Fred and Autumn Ruckman

Justin

Samantha

[email protected]

 

Fred and Autumn – June 3

Fred – July 6

Autumn – September 19

Justin – July 29

Samantha – August 8

 

 

 

Spring/Summer 2007

 

Hey There Everyone ~

 

Well, what can I say … thought I’d start with the oldest Fowler child this time, which was my Dad … and his offspring and that would be me so you get my epistle right up front.  I figured this time it would be good since the newsletter is on the late side to help explain that little detail.

 

And usually I try to say way more about the rest of the family because they have the exciting lives and put a little blurb about me at the end cuz I’m always just running to catch up with everyone but because there is NO RUNNING right now … I thought … well, shoot … that fall has got to be worth some attention so you get the scoop on me right up front.  And thanks to Cyndi giving me back the Longest Letter Title … I aim to please !!!  =)

 

It was a hot and very humid day in Charlotte, North Carolina … ha ha … don’t worry I’m not going to do the LONG VERY DETAILED version … but it was hot and humid !!! =) The story in a nutshell (as best as I can do a nutshell) is I was filling the car with gas, decided to get a car wash (yep, was feeling lazy) and went around the car to lower the antenna in the back of the SUV … and on the way back decided to step over the gas hose (short cut to the pump) because it was so low to the ground.  Now here is where I have to say … whenever you get this quick thought to cut your steps short … DON’T LISTEN TO THAT VOICE … just go around the long way !!! I got over just fine with the first leg (my right) … but when I went to bring the left leg after … my world came crashing down … literally !! =) My foot caught on the hose and as I lifted it to get it over, I lost my balance (imagine that) and on the way down grabbed at the back door to steady myself but in turn that only added the dramatic way I fell.  The door flew open and I swung around it (got my foot off the hose though in the process) but that left leg was NO HELP.  I tried to catch the ground with my foot and my ankle twisted out and then in (and that would be when I snapped my fibula … the smaller of the two bones in your leg … about 2 inches about the ankle) and then my knee sorta hit down and slid and I heard crunching when it hit so I knew that wasn’t good.  That would be when I fractured the knee in two places.  I almost passed out (felt no pain, just heard the noises of the breaks) … but I’m sure my body took in the pain and thus the feeling of sickness and like I was passing out. 

 

NOT A SOUL came to help and you can be sure … that the dramatic way I fell should have brought the whole gas station to my rescue (Fred is still threatening to go get the security tape and send it off to Funniest Home Videos cuz he’s sure we’d win $10,000) and the fact that there were cars all around me.  I laid there for a bit … gathered myself, shut the back door and scooted along the ground to open the front door and then lifted myself into the front seat of the car to get to my phone to call Fred.  Nearly passed out several times and put no weight on that leg just because I knew something was wrong … and when Fred arrived, we went straight to the emergency room.  After they diagnosed the problems, they put a temporary fix on it and I went back the next week to the orthopedic folks and ended up with a cast from my toes to right below the knee and then a knee immobilizer from on top of the cast to my upper thigh.  I can’t put any weight on the leg for 2 months at least and I’m fortunate that surgery wasn’t necessary.  The doctor said she’d never seen anyone do so much damage without surgery … and that was a GOD thing in my opinion.  I may have to have surgery later once the fractures heal because they don’t know about damage to the soft tissue around the knee especially … could have pulled my ACL … but we’ll wait and see on that.  The fractures have to heal first they say.  So … the story ends except to say that we’re so blessed that Fred’s work says “family first” and is letting Fred work from home and no traveling right now because I’d be lost without him.  There’s very little I can do on my own and my leg has to be elevated as much as possible. So I’m wheel chair bound and couch bound and bed bound but I have been able to go to church on Sundays and that’s been a blessing and folks are so GREAT at church … we have food coming 3 times a week and that is SUCH a help !!!  Sure has made me grateful, yet again, for such a wonderful church family and friends. =)

 

Fred still works for MAXjet Airways and you may start hearing more about them in the news because they are adding more US routes and charters.  He’s the Technical services manager and oversees purchasing new aircrafts and everything that is involved in getting those airplanes back in the air doing MAXjet business.  Believe me, it keeps him busy from dawn till dusk.  He lives on his Blackberry and laptop.

 

 

Justin is finishing up the summer session at University of North Carolina in Charlotte and lives in an apartment over there right next to campus so he walks to all his classes.  He’s fixing to move into a gorgeous brick home with two of his friends on September 15^th (because the apartment went to one year leasing and not month to month anymore and Justin didn’t want to commit to a whole year with strange roommates coming and going) and he’ll be moving back in with us this weekend and staying just until he can get into the house.  It looks like he’ll graduate next summer with a B.A. in Communications and a minor in Art (Graphic Design).  He contracts himself out quite a bit to do web design and is presently working on the Youth website for our church.  You can go to their “blog” right now and read about their youth adventure in Canada at youth.tuckaseege.org and see some of Justin’s work.  They’re just in the beginning stages and will be adding pictures and video later.  That’s how Justin sustains himself … web design.

 

Samantha heads off to college at Western Carolina University on August 16^th.  We’re going up the night before and moving her in on the 17^th.  She was going to be a Special Education major but after a recent mission’s trip to Canada with the youth at church, she has a bit of a new direction.  She said she’s felt the tug on her heart for missions for a long time and KNOWS she needs to work with children.  So what she is thinking as of now … is that she is going to change her major to just regular education … and she’ll decide on her concentration within a few months … and still minor in Spanish because she wants to be bilingual.  And then she’s thinking about doing her masters in missions and going “wherever” to teach English as a second language and work with children.  So be in prayer for her because she is so sensitive to other’s needs and loves the Lord and just wants to be doing what God wants that He’ll make her path straight.  We’re so excited for her because she is so good with children (they flock around her) and has such patience with them and it’s going to take a lot of that to do this. 

 

So that’s it for the Ruckmans … sorry to take up so much room … but waiting till 51 to have 3 fractures is sorta BIG news around this house. Sorry it delayed the newsletter but as you will see we are almost at 100% so it worked in your favor too.  We’ll get Randy and Sandy in on the next newsletter I’m sure !!!!  =)

 

I’ll be formatting an email soon with pictures of Samantha and some of Justin too at her prom and graduation so you all can see them and Kyle can add them to the website.  It was a bit much to try and include in the newsletter.

 

Love you all and hope you are having a great summer.  You’ll hear from me again in November so be on the lookout.

 

Fred, Autumn, Justin and Samantha

 

 

Fall/Winter 2006

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas from the Ruckmans !!

 

Now if I can only stay under Cyndi’s length on her newsletter I’ll be doing great and Cyndi will take over my throne for Queen of Verbage !!  (JUST KIDDING CYNDI … love you  - but just couldn’t resist!!)  =) 

 

Well, guys I’m so excited … we had 100% response on this newsletter and every family is represented.  I changed the order of things this time and put it in family groupings so hope I didn’t confuse you too much.  Once it goes on the website you won’t know we had such a good response since it goes on as additions to your section so wanted to be sure and thank each and every one of you for taking the time to update us all!!! This keeps us up on each other and lets us know what we can be praying for … for each other.  =)

 

As for the Ruckmans, I’ll start with Fred.  He’s still working for MaxJet Airways, Inc. and is on the road a lot and his days home are so filled with cramming everything into those few days that need to be handled and him still having to work from home, that most of the time we don’t even feel like he’s been home.  And he’s traveled all over the world since our last newsletter as well.  He’s been to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and to Mauritius off the coast of Madagascar looking at prospective airplanes to purchase for the company.  They have 3 airplanes in the air now and 2 more that will be in the air the first of 2007.  The goal I believe is to have 7 in the air by the end of next year.  His laptop and Blackberry are his best friends (ha ha) … actually he hates being on the phone and on the computer and his job keeps him there all the time.  He just had another PSA, keeping an eye on him for any more cancer, and it was 0.03, which is FANTASTIC.  The numbers just keep going down which means the radiation he went through helped.

 

Justin is living home with us for now (which we all love, especially Samantha) and finishing up his college at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte.  He’s learning the graphic design on his own faster than he can study it in college, so he switched to Communications and will be graduating with a degree in that … probably a year or so away.  He has his own website that he updates almost daily, that is sort of a newsy blog on things that you might not have heard about out there in art, literature, movies, design, technology, etc. and is just not your typical blog.  He’s writing for the college newspaper and going to redesign the layout of the paper as well as design a new logo for the Wind Ensemble (that he’s also a part of).  His toughest class probably is Chinese this semester (can you believe it … ??? … but he wants to have a grasp of it for the future design work he’ll be doing because they have such a major influence in the design world).  Still can’t believe I have a 22 year old.

 

Samantha is a senior and is 17 and keeping track of her is a full time job for me.  She’s been applying for scholarships and we’ve been visiting colleges and she has her heart set on Western Carolina University which is about 2 ½ hours from home and in the mountains.  She’s going to major in Special Education and possibly double major or minor at least in Spanish.  And she’s already signed up for the Creative Movement Team at the Baptist Student Union there on campus and can’t wait to be a part of it.  She’s going to try out for one of the choirs on campus too and right now is working on a number to try out for the musical they’ll be doing at school in the Spring … Wizard of Oz.  Concert Choir and the other choirs that she has auditioned for and made it into, have kept her hopping, along with singing in the youth choir at church and singing duets and solos in that.  She has a beautiful soprano voice and is even singing second soprano with me in the adult choir for the Christmas Cantata.  I sing the men’s tenor though … two babies has lowered this voice of mine.  Samantha was in a 5 car pileup a few months ago that wasn’t her fault.  She was the 4^th car and took the brunt of the impact and thank goodness her seatbelt held her fine.  The truck behind her didn’t stop and hit her at about 40 miles an hour and shoved her into the car in front of her.  It totaled the van (which was Dad’s) and that was the hardest thing for her … she just started weeping when she saw them haul it away and said, “that’s the last part of Grandpa we had and it’s gone …”, bless her heart, we assured her though that Grandpa would just be glad she was alive and okay.  She was pretty sore for about a week and we took her to the doctor and had her checked out just to be sure.  And things are settled now and we are now driving a 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe and it’s really nice. 

 

The biggest thrill for me since our last newsletter was a trip to England and Scotland around our 28^th anniversary the beginning of June.  We were planning on going for a week, but Fred’s company offered to fly me over a week early while Fred was working and paid for putting me up in a VERY nice hotel with Fred so I just couldn’t pass it up.  We loved England but Scotland was my favorite.  The weather was beautiful and the countryside was breath taking and I’ve never seen so many sheep in all my life and so many castles !!!  I’d go back there in a heartbeat for its peacefulness and the friendly people and the beautiful scenery.  The hardest part of this year for me  was coming to terms with this ole body of mine and facing the problems I have in my back and shoulder.  After many tests and an MRI and possibly another MRI in my future on my shoulder, they found a lot of problems.  I have several discs that are slipped forward, they call it degenerative scoliosis.  Those discs are putting pressure on the nerve bundles and although most of my problem is on my left side, I have problems on the right side as well.  But they’re focusing on the left side.  So we’re trying one more nerve block shot, tomorrow morning (Nov. 29^th) and depending on how that does, I go from there.  More than likely it’s going to involve surgery and there’s two types of surgery that I’ll have to decide on.  Then I have a bone spur in my left shoulder that overhangs the rotator cup and keeps catching on it.  I knew something was really wrong because the kind of pain I’ve had just doesn’t come out of nowhere.  I also have bursitis in that shoulder so they gave me a cortisone shot and we’re trying to get that cleared up.  If it doesn’t clear up then they are going to go in and shave off the bone spur, but only after they do an MRI and make sure I don’t have a tear.  If there is a tear, then it’s a whole different procedure and surgery.  It’s been hard to maintain my busy schedule holding down the fort while Fred is gone, and all my responsibilities at church and has meant pushing through the pain in a lot of cases, so although I’m petrified of surgery … at least we are getting to the bottom of the problem and hopefully getting it fixed. 

 

That wraps up the Ruckmans and we all hope that you have a WONDERFUL Christmas and holiday season.  We do have so much to be thankful for and it’s just so good to be in touch like this and know how to pray for each other.  Talk to you all again in the Spring … now it’s all up to you Kyle … work your magic !!!  =)

 

Love you all,

Fred, Autumn, Justin and Samantha

 

 

Spring/Summer 2006

 

A big hug from North Carolina to everyone,

 

Where do I start, because this year has been a year of firsts for us, with many changes and because I’m known to be long winded, I’ll do my best to keep this as brief as I can; there’s just a lot to tell you about.

 

First off, Fred still works for MAXjet Airways and although it started out as a international airline only, it’s now branching out into charter work within the United States, their first charters from Stansted, England to Orlando, Florida.  They’ve just added airplane #3 and believe that #4 and #5 are in the works and you can be sure that Fred will have a good look at all of them before they become part of the fleet because that’s his number one job.  Right now the primary goal is to get the modifications done to #3, and any repairs completed so it can be added to the flight schedule.  Fred travels a good deal, so that means that Samantha and I are on our own a lot but we manage to tear up the roads while he is gone and stay very busy.

 

Justin just finished up the first session of summer school at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, and as soon as his lease runs out (middle of July), he’ll be making his way back to Charlotte.  He’s picking up the graphic design work faster on his own than he can learn it in school and because all the “forecasted schedules” to get his degree in graphic design will take him another 3 or 4 years, and because he’s ready for a break from “school” in general and ready to put more of his talent into practice, he’s decided to complete his education with a Communication’s Degree here in Charlotte at the University of North Carolina.  He’s going to find an apartment in Charlotte with hopefully a roommate or two to cut costs and to be close to the school and to his job that he already has lined up.  He’ll be doing graphic design work part-time for a company, basically working as many hours as he wants and he’ll continue to do websites on the side for different individuals.  He’s already completed several websites for political candidates and is working on another one as I write this.  He has his own website which is a collection of newsworthy events or things that you wouldn’t normally know about (he’s all about making people think and broadening their scope of knowledge) and that keeps him pretty busy as well.  His website stands out in the crowd of websites, and earned a place as part of the 9Rules forum so we’re pretty proud of his accomplishments.

 

Samantha is just growing up too fast, she just finished her junior year in high school and YES, I have a senior on my hands.  Doesn’t seem possible that just yesterday, she was running around on her tippy toes, busy doing whatever her little mind conjured up.  I’m enclosing one of her prom pictures from this year so you can see how she has grown up.  For many of you, you haven’t ever seen her, and for others, you will be amazed at what a young lady she has become.  The picture includes Justin as well; can’t have a prom without your big brother showing up to take pictures and be part of the festivities. ***smiling***

 

Samantha and her best friend, Lacey, headed up the music program for Vacation Bible School this year again and it was a complete success.  They even had the children perform the VBS theme song (with motions that Samantha and Lacey made up) for the Sunday morning church service as the children’s time focus.  She’ll be going on a mission outreach trip with the youth at church the end of July, called M-Fuge and they’ll be reaching out to the communities in Charleston, South Carolina at probably one of the hottest times of year for Charleston.  And she is busy reading the required 3 books that she has to complete for her summer reading portion of her AP English class this fall.  She’ll be taking 3 AP classes this next year in an effort to hopefully get college credit for some or all of these classes eliminating some from her college curriculum. 

She also is part of the Concert Choir at her high school and they were selected out of over 350 high school choirs from across the United States to participate in a National Choir in New York City at Carnegie Hall this Spring.  This was a fabulous honor and you can bet that Fred and I made a weekend trip to New York to hear them perform.  It was a 422 voice choir made up of several high schools and it was such an experience to hear them fill Carnegie Hall with harmony !!!  They’ll be going to Orlando, Florida this next year to compete with other high schools.

As for me, it’s been quite a different year getting used to Dad not being here and being such a major part of my life.  Hard for me to believe that he’s been gone a year now and I still miss him and our times together.  I’ve dived into even more work at church and get such joy at seeing things come together.  I’m presently hard at work on a church cookbook committee, where we have close to 700 recipes for and I’m one of the few typists in charge of getting it ready to go to the printers.  LOVE this kind of work.  Along with that I’m the secretary for the Personnel Committee and we are searching for a part time pianist and in the process of compiling a Policies and Procedures Manual for the job descriptions and operations of the church.  This is an overwhelming task but yet again, I’m in heaven just being a part of it.  And I’m also on a Women’s Missionary Union nominating committee to help motivate and secure people (mostly women) to fill the spots that we have open for the coming church year working with our children on Wednesday nights.  I’m still in the choir and doing hand bells and help teach the Children in Action on Wednesday nights, so you can see, I don’t have much time to sit still.  I enjoy being in the background on committees and sorta part of the unseen folks that pray and watch the Lord work.

My biggest news is that I had the opportunity, thanks to MAXjet Airways footing most of the bill, to go with Fred to Stansted, England the end of May, while Fred worked for a week and then we had some vacation planned to celebrate our 28^th anniversary and we traveled to Scotland, York and London.  I could go on forever about the sights and sounds I saw and heard and I have to say that Scotland, with it’s beautiful luscious green fields, that are untouched by growth and development, were my favorite sights.  There were sheep everywhere and beautiful landscaped yards and countryside.  Fred took over 700 digital pictures while we were there and I’m working on an email to send out with just a few pictures attached and a description of what we were able to see.  MAXjet wanted Fred and I to be together for our anniversary and since they needed Fred to do some work in Stansted, they paid for me to travel there with him and all my expenses for a week while there.  They also paid for the first and last day of our vacation.  Have I told you how wonderful this company is to work for?  =)

So that’s the latest for the Ruckmans.  Thanks so much for getting in your updates and making this newsletter something we all look forward to reading.  We’re only missing a couple updates and hopefully when it comes time to do the fall/winter newsletter, we’ll hear from them and catch up on their lives as well.  YOU make this newsletter what it is !!!!  =)  Kyle and I are just part of the process. 

Love you all and have a great summer !!                                                                         Fred, Autumn, Justin and Samantha

 

 

Fall/Winter 2005

 

 

A Very Merry Christmas to Each of YOU !!!!

 

Was hoping to hear from Randy and Sandy before sending this off to Kyle but gave him another chance and still haven’t heard so going to get this off to Kyle and I’ll send on his reply if it comes in later.  But everyone else is present and accounted for so we’re pretty dog gone close to 100%.  Now for our update …

 

Fred no longer is working for US Airways but works for MAXjet Airways, a

new airline that travels internationally only.  He’s been there since January, practically its birth and is loving it.  Right now they’re flying to Stanstead,

England and business is really picking up.  He just finished a whole round of radiation (36 treatments) due to his cancer coming back and now is going through the healing from the treatments.  He had quite a time with the radiation and had to take a 3 week break near the end because of complications, but is just so glad they are over!  We’ll know in December

if the radiation worked.

 

Justin is 21 and at East Carolina University where he was able to find a Graphic Design program that was tailored to what he wants to do with his life, which is multimedia design.  Now to see if he can complete it in the time period he desires.  He’s a senior in credits but because he changed his major, there will be a couple more years of college for him.  If it doesn’t look like he will be able to graduate in a couple years, he may get an undergraduate degree in something other than Graphic Design and do that in his master’s study.  He’s also 4^th chair clarinet in the Symphonic Band there and still enjoying his music … just on a pure “love” basis and not as a requirement to be in the top 10 best, where your career depends on your success.  

 

Samantha is 16, is a junior in high school and is DRIVING … yes … you heard me … DRIVING on her own when she has a car available.  We’re kinda tough on the kids when it comes to getting that first car.  We don’t believe in buying them brand new cars when they start driving … so when she starts working, we’ll assist her in purchasing her first USED car but that’s what it will be … USED. She’s very involved in her youth group at church and is a 1^st soprano in the Concert Choir at school and they’ll be going to Carnegie Hall in New York on their spring break to sing.  YES … you can bet if we’re able, Fred and I will be making a trip there to hear them cuz it’s not every day that you get to hear your child sing at Carnegie Hall.

 

Me … ??? … well, you all know my Dad passed away in June of this year and I have to say that it’s been one of the hardest things to deal with in my life.  It was hard losing Mom 10 years ago, but Dad was still here with me and I clung to that, but now without Dad it’s just strange and hard to put into words.  Plus my life was wrapped so around Dad and his care that I feel like I’m forgetting to do something all the time. Being without parents is a very different place to be when you are the only child and don’t have any siblings to hang onto.  But I’ve found such a peace in just hanging onto God and that’s what I should be doing anyhow. I’m pressing on and each day it gets easier and my life is certainly full and happy with my own family and church family as well.  I’m as involved as I can be at church and sometimes more than I should be but then what’s new about that for me …  =) … and God is SO GOOD !!!

 

We love you all and look forward to hearing from you,

Fred, Autumn, Justin and Samantha   =)

 

 

Spring/Summer 2005

 

Well folks, this is our official first family newsletter that you’ll be reading on the Fowler Family website.  I’d say the Fowler Family has really joined the technology raceway.  Of course you’ll be able to go back and read previous updates because Kyle has done a GREAT job of adding them to the site along with our addresses and birthdays and anniversaries.  My hat goes off to Kyle who has done a superb job of putting this all together.  For those of you that I’ll be sending a hard copy of the newsletter to … I’ll add a picture or two to it to snazz it up a bit … just for you !!  =)

 

First off ... Fred no longer works for US Airways.  Working for them had become so oppressive and he kept losing more money and more benefits till our reasons for staying on with them had disappeared.  There just weren't any more "perks" and he was making less money than when he started working for them 15 years ago.  We started working on his resume but we also knew that Fred being at 51, this was more than a scary endeavor.  Who would be looking for someone at this point in their life and how do you start your life over at 50 ??  Well, God already had that taken care of because before we could finalize his resume, he heard of a job with a new "upstart" airline.  And to make a long story short ... (and you all know I'm good at the longer version) ...  he was interviewed, offered the job, he turned it down, they came up with more money in 30 minutes after he turned it down, and he took the job.  =)  We didn't even have to circulate the resume !!!!  Yep ... it DEFINITELY was a God thing !!!

 

The airline is called MAXjet.  It's a low fare international airline only and will be flying to London, England for it's first maiden voyage ... hopefully in July.  Fred is out of the toolbox (which he hoped for once day) and is a Maintenance Supervisor and trust me ... the man dresses up really

nice !!!!  =)  There is so much involved in getting an airline off the ground though so he is extremely busy and the airline is based out of Dulles Airport outside of Washington, D.C. so YES ... he lives up there with another man (Gary) who he has worked with for 15 years and who hired on with them not long after Fred and they have roomed together all these years in Philly so they know each other really well.  BUT ... Fred has been traveling a lot and spending a lot of time in Tucson, Arizona where the first airplane is that they have purchased.  In fact ... Fred did the closing on the airplane and signed on the dotted line to accept it for Skylink.  Fred has been in charge of finding everything wrong on the airplane (it was in the desert out there) ... and making sure all the repairs are made properly before they fly.  Fred is notorious for being VERY meticulous ... so he had a list a mile long of repairs and things that had gone unchecked and it's been quite an experience for him to get this airplane airworthy.  He's had to order parts and do inspections on their work and his life is spent on a laptop and on the phone now (the two things he really doesn't like to do ... ha ha) ... but what a world of difference working for this company because they appreciate everything Fred does and tell him constantly and FAMILY comes first with them.  I can't even begin to tell you how this has changed Fred and he's just a different man.

 

He did early retirement from US Airways and finished up working for them first of December and went to work for Skylink immediately after and has been with them ever since.  Fred is gone for longer periods of time.  Right now he's in Tucson, and will be there till May 12th when the company is insisting on flying him home for Samantha's Advanced Choir Concert at East Gaston and then he'll fly back to Tucson and we probably won't see him till June.  So the periods without him are much longer but Fred feels this will change once the airline is certified and off the ground.  Fred hates it that it's put a lot more responsibility on me, but it's just part of the territory of being married and working at life together.  God is faithful ... that's all I can say ... and He's enabled me to handle what I considered impossible !! =)

 

Justin transferred to NC State last year to try and get the graphic design major underway and things have gone really well there (he's even back in music and in a symphony there) ... but is probably going to transfer to East Carolina University (ECU) this fall because he can finish the graphic design program faster there and not be in school for 8 years.  Then he'll go on to get his Masters in Graphic Design as well.  He lives with a 95 year old woman in Raleigh ... in the other end of her house in her garage apartment and helps her out whenever he can but this woman is AMAZING.  She is so active and goes swimming at the YMCA every week a couple of times and she is just a spitfire at 95.  She's adopted Justin and I know he'll hate to leave there because it's been like living with family.  And he has been only a couple blocks from campus so it's been IDEAL !!!!  It looks like Justin will get to spend one more summer with us and working back at the credit union where he has worked before.  Okay ... he turns 21 this year ... how old do you think that makes me ????  Sheesh ... it's just not possible.

 

Samantha is 15 and DRIVING .. YES ... I said DRIVING !!!  She's a sophomore at East Gaston and still my straight A student and LOVING choir there.  She's VERY active in clubs at school and most importantly at church in the youth group and she's even in the adult choir with me now and singing alto.  She's become quite the little lady and we're so proud of her and I can't believe I only have 2 more years with her.  She's pretty serious about majoring in Speech Pathology (pediatric)  and her goal is to be bilingual before leaving East Gaston (knowing that it will make her a good asset to whatever place she is hired someday) because she is taking every year of Spanish they have and I think they have 5 semesters of it now.  She is already in conversation with colleges so we'll have to see what the future holds for her.

 

Then there's Dad ... and he continues to have a rough go of it from time to time.  We've been back and forth to the hospital a lot and we've had some rough days but Dad continues to prove God is not finished with him yet and he regains his strength and keeps on going just like that Energizer Bunny.  He just turned 79 ... still has prostate cancer but it's under control with a lupron shot he gets every 4 months, still has 2 kidneys full of kidney stones, has gall stones and a tube in his right kidney called a nephrostomy tube that helps drain the kidney and has a super pubic catheter and his ileostomy bag to care for.  He literally has tubes everywhere and ever since his long bout in the hospital a year ago, he's been on oxygen since. I go to every appointment with him and I'm with him every step of the way and he just amazes me !!!  =) 

 

Well, that leaves me ... and what can I say ... my job description has doubled and I'm on the run most of the time.  I’m either at home, at school, at church, at the nursing home or at some doctor’s appointment with someone or on the road.  And basically we still have that revolving front door in the house that we fly through all day long.  Can't tell you when Fred will be home and we usually only get him for a couple days so those days are crazy and we cram as much family time in there as possible.  And catching me is probably the hardest thing to do cuz there's just no telling where I might be. 

 

I know … I know … another longwinded newsletter update.  I’m sorry guys, I just can’t do the Reader’s Digest version.  =) 

 

Love you all !!!

Fred, Autumn, Justin, Samantha and Erwyn

 

 

 

Fall/Winter 2004

 

Happy Holidays to Each of You !!!

Well, course I’m sitting here with MY Cheshire cat grin because we had 100% this newsletter …. not a family is missing in updates and this always thrills my heart !!! =) I’m doing a bit of collaborating with Kyle and if it’s okay with each of you on the next newsletter, he may be setting up a website for us and the newsletter will be posted on there for you to sign onto and read all the updates. Need some feedback though from you all to make sure this is okay with you so be sure and let me know and when it comes time for the next newsletter, I’ll send the updates to Kyle and he will go to work !!! =) And if any of you don’t have internet access on a consistent basis and want a copy of the newsletter, I can still print out a copy for you. So let me know ?????????

Now for the Fowler/Ruckman updates. First there is Dad and he’s still keeping things hopping at Courtland Terrace. All the nurses and CNA’s love him there and enjoy having a conversation with him while they are in his room. Some even just stop in to chat or tease him and give him a hard time. Course he loves to give it right back. He’s had a tough time though since the last newsletter … went through a bout with depression (and who could blame him with all he’s been through) and after talking to the doctor and changing up some medication and altering some things in his diet that were contributing to it, things have greatly improved. Had a tad trouble with one night time nurse who wanted to bypass us and make decisions for Dad by herself but as I’m finding out in this stage of my life where roles are reversed and I have to take on those “encounters” that I despise … God can empower you to do things that you never thought possible and “live” through them. So all is well and she knows her place and my dear Dad knows he’s in good hands because he’s in God’s !! =) Health wise he seems to always have “issues” but he always will with things the way they are for him now but his attitude is much more cheerful and he’s kidding around again and carries on quite the conversation.

A lot has happened with Fred since the last newsletter, mainly that his time is short with US Airways. He will be finishing up work with them the first week of December when we hope that his early retirement papers will be approved and he will actually retire with them as he starts out a new stage in his life … NOT RETIREMENT though … a new job. He’ll be starting with a new international airline called Max Jet that is going through its certification process right now and he’ll be coming in on the ground floor helping to set up the operation and get all their “ducks in a row”. This is a dream for Fred and will open up doors for him that he’s always hoped to go through … that of supervising and management. One of his other roommates up in Philly is hiring on with them as well so they’ll continue to be roommates because the airline will be stationed at Dulles Airport outside Washington, D.C. and YES … he’ll still be commuting back and forth to work but there’s just nothing here in Charlotte at this point for him to do with the airlines, till other airlines move into the area. But he and Gary will get to live together up there (which will make this whole transitional process a lot easier to swallow at this stage in their lives) and if Fred’s retirement goes through okay and while US Airways is still in operation, Fred will have flying privileges with them and can commute by way of them to his new job at Dulles. Nothing like starting a new job in your 50’s and not exactly what we had envisioned for this time in our lives but hey … God knows best !!! =)

Justin is 20 (man do I feel old) and is now attending North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. He decided at the last minute to not return to UNCG where he’s gone for 2 years because it just didn’t have what he needed to continue his career in Graphic Design and the graphic design schools were so expensive that he just wasn’t sure he wanted to take on that kind of debt, so because NC State has an excellent Graphic Design program, he decided to give it a chance. He found a garage apartment at the last minute (a God thing) … with a 95 year old woman who is still so very active (does water aerobics twice a week at the YMCA) … and he helps her out around the house and has a place all to himself that he keeps spotless. He’s also working as a waiter at California Pizza Kitchen (a sit down Italian restaurant) and is having a ball making great tips … especially right now during the holiday season when everyone is shopping and eating out. He’s a block from campus and really enjoying living on his own and his dear landlady, Mrs. Riley, is a gem !!! =)

Samantha is a high school sophomore and 15 and DRIVING !!!!!!!!! … well, with lerner’s permit and with me in the front passenger seat … but goodness, this is my “baby” and she’s already driving … I’m getting too old for this !!!! =) She’s a very cautious driver and things are really going well … so well in fact that she drove with Fred back to Philly a few weekends ago and helped him drive that 10 hour trip. Then she flew back home by herself on Saturday night and I met her at the airport. She’s growing up and I need to remember I’ve been here before … just seems harder to handle this time. She’s very active at school and in extra curricular clubs after school and very active in our youth group at church. Seems we’re always running to one thing or another and she definitely keeps me on my toes. Getting great grades and holding her own in Advanced Choir at school, as well as being in the adult choir with me at church. She and I both do hand bell choir at church as well so we keep ourselves busy, that’s for sure. She’s already looking at colleges and at this point seems interested in Speech Pathology because she wants to work with children and help improve their lives. Who knows where God will take her but for now that is her interest.

And me … who said being a homemaker was boring … cut it’s anything BUT !!! Just when I thought things would slow down a bit with one child off at college … I find myself even more busy than ever. Between being on a cooking team at church, activities with the youth, hand bell choir, regular choir, Personnel Committee, Women on Mission, and Children in Action on Wednesday night, and then responsibilities at home and holding down the fort while Fred is gone and events and activities at the high school and taking care of Dad and spending time with him, there’s hardly a dull moment. My life is definitely full !! =) And so is my platter … =)

We’re all hoping that you have a wonderful holiday season with your family and maybe even extended family and as always your updates are so much fun to read and it’s so great to keep in touch with each of you.

All our love and happy holidays !!!

Fred, Autumn, Justin, Samantha and Erwyn

 

 

Spring/Summer 2004

 

Hey Everyone ~

Well, it’s already too hot here in North Carolina so I would have to say summer has arrived. I’m a spring and winter gal myself, so I just “endure” summer.

Dad is still at Courtland Terrace but in a whole new room. They are going through a major remodeling process there at the nursing home and redoing the rooms from top to bottom so he’s in room 1B now and the color scheme is a yellowish green and the rooms have wood flooring now and all the furniture is new and matches and his room is even more spacious than before. He really likes his new surroundings and it just seems more cheerful. The old rooms were fine but that “pepto bismo pink” was wearing on us !! =) He still has good and bad days. There are so many things he has to deal with on a daily basis so there are just so many things that can go wrong. He still has major kidney problems but we can’t seem to get him well enough to go back in there and do anything more about it nor do we want to put him through anymore when he is well, as long as his kidneys are functioning okay … one is half full of kidney stones and we still have a few in the other kidney to get out of there. They had a resident choir for a while that practiced and performed for the volunteers that come in throughout the year and Dad was a part of that and had fun doing it. They took a break from practices but started rehearsing again this past week. All in all he’s in good spirits and has won the hearts of all the staff that know him there. =)

Fred is still with US Airways and lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for part of the week and at home for the rest of the week. The situation with the company is on shaky ground to say the least and the next couple of months will probably tell us how the story will end. For now he hangs in there with them but may very soon be looking for a new job and at his age that’s not something he anticipated doing. His advice to everyone would probably be … if you are thinking about getting into the aviation business, DON’T. =) It’s proven to be quite a roller coaster ride and been hard on him mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Justin is home this summer working at the credit union that he worked at last summer and over the Christmas break. They really wanted him to come back and since it pays such good money, he was more than willing to oblige them. He’s more than likely going to go back to UNCG for another year to get rid of more general education core courses and take maybe some more art and design related subjects and then either reapply at the design school in Rhode Island that he really wants to go to or apply elsewhere. He was accepted for this fall at the school in Rhode Island on the basis of his portfolio and drawings but wasn’t able to get the kind of scholarship money he had hoped for and they encouraged him (because they don’t like to see their students get in such educational debt while there) to reapply next year while getting some other courses out of the way. They also gave him some tips on how to improve his portfolio and hopefully he’ll be able to get some substantial scholarship money for the following fall since design schools are so expensive. He’s decided to take that route. It was quite an accomplishment to get accepted there to begin with because they take very few transfer students. This year 75 applied and only 30 were accepted and he was one of those so he has a lot to be proud of in that alone.

Samantha has a busy summer schedule. Right now she is assistant teaching in VBS in music and I’m downstairs in crafts. Then she goes off to Centrifuge next week (our church youth camp for a week) and Fred and I are going as chaperones this year. Then she starts Driver’s Education after Centrifuge for 2 weeks … YES … she’s going to be learning how to drive … I’m NOT READY for this !!!! Then over the 4th of July she’ll be in Kentucky with our church on a mission trip. She went last year and had so much fun and can’t wait to go back. Then she’ll have a few weeks free of nothing and school begins early in August and she’ll be a sophomore in high school. She’s growing up way too fast!

As for me … there’s really nothing new to tell except it’s the PITS getting older. Everything started falling apart on me after I turned 40 and it’s been a gradual decline since then … =) And I know a lot of you can relate to this !!! =) The doctors are still trying to get my medication right for the osteo arthritis. I’ve been on so many different medications and nothing seems to be doing much good and I may have to go back to the specialist to see if he can come up with anything better. I know a hip replacement is in the future because they’ve already told me that but also told me to put it off as long as I can so I’m trying to do that. I stay so busy between Fred’s crazy work schedule and all that Samantha is involved with that seems like I’m always on the go so I just really don’t have time to have hip and arthritis troubles (my last ditch effort to convince my body of this !!! .. ha ha) so I just keep going through the pain and keep hoping we get a solution soon. Samantha and I still scrapbook and stamp together and have a great time doing that and we love popping in on Dad and spending time with him. So there you have it .. the latest with the Ruckmans … and the latest news for the Fowler family. Hope you all have a wonderful summer and get to get some time away with your family. Look to be hearing from me around October for the next edition of the Fowler Family Newsletter.

Love you all !!!

Fred, Autumn, Justin, Samantha and Erwyn

 

P.S. In an effort to try and save a bit on printing and postage on the next newsletter, how would you feel about receiving the final copy through email as an attachment??? There are some servers that don’t like attachments so I’m testing the waters on your end to find out if you can receive attachments okay? All you need on your computer to read the document will be Adobe Reader and it’s something that you can download from the internet for free and I can even help supply that for you if you like. If you don’t have an internet connection at home and still want, I can also print out the newsletter and continue to mail it to you. Just have been mulling ideas over in my head and wondering if you all would like to give this a try. So be thinking about that idea and let me know what you think????