Christmas newsleter 2006--never made it to print

So much for good intentions. Here is my 2006 Christmas newsletter that never made it to print.

Procrastinator, writers block, I am guilty of all charges.



Merry Christmas 2006


Family & Friends;

Another year slips by.

Bonnie and Clyde are a year and a half now. Wild, lovable, mischievious all describe their behavior very well. They jump everywhere and chew everything, but they also shower us with their licks of love. They also entertain us very well. Clyde will bark when he feels that Bonnie is getting more attention than he. Clyde likes to cuddle anytime, anywhere. With Bonnie it needs to be when she wants. At times she seems skittish, but then she comes in her own time.

The highlight for us this year was our summer trip. We don't always take one, but this year we decided to go for it. Jodie and I use to take Grandma and Grandpa on trips. The last one we planned was for the summer of 1993. We were going to rent a cabin at Diamond Lake, and visit Crater Lake while there. Grandpa passed away before we could do that. This year, we decided at the last moment to go for it.

We loaded up the car, all five of us, Eric, Jodie and I...and our two dogs, Bonnie and Clyde, and we headed south. Diamond Lake is beautiful. Eric was able to fish and catch some tui chub, just days before the Lake was poisoned to kill them off. The chubs were destroying the water quality of the lake. We stayed in the motel at the Diamond Lake Resort.

Bonnie and Clyde went everywhere with us. Bonnie got car sick a few times. We did not leave the dogs alone at all. This confined us to grocery stores and drive-thrus. We stopped a lot to let the dogs run. They loved running through the sand on the small beach that was at Diamond Lake.

Diamond Lake was a beautiful place to stay, but just south of there was the main reason for coming. Crater Lake is breathtaking. Breathtaking is too simple a word. Eric snapped a picture, and I still have it as my wallpaper on my computer at work. So blue, so rich, so beautiful. Site-seers from around the world were there. If you have not been there, well, you know... We now have the travel bug and would like to go see other national parks.

Baseball for Eric started with batting practice on Sundays afternoons in February. The first real game wasn't until May! Baseball becomes your life when the season is on. Eric pitches, catches, plays first and short. Some days he is on, some days he is not. Check out gresham.ws, a website I made for the team, before I convert it to my next great web adventure.

Eric is a weblo this year, and is getting ready to crossover to Boy Scouts soon. Horses at summer camp was a definite highlight for him this year. He has gone on a lot of campouts this year. Most of the boys in his den have been together the last five years.

Eric ended the last school year on the honor roll and has begun this year on the honor roll as well. He is in the fifth grade at Portland Christian this year. He has taken up the trumpet this year. For some reason, he was surprised at the amount of practice he needs to do, but he is adapting.

Jodie is still managing a crew of 20 plus support staff at the Child Welfare office in Gresham. This year she became a member of the LA Fitness athletic club near the office and has really enjoyed working out with her coworkers.

I moved from the East Multnomah Child Welfare office to the Rockwood Child Welfare office. For now they are right next door to each other, but eventually Rockwood branch will be moving to the Rockwood area of Gresham, which will be closer to home. At nights I have been working on websites, learning more and more. I set up my first online store - troystoybox.com. And, as a way to promote the two bazaars my mother-in-law organized this year, I started NWBAZAARS.COM as a way to promote local bazaars.

Many blessings for this holy season and for the year to follow.

The Wittren Family