Christmas, 2009



Family and Friends:


This year seems to have flown by even faster than last. It’s time for another state of the family letter.


We made a lot of trips to Columbus this year. Brian and Emily moved into a bigger house in Westerville in May, so Oma and Opa were around fairly regularly in the spring for David’s birthday in March and Katy’s birthday in May and then helping with the move. Then throughout the summer, we took care of Katy and David a couple of times on weekends when Mom and Dad were attending weddings. So we have enjoyed spending time with the M’s this year. They are expecting a new baby next June, so there will be even more fun to be had next year.

Oma can’t wait for Katy to be big enough to come to Pittsburgh so we can go to a Fiddlesticks Concert down at Heinz Hall. Now that she is 3, I am watching for a good opportunity that might fit the schedule. David will be 2 in March, and he likes trucks and bikes and buses and things with wheels in general. He also likes it when Opa holds him WAY up in the air so he can touch the ceiling. I think he needs a drum set, though. Music, music, music . . . .

Melanie finished raising her support and is now full-time on the staff of H2O, the Great Commission Ministries church plant on Ohio State campus. Melanie has made the transition from college student to career life very well. It has been a great year for her as she moved to a non-campus apartment with 2 of her former room-mates and experienced her first year of life without a summer break. Her job is both exciting and demanding. She is planning a trip to the Dominican Republic over spring break with the OSU students. She recently became engaged to Aaron Wibberley, who is raising his support and preparing to work with H2O in the near future. He is an OSU graduate in biology who likes snakes and stuff. (I think a conversation about pets might be in order.) Wedding plans will fit in there as well.

Matt and Mary also visited with us a couple of times. They were here in February for a cold trip up the incline to Mount Washington. Then they came back in the warmer weather so we could go to the Carnegie Museum to see the dinosaur exhibit. We’ve also met up with them in Columbus a number of times, and they joined us for dinner at Brian and Emily’s house in September. It has been fun catching up with them and spending time together.

Greg and I took a vacation to Charleston, South Carolina, this fall with Mom and Dad. You can see one of the pictures here. It was a relaxing trip. In July, our good friends, Bill and Susie Antolec, moved to Chang Rai, Thailand, to be missionaries. We were actively involved in helping them disperse some of their household goods and have become trustees of some of their prized possessions that couldn’t make the trip. Thank goodness for Skype; we get to talk to them periodically in spite of the 12 –hour time difference.


I continue to do a lot of volunteer work, and I finished 2 terms as president of the board at Sojourner House in June. I thought I would take a rest, but I ended up as president of our local chapter of Zonta in August. We have been doing some women’s advocacy and education in the area of human trafficking; and I’ve added this to my list of heart issues.


We hope that this year finds you well. Merry Christmas from Pittsburgh, and may God bless you in the coming year.


Greg and Kathy