Merry Christmas

It has been a wonderful year. We feel so grateful for our family and friends.
We spent much of the year away from West Virginia, and do miss our friends there. We owe a tremendous debt to the Alexanders for allowing us to invade their home for so long. We love them.

Jennie has been anxiously engaged. In addition to being a concientious housewife, she's always doing fun pre-school activites with the children, going to points of interest wherever we have lived, and still finds time for her other projects like quilting, crafts, and guitar. She takes great care of herself and loves to waterski, run, and do outdoor activities.

Richard was able to do clinical rotations at the University of Utah and University Medical Center in Las Vegas, he also spent a month in San Antonio with the Air Force. We were thrilled to learn that he will be doing his internal medicine residency there. He enjoys his books and passed his second set of board exams last summer. He still enjoys raquetball, fishing and the outdoors, and loves to cook/grill. He will graduate on May 26th.

John was involved in gymnastics and a music classes this year. He is very acrobatic and loves to display his "fighting" skills. He has a beautiful voice. He is hyperactive and always has a creative project going. He is excited to start kindergarten this next fall.

Lila is our little bubble-gum chewer. She is talking now and a delight. She loves to spend time copying her older brother.

Here is a christmas message for all of us. When Jesus was born there was a sign in the heavens, a new star, that wise men recognized and followed to his home. They arrived several years after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. While on the very night of his delivery, Angels appeared to humble shepherds keeping their flocks by night, and proclaimed the birth of the messiah in a glorious vision. The angels disclosed the exact location of the baby. The shepherds made haste and were able to give their devotions that very night. Further they told many of the vision and the nativity. Although, the wise men did eventually make it to the savior's home, they obviously had to travel many many miles. The shepherds were close to him already. Let's focus more on being shepherds and less on being wise.