This is the version of our 2023 Christmas letter that we’re not sending. It was turning into a novel. Our friends and family got the condensed version! You’re welcome to read it, but don’t say I didn’t warn you…
Looking over the 2023 calendar, it actually wears me out! What a year we had!
January started off with a media blitz for my book Ashes: Visible & Invisible, Lenten stories from 10 Catholic Teen Books authors. Unfortunately, John’s Uncle Hans passed away that month too.
Shot a training video February 1. Saw The Three Tenors with my Dad at the PAC February 11. It was an amazing concert! Flew to Columbus on February 12 to help our middle daughter out with her 2-year-old while her husband was traveling for work. The following Saturday I did a book signing at the Columbus Catholic Women’s Conference which had 3,000+ attendees. Two days after that, John, our youngest daughter and I flew to Las Vegas to celebrate her upcoming wedding. We saw Penn & Teller, went to Top Golf, ate at some outstanding restaurants, and had front-row seats for Cirque du Soleil Beatles Love while we were there. A nice winter getaway!
In March I signed books at the In Mary’s Footsteps women’s conference in Chilton, Wis. John and I participated in a virtual Anthony Robbins event the weekend of St. Patrick’s Day. The annual Holy Cross Men’s Basketball Tournament started the weekend of March 24. It’s something we attend every year.
Saw numerous local productions this year, including All Rise!, an Easter show at Xavier High School, Jesus Christ Superstar at Kimberly High School, SPIN at Xavier, The Wizard of Oz at Xavier, and soon we’ll be going to Christmas Stars at Xavier, which has been a tradition of ours for 25+ years.
We celebrated Easter with our son and his family. The last weekend of April I went on a four-day silent retreat at the Jesuit Retreat House in Oshkosh. Staying silent was a challenge but the weekend was so fulfilling!
I had a book signing at Heritage Hill State Historical Park May 6 and 7. On May 11 I did a presentation about my book Anything But Groovy at my alma mater, St. John’s School in Antigo, followed by a book signing at the Antigo Public Library. The entire 8th grade at St. Francis Xavier Middle School got copies of my book A World Such as Heaven Intended to read while they studied the Civil War. I did a presentation for them on May 16. We hosted a wedding shower for our daughter on May 21 and were happy to have all our kids and their families in town that weekend. May 25 John and I headed to Jeffersonville, Indiana for the second year in a row to attend Abbey Road on the River, the world’s largest Beatles festival. It was amazing again! On the way back John dropped me off in Chicago for the Catholic Writers Guild conference.
June 3 my mom celebrated her 86th birthday with a nice dinner at her favorite restaurant, Mark’s East Side. In June I started writing the full-length novel Lucky & Blessed, which will be released in 2024 or 2025. That month was also the start of the Kimberly summer concert series. We brought my mom to several of the Sunday night concerts over the course of the summer. Our oldest daughter and her family visited in June on their way moving out to Seattle for her new position with Brooks Running.
Our middle daughter and her husband were in town the first week in July signing papers for a house they bought by City Park in downtown Appleton that they started renting out as an Air BnB in October. We had two weeks of vacation in July and spent a good amount of time riding our new e-bikes. I had a book signing at the Appleton Downtown Farm Market July 29.
August kicked off with Mile of Music in downtown Appleton. John and our son saw more concerts than I could count and I attended my fair share with them as well. Such a fun weekend! Another book signing at Sacred Heart of Jesus’ annual Parishfest and at the Grignon Mansion Civil War Living History event.
In September I did a dozen interviews for the release of my time-travel novel Royal & Ancient. Unfortunately, on Labor Day my brother’s wife suffered a fatal heart attack. John, our son, my dad and I drove to Minnesota for the funeral and our daughter flew in from Seattle. John and I took a week off to celebrate our 42nd anniversary. I attended an American Christian Fiction Writer’s retreat in Green Lake. September 20, we discovered that we had to find a new housing situation for my mom and on September 27, we moved her a four-bedroom assisted living facility in a family neighborhood and it seems to be working out well for her. September 30, after spending the day at Octoberfest with John, I flew to Columbus to help our daughter prepare for the birth of their second child.
On October 2 Royal & Ancient was released. October 12 the entire family gathered for Elizabeth’s wedding weekend. We started out with a surprise get together with my dad to celebrate his 85th birthday (and our son-in-law’s birthday as well). The next day was the wedding ceremony along the banks of the Scioto River in downtown Columbus, and on October 14, we had a fantastic dinner and reception for the newly wedded couple.
We all drove home the next day, and two days later, October 17, baby Henry Theodore, our eighth grandchild, arrived. Since he was 12 days late, I flew back to Ohio to meet him on October 28 and stayed with his family for a week. Henry is just about the sweetest baby you’ll ever meet. He’s got me completely wrapped around his tiny little pinky!
After a week at home, I flew back to Columbus for another eight days to help out our daughter again. Thanksgiving Day was a joy-filled one. We celebrated our son’s birthday that day and had him and his family, my dad and stepmom, and my mom over for lunch. The next day the grandkids came over and helped us decorate the house for Christmas. I had a book signing at a boutique on Small Business Saturday.
December holds more books signings (The Sweet Stroll at Sacred Heart December 2 and 3, book launch at The Book Store December 8, signing at the Grignon Mansion December 9), Christmas Stars at Xavier High School, and a concert with my dad at the PAC called From 1 to 92 featuring Steve Marche Torme.
We’ve been blessed to have three of our grandchildren in town and had the opportunity to see numerous basketball games, tumbling practices, soccer and flag football games, see the kids read at their school Masses, watch their concerts, and enjoy monthly game/dinner nights with their whole family.
Looking forward to our youngest coming home for Christmas and spending the holidays with some of the people we love most in this world, including John’s family at their annual Christmas party.
Blessings to you and yours this Christmas season and prayers for a blessed 2024. Take care!