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Greetings to you all!
We hope and pray this
greeting finds you in good health and good spirits, and if not we pray for God’s comfort and healing touch. Instead
of a year-end letter we decided a year-start letter might bring some cheer to your Winter season (which for those of us in
much of the country can be rather cold and gray). Last year was both good and busy, but looking back the word that most comes
to mind is that it was a year of joy!
We are still living in Florissant, Missouri, just northwest of St. Louis. Greg
is working at Boeing as an engineering manager, and Kitty continues to be busy in her house-cleaning business. Both of us
are volunteering at our church, and Greg is slowly making progress towards his second seminary degree. But enough about the
day-to-day routine; we’d like to share with you some of our highlights from this past year.
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| Caribbean snorkeling fun |
We spent seven days on
a cruise of the western Caribbean in March, our third cruise in as
many years (we’re hooked on these vacations). A full yet restful time of visiting the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Cozumel,
along with several days of just sailing on smooth seas under clear skies. (For those who
are curious, we cruise on the larger Royal Caribbean ships.) Afterward, Kitty was able to spend an additional week with her
parents at their winter home in Ft. Myers, Florida.
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May brought both Kim’s graduation from William Jewell College, and her marriage to Doug Lawson. The wonderful wedding ceremony and reception were held outdoors in a park near
Lenexa, Kansas (a southwest suburb of Kansas City). The Lord blessed us all with a beautiful day, and the wedding took place just before sundown
as we looked out over a lake. With trees surrounding us as a cathedral, sailboats gliding across the lake, and eagles soaring above, Greg presided over the ceremony with help from Doug’s father,
Robert. A string quartet and a trio of sisters provided a musical backdrop as Kim and Doug exchanged vows, rings, and Communion before some 120 guests.
The reception was held under a pavilion with a canopy of lights, then the newlyweds departed by a canoe lit with tiki torches.
Click here to see photos of
Kim and Doug's wedding.
Immediately after their honeymoon, Kim and Doug packed up and moved to Millsboro, Delaware where Doug’s company has transferred him for an assignment of a few months. Just a few weeks later, after a vacation
in Italy with Cameron’s parents, Kristy and Cam left their jobs and
apartment at William Jewell College to move to Tampa, Florida,
where they have been actively working with friends and their pastor to start a new church. It was difficult for us to see
both of the girls graduated, married, and moved all in just barely more than a year, but we are very excited for them.
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| Kim 'n Doug on a Delaware beach |
Both couples are doing
well. By God’s providence, Kristy and Cameron were able to buy a condominium and now have jobs very well suited to their
personalities and skills, and are still able to devout much time and energy to help the new church develop and grow. Doug’s
job has kept him quite busy, but he and Kim have been able to travel some both along the East Coast and back to the Midwest,
and they are expecting a son in April – our first grandchild! We were blessed to visit Kim and Doug in Delaware
for the 4th of July weekend and again in August. Who knew that Delaware has such beautiful beaches – with “wild”
horses no less! And Kitty was able to visit Washington, D.C., for the first time.
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| Crab lunch - Yummm! |
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| Kitty and Honest Abe |
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While June 9th was our 25th wedding anniversary date, we celebrated this milestone both on our March cruise
and again in August with a weekend at a charming local bed-n-breakfast – a gift from the four kids. We also squeezed
in a week’s stay at Virginia Beach in August. While Greg was there on a work assignment, Kitty enjoyed the sand, sun, and surf.
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| Playing in Jamaica |
Work, church, and school kept us close to home for much of the Fall. In early October, however, we purchased a new car and found
ourselves without a van for the first time in more than 18 years. It seemed only reasonable to make this transition with a
road trip, so we combined Greg’s ministerial credentials interview in Chicago (he is licensed as a pastor for another year) with
a visit to see his brother, Mike, in Grand Rapids, and his parents in East Tawas, Michigan.
For the first time in
many, many years we did not celebrate Thanksgiving at home. Instead, it was off to Tampa to spend the weekend with Kristy and Cam.
The kids have a beautiful townhouse condo in an older neighborhood with lots of trees and a large lake. Their fence backs up to a ranch
with a number of cows, and in the evening it sounded a lot like being back in the Midwest countryside! Kim and Doug drove down from
Delaware, and Kitty’s parents also
joined us for Thanksgiving, which we enjoyed in our shorts and t-shirts (a first for us, but when it’s nearly 80 degrees
…). Of course we spent a day at the beach, took in some sight-seeing, visited with friends in the area, and on Sunday
Greg was invited to preach at the kids’ new International Community Church.
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| Thanksgiving in Tampa |
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| Kristy & Cam and Doug & Kim |
We closed out 2004, as always, in Michigan with family for the Christmas season. We were able to share the season with almost everyone in both our families,
even enjoying a snowball fight with two of our nephews.
Kitty is cleaning several homes now, and is constantly being asked if she will take on even more homes! She is very good, and of course her personality
just makes her even more desirable. Greg is preaching more at the church while our pastor is on a leave, and we both continue
to minister at a local retirement center. Greg has also been given a new assignment at Boeing which means quite a bit more
business travel, but we’re trying not to let that get in the way of living!
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| Pregnant Kim and Doug - Jan 2005 |
What’s ahead for us in 2005? We’re looking forward to visiting with Kim and Doug (and soon the baby) as they have
now moved back to the Kansas City area. And of course we are already practicing our grandparenting skills (okay, it’s called spoiling the kid!).
And as God provides, there will be more travel to visit family and friends as well as new places and adventures – including,
of course, another cruise vacation.
We think of you all often, and pray we will hear from you soon. May the good Lord bless you and yours as He continues to bless
us in so many ways.
Our love and prayers are for you always,
Greg & Kitty
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| Kitty & Greg ... into a Caribbean sunset |
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| Paraguayan dinner with Cam & Kristy |
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