The Norwood Family Christmas 2015
Over the past 40 years, we have mailed a Christmas letter to friends and family to stay connected and share our family’s lives that year. This year, instead of sending our letter by mail to a few, we’ve decided to use a blog to connect with many! Plus we can include a few pictures this way!
We are completing our 4th year as residents of
Escondido, CA in north San Diego County. We dearly love living here! Our home sits on a ridge backing up to mountains, with
enough land for a grove of 460+ avocado trees. We installed a well for water and solar power to drive the
pump, and are truly blessed to have the services of an experienced grove
manager who shares his wisdom and knowledge in how to grow and market our avocados.
Nancy has had a difficult but encouraging year with her
health. She was definitively
diagnosed with Lyme disease in April after a long series of rather mysterious
symptoms. As usual for Nancy, she
immersed herself in the research, reading over 2000 pages of texts and research
articles on the latest treatments.
She is becoming an expert on the biochemistry of the disease and is
engaged in a three-part regimen that is already producing significant
improvements. One discovery from her research is Young Living oils
that have enabled her to return to enjoying her love of jewelry design.
Eric is completing his third year in his own business, CenterPoint Insights, helping
healthcare leaders personally and professionally transform their institutions
for the New World of Healthcare. He
loves what he does! Much of his
work involves coaching executives and physicians in leadership, having spent the
year of 2012 learning the profession of coaching. He spends about half his time working from home, the other
half traveling around the Continental US and Hawaii. One benefits is that Nancy has a Companion Pass on Southwest
Airlines so she can accompany Eric on trips. This fall we took a 9 day trip by rental car from Seattle,
down the Oregon Coast, and on to Lake Tahoe - - one of the most beautiful parts
of the country we have ever seen!
Here’s a quick run-down on our children and grandchildren:
Daniel (37), his wife Christina, and their daughters Adelae,
Elena and Tatum, live 5 miles away in Escondido. Daniel just got a significant promotion with Dell this
month. His work takes him, literally,
around the world every year enabling him to indulge his avocation of high-resolution photography.
David (35) and his wife Carly live in Canton, GA northwest
of Atlanta. They have had a HUGE
year because they adopted two little boys from foster care into their
home! Jack is 2 years old and
Lucas is 16 months. We had a
fantastic week at Disney World in Orlando with their family in November.
Rachel (32) and her husband Aaron live in Braselton, GA,
northeast of Atlanta. They and
their two children, Graham (4) and Calleigh (2) also joined us at Disney World
- - it was 5 days of non-stop fun with 6 adults and 4 little kids!
Stephen (25) lives in Lawrenceville, GA just outside Atlanta
where he is continuing to diligently build a career in the entertainment
industry. One exciting development
this year was a trip to LA that led to an online radio program, What’s Up With Norwood, in which
he interviews celebrities like songwriter/composer Steve Dorff.
Chris (23) moved to Escondido this spring to work and
complete his undergrad degree in Information Technology. He landed a job that instantly made him
the envy of his friends: he works for Stone Brewing, one of the most
influential microbreweries in the nation.
He joined Eric on a business trip to Bend, OR this fall where he fell in
love with the microbrewery culture there, as well.
Jonathan (18) left home in August to attend Carnegie Mellon
University’s musical theater program in Pittsburgh, one of only 2% accepted of all
who auditioned for this nationally recognized program. His dream is to perform on
Broadway. But he didn’t realize
that “break a leg” is just a figure of speech: he is making great progress in physical therapy after doing
just that in October! He also receives his Eagle Scout award on December 28.
We all live in the most distracted
world in history: smart
phones, Facebook and the Internet distract our attention and shorten our attention
span. Having heart-to-heart
conversations, reading books and thinking deeply about life require the one
thing this technology promises but doesn’t deliver: more Time.
Each of us has one thing in common: we have only 168 hours of LIFE every week and only about
100 of those hours are available after we asleep. Nature has cycles - - 24-hour days, lunar cycles for months
and annual cycles for a year - - but there is nothing in nature that defines a
Week. It comes from the Bible and informs
the way we should live our lives.
How are you investing your 100 hours every week? Are you investing quality time daily in
your relationships with God, family and friends? At the end of your life, what will bring you true joy as
you reflect upon your journey?
Jesus gave us the answer: “Let not your hearts be
troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me… I am the way, and the truth, and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:1-6) He was the baby in the manger and today
he is the King of the universe who holds our lives in his hands. He has made all the difference in our
lives this year and we trust him for the future! May your New Year be full of contentment, gratefulness and
joy!
