Stephen Gets Better!

It is with joy and thankfulness that we write you this year. Stephen's operation for colitis is apparently successful. He gets stronger by the week and has learned to live with an ostomy. Also, he continues to regain some use of his right arm, paralyzed by a stroke. We work to restore it nearly every day. He's mentoring again for the EFM scripture study program, singing with our church choir, and improving our yard day by day. Once again we delighted in his sister Janice's visited last October.

Jim Gets Ready?

Jim's getting close to retirement (in one or two years), but he's still very active in his teaching at SIUE. The Ragtime Rascals group is just as strong as ever, and now, three of us play on the first Sunday of each month at Dressel's Cafe. We have missed our good friend, Rosanda, who is in Wisconsin with her mother while her sister recovers from an illness. Jim continues to build web pages, and generally fool around with technology.

Steph and Dawn's
Wedding Ceremony

On August 26, Stephanie Nichols and Dawn DeCosta took vows in a beautiful ceremony in the yard of Dawn's sister overlooking the Mystic River in Connecticut. Friends and family shared touching memories of living with them and we partied and danced the night away. Her mom and "two" dads were very proud to be there. Steph and Dawn both continue to advance in their careers in Boston: Steph as mutual funds lawyer for State Street Bank, Dawn as research grant writer at Brigham & Women's Hospital. We're very proud of both of them. Although blocked by a Family and Children's Service snafu, they generously strove to make us adoptive grandparents of two beautiful African-American children, 4-year-old Michaela and her two-year-old brother, Benjamin. We're all sorry it didn't work out.

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Knocking around Accomac

The two of us continue to play bridge and attend our play reading group. We've made fast friends there, and have even starred in a couple of plays. At 19, Leonard's still beautiful, demanding, and companionable. He sleeps a lot more, though. A young female parakeet keeps an aging Gilbrit company in a classy new three or four story cage. Our back yard came into its own this summer, after a two-year major overhaul. This fall we had three red maples planted out front. Birds and squirrels feast on our largess in both front and back yards.The past two months have been very cold, but we're grateful for our two fireplaces. The Christmas tree's blinking light patterns make a cozy scene beside the living room fireplace. We hope you'll drop-in soon for apple pie and tea! Really. There's a third story bedroom just for you.