W ell, here we are again.

ain. While some of you were out wrestling with who knows who over who knows what, I remained at home writ ing this letter on Black Friday morning. The com-
mon sense portion of my brain must have kicked in after all those years. I have no desire to spend 45 minutes in the car for a 25 minute trip, only to have to wait in line after line with
people whose very lives and reason for living depend upon their success or lack thereof in obtaining an item that they think they can’t live without. Silly, isn’t it? Except for that TV we got a
couple of years ago. Whoowee, that was a deal! Um….anyway,...We hope you are all doing well. We are all fine here and have had a busy year. Kick back, relax, and I’ll fill you in on the
good stuff. Instead of putting this down, you might as well keep going since you’re all into it now….
As for Jeanette and I, we’re still living where we’re living and doing what we’ve been doing. Jeanette —at Susan G. Komen for the Cure and me—at the City of Peoria. Jeanette is helping
to raise funds for a cure for breast cancer and I’m holding on until retirement. Whenever that will be. I’m glad I’m workin g because I know plenty that aren’t. Jeanette has taken on some
additional duties and is busier these days, but enjoying her work and finding it very fulfilling. I’m holding on until retir ement.

K evin (25) has been dating, Cori, for more than a year now. She is a very nice young lady he met while at SIUE. They are both now at Webster University in St. Louis
working on their Master’s Degrees. In Kevin’s spare time, he works security at the St. Louis Airport. These days it is no f un to do the things he is required to do. Let
me tell you, he has some stories!! He is privy to information that the general public isn’t and he realizes...In today’s wor ld, these precautions are necessary. He drove
home Thanksgiving evening after work and told of some very funny and very serious incidents. Let’s just say this is not his first choice for a career, but we all have to eat
and pay our bills! He is doing great!

K yle’s (24)family are doing well. Kyle is a carpenter and his employer’s keeping him busy. Between Thanksgiving and Christm as, he has to spend a month away
from home in Kansas utilizing his skills. You gotta go where the work is. He’s always been a fast learner and has picked up the tricks of the trade very quickly.
He replaced a torn up driveway of ours with the help of a few family and friends and it turned out great! I highly recommend him! Kyle’s wife, Katie, works outside the
home part-time—and full-time and over-time at home as a mom. We all know what that’s about! She just dropped off little 1 yr. old Hunter with us while she goes to
risk her life at the Black Friday sales. He’s just beginning to walk. As you know, when he gets the hang of it, fun time is over. Kyle and Katie will soon learn that!

K ristin (23) is working regularly and moved into a house Thanksgiving week. Her two little ones are a handful —Joey (2) runs...Zeek (1) crawls. They are both
fast...or maybe I’m getting slower. Nah,..they’re lightening fast! I don’t know how she does it, but you do what you have t o do!.

D avid (21) is still at Afni in Peoria and has moved right up the ladder there. He supervises agents who give directions to pe ople seeking
information on electronics made by companies that Afni contracts with. He goes through a lot of training and has had his adv entures as a
supervisor. Everything from petty squabbles to breaking up a knife fight between two girls--one of which was pregnant! Police came and
everything..just like on TV. David is dating, Erica, a very nice young lady and they have a lot in common. She joined us o n Thanksgiving too.
Jeanette and I purchased an old duplex in September. We and Jeanette’s mom worked like dogs making it livable….We call it, “ The Money Pit.” It turned out really
nice. David lives in the lower apartment and a friend of ours rents the upper apartment. In two months, we put on a new roof, two new furnaces, new windows,
“gutted” the lower apartment, and totally refinished the upper. Oh, and remember the driveway Kyle replaced for us? We’re pr etty much done for now. Jeanette’s mom does contractor
work and she did a lot of great work on that place and saved us thousands of dollars. Are we glad we did it? Yes! Would we do it again? No!

A dam (15) is a 6 ft. tall, 215 lb. freshman at Dunlap. He just finished the classroom section of Driver’s Ed. Lord help us! His football team tied for first place in the
conference with eight wins and one loss. It was fun going to the football games again. I don’t know if he’ll stick with it or not. He has dreams of a job and all that
comes with it. So we’ll see how that all works out. He plays drums on the worship team at church. That’s all the drumming he does since he had to give up band for
football. This means he “beats on them”….I mean “practices” in the basement since he doesn’t get practice in band. Let’s ju st put it this way, we deal with it !

J aria (12) is growing up and in middle school. She’s close to realizing her childhood dream of becoming a teenager. I guess I should ask her what
benefits she expects to come her way as she nears 13. We’ve already discussed the dating thing and I suggested that she wait s to start dating until
around 30. It would save us all needless headache and worry. She says she will think about it and get back with me. She ha s plenty of time to start
seeing things my way….right! If she wasn’t so darn cute and polite and nice….

This year, we drove to Gettysburg, PA, on vacation. We spent a few days there, then drove to Hershey and Harrisburg. We sta yed in a hotel right in the middle of
Cemetery Hill. If you know anything about Gettysburg, you know that a famous person that I have what many call “an unhealthy interest in” dedicated a portion of the
cemetery to those who died in the battle there. This hotel was the closest to where Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Addr ess. That’s why we stayed there. Sick, isn’t it? If you’ve
been there in the last decade, you probably noticed all the ghost tours and paranormal junk that, in my opinion, just ruins w hat it’s all about ...Although, we weren’t interested in that, it did
have an affect.

Before leaving, Adam made me promise to book a hotel that wasn’t promoting the fact that they were haunted. Apparently, peop le enjoy that. Even though our hotel was located alongside
Evergreen Cemetery, it was relatively new and claimed to be free of “funny stuff.” Well, that evening, Jeanette got up to us e the bathroom. Adam happened to be laying awake very late in
our pitch dark room. When he saw a white robbed figure rise up in front of the window, with the graveyard glowing from the o utside light in the back ground , he couldn’t help but assume…
Well, you get the picture. Let’s just say this...He felt the need to use the bathroom himself...immediately! It was a long drive, but a cool trip.

In between fixing up the duplex and school activities, we serve as often and best we can at our church home, WhiteRose Fellow ship. It’s been quite fulfilling to start a church and see it
grow as it has. A lot of people have been helped, a lot of good has been done, and most importantly a lot of people have bee n saved. That’s what the focus of the ministry is as we see it.
It’s been a joy.

Well, we are in the Christmas Season now. I love Christmas. I love songs about Jesus in the stores. I love the giving spir it that comes over people at this time of year. We have little ones
around again and that makes it even better. You’ll hear more about them in this year’s adventure.

Enjoy Christmas! I know we will! The Mitzelfelt’s— Craig, Jeanette, Kevin, David, Adam & Jaria / Kyle, Katie & Hunter / Kristin, Joey & Zeke
And now for this year’s adventure……
As you may or may not know, I turned 50 last month. Of course, Jeanette is still youthful (I’ve been married long enough to
know how to play it.) Being 50 and a grandparent, I have under gone changes that I don’t necessarily enjoy, but have to come to
accept. First of all, I have noticed that my brain and body do not communicate like they used to. My brain tells my legs to run.
They just laugh. My brain tells my back to bend. It refuses. My brain tells my midsection to make that thing that hangs
around my waistband over my belt to disappear. Ha! It says. My brain tells my body to prepare itself for the pain it will feel
upon getting out of bed in the morning. Ha! Ha! Anybody know what I’m talking about? I’m wearing reading glasses right
now because my eyes got tired and I can't see… If you want a correct answer to questions you ask me, you’d better be looking at
me so I can read your lips...especially if there is background noise. What in the world? I had no idea this would happen so
quickly! Why didn’t anyone warn me?

However, there are advantages. Take the grandkids for instance. I learned early on that if one cries, it’s not my job to take care of
it! They have parents! They, they will do it. My whole adult life, when a child cries—I must act! But now, I watch everyone else
jump into action! (Note: If I had to, I could get there, but it would take considerably longer.) This is great! I’ve also been forced by
nature to be more of an observer. I watched the three grandsons for the better part of Thanksgiving Day. I loved watching them
try to get along best as they could in a new environment with toys that must be shared. I’ll do the play by play and you can peep
in.
Our starting line-up:
Kristin’s two little Kyle & Katie’s David’s girlfriend,
boys: Joey (2) the little boy: Hunter Erica’s little boy:
runner and Zeek (1) who is just Carter (15 mo.)
(almost 1) the starting to walk. who is a steady
crawler. He’s in the Otis walker.
Campbell stage

This should be good! Here comes Grandma with the toys! The boys are in play and Joey makes the first move. Of
course, it’s a noise maker of some sort. Grandpa doesn’t know specifics, he only knows that it makes noise. Grandma
thinks it’s cute that they make noise. Grandpa fails to see any cuteness in it whatsoever. Joey is making as much noise
as the noisemaker can possibly make.

This draws the attention of the other players and the game is on! Little Zeek crawls over to take it just like he does at
home. He gets nudged out of the way and he instinctively knows what Joey’s favorites are and goes to get one, so as to
lure him away from the noise maker. While he is searching and trying to find just the right bait, he fails to take into
consideration that little ones have the attention span of a gnat. Off of one thing and onto the other. He’ll learn. Joey
has left the first noisemaker and now has another. Hunter is older and wiser than Zeek and figures he can just mus-
cle it away from Joey. Surprisingly, he rips it right out of his hands. Joey, very kindly, allows it to happen. Why? Because he
wants what Carter has and is busy trying to rip it out of his hands. Zeek has crawled his way back into the field after failing to
find just he right lure. He now discovers that Hunter has the noisemaker. (You can hear him think…) “He’s smaller than Joey
and an only child. I must be the aggressor.” Hunter is cranking up the noise maker now and little Zeek has crawled his way up
to Hunter’s head. Isn’t that sweet? He’s going to give him a hug! No he’s not. He’s prodding around Hunter’s face with his fin-
gers until he finds an eye socket, which he soon does. Prod...Prod..Prod...Poke! Hunter begins to make more noise than the noise-
maker. As the windows shake with the vibration of all the crying and noise makers, a calm then comes over me. I, once in my
life, dreaded this and now I find it fascinating! Why? Because I can’t see and I can’t hear! Carter and Joey are crying now.
Carter, because he’s tired and Joey, just because he feels like it’s his turn. Hunter’s back in the game and immediately goes for
Zeek’s noisemaker. He’s learned to be faster and more cunning now. One quick move and the noisemaker is his.

Now Zeek is crying...Why not? Everyone else is… Hunter has been told to share...which he does. Really, what choice
does he have. His dad looks like Goliath to him and he can’t walk very well. Such is the life of a young child. Hunter
discovers another noise maker that gets the attention of Zeek, who figures since his fingers are already limbered
up...why not? He never gets a chance. He gets snapped up to have his diaper changed. Wouldn’t you know it. This
was j just getting good. Oh well...Joey’s in time out, Carter fell asleep, and Hunter is patiently awaiting having his
other eye poked out by his cousin. When all of a sudden, Grandma steps in and cranks up the talking and bouncing
Tigger, from Winnie the Pooh. What in the world! Those who were asleep are awake, those who were content are all excited, because
Granma just had to liven things up!! This starts the cycle all over again.

Then something magical happens. The Lord knows our limits, especially for grandfathers. This same brain that I have been so
upset with, that keeps telling my body to do things that are no longer possible, is now telling me to take a nap! Hey, I can DO
that!! Perhaps my brain isn’t so bad after all!

I have witnessed this happening with my Grandfather, and my own father after he had become a grandfather. I had no idea it
was a rite of passage! I’ve arrived!! This is both permitted AND expected!! Wouldn’t you know, I was so excited to realize all this
that I couldn’t sleep…..(story of my life) Oh, well.