CHRISTMAS 2009

2009 was not exactly our favorite year. It has been in many ways a roller coaster ride. Going faster and faster, and filled with big ups and big downs. With all that we are grateful that the family is together and as our motto has been in many years: "We are still here."

CATHY is ending her job at Scottsdale Bead to pursue a dream of opening a children's bookstore with story hours for the kids and books of all types and ages. We hope to open Tikes & Tales in February 2010. In the meantime, the work is staggering. At this writing we have over 9,200 books in the house along with stuffed animals, games, puzzles and toys.

In November however her "last" PET scan and subsequent MRI showed a small growth in her left shoulder. We are believing and praying that it is just a little spot, not a reoccurance of the melanoma. Surgery to remove the spot will happen in early January.

TYLER is now in his 4th year at the University of Arizona. His "first Senior year" after adding an environmental science major which will require one more year.

Summer saw Tyler doing battlefield tours with the National Park Service in Frederickburg Virginia. He covered that field and also the nearby Chancellorsville battlefield also.

We decided to take our 25th wedding anniversary vacation to the east, visiting Tyler in Virginia and our long time friends Paul & Nancy Krauss in North Carolina.

MATT has also had an up and down year. He once again finished 5th in the State Wrestling Tournament in the 135 lb weight class and also won numerous local and regional tournaments.

Graduating from High School in May, back and forth complications with his scholarship to VMI left him high and dry until a last minute transfer of the scholarship to The Citadel in SC. Things seemed finally to be going his way, but he had to withdraw from the school for medical reasons.

Since then he has been reassessing his goals and is planning on doing some course work at PVCC.

JOHN continues plugging away with Creative Colleagues. Business has been off considerably from 2008 but is still paying the mortgage and puttin' bread on the table. In addition to that planning and working toward opening Tikes & Tales has lead to seven day work weeks.

When not working, he continued coaching baseball (click here). That may be drawing to a close as this winter we could not fill out the team. The first time in nearly a decade the Black Sox have not been able to field a team. Time will tell if we continue.

What time (and energy) that is left over is spent rehabbing holsters and selling them on ebay.

__________________________________

Almost everyone we know (and lots of folks we don't know) has also had a difficult year. We are hopeful that we all have a happier and more prosperous New Year.
__________________________________

John, Cathy, Tyler, Matt and of course Sam