It is that special time of year again; when we connect with so many loved ones whom we try so hard to keep up with. Life sure seems to speed up as we grow older. If you have been watching the news recently, you will know that we just dug ourselves out of a major ice storm. We lost power and phone for 3 days, but we are safe and sound. Things are still going well at Wachovia for Jim. They moved his office uptown where the view is much better, but the commute is much longer. Jeanie left her newspaper carrier job and is brushing up on her nursing skills. She will be taking a refresher course this year so that she can get back into nursing once they reinstate her license.
We are adjusting to having grown-up daughters. It is hard changing roles from being the mommy and daddy who make all the decisions and mete out the discipline to the ones who speak when spoken to . It’s hard not to give unasked for advice, but it sure is nice when they occasionally ask.

One year in the life of our daughters…

Melody Grace

Melody is a senior at UNC Charlotte where she continues to amaze us with her extremely high GPA. She is double majoring in finance and psychology and was an intern with Merrill Lynch this fall as part of her finance curriculum. She plans to finish at UNCC and head out to California to attend graduate school. Her first love is psychology and she plans to use it to work with children.

Leah Kathryn

As the last “full time” daughter, Kat is enjoying having the run of the house (and car). She earned her drivers license and loves driving. She is doing very well as a junior in high school this year. She is a 2^nd Lieutenant and Flight Commander in the Air Force JROTC Corps. She has her sights set on the Air Force academy. She has talked about becoming an Air Force pilot for several years and it looks like she’s serious about it. She is also involved with videography in her Radio and TV class. For the third year in a row, Dad (who is terrified of heights) held the ladder while Kat climbed up to hang the lights on the house. Meanwhile, Mom looked on with fear and trepidation.

Melissa Erin

 Erin graduated high school 6^th out of 400 students this year! Way to go, Erin! She is now thriving as a freshman at NC State University where she received some scholarships to the College of Engineering. Erin is double majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering. She continues to act in theater in college. In high school this year, she played the part of Gollum in The Hobbit for which she won the “Best Actress” award. Justin, her long time boyfriend, and she are learning to live apart as he continues his education at UNCC. Erin’s daddy misses reading to her a lot.

Danae and Mark Ogren

 Our family got smaller and larger this year when we had a wedding! Danae and Mark Ogren were married here in Charlotte on July 28^th. His parents and grandparents stayed with us, and we had a wonderful time getting to know them better. Mark and Danae live in Kingsland, GA, where he is a submariner in the Navy assigned to the USS West Virginia. Danae has decided to finish her education closer to her new home. They just added to their number by getting a puppy named Petey.

 Thanks, God for the lovely family you have loaned us… May we be the people you want us to be.