As we come together once again to share our past year and celebrate the Gift you are to us, our wish for you—May Christmas warm your heart. . . with happiness to share, friends who deeply care, family to love and blessings from above!  May every day be a blessing to you.

EVERY DAY LIVES . . .
Susan continues with her many commitments—tutoring adults in English as a Second Language and Basic Studies at the local college, Scripture Study Group, Children’s Hospital Guild, a Book Club, GIFTS group at St. Anthony’s, learning to knit and learning to use a serger, as well as adding mentoring at the local elementary school.  Beginning in March, she worked with a young 1st grader whose father had died the year before.  She is an only child and was with her dad when he died of a heart attack at 29.  Susan meets with her for one hour each week.  They get together as buddies to talk, play games, do art projects and anything that builds stability and friendship.  For Susan it has been very rewarding and only a little challenging!

There has been a lot of press about Boeing this past year, mostly about significantly lower airplane deliveries due to 9/11, and the resulting layoffs for 30,000 people.  Even with all of this, Rich feels his job is pretty safe.  He worries more about the amount of overtime he has worked.  For the last year, he has been focusing on a strategic initiative project for the 737 & 757 programs.  It is intended to reduce airplane costs beginning next year and beyond.  This project has been both challenging and rewarding, and has further broadened his knowledge on how airplanes are built.  The project is now winding down, and early next year he will return to his regular assignments – whatever they turn out to be.  Rich also resumed playing volleyball this fall and is trying to devote time to reading for continued education.
 

TRAVELS . . .
Our “winter-in-a-warm-weather vacation spot” took us to Florida in mid-February.  Our 2 weeks were divided between Tampa, Orlando, Sanibel, Fort Myers and Jensen Beach.

We joined Susan’s mom and dad at their annual winter retreat just outside of Tampa.  It was a delight to experience the area with them; citrus picked from trees in the yard, and friends they met during their month-long trip.

In Orlando, we stayed with Rich’s brother Ron, our sister-in-law Mary Lee, and Erin and Jennifer.  Since Ron works at Disney, we made trips with them to see Animal Kingdom and Fantasia (a laser light show).   Oh yes, we also had a picture session with Mickey.  Let’s just say that Mickey looks better than the other 2 characters in the picture!  Ron’s girls were a delight—Erin is a little 5-year old Princess and Jennifer is a 2-year old bundle of energy destined to either be a gymnast or a mountain climber!  When we offered to take the girls to the park for a couple of hours to give mom and dad a rest, they smiled knowing we would either return soon or be really exhausted when we did return!  We really missed them when we departed.  Bless Mary Lee and her energy!!

We took a day to explore Sanibel Island and walk the beaches for shells.  Visiting Cape Canaveral was interesting and included seeing the space shuttle on the launch pad; scheduled for launch a few days later.  To experience both coasts, we stayed on Hutchinson Island, near Jensen Beach, getting to explore the Atlantic side.  Many things were left to see guaranteeing a definite return trip.

Susan enjoyed 12 days with her family in southern Indiana in June to celebrate the graduation of her nephew Chris.  She also enjoyed spending lots of time with family, her nieces, and at those wonderful summer socials.  At the same time, Rich traveled to Salem to celebrate his niece Jaydee’s graduation.  They are all growing into young adults too quickly!
 

VISITORS TO OUR CITY . . .
In late February Susan’s friend, Evelyn Forthofer, spent a few days with us before attending a Diversity workshop.  Evelyn is the Formation Director for the Franciscan Community in Oldenburg, IN.  For years they have been talking about having Evelyn visit and the opportunity came.  We think she really enjoyed this beautiful country of the northwest.  She and Susan managed non-stop talking as they caught up on family and mutual friends.

Early August brought Susan’s youngest brother, Tom, our sister-in-law Teresa, and Emily and Amanda for a week of touring and visiting.  Although a little cool for a few days, they had great weather and were able to see the Olympics and visit Mt Rainier.  Tom found a picnic spot for us along the Carbon River looking directly at the mountain.  It was almost as if you could reach out and touch it.  They were really busy for a week and a delight for us.  There is nothing like having children in your home to make life regain its perspective.

Rich’s mom joined us for 4 days in early November to celebrate her 76th birthday. We hosted a Brunch for over 20 friends and relatives from Seattle.  It was a grand celebration and she had a great time.  Her brother George and wife Maggie helped us celebrate.
 

THE FUN STUFF IN LIFE, (We think!)
It seems that every summer brings with it a new home improvement project.  This year we were able to complete the usual tree toppings, yard work and blackberry wars early.  So we tackled overhauling our deck.  This consisted of removing the old decking, preparing and painting the joists underneath and the picket railings above.  Then we put down 675 square feet of new plastic deck boards.  And, as a final touch, we replaced the picket railings facing the lake with new see-through glass panels.  This has enhanced our viewing considerably, and the new deck materials are low maintenance – requiring only an occasional washing.   It proved to be typical of many of Rich’s 6 week projects;  requiring much more effort than forecasted, it started in July and finished in October.  But we both agreed that the difference between the before and after made it worth the effort.

Rich was able to adjust his work schedule such that he had every other Friday off.  Although many of these weekends ended up being consumed by "deck time” (accompanied by a paint brush or power saw), it did enable several 3 day weekend adventures during the summer:  a kayak and camping trip on the coastal lakes of Crescent and Quinalt with friends Barb and Dave; a trip to visit Rich’s cousin Susan Thorson, and her family in Richland; several trips to Salem to visit Rich’s mother and brothers; a day on San Juan island to attend the wedding of long time friends Barb and Dave Schmuhl;  an evening with friends at Cirque du Soleil; our third consecutive annual wine tasting trip through the vineyards of the Yakima Valley; and a trip to the remote town of Randle, WA, in the shadow of Mount St Helen’s, to visit friends Randy and Linda Sharp.
 

THE SAD STUFF . . .
In July, our very dear friend, George Freund, died.  He, his wife, Pat and another friend were bicycling on a trail when 3 speeding bicyclists came towards them, one lost control of his bike and hit George throwing him with such force that it split his helmet and immediately did irreparable damage to his brain stem.  He was kept alive for almost a week while his and Pat’s family members flew in from Nebraska, Iowa and New Mexico.  We hosted his mom, dad, one sister and a brother for almost 2 weeks.  We were grateful we could support them and in our own way deal with our own grief and loss.  A friend, Sally, and Susan prepared food nightly to take to the 40+ family members who had gathered at the hospital.  It was the least we could do, as George was such a good and giving man.  He had his Ph.D. in Quantum Physics, but in his humble way never told people.  He handed out food certificates to homeless people whenever he would meet them on the streets.  He sent Valentine cards to elderly widows he knew to make certain they knew someone cared—a true gem of a man. George and Pat have been our dear friends for over 10 years.  Pat is Susan’s morning walking buddy.  We have many good memories of our 2 trips to Hawaii with them, Mariner games, hikes, monthly dinners and our recent trip to Vancouver with them to celebrate our anniversaries.  He has left behind 4 wonderful kids and a legacy of goodness that will not be forgotten.

 Our final Christmas wish for you—May God’s perfect peace bless our world. . .
renew our hope. . . dwell in our hearts. . . at Christmas time and always!
                                                                       Rich and Susan