Mayan Ruins Belize

Hello Family:

To start off, sorry about no labels on the pictures, I can't seem to figure out how to post those correctly. The picture of Pam and Shirley waving their napkins wildly in the formal dining room really captured the moment. Leslie and I tried to keep them under control, but they just kept drinking the wine and got really crazy!!! I've never seen anything like it, I was shocked and embarrassed! I missed getting a picture of them dancing on the table.....too busy trying to get them down safely. Good thing Leslie and I were there to get them back to their rooms safely and without any incidents. Crazy night!

I am officially back to Beth Williams. Starting over and hoping I have enough sense to keep that name for the rest of my wonderful life:-) It has been awhile since I have blogged to all of you! I have been very busy with taking my friends Grandson (Alex) to soccer practices and games. It has been really fun, brings back great memories of when my kids played. Today is the big tournament....and it is very, very cold here. Watching a bunch of 6 year olds swarming around like bees and trying to figure out which way they are going is hilarious.

I have also been busy with my new hiking groups. I found out from a friend that there are groups that form in every city for all kinds of interests. Meetup.com is the website and you just type in what interests you have and most likely you will find a group to join. I have joined two different hiking groups, a dog group and a spiritual living group. I have been hiking about 3 times a week at different parks with the groups and I love it. The people are a variety of ages, marital statuses and very, very nice. It is getting very cold here so I am really going to have to force myself to get out and keep hiking.....I dislike the cold very much! I did the dog group once so far. We went to a local dog park and it was fine until a man with a big dog came that intimidated KiKi. Soon they were fighting, brought on by the mean dog. Thank goodness the lady running the group works at the humane society and knew how to handle these type of situations. Everyone came out fine, except Kiki's feelings were hurt.

Justin is working as a cook at Frisch's and they are keeping him hopping. He works breakfast which means being there at 6 or 7 a.m. Those hours of the morning didn't really exist for him

before this job! He is doing great with the job and they have already left him to run the front line by himself which consists of orders for the dining room. It is hectic and crazy. He is also taking classes 3 nights a week to complete his GED. Although he graduated from home-schooling high school, if you want to go on to take college courses you also need a GED because most colleges don't recognize a home schooling diploma. So he will have both.

Stephanie is doing great in Marina Del Ray California. She is caring for a baby that has congenital heart disease and also many other medical problems. I work with the baby's Grandmother. She was telling me about her granddaughter that was born so sick and I told her about Stephanie. I said wouldn't it be nice to introduce them. She replied that unfortunately her son and daughter-in-law live in LA so that would be difficult. She and I were both so excited when I told her Stephanie lives in LA!! Long story short, we got them together and now Stephanie is her nanny! She is precious and Stephanie really loves taking care of her. Stephanie is living with a friend out there and absolutely loves it. It is amazing how many friends she has met through the Adult Congenital Heart Assoc. that live out there. She has been healthy and hasn't really been sick since she went out there. Her new cardiologist group told her that she is the healthiest hypoplastic left heart syndrome patient that they have ever seen! They also told her that her heart is not a priority right now, put it on the back burner and live her life to the fullest. She really needed to hear that! I miss her terribly but find comfort in knowing that she is very healthy and happy.

The cruise that Leslie, Pam, Shirley and I went on was wonderful. We had a great time and the best part was being able to see Ryan! What a wonderful experience it was and how grateful we are to Shirley for taking us on this. Pam and I shared a room, just like the good old days. We had a lot of fun. Pam claims that she is probably the only person ever that actually lost weight on a cruise instead of gained it. She claims Leslie and I walk really fast and kept taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Pam and I were on the 7th level so it was quite a few stairs to climb. One evening after some of our adventures we were doing the dreaded climb when my bracelet broke on the 7th stair level and the beads went all the way down to the first level! Pam and I went back down the steps searching for the beads and ended up back on the first level! Luckily we found all of the beads and I sent the bracelet home with her so Lindsey could fix it for me. He did, and it is just like new.....thanks Lindsey! So needless to say we did get a lot of exercise. The food was outstanding and plenty.

Key West was our first stop. We toured Ernest Hemmingways house and gardens, very interesting. Especially the 6 toed cats that reside there. Second port was Cozumel. We shopped and drank Margaritas and ate Guacamole. The shop owners are very persistent about wanting you to come into their shop and rather annoying. The waters were beautiful there. The next port we visited was Belize. I found this the most interesting and of course wonderful because we got to see Ryan. The port was beautiful, very clean and nice. Right outside the port was not safe for us to venture out to. We hired a local lady to take us on a tour, that was great. She took us to the Mayan ruins, lunch at a local restaurant, and through the city. The country was quite impoverished and not very safe. Our tour guide was wonderful and it was great to be able to spend time with Ryan and hear some of his adventures. He is really living the dream, doing what makes him feel satisfied and at peace. We spent the last day at sea, enjoying the many amenities on board and relaxing. It really is like paradise on those boats, I would do it again anytime! It was great to spend time with my sisters and Shirley, nice bonding:-)

Off to the very cold soccer tourney today. Hope all is well with everyone.

All our love,

Beth, Justin and Stephanie

Congratulations to Lindsay

Just got this note from a Grammy winning Hawaiian ladywho saw me perform in Chicago:

I look forward to seeing you folks again in Indy. Lin--keep up the good work on ʻukulele with the songbook. You are making a statement by singing the songs correctly!!!

Yes, I'm still on cloud nine.........Lindsay

Hello from Florida

Curtis gets a hit (notice the ball in the air)

Spencer learning to float

Curtis Dives In

I’ve been a bit remiss with our family updates, by dad’s standards, downright lazy. Sorry about that, I will try to do better in the future. The Florida Williams have been very busy this year. Our spring was dominated by travel and baseball. I had several business trips and our family has taken several beach weekends to enjoy the Florida coast. Curtis played his first year of t-ball and apparently got his skills from Sheryl’s side of the family. He was one of the best on the team at fielding and the best hitter on the team. In his last game he hit two home runs and a double in his three at bats. Hopefully he hasn’t peaked as a kindergartner. Curtis finished up his kindergarten year in style earning the Eagle of the month. He is a good student and well behaved, another trait from Sheryl. Spencer is entering pre-school and growing up to be a fun and inquisitive little guy. Spencer was diagnosed with a lazy eye (at last, a bad trait from Sheryl’s family) and has to wear glasses to correct. He just got his first pair of glasses (sponge bob frames) and is absolutely adorable. Curtis finally lost his first tooth and is quite proud. Both boys are a handful but are truly the focus of our lives.

Sheryl and I consider ourselves very lucky that our firm is still strong in these tough financial times. Raymond James is very conservative and has been able to avoid much of the mess that the other firms have gotten into.

Our fall is a bit calmer, we are planning a week vacation in August, which will most likely be a cruise if the weather cooperates. Lately we have enjoyed several weekends at home, swimming, fishing and going out on the boat. I am attempting to teach the family my few fishing skills and Curtis has recently been able to pick up the bait, Sheryl says she has three boys and will let us do this forever. Spencer and Curtis are in swimming lessons right now. Curtis is like a fish, and is learning how to dive. Spencer on the other hand is more like a log, but in a week we have gone from screaming to now at least trying with a smile on his face. He was downright scared and I have to hand it to him for trying very hard.

On a very exciting finishing note, Spencer has figured out how to poop on the potty and now his poop size is discussed frequently around the house and sometimes loudly in public. Sometimes the best gifts come in small and smelly packages!

We consider ourselves very blessed, we send our love to all.

Greg

One year ago......

Thought we should acknowledge the anniversary of Dad's passing. One year ago on July 20th he passed away.....it is hard to believe it has been a year. Still missing him very much as if it was yesterday. I had a dream the other night that Lindsey asked Dad and I to come help him put windows in his house...I woke up laughing at the thought of anyone asking Dad or I to help with any kind of carpentry work....strange dream.

Love you and miss you Dad.

Trip to California from the Dayton group

Santa Monica with Terry Mahoney

Justin and Stephanie in LA

The Cancer Survivors Statue and Park with Leslie by the sign

Hello Family!

Justin and I ventured across country to deliver Stephanie's car to her in Los Angeles, CA. We had 10 days to do this in and made the most of it. We started by meeting Leslie and Mark in Kansas City, MO for the first night. They were at a beautiful place called Club Plaza, an area of old spanish buildings and shops. The amazing thing was, right across from their hotel was the Cancer Survivors Park. It was a beautiful park with a statue of people being newly diagnosed entering the maze of treatment and coming out of the maze victorious. I got some great pictures of it and one with Leslie standing by the wall...she is victorious!!!! We had a great visit with them and enjoyed our first night on our trip.

From there we drove to Grand Junction Colorado where we stopped to see a friend of mine from high school briefly, then ventured on to stay in Denver for our second night. The mountains were beautiful, we stopped at many sight seeing places and took pictures. The next day we drove to Las Vegas. On our venture there we stopped at a sight seeing spot and our car was spitting out all kinds of liquids. Justin and I not knowing much about cars were a little freaked out by this. We tried our cell phones to call AAA but had no phone service. Justin said he just saw a sign that said no services for 100 miles.......great. So we are in the middle of the desert, it is at least 110 degrees, no phone service and no service stations. As we tried to figure out what to do an Indian man truck driver brought us a jug to fill up with water for the radiator thing. There were a lot of people stopping to sight see and not one of them offered any help. There was an Indian couple selling jewelry there. She had been observing us white folk looking lost so she came over to offer her help. She said we overheated and we just have to wait until it cools down then add water. We had the jug to fill up with water but unfortunately there was no running water at this stop. Thank goodness we had a 24 pack of drinking water in our back seat, so we used that. She told us not to run our a/c going up the mountains....we learned a lot from that ole woman...so I had to buy some jewelry of course. As I observed only the Indians were helpful to us!!

We made it to Las Vegas a lot later than expected and were very tired but had to stay up, drink a beer and gamble a little like all the rest of the people there. We stayed at NY NY where Greg and Sheryl often stay and it was wonderful. I would like to go back as there is a lot to see and we just saw a small portion of it. Nevada and Utah were beautiful to drive through but unbearably hot, especially because we were scared to use our a/c going up the mountains. On our drive we hit a torrential rain storm. I was driving and decided I cannot see anymore so we pulled over and planned to switch drivers. Justin had a good plan, I hop over to the passenger seat he gets in the back then hops into the drivers seat....good idea. The only problem was I forgot to push back the seat and he almost got stuck trying to squeeze his long body into the seat, very funny sight, good picture.

We made it to LA the next day. We went to Stephanie's apartment first which she shares with a friend near USC campus. It was a nice place they had with a pool. It was so nice to see her, she seems happy there. We ventured through LA that night and she stayed with us at the motel. The next day was the memorial service for Michael Jackson. We were right down the street from the Staples center and walked around mixing with all the fans and buying t-shirts on the street corners. It was sad and subdued, not the crowd they expected. I have never seen so many police officers in one place before.

While we were there we visited several beaches. We visited with Terry Mahoney in Santa Monica and went out to dinner with him. He drove us around and gave us a tour, it is a beautiful area. It was great to see him and catch up on family news. He looks great and seems very happy there.

We ate a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. from the movie Forrest Gump, it was fun. We went to Hollywood and saw all the stars on the sidewalk. The most interesting thing we did was go to Venice Beach. This is a very fun place to go. It is a boardwalk of all kinds of interesting people doing interesting things for a little money. Reminds me of Yellow Springs but a lot more far out than that. See the pictures of the guy holding the sign, on the other side of the sign it says "I can't lie, really I just want a beer". Very fun place.

We had a wonderful trip and it was great to see Stephanie and spend time with her. The weather out there is beautiful and seems to agree with her much more than this midwestern weather. She is currently looking for a job, now that she has her car it will make it easier.

Our love to all,

Beth, Justin and Stephanie

Hello from Dayton!

Comments on the last few posts:

I have enjoyed looking at little Henry's pictures, he is adorable. I am sure that Keith and Pat are enjoying him and of course Ed and Morgan.

Nate and Shirley's dog looks very similar to Rooney!! Hopefully a better personality though. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him yet but am looking forward to it. I think he looks like a mixture of shepard and corgie (spelling?) - those stubby, short legged, long bodied, pointy eared dogs. Nate thanks for the post and posing the question. Reminds me of when Dad would put little questions in the newletter for us to try and answer.

A lot has changed since my last entry. Justin, Stephanie and I got a townhouse together in Centerville and we love it. Or I should say, Justin, Kiki, Peaches, Freddie, Bizzy and I love it. Our other roomate decided to go visit some friends in LA and stayed!! She really likes it out there, except is missing her car pretty bad. She has signed up for classes online through Columbus State and is looking for a part-time job. Her temporary address is on USC campus with a friend: 720 West 27th St. #230, Los Angeles, CA 90007. Don't put that in pen in your address book because it is only for the summer. Her cell number is 937-248-3388. I guess she got tired of us pretty quick, she only lasted here a few weeks:)

The exciting news is Justin and I are driving cross country to LA to bring Stephanies car to her. We are leaving July 3rd and flying back July 12th. We plan on stopping the first night in Kansas City, MO where we will meet up with Leslie and Mark who are there for a little getaway. We will be going through Denver and sightseeing there, on to the Grand Canyon, AZ sightseeing there then on to LA. We will meet up with Terry Mahoney at some point in our visit, he lives close to LA. We are zipping over to Vegas for a day and night to see if we can win back all of our spending...not holding much hope there, but looking forward to seeing the "big city". We mapped it out and it will take about 32 hours so we are going to take our time and sight see along the way. We both love music so we will be jamming and singing our way across the country:)

I am sure LA is hopping right now with the passing of Michael Jackson. What a great pop artist he was. How sad to lose his life so young. We love his music and dancing. Justin always danced to his music and can still do the moonwalk very well!! Maybe next time you see him ask him to do it for you.

I have been extremely busy with the end of the fiscal year at school . I have been working the past couple of weekends to try and stay afloat, so I am really looking forward to a vacation and giving my brain a break. The bad economy is affecting our enrollment which of course is affecting our finances. We had to RIF one teacher for next year but really should have done one more. It is sad to read some of the stories that parents are experiencing when they apply for financial aid, so many have lost their jobs. They want their kids to continue at Carroll but simply can't afford it, and we have very limited resources for tuition aid. The tuition is up to 6350.00 for next year, that is quite a chunk of money! Hopefully it will start looking up soon.

NCR headquarters leaving Dayton and moving to Georgia is really hurting us. My good friend Charlene who works for NCR, has one child at Alter and two in college, will find out in July if she gets a relocation package or a RIF package. She is not sure what she is going to do....very scary. There are about 1500 people affected by this move and the rumor is not many will get the relocation package.

I will post pictures and stories of our trip when we get back. I have always wanted to take a drive across country with my kids and show them the sights. I remember as a child doing that many times and really enjoying it. I don't know how my parents could possibly have enjoyed it with 4 kids in a station wagon driving across the country! I know Pat did that with a few kids to go to Tom's wedding in the van. I admire anyone who did that with more than one kid and young ones at that. I am sure my kid will be pretty easy to travel with, he is low maintenance. Just feed him and make sure there is music and he will be happy.

Our love to all,
Beth, Justin and Stephanie

Meet the newest member of the Williams/Stubbs family

Her name for now is Sam (I'm  hoping for a name change to Rooney. )    

The  pics here  were taken the  day after she moved in to her 4th house in the last year  and second home in the last 2 days.   I think the constant moving has  her nerves are a little fried. (Poop on floor is marked as exibit A for evidence! )    

Anyway, she is a healthy ,  45lb, 4 year old german shepard mix as best I can tell and  came to us from our kind  neighbor joe who had his hands full with 3 dogs .  (That's alot of dog so  its easy to see why he wanted to cut down on the dog load.)   

See if you can tell what the exact mix is from the pics ?   

                      Nate 

June - Beech Update

We just returned from our summer visit to San Francisco. Alex, Leslie and I spent time with my mother, sister and brother, and had lots of “teen-sightings” along the way. Lots of visiting, good meals, trekking from end to end of the bay area, and a ceremony for my father which ended in spreading his ashes in the back yard.

Leslie is doing great – had her last radiation treatment today (June 2nd)! Alex has completed his first year at Mizzou and is now home and looking for a summer job. Ryan will complete his full term (27 months!) in the Peace Corps in El Salvador this August and plans to travel and visit friends in Central America, probably returning home in December.

Mark


My mom and Leslie


My nephew (Aaron) neice (Becky), mom and Alex in California

One Month Old!

My baby is one month old! He now weighs 10lbs, 7oz, and he's grown an inch. Doctor says he's doing great developmental wise and I think we've finally solved the gassy issues. His personality is starting to show and it's amazing to watch him grow. He sleeps well but not thru the night yet. He wakes every 3-4 hours to eat, but thankfully he's never fussy unless he's hungry. Although he hates his car seat and cries every time I place him in it. Ed gets him to smile alot now, doing the silly dad faces. He LOVES music. All I have to do is sing and he's happy. He also enjoys bathtime and being outside. Ed and I are tired, but doing great. :)

.

Morgan

.

(And, he loves his Grandma and Babu!)

Happy Mothers Day to All

Hello Family. We are all moved in to our townhouse. It is quite disorganized still but wonderful to have the kids and all the animals back together. (see pictures below) I don't see much of Justin as he is working a lot and when not working he is socializing with friends. Stephanie and I have been able to spend a lot of good quality time together, I am enjoying it, and I think she is too.

Today was a wonderful day. I woke up to Stephanie making breakfast with Justin's assistance. Quite a feat to have these young adults up earlier than me and cooking! I was very impressed. They set the table with flowers and wonderful food and we enjoyed our first meal together in our new place. Stephanie had painted me a beautiful painting and framed it and said it was from her and Justin:) We went hiking at Grants park in Centerville and enjoyed the beautiful weather and great trails. We took both dogs with us and poor peaches almost didn't make it back to the car (see pictures below). Justin had to work, so after dropping off the dogs Stephanie and I went to Yellow Springs. We ate at the Williams eatery which had a selection of peruvian and american dishes, we stuck with the american. I remember Dad used to take the kids out to Yellow Springs, rent bikes and ride the bike trails.

Welcome to little Henry Edison Williams to our family, he is darling. I am sure Ed and Morgan will be wonderful parents. Keith and Pat have had a lot of practice at this baby thing so I am sure they will be a big help.

That's all for now. Our love to all.

Beth, Justin and Stephanie

Henry Edison Williams is born!

7 lb 13 oz 20 inches - born 04-27-09 6:52pm Everyone is doing well.

WE are moving!

Justin, Stephanie and I are moving to a townhouse in Centerville by the end of April. We can actually start moving in April 18th, but have until April 30th to get out of our apartments. We all decided to move in together to save some money and help each other out. We will have two dogs (Peaches and KiKi) and two cats (Freddie and Bizzy), it will be like living in a zoo! Peaches will enjoy being with the cats again.

The townhouse is 3 bedroom, nice fenced in patio, 2.5 bathrooms, utility room and dining room. The complex (The Woods of Centerville) is on Bigger Rd. in Centerville which is a nice area. They have a pool, workout room and clubhouse with pool table. We are very excited about this! Our new address is 456 Carters Grove Rd. Centerville, OH 45459. I haven't decided if we are keeping my phone number of if we will just use our cell phones. Just in case my cell is 937-367-8163, Justin's is: 937-248-6704 and Stephanie's: 937-248-3388.

I started packing today and realize I have a lot of stuff!! We are going to get a storage unit, especially because the ole table that I keep dragging around with me is 8 ft long and won't fit in the dining area at the townhouse. That table is wonderful and beautiful but trying to fit it into the various places I have lived has not been easy, but I will keep hanging on! It seems silly to keep things in boxes that you never use, like China. If anyone is interested in Mom's China or I think Grandma's china please let me know. I won't get rid of it but really have no use for it. Also I have boxes of old movies from our family if anyone wants those to maybe put on DVD's. I even have the old movie projector and movie screen that Mom & Dad had, I guess I could probably get rid of that? That's all I can think of right now, I am sure there will be more.

Hope the Beeches are staying warm, I heard there was possiblity of blizzard conditions today!! Going to visit Greg in Florida will be a welcome break for you.

Take care,
Beth, Justin and Stephanie

Hello all,

It has been a bit busy for me lately as I have been working doing taxes with H & R Block. Not sure I really enjoyed it but good experience and some extra money. I am basically done for the season due to the returns that come in now are too difficult for a first year employee to do. I am continuing to take classes though.

Stephanie and Justin are doing well. They are planning on visiting Greg and family sometime this spring for a vacation. They are looking to move down there possibly, can't stand the weather up here any longer. Today was nice, 70 degrees but tomorrow will be 40, not very nice.

I received an email from Adult congenital heart association of which Stephanie and I are members. See below for the latest bill that they are trying to pass. For those that are interested, you could help by writing to your Senators and Congressman. There is a great need for resources, research and assistance for these children that are now adults. Insurance being a serious problem. Some patients will never be able to work full-time (like Stephanie)and struggle to attend school full-time. Therefore there is a problem with insurance coverage. This not only causes anxiety, depression and a hopeless feeling for them it also causes financial hardship. Hopefully this will pass to aid these people that are in great need of help.

Here is the link to the bill:
http://durbin.senate.gov/showRelease.cfm?releaseId=309944

) Go to http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov/ to look up your representatives and their email addresses

2) Draft your email - Here is a template to get you started.

3/18/09


Dear Senator Brown:

I am writing as a member of the Adult Congenital Heart Association to ask for your help in making a brighter future for all those born with heart defects. Yesterday the Congenital Heart Futures Act, legislation calling for research, surveillance, and education in congenital heart disease, was introduced in the Senate by Senators Durbin and Cochran and in the House by Representatives Bilirakis and Space. I am writing to ask you to co-sponsor these bills (S. 621 and H.R. 1570) and help all those born with heart defects live longer, healthier lives.

Congenital heart disease is this country’s number one birth defect and kills twice as many children as childhood cancer. Although many children now undergo successful heart repair, most will require special life-long care and face high risks of developing additional heart problems. But up until now there has been virtually no federal investment to address the research and education needs of the 1.8 million Americans now living with congenital heart disease.

My daughter was born with complex heart defects and has undergone several heart surgeries before the age of 3. She has done moderately well throughout her childhood, but is now an adult and facing new issues. She will most likely be facing a heart transplant some day because there is nothing else they can do for her. Along with many other issues, insurance coverage for her is a problem. She will never be able to work full time and struggles to attend school full time. There is a great need for research, awareness and resources for these children that are now adults. Please help my daughter survive to become a healthy, contributing citizen.

To sign on as a co-sponsor of the bill, House Members should contact Dan Farmer with Rep. Space at (202) 225-6265 to discuss support of H.R. 1570. Senators should contact Sara Singleton with Senator Durbin at (202) 224-2152 re: S. 621.

Thanks in advance for your help in securing a future for all those living with congenital heart disease.

Sincerely,

Beth A. Day
833 Peach Hill Dr.
Dayton, OH 45458
bethday2@aol.com


4) Send your email. Be sure to include your full mailing address as well as your email address. Don't use US mail, since thanks to the anthrax scare it now takes many weeks for mail to arrive in Congress.

That's all there is to it!


Hope all is well with everyone.
Beth, Justin and Stephanie

From Keith Williams: Director of Sylvia

Keith is pleased by the hard work his cast has put forth in making this production. It is a great pleasure working once again with Tom, Kerry, Gloria, Mallory, Beth and Val.He is fond of saying to them “Don’t you people have homes.” And it is a true joy working for the first time with Andrea and Rebecca. All of them have been very brave dealing with Keith’s “issues” as they like to call them. Keith would also like to thank his wife and kids for all those nights that he is gone and a special thank you to his sister; Sister Leslie of the Benedictine Nuns of the Holy Trinity for spiritual guidance in these troubled times, to Charlie Langley his favorite bartender and Sandy Bearden his masseuse.

Greetings from the land of the ugly winter sky

We did enjoy a brief mental respite this past weekend after attending
a Polynesian celebration in nearby Twinsburg. Always great to see old
friends,even thought it's hard about their weather "back home" (80*)!
Did some networking with the caterers at the hotel regarding my new
business venture Pacific Island Treats & Tunes (music and shave ice).
After struggling to complete a big order last month, I accept that my
hands are getting too crippled up to do much glass engraving.
Been performing at least a couple times a month and getting my
shave ice equipment/stand ready for inspection for a busy summer.

My sister Cindy and family will enjoy better future winters, as they are
relocating to San Diego. Vic was a pilot/instructor with ABX air freight in
Wilmington,Ohio. DHL is shutting down operations (they employed 8,000 at
this small town). We are thankful he finally got a job offer, but will miss
them ! Won't surprise me if my Mom relocates too, grandkids, ya know.

On the subject of jobs, Pam's in Brush Department was painfully slow, so they
moved her and a couple others to Roller Hardware, which has work. They make
paint pans and roller brush frames. She's getting lots of exercise and likes
it's close proximity to the parking lot, (when her chauffer-as she calls me-
doesn't drop her off at the door). Wooster Brush is a great company, they're
trying their best to avoid mandatory lay-offs. They are one of the oldest firms
left (158 yrs.), several other local plants have shut down or terminated shifts.
They handling things a week at a time.
Hopefully, it'll turn around, if not, Lord willing- Florida !!!

Love,

Lindsay & Pam
>

Hello from warm Florida!

I have been remiss in my duties, thanks big sis for encouraging the submission. Christmas was great, the boys must have been good, Santa brought them a Wii. Plain and simple this machine is cool and addictive. Spencer is spooky good and currently holds the house record in bowling at 202.
Curtis is fully involved in sports, he just finished up soccer and moved right into t-ball. I must say, and this is just not his dad speaking, he is pretty good at baseball. He has a great swing and is one of the few kids on the team that can actually catch. I am a proud papa. His team name is the Lugnuts.
Spencer, when torn away from the Wii, is a wonderful little guy. Curtis and he are becoming good buddies and it is really fun to see them have a conversation. We put their tent up in their room the other night and they camped out together in it. You could hear them for an hour talking and giggling.
Stephanie’s poem at Thanksgiving (see her poem in the Thanksgiving posts) finally has paid off. Spencer has made a major breakthrough on the #2 potty and now considers pooping fun!
We have all enjoyed our “slow season”, spending a majority of our weekends at home. Sheryl and I are both extremely busy with work and thankful we work for one of the few good brokerage firms still left. Between our jobs, sports and the kids school, we are busy.
Cutis is doing well in kindergarten, already learning how to read and write. It is amazing how more advanced schooling is than when we went. They are a full grade or two ahead of at least when I went.
The fact that I don’t have a bunch to report is kind of nice, we are finally settling into our home and enjoying the time with our kids. We have nothing at all to complain about.

We send our love to all.
Greg



The boys opening the Wii


Boys and Zoe on the dock


Curtis at bat

A picture Curtis drew it reads ….Dad, Curtis, Mom, Aunt Beth at Leslie’s House!

Happy Birthday to ME!!

Hello Family!

I just returned from St. Louis for a few days. Leslie is doing remarkably well. She is relaxing (which is not in her vocabulary) and resting. I enjoyed my visit with them and hopefully helped out a little. It was nice for Leslie and I to spend time alone talking and watching Oprah. Aunt Betty sent her famous cranberry chicken and cheesy potatoes. The meal was delicious and very much appreciated.

Mark is a wonderful husband. He is taking such good care of Leslie and is such a positive guy. We are blessed to have him in our family and a big "Thank You " to Mark for taking such good care of our sister.

I realized driving to and from St. Louis that it was my first time going alone. I wasn't sure how I felt about it until I took off and realized I could do whatever I wanted!! I loved every minute of it! I stopped where I wanted, listened to the music I wanted and sang at the top of my lungs. I was especially excited about stopping at the Warm Candle Outlet Store on I-70 just outside of Richmond. I have driven by that store for many years and asked my fellow riders if we could stop.....always a very adamant "NO". Well, I stopped and wandered around slowly enjoying my independence.

I start working 4 to 5 evenings this week at H & R Block as it is coming up on peak tax season. Should keep me busy and out of trouble.

Love,
Beth, Justin and Stephanie

Keep Leslie in your prayers

Just a little reminder to everyone that Leslie will be undergoing surgery on Tuesday, January 20th. Let's keep her in our prayers. We love you!

Beth, Justin and Stephanie

Beech Family Update

We just returned from 10 days in El Salvador visiting Ryan. All went very well and we had a great time. Highlights included a visit to the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador and meeting the U.S. Ambassador (by accident -- we caught him letting his dogs swim in the Embassy pool.) A visit to a resort town in the mountains, a six hour horse back ride (way too strenuous and dangerous, won’t do that again), and four days staying with Ryan in his home town of Jocoro (no tarantula visits this year). We had lots of great meals; corn tortillas, cheese & beans (called Pupusa) and Indio chicken (wild - very chewy).

Just like last year, we felt very safe and welcomed in his town. He is nothing short of a celebrity there. As we walked thru town residents shouted “Mr. Ryan” and told us how much they love Ryan and enjoy being in one of his classes or being on one of his teams. Ryan’s Peace Corps term will end August of this year.

Some trip pictures are below. We will put all 200 on a CD and show them to you next time we see y0u.

Mark & Alex catching a chicken (We let it go)

Firecrackers are gigantic

Susitlan Lake

The U.S. Ambassador

Dinner at the Sheraton Presidente in San Salvador