Christmas 2005

Greetings Friends and Family,

We hope you and your family are healthy and enjoying the holiday season once again. This has been a quiet year for us as predicted. The kids are all settled into school routines while Jim and Elizabeth continue to work on business ventures. We count our blessings and enjoy living here among our wonderful friends. This has also been a sad time for us with the loss of Elizabeth’s sister Colette and some of our other friends. Their passing has served to remind us of how fragile life can be and how we should cherish every moment with those who are dear to us.

We started the year with Ciara joining the Groton baseball league. She was one of two girls on her team and did quite well. This year she will switch to softball and basketball. Now in 2^nd grade, she recently won a class award for being the “most responsible student” of the week and continues her 100% spelling test record. She will celebrate her 8^th birthday in December with an American Girl Mystery party.

Brendan is now 5 and this year is in the same school as Ciara, in kindergarten. He gets to ride the bus with his big sister, which he enjoys. He tried his “foot” at soccer this year but feels he is too young for team activities! He no longer has training wheels on his big bike and is very proud of his riding abilities. He continues to build things with whatever he can find, with Legos still a big favourite.

Enya is a very determined little girl and will not be swayed. She has finally mastered the toilet training but it is still on HER terms! She started a preschool program and is loving it. Next year she will go 3 full days so Mom and Dad can accomplish something in their home office!. Soon to be 4 years old, she loves to play with her two neighborhood girlfriends, Anna and Chloe. All three girls are at school together and have formed a wonderful bond.

The kids continue to grow their roots in Groton and Massachusetts. The whole family attended a Saint Patrick’s Day parade in South Boston – quite a fun time for all and a good dose of what Boston is all about. Ciara spent a day with Dad at the Boston Science Museum, and the whole family visited the nearby Discovery Museums in Acton. We’ve also enjoyed parades in Groton and a dedication for a new memorial playground.

Jim continued his business plan by actually starting development work on his web subscription service, which will launch sometime in 2006. After a few months’ work on that, he took a break and attended some track events with the Porsche and then continued directly to Hershey, PA where the car club was celebrating its 50^th anniversary in high style. It was a hot week and all the chocolate melted, providing slippery roads during the event! On the return trip home, Jim was able to spend an overnight near his childhood home of Madison NJ – a special stop-off.

Jim also traveled to San Diego for a PCA meeting, and took the time to visit with old friends there and make new ones. More travel is in the works for 2006, as he prepares to move the National Headquarters, where he oversees all Information Technology matters.

Jim’s most recent trip was a few days near Kansas City, where many of his relatives live. It was a relaxing and special visit – something he wants to do much more of.

Closer to home, Jim has begun his first-ever contribution to government by being officially appointed to the town’s Web Committee, where he works towards delivering electronic better communications improvements for the town.

Elizabeth spent the year building up a client base for her organizing business. In March she branched out into another area, Home Staging and became an Accredited Staging Professional. This business draws on more of her innate talents and is a wonderful tie-in to her organizing business. The coming year will see her doing a series of seminars and increasing her client base, while keeping her schedule flexible and focused on the kids needs. You can find information at http://chaostocalm.net.

In May Elizabeth made a trip to Ireland for the 5^th Anniversary of her Mam’s death. She had a lovely time visiting with her siblings and seeing how all the nieces and nephews had matured. Little did she know that she would make 2 more trips by year’s end. In October, sister Colette’s cancer took a turn for the worse and Elizabeth spent 9 days at her side in the hospital. A few days after Elizabeth’s return to the U.S., Colette passed away and Elizabeth returned for a huge funeral and a reunion with her sister Yvonne from Spain.

All in all, we are doing well and are thankful for our family and friends. Jim’s folks moved into a new apartment and gave up on house maintenance after all the hurricanes. They are in good health and still finding time and energy for travel. Elizabeth ’s Dad is in good health also and will be traveling to friends in Montana for the holidays. No new grandkids this year so we are holding steady at 22!!

May we all have a safe and healthy new year with many joys to report in our next holiday missive.

Happy Holidays, Love

Elizabeth, Jim, Ciara, Brendan and Enya