2009 NEWSLETTER

Welcome to the 2009 Newsletter
for A. B. Barthle family!

Front cover

From Margie:

HO! HO! HO!

I have just received a reminder email from Dan. It’s that time of the year again.

My big news this year is that I retired from HeavyQuip in April after 35 years at the same desk. This was a big decision for me. I knew in my mind I could not just quit without another challenge to face. In February, Duane leased the Saint Joe Store and reopened it as the Farm Basket of St. Joe. This gave him 2 stores to manage. He asked that I help him with some of his computer work, payroll, sales tracking, bill paying, etc. (Now I am spending his money!) These 2 half-days a week is just right for me.

A lot of my time is spent working in the yard or the grove. Also, I have joined a few friends in a luncheon group (The Lady Bugs) that meet every other month. About twice a year, on a Sunday, we feed the homeless of Dade City and do other charitable works.

Thanks to Dan and Barbara for their big contribution to keeping this wonderful family connected with the annual Family Newsletter. I want to wish everyone a very happy holiday season and a wonderful coming year.

Love to Each and Everyone of You

Margie

From Steve and family:
Hello to everyone

I hope this past year has been good to you. We are doing good. Mae and I still try to go off on our local getaways for a few days at a time--we really enjoy this.

Mae spends a lot of time taking care of her mom (which is where she needs to be). Back in march Mae's mom wasn't feeling well, she was very weak, and had some abdominal pain. Mae called an ambulance and within an hour she was having emergency surgery! She had diverticulitis--(which we did not know she had) which caused a hole the size of a half dollar in her bowel--she had to have that section removed. This has created a major change and a new lifestyle. Mae has taken very good care of her mom and these new changes are now getting routine, she came very close to dying. God was definitely with us. She is doing much better. (If you have diverticulosis or diverticuitis please take if VERY seriously)

Steve and I are very active in our church. We are ushers and Steve has been asked to be an elder which is a great honor!!

Part of his duties will be to give Pastor communion and administer the wine to the congregation. He is also going to take a 6 month course at church called "The Stephen Ministries" (ironic huh?) where he will learn how to give spiritual counseling to a person in need. I am VERY proud of Steve. He's also been busy at the house (there's ALWAYS yard work especially with the leaves falling!!) Steve nor I miss the fire department very much--especially this time of the year!! He goes to the stations once a month to have coffee and visit with the guys, in fact last time he was there, they got a call and the District Chief asked him if he wanted to go on it--so he went!! They have so many new people we hardly know anyone anymore. But we have adjusted quite nicely to retirement!

Lori and Dan had to postpone their wedding in July because of the bad economy and Dan was to start a new job at the same time. They are hoping to get married next July. Lori is still teaching her cake classes and does a great job-she is still making custom cakes for weddings, birthdays, graduation or whatever you need, they are amazing, she loves it and does an awesome job. She is slowly building her own business.

Chris is doing very good, he still works at Bush Gardens--he recently worked with Jack Hanna and helped showcase his animals on the big screen, it was great. He took a road trip with a friend--they went to Myrtle Beach and Virginia (they HAD to check out Bush Gardens while they were there) They had a great time. Chris will be graduating from PHCC in the spring with an AA in business, then he plans to attend USF in the fall to get his Bachelors in show production. He recently turned the big "21" (we still can't believe it!!!) We took him out for some wings and his first legal beer (at least we think it was his first -lol). It was a lot of fun. Some exciting news is that Chris is in the process of buying his first home-it is a good size town-home in Brandon. It has 3 bedrooms 2 1/2 baths, a garage, a good size kitchen with a open concept to the dining room and the living room plus a bonus room. He has jumped thru all the hoops and is now waiting on the bank who owns it- we are optimistic that it will go thru--but the waiting is terrible. So MaryBeth has graciously let Chris to move in with her until he gets his new house--this has been very much appreciated!!

Spencer is doing well. He graduated from High School and is now going to PHCC and doing good. He bought a little red 1988 Mazda RX-7 convertible (he had his friend test drive it because he didn't know how to drive a stick shift.) But he got the hang of it very quickly and is doing quite well with it, he loves it. Spencer and a friend took a road trip to North Carolina and went snowboarding-they had a great time, and it snowed while they were there! He will be going on a 7 day cruise on Dec 13th--they found a fantastic deal! We are very happy they can do all these things and are taking full advantage of different opportunities, and enjoying life. (you know how fast it goes!)

Well enough from us,
We hope that this Christmas Season and next year will bring Peace, Joy, Happiness and many Blessings to your lives.

God Bless
Steve, Mae & Chris
Lori & Spencer

From Renee and family:
Greetings to all:

Not much as changed for us this year. Lots of home improvement projects, including landscaping & a new roof.

It has been an extremely good year for our business. We have been truly blessed.

We enjoy spending time with family and friends. We get to spend lots of time with Emma which is great!

Jessica, Allen, Emma & I got to spend the entire week together at Lake Weir again this year. Clark was only able to spend a couple of days. Mom was also there for the entire week and MaryBeth, Elise, Eli & Camille (Elise’s friend) was also there for most of the time. Duane, Jake & Shelbie also paid us a visit. It was great fun!

Unfortunately it was the only chance we had to get away this year.

We lost our dog Molly to cancer after 14 years. We now just have a 5 year old Australian Shepherd, Matilda.

Jessica & Allen have moved into their beautiful newly built home and we are very proud of them.

We enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving at MaryBeth’s home again this year on Wednesday night and then again at Mom’s on Thursday. Most of our family was in attendance at both places. It was an enjoyable time for all. Family, food & football what more could anyone ask for.

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

Lots of Love to all,

Clark & Renee

From Jessica

The Gaskin’s want to start by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!! I hope that everyone had a wonderful year. Our year started out normal, but has ended with a BANG!!

Allen and I started thoroughly house hunting at the beginning of the year, and finally found the one for us. We signed to build a new home in March. We purchase Ľ acre behind Burke’s Park in Dade City, in a small subdivision. It’s a two-story home with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Our new home is much more spacious than the previously rented homes. We closed at the beginning of October and are getting settled in…that’s taking longer than anticipated. I think my favorite part of the house is the pantry…as I have an addiction to keeping it full!! Allen’s favorite part is ‘the man room’. A room designed solely for his stuff!!

Emma is doing fabulous!! She is 18 months old already (…where does the time go??). She is still attending Dragonflies and Fairytales Learning Center…where she is excelling wonderfully. She is talking up a storm…trying to repeat everything we say. We have started teaching her the alphabet and she’s doing very well!! Emma loves the new house and all the neat places to hide. Since her room is big enough to put her toys in, she loves playing in there! She still doesn’t like the stairs and stays away from them…lucky for us. She is very excited about the Christmas tree and we are trying to teach her about Santa, but doesn’t really ‘get it’ yet…hopefully next year!

Allen is still at Zephyrhills Post Office and continues to work the night schedule. He is still a supervisor over the machines that sort all the mail. Although USPS has slowed down, he stays extremely busy working six days a week and on the phone the seventh!!

A lot of changes happened at the beginning of the year with HeavyQuip. We had a change in ownership in 2008. There were many new rules that were going into effect, so many of the managers and several employees decided to part, opening up a business of their own, literally 5 miles away!! With the competition right down the street, things were tense around the office!! The ‘old’ HeavyQuip, was definitely non-existent. After making it through many layoffs, I was finally chosen. Now I am staying at home. I am staying extremely busy at the new house with painting and decorating. Emma is still attending school, as the values she learns there will stay with her forever. I am keeping my options open for what the future holds…maybe finish my Bachelors Degree.

We have had an extremely busy year with all the long term changes in our life! So far…everything is going wonderfully and we couldn’t have asked for a better year. I hope everyone is doing well and wish you a VERY Merry Christmas!!

Love you all, Allen, Jessica, and Emma

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

The Gaskin Family

From Joan:

I just want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas

And a Happy New Year!!!

Love, Joan

From Lisa and family:

Greetings from New Hampshire! It is hard to believe that it is the end of November and our temperature today is 54, that’s practically a heat wave for this time of year in NH.

We are so happy and thankful to finally be able to report that Alan is now based in Boston. He has hated the commute to St. Louis for several years, but it was always tempered with the thankfulness of having a job and being able to keep that job thru the difficulties the airlines have faced in the last decade or so. Starting in December, less than a week now, he will start flying out of Boston, a mere hour’s drive for him. Flying out of Boston will save him 12 - 14 hours on the first day of his trip and as much as 5-6 hours on the last day of his trip. He will also save money by not having to pay for anymore hotels in St. Louis. To sum it up we are thrilled with this change in Alan’s job.

Not many changes to report with me, mostly I stay home and hold down the fort while others work and get an education. I had a fun and relaxing visit with the family down in Florida last January a couple of weeks after the holidays. At least it was fun until the last evening I was there. Around 7pm that night Mom got a frantic phone call from Fred’s house for help because the truck had fallen on Fred and he was trapped underneath it. Mike drove Sam, Sandra, Teresa and me to Fred’s house in about 7 1/2 minutes. It usually takes about 15 or so. That night it didn’t seem fast enough and I must admit that I was really afraid of what we might face once we got there. But God spared us all from what our minds had imagined on the way over. When we pulled up in the front yard we could see the ambulance was already there and I could see Fred sitting up and talking with the emergency personnel. What a relief that was! As I understand it, Fred was changing the tire. Just after pulling the tire off the hub, the jack gave way and the truck axel trapped Fred’s leg to the garage floor. Apparently it missed the bone and caught only the calf muscle. With so much pressure on the calf, the skin and the muscle split and burst in several places. It took a myriad of stitches to repair. I think he has lost some feeling in his leg but other than that everything seems to work the way it is supposed to. We are all very thankful! I told him that he is not allowed to do that to me if I come and visit again in the future. : )

Becca has been babysitting twins for several years now to make extra money and about a year and a half ago she began giving piano lessons to a very gifted 5 year old. After working with Camden for about a year, his father helped create a job for Becca at a Montessori school that Camden was about to attend. So, this past September Becca started giving private piano lessons two days a week after school. She has several students. On top of that she was asked to teach the recorder for a couple of hours during the school day one day a week. Since they were flexible she was able to make this all work with her fall semester at college. She was also fortunate to receive an offer from one of her previous teachers to accept a job grading papers for the fall term. That has worked out very well for her. Becca is a senior now and will graduate in May from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education. She will be doing her student teaching in her last semester of college which starts in January. She will be working with a middle school that is about 25 minutes from home. She is really excited.

Katie is in the 7th grade now. She likes school pretty well and has discovered that there are books out there that she can enjoy reading. Who new that mythology would be the key to getting her to read? I hated mythology! She quit gymnastics late February and has since decided that next summer she will pursue cheerleading. In September she got braces and was told that she would wear them for about 15 – 18 months. Her colors are red and white for the Christmas season. When she smiles she reminds me of a candy cane.

As always we send you our love and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year! May His Grace and His Love overwhelm you all this year!

Lisa, Alan, Becca & Katie

From Teresa and family:

Merry Christmas Everyone,

How are ya? The Goodmon clan is well. There's not a lot going on here, but a couple changes to report. Firstly, I am happy, no, ecstatic to report that I am no longer working at the restaurant. My new position is with a very nice local family who has many property and security investments. The name is City Properties/Verner Investments. I have my own office in a friendly Christian atmosphere. Varied job responsibilities keeps my interest as I work on different projects. Having a steady paycheck, benefits, and a retirement plan is such a relief. My boss, who has a bi-plane, wants to take me up for a ride of aerobatics. The last time I did that was when Dad took me up. He has also promised to take the staff for an afternoon of yachting -- just to name a couple perks.

Caleb is still working with the same company near Atlanta, and Jessica has recently moved in with me, because her latest job caved to the economy. She has a job offer from Caesar Rinaldi that I hope works out. We have been enjoying our time together, though. Visiting with Mom on Sundays is something we look forward to. Mom, Sam, Kenny, Jessica and I play games and eat a meal. We usually have a wonderful time, and if someone else shows up, it gets even better. We miss and love all of you, and are looking forward to our next gathering.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year,
Teresa, Jessica, and Caleb

From Mike and family:

Hello everyone. We hope you are all doing good so far. We are too. I can’t believe that soon 2009 will be over and we will welcome 2010! Melinda, Jimmy, Sandra and I went to St. Augustine for Sandra’s 25th class reunion last May. We had a great time seeing old friends. I can’t believe it is 25 years already. Wow!

Jennifer and Lily are doing so good at school. Lily is in 2nd grade and she loves school. Jennifer is in 6th grade and she loves having different subject classes each period. Sandra is still working for the post office. That makes 21 years now. She is glad she is still working in Lakeland. I am still a great-super Mr. Mom. Do you suppose I should wear a cape? Ha Ha ! Lily and Jennifer will be making their first communion on April 10, 2010. Yes we are very proud of our catholic girls. I want to tell Sam “thank you” for being an interpreter for us in our communion classes. (He needed some more practice signing anyway, Ha!) He is a wonderful brother!

Have a very Happy Holiday Season! We love all of you.

Mike, Sandra, Jennifer & Lily

From Melinda and family:

Hello Everyone,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

Last February I got in a car accident and totaled our vehicle (Chevrolet) so I bought a Honda vehicle. Mike encouraged us to buy “Honda” so we did. He was happy.

Last May my Fee Basis Unit moved to a different local area. We moved from Bay Pines to Largo. There is a big office there. Our chief and supervisor preferred to have us together in one big office instead of two medium offices. It is much easier for us to give paperwork to whomever we need to. I drove to Largo from my home and it is shorter than Bay Pines. That’s wonderful.

Warren had baseball tryouts for the high school spring season last January and he made the team. He mostly played at 3rd base and in the DH (designated hitter) spot. Then he played in the fall league for the high school. He played in several different infield positions. Now he is playing in a winter league with the Black Sox, Inc and is again playing several different infield positions.

Jimmy is very glad the Postal Service and Union agreed that he should stay where he is at the branch station. Three clerks retired at his station and they will add three more clerks in January. He is getting more tasks to do including working as dispatch. He sorts the letters and flats into tubs and trays which he receives from the carriers. He handles local and outgoing mail. He really likes to work at the branch station. Hopefully he will continue there until he retires.

Love,

Melinda, Jimmy and Warren

From Bonnie and family:

Hello to all and Merry Christmas

Well we had another Blessed year. In January, we made cane syrup and Homer (Mike's dad) took some to the Rendevous and sold it. In February, Samson finished up soccer and went straight into baseball, where he played second base. Rachael and Samson are attending a new high school called Tenoroc High School (The Titans). The home of the R.O.C. the principal is a Christian.

In April, we (Mike and I) found a good deal on a Jeep. It is a four-door Jeep Wrangler, right-hand drive. We shopped here locally but they didn't have the color I wanted, so we went to South Carolina. We saved $3,000 buying it in South Carolina. We rented a car to drive up there and left it and drove the Jeep home. When we called to rent the car it was only going to be $10. The Post Office gave me $1,000 for buying a new right-hand drive vehicle. The dealer here couldn't believe the deal we got and said if we show him the paper work from the dealer in South Carolina, he would fill my new Jeep up with gas. How many blessings can you count in this paragraph? Is God awesome or what?

In May, Rachael started dating a guy name Stephen. He plays guitar for the youth group at his church. He's 16, she's 17, and he has his license, so he can drive when they go out, and she's not in a hurry to get her license. We like him a lot. This summer, Sam's boys and Lisa's family came down. We went to the lake a few times and had a great time. We also went to Itchetucknee, tubing down the river. We had a great time because the whole family (well most of us) was able to go. We camped out at Mike's aunts because she lives a few minutes from the river.

In August, Linda (Mike's mom) took the kids to The Holy Land Experience in Orlando. They thought it was pretty cool. Our church celebrated Homecoming, our one-year as a church. It is called "God's Church - Back to the Word Ministries". The last day in August Samson got his drivers permit. On Sunday mornings, on our way to church, we have to leave extra early because Samson's driving takes us longer to get to church. In September, the kids started the swim team at school. Samson's best stroke was the butterfly. He also did the IM (all four strokes). He was also on the boys freestyle relay and medley relay. We are really proud of him. Rachael's best stroke was the backstoke. She was also on the girls freestyle relay and medley relay. We are very proud of her too. Rachael also got her braces off this month, after 2 years and 3 months. In November, was the swim banquet. Both Samson and Rachael got the MVP awards.

Today, (November 24th) Mike and Samson went hunting and Samson shot a deer.

I hope you all have a wonderful and Blessed holiday season. Merry Christmas and May God Bless You All-Ways!

Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Michael, Bonnie, Rachael, and Samson Webb

From Sam:

Yikes!!! I mean hello again.

If I ever learned to type, this would be much more better. Pretty much the same with a few interesting goings on. This past week I was asked to interpret for Mike and Sandra at Church, for some classes they will be taking, over the next four months. A little nervous since my signing is worse than my typing.

Kyle is a senior and on summer break he went to Japan. ( thanks to all who contributed to his trip) He is very interested in Japanese culture and thoroughly enjoyed his trip. The highlight was climbing Mount Fuji or was it Mount Fiji?, I don't know. Japan is where he wants to live now. Currently applying for colleges takes up a lot of his time, he is interested in chemical engineering.

Andy ran for class treasurer, got a lot of votes, but not enough ( poor little fella ).This summer we went swimming over at Fred's almost daily. They say "the only thing better than owning a pool, is knowing someone with a pool" they are right. Andy loves the pool, Thanks Brother.

God continues to Open my eyes to His Love, Goodness, Mercy and so much much more. I am blessed. I pray that the Father of our Lord Jesus the Christ would bless you in many ways, but especially with personal revelation of Who He Is.

Love your brother, cousin, nephew, son, dad, and even Uncle Sam.

From Mike and family:

Merry Christmas, everyone!

We hope that your year has been filled with the warmth of friendship and the love of family. We certainly have had many blessings to count, not the least of which is THIS wonderful family, for which we are very thankful.

Sarah has continued to love living in Atlanta, and she is still working for the CDC in HIV-AIDS research. She bought a cute house and has enjoyed making it her own. Caroline is in her third year at the University of Virginia, double majoring in History and Spanish. She will be spending next semester concentrating on Spanish courses in Spain. Both girls will be home for the holidays, and we are looking forward to being together. Mike and I continue to enjoy our jobs. Mike travels a lot with the shipyard business, but is usually home for the weekends. My class of 3-year-olds is wonderful – something different every day!

We were so glad to be able to visit with most of Mike’s siblings and their families (we missed you, Tim, Debbie, and Nicholas!) this summer at Lake Gaston. Sarah was even able to be with us for part of it, as was Caroline, via Skype from England! And it was wonderful to see Cinda later in August in Charlottesville – she helped Caroline move into her sorority house! How sweet was that!!

We all hope that you have a happy holiday season and that 2010 is a year filled with good health and many blessings!
Love from us all,
Sarah, Caroline, Mike, and Nancy

From Bernie and family:

Quite a tumultuous year was 2009 for the Petters of Suwanee.
We started January much as we left off December, juggling work schedules and kids activities. Matthew’s band played their first public gig at the Masquerade in Atlanta and Nathaniel prepared for another season of baseball.

At the end of January, Bernie’s base in Blairsville closed. Omniflight offered him a position as a National Relief pilot, filling in where needed. This led to assignments in Roswell, New Mexico, and Ruston, Louisiana, along with numerous short assignments at the remaining bases around Atlanta. In May, he accepted a permanent assignment with Alabama LifeSaver, Omniflight’s EMS program based in Birmingham. This situation is more stable than the Relief Pilot position, but does require him to be out of town at least 7 of every 14 days.

As we progressed through the spring and summer, we were able to travel together as a family to Destin for Spring Break and to Mike and Nancy’s for the Petters Family Reunion at Lake Gaston. Big races for Jennifer and Bernie included the ING Atlanta Half Marathon in March and the Peachtree Road Race in July.

Matthew repeated his summer job as a lifeguard, got his first car, and began his junior year of high school.

Fall means football, and Nathaniel excelled again. His team again made it to the semifinals of the league playoffs before losing a heartbreaker.

The housing industry continued to struggle throughout the year and by the start of November, Jennifer was again accessing her extensive industry network connections, looking for her next opportunity.

We are very grateful for the past year of accomplishments, successes and friendships. As a family we look forward to all that 2010 will bring. We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2010! Bernie, Jennifer, Matthew and Nathaniel

From Susie and family:

Susie, Redding, Jen and Mikie:
2009!! Where did it go??? So many wonderful things happened in our lives, we have such a wonderful family and are soooooo very blessed? In January the kids and I joined Redding in Naples for a week-long visit with his father. Mikie got some individual golf lessons from Grandpa Clyde and we were all thrilled at the wonderful experience of watching and joining in the fun. Grandpa Clyde is 83 years young this year, and had not touched a club in several years, but now that he has a teenage grandson again, he took the clubs back in his hands like he had never stopped. Then it was back to Hawaii to start training for the Great Aloha Run. Redding came over for the run in Feb and we all had a blast running/walking the 8+ mile course from the Aloha tower to the Aloha stadium. I continued my travels through the Pacific region visiting Okinawa Japan and Korea. Mike and Nancy came out for a visit in April and the kids met them with leis at the airport even though Jen had run the Ford Island Bridge 5K earlier that morning. They had dinner Saturday night at the Aloha tower marketplace that evening. Later in the week, I returned from TDY and met them for a magnificent tour of Ford Island and the Arizona hosted by one of Mike’s friends. It was a beautiful night and an event we won’t soon forget! Then on to Spring concerts and a myriad of school activities. Redding was able to visit monthly for at least a weekend and we really enjoyed the Hawaii experience. In June, Dean, Anne, Tony and Carrie all came for a wonderful three week visit. We had already packed our household goods for our move, so we were roughing it with Aloha furniture, fold up chairs and blow-up mattresses… but oh what fun we had! The only thing better than being in Hawaii was having family come visit us in Hawaii!! They were there for my Change of Command, once again, the ceremony was on the fantail of the USS Missouri, simply a wonderful setting. That evening we flew to Tampa and drove to Naples. We had sold Marvette, so we went looking for a car for Jen and found a great deal on a 2006 Mazda 3, 5 speed, bright red! The kids named it “Sparrow” after Jack in the Disney movies and both are enjoying it now. Mikie has his learner’s permit and is doing extremely well driving here in DC. We went to Disney for 5 days, taking advantage of their tribute to the troops, were joined by Jen’s friend Brittannie, and although Redding drove to MacDill every morning and returned every evening it was a fantastic vacation. Jen then went to Ave Maria University for a week of summer camp and fell in love with the place. From there Jen, Mikie and I drove up to DC (Jen and Mikie in Sparrow and me in the Suburban), stopping at every state welcome station to get Jen’s map(s) for her first driving roadtrip. What a hoot! The kids then went to Lake Gaston for a great week at the lake house, THANKS so very much to Mike and Nancy for having all of us! That week culminated in a great luau on Friday night. Wish it could have lasted longer. Redding did get a chance to ski on Saturday and certainly had the bruise to prove it…A couple weeks later Aunt Cinda was a life saver as she arrived at Fort Belvoir to help us receive and unpack our household goods here. We could not have done it without her, and hope she’ll return to enjoy the area next time!! We are blessed to have a wonderful historical home here on Fort Belvoir and can find space for any that want to visit, you all are welcome. The activities since then have become a blur. We got a chance to visit Mike and Nancy once again as the summer ended and really had a blast! Redding became a Grandpa on 10 September as his oldest daughter Rebecca, gave birth to Kathryn Lane Blount (Katie Lane), delivered early weighing only 4 lbs 6 ozs, but very healthy! (When weighed on Nov 18th she had doubled her birth weight!) Jen, Mikie, me and Jen’s friend Zack all ran the Army 10 Miler early in October, it was wonderful running through downtown DC!! Now with Jen a senior and Mikie a Sophomore, there is barely time to breathe at our house. They just finished the Fall play “You Can’t Take it With You”, where Jen had the part of the Grand Duchess Olga Katrina and Mikie was the official photographer and on the tech team. They did an amazing job and we are very proud of them! We are high on the search for a college for Jen, have kinda narrowed it down to 5: Ave Maria University, University of South Florida, Christopher Newport College, Liberty University and Catholic University of America, but it is still early in the year, so who knows? On 23 November, Redding started working in DC and moved in the house with us! We are so thrilled to finally be living together. We can’t thank Tim and Debbie enough for all their support while Redding lived in the house in St Joe, and hope to continue to see them periodically as we return to check on things here. As the year closes, and we acknowledge how truly blessed we are, we remember all our Service members serving in harm’s way and ask a special blessing upon them! We wish each and every one of you a very Joyous and Blessed Holiday season!! Our thoughts and prayers will include all of you! We pray that 2010 will be overflowing and pressed down with blessings!
WE LOVE YOU ALL!
Redding, Susie, Jen and Mikie

From Dean and family:

As the lake starts to freeze over, we once again greet you from the north coast. This year was dominated by our trip to Hawaii to see Sue's Change of Command ceremony on the deck of the Mighty Mo! We also managed to do some island hopping. We were very glad that Jen came with us! We spent 2 days on the big island, visiting the volcano and watching people jump off the cliff at the southernmost point of the US. Then on to Maui, where Anne & Jen could shop and I could force everyone to go on the road to Hana. We swam in the 7 sacred pools and even visited the gravesite of Charles Lindbergh. Then we took the "fast" way home... a road that makes all those dirt roads around Pasco County look like interstates! Pulling off to the side of this road meant dropping down 100 foot cliffs into the Pacific! But we survived and made it back to Oahu in plenty of time to see the Change of Command. What a show! One of the things the military really does right is putting on a ceremony! I have never been more proud of my sister than when I was sitting there! WAY TO GO, SUE!!!

Then, in early August, we traveled down to Mike & Nancy's to spend a week at the lake. Everyone had a blast! We got to witness Carrie & Tony get up on skis for the first time. Even this old dog learned a new trick as I was able to slolam! But the best time of all was spending a week with family! We've been going to the lake since 2003 and it's been great seeing how the kids are all growing into young ladies and gentlemen! Mike & Nancy, thank you so much for taking us in for the week! We're still talking about all the fun we had!

Anne's still working at school. When she's not shuttling kids back and forth from classes or managing the textbook inventory, she's busy being the class mom for both Tony's and Carrie's class. And she still manages to get some crafting time! Tony's in 6th grade and growing like a weed. He's now outgrown his golf-clubs and has become the second tallest guy on his basketball team. He's having to learn how to play power-forward. Up until now, he's been a guard. Carrie is in 2nd grade and preparing for First Communion and Confirmation next spring. She is a voracious reader. Another year passes for me at NASA. We successfully passed our preliminary design review in June and were all very excited when the Ares 1-X launced just before Halloween! Here's to that being the start of a string of successes!
We wish you all the happiest of the holidays!
Love, Dean, Anne, Tony and Carrie

From Brian and family:

Merry Christmas to everyone.
We have a lot to be thankful for this Christmas, and of course the most important is that we are all together this year. My year in Afghanistan ended in March. I really love seeing my family again. Thanks to Aunt Cinda and Uncle Ben for attending my homecoming and for watching the boys for a couple of days as Vicki and I got reacquainted in Panama City. Vicki and I also took a cruise out of New Orleans in July as a homecoming gift with some very dear friends. It was a blast: I highly recommend it. The rest of the year was mostly me trying to get used to the idea that I would retire from the Air Force next year. So much to do to get ready, and so little time to do it.

Although the deployment was not without blessings, Vicki is so glad to have Brian back. Teaching teenagers to drive, buying a car and having to replace an air-conditioner are so much more fun when there’s someone to share them with. It’s been a happy and welcome year of readjustment. With homeschool, Cub Scouts, choir and teaching Natural Family Planning, my life’s rhythm keeps moving on. I miss my tennis – the Air Force has moved our tennis instigator (as well as several of our players), and the tennis dates I’ve planned haven’t panned out so well. I enjoyed watching my front flower bed I planted last year come back this spring.

John also had an exciting year, as he finished all of his requirements and finally earned his Eagle Scout award; Mimi and Pa came in town to help him celebrate. He had done his project last year, but he had to finish up some merit badges. He passed his board of review with flying colors and can now count himself among a very elite group. He also entered his senior year in high school and is pulling a very demanding load to go with all of the college applications he is filling out. In August he started weekend work at Winn-Dixie, which gives him a little spending money. So far, he has been accepted at Belmont University in Nashville, U of Alabama, and Montevallo.

Ben is pulling an even heavier load of classes, but he is doing great. Both he and John were in the District Honor band in April. His trumpet playing has gotten so much better; he will play with us in the brass section at Midnight Mass this year. He is working on his Eagle project as well, and should be able to complete it sometime in the spring. He got his driver’s license in July.

Leo and Henry still are homeschooling. Vicki keeps them busy and challenged, which is more than I would be able to do. Both are advancing well on piano. In August, they went to Six Flags with our church’s altar servers, where they had the best scores on the quiz all the servers took. Leo is now a Star scout, and Henry is in 1st year Webelos. Henry attended overnight camp one weekend this summer and had a great time.

Everyone had a blast at Mike’s lake house. Henry was able to get up on two skis for the first time, outdoing his old man. It was so great to see how the kids have grown and to catch up in person. Thank you again, Mike and Nancy, for another week filled with great memories.

This season, we await the coming of our Redeemer and King. Come, Lord Jesus!

Love from Brian, Vicki, John, Ben, Leo and Henry

From Connie and Thom:

We got the e-mail. It is that time of the year. Season’s Greetings from Land O Lakes, FL. Thinking back to last year and what has changed this year.

The boy’s (Joe’s) Tyson & Snoopy went home to Joe in early January. We missed them for a while.

The year went by fairly quick. I’m still doing a bible study on Thursday mornings. Lanny gives me the day off. Usually I work from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. the rest of the week. Lanny got a clean bill of health from Moffitt in July.

Health wise I was doing okay, until about Oct. 20th when I went to the doctor with a sore throat, and he wrote me a prescription for Tamiflu. I got the prescription filled and took a pill that Tuesday afternoon. Then I took another on Wednesday morning. Then I became nauseas; and had diarrhea. I couldn’t keep anything down on Wednesday and Thursday. So Friday afternoon; with no improvement it was time to go to the Hospital. I was so dehydrated they couldn’t get a blood pressure reading; they hooked me up to several different things to rehydrate me. There were several places on my legs that were real ugly. They brought in the Infectious disease doctor in to look at them. They also took a culture of the spots. I spent the next several days in the ICU unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital; then they moved me to the critical care unit for the balance of the week. I got to come home on Friday, Oct. 30th. Since then, I have been getting stronger daily. I have gone back to work after another week of rest at home. They determined it was an allergic reaction to the Tamiflu.

Needless to say, I have already located a new Doctor for my care. That is another story. We have a new “Florida Medical Clinic”; build on St. Rd. 54, near Livingston, that just opened up since September. So I did some research on a Doctor that cared for Medicare and TFL. Patients. They have a Doctor at this new Clinic that fit the bill of what I was looking for. So this past Monday I stopped by to see what I needed to get set up with a new doctor. They got my information so when I’m finished with the old Doctor, all I have to do is make an appointment; they have me in their system. I still have one more appointment with the old doctor, a follow up on the hospital stay. I was talking to the receptionist for the new Doctor, and determined we grew up in the same neighborhood, and was one of Monica’s best friends. Charlotte McCarthy. She is married but I don’t know her last name now.

Update on the bee’s we had in our big “ear tree”. They moved out of the tree into a box that bee man put on the tree a year ago. It took a full year to relocate them. Now the tree is patched up and no more problem with bees.

Now that school has started, Grandma’s Taxi is still in service. One day per week for now. Amy (Joe’s wife) is taking classes on Monday evening and I pick Baylee up at school and depending on Joe’s schedule it determines where I drop her off. Usually at Publix if Joe gets off at 5:00 pm.

Note to all: With the economy as it is I’ll have to discontinue the custom of $2 bills in birthday cards. The cards will be coming your way. I am so sorry this decision has to be made at this time.

Thom here, I am now working at Rhino Rally (Busch Gardens). I have been there just over 7 months, and it is still a lot of fun. I have lost about 30 pounds since I started the new job, been lucky as far as my health goes this year.
We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year.

From Mary and family:

Happy Holidays to all and Happy New Year .

Hope everyone has had a good year, and that this new one will be a better one . Lets See Tiffany is still in High School, and hanging in there, some days I don't know how but she is there. She is still making A's and B's so can't complain to much. She is 11th grade this year. So after this one more.

Chris is hanging in there. At the moment he is Between Jobs but with the this year has gone most of us are lucky to have a job.

Joe is Still with Publix and doing great. He is liking it. And coming up soon will be Full-time.

We have gone through some tough times this year, but we are hanging in there. I am Still with Publix working on 9 yrs now, Just a few months ago I stepped down from Asst. Manager had some heath problems, but we are working on them, And working 55 to 60 hours a week didn't help much either. Then Also found out had baker's Cyst on back of knee and that didn't help much , had it drained most of pain is gone but still have some pain.

Then we had a scare with Mom, Thank the lord every thing worked out, you really don't know how much extra prayer 's , I did for her, And I am very thankful that she got through it.

Really would miss her if something happen to her.

Love you Mom. And We send our Love out to everyone of you and your family. And My the Lord Bless you all.
Mary, Joe, Chris, & Tiffany

From Joe and Family:

Happy Holidays to All!
From Joe Carr’s Family
It’s hard to believe that another year has gone by.... The year started out pretty slow for us. Baylee participated in her seventh dance recital in June. Baylee went with my mom to Georgia for two weeks. Then she started middle school for which she is doing very well. She made AB Honor Roll for the 1st quarter of the year. She is participating in Odyssey of the Mind again this year. Then Nichole came to Florida for a short visit in the summer. Then she started a new high school in Ohio. It is a career oriented school for Early Childhood Education. Then in November we decided as a family that she needed to move back to Florida to live with us. She will be attending Wesley Chapel High School where she will be a junior. She is also working at our local McDonald’s. Amy is doing well. She is working two jobs and going to college. She was in a minor car accident in October. She fared much better than her car. Oh and then there was mom (Connie). She ended up in the hospital for a week in October. She had us scared there for a while. As for Joe and I we are both still working at the same jobs. Joe’s “ trusty” Ford pickup finally died. So he had to get a new vehicle. He is now driving a Ford Focus (yes a car!) and then I had been having some issues with the brakes on my mini-van so we decided to get rid of it as well. I now have a 2009 Kia Spectra which I love. That is pretty much it for the Carr’s.
We hope that everyone has a Joyous and Prosperous 2010.
Joe, Amy, Amy, Nichole and Baylee

From Jerry and family:

Well, here we are again at the end of another year which has proven to be monumental in many ways. 2009 has been has been a very busy, wonderful and trying year for the Carr family. Jessica is now 16, driving and the phone never stops ringing, don’t know what we are going to do about that. She continues to swim and play basketball for Sunlake High school which not only keeps her busy (that is always a good thing) and she is doing well with her academics. Noah is 13 and will be running track for his school and playing rec. basketball, he continues to volunteer at the local library and recreation center and doing well in his academics. Kelly is doing well and still working at WellCare we are both very grateful she still has a job as there have been multiple layoffs. I have been out of work for about 3 months now and as we all know the job market is not doing very well.

From Kathy and family:

I hope this finds everyone happy and healthy. I can only say that I cannot wait for 2009 to be over. I am very hopeful that 2010 will be a much better year. Not much to say coming from my camp. Justin is now working for a sub contractor of Teco and is enjoying it. Hunter is now in High school and has to find a medium between friends and school work. He is doing very well and is close to six feet tall. They grow so fast. Sierra is in the fifth grade and a safety patrol. She loves being the “big kid on campus”. She is still dancing and loves it. She is taking Ballet, Lyrical and Tap. She is also on a Tap team. She keeps us very busy between dance and girl scouts. As for me, I still have the same job, and am still taking classes. In January, I will be starting the core nursing classes at St. Pete College. I guess I will have less time than I have now but it will be worth it (long term). My family has been very supportive, which I appreciate more than they will ever know. Luckily, Kelly is staying busy with work and sneaks away to fish every chance he gets. I wish you all a safe, healthy and prosperous new year. You are all in my heart.

Love, Kathy, Kelly, Justin, Hunter and Sierra Himes

From Dan and Barbara:

“Merry Christmas To All”
As I started this summary of our adventures this year, the year 2010 is only four weeks away. Dan and I are really looking forward to a new year with prayers and faith that 2010 will be the beginning of a better year for all of America.

Our travels this year were limited as we spent more time in Florida and didn’t head north until the end of July. Our travels began with a wonderful few days visiting with Ben and Cinda in Georgia. We sure enjoy our sightseeing adventures with them around the Atlanta area. One place we visited together was the Cyclorama which depicted the Civil War’s battle of Atlanta. It’s a painting in the background and merges with civil war figures, houses, landscape etc. You can’t tell where the painting ends and the figures begin. It was truly amazing as the entire audience moves around this painting with music and narration.

Heading north one of our favorite places to stop is Hershey, PA which happens to be the sweetest place on earth (Home of Hershey Chocolate). We always enjoy the vast farmlands and fresh corn while visiting in this area. While in Hershey we didn’t have one piece of chocolate! L

We arrived in NY and spent 2 months visiting with Laurie and Family and upstate New York. We sure do miss living close to our children and grandchildren. Sadly we had to say farewell to Nick as he left for Army Basic Training. He has grown into a very handsome young man and we are all very proud of him as he embarks on his new life and career. One of the most magnificent sights we visited was Niagara Falls. What a spectacular place and very WET! We hiked all around the Falls and had several different views of the area, top to bottom!

After leaving NY we headed south once more again stopping in Hershey and then headed to Georgia to attend Nick’s graduation from Basic Training. Sharing in Nick’s special day was Laurie, JR, Rhapsody, Samantha, Cinda and Paula. We do appreciate Paula traveling up to be with all of us. It was wonderful spending time with everyone and makes us realize how good it is to have family to share memories with. Thank You again to Cinda and Ben who hosted laurie and family. Coming to Georgia from Satellite Beach, Florida to also attend Nick’s family day and graduation was Nick’s Grandmother (OMA), Aunt Aneila with children Davis and Anna. We all had a great two days cheering Nick on and visiting. Once we arrived back in Florida we stopped to visit with our oldest and dearest friends in Silver Springs. We have known Marv and Mary for over 40 years and happy we still get to see them and keep in touch. Of course it was great spending short but wonderful visits with family in Saint Joe.

Congratulations to Rebecca and Travis on the birth of little Lauren. She is so precious and we enjoyed our visit with you in Windemere.

Dan and I will be heading to NY for Christmas again this year and this home grown New Yorker is looking forward to hopefully “A White Christmas”! Dan is looking forward to seeing and enjoying the Walden’s Christmas lights knowing he didn’t have to put them up!

God Bless Everyone!

From Laurie and family:

What another year gone bye-bye? It seems hardly possible. I always say I am going to write something about each month before I forget what happened, but I keep forgetting. Maybe I should put that on my New Year’s Resolution List, umm, let’s see where did I put that???

Nick, what can I say? We kept on asking him what he was going to do with his life after he graduated high school. He kept telling us he did not know. So, we gave him a time line to come up with something. He finally decided. He is joining the Army. He and I met with the recruiter (to make sure he wasn’t promising him the world.) Then, about a month went by and he went to take the ASVAB test. Well, he scored really well on it and had his choice of just about anything he wanted. He is really into computers, so he did some research on the goarmy web site and found a few jobs he was interested in. Met again with the recruiter and found that 25S (Satellite Communications Maintainer/Operator) was a good fit. He left a month after his high school graduation. He went through 9 weeks of Basic Training at Ft Benning, GA. We flew to Georgia to see his Graduation. It was great to see him. He looked so different. We stayed at Aunt Cinda’s for a few nights. Thank you, Aunt Cinda you were a great hostess. Aunt Paula flew in, Mom and Dad drove the coach and Nick’s Oma, Aunt Aniela, Davis and Anna drove for 9 hours to see him as well. He had quite the entourage. He is now in Augusta, Georgia at Fort Gordon. This is where he is doing his training for his job in the Army, Satellite Communications Maintainer/Operator. He gets to come home at Christmas for 2 weeks; we are so looking forward to spending time with him. Miss you Nick!

The girls are keeping busy with school. Samantha is in Pre-K. Rhapsody is in 1st grade. They both really like their teachers. They are both still enjoying swim lessons. They are also in gymnastics. They were asked to move up to the Golden Group which means they are sort of on the “team.” They both love it. I am hoping to get them started in dance classes after the New Year. Rhapsody is now in Brownies, her troop bridged up this summer from Daisies. She really likes doing all the activities that her troop leader has for them. And boy they do a lot. They meet every other Friday, plus they do at least one activity a month.

I am keeping very busy transporting the girls to and from their activities. In my spare time I have been able to grow my Avon business. I reached yet another level in sales this year. I was 3rd in increased sales and 3rd in overall sales in our district. I am now in Honor Society. At the beginning of the year I had the Lasik Eye Surgery. I am able to see without glasses. It is really nice to be able to wake up and see!

JR is really busy with work. He has traveled quite a bit this year. Being SVP of Technology is a big responsibility. In addition to his responsibilities at Mediacom he participates in the executive committee at Cablelabs, a company that works with the cable industry to develop new technology and standards. The “cablemodem” is probably their most famous invention. JR also serves on the advisory board for Pace, the worlds largest set-top box manufacturer. He has also been asked by Pace, on what his company is looking for in such items for the future.

All JR’s hard work is paying off…. I never thought we would out grow our current home, but it happened. So we are upgrading to a new home. We hope to break ground soon. We will be tripling; yes I said tripling our living space. Does a house cleaner come with that you may ask yourself…yep, she is writing this newsletter! LOL As long as all goes well we should be able to move in right before summer.

All in all this has been a very busy year for us. Sending out our Christmas wishes and a Very Happy New Year to all!

From Cinda and Ben:

Greetings to all,

2009 was a more "quiet" year for us. Difficult to imagine it is our fifth year of "retirement"!

We did have more time than usual to work on our hobbies, quilting and woodworking.

It was especially gratifying to finally finish a "lattice" quilt for Alexa and Chris for which we had purchased fabrics in Baltimore over 5 years ago!

On the other end of the "time required to complete a quilt" spectrum, in September and October of this year, we coordinated with Alexa to construct a Dick and Jane motif quilt featuring kindergarten artwork (Ryan's class). We completed it in less than 2 months! In between the making of these two quilts, I constructed three others from fabrics I already had on hand. One was a scrappy Bricks quilt made from random reds, greens, golds highlighted among taupe fabrics. Another was Millie's Spools & Bobbins bed quilt made from pink and green scraps leftover from the Rosie Bear quilt made when Millie was born. Then there was the Use It Up quilt made from scraps from the Spools & Bobbins quilt. The title comes from the depression adage: "Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without!".

Ben was able this year to start fleshing out his workshop infrastructure, installing a dust collection system and continuing to upgrade some of his power tools. Among his projects was a second console table that we had been wanting for our media room. The store where we bought the original console table went out of business years ago. Now we have our matching table, which I literally cannot distinguish from the original.

In June, we joined Alexa and Ryan for lunch one day at his school, Davidson Day. Then we got to cheer Ryan on for his last T-Ball game of the season. It is so much fun to watch these young athletes! Ryan has become quite the reader at a very early age.

Of course, we enjoy seeing Rebecca, Jacade, and Millie for shorter but more frequent visits, since they live so much closer than Alexa, Chris, and Ryan. We were able to attend Millie's second birthday party in May. Millie is becoming very independent, and she is thirsty for knowledge.

I had the distinct privilege of being in Montgomery, AL in March to welcome Major Brian Petters back from a year in Afghanistan. We’re so proud of you Brian, and appreciate all that you and your fellow soldiers do to help preserve our freedom. I enjoyed getting to spend some extra time with John, Ben, Leo and Henry while Brian and Vicky took a mini-vacation.

We enjoyed seeing Dan and Barbara in Atlanta several times this year. Thanks so much for coming! One of the interesting things we did was to visit the Cyclorama, which is the world's largest painting. Since 1893, using music, art, narration and sound effects, it is the longest running show in the country. It depicts the events of July 22, 1864 in the midst of the Civil War's Battle of Atlanta.

I had a great time in August getting to see Susie, Jenn and Michael (and Redding for a few hours!) during their move-in week at Ft. Belvoir, VA. Then I had other special treats getting to meet up with Nancy and Caroline for lunch in Charlottesville, VA., and an overnight with the Lupfers in Huntersville, NC, on my way back home.

We were so happy to host Laurie, JR, Rhapsody and Samantha for a couple of days while coming south to attend Nick's graduation from Basic Training. What an exciting few days that was. Nick, congratulations! We are so proud of you. Our prayers will be with you in the days ahead.

I had the very special privilege of hanging out with the True's in Windermere during some of November and December. Congratulations on a beautiful new baby daughter, Lauren Emily. Leah is growing so fast and is being a great big sister. I know these girls will have a wonderful special bond for life.

It was great seeing all my siblings during this time also. Connie, we're so glad you survived your Tamiflu encounter! Margie, a special thanks for keeping "my room" ready!

Love and hugs to all. Ben and I wish all of you God's blessings in abundance in 2010!

Cinda and Ben

From Alexa and family:

Happy Holidays!

I hope this holiday season finds everyone happy and well!
As always, it has been a busy, but fun year. Ryan started kindergarten this fall and is doing extremely well. He loves to read already, but he has also discovered a love of writing and drawing. He is taking piano classes at school and is proud that he can play a Christmas song already! He is still playing soccer year-round, but also added t-ball and tennis in the spring, and flag football this fall.

Chris is still with Bosch-Rexroth and recently was promoted to Manager of Bosch National Accounts. We are very proud of him! I am still working part-time as an Optometrist, and am fortunate to spend much of the rest of my time volunteering at Ryan's school. We wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a wonderful year to come!

Love, Chris, Alexa & Ryan Lupfer

From Melda and Jack:

Jack and I wish each of you a very merry Christmas, good health and prosperity in 2010. We are thankful for the many blessings we have received in 2009 and were happy to welcome the latest addition to our family, Lauren Emily True, on October 20, 2009. Love to all,
Melda and Jack

From Rebecca and Family:

From Rebecca:
Each year at this point, we look back and remark how quickly the year went by. 2009 was no exception for us. The highlight for us was the October arrival of our second daughter, Lauren Emily. She’s a beautiful, healthy and good natured baby and we are thrilled to welcome her into our family.

Leah is 2 years old and continues to be very active and talking up a storm. She is trying her best to be a good big sister to Baby Lauren. She kept up with her swimming lessons through much of the year, and enjoyed gym, art, and library classes each week, too. She’s very excited to begin pre-school in January where she will have the opportunity to learn Chinese, Spanish, and Sign Language.

Travis and I travelled to the Florida Keys for a getaway in April. We’d never been to that part of Florida and it was a much needed break from our hectic schedules. In addition to all of the wonderful changes on the home front this year, I had some big changes professionally, too. In May, I opened my own asset management firm, True Capital Advisors. I’m very pleased to become a business owner. Travis continues to work in technology management for Citigroup.

Thank you to Cinda for visiting and spending time helping us care for Lauren and Leah. It was lovely to catch up with Dan and Barbara for a visit after Lauren’s birth. And, we’ve enjoyed all the frequent visits from my parents, too. Leah loves to spend time with her cousins, Laney and Landon, as frequently as their schedule permits. It’s so nice to have family close by.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

From Monica and Herman:

Merry Christmas! Hope this finds each of you healthy and full of joy!
Bill and Andrea broke up after five years and we invited him to stay with us until he could get settled in a new place. He moved in upstairs in April and planned to move out in October. His Chinese Pug, Napoleon (who we call Puggy) was quite a youthful addition to the household! So much energy! He really was good company…never complained about a thing! A fraternity brother of Bill's was building a house and Bill agreed to rent from him for a year. The house took longer to finish than expected, but it wasn't long and it was time for Bill and Puggy to move out. Once again, the house has gotten empty and quiet.

One evening in late May, Joe called to ask how my day was. I told him we had gone to graduation at Pasco High. He said he bet he could beat that…He and Anne got married! Joe and Anne have been together for seven years. Anne is in law school at George Washington University. Herman and I finally made our first trip to DC in July, and had a wonderful time. It was a short trip, but we packed a lot in. We ate a different cuisine each night! Anne and Joe are wonderful hosts, and gave us a great overview of the city. Can't wait to go back!

A few weeks later we went to Mandi’s. One of the adventures we took was to walk "The Loop". We walked down the mountain on the road and then up on a dirt road through the woods. It was a beautiful walk! We always enjoy our time with Mandi and her family. On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, I was eating breakfast when the doorbell rang. I wondered who would be coming at that time in the morning. I opened the door and SURPRISE! It was Mandi, Billy and the family! They were able to stay a week! Whenever Mandi comes to town, we try to spend as much time together as we can. Mandi makes up a menu, and assigns suppers for each family to prepare, so as not to be too hard on any one. It's always great to get together! Bill was calling Joe, and had one number left to dial when the phone rang, and it was Joe!

Natalie graduated from PHCC! We are very proud of her accomplishments! She looked for a job and finally got one at WalGreens in Dade City! I'm glad she works so close to home! Her job was supposed to be part-time, but she gets called in quite often, which is a blessing. I shop at WalGreens frequently and our new joke is: Natalie: "Mom, where did you get that?" Me: "There's this store in Dade City called WalGreens!" She works in the pharmacy and doesn't get out much!

Shelley continues to work for Diversified Drilling in Tampa. This year she went hunting for a week and had a great time. She keeps very busy with all the activities the little ones are in…raising hogs, chickens, dogs, hunting, baseball, fishing. They are a very active family!

Herman is doing well. He continues to work and the challenges continue to grow. We've enjoyed our trips this year and look forward to next year. I'm doing well, too. I continue to work and the challenges continue to grow. I've started to daydream about retirement!
Blessings to all and have a very Merry Christmas!
Love,
Herman and Monica

From Shelley and family:

We let’s see… It’s December 7th @ 7:49AM… Sarah’s trying to get sick, Hunter is overtired, Luke is grounded, Darrell is stressed, while I am all of the above, I am at work… You know all the same stuff ya’ll are dealing with on a daily basis J 2009 has come and gone with the blink of an eye… We are mostly in the same places doing the same stuff… Sarah is at Sacred Heart in Ms Vicki’s Pre-Pre-School class. She is 3 and rules the world with a tiny little iron fist. She loves to hunt with the family! She really loves all animals (except big black bulls). She is very outgoing, smart, strong, sweet, sassy and opinionated (not sure where she got that from). Hunter is at San Antonio Elementary in the 3rd Grade. He loves his teacher. He is good at Math and Science and learning to like reading even if he doesn’t love it. He also loves all animals. He has joined the Possum Trot 4-H club. He is super excited about getting to have his first hog project. He loves to hunt and fish. He and I even got to take a week and go to hunting camp just the two of us this year. We had a wonderful time and Hunter got his first pig (I got mosquito bites). He is a bike riding fool. He loves to ride his bike and is jonesing for a mountain bike for Christmas so he can keep up with Luke. Luke is 17 and the countdown to 18 has officially begun. He is a Junior at Pasco High. He loves the girls, lunch, hanging out with his buddies Kodie Young and Travis Rubio (aka Darby Boyz) and their sidekick Courtney Rubio (Kodie’s girlfriend/Travis Sister). He is trying to take school more seriously. Ever since helping cut fire breaks during the fire at the old Cannon Ranch, he has decided that he really wants to go into Forestry Firefighting after graduation next year. He is very mechanically inclined which is a real plus in this field and he works part time for his Papa Herman at the Ranch and part time for Kodie’s dad at the “Get U Some Hay Company” which gives him machinery operating experience another real plus. He bought his first truck in April of this year a 1987 Toyota 4x4, named Scooby, he loved it. He decided to sell it to a girl that he knew and he bought a 1986 Dodge. I think he is still kicking himself for the decision. He wants another Toyota as soon as he can get the money together. Last year’s hogs Taz and Twister turned out beautiful as usual. Luke truly loves his pigs J Twister made the fair and Taz made the freezer. Luke got a blue ribbon for hog quality and did well at sale time. He is again looking forward to this year’s hog project. He has joined both 4-H and the FFA this year and will be showing under 4-H for the first time. Darrell, well this has been a big year for him. He applied to the Police Academy at PHCC early in the year and found out in late June that he was officially selected to make the class of only 26. He joined PHCC Class 72 in July and will finish on Thursday and Graduate on Monday (12/14). He has done extremely well in his class in both the physical and book requirements. He has wanted to be in Law Enforcement for as long as I have known him. I have always had serious fears and reservations. After watching Darrell busting his rear-end and being miserable for 10 years, I decided to leave it up to the Lord since he is really in control anyway. So, Darrell has started applying for Law Enforcement positions all over Florida and most likely by this time next year there will be big changes in our universe. Me well I am older, grayer and more tired than ever before. I still work at Diversified Drilling Corporation in Tampa as an Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Marketing and Development. I mostly like my job and tolerate the drive. I was very excited to get my first Anvil from my Dad for my Birthday and I am looking forward to future metal working projects. I am excited about our new possibilities for the coming year. I am proud of my family for sucking it up and sticking together, I know the past few years have been tough. I love our parents and siblings for their support as well. We could never have survived without each and every one of you. THANK YOU for all you do!
Last thing, God really looks out for us no matter what kind of projects we are doing… The boys have been really looking forward to getting their hogs. Last year Luke went to Mayo, FL to get Taz and Twister with Travis and Courtney’s Mom. This year they called on Sunday and said “hey we’re going tomorrow you will need $200 per pig + feed and gas money”. Needless to say I didn’t have $700 to drop for the next morning so we told them we would have to pass and figure out some place else for this year’s pigs. So I started looking around online and found only four “Show” hog producers in the Florida/Georgia area. I gave the list to Luke and told him to get to calling. Well about a week and a half went by and I asked Luke about it. He said that he hadn’t been able to get a hold of anyone yet. Well we had 6 days until the final check in tagging. So, the next day Luke called “Hunter’s Show Pigs” in Ocala. They had only 3 pigs left and they were $200. So he made arrangements for us to drive over there on Tuesday to look at them. We borrowed Papa’s truck, loaded the dog box in the back and Luke, Hunter and I headed for Ocala. When we got there the gentleman was SUPER nice, showed us the pigs and explained that he had made a mistake that the third pig was too small and she would be fine for eating but wouldn’t be able to show. We explained that we had wanted the third pig for a spare “just in case” and it would most likely be going to the freezer anyway. Hunter had taken an instant liking to one pig and Luke let him choose first since it was his first hog project. Funny thing was Luke instantly liked the other pig. So no fighting – It’s a Miracle! After talking awhile longer, we found out that he is a reserve highway patrolman and pastor. He said that he knows how hard it is to get through the academy with a family. He told the boys that he would sell them their show hogs for $150 each instead of $200, he went ahead and gave them an antibiotic shot so they wouldn’t get sick while traveling, threw in a bag of his special hog feed and said oh yeah take the little hog and you can put her in the freezer. So we now have “Trotter” Hunter’s pig, “Porkchop” Luke’s pig and “Tiny” Sarah’s pig.
The Good Lord always provides!

From Natalie and family:

Merry CHRISTmas everyone!

What a year! I’ll start with the youngest and work my way up…..

Jayden turned 5 in January and started kindergarten in August. Her teacher, Chris Hanley, went to school with Mandi and Jayden absolutely adores him! Jon and I took her to Disney for the first time before she started school…..now she wants to go every weekend…she met the princesses…yes all of them… and all the fairies….the fairy Godmother and the evil stepsisters…..it was a wonderful day! She is reading very well….and points out words that she recognizes ALL the time….bless everyone in the car on long trips....you’ll hear about ALL the stop signs! She lost her first tooth on Thanksgiving, thanks to Aunt Mandi and her magic tissue….LOL….now she has her second loose tooth and wants to know how long it will take her to get to Aunt Mandi’s to pull it….I mean “dry it off”….it was great! She also started ballet and tap this year and LOVES it! I enjoy watching her practice….she’s so serious.

Dylan is in the 4th grade and has made great strides in ready. He just finished reading all of the books for the Sunshine State Readers award. I am really proud of him! He played baseball this year and loved it. Jon and I knew he needed extra practice at the end of the season so we let him play fall ball. He loved it too….I didn’t like the traveling but it’s all good….he learned a lot. He’s looking forward to next season! Tyler is in 8th grade and still on the drum line this year. He loves to play and perform at all the different functions that they go to. He plays the quads and is quite impressive. He will be at Church Street Christmas on Dec 22. He is still on Honor Roll and making his Mom proud. He has decided to start putting all of the money he earns from working in a truck fund. He works at the tree farm during Christmas and doing odds and ends the rest of the year. Lately he has been my full time sitter for the younger two…..he really is a HUGE help.

Well I graduated from College in May …..WOO HOO!! Just three short years and now I am the proud owner of an Associates of Applied Science in Business Administration degree, and three Certificates, Business Operations, Business Management, and Business Specialist. I graduated with Honors and a member of Phi Theta Kappa. After the kids started school I told Jon I wanted to get another job….so the search began. I put in my resume all over the place. The first one to call me in was Walgreens. They said they had a position open in the Pharmacy for a Technician and they would love to have me. They wanted me to start there and learn the ropes then move me to management. So I took the job. I LOVE IT! They have asked me to go back to school to become a Pharmacist. I have already gotten my license through the state to fill prescriptions and I go in January to become Certified. So I guess it’s back to school for me…..

Jon has been working his butt off! Our business didn’t slow down as much over the summer as it usually does, but in October it slacked off. It was good for him to have a little break after going non-stop for months. That was the same time I started working at Walgreens so he got the job of picking up and dropping off kids at school. He found out really quickly how I go through gas the way I did. He has been wonderful! He didn’t get to hunt very much this year. Just a few times with Herman and a few times with me, oh yeah he bought me a bow and I LOVE it! He bought two pigs at the beginning of the year with the intention of butchering them July 4th. Well one is in the freezer and the other is still in the pin. However, after a late night phone call to me at work the other night, because Jon needed stitches, the pig, “princess bacon”, bit a chunk out of his finger…..the pig won’t see the New Year.

Well that’s about it from the Parsons’ household. I hope everyone has a blessed and safe Christmas and a wonderful New Year!!!!
WE LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!
Natalie, Jon, Ty, Dylan, and Jayden

From Mandi and family:

Greetings from the Milam Family,

I would love to start with a witty opening, but to be honest I am too tired to be witty. Wow what a year. We are happy, healthy (minus I took Megan to the doctor today for a lovely pink-eye and an ear infection appt) and maybe not so wealthy, but we have change in our pockets. Lane has had a big year. During the Spring he took his first standardized test and scored a perfect score on three of the four sections. He started the 4th grade in the fall and turned the big double digits in November. He has started sounding more and more like his Uncle Joe, with very serious and scientific questions. Joe HELP!

Chase had a bang up year. Literally, he was really banged up. Chase decided while mom and dad were out for a few hours at a wedding, he would test all the rules. He convinced his babysitter he was allowed to ride his bike down the biggest hill on our mountain, wearing flip flops, no helmet and on a bike he just learned to ride. After a trip to the ER, stitches and a discussion about plastic surgery Chase is on the mend. Chase has decided that he will always ask himself one question before acting "What would mom say?" If the answer is no!!!...he will just walk away (I'm praying this one will come true). We have also decided we are never leaving him again...ever!

Megan is such a joy. She is talking up a storm (I know shocking considering her family...such a quiet bunch). We were very blessed to find a wonderful woman to watch her during the day a few minutes from my office. Megan loves going to Edith's and playing with her friends. When Megan gets mad a me, she says "Eddy's now". She is so funny to watch and we can't imagine life without her.

Billy and I are a year older and wiser. We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in March. We are both working hard and staying busy.

Merry Christmas and we wish all of you a wonderful New Year.

Love to all,
Mandi, Billy, Lane, Chase and Megan

From Ralph and Paula:

Seasons Greetings
Hope everyone is well. Just a few things to report this year.
Paula was quite busy this year. Her job at the computer training firm was hit hard by the recession, so she worked at Spicola and Larkin (with Melda) from February through October, doing prep work on some legal cases headed to trial. Then in early November, she started working at Gulf Coast Turf & Tractor as their Vice President of Finance. This company is owned by the same people that owned Precision Enterprises (car dealerships) where she worked in the late 1980's. Which "was the best job" she ever had. So she is very pleased to be back with those folks.

Paula also was able to attend the commencement ceremony for Nick's basic training in Columbus GA. She reported that it was a very impressive event.

Ralph completed his 22nd year working at the Florida Lottery in mid November. Hard to believe it's been that long, and other ways it seems longer.

We've both reconnected with many friends on Facebook in the one (plus) year since we joined. It's also been a lot of fun watching the entries of our younger relatives. And seeing the pictures many of our friends post. A good way to stay connected with friends and family as well as (church & school) groups. I admit I was very hesitant to join, but was quickly glad I did.

Not too much else to report this year.

Merry Christmas (and Happy Birthday to Mike and Jenna) and Happy New Year to all.

Love you, Paula and Ralph.

2009 TIDBITS

Margie Denney retired after 35 years from HeavyQuip.

You may have caught Mike Petters on Television this year for the George H W Bush dedication commissioning and when the USS New York had its debut in New York. The ship was built using some of the steel from the World Trade Center.

Susie’s Change of command was held on the fantail of the USS Missouri and she is now stationed at Fort Belvoir in Virginia.

All Smiles and One big happy family when Brian Petters returned home safely after his year- long tour in Afghanistan.

John Petters earned his Eagle Scout award this year; way to go John!

Nicholas Barthle graduated from Washingtonville High School and August 3, 2009 he started Army Basic Training at Fort Gordon, GA. He graduated from Army Basic on October 8, 2009 and began Satellite Communications Maintainer/Operator School in November, 2009.

Lauren Emily True arrived Tuesday, October 20, 2009, at 7:30. She weighed 8 lbs 14 oz.and 20 1/2" long!

Natalie Persons, graduated from College in May with an Associates of Applied Science in Business Administration degree, and three Certificates, Business Operations, Business Management, and Business Specialist, with Honors and a member of Phi Theta Kappa.

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