At the beginning of the year, Brian was up with us for New Year’s. AND Utah beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
Lady Bug, one of Olivia’s puppies from her first litter, won best of breed at Westminster. To date, she is the number one Portuguese Water Dog in the country.
In March, we sponsored a girl in Uganda through Compassion International. Her name is Jesca. Compassion works to get kids out of poverty. They provide an education (secular and religious), medical care, food, and clean water. Then in April, Our Saviour had its first Compassion Sunday and eighteen children were sponsored from all over the world.
Craig became chaplain of the Blue Knights Motorcycle Club. This is a law enforcement motorcycle club. Most of the members are retired.
In April, Craig stayed with his mother and attended a conference about the emergent church at the Diocese of Utah Center. The main speaker was Diana Butler Bass. Many ideas about the future of the church were generated.
Craig began a two month sabbatical in June. He was able to read more about the emergent church movement and explored an inventory identifying strengths. Suzie and Craig went to Orlando for the annual Smart Marriages Conference. The highlight was an institute by Sue Johnson about Emotionally Focused Therapy. This is a great system for helping couples in conflict. Oh, and we visited the Epcot Center. In August, Craig went to our timeshare in Park City.
Then Craig went on a Compassion sponsored trip to Burkina Faso in French West Africa. He was able to see how Compassion helps kids get out of poverty and how their families also benefit. Compassion provides help with mosquito nets for malaria prevention and provides HIV medication, as well as food. The belief is that a child can’t thrive if the child’s family is not thriving. It was a very moving trip.
We spent our 37th anniversary with a cruise in the western Mediterranean. We began in Rome and then went to Livorno with a tour of Pisa. We next went to Monaco, where Suzie won at the Grand Casino at Monte Carlo. Next was Barcelona. And finally we stopped at Malaga. After touring Malaga, we flew back to Rome via London. The next day, we flew home. (Pictures are on the web site and Facebook.)
For Thanksgiving, we stayed at the Cordi’s and their fledging winery at the Sutter Buttes. Brian had Thanksgiving with friends in Yuba City. So, we met for lunch in Yuba City the day after Thanksgiving.
We look forward to having Brian spend the New Year with us.
We wish you a joyous Christmas even in these difficult economic times, focusing on the birth of Jesus Christ and may Christ be born in you.