Welcome to the 2008 Newsletter
for A. B. Barthle family!

---

Front cover	Inside front cover

---

From Margie:
Holiday Greetings!

'Angels We Have Heard on High - - Adeste Fideles

Tis the Season to be Jolly - - Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, - - Winter Wonderland

Silent Night - - O Come, O Come Emmanuel - - Joy to the World

Let it Snow - - Naughty or Nice? - - Star of Wonder

We Three Kings of Orient Are - - O Little Town of Bethlehem

Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer - - Deck the Halls - - O Christmas Tree

O Come, All Ye Faithful - - The First Noel - - Away in a Manger

Go Tell It on the Mountain - - White Christmas - - Silver Bells

It Came upon the Midnight Clear - - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Up on the Housetop - - Jolly Old St. Nicholas - - O Tannenbaum

What Child is This - - O Come, Little Children

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - - Hallelujah - - I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night

Twas the Night Before Christmas - - It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Gloria In Excelsis Deo - - O Holy Night - - Ave Maria

The Twelve Days of Christmas - - We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Love to All Margie



From Steve and family:
Hi everyone,

I hope that this letter finds everyone well. So hard to believe that another year has gone by. This past year has had very sad times. Mae s dad passed away in the hospital on April 25. After many years of declining health from a severe stroke in 1991 last December he fell and broke 5 ribs. Mae stayed at her parents house 24/7 taking care of him and was like a home nurse to her parents. Her dad was a retired police officer from Paterson N.J. with 30 years of service. He also was in the army corp of engineers in WWII and was involved in the invasion of Normandy on d-day. He had some great stories. He will be greatly missed, but we have some relief that he is not suffering anymore. We would like to thank this wonderful family for coming together and showing great support to Mae and her family in their time of need. Now on to happier news after a long 31 year career of fire fighting and emergency medical services, Steve has retired! His official retirement date was December 21, 2007. He was forced to retire a little sooner than he had planned because of anti-seizure medication he takes due to 1 seizure he had when he was quite ill and dehydrated. But this prevents him from being a firefighter. He has not had any more problems and is probably healthier now than when he was working. He does miss some of it, but not a lot. Steve is still involved with the boy scouts but not as much as he used to be. He stays as busy as he wants, working around the house and yard. He stays at his moms several days a month doing different things, from chainsaw work to house repairs and yard work and painting. It is so nice that we come from a family who believes in helping each other, just like a family should. Steve and Mae try to take a mini vacation once a month, mostly staying in the central Florida area not too far from home. (We don t have the traveling experience yet like Dan and Barbara but God willing, we hope to). Mae stays at her moms from time to time to help with household chores, shopping, Dr. Appointments etc. They also found out there were several severe sinkholes under the house. Mae has spent the last 5 to 6 months working with the insurance company to have the sinkholes filled in and the damages to the house and pool repaired. She has learned a LOT about that process. Chris is doing very well. He is going to PHCC full time and hopes to graduate in December of 2009. He is going for an associate in the arts degree majoring in business management. He then plans to transfer to USF and continue his education there. In June he was hired as a seasonal employee with Busch Gardens working back stage as a technician for the show Katonga and also Howl-O-Scream. In November, he was promoted to a full time position which guarantees him 40 hours a week, plus benefits such as overtime, holiday pay, paid vacation, sick time, health and dental insurance plus a pension! He is thrilled! We are very proud of him. He has his own apartment in Tampa close to Busch Gardens and only a few minutes from Mary Beth s house. Lori (Mae s daughter) works for a company teaching others how to make specialty cakes, she works out of the Michael s store on Bruce B Downs. She schedules her own classes so she can set the time and the days she wants to work. She hopes open her own business making cakes for different occasions, especially wedding cakes. If anyone is in need of a cake, give her a call at (813) 469-4123 she does beautiful work! She and Dan have set a wedding date for July 11, 2009 we are so happy for them. Spencer (Lori s son) will be graduating high school in May and plans to attend PHCC and hopes to continue on to become a dentist. He and several of his friends with the help from a teacher have been working on an interesting project. They are building fiberglass beach buggies out of VW beetles. They are completely rebuilding the bodies and engines, everything! They have quite a few big name sponsors, such as Best Buy, Advanced auto parts, AmsOil, Goodyear, PaPa Johns, K C lights, JC Whitney, Suncoast Race Cars, Gene Burg and Empi. They should be road worthy in the next few weeks. It s very exciting! If you want to see their progress go to www.vwhypermiling.com. Well that s about it. We hope that everyone has a very happy holiday, a prosperous and healthy new year.
Love Steve, Mae, Chris, Lori and Spencer



From Renee and family:
Greetings to all:

The fair came & went. Clark has fulfilled his obligation to the Board as General Manager. He remains on the Board of Directors but has once again allowed someone else to assume the General Manager s responsibilities.

I received another promotion in February; I now have the responsibilities of supervising several co-workers and overseeing the IT Help Desk team for Pasco County BCC.

Business continues to remain steady in spite of the economy. Thank goodness fuel prices have gone down.

Allen & Jessica blessed us with a beautiful granddaughter. Emma Katherine was born on May 10th. Because they live so close, we are able to spend lots of time with them.

Jessica & Allen's best friends, Ashley & Matt, also had a beautiful little girl, Lyla Grace, two weeks later on May 24th.

They all joined us at Lake Weir in June, which was a really good week. Unfortunately, because of the business and my work schedule this was the only chance we were able to get away.

Clark & I both volunteered again this year at the Pasco Bug Jam which is held at the Pasco County Fairgrounds. This is the second largest VW show in the US. All proceeds are distributed to several non-project organizations including All Children's Hospital.

We celebrated Thanksgiving at Mary Beth's house on Wednesday night and then again at mom's house on Thursday with most of our family in attendance. It was really nice having all of our family at one dinner or the other. We are very thankful for my entire family.

We wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Joyful New Year!

Lots of Love to all,

Clark & Renee


From Jessica

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Gaskin Family


From Joan:

Greetings,

Just want to say hi to everyone. Nothing has changed with me this year except I'm a year older....and meaner. (Just ask Sam.)

Lost another loved one this year. Too many trips to the funeral home, but I guess that is too be expected as you get older. My sister Helen's husband died of brain cancer in September. (She died last year). He was a good man and is really missed by many people. I always thought he was more of a brother to me than my own brothers.

Hope everyone has a blessed Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year.

Love to all,

Joan

P.S. I'll be 70 years old next summer. Aren't I supposed to be getting great-grandchildren?


From Lisa and family:

Greetings,

May the Lord bless you all richly. We are all well up here in the cold country. It has really been getting cold these past few weeks in NH. Actually it is making me a little nervous about the winter that may be on the way. We had a doozy last year; we don't want another one like that for a while.

Not much has changed for us this past year although we did lose Uncle Toncy on my Mom's side of the family. He was diagnosed with brain cancer early in the spring which was just a hand full of months after his wife Helen died. He passed on at the end of the summer. We were able to visit him right after the family reunion this year in Florida. (The reunion was wonderful by the way, thanks again Herman and Monica. The quilt was fabulous as well; I had no doubts that it would be.) It was good to be able to visit with Uncle Toncy although it was tough to see him struggling. He has always treated me like I was one of his own and I will miss him very much. I am so thankful that I know we will meet again.

Becca is a junior this year. Last spring she taught 3 saxophone classes at an elementary and middle school close to her campus. She taught 4th and 5th graders and her classes varied from 4 - 15 students. She really loved it. She is living at home and commutes to school 5 days a week. She quit working at Target last January and now earns money by babysitting and teaching piano. By the way, her mother is still trying to come to grips with losing that Target discount. Kidding aside we are very proud of her.

Katie moved up to a level 6 in gymnastics this year. Last spring she scored a couple of medals that she is very proud of, the first was 4th place on the balance beam at the YMCA League Championships and the second was 7th place on the uneven bars at the YMCA Tri-State Meet. Her school work has increased significantly this year. She still manages to do very well in both gymnastics and school. We of course are very proud of her as well.

Jazzy continues to be a big part of our family and I did several classes with her last year. She absolutely went crazy with agility training. The teacher was amazed that Jazzy was doing almost everything without fear at the first class. She ran from one obstacle to the next for an entire hour. No one bothered to tell me when I signed up that I would actually be taking the most strenuous aerobics class of my lifetime. Who knew? We both loved it!

May you all have a wonderful Christmas and Holiday Season. May God Bless You All Throughout The New Year.

Much love always,

Lisa, Alan, Becca & Katie


From Teresa and family:
Greetings from Plant City,

I hope everyone is happy, healthy and having a great holiday season. Just a short note to say hello, and to let everyone know what we are up to. I'm still at Fred's Restaurant in Plant City, and am also still keeping the books for my friend's real estate company on my days off. My dog Kita is still as wonderful as ever. My brother Sam enjoys bringing her treats and getting her to do tricks when he comes over. This year I acquired a sport car, a bass boat, and a lawn tractor. I figured that now, surely, I'd be a good catch for someone, but then realized I was missing that one vital piece of equipment -- the must have, large screen TV- oh well! So close, and yet, so far. This Spring I flew out to Las Vegas to pick up my Toyota MR2 Spyder - drove Route 66, saw the Grand Canyon, crossed New Mexico and got tumble weeded, drove through snow flurries and dust storms, etc. Somehow I just never imagined having to pull over and stop because of zero visibility due to snow... in ARIZONA! Sam and I had a great time out on the pond in my boat one day, but when we went to pull it out we realized it was a LOT easier to put in than get out. Fortunately, my new lawn tractor had just been delivered that day. Suddenly Sam looks up and says get the tractor, this is just what it's made for. It was a piece of cake. I love my tractor.

Jessica is no longer in St Pete, or working for her friend at the skate parks. She moved to Dover (about 20 minutes away) and now enjoys working for a company who sets up appointments for victims in class action suits. It's low stress because she isn't selling anything, just making appointments for someone to come out and re-roof or re-side their home. Evidently she's pretty good at it, since she's second on her team. She's busy with work and her boyfriend Jay, so I treasure the infrequent visits, and precious little time I get with her. She sends her love to all of you.

Caleb moved from Alpharetta to Cumming (about 15 minutes away), and is still doing the directional boring. However, he is now with another company based out of Atlanta. He never goes any farther than forty-five minutes away, which he loves because he can go home every night. Before, he was gone three or four weeks at a time. Now he has time for his friends and his dog. The long transition period took its toll financially, but it seems he is getting a foot under him now. It is always a pick-me-up when he calls and we have a good long conversation. To all of you he says "hello".

I don't know about all of you, but I've decided with everything getting worse and worse, I'm going on a boycott. I'm boycotting time. I just know this year was missing quite a few days. There is no way there were more than five full months at most. I'm not sure how it's done, but we are not getting our fair share of time. With all the hours and days being plucked from each month, there's just not enough time for all the really important things we need to do. Family and friends should come first, but they seem to be last on the list. We have to go to work. We have to sleep, eat, bathe, etc. Think of all the time we spend in traffic, or waiting - waiting on hold, waiting in line, waiting for service. (Why can't that time be plucked out of the schedule?) By the time we finish taking care of the have-tos there isn't time enough left for life. Just as the grocers have downsized there packaging in deceptive ways to maintain the current prices, I suspect we are receiving smaller quantity and lower quality of time, only it appears as the same twenty-four seven that we've always gotten. So, here's what I think we should do. Don't use anymore time. Keep on using the same time you have now -- the same minute over and over. Only don't start this until you are with family and friends, doing something you've really wanted to do and can't get around to. Maybe if enough of us stand together in this we can make a difference. Just maybe the message will be loud enough and we'll start getting our full measure of time. Who knows, with the backlog of time piling up, we just might get thirty percent more free in order to avoid all the storage costs on all that time. People will be able to visit with one another more often and for longer periods of time. We could all go through life at a slower pace and enjoy all the little things along the way, like people used to when they got time in the large size economy packages. What'd'ya say? Should we give it a go?

Love you all, and wish you a Merry Christmas,

Teresa, Jessica and Caleb


From Mike and family:

Hello Everyone,

HO HO HO! HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL!

I don't remember what we have been doing. Oops, we must be getting too young?! Oh, I mean we are getting too old.! Ha Ha!!

We went to Arizona last April to hang out with our friends. We stayed at a timeshare in Tucson. We also visited the foothills of the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson and travelled to Mt. Lemmon. It was sad because there was a huge fire there that devastated the area several years ago. They have built many new beautiful cabin homes there now. It was so amazingly cold up there at almost 9000 feet but when we went back to Tucson it was really hot. We also went to Old White Church that belongs to an Indian reservation. Only Indian people can buy land or live there. We also went to Bisbee which was about 1 hour and 45 minutes away. It is a very small ghost town. We stayed at a hotel that was made in 1929. Jennifer and Lily heard someone playing music, so they prayed for the ghost to leave. They believed that a ghost or spirit was there for about 10 minutes. Sandra & I didn't hear a thing! Smile!!! : )

On another trip we visited a hotel where John Wayne made several movies and we were able to see his room. It was very cool! What a great experience and a good time too.

Love to you all,

Mike, Sandra, Jennifer and Lily


From Melinda and family:

Hello Everyone!

Last March we went to Concord, NC for Jimmy's niece Sara's wedding. It was such a beautiful wedding. It was good to see his relatives and chatting with them. Warren met his cousins from Young s family side. Also there was unexpected very cold weather.

Then a few weeks later Jimmy's Aunt Carolyn passed away. We dearly miss her. She was his last aunt.

Warren is involved in baseball in three different leagues this year (Spring time, Summer time and Fall time). He usually plays different positions as 2nd base, 3rd base, short stop and pitcher.

He played prospect (Winning Inning) in spring time, his team played against different high schools from 9th grade and 10th grade.

He played RBI sponsored by Tampa Bay Rays in the summer time.

He played the 14-15 years old team (Winning Inning) in fall league. There were tryouts and they were selecting only 14 players out of 43. Warren made it. He was the best assist to make a double play. Surprisingly, he made starting pitcher in a few games.

He is really looking forward to playing his High School team next spring.

Jimmy and I are doing well. We still work under Federal.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! Love from us,

Melinda, Jimmy and Warren


From Bonnie and family:

Hello everyone,

We've had another busy year. Samson was back at baseball at the beginning of the year. Rachael finished up the 4h program with her horse Pie and competed in the Key hole event at a horse show. Just as soon as the water is warm enough we are always out on the boat, tubes and skis. Oh yeah you know we did another cane boil again, a New Year's tradition. Samson and Sam completed Scuba Diving certification in the spring. Then Samson and Mike went to Boyton Beach for a lobster dive in July. In June everyone got together to take a 3 hour tube trip down Itchutucknee Springs. We camped out in tents at Mike's aunt's house for the weekend, excellent time. At the end of August God led us and two other couples to start a church called "GOD'S CHURCH Back to the word ministries" almost immediately we received 30 chairs and 30 hymnals, two pianos, then God provided a triple wide mobile home that was already opened up inside to seat 50 people on two acres perfectly located on a major highway in Polk City. Both Rachael and Samson are now in high school and they both joined the swim team and did quite superb for a first year school and their first year swimming competitively. The coach said that when Samson grows into his hands and feet he might be another Michael Phelps. After all these years on the farm and all the animals butchered we finally butchered our first cow almost 450 pounds of beef. We are both still working at the Post office. Mike is still doing farrier work. Thanksgiving was really a relaxing time to remember that this nation was built on the freedom to worship God of the bible. Christmas brings the church Parade which we will be passing out small loaves of bread with messages of the word of God saying The Bread of Life is Jesus. Also a progressive dinner as well as we will be taking Bonnie's Children Church class Christmas Caroling to bring joy unto others. Mike and his friend Pete have been setting trout lines out catching catfish. We just picked up new chicks for replacement egg layers in the spring. We are preparing to do another Cane boil coming New Year's. Most important is that we are spending more time praying for this nation and all those who do not know Christ as their personal saviour. For this truly is the time of Harvest and many will come to know Him through our prayers and the sharing of God's Word so that He may draw all unto Him. Hope everyone has a blessed Christmas and prosperous 2009 and encourage everyone to know Jesus has all the answers. May God Bless you all-ways.

Psalms 46.10 Be still, and know that I am God;

All we need in life is to hear God and know Him.

Love always: Michael, Bonnie, Rachael, Samson


From Sam:

Merry Christmas Everyone

The Lord is good. Before 2004 I thought hurricanes were exciting, I no longer feel that way about them. I guess it was the whole tree through the roof thing that ruined hurricanes for me. Never the less the Lord is good. Looking back I can see how the Lord used the hurricane (via insurance) to repair and replace and even improve much of Mom's house. One benefit is lots of free fire wood. Mom and I really enjoy having a fire in the fireplace. We particularly enjoy the smell and sound of good fire. Last summer our next door neighbor had a tree removed, we scored plenty of firewood. This year our neighbor across the street removed a tree, you guessed it, more fire wood. I just want to say the Lord is always here with us even in the small things. I am still at Publix almost 15 years now, good industry to be in right now. Kyle just turned 17, he got a car in August, but he does not enjoy driving. "Teenage boy doesn't want to drive" Sounds like one of the headlines from the National Enquirer. He is doing well in school, and he is hoping to go to Japan as a foreign exchange student. Andy ( 6 ) is a real treat, it is hard not to smile when I think about him. He loves to ride the motorcycle with me. This summer he was constantly thinking of things we needed from the store, just so he could go for a ride. He also is doing very well in school. I am honored to be their dad. May the Lord bless you and reveal more of Himself to you.

Love Sam


From Fred and family:

Hello and much love from the Fred Clan!!

Once again, I am late on getting this to Lisa. So by the time you read this, it will have been written by me less than 48 hours ago. Even if you read this in . like .. March, still only written 48 hours ago. Hope everyone had a great year. We had some cool things happen.

Our daughter Jenna, made straight A's in her 7th grade year and was asked to join the Junior Honor Society. (Wow, I never knew such a thing existed when I went to school.) Or maybe I just wasn't invited. Probably the latter. Now in her 8th grade year she is an anchor for the school news broadcast. She also plays the violin, and plays travel softball. (When will this girl get a driver's license for crying out loud?) This girl came from God, not me! We are so very proud!

Kenny is now in his sophomore year and is smarter than his daddy already. (didn't take him long). He plays JV baseball and has several honors classes. (Again, those classes weren't offered to me when I was in school.) He is almost as tall as I am and about 95 years away from being able to kick my butt. (I hope!) He got his restricted license in August and is really a neat kid. In fact, this past summer he made All Stars for his spring league. During the district tournament he played catcher throughout the whole tournament with a fractured wrist. His catching wrist. He's one amazing kid. A great son, and a real fun young man to hang around with. He keeps me laughing.

Kevin is doing great since his surgery a few years ago and is growing like a weed. He is in his last year of elementary school and is winning many awards in his P.E. class. He is very athletic. He has come in the top 5 in the county wide Red Ribbon Run in each of the last three years. This is a county wide drug awareness race. He also made All Stars this year in baseball. I was fortunate enough to be the manager of his team, and we hosted the State Tournament in Lakeland. This was a very special tournament for him and myself, for we had a lot of family in attendance. Lisa and Alan, Teresa, Mike, Sam and Mom were sitting outside of left field when Kevin went yard over the center field fence. WOW! What a shot!! You have never seen Sam run so fast after a ball. In fact, if the Olympics Committee had seen Sam run, Usain Bolt wouldn t have won the gold medal. Two days later, same tournament, same fans in left field, Kevin went yard again. Two in one tournament. The boy needed a lawnmower with all that yard. He also plays for a travel ball team called the Rampage. He is so full of energy it makes me want to take a nap. We are so proud of him. He is very witty and fun to hang around with.

As for my wife and myself, we still work at the City of Lakeland. (when we have time.) Not much has changed with us except our kid's schedules. We recently bought a new house. Well it isn't new, but it's new to us. So I guess the only thing that changed about us is our address. which is 5204 Grand Blvd, Lakeland FL, 33812. Same phone numbers.. Same email.

Love you all lots Fred's Clan!!


From Mike and family:

Merry Christmas to all!

2008 has been another good, but hectic year for us. Caroline is now in her second year at the University of Virginia. She spent part of the summer in a Spanish program in Costa Rica and is interested in both Spanish and History. We have enjoyed having her in-state, and have been able to visit with her in Charlottesville.

Sarah has now graduated from Harvard and begun her career life at the CDC in Atlanta. She is working on some domestic health projects and is really enjoying her work. It has been fun to visit Atlanta and help her get set up there. We even managed to take in a Braves game one Saturday (with Ben & Cinda, and Bernie & Jennifer, and Matthew and Nathaniel).

Nancy is still teaching three year olds and holding down the home base for the rest of us world travellers. I am still in shipbuilding, with responsibility for all of Northrop Grumman's shipyards. In addition to the yard in Newport News, we also have major facilities in Mississippi and Louisiana. I spend a lot of time on the road but usually manage to get home on the weekends.

We were happy to make it to the reunion this year and really enjoyed seeing everybody. If you ever get up our way please stop in. We'd love to see you.

Caroline and Sarah,
Nancy and Mike


From Bernie and family:

Last year was busy, but this year has been a blur. Work and kids activities make schedules obsolete before they are even written.

Nathaniel's baseball career continued this spring, when he led his spring baseball team in on-base average. His team won the league championship, thanks in part to his dramatic, game tying hit in the bottom of the last inning in the final game. In swimming, he qualified for the County swim meet in the 100-meter freestyle, in addition to his relay team. Fall means football, where he started as both tight end and defensive end. The football team made it to the semifinals of the league playoffs before losing a heartbreaker.

Now in the 7th grade, he has added the electric bass to his repertoire. He was invited to participate this fall in the county-wide Tapestry Orchestra as he continues developing his double-bass skills.

Matthew's music has moved to a new level. His band, 'Goreilla' has developed quite a following locally. He writes all of the music and still plays lead guitar. He has taken hold of the marketing aspect of his band and created a very dynamic webpage on MySpace where several of his band's songs can be heard. Also, he orchestrated a t-shirt design and band merchandise is now offered for online purchasing. Jennifer and Michael Davidson both purchased a 'Goreill' t-shirt. As a result, the band's reach has expanded all the way to Hawaii! During the spring, Matthew went through rigorous lifeguard training to prepare for his summer job as a full-time lifeguard at our community pool. This position offered many perks including a new understanding of responsibility and the ability to purchase more guitar gear!

Jennifer and Bernie continue to enter 5k runs every month. Jennifer managed quite an impressive streak of 5 first-place finishes in a row. For the year, she had 6 firsts and two seconds. She ran the Peachtree again this summer. Bernie finished second once and third once.

Jennifer's career took a not-entirely unexpected turn in November when Newland Communities announced their most recent layoffs. But her sterling reputation and extensive industry network connections quickly led to her to Crown Communities to be their Marketing Manager. The job was literally created for her, once they realized the wealth of experience, skill and knowledge that she brings to their operation.

Along with our individual accomplishments, we we're able to get away as a family to Destin for Spring Break and to Mike and Nancy's Lake Gaston retreat for the Labor Day weekend. Bernie traveled to Naples for Susie and Redd's wedding and then up to Monica s for the Barthle Reunion. We also took time from our frenetic schedules to welcome Mike and Nancy on one of their visits to our favorite new Atlantan, Sarah. We even managed to cross paths with our other favorite Atlantans, Cinda and Ben, several times throughout the year.

We are very grateful for the past year of accomplishments, successes and friendships. As a family we look forward to all that 2009 will bring. We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2009! Bernie, Jennifer, Matthew and Nathaniel


From Tim and family:

Debbie has a new job this year. Just before school started in the fall, Nicholas' teacher at Countryside Montessori Elementary suggested that Debbie apply for a vacant teaching position. With Debbie's degree and certification in teaching, she is very qualified, and was quickly offered the position. Now Debbie teaches first and second graders a couple doors down from Nicholas' classroom.

Nicholas has joined the Cub Scouts. He recently earned his Bobcat patch as a member of the Wolf Den, Florida Pack 33. We are looking forward to his first camping trip in January with the pack.

Another addition to our home: Nicholas has been wanting a cat for a long time. Debbie and I told him that IF we got a cat, it would have to be either a Persian or Himalayan that was already housebroken, declawed, good with children and other pets, etc. There was a fairly long list of criteria. One day while shopping for dog supplies, the pet store was doing cat adoptions and we saw a cat that met ALL of the list we had made. We even were able to meet the foster family and discuss the cat's history. And so we brought home "Mister Mittens".


From Susie and family:

What a year of miracles for the Davidson's or is it the Hobby's now?? It began with us apart as I continued my tour in Kuwait, the kids at home in Hawaii and Redding in Illinois. And now it is ending with all of us together for the holidays! Our miracles for the year started early as Jennifer and Michael were confirmed in the Catholic Church, sponsored by the Richardsons. Then, as I was preparing to return, Redding had emergency surgery for a detached retina. The recovery for this is normally 5-8 weeks, during which you are not allowed to fly. Redding recovered in a little over 3, enabling him to be in Hawaii for my return on 7 May. The next miracle was Michael passing 8th Grade!! St Rita had her hands full with that one! Never a problem with his abilities, only with his desire to do homework while mom was deployed. Then we were so very blessed to have a wonderful wedding ceremony in Naples on the 4th of July, joined by so many of the family! Even Brian made the trip from OEF, guess he wanted to see who really had the nerve to marry his sister, but whatever his reasoning, I can't express how much it meant to have him and everyone else there. Then onto the reunion where we are reminded how truly blessed we all are to have each other! Then the miracle of Redding getting the job at MacDill happened in August when he was selected to a Senior Executive Service (one star equivalent) Department of the Air Force position. I'm still finding it difficult to accept that I'm married to an Air Force officer, but since he is a retired Army officer, I guess it's okay. Through the fall Redding and I have been traveling quite a bit and fortunately our career fields send us to the same conferences so we have been able to spend lots of time together. Redding traveled to Hawaii to escort Jennifer to the father daughter dance the first weekend of November and then returned for Thanksgiving. We can't wait for his return again at Christmas. Redding is stationed at MacDill AFB and living in the house on St. Joe Rd. Although he isn't spending much time there as his job has him traveling almost as much as I do. He spends every weekend he is home with his father in Naples (his mother arrived in Heaven in August of this year). Jennifer is the president of her high school chorus this year and keeping herself very busy with that and all her school work. She is teaching 5th grade CCD, is the head usher at church and is very active in the Catholic youth group. She will get her driver s license in the next few weeks and we got her a car (1999 5-speed Mazda Protege) which she has named "Marvette" and even has one of those male hula dolls on the dashboard which she has named "Marvin". Michael made the bowling team this year and really did great. He improved by an average of about 45 points and really had fun! He tried out for the HS soccer team, but since they don't have a JV team, there were too many returnees for him to get a slot. But the coach really wants him next year! He is loving his photography class and still skateboards whenever he can. He and Jennifer are enjoying traveling to the Northshore early on Saturday mornings to jump off the big rock into the bay and to swim with the turtles. They are loving their time in Hawaii. I am staying as busy as ever, traveling way more than I care to! I have been to Japan, Korea and have made multiple trips back to the mainland. I travel about a week every month. I will change command Summer 09, and will therefore change jobs, although I have no idea where I'll be heading. As soon as I find out, I'll be sure to let you all know! We are looking forward to 2009, it promises to hold more blessings for our family. A special shout out to Brian: "THANKS" so very much for all you are doing for our great nation, and please thank all those you serve with as well! Vicki and the boys, you have all our love and admiration for your support to him while he is deployed. Please keep all our troops in your prayers this holiday season and know that we love you all and our prayers are with each of you as well! Happy Holidays! Mele Kalikimaka! Love, Redding, Susie, Jennifer and Michael


From Dean and family:

Dear Family,

As the days get shorter and the weather turns cold, it's time once again for the update from the north-coast. As is becoming more and more common, it's hard to believe that a year has already passed. Where did the time go?

Our year was highlighted with our trip this summer to Florida to attend Sue & Redd's wedding on July 4th. What a wonderful ceremony and a great way to celebrate our Nation's birthday! That night we watched the fireworks on the beach in Naples. We then drove up to San Antonio in time for the Barthle reunion on the 5th. It's always great to see everyone and this was no exception! From there, we drove over to Orlando to spend a week at DisneyWorld. We had a wonderful time!

My work at NASA continues. I'm still working on the propulsion system for the Orion project (the shuttle replacement), leading the test & verification efforts. This year that also meant that I was to build up a test facility from scratch. I was able to take over posession of the rooms, guide the refurbishment and build up the first test articles all inside of 6 months. I also recently started working on the propulsion system of the next lunar lander, named Altair. But now with budgets tightening, it's not clear what our focus will be over the next couple years. I expect the new administration will have a say or two about what we end up focusing on. I am still on the Diocesan Pastoral Council, this year being elected to the Executive Committee. I also finished up work on the committee rewriting the parish council guidelines which will go out next year to all the parishes.

Anne's year started out much as the last several. She worked diligently on the school fundraiser. This year she led the sponsorship committee and raised $27,000 for the school along with coordinating the raffle baskets for both Tony's and Carrie's classes. She was then asked to take over as the secretary in the auxiliary unit of the school. The auxiliary unit is funded by the state and city and handles all special-needs education programs. So, after 10 years of being out of the rat-race, Anne decided to go back to work. The job is exactly what she was looking for in that she is still able to be home with the kids before and after school. Although she's now working again, she still finds time to do her stamping.

Tony started 5th grade in August. He, like his mom, is a voracious reader! His favorite books are the Ranger's Apprentice series, the Warriors series and just about everything Star Wars! He continues with the clarinet and is performing a solo in this year's Christmas concert. He is now starting his second year of CYO basketball and learning the spread offense.

Carrie started 1st grade in August and turned 7 just a month ago. Where does the time go? She is also picking up her mother's love of reading. She's finished a half dozen "Magic Treehouse" books and can read them in just a little over an hour. She is an incredible swimmer, taking lessons at the local Y. Her teacher wants her to join the swim-team and has promoted her up into the advanced class well ahead of her age. She also is taking gymnastics with her cousin, but swimming is her first love.

That pretty much sums up our year. As always, we send our best to everyone and pray that the new year is filled with joys and blessings too numerous to count!

Dean, Anne, Tony & Carrie Petters


From Brian and family:

Merry Christmas to everyone from the AL branch. Hope this holy season finds everyone healthy and happy.

Thank you all for your support of Brian in his time overseas. It has meant the world to him and to us. We are only getting by on the prayers of many people including you.

We enjoyed Brian's mid-tour vacation, spent at home, at the Barthle reunion and Susie's wedding. He was thrilled to surprise everyone. Thank you for the beautiful quilt you made for him.

He is doing well. We have been talking on the phone twice a week, and e-mailing frequently. He is due to come home around the middle of March.

This has been a year of milestones for the boys. Leo crossed over into Boy Scouts in March, and went to his first week-long summer camp. Henry made his First Communion in April, and started altar serving in November. John went to Washington, D. C. for a leadership conference in June, and got his driver's license in July. Ben got his driver s permit the same day. John also completed his project for Eagle Scout, with some paperwork still left to be done. He will be receiving his Eagle Rank next year after Brian returns.

John and Ben both made A-B Honor Roll again this year, and continued in the band.

Henry and Leo made Honor Roll too, getting the highest grades in their respective classes! They continue with piano lessons.

Thank you, Cinda and Ben, for hosting us twice this year. We really enjoyed our visits with you, and look forward to many more. We also went to Baton Rouge in July and for Thanksgiving, and are going for Christmas.

We are thankful for many things, among them good health, loving family, faith and freedom. We wish all of you God's blessings this Christmas!

For Brian

Vicki, John, Ben, Leo and Henry


From Connie and Thom:

Season's Greetings from the heart of Land O Lakes, FL., we made it through another year. Thinking back yesterday was the anniversary of moving into this house, (Dec. 3, 1978), that is Thirty Years.

Chris graduated from St. Leo College in June, and has gotten hired by them to do pretty much what he was doing while he was attending classes. Congratulations Chris!!

We are still dog sitting 2 of (Joe and Amy's) Jack Russell's (Tyson and Snoopy). I hear they will be getting their fence in their back yard soon. Then they will be going back to their home. We'll miss them.

This past year has gone by rather quickly, not to much to talk about, I'm still doing the Bible Study thing, with friends on Thursday midmorning. We are doing the Scott Hahn & Jeff Cavins "Our Fathers Plan" (A bible study of Salvation History.) We have added another person to our group. Now we are five.

Also still working part-time with Lanny, I was working out of the house, but this year Lanny decided he needed an Office on the Nursery property. So we set up a small office, and I'm there between 10:00 AM an 2:00 PM, usually I stay later, as I'm in the middle of something for him. I am off on Thursday's (for the bible study and to take care of my errors and etc.)

He has had a rough year, he was diagnosed with throat cancer in early October and will be taking radiation treatments, five days a week through the end of the year. He was scheduled for 35 radiation treatments and 3 Chemo treatments. About the time he was diagnosed, his wife had a reoccurrence of cancer too. She was treated with 4 Chemo treatments; she has completed her treatments, now she has to go back to the doctor in three months. We are still doing some Landscape work, most of the work we are doing now is Landscape cleanup and trimming shrubs, and fixing sprinkler systems & etc.

I replaced a portion of my floor, I'd put down Pergo flooring in 2000, this year after several plumbing problems, the floor had gotten wet so much it was curling, so I put in ceramic tile in the bathrooms, dining room and an area of the living room. This tile is easy to keep clean, not a big worry for water damage should I have another issue with water, like in the past. Also I had a corner of the garage enclosed and made a closet to store my appliances, serving dishes and all kinds of things in there, it is a room full of shelves, shelves, and more shelves. I love "the Room" as I call it. (it sure freed up the cabinets in the kitchen.)

Health wise this year has been a fairly good one no new issues for me, just getting old. Thank God.

Hello again everyone, Thom here with just a few things. This year I have gotten my A+ certification, though I seem to have hit a bit of a brick wall in Network +. Not about to give up, for the past month and a half I have been actively looking for a new job. As usual on my end not much of note has occurred, my love and happiest wishes to you all throughout the holidays. And I pray we enjoy an even happier New Year.

In conclusion, I too want to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and Happy and safe New Year!


From Mary and family:

Happy Holidays to all and hope everyone is doing fine. And Have a Blessed year to come.

We have had some what of a quite year if you can call it that..

A great Big thank you to Aunt Monica & Herman for the place and time to for us all to come and meet as family this year it was great to see so many of you that came...

And of A thank You to the man that puts this together for us to read every year...

Lets See Chris Graduated Collage and is now working and to beat all at St. Leo where he went to school, so that is cool.

Tiffany is in 10th grade and having a few problems with school but we are working on them. And she is in Drivers Ed. Oh no Look out another one on the road...

Joe well lets start with he was doing good then got laid off with about alot of other people.

Then rehired 4 month's later to have the company bought out by some one else who down sized and then about six mounths later they got there doors closed by the banks because they couldn't pay there bills so Joe lost a job and did not get paid and lost alot of his other stuff they are still trying to get for the employees that lost it all. So He is now working at Publix and he seems to like it but not enough money and not what he likes, He wants to work in the warehouse told him hang in there sure soon as opening comes up go for it. And the Way it is around here now days we are all lucky just to have jobs the way so many company's are just closing there doors and going out of business.

We just have to be thankful to have jobs and family.

And as for me Well I am still with Publix 8 yrs, And loving it Every day and still working hard every day. Still have my migraines, but we do what we have to do.

Thanks To All

Love To All & Happy New Year to All

Mary, Joe, Chris, Tiffany


From Joe and Family:

Greetings To All!

Well, the Joe Carr family has been quite busy this year

The girls are all doing well. Amy is enrolled at PHCC majoring in Human Services. She is still working at Publix. Baylee is in the 5th grade. She is a Safety Patrol following her sister's footsteps. She is still taking dance lessons and she is in her third year of being a Girl Scout. Nichole is still living in Ohio with her mom. She is doing well in school as well.

Joe is still with Publix. He has been moved to the Collier Parkway store in Land O Lakes. I am still working for Frost Mgmt (going on 21 years). I decided that 20 years after graduating high school it was time for me to go to college. So I am enrolled at PHCC (right along with Amy) getting my AA Degree in Office Administration. It's going to take me a while to do it with working full time and Baylee still in school. But it's better late than never. The biggest news of all .Joe and I finally bought a house. We purchased a brand new house in the Palm Cove subdivision in Wesley Chapel.

Well that's about it for us. We hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year.

Love,

Joe, Amy, Amy, Nichole and Baylee Carr


From Jerry and family:

As with every year we hope this finds everyone healthy and in good holiday spirits. During these challenging times it's important to keep a good sense of humor and have a sense of well being.

The Carr household at the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008 start with us taking several family vacations to Al. for some fun Hunting and 4-wheeling, Jessica and Noah had a wonderful time.

Jessica is now a freshman in high school and is doing well with her studies. She made the high school swim team this year and went all the way to District were she preformed very well. Jessica is now playing basketball for the however has sustained an injury to her ankle that has placed her on the bench.

Noah is now in 7th grade and doing well with his studies, he will be trying out for basketball this year and will be running track. Noah participated in a chess tournament and came in 3rd., he is growing like a weed and loves to play football with the kids in the neighborhood.

Jerry continues to do electrical while waiting for the housing market to bounce back so that he can go back to being a Construction Manager (something he really loved to do.) Kelly is still working at WellCare and has just been promoted to Project Analyst. We are all looking forward to the summer so we can do some camping and hopefully enjoy our wonderful beaches.

From our house to yours we wish you a Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year. May God bless you all.

Love

Jerry, Kelly, Jessica and Noah.


From Kathy and family:

Hello All,

I hope this finds everyone happy and healthy. It was awesome to see so many of you at the reunion this summer. We have all been keeping very busy with school and work. Kelly had a hard time of it in April when he lost his best friend and his father in less than two weeks. We went to the beach in July. We usually go to Indian Rocks. The sand is very soft there. Justin is taking classes at HCC and working for his dad part time. He seems to enjoy it. Hunter grew over six inches over the summer. I couldn't believe it. He is in the 8th grade and is doing very well. Sierra is in the 4th grade and is keeping very busy with dance and Girl Scouts. I am still at St Josephs, celebrating my 5th year. It's hard to believe how fast the years go by. We wish everyone a safe and happy new year!

Love,

Kelly, Kathy, Justin, Hunter and Sierra Himes


From Dan and Barbara:

Merry Christmas to All!

Here it is almost the end of another year and Dan and I are enjoying this thing called Retirement more than ever. We seem to stay busy all the time and sometimes hard to know just where our time does go.

We began the year 2008 still in Florida visiting with family and friends and of course enjoying the warmer weather. Barbara flew back out to California in January to meet her BFF Patty in Ontario, CA to spend 3 days going to the "Road to Calfornia" Quilt Show and attend some quilting classes. They had so much fun and for those who quilt they met Eleanor Burns who is a well know quilter, designer,TV star, teacher, author and so much fun to be with!

We headed out west in April stopping by to say hello to old friends along the way. We headed north to Colorado to visit Grandson Evan and family before being tourists in Utah which we thought was a beautiful state. Arriving in Ridgecrest, CA we were able to find a place to park our "Coach" for a few months while getting our house ready for new tenants. During all the painting, landscaping, repairing and cleaning we did take time in between to have some fun visiting with all of our close friends of many years. It was wonderful spending time with everyone again and we will miss them when it's time to hit the road again. We were very fortunate to find a military family to move in and sign a 3 year lease. The weather in our high desert area of California was very hot and that spawned several fires that brought smoke and ash down to our valley. The fires were in the mountains that surround Ridgecrest on the west side and the fires destroyed some homes and many acres of forest area. Sadly, one of the areas destroyed was the Boy Scout camp where Danny's troop camped many times.

We were really excited to see Danny as he surprised us with a two week visit while we were in California working on the house. He had some down time while working in Hawaii. He is so tan and looked wonderful and it was good having him home for a while.

Before we became the traveling duo once more I flew to New York from California to stay with Nick and the girls while JR and Laurie went to the Pocono s for the NASCAR races. Dan flew in later the next week and we both held down the fort while Laurie was able to join JR in Colorado for a well needed getaway. We were happy to get a chance to spend one on one with our Grandchildren. They sure kept us hopping!!!

With the tenants all settled in we headed towards the Oregon Coast. We took our time driving and stopping in northern California to see the redwood trees. The Coastline of Oregon is truly spectacular and we sure enjoyed the sights. We visited and climbed many lighthouses which were pretty interesting. Some good friends of ours (Barb s BFF Patty and husband) from Ridgecrest were staying in Florence, Oregon fishing for salmon so we stopped and stayed for a week visiting and touring with them. On the road again we went up to Washington State. We took some passenger ferries and visited some of the San Juan Islands. Another beautiful part of the US!! We want to visit some of the other islands when we go back one day. We met with another good friend from Ridgecrest (One of Dan's Retirement Buddies, Ron) who has a boat moored in Anacortes, WA. He took us out for a day trip around the area which was a lot of fun.

When we left Washington State we stopped to visit Granddaughter Briana in Idaho for a few days. She is doing well but working two jobs and raising her little one which keeps her very busy. It was then time to head to Colorado once more and visit with Grandson Evan again before heading east.

We decided to go to Branson, MO for a few days. The Ozark Mountains were just beautiful with all the trees turning various shades of fall colors. After leaving Missouri our next stop was Vicksburg, MS. We love going to historical areas and this was no exception. The visitor's center has an area where they will look up names on their website of anyone who fought at Vicksburg. They gave us a paper that listed James Tiernan who fought under the Union army with the Iowa Regiment. We were able to find as close to the spot where his battle took place as possible. There is a marker with the Iowa 26th Regiment. James Tiernan was our Great Grandfather on Mom's side of the family. We found it to be fun and very interesting to search each Iowa marker for James Tiernan's Regiment.

Our trip would not be complete without stopping in Atlanta to spend much loved time with Cinda and Ben. We feel so blessed to share all the love and fun we have when we visit. Thank you both for everything you do to make us feel so special!

Speaking of special we also have Ralph and Paula who are special and always lovingly welcome us to park our coach in their backyard. It is so wonderful having such a warm and loving family to spend time with. We will be spending most of the winter months in Florida so we hope to get to spend time with all the family.

Early in November we drove the motor-home to Pensacola and attended the "Blue Angel "reunion. We had so much fun seeing some of the "Ole" team members and this time we were able to meet some of the current pilots upstairs in the Blue Angel Hangar. We had VIP everything and really felt like celebrities!! Speaking of reunions we were sorry we had to miss the family reunion this year but we were tied up with working on the house in California. We were also sorry we missed Susie and Reddings wedding. We did enjoy seeing several pictures of the "Very Happy Couple"!! Hope to see you guys sometime in the near future!!

Dan and I will be going to New York for Christmas this year. We wanted to spend this Christmas with our daughter Laurie, JR and the Grands. We really miss them so much as well as we miss our Son Danny and the rest of our Grandchildren. I wish it were possible to have all of our family to live closer. We are very fortunate though to be retired and healthy enough to visit a couple of times during the year. Of course we are also blessed and fortunate to live in these United States freely thanks to our Military who serve to keep us free!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

Well when I started this I thought I would keep it short and sweet, well I did try but there is so much to say!

Dan is still very happy once more as "He doesn't have to hang the Christmas lights again this year"!! We will get to enjoy the Christmas Lights and Decorations at Laurie's and JR's house more than ever knowing Nick and JR did the honors!!

Love and Hugs to All

Dan and Barbara


From Laurie and family:

H ope this finds everyone well. Sure missed seeing everyone at the reunion. I am hoping to make the next one. It would be easier to find reasons to escape NY in the Nov-Mar timeframe.

A s the year passes by so fast, it seems we have less and less time to do more and more.

P leased to have such a well mannered and handsome young man for a son. It is so hard to believe Nick is now eighteen and a senior in high school! He is taking CAD (2) at a local tech school BOCES in Goshen. He is in the morning class this year. Every other day he gets out of school at noon. He has enough credits to graduate but still has to take the required senior year classes. He spent part of his summer on a yacht called "Our Dream". His Uncle Lloyd captains yachts up and down the east coast for various owners. Lloyd asked if Nick would be interested in helping him bring this yacht from Kent Island to Nantucket. So he flew to his Uncle Larry's, who lives in Virginia, the week before he was to get on the yacht. He helped his Uncle Larry with various chores around the newly remodeled garage apartment. He then spent 4 days/nights sailing up to Nantucket. Then he flew back home. When he came home he had a lot more money in his pocket than he had when he left. He says he really had a great time, even though he did have to work.

P laying a computer game called World of Warcraft (WOW) took up the rest of Nick's summer. At the end of summer he got a part time job at a local deli. He worked there for about 1 month. The owner kept cutting everyone's hours and eventually cut employees, so Nick no longer works. He did however finally get his learners permit only after I gave him 2 days to study and then drug him down at the beginning of the summer, he passed the written test the first time, yeah! He is looking into joining the Armed Forces. So far he has met with the Army recruiter. He had an appointment with the Navy recruiter but he never showed. He will be meeting with the Air Force Recruiter as well, hopefully soon.

Y oung little girls are keeping me so busy. Rhapsody (5) started Kindergarten this year. Her first day she was so excited to go to school she did not even say goodbye or give me a kiss. She really is enjoying all her new friends. She is in the afternoon class. She gets on the bus with just Kindergarteners. On the way home she is with the rest of the elementary kids. On Mondays after school she joined the Girl Scouts as a Daisy. She is so excited to be a part of that group. On Tuesday evenings she goes to swimming lessons at the YWCA in New Windsor. On Thursday evenings she goes to Gymnastics at The Little Gym, also in New Windsor. This year Rhapsody was Harry Potter for Halloween. Her birthday party was at The Little Gym with a few of her class mates and neighborhood friends. Rhapsody really likes to play with her friends and is so good with her little sister.

N ot far behind Rhapsody you will find Samantha. Samantha looks forward to her sister going and coming home from school each day. Samantha goes to preschool on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at Stepping Stones PreSchool (the same school and teachers as last year). The first day she was so excited to go until we got ready to go to school then she cried and cried. The next time we went she cried too, so the third day I told her we were going for a ride. When we got there she started to cry but after she expressed that all she wanted was her bag with her name on it (from last year) all was good. She also goes to swimming lessons on Tuesday evenings and she is in the same gymnastics class as her sister on Thursday evenings. Tuesday and Thursdays she is worn out. For Samantha's birthday we stayed here at the house with some friends and neighbors with the water slide in the back yard. For Halloween she was Superman, not to be confused with Superwoman or Supergirl but Superman (she was very specific.)

E ven with all the activities the girls do together they still seem to play so good when we are home. I am so grateful for that! When Rhapsody is doing her homework Samantha asks to do homework too, so I find things for her to do as "homework". Both girls really like books, their beds are usually covered with books.

W orking hard as usual has paid off again for JR. This year he was promoted to Senior VP Technology (aka CTO) at Mediacom. With the promotion comes added responsibilities and a new department. So to accommodate the new department the lab in Goshen had to expand. They are all in the same building just moved upstairs from the lab. With this expansion JR now has a new office. He has done some traveling this year. He has been to several conferences across the country. So many different places it is hard to keep track.

Y eah, I was able to go with JR to KeyStone, Colorado. He had to work, so I was able to do some relaxing and visiting. I was able to visit my nephew Evan, who lives in Castle Rock and his family. JR's last trip was to Boca Raton, Florida. With JR's promotion came a stipend for a car so he finally purchased a new car. I could not have him driving around in the nine-yr-old Pontiac Grand Am as a SVP. He is getting the Acura TL with the AWD and Technology package. It should be here before Christmas. I am so excited for him, he deserves it!

E very day comes a lot of activity in the Walden household. I keep really busy with the girls, Nick, JR, and now the cats. Yes we now have two cats. I rescued them from the local human society. They were over run by cats this year. Fally and Lenny are litter brothers and are now 6 months old. Fally is the lover and Lenny is the scaredy cat.

A von has really kicked off for me this year. I am #1 in sales increase in my district, WhooHoo! I made Presidents Club again this year, now I have 3 Ms. Albee Porcelain Doll Awards. I am working on making Advanced Unit Leader. Hopefully that will come next year.

R eady to start the New Year? "Maybe" (as Nick would say). I wish everyone the best for the coming year. "MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!"


From Cinda and Ben:

Happy Holidays, everyone!

The year started with great privilege for me, being asked to share in the godparenting role for Miss Leah True, along with Jack Higgins. Thank you Rebecca and Travis for this honor. Leah was beautiful, of course, and the baptism ceremony was inspiring and lovely in every way. Then the reception following at the True's home was a fabulous event.

The same January weekend brought a surprise party from my family for my BIG birthday so much food and so much fun! Thanks to everyone for a wonderful time. Melda and Jack, your home is always so warm and beautiful! I'm truly blessed to be part of this family! We literally partied all weekend, as we celebrated Landon Higgins birthday later that same day!

We had another honor in early March, when Brian, Vicki, and the boys came to visit for a few days the week before Brian's deployment to Afghanistan. We LOVED every minute of their time with us. The boys are so much fun, each in his own way. (There are a lot of IQ points bottled up in that family! How could I keep up!) And thanks especially to Henry for my hand-loomed kitchen hot mat! Vicki, thanks also for your visit later in the summer. Please come again soon!

While our granddaughter Millie's regular babysitter was recovering from surgery, starting in March, Ben and I were thrilled to look after her three days per week for three months. During that time, we celebrated her first birthday. How fast she has grown. She has stolen our hearts. What a fun time!

Since Paula knew I had a long-time work friend, Christy Marsden (who is now retired and lives in Hilton Head, SC), Paula invited me to join her there in late May when she had a work assignment at the Wexford Club. One of the highlights of that trip was sitting on the big front porch overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, enjoying a low-country boil with Paula and the Marsdens. The Main Street Inn where we stayed was a totally beautiful and enjoyable boutique hotel. Paula, thank you so much! Thanks also for arranging multiple business trips scheduled into Atlanta this year. We love it when you can be here.

July brought more wonderful family time and a very special wedding (Susie and Redding) in Naples. The ceremony was fabulous in every way. Jennifer, Redding and Susie managed every detail so thoughtfully...the trolley shuttle...the memorial balloon releases...the sword and saber...salutes the "chicken" dancing, etc, etc...AND Brian Petters surprise appearance (from Afganistan!)...It was wonderful!!

That month, I also spent some time with Leah and Rebecca and Travis in Orlando. How incredible to see little Leah (not yet a year old) learning to swim.

Then the Barthle family reunion was again so great. Thank you Monica and Herman for hosting at Lake Jovita once again. While in Florida that trip I also got to visit with other friends, including my former ATL neighbor, Dana Bettge, who is now living in Grand Hampton (the same New Tampa community as the Higgins)...and with Charles Howell, the brother of a special high school friend who had died in Viet Nam in 1970.

Later in July, Ben and I were invited to join Bernie, Jennifer, Matthew, and Sarah Petters at the Gwinnett County Swim League's Championship swim-meet where Nathaniel had qualified to compete. Congratulations, Nathaniel! The event was held at the fabulous Georgia Tech Aquatic Center where the 1996 Olympic swimming/diving events were held.

Still later in July (busy month!), Ben and I joined Betsy (Ben's sister) and her daughter (Susan) and son-in-law (Steve) and their grandaughter (Mahala) in celebrating Bob Dickinson's (Betsy s husband) 75th birthday in Chattanooga. To kick off the event, we took a two-hour river gorge cruise along "Tennessee's Grand Canyon"(the Tennessee River...south of the city). We saw spectacular scenery and wildlife from a very state-of-the-art boat (the River Gorge Explorer... a 70-passenger high-speed catamaran).

In August, Mike and Nancy Petters came to visit Sarah, who now lives in Atlanta (yea!). They invited us and Bernie and family to join them at a Braves game...followed by pizza at Everybody's (famous ATL pizza place near Emory Univ.). It was a great, fun day (once we finally got to the stadium, that is...we got caught in a famous Atlanta traffic tie-up trying to get there... probably...the worst we've ever experienced!) Thanks so much Mike and Nancy!

In October, we were invited to Charlotte, NC, for Ryan's birthday. (How can he be five already and so grown up!) We saw his wonderful new school, Davidson Day, and also watched him play soccer with the Saturday morning youth leagues at Strikers Soccer Center. We're not tooooo proud!

Also in October, Dan and Barbara came through Atlanta on their way to winter in Florida. It is always such a treat to have them swing by our town. They came to visit us in Smyrna two days, and we went to visit them at Lake Allatoona where they were staying one of the days they were here. Thanks so much for coming!

Ben has continued his stint as the head of the neighborhood homeowners association again this year. It is nearly a full-time job looking after the community's needs, but he has a great team on the board. We enjoy our neighbors and the townhome community so much.

Thanks to everyone for a wonderful 2008!

I pray that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will give each of you his fullest blessings and his peace in your hearts and your lives. (Phil 1:2)

Ben and I send all our love and wishes for a very joy-filled Christmas and a wonderful 2009.


From Alexa and family:

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It's hard to believe it's already time for another calendar!

It's been a busy year! Ryan started "big" school this year, in a full-day Pre-Kindergarten class. His teachers are amazing and we are so happy with the school. He also participates in an after-school program called "Mad Science". They have learned about everything from how airplanes work to talking about the different parts of the body and how they work! Next semester he wants to take a cooking class one day a week!

Chris and Ryan have had a great time playing soccer together this year. Chris coaches Ryan's team, Team Frankfurt, which we nicknamed the "Hot Dogs." Ryan had a rough start, when he broke his collar bone during a practice the first season this past spring, but bounced back really quickly & loves playing!

We traveled to Colorado after Christmas last year & Ryan tried skiing for the first time. He couldn't be bothered with keeping his feet in a wedge, since that was "too slow!" I tried snowboarding for the first time and loved it! We were also fortunate to visit Mickey Mouse in Orlando a couple of times this year, as well as spending Fourth of July in New York with Chris' aunt.

We wish everyone a blessed holiday season and can't wait to see what everyone is up to!

Love, Chris, Alexa & Ryan Lupfer


From Rebecca and Jacade:

Greetings from Griffin -

I can't believe a year has passed - where exactly does the time go?

We are still living in great ol' Griffin and Jacade is trying to save Griffin. He went into business with a friend of ours and they are in the process of buying blighted property to redevelop it. He also purchased Pete's Pool Room, the oldest pool hall in Georgia, and is trying to do something with that.

Millie celebrated her 1st birthday on May 7. And now she is 19 mos old and I can't believe it. She is walking and talking and doing sign language. It's just amazing what their little minds can learn. Nana and Papa (Cinda and Ben) kept her at their house for about 12 weeks during the summer. They enjoyed it as did Millie.

And I am still working at the newspaper in Jackson. We lost our boss - he left the company to stay home with his daughter, so we are down to 5 employees. But we manage to get the paper out every week. I have also started trying to sell my photography, greeting cards and other gifts online. You can view at www.dragonflydesigns77.etsy.com.

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a promising New Year! Let's keep looking up - He will provide!

- Jacade, Rebecca, & Millie Long


From Melda and Jack:

It's December and we've gotten a reminder from Dan that it's not too late to get our contribution in for this year's newsletter. I'm like, but wait--it can t be almost Christmas again!! So, where do we start--did we do anything of interest this year?? I go to "My Pictures" to see what we've been up too. Here's what I found:

Cinda's surprise birthday celebration in January. We really got her didn't we. She even helped get ready for it and didn't even know!

In February, our dance instructor and his long-time girlfriend had a beautiful outdoor wedding in Lakeland with a ballroom dance reception. (We are still taking lessons, but have a long way to go before we could compete on Dancing with the Stars!!)

Then there are some photos of another get-together the first weekend in May just before Dan and Barbara were to head West for the summer. Another fun event. We "dreamed up" another family project and selected some fabrics for it.

In May we took a trip to Sarasota on the Harley to a motorcycle show with some friends and enjoyed lunch at a nice little restaurant amidst some 5000 bikes.

Memorial Day weekend we traveled with Rebecca, Travis' and Leah (on her first flight) to North Carolina. Travis dad has a beautiful place on a golf course in the mountains. Jack, Travis and Rebecca played a few rounds and Rebecca got her first eagle!!!

In June, with the help of Margie, Lisa, Vicki, Connie, Barbara, Cinda, Monica and Paula . . . Brian's Sudoku quilt was completed. Now, just how were we going to get it to him?

July 4th, a quick trip to a beautiful wedding and reception in Naples with Cinda. Redding, we are so happy you are in our family!! Susie, you and your family were (and are) beautiful! Thanks for including us in your special day!

Saturday, July 5th--all the real work had been done for the family reunion at Monica and Herman's--we show up for a fun day with many of you. There were some special guests, the newlyweds AND right from Afghanistan--what a wonderful surprise--Brian!! So, we were able to present him with our Sudoku puzzle quilt as little reminder to him of our appreciation for his service to our country. And thanks to Monica and Herman for hosting again!

The summer moves right along and then--a nice get-together at Monica and Herman's--oops! It is not just another get-together, it is Herman's 70th Birthday Surprise party!! Yes, he was very surprised!

It's the first of October by now and the Rays are making a much unexpected run for the ALCS title. We didn't get to any of those games, but we did go to Game 1 of the World Series in St. Pete. What a memorable event. We are so proud of our Rays--from worst to nearly first!!

Although there are no pictures on my computer of the fall politics or the bailouts--oh, wait, there is one of Sarah Palin--we attended a rally in New Port Richey just before the election.

We enjoyed Thanksgiving in Orlando and last week Rebecca invited me to her annual Central Florida Women's League holiday luncheon. Rebecca beautifully decorated a small lighted Christmas tree and donated it to their silent auction. It was a favorite--bringing in the highest bid.

There were lots of other fun things we did all year--Laney, Landon and Leah continue to brighten our lives. We are so fortunate they all live close-by. Casey joins us for our 5 a.m. walks. Rob is always so busy and travels a lot. Jack's mother is the same.

For a little trivia, our dad, August Barthle, would have been 100 years old on October 8 of this year. He was born just a week after Ford Motor Company was founded. Also, October 25th was the 145th Anniversary of our grandfather Abe Carlson's birth, just six weeks before the statue of the Indian was placed on top of the U.S. Capital building!

I'll conclude by wishing you all a wonderful and blessed Christmas season. You all are in our thoughts and prayers each and every day.

Love, Melda and Jack


From Rebecca and Travis:

Things are much the same for us again this year except we are all another year older and hopefully wiser. Leah continues to grow and learn and amaze us every day with all of her new words and activities. She's 16 months old now and running around and talking up a storm. She's been taking swimming lessons since early summer several times per week and she loves it. She also goes to the Library for story hour each week and meets her friends at the park on most days when the weather is good.

We took a few mini-vacations this year which were very enjoyable. In May, we traveled for a long weekend with my Mom and Dad to visit North Carolina. In August, we visited Travis' family at their farm in Virginia, and in October we returned to North Carolina for some fall weather and to see the leaves change.

We went to Game 1 of the World Series with my parents and Ralph and Paula. What a fun time to see the Rays make it there!

We enjoyed seeing everyone at the July reunion this year, and throughout the year at different events.

Hope everyone has a healthy, enjoyable and prosperous 2009! Love, Rebecca, Travis and Leah


From Rob and family:

2008 was another great year for our family. It started with Laney beginning a new school in January called Holy Trinity. It's hard to believe she puts on a uniform every day and heads to school just like the big kids. Also in January, Landon celebrated his second birthday. He continues to grow every second and has quite the personality. In March, Casey decided it was time for her to stop coaching girls high school basketball after another successful playoff run. Now that our kids are old enough to tell her how much they missed her while she was at games and practice, she decided the time was right to walk away from coaching. She still teaches at Academy of the Holy Names, but she is really enjoying her time extra time now with our family. In March and April, we hosted the NCAA Men's Basketball First and Second Rounds and the Women's Final Four, so our staff at the sports commission spent a lot of time getting ready for those events. I am really enjoying my job and I feel fortunate to be doing something that I love. In May, Laney turned four years old and had some of her little friends over for a party at our neighborhood pool. Casey had a great summer break with the kids and our family managed to get out to the beach for a couple of three day weekends. The fall meant the start of school again for Casey and Laney. Landon will begin a pre-K3 program in January which he is really excited about.

We have really enjoyed watching Laney and Landon learn something new each and every day over this past year. We feel blessed for both of them to have such supporting grandparents and family. We truly look forward to a great 2009. Best wishes in the New Year!

Rob, Casey, Laney, and Landon Higgins


From Monica and Herman:

Greetings to all!

This year we made several trips to Mandi's. The first was to help out after Megan was born. She is a beautiful little one with a sweet personality. I always enjoy spending time with Mandi and her family, and the time always flies by too quickly!

The second trip was for Lane's First Communion. Herman and I flew up for the weekend. Lane was very grown up! He is now training to be an altar server!

The third trip was for Megan's Baptism. Each trip was short but wonderful! Natalie is Megan's Godmother and Bill is Megan's Godfather. Natalie, Jon and Jayden drove up, and I caught a ride with them on Thursday. Bill couldn't get off work until Friday night, so he caught a flight Saturday morning. We were able to get Joe on a flight that the last leg was from Charlotte to Roanoke, on the same flight as Bill's. Bill was unaware of our plans! Joe surprised him at the airport and they were able to get seats together on the flight. Bill had a rental car, so they drove together to Mandi's. It was wonderful spending time with Joe, Bill, Nat, Jon, Jayden, Mandi, Billy, Lane, Chase and Megan! The Baptism was beautiful! Megan was baptized by Fr. Paul at Sacred Heart Church (VA). Mandi told him that she was baptized by Fr. Paul at Sacred Heart Church (FL). It was a wonderful day! Mid-afternoon it was time for Joe and Bill to head back to the airport. It was wonderful watching Joe and Bill cutting up like brothers as they headed to the rental car! Lots of wonderful shared memories from that trip!

Mandi made a quick trip to our house in late June, early July. Another quick trip, but it was wonderful to see them all.

Another thing we started this year is SASSY - Set Asides Second Saturday for Year. The original plan was to set aside time to prepare for Christmas. Shelley, Natalie and I work on whatever project, and spend time catching up. I really enjoyed spending more time with them (and the grandchildren) this year. And I did get some things done for Christmas!

We enjoyed seeing everyone that was able to come for the Reunion. What a wonderful day that turned out to be! It was great seeing so many smiling faces!

Herman has been faithfully walking and/or running nearly every weekday for over 40 years, and his health is good. This year we started eating more healthfully, and Herman dropped about 30 pounds, and increased his exercise! We estimated that Herman has walked more than 45,000 miles! He plans to start taking off work Thursday and Friday after the first of the year. He also helps with St. Vincent DePaul some weeks.

Joe and Anne took a trip to India in May. They had a wonderful time. Joe met many of Anne's relatives and made some wonderful friends among them. They also saw some wonderful sights! I'm still trying to arrange a trip to DC...

Bill graduated from USF and started working as a manager of the Sacino's at University Mall. He is working hard and doing well! Andrea is working at Baker's Shoes in Brandon. They became proud parents of Napolean, a Chinese Pug. He has quite a presence - I think he was well named!

God has been very good to us and we are thankful for His many blessings...not the least among them is the love of a wonderful family. We love you!

Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,

Herman and Monica


From Shelley and family:

2008... Wow, Another year in the books. Some things have changed and some things are the same as always in our house. I was fortunate to receive a call in February from Diversified Drilling Corporation. Their Vice President (C.W. "Bill" Musselwhite) was relocating from the Ft Myers Office to the Corporate Headquarters in Tampa. My name was recommended by several people at DDC for consideration to be his new Administrative Assistant. I was interviewed on Thursday and started on Monday. Thank You Lord!!! Since, then my title has changed to Executive Assistant and I have been elected Corporate Secretary. I love learning about the municipal side of drilling as the fundamentals of drilling are the same but the scale of work is just so much larger than what I am used to. However, I am truly enjoying the crazy pace and people that I work with.

Darrell continues to attend Pasco-Hernando Community College full time through the grace of God. We appreciate the generous support of our families, picking up kids, early morning phone calls and late night printer runs. WE LOVE YOU GUYS!!! He was never much of a student in middle or high school, which makes his election into Phi Theta Kapa this semester a real achievement. He's worked hard to earn and keep his GPA above a 3.25. Darrell - WE ARE PROUD OF YOU - Keep up the balancing act I know it's harder than it looks your doing great!!!

Luke completed his FFA hog project at the Pasco County Fair in February. He raised two Yorkshire/Hampshire cross hogs "Missy Ferguson" and "Jane Deere". "Jane" made it to the fair and did well at sale time. Luke was very pleased with his sale price as it was a tough year for motivated buyers. "Missy" has fed our family for months. He really enjoys all animals but has a definite love for those stinky old hogs. He had already bought his hogs for this year's project a Yorkshire and a Bluebutt. I have asked about names but so far only one he has got one named. "Twister" since she doesn't sit still when you try to hold her. Luke has also been working hard in school and out. He earned the A/B Honor Roll for the first time ever last semester. The San Ann Cyclery was sold to new Owners and B&B Farms (hog farm) has closed down so Luke was forced to look for a new flexible part-time job. He landed a job working for Kodie's Dad whenever he's available at the "Get U Some Hay Company" (fits Luke and Kodie's personalities - LOL). He has learned to throw and load bales, run the bailer, run the cutter and just run when the tractor catches fire (ask him the story it's actually pretty funny). He is also learning the less glorified side of life in the field; how to fix what you broke, maintain what you have, that it doesn't have to be new to get the job done and being creative is a real plus. Luke also earned his driver s license in May and is for the most part acting more mature than his age while in the driver's seat. It could be because we received a call while at the DMV on his birthday that Darrell's 18 year old cousin had just been killed in a one vehicle accident on I-75. The days that followed Kristin's death will be with us all for the rest of our lives. Luke - YOU ARE DOING A WONDERFUL JOB - Keep setting a good example for Sarah and Hunter We Love You!

Hunter is doing well in school. He has a wonderful teacher who is modern yet a little bit old school which I love. She gives the kids some autonomy but requires that they use it responsibly to be able to keep it. He is excelling and has become very motivated with his reading which I find very refreshing. He is ready to be Eight (Dec 29th) so that he can start planning his hog project for the fair next year. He is very into hunting and fishing and living up to his name even more than we expected (No you cannot wear Camo to Church has proven to be a debatable topic). He is gearing up to play little league (after hunting season of course) he even bought me a new baseball glove so I can practice more this year. He is a wonderful big brother to Sarah and has even learned that he can do a lot to be helpful. They play together and fight together and team up on others, they are quite the duo. Hunter and I redid his bedroom this year with a new paint job and rearranged furniture to give him a Sarah safety zone. Then he taught her how o climb over. LOL!!! Hunter - YOU ARE A GREAT BIG BROTHER - Keep doing your best and you will go a long way!

Sarah was miss named. We should have named her "Sassy the Dramatic One". She turned two in November and is a blessing straight from God. For a family that thought it was complete with two boys, were we sure wrong. Now we cannot image our family without her. She is sweet, sassy, shy, bold, generous, demanding and LOUD!!! Darrell swares it is proof that she's my child. You were there when I was a child, so you can back me up that I was always sweet, well mannered and quiet. Right...(Okay, I think I hear crickets chirping). So... Maybe she does get loud from me. However, I think the drama gene is double in this child. We joke that she got Natalie's and Deanna's (Darrell's sister) flare for drama. In true fits we have even been known to say "DeAtalie knock it off"!!! She has advanced to Ms Linda's class at Sacred Heart and is doing wonderfully well. Sarah - YOU ARE A SWEET GIRL - Keep up the smiles and hugs we all need them and you give the best!

The good Lord has blessed us with a wonderfully exciting hunting year in 2008. Darrell he has hunted for the whole 13 years that we have been together (Married 10 years this year... Who Knew!!!). However, he had never shot a buck. He was thrilled to take a beautiful seven point out at the Cedar Hammock (Herman's) hunting property on January 5th the last day of the general gun season. He was then invited to hunt the 2008-2009 season with a friend at the Tide Swamp Wildlife Management Area. He was able to cover his classes and escape to the North Florida woods for the first ten days where he proceeded to fill up the freezer; a gorgeous eight point on Nov 9th, a fat black hog on Nov 12th, a wonderful five point on Nov 14th. Then after he got back Papa invited him back out to Cedar Hammock on Nov 22nd and he shot a gorgeous nine point (Ask Hunter about teaching his Daddy and Papa how to count). Luke was invited to hunt with his friend Kodie Young (HC Young's son/Sylvia Young's Grandson) on Nov 8th where he harvested his first buck a wonderful six point. Which leads to today, Luke was invited by his Papa Herman out to Cedar Hammock this morning where a very excited teenager got a beautiful eight point. Even Hunter has been able to do some hunting taking a fat and sassy squirrel on Nov 9th and a second one on Nov 16th. I have hunted some but haven't been blessed just yet. Next weekend I get to go to North Florida with Darrell and friends I am so excited. I am always happy to sit out in the woods that the good Lord made by hand and enjoy his majesty. But, I wouldn't mind filling my tags either.

Last but not least we have really started to get plugged in at our Church (after only 7 years). We have a new assistant Pastor who has a true gift for getting people active. We have joined a Sunday School Class that is has been just a wonderful gift. They kids are all involved in age related groups. Luke's youth group Egami team the "Golden Gladiators" even won the Church Championship. Several of the same kids are planning to play on the same team in the "Wiffleball World Series" in January and have asked Luke to play. Hunter is really enjoying Dive Point and Sarah has just moved into her new class that goes to Dive Point Jr. The Lord has been working on us, in us and around us in ways that we could never have imaged even a year ago. We have even worked through most of the bitterness that set in after Darrell got hurt in 2006 and can now see the blessings that it brought. More time for Darrell with the kids who he barely ever got to see before and the forced opportunity of learning a new skill and starting a new career that won't be so hard on his body. In closing we are blessed immeasureably by the blessings that we have been given by our Lord; this planet his greatest art project, our lives, families, friends, and challenges as they keep us looking to him. I hope that everyone has a blessed CHRISTmas Season and is wonderfully connected is our Lord in 2009. We love you all. The Oliver's; Darrell, Shelley, Luke, Hunter, Sarah, Rascal Dog, Scout Dog, Trixie Dog, Buddy the Turtle, Twister Pig and Nameless Pig.


From Natalie and family:

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

This year has been non-stop at the Parsons' household. In January, Jayden, Sarah, Shelley and I took a long weekend and went up to surprise Mandi for her baby shower. It snowed for two day while we were there and the girls loved it...yes us included. I took three classes in the spring this year and one over the summer. At the end of the summer, I realized that I was ready to be finished with school. So in the fall I registered for four classes...I was desperate. I took Advertising, Macro Economics, Statistics and Advanced Excel...all of which I am still recovering from. I have two more classes to take in the spring and then I will graduate in May. I was accepted into Phi Theta Kappa in October. I was really excited that all my hard work paid off. I am still working about 45 hours a week for our company, along with chasing the kids all over the place.

In August the kids and I made another trip up to Mandi's to help her with her kids for a week. It was a nice way to end the summer and get the kids out of the house. It was a long trip up though. We got stopped on I-77 for about two hours. Not moving an inch... It took 16 hours to get there...thank God for the DVD player in the truck. I don't know what I would have done without it. Mandi and Billy asked me to be Megan's Godmother, so we made another trip up in September to have her Baptized. This time I took Mom, Jon and Jayden. It was a great trip. We even got to see Joe for the first time in about a year and a half.

Ty turned 13 this year and is in the 7th grade at Pasco Middle. He made the drum line and loves every minute of it. He plays the bass drum, but is preparing to play the quads next year. He also made a 99% on the FCAT test this year. Duke University sent a letter to us about getting him into a program that follows him through 12th grade. He is in all advanced classes and is doing 10th grade math and English. He makes his Mom proud!! He is taller than I am...I know that,s not that hard to do.

Dylan FINALLY GREW...some! He just turned 9 and is finally fitting into a 6 slim pants. He is a little taller but still only weights about 43 pounds. Who ever said big things come in small packages obviously knows my son. He has the biggest heart of anyone I know. He has gotten into an art program on Tuesdays after school. He REALLY loves it! He also likes to hang out with Tyler and learn how to play the drums...my house is never quiet...

Jayden on the other hand is growing like a weed! She started VPK in August and has made several new friends. Her best friend is Amanda and they are so cute. They give each other a hug every day before they leave. She goes to Sacred Heart from 9 until noon, which gives me a chance to get stuff done in the office. Jayden is all girl! She loves to play dress up and Barbie. She just got a kitten that she takes care of. Every day she reminds me that we have to take food outside for her. She loves to take care of things!

Jon has gotten to go hunting a few times with Herman this year. He is so thankful every time he gets to go even if he doesn't get anything. He has also gone with his best friend Jamie a few times. He did get a few hogs this year, which was nice to put more meat in the freezer. He is still working like crazy everyday. This year has actually been pretty busy. More people are deciding to fix appliances they would usually just replace. That's more money in our pocket so we can't complain. Both of his parents decided that they needed to be closer because of health reasons. So they built onto his Grandparents house next door. It's nice that we don't have to worry about them being 20 minutes away if something happens.

We wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Natalie, Jon, Ty, Dylan, and Jayden


From Mandi and family:

Greetings from Pocahontas, Virginia

2008 was brought to us by the letter "B"...in short we had a surprise Babyshower, a Birth, a First Communion, a new Bike rider, a Baptism, and a Big Black Bear. In January, Natalie, Shelley and their daughters drove up to surprise me at my babyshower. Just when you think you live far enough away that they won't surprise you...try sitting on your couch at 9:30pm folding clothes and have your sisters walk through the door. Talk about shock, but in a good way. On February 21st, Megan Rose Milam, our blue-eyed redheaded daughter came screaming to the world. The boys couldn't be happier to have their sister. Lane made his First Communion in April and was excited that Nana (my mom) and Papa Herman was able to come up and be with him on his special day. Over the summer, after a lot of practice, Chase mastered riding his bike without training wheels. Now he can keep up with his brother. Then we have September, Megan was baptized. A baptism is a special time all by itself, but I was lucky enough for my brothers (yes both of them!), Natalie and her family and mom to make the trip for Megan's special day. I will never be able to express how much I appreciate the effort involved to make it happen. I needed that visit more than I realized. Shelley you were truly missed, and THANK YOU for holding down the fort. And then we have Billy's big black bear. Billy has been hunting this bear for years...in November he was finally able to get him. Billy said he was excited, but what made it special was Lane was with him. As for me, I am still with Aon (my job sucks most days, but I am thankful to have a job). I am trying to master the art of "having it all", working full-time (50+ hrs a week), raising three wonderful children and maintaining a household. My hat is off to all the mothers and fathers who have managed this daunting feat.

We are all healthy, weathy in spirit, and becoming wiser by the day. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.

Love,

Mandi, Billy, Lane, Chase, & Megan Milam


From Ralph and Paula:

Season's Greetings to All!

Fortunately, 2008 was a rather quiet year for Paula and me. There were no major projects here on the home front, but we did have some fun along the way.

In June, we went to Boston for Sarah's (Petters) Harvard Graduate School graduation. It was a grand event!

In October, we went to the Tampa Bay Rays first World Series game! (Goes to show that anything is possible!!!) Going to the game was rather spontaneous (Jack rallied us to go.) So we took off for St. Petersburg with Melda, Jack, Rebecca, and Travis. We worked the outside crowd and purchased our tickets. What a blast!

Early in December, Paula re-connected with the foreign exchange student who lived with her family in 1973/1974. Mar still lives in The Netherlands and is doing well with her family. The internet is an amazing tool!

That's about it from here, we hope everyone is well. Our prayers to all.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Ralph & Paula


From Kabul Afghanistan:

Merry Christmas from Kabul, Afghanistan. This has been an interesting year, where I have been part of a great team trying to teach the Afghan National Army how to be more effective. I am part of a team mentoring the leadership of Logistics Command, the folks responsible for getting all of the "beans and bullets" to the front line troops. Specifically, I mentor two colonels: the Director of Operations and the Director of Personnel. My biggest challenge is getting them to use long-range thinking to make decisions. We have to deal with a lot of the residual mentality from the ANA using the Soviet system for so long. Trying to balance the need to have the ANA do the work and the time-line the US leadership demands is a constant battle. I will certainly have lots of stories to tell when I get home.

I have done some interesting other things, like helping getting a well dug for a local neighborhood and being asked to speak at the ceremonial groundbreaking. As we move around the city, we can see improvements from the time we got here. Lots more work needs to be done, but with God's help, it will be. I look forward to the day (in maybe 30 years) when it will be safe to return and tour the entire city. Thank you for all of your support for me and all of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines. This has been a rewarding year, and I am glad I did it, but I do miss my family very much and look forward to getting home in the Spring.

Love you all,

Brian

---

"Back"