Merry Christmas 2020

 

A year ago, I was really looking forward to 2020. It was to be a year of accomplishment and celebration. I was looking forward to running the New York City Marathon. The race was cancelled, but I will get the opportunity to run it another year. I was looking forward to celebrating Bethany’s graduation from North Carolina State University. While she did graduate, the ceremony was virtual and the celebration not what we had in mind. I expected to see my Dad numerous times during the year but went months without seeing him at all due to restrictions. On the other hand, I expected Carl to move to Illinois to begin his PhD program at Northwestern University. Instead he did everything online keeping our family all under one roof for a little longer.

Before the pandemic hit, we did enjoy a few outings. Three of us went to see “Come From Away” in Durham. We really enjoyed it along with the rest of the audience that gave the performance the fastest unanimous standing ovation I have ever seen. Three of us went to Orlando to go to Universal Studios, SeaWorld and Disney Springs. We especially enjoyed the Harry Potter attractions at Universal along with lots of butter beer. I spent two weeks in Poughkeepsie, NY for some in person time with my team at IBM. During the weekend in between, all the girls came out to visit and enjoy New York City. We toured NBC Studios where we saw the final preparations for “Saturday Night Live” later that night. We saw “Wicked” on Broadway less than a week before all the shows closed. We had excellent seats and really enjoyed the show. We also visited the 911 Museum. The presentations are very well done but also quite sobering. We also enjoyed some NY pizza and various dishes in Chinatown. Despite the pandemic, we did take a vacation as a whole family in December to Universal Studios and SeaWorld in Orlando enjoying a whole week together at the parks with a few special celebrations. It was almost a normal vacation except with social distancing, masks, and lots of hand sanitizer. Bethany and Miriam extended their stay in Florida by spending time together at Walt Disney World.

Covid-19 did not affect my job with IBM too much as I was already working remotely. I learned a lot this year and look forward to putting new skills to good use next year. I have had a good year of running despite most races being cancelled. I have run over 1800 miles this year and did compete in an actual in person race running a 30K at a pretty good pace. Leslie-Jean held our house together while also training to run a half marathon which she plans to do when things return to normal. Christian continues to do well at his job at Lenovo while also enjoying his hobbies of flying and improving his drone, electronic audio synthesis, and investing.

Carl had a very interesting year. He travelled to Seattle, Boulder, and Evanston to help decide which PhD program to pursue. Carl decided to accept a very good offer from Northwestern University where he just completed his first quarter. He also had surgery before school started which took weeks of recovery. Bethany graduated in May with a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from North Carolina State University. Before starting her job with Cree, she made good use of her annual pass to the U.S. National Whitewater Center going there frequently. Bethany also took a quick trip to Walt Disney World. Miriam just completed her third semester at North Carolina State University where she is working on her degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering. She had an internship this summer at Bosch in New Bern helping make their manufacturing of dishwashers more efficient. Most of us enjoyed visiting her in New Bern for a few days with a quick trip to the beach. 

2020 will be remembered for the worldwide pandemic of Covid-19. While tragic, it is neither the first worldwide pandemic nor the most serious. The first and most serious worldwide pandemic was and is sin. Romans 3:23 tells us sin is very infectious as we all sin: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Romans 6:23 tells us sin is very deadly: “For the wages of sin is death…”. Unlike Covid-19, there is no vaccine for sin on the horizon. Fortunately, there is one way that sin is better than Covid-19 – there is a remedy. Jesus has provided the cure for our sin. 1 John 1:2 tells us: “He (Jesus) is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” The rest of Romans 6:23 tells us “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This gift started at the very first Christmas with the birth of Jesus. God became man born as a baby in Bethlehem. Jesus lived among us teaching us much along the way. He took the sins of His followers and died for them upon a cross. His broken body paid the price of our sin and His shed blood cleansed us from our sin. For those who accept His free gift of salvation, their sins are forgiven. Instead of death, the result is eternal life with Him in heaven. That is truly worth celebrating!

Hopefully things will improve significantly in 2021. I am optimistic that the vaccines will end the pandemic next year. It will be great to get back to things being more normal. Until then stay safe and healthy and look for the positives among the negatives. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Dan for the Colglaziers 

Merry Christmas 2019

Merry Christmas!

We hope this finds you well and that you have had a good year. 2019 was not a “same as ever” year for me. Several life-changing events for me occurred this year. The first was my Mom’s death in May. While this was sad and I continue to miss her, it did bring about the reunion of all my siblings for her memorial service. In June, I lost my job with Lenovo. I had basically had the same job since 1990 and moved with it from Florida to North Carolina and from IBM to Lenovo. It was my first time being unemployed, but I did leave with a generous severance package. I was without a job for a little over 3 months. I am now back with IBM working in the same department that I started my career in: mainframe hardware performance. While most of my team is in Poughkeepsie, NY, I was allowed to stay in Cary. I am very happy with this new “old” position. I am learning a lot and really like what I am doing and my new team.

Miriam graduated from high school and is now at North Carolina State University majoring in Industrial and Systems Engineering. She was co-captain of her high school robotics team that qualified for nationals in Houston. They did surprisingly well there ending up 9^th out of 67 teams in their division. While in Houston, we enjoyed a visit to the Johnson Space Center and a nearby Italian restaurant with lots of NASA memorabilia. Miriam also participated in her final dance recital which included a solo senior dance. Bethany is in her final year at NC State also majoring in Industrial and Systems Engineering. She had an internship this summer at Fidelity. Bethany has also been a teaching assistant at school. During her short break after her internship, Bethany went backpacking with her parents and sister.

Carl graduated in December from NC State double majoring in Communication and Computer Science. He received the Outstanding Student Award from the Department of Communication and was one of the valedictorians in the Department of Computer Science. Carl had an internship at IBM this summer. He is applying to graduate schools to continue his studies. Christian continues to work at Lenovo. He has enjoyed his various hobbies including buying Eurorack modules to make electronic music. Leslie-Jean keeps the household running and provides transportation as needed. She enjoys her weekly Bible study and has increased her running mileage this year. I increased my running training this year to prepare for the New York City Marathon which I had entered by winning a lottery entry. I was doing well until a stress fracture forced me to defer my entry to 2020.

This year’s trips turned out to be returns to places I had once lived. In October it was a return to Peoria, Illinois for my 40^th high school reunion. It was great seeing classmates I had not seen in a while. I also enjoyed a tour of Peoria High School, a Gondola at Avanti’s, and a couple of nice runs seeing places around town. We also visited Chicago where we enjoyed an architecture tour river cruise and Chinatown. My next trip was to Poughkeepsie, New York to spend a week with my new work team. I enjoyed meeting most for the first time along with a few for the first time in many years. I also explored the area and saw where I used to live. On the way there, I spent a day in New York City seeing the “Christmas Spectacular” at Radio City Music Hall and “To Kill a Mockingbird” on Broadway starring Ed Harris. Both shows were very good. I have been an Oakland Raiders fan for over 50 years. I had seen them play in Detroit, Los Angeles, New York and Miami, but never Oakland. Since the Raiders are moving to Las Vegas, this was the last year to see them in Oakland. We saw them lose to the Tennessee Titans but really enjoyed the game and atmosphere. While in the area, we visited Pleasanton where I used to live, Muir Woods, Chinatown, the Walt Disney Family Museum, and Fisherman’s Wharf.

This was a year of life-changing events for me. Christmas is the celebration of a life-changing event for all mankind: the birth of Jesus Christ. Matthew 1:22-23 tells us of this momentous event fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ – which means, ‘God with us.’” Not since the Garden of Eden had God dwelled with mankind and never as one of us. Mankind’s sin had separated us from God with no way for us to bridge the gap. Fortunately God bridged the gap for us by sending His son to us in the form of one of us through the birth of Jesus. That is what we celebrate at Christmas. Jesus lived a sinless life enabling Him to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins which He accomplished at Calvary on Good Friday. Jesus arose from the dead three days later on Easter becoming our forerunner to eternal life with Him in Heaven. We simply need to accept that we are sinners, believe Jesus is the Son of God, and accept His free gift of salvation provided through His sacrificial death and resurrection. This all started in mankind’s history at Christmas with the birth of Jesus, truly a life-changing event for all mankind.

May you have a very, merry Christmas with a great outlook for 2020!

Dan for the Colglaziers

Merry Christmas 2018

Merry Christmas!

We hope this finds you well and you have had a good year. It has been an interesting year for us. Our big trip this year was to Walt Disney World. We were at the parks for five days and also enjoyed Disney Springs. Our highlights were eating in the ball room at the Be Our Guest restaurant and riding Flight of Passage three times in one day without much waiting. We were without a kitchen sink for over a month as a result of our dishwasher leaking and ruining our cabinets and floor. It has now all been fixed, looks great, and was mostly covered by insurance. We were also entertained for a number of months by the installation of an expanded gas pipeline directly behind our house. It was fun watching the work being done just outside our windows, but the price was that we lost a lot of nice trees. We were fortunate enough to get three tickets to see “Hamilton” in Durham which actually exceeded our high expectations.  

Miriam is a high school senior who is also taking college classes at Durham Tech. She is in her second season as a co-captain of her robotics team, The Hitchhikers. They had a very good season earlier this year by winning two district events to qualify for both the state and world championships. Miriam continues to enjoy dance and Venturing. She has also been busy applying to colleges and scholarships.

Bethany is in her third year at North Carolina State University majoring in Industrial and Systems Engineering. She has enjoyed numerous sporting events there and brought some of the rest of us along with her for a few of the games. This summer Bethany had an internship at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. We visited her for an extended weekend while going to Jamestown, Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, Yorktown, and the Mariners Museum.

Carl is in his fourth year at North Carolina State University majoring in both Computer Science and Communication. He participated again this year in a REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) at Notre Dame this summer. We visited him there while also going to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio on the way there and Chicago on the way back. Carl also participated in a wilderness program in the Sierra Mountains in California and attended conferences in Montreal and Chicago.

Christian continues to enjoy his job as a firmware engineer at Lenovo. In his free time, he enjoys playing video games. Christian has also worked on creating a motion control camera rig that will help him more easily create brick (Lego) films. He has also been a great help to The Hitchhikers as one of their mentors.

Leslie-Jean is finishing up her last year of homeschooling. She has enjoyed her weekly Bible study. Leslie-Jean has worked hard this year improving her running and completed a seven mile race.

Dan continues to enjoy his performance engineering job at Lenovo. He has worked hard getting back into competitive running shape completing a 30K race. Dan also had some medical difficulties this year. He had cataract surgery in both eyes and can now see without glasses. Dan also suffered with blood clots in his lungs which is now being treated with medication and no restrictions. Dan’s parents continue to live nearby in an assisted living facility. Dan’s Dad suffered a couple of falls this year requiring surgery and rehabilitation. He is now doing quite well.

This has been a year with lots of medical expenses mostly due to Dan’s health issues. This is the first time we have exceeded the family annual deductible even getting close to the maximum out-of-pocket limit. It was nice to have our medical expenses substantially lowered by insurance leaving us with only small co-pays. Fortunately, God’s eternal plan for us is so much better than health insurance. God did it all for us and required nothing from us other than accepting His free gift: no cost for insurance, no deductibles, no co-pays. Jesus paid it all for us. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus paid the price of our sin by dying for it upon a cross. This was possible because Jesus had previously left his heavenly throne to be born as a baby in Bethlehem. This is what we celebrate at Christmas – the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Luke 2:11 says, “for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Let us rejoice in Christ’s birth this Christmas season!

We wish you a very, merry Christmas and happy New Year.

2017 Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas!

We hope this letter finds you well and that you have had a good year. 2017 has been quite the year for us. The Hitchhikers, Miriam’s robotics team, did well in their district competitions and qualified for the District Championships where they qualified for the FRC Championships in Houston. The Pitt Pirates with Christian as one of their mentors also qualified for the FRC Championships and did very well there. While in Houston, Dan, Leslie-Jean and Miriam took the Level 9 tour at Johnson Space Center. This was a five-hour tour with only 12 people. We saw an unused Saturn V rocket, the Neutral Buoyancy Lab (where astronauts train for space walks), new and old Mission Control, and Building 9 where we saw robots and the planned Orion capsule. We also got to eat at the employee cafeteria where Dan got a “Hi” from Gene Kranz. We also visited the San Jacinto Battleground where Texas won its freedom from Mexico.

Dan and Leslie-Jean celebrated their 25^th anniversary by going on a cruise on the Majesty of the Seas. This was the same ship they cruised on for their honeymoon. Back then it was the newest and largest ship in the fleet. Now it is the oldest and smallest. We had a great time cruising out of Port Canaveral with stops at Coco Cay and Nassau. We took with us a commemorative bottle of champagne we had gotten on our honeymoon. Unfortunately, we did not store it properly and it did not taste good. The cruise line gave us complimentary glasses which tasted much better.

Miriam attended Summer Dance Company in Atlanta for two weeks. Dan, Leslie-Jean and Bethany drove to Atlanta to pick her up and see her performance. While there, we visited the Coke Museum and tried all the sodas they had for sampling from throughout the world. We also had a great visit with one of Dan’s cousins and his wife. Another family visit was with Dan’s sister’s family who came to visit us and Dan’s parents. While here, we had a great time (and wipeout) at the U.S. National Whitewater Center and travelled to Wilmington to see the USS North Carolina and spend some time at the beach.

In August, we took an extended weekend trip to the mountains to camp, hike, and see lots of waterfalls. Bethany and Dan were brave (or insane) enough to slide down and over Turtleback Falls with its 20-foot drop. We all slid down Sliding Rock which is very popular with a long slide and no drop into a pool of very cold water. The last day we saw waterfalls in Dupont State Forest some of which were used in the movies The Last of the Mohicans and The Hunger Games. In November, Dan and Leslie-Jean took the short trip to Winston-Salem to visit Old Salem and see Illinois play basketball against Wake Forest. Old Salem is a living history museum of an old Moravian community showing how they lived and worked. We spent the whole day there and learned a lot. The basketball game did not end well, but it was fun to see the team up close and in person.

The health of Dan’s parents was a big concern for us the last few months. Dan’s Dad fell and broke his femur near his hip in August. It needed surgery with rehabilitation after that. Dan’s Mom stayed with us during this time. They were unable to return to their independent living situation and moved into an assisted living facility together. Dan’s Mom then had a stroke and is now in memory care. Dan’s Dad is now doing quite well and working on getting even better. Dan’s Mom has lost a lot of her abilities but is always very pleasant and happy to see us when we visit. A bonus of these situations was some extra, unplanned visits from Dan’s sister.

Christian graduated from Eastern Carolina University in the Spring and was given the Outstanding Senior in Computer Science Award. He is now a firmware engineer at Lenovo. Carl participated in the Research Experience for Undergraduates at Notre Dame this summer and is now a co-author on a published paper. Bethany has worked very hard this year with her studies and teaching and has chosen to major in industrial engineering. Miriam was selected as one of the co-captains for her robotics team and has done a good job getting them ready for the upcoming season.

This entire year Dan has been studying Psalms in depth. There is a great variety of messages and styles throughout. The following is Dan’s attempt to write a Psalm of testimony applicable to this time of year when we celebrate the coming of God to earth through the birth of Jesus at Christmas. We hope you have a very, merry Christmas and a great 2018!

A Psalm of Testimony at Christmas

O Lord, I praise you for your amazing creation, the world and all that is in it.

I praise and thank you, Lord, for creating me and bringing me into your world.

My desire is to be with You all my days here among your creation.

And when my days are done, to be with you in heaven for eternity.

Therefore, I have decided to do good, be good, and earn my way into heaven.

Lord, let me know what good things I can do for you and I’ll be your servant.

The Lord then opened his word to me to show me the error of my ways.

What I had thought were my righteous acts, He showed me to be filthy rags.

Instead of working my way into heaven, I then decided to be good enough.

I will learn and follow all your ways and to earn my way into heaven.

Once again the Lord opened his word to show me the error of my ways.

You have to be perfect as I am perfect was His reply.

Lord, I see now that I fall way short in being and doing what you require.

I am grieved that I cannot earn my way into eternity with You in heaven.

How does anyone meet your requirements? I fear it is impossible.

Then God told me that what is impossible for man is possible for Him.

O Lord, please explain to me how you can do what seems impossible.

How can I bridge the gap between You and me caused by my sin?

The Lord showed me that while I cannot cross the chasm, He can.

While I cannot go to God because of my sin, He can come to me.

God came to me by being born as a baby in Bethlehem.

God came to me by living a perfect, sinless life.

God came to me by becoming the perfect sacrifice on the cross for my sin.

God came to me by overcoming death by rising again on the third day.

Praise be to God for Jesus, who left heaven to become a man.

Praise be to God for Jesus, who lived among us as a man without sin.

Praise be to God for Jesus, who took my sin upon Him and died for it upon the cross.

Praise be to God for Jesus, who rose again opening the path to eternal life.

What I could not do, God did for me.

What I could not be, God became for me.

What I desired most, God freely gave me.

Praise be to God for all He has, is and will do.

2016 Christmas Letter

We hope that you are doing well and enjoying the season.  2016 was our year of about to have and then having 3 in college.  This impacted our time, money, and use of cars.  Even with all our differing schedules, we did find time for a family trip to Virginia to see Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and James Monroe’s Highland.  Most of the family attended First Robotics Competition (FRC) events this year in Raleigh, Buies Creek, and Asheville as well as the state championship in Charlotte.  Four of us enjoyed our Venturing Crew’s Super Activity this summer during which we visited Clingman’s Dome, went zip lining and whitewater rafting, hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail, and went horseback riding.  We were a house divided when most of us attended the NC State football game at East Carolina.

Miriam is now in the 10^th grade.  She continues to enjoy dance and was the lead in her recital this year.  Miriam became the Venturing Crew President this year and attended National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT).  She was in charge of scouting on the Hitchhikers FRC team this year.  Miriam is also learning to drive.

Bethany just completed her first semester at NC State after graduating from high school in the spring.  She is intending to major in industrial engineering with a minor in business and has done very well so far.  Bethany was a co-captain this year for the Hitchhikers in charge of the business team.  She served on the staff for NYLT and is the Vice-President of Administration for our council’s Venturing Officers Association.

Carl is in his second year at NC State majoring in both computer science and communications and doing very well.  He was honored this year by becoming a Caldwell Fellow which provides him opportunities to develop his leadership skills along with funding.  Carl enjoyed a trip to Washington, DC and helped run a science and technology camp this year along with his fellow Caldwell Fellows.  He also had a teaching assistant position in the spring.

Christian is a senior at East Carolina and on track to graduate in the spring with a degree in computer science.  He took a very heavy load this past semester and did very well.  Christian is a mentor for the Pitt Pirates, an FRC team near ECU which qualified for the World Championships.

Leslie-Jean was our main chauffeur to the bus stops (our NC State students lived at home and bussed to school) and other activities.  She enjoyed our family outings to see a Johnny Clegg concert and a Vivian Howard lecture.  Dan continues to work at Lenovo and is trying to get back into good running shape.  He also became the Venturing Crew Advisor this year. Leslie-Jean and Dan actually took a few trips this year by themselves.  They travelled to Florida to help a relative move.  They also visited historic sites in Virginia at Petersburg and Appomattox Court House after taking the girls to NYLT.

2016 has been a busy year for us with lots of different schedules and activities.  This seems to be quite common these days.  Let us not be too busy this Christmas to miss the reason for the season: the birth of Jesus.  Let us be like the shepherds who went to see the baby Jesus after being told about His birth by an angel (Luke 2:8-20).  Let us be like Simeon who was told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before seeing the Lord’s Christ which he did when Jesus was presented at the temple (Luke 2:25-35).  Let us be like the magi who traveled afar from the east to see Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12).  Let us all spend some time this Christmas seeking out Jesus, the savior of the world who died for our sins and rose again to give us eternal life in heaven with Him.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  May 2017 be a blessed year for you!

Merry Christmas!

We hope this Christmas finds you well and that you have had a great year.  2015 was a very successful year for our FIRST Robotics Competition team, The Hitchhikers.  Christian was a mentor, Carl was a co-captain, and Bethany was the business lead.  They were a Regional Finalist at the Palmetto Regional where they also won the Gracious Professionalism Award.  They were a Regional Winner at the North Carolina Regional where they also won the Engineering Inspiration Award and the Industrial Safety Award.  They qualified and competed at the Championships in St. Louis where they did not win anything but had a great time.  While in St. Louis, we also went up the Gateway Arch and toured the Anheuser-Busch Brewery.  Miriam has now joined the team, and Bethany has become a co-captain.

This summer was Miriam’s turn to go to Philmont  Scout Ranch with her Dad.  We first flew to Denver to spend a few days in the Colorado Springs area getting used to the higher altitude.  While there we enjoyed the Air Force Academy, the Garden of the Gods, going up the incline railway to Pikes Peak and biking down, the Cliff Dwellings Museum, and white water rafting on the Arkansas River.  Our 12 day trek at Philmont covered around 88 miles with the peak being climbing Baldy Mountain at 12,441 feet of elevation.  We also enjoyed climbing the Tooth of Time, throwing atlatls, spar pole climbing, shooting shot guns, and rock climbing.  Of course we also saw lots a great views along with wild flowers and animals.

In addition to joining the Hitchhikers and going to Philmont, Miriam has been very active in dance.  She is part of the dance studio’s company and danced the part of Aurora in her studio’s Sleeping Beauty recital in which she danced her first pas de deux.  Miriam also joined Venturing this year and serves as Quartermaster for the Crew.  She is a high school freshman this year.

Along with robotics, Bethany has been very active in Venturing this year serving as Crew President in the first part of the year and now as Vice President of Administration.  She serves in the same position in our council’s Venturing Officers Association.  Bethany served on staff this summer of our council’s National Youth Leadership Training.  She has been taking classes at Durham Technical Community College and is a high school senior.

Carl once again entered C-SPAN’s StudentCam competition this year earning an honorable mention which meant he won an award at every level of the competition over the years.  Carl was a lawyer on his mock trial team earning multiple Best Attorney Awards while his team was a finalist at the Fayetteville Regional.  He graduated from high school this spring and is now a freshman at North Carolina State University where he is double majoring in Computer Science and Communications.  Carl also earned a Watson Scholarship from IBM.

Christian is now a junior at East Carolina University majoring in Computer Science.  Leslie-Jean continues to enjoy homeschooling the girls.  Dan completed his first full year at Lenovo and likes the direction things are heading.

Our family’s travel destination this year was St. Louis.  Why St. Louis?  Because that was where the FIRST Championships were.  The travel destination for Joseph and Mary for the original Christmas was Bethlehem.  Why Bethlehem?  Caesar Augustus had declared a census for all to register in their own town.  This sent Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem as we are told in Luke 2:4: “So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.”  What was the significance of Bethlehem?  It had been prophesized that the Messiah would be born there in Micah 5:2: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.”  The birth of Jesus fulfilled that prophesy.  We celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus who would go on to live among us for 33 years fulfilling many more prophecies.  He then died for our sins by being crucified on a cross.  He rose from the dead after 3 days and now reigns in Heaven.   Let us all remember at Christmas the greatest gift ever given to the world: the birth of our Savior, Jesus.  We wish you a very, merry Christmas and hope 2016 will be a blessed year for you.