Merry Christmas & 
Happy 2007
from Brian & Jennifer
February 2007
Happy Holidays – or should I say Happy Valentine’s Day? This is the latest I have ever sent out one of our annual letters. I just kept waiting for the inspiration to summarize the year. Perhaps putting it in writing makes it more real and signifies movement of time.
Brian remains active playing drums in a few bands. He loves playing! His job in IT keeps him busy as well. There is so much to stay on top of with computers that it never gets dull. His sister got married in October – it was a beautiful wedding. Camp remains my major vocation. This past summer I received my license as an educational psychologist and started a private practice running social skills groups with a local psychologist who has taken me under her wing. I am still teaching a few classes at U.C. Berkeley and am the school psychologist at a middle school. During the fall I started doing more training for the Fish For Schools program. Spring 2007 will involve a lot of traveling for this program.
Over the summer we had our friend’s kids (ages 13, 11, and 6) from Orlando come stay with us for a month. They went to camp, we did some California touring, and got a taste of what it is like to have kids 24 hours a day. We love these kids and it was a treat to have them on our side of the country for a change.
My 15 yr old cousin Rachel also came out West for one week. Jenn’s sister had a baby in October. His name is J.D. and he gets a lot of attention being the first grandchild in the family. It doesn't hurt that he is so cute - see the photo below.
Our annual letter would not be complete without an update on our cats. Jack continues to be the stable 'lap' cat - while he does not sit on our lap unless he is cold, he does like to sit near one of us and can be counted on for the companionship of a stuffed animal. Huey, on the other hand, lives to eat and figured out how to open his jar of cat treats. You can see the video (bottom of page) with Jack in the background trying to figure out what is really going on. Jack's processing speed is a bit slow.
While this was a year for births and beginnings, there was also some loss. In April, my mentor and advisor (Nadine Lambert) at CAL was killed in a tragic car accident. It was a shock that has been hard to recover from. In December, Tekla ‘Nana’ Ward, the matriarch of our west coast family, died. She lived a long life and her grandchildren were all able to see her before passed. I had spent a lot of time with Nana this past year and while Nana was not our biological grandparent, we felt so sad with her passing. This year has been a reminder of the importance of family and friends and how people come together in times of grief and birth. Fortunately, I was raised with the value of never leaving things unsaid, especially to those people you care about. This year I was reminded of the significance of that practice and the importance of keeping in touch with people who we have shared meaningful experiences with. Although that sometimes only occurs with this annual letter, you are someone who we feel compelled to reach out to and remain in contact.
Here are a few other ways I am employing technology to keep in touch:
Vox - a blog I post to. Some posts are public and other are visible only to family and friends. If you want an account - send me an e-mail and I'll send you an invitation.
Facebook - a social networking site like myspace - all my camp photos are posted here. You have to be a member and my friend to see them. - send me an e-mail if you want an invitation or want help accessing those pages. I use myspace primarily to keep in touch with my musician and art friends.
Thanks for reaching back and taking the time to read our annual report : )
- looking forward to hearing from you!
