BEJARANA CHRISTMAS LETTER 2009
Do the years go faster, or is it just me? Where did 2009 go?
I lost my calendar half way thru the year, so can’t remember details from the first half of the year. (Guess that’s a senior moment!) Let’s see what I do remember!
Christmas 2008 found us snowed in! My brother and sister-in-law arrived from Salem before the Christmas storm, stayed for a few days, and friends from nearby came over for Christmas dinner. We enjoyed watching the storm from inside our cozy home, ate wonderful food, played games and took lots of pictures!
Ed continues to play with the band at church. I volunteer once a month to make coffee for Sunday morning services (13 pots), and we’ve joined a small bible study group which meets twice a month.
Kenny, grandson from New Mexico, flew out twice this spring. He is a great traveler and we enjoyed going here and there sightseeing. Because he was home-schooled, it allowed for any-time visits. This September, his folks elected to put him in public school, which will make it more difficult for future visits to Grandma & Grandpa’s house.
I flew to New Mexico in October and spent two weeks with Sue, Bill and Kenny. Visited the Durango, CO area. Very pretty and fun!
In July we had another annual family camping trip (Kay’s family). 15 of us gathered in Bandon Beach State Park, near Coos Bay on the Southern Oregon Coast, for a week of camping, boating, and sight seeing. We love to cook out and play games! As we disbursed from camping, Ed & I drove our motor home on down to Santa Cruz, CA, caravanning with Dan & his family. Our destination was Dan’s “compound” (tow yard) in Santa Cruz. Made it to Hwy 17 between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz where our motor home broke down! Breaking down at night on a turn on Hwy 17 is quite an experience…we couldn’t get off the highway and had 30 minutes of cars coming around the bend to find us blocking the right lane! Thank goodness for Dan and his family! He helped with our 911 call, tow truck retrieval, our transfer to his motor home (with two grandsons and two dogs), and towing our rig down to his yard. Turned out to be a fuse which was easily fixed.
After a week stay in CA, we left our motor home at Dan’s yard in Santa Cruz, and drove home in the car. We have since made two more trips to Santa Cruz, to see our grandsons (Wesley and Zachery) play football. Ed has been expanding business contacts in the Santa Cruz area. We plan another trip down in January, and will be returning to Santa Cruz in June for our grandson Wesley’s high school graduation.
Ed has diversified his business more this past year. Along with selling trade show displays and internet marketing, he also develops websites. This area has taken off, and he is busier every month. At the beginning of the year, he brought me on board as “Office Manager) to help out (bookkeeping – right up my alley) and to help keep him on track with organizing his files, scheduling, answering the phone. It is nice to work from home, and I spend just a few hours a day. We now have two computers. Ed has moved his desk and office into the living room, leaving me the computer in the family room. Works out well with us as he has clients to the house several times a week.
Kay is out many days “playing” with her “Red Hat Ladies”. Kay and good friend, Donna, are the “activities coords” for the Fairview Red Hat group. We come up with ideas and plan and organize trips to different fun places, parties, and of course eating out! We also belong to the Gresham Red Hat group. We visit local places of interest, go to movies, have picnics, and of course have lunch wherever we go! We had our second Luau this summer in our back yard. The Christmas party will be hosted at Donna’s house next week. We’ve had a busy year and enjoy our fun groups. We are also in a Bunco group which meets once a month. Love retirement!
Ed and I feel God has blessed us this year. We are healthy, happy, and on a steady increase in our business. We love Portland! Love hearing from you all, and always have a spare room for visits. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!!
Kay & Ed