Christmas Letter 2008

Christmas 2008

Christmas Greetings to Family and Friends!

We have had a full year, filled with the blessings of family, friends, and travel. We are ever aware of God’s gifts around us, and mindful of the concerns of our life together. Our five adult children are all well, out and about in the world, and we give thanks for their lives and their gifts.

You may remember that Beth’s father, Hugh Ashby, died in July 2007; on March 6, this year, her mom died following a short illness. It was sudden, but not unexpected; June lost her heart when Hugh died. They had been married more than 60 years.

On December 7, Dick’s mother celebrated her 89th birthday. Although she is mostly housebound, she stays in touch with family and friends by phone and with a special service that allows her to receive family emails, without owning a computer.

Our family is larger by two wonderful children. On March 14, Skylar Aiyana Reigel arrived, Dick’s granddaughter and is today growing into a lovely toddler. We spend one day a week with Skylar so that her mom and dad can cover their work assignments. Then on October 22, Jack Bowie Wardlaw was born, Beth’s grandson, in far away Burbank. He is a handsome infant, still very small, but with a smile to warm every heart.

2008 has been Dick’s first full year of retirement, and we have taken advantage by regular travel. We went to Charleston, S.C., in January, and then in spring, we visited the Shenandoah Valley. In July we took off on an extensive, 7,000-mile automobile trip, which included celebrating the Fourth of July with Missie and Jeff in Cripple Creek, visiting the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks in Wyoming, where we got up with niece Grace who was working on a guest ranch. We moved on to spend time in Montana, North Dakota, and Iowa. We were gone for four weeks, visiting with various friends and family and enjoying the wonders of our nation.

In September, we joined 22 others, many of them friends for many years, for a two-week tour of Tuscany in central Italy, enjoying wonderful wines, food, and history. We added a week in Rome, where we tried to see all the sights. On Sunday we worshiped at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and then attended an audience with the Pope on Wednesday. Our photo this year is from the top of a turret atop a medieval fortress in a Tuscan hilltown.

In late October, during the color of autumn, we traveled to the West Virginia mountains, to ride a regional train, and to see deer, bald eagles and black bear.

At Thanksgiving we flew off to Burbank, to meet Jack and spend time with his busy parents. We saw Hollywood, “beautiful downtown Burbank,” and Claremont, where our nephew Alan attends college. We thoroughly enjoyed the warm weather and warmth of family and friends.

Dick’s regular running came to an abrupt halt early in the year, when surgery for a torn meniscus (right knee) kept him sidelined; he is only now beginning some running. In January, he became a regular docent at Washington National Cathedral; he is down there on the Monday team, helping to greet visitors and offer tours of that remarkable structure. Come see the Cathedral!

Beth continues to enjoy the freedom of her freelance editing and substitute library work. She was able to continue editing on the trip west thanks to the availability of WiFi in so many places. She left the computer at home for the Italy trip and took 1,400 photographs instead. She occasionally posts to her blog—cctraveler.blogspot.com

We remain committed to our faith community. When we are in town on Sunday, we are at St. Mark's Highland, and we regularly attend the parish's Wednesday evening adult education program; Beth is active in several mission programs. We are regulars at two weekly Bible studies and remain active in the Cursillo fellowship, where Dick serves as treasurer. And Dick shows up from time to time on active Episcopal blogs.

We send our prayers to each of you for a most blessed New Year.