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December 2006
Greetings from our home to yours ...
Well, here I sit, writing our Christmas letter to y'all on January 4, 2007. What's wrong with this picture?
Life has been its usual hectic self, both in business and home life. But it's much calmer now and so, here goes:
Dad still enjoys running, usually taking two of our dogs with him on his every-other-day runs through
our beautiful trail system, a mile-wide swath of land going diagonally across Marion County. It's designated for
hikers, bikers and horses only, absolutely no motorized traffic is allowed, and known as The Greenway. On
alternate days he takes a combination of the other four dogs for a walk/jog on The Greenway, so every dog has his/her
exercise several times a week. Don runs a lot of 5K races and Half Marathons, probably a dozen or more a year.
Shadow runs the 5K races with Don (unless dogs are not allowed). Until recently, Appy ran the Half Marathons with Don.
She got stepped on by a horse one night and her foot was broken; after the vet splinted her leg, she chewed the wrapping on
the splint incessantly. In the end she managed to cut off the blood supply to her leg and it had to be amputated.
Even in tragedy, God is good. It just so "happened" that our vet was getting ready to place two Golden Retrievers, 14-month-old
sisters. He gave us our choice of Kati or Kelli - and we picked Kati. She has filled the void Don felt when all
this happened to Appy. And, being an Aussie, Appy's running all over the place again, on 3 legs. Even the 5K races
will be too much for her, so she won't race anymore, but that doesn't stop Don and Appy from having a great time on The Greenway.
Mom is still a "horse nut". I still have only two Paso Finos - something Don's grateful for -
Encantador (stallion) and Empeño (gelding). Since being diagnosed with and treated for Hepatitis C, my
riding ceased until several months post-tx. In fact, it took nine months post-tx for all of my faculties to return. I
don't have the energy or strength I had pre-tx, but at least my brain came back to "normal" and I'm sure grateful
for that. God was so good to our family all during this time. It is a very tough treatment, and even
tougher on those who live with one on treatment. It makes one very "testy", your brain pretty much
can't remember anything (even words like drape, door, latch, things like that), your skin feels like alligator skin and you
constantly have to put lotion all over, your immune system no longer exists, and you can't hardly get out of bed or have enough
energy to do anything. So the drill team I was on and the Sheriff's Mounted Unit Auxiliary I was a member
of went by the wayside. I did pray I would soon be strong enough to start being a regular member of both again,
but realized that was not to be. No problem though, because I really enjoy trail riding and camping with my
horses & dog (Shadow), and I can do that with ease. It's invigorating, peaceful, and my horses are my
"psychiatrist. I am happy to report that I turned 62 this past month - and start collecting Social Security while it
still has $$ in the program!
Tim's current passions change day-to-day, with a few that don't ever seem to change. We know he's smoking
cigarettes and marijuana; we know he enjoys a drink now and then; we know he cusses like a sailor. And we most definitely
know he's disrespectful to us, his teachers, anyone in authority. He's also giving himself tattoos, and spending
as much time away from home as possible. He's 16 now, which explains a lot of his behavior. In fact, in
early December he left our property on a school night (not allowed) and when he returned I searched him. I found marijuana
on him, called the cops and they arrested him. We are jumping through all the hoops now as a result of that. I'm
glad that happened, it was long overdue. Don and I both claim the verse, "Train up a child in the way he should
go, when he is old he will not depart from it." If you feel so inclined your prayers for our family would be appreciated.
All news about Tim isn't bad. He has grown in several areas - He does most of his chores much better than he used to (when
he does them); I am very thankful for that. He continues to attend church with us each Sunday. And he seems to
(in spurts) try to behave better, but is easily discouraged. He has a very bad temper and I do believe he gets as angry
with himself for losing his temper as he gets with us (who in his mind have caused him to lose said temper).
Bethany's starting to act a lot like Tim now, which has me very upset. Yelling, lying, slamming things
around - please tell me I can live through this! She's 12 now, and I am not sure I'm going to make it through her
teen years, if this is 12! LOL. She's a beautiful girl, and has long, very long blonde hair. She does dress
in a lot of black, including dark around her eyes, but to put her down for that will just encourage it. On the good
side, she helps me now with laundry and is my "auto reminder" about my life in general. She also enjoys making pancakes,
eggs, cookies and a few other things. And she hates drugs and cigarettes. I pray she continues to feel disgusted
about them for decades to come.
We've enjoyed a couple of hurricane seasons now with no storms, thank you God. We've been able to fix up, change
or add a few things to our place. Much more to go, but a little at a time is great.
Our Christmas $$ came at such a perfect time and were used to add fencing to one horse pasture to
keep the dogs out of there. No more broken feet or worse from being too close to the horses. We will save up now
and fence the 2nd horse pasture ASAP.
Both trucks continue to run good. We have food, clothing and shelter. We have two kids
we love. We have pets that adore us ... Don they adore the most, but they either adore or endure the rest of us.
We have folks around us who are friends. We are blessed indeed.
This experience the past 18 months has brought me so much closer to God. I am so grateful to
know him "more". He has been so faithful to our family through all of our ups and downs. He is, always was, and
will forever be. For anyone to try to exist without God in their lives ... I feel sorry for them. He makes living
LIVING.
Guess that's about it for now. Your Christmas cards have the address of this letter at the
bottom of the card. If you're reading this ... you either got our email or card. To each of you, we wish
love, joy and peace to you for the coming years.
God bless you one and all ...
Don &
Carolyn,
Tim & Bethany Baker
and the rest of
Oak Haven ...
Sonny & Kati,
Shadow, Ballou, Appy & Pandi
MK (Mommy Kitty)
Empeño & Encantador
300 SW 80th
Street, Ocala, FL 34476
352-854-6552
Don
352-895-6774 (cell)
donbaker@aol.com
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Carolyn
352-895-5904 (cell)
pasoperson@aol.com
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