD turns 3 in February and is all attitude. He has been growing like a weed and we no longer have concerns about his language skills (see the Williamism posts). I'd like to get him into 3 year old preschool but transportation to and from the sitter, plus the cost of it in addition to the sitter, just aren't feasible. I think he will do just fine waiting until he's 4 anyway.

WD got to know some cousins he's never met on vacation, and do so many fun things. Here he is with his cousin Daimon (who lives in CA), as Daimon shows off his very first catch!

WD and his cousin Caeden enjoy a boat ride at the Lake of the Ozarks.

WD in his new Christmas apron. He likes to help Mama cook in the kitchen and now he has his very own apron. Right after I took this he ran around saying "You can't catch me - I the gingerbread boy!"

Dave -

Dave is well. He occasionally looks for other jobs but rarely finds anything he's very interested in, and places he is interested in aren't hiring. He did get some new toys to play with, a compound bow for Christmas last year, and a new Benelli shotgun for his birthday. Now if he could just get out and use them. My school schedule and William don't really allow much of that. Most recently he purchased a contractor-grade table saw, then got attachments for Christmas. If he had much time to play in his wood shop he'd find that his toys have outgrown his space and I'd lose my laundry area. Maybe keeping him busy is a good thing so we can continue to have clean clothes. ???

Dave and WD reading a library book together.


Amy -

I've had a busy year. I was officially admitted into the Masters of Social Work program at the University of Iowa last spring. I had been taking classes but as a non-admitted student until this past September. I started taking more classes per semester, and they started charging me tuition (that's the biggest bummer). I also changed jobs with this admission. My previous job as a gambling counselor (at MECCA) couldn't/wouldn't accommodate my class schedule needs, so I resigned. My company said they didn't see that coming [really?] and scrambled to work with me. The arrangement that worked out was a residential substance (and gambling) counselor position (still at MECCA). I work a block from where I used to with a slightly different clientele. I really like it. Not sure if it's the job I like so much as the change (I had been doing gambling counseling for almost 5 years by that point). On break for winter I'm full of anxious energy - not sure what to do with myself. I'm sure I'll just learn to relax as the spring semester will start. Only 3.5 more years left, I'm sure it will fly by.

Not my best pic - but pretty natural huh? Lots of laughs on vacation this summer.

Other things that came up for our family involved my health. While WD had his share of minor illnesses, I had a few bigger issues. In April I had 5 moles removed, 4 from my face and mostly for cosmetic/OCD purposes. Turns out one of them was skin cancer! Talk about a shocker! But all went well and I started to be a bit more of a sun-screen Nazi to family and friends - complete with several hats that are big enough for flight! Then over the summer I started having increasing spells of light-headedness. The final straw came when I nearly blacked out driving. I ended up getting a referral to a the Iowa Heart Center, and after a barrage of tests I was diagnosed with Dysautonomia. It's not a heart condition at all (but some with it do have heart problems), it's a malfunction of my central nervous system. When your blood pressure would rise, mine can fall. Or when your heart rate would increase, mine may not. It's believed that I have had it all my life, as it can essentially go in a "remission". This explains my syncope spells in high school, and I believe that my pregnancy with WD triggered it into activity as the symptoms had been increasing since then, including inability to tolerate heat (even from a hot shower) and "poor exercise tolerance (yeah - you read right). I was happy to have some answers as to why I was feeling the way I was, including why I went from running 5ks and putting in hours in the yard in the summer to feeling so sick at just the thought of it. My system was sabotaging me. I now manage it with medication, and trying to get decent sleep and limit my caffeine (but grad school and parenthood don't help me with those). I have good days and not so good days, but I do overall feel better. Then just last week I went to my dermatologist to have a standard mole-check, and to check my skin cancer site as it had been changing. Turns out they believe my cancer is back and I am scheduled for a surgical procedure and repair in early February. While it is cancer - it's slow growing so no need for immediate alarm. But I will put a plug in to all my family and friends who are sun-worshipers... WATCH OUT!!!

So as well all are into 2011 now that I'm finally going to post this (I started it way back in 2010), let's all be safe, count our blessings and remember to have a little fun while we're here! (This is WD Christmas Eve sledding in our yard. He came to an abrupt stop at the end when he crashed into me blocking him from going into the timber. Hardest hit I've taken since rugby!)

Take care & God bless!
The Kluvers

Stewart - Bettis Reunion 2010

The 2010 Stewart-Bettis reunion was held in August as usual. Here are some highlights from our perspective.

WD enjoyed helping me make the chocolate hot fudge cake.

WD partaking in one of the best highlights - all the YUMMY FOOD!!!

The Bettis first cousins posed for a picture together before headed outside.

(Back L-R: Les, Diane, Elaine, Sue, & Janet. Seated L-R: Larry, Linda, Lysle, Gene, Karyn, Debbie, Bob. Floor: Lloyd & Cary.)


The Bettis cousins get the rules of their water balloon toss from Rob - the game coordinator.

When the adults were done, the kids got their turn at games - pictured here is the "cucumber relay".

WD picks his prizes from the prize table - or should I say he pickles his prizes???

Dave doesn't waste any time making friends, as the kids gang up on him and squirt him with water (here Addy, WD and Hanna all squirt him).

Here Dave puts just one of his special skills to work - popping water balloons over the kids heads upon request (it was REALLY hot that day).

And even the bigger kids wanted their turn.

WD on the way home... I think he had a good time.

Ozarks - Kluver Vacation 2010

The last week of July we packed up the car and headed south to the Lake of the Ozarks, staying in Linn Creek, just a few minutes from Osage Beach, MO. (Buddy & Raspberry spent the week with Grandma Karyn & Grandpa Ray.) It was a long car ride (longer coming home) but it was so worth it.
The house we stayed in, with 8 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, a game room, a hot tub (which we never used) all on 3 levels (4 if you count walking down to the water.

Our room. WD checks out the view.

The view from our room. Not too shabby, but being out there was actually way better.

"The Kluver Kids" - Tricia, Cindy, Dave and Kathy.

SMORES TIME!!! Believe it or not - this is a smile! He was trying to say "CHEESE".

Monkey See and Monkey Do as I began calling them. William Duaine and his cousin who's just
weeks younger, Caeden Jennings Neumann, whom we don't see as much as we'd like since he lives in Arizona.

Warren, Caeden, Dave and William tubing.

Each night a different family made dinner. Wednesday night was Mexican Night with Amy & Dave. And I must say... We Rocked it!!! Fajitas (shrimp, chicken, and steak), black beans, refried beans, chips, quaso, tons of salsa options, lime, and cilantro! Oh - and with assistance from Bob & Cindy - MARGARITAS!!! My mouth is watering just thinking about it now!


Don & Caroline and all the grandkids (and 2 great grandkids).

May 2010 (Part 1) - AKA: Glad we bought him a bed & Time with Uncle Mike

This first part is the "SURE GLAD WE GOT HIM A BED". As you will see - I spend a chunk of time just putting him back into his toddler bed - as he seems to prefer the floor. It all started at the beginning of May, shortly after we switched to a toddler bed (as he had been climbing out of his crib and we worried about safety). I went in one night to check on him to find him MISSING! And he wasn't under the crib sheet this time, he was in the corner of the room asleep behind the glider (see the first picture below). Scared the begeebers out of me at first! Now it's all too common.

By the vent once.

By the vent a 2nd time.

I've also found him right behind his door many times - makes it interesting trying to get inside his room. "Inside his room?" you might be asking, "Let sleeping toddlers lie." Well - that might be good but I'm an OCD-MOMMY - I have to go in, make sure he's covered, possibly remove the night-light (so it stays darker and he might sleep until at least 7am), and to make sure he's still breathing. Remember - this is the blog of first-timers! ;-)

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Then there was the time Uncle Mike visited from North Carolina. While William doesn't see Uncle Mike often, he sure LOVES when he does get to see him.

HUG!!!

Such a cheese-ball! But Uncle Mike is eating it up.

Play time!

Uncle Mike - it's almost bedtime - you're not suppose to be getting him wound up!!

WD's look is one of concentration. He's trying to get a group-hug going with Uncle Mike and Uncle Rob, squeezing them into the picture.