December 16, 2004

 

Dear friends,

 

Merry Christmas to you and yours!  We hope that the past year has been kind to you and that the new one has many great, happy surprises in store.

 

We discussed the annual Christmas missive at the dinner table last night.  What to say?  What to report on?  Turns out there’s no big news, and that is a good thing.  Still healthy, still happy, same house, same jobs.  We celebrate all of this and take pleasure filling you in on the little news from our family.

 

Zac is in seventh grade now.  He has a few electives this year and chose to learn about football (hey, this is Texas!), French and theater.  He made the “A” team at school starting both ways, and football was a big element of all family life this past fall.  He’s doing well at school and has discovered the pleasures of Monty Python and Weird Al Yankovic.  He’s shaping up to be a fun-loving, quirky individual, but what would you expect, given his parentage?! 

 

Chuck had a great year in sales.  His company went public and everyone is hoping that this leads to more success.  Chuck worked hard and qualified for “President’s Club” last year.  This meant that he and Kate got to join the team for a sales meeting/pep rally in the Bahamas last April.  This was great fun and a bit strange.  Our vacations are usually spent visiting family or camping and hiking.  This was our first experience at a tourist resort and as long as we’re not paying for it, it’s great!  Zac stayed behind with Kate’s friend, Kathy.  They had fun playing laser tag, and she took great care of him and the dogs, (actually the dogs were more of a challenge than the boy!).  Chuck still rides his motorcycle when he can and this year decided guitar lessons were a good idea.  He now has two noisy hobbies.  The big question?  More chrome or a new amp?!?!

 

Kate remains working at the youth center in south Dallas.  One program was cut this year, but a new one is being developed.  It has been busy and made all the more fun since she has formed close friendships with many of her colleagues.  The environmental activities continue.  After having volunteered for more than 40 hours this past year, she has now earned “Master Composter” certification from the state of Texas.  This means that we have piles of grass and leaves in odd corners of our yard – and a very nice garden will hopefully follow.  It’s been trial and error figuring out what plants can withstand the Texas heat in the summer and, surviving that, not later turn into rabbit food.  We’ve currently got a pack of wild rabbits chomping their way through pansies that were meant to bloom all winter. 

 

Our October vacation was the best yet.  We spent a week at Big Bend National Park in south Texas, right at the Mexican border.  It is an amazing park in the Chihuahuan Desert.  We camped in the Chisos Mountains and can’t even begin to tell you how much we enjoyed the hiking and getting to know all of the crazy desert plants that were in bloom.  We hope to return next October, and likely every October after that!

 

We went in another direction last spring.  We made a stop in Vicksburg, Mississippi and toured a  civil war park.  Fascinating area of the U.S.!  Our ultimate destination was Pensacola, Florida, where we visited friends.  Lucky for us we were back before the hurricane struck.  We stopped in New Orleans on the way home and although many love this place, we’ve decided that we have no immediate desire to return.  Too much debauchery for us but hey, the food was great!  Continuing the Civil War theme, Chuck also made it to Gettysburg with his friend, Amir, for a long weekend getaway over Memorial Day weekend and had a great time.  Seeing more of Amir and his sweet daughter, Ellie, has been one of the true joys of this year.  Kate and Zac made the annual trek to Maine in July, where there is never enough time to see everyone and do everything.  Next summer’s trip may be transferred to September instead, as niece Jessica is planning a fall wedding.

 

Apart from the fun and games of friendships and tourism, there’s been lots and lots of commuting, working and chores.  We lament the lack of lazy days and enough time to read and paint and learn new languages.  But we try and make it all meaningful. We’ve started attending a Methodist church near our home and have all been surprised by how much we enjoy it.  We first attended last Christmas and well, we just kept returning.  We became members about five months ago and now Zac is taking confirmation classes.

 

Our two dogs, Joey and Kramer, continue to lighten our hearts and broaden our smiles.  They pretend not to like one another, but we know better.  Giving the dog’s voice and having prolonged dog conversations has become one of Kate’s favorite (and rather odd) past-times.  (Just for the record, Joey sometimes speaks French, and Kramer has an Arkansas twang.)

 

So, this is our life.  Thanks for sharing in it!  Be in touch and send us your news.  Better yet, stop by.  There’s always something in the crock pot!