Dear Friends,
Greetings from the land of oil, cattle, warm weather, Astros and Oilers – and yes – traffic and smog and traffic and humidity and traffic! Hopefully you have had a good year as we have and we trust the coming one will be even better.
Our year began with Deb’s departure for Europe in January. She spent a semester headquartered in London but with lots of time for side trips to Paris, Rome, Sweden, and all over England. She had a great time and came back with stories and photographs galore. We couldn’t make the trip this time, but it’s still in the forefront of our daydreams for the future. Deb is transferring to Trinity University in San Antonio next semester and should be able to finish in a year. Her major remains Theater – but she plans to stress the playwriting and directing side of it.
Ken will graduate this spring and is in the throes of making decisions on colleges and majors. At this writing he is looking at Tulane, Texas A&M, and the University of Texas – with a probable major in some phase of engineering. Ken has been active in church youth activities this year and has kept up his interest in choral music. He entered the state competition in vocal music this year for the first time and placed in the top eight second tenors in our part of the state.
Next fall will see us a three-car, one-son family! Kip is completing his sophomore year at Spring High South. (Weirdly enough, the school is changing its name to Westfield High next year, so Kip will be a Westfield Mustang instead of a Spring Lion when he graduates!) Kip just finished his fourth year as a football manager this fall. It is a mixed blessing to consider that he’ll be driving next year and there won’t be a carpool. If we have a “native” Texan in the family it’s Kip – even down to trying Skoal and Copenhagen! He’s having a good year and generally has a fresh batch of battle scars every weekend from the never-ending neighborhood football games.
As for Pat and Karen, we are happier and more involved than ever – mostly in Church work and in Marriage Encounter activities. We’ve finished a year of team-teaching a confirmation class and are at present acting as parish contacts for couples planning marriage, as well as serving as ministers of communion at Sunday Mass. We still commute together – actually Deb joined us for six months while working at the Texas Medical Center – and it makes the extra 10+ hours a week slightly more bearable. Karen is still keeping out of trouble by being Jill-of-all-trades for a priest and a sister in the Diocesan Office of Vocations. Pat is still working hard and profitably at Baylor College of Medicine. We have grown to appreciate the good things about Texas – not the least of which are warm winters and friendly, patriotic, God-loving people (of course a lot of them are displaced Yankees like us!).
We love you all and keep you in our thoughts and prayers this Christmas. May we see you soon!