I am sorry I am late getting my annual Christmas letter out this year.  It has been a really busy year for me.  As I wrote you last year, I am living with and caring for my folks, who have had several medical issues this year.  I do all the cooking, shopping, driving to doctor appointments, laundry, run errands and am doing more and more around the house each day.  I haven't had a chance to do much on my web work this year, other than keeping up the websites for Calvary Baptist Church in Simi Valley and Wayside Baptist in Lake Wales, Florida.

In January, my son, Craig, and grandson, Ryan, came for a visit.  It was so good to see them and Ryan is growing so fast!  The only thing I don't like about being here in Placerville, is being so far from all my grandchildren ... William and Destiny are in Colorado, Ryan is in southern California, and Troy's girls are in Idaho.  We have absolutely no contact with Troy's son, Anthony, which really bothers me, but it seems to be his mother's choice.  Our only hope is that when he gets older he will come looking for us.

Even with all the doctor appointments and other things I do here, I have been able to do a little traveling.  The end of March, I was in Washington State for a week, traveling with my cousin, Hal.  He was looking for property in the area.  During the week I was there, I was able to visit some internet friends, Earl and Nancy, in Lynwood, WA and we drove over to Idaho and spent a day visiting with my son, Troy, and his family.  After traveling back to western Washington, we were in Seattle and had dinner on top of the Space Needle ... what a view! ... and the food was excellent.

May found me back up in Washington again, for just a couple of days.  Hal had found some property he was interested in, in Port Angeles, WA and wanted me to see it.  He did end up purchasing the property and it really is perfect for his needs.  The area is absolutely gorgeous, situated between the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic Mountains.  We tried to go up to Hurricane Ridge but due to a very unusual and heavy snowfall during the winter, the roads were still closed.  I had been there with the folks and my sister as a teenager and remembered the beauty of it.

I also made a couple of trips back to southern California this year, to visit my chiropractor, and my friends and church down there.  My son, Craig, lives in Simi but it seemed whenever I was down there we weren't able to connect for a visit.

In March, Hal, Mama and Daddy and I made a trip to southern California.  We visited with my cousins, Lilli, Gaby and her husband in Palm Desert, then traveled over to Simi Valley, where we took Mama and Daddy to the Reagan Presidential Library to see the changes since they had been there before but mainly to see Air Force One.  Then we had a beautiful drive back up the California coast.  It was really a nice trip.

Even though Hal has spent the majority of his year in Washington, and traveling to Mississippi, Florida and some car shows around the country, he has also been here in Placerville quite a bit.  He does a lot around the property here to help Daddy ... THANK YOU HAL!  My sister took care of the folks for a weekend in April and we went to a Gaither Concert in the San Francisco area .. it was GREAT!  Then in August we went to Monterey for a weekend.  We walked to Wharf, went Whale Watching ... yes, we did see some whales ... and saw "A Broadway Musical" performed by a small local theatre group there on the wharf.  It was really good.

On Daddy's birthday, October 20th, I threw a SUPRISE Birthday Party for him.  It went off very well and he was totally surprised!

Early this month, I was able to take a 3-day trip to Idaho to see Troy and his family.  I really enjoyed spending time with them.  Knowing I was in the area, my step-son, Russ, and his fiance, Nancy, came from the Portland area to see me, as did his brother, John, and girlfriend, KateLynn, who live in Coeur d'Alene.  It was fun seeing everyone again, and of course, I really enjoyed visiting with my granddaughters ... Kolbie, Austyn, Rylee and the NEW baby, Raiganne!

Last year when I wrote, I was on Disability, but that ran out in July and as of August, I am now on Social Security.  It is substantially less than the disability was, but I am managing.