December 2000
Dearest Friends & Family:
Homebodies:
2000 found us, mostly, at home in
Oregon
. After 2.5 years, we’re still finding new and exciting nooks & crannies to explore in our great city of
Portland
. In May, Dachshunds bundled up in warm, hand-knit sweaters and hooded rain slickers dragged Gortex-protected humans across the blustery, stormy sands of
Cannon
Beach
(
Northern Oregon
coast). In September, we journeyed to beautiful
Mt.
Bachelor
and the
Dechutes
River
(
Central Oregon
). Dreams of an RV (with readily available hot showers and potty facilities) form for the future. Adults, children, and dogs enjoying the incredible beauty of the
Pacific Northwest
! Who would have thought? Must be hitting middle age.....
Daily Life:
Richard has truly settled into private practice at
Adventist
Medical
Center
. We continue to be thankful for that six mile, 12 minute commute. Even with his long, unpredictable hours, he conveniently takes call from home on weekends/evenings, and Charlene can drop by for a quick visit or a picnic lunch if there’s a break in his day.
Charlene’s daily activities differ greatly from years past. Memories of full-time, outside the home employment fade rapidly. Four mornings a week find her floating around at a water aerobics class. As Fund-Raising Chair, she helped the Portland Women of Vision group raise $50,000 to house, feed, educate and provide medical care to homeless Mongolian children. Four church committees also keep her busy. To keep her skills sharp in the education financing arena, she maintains her contract with the School of Medicine at Oregon Health Sciences to provide two financial aid seminars/year and individual counseling as needed.
Flying the Friendly Skies:
January: Renewed friendships with fellow Anesthesia residents, Jodie Greenwood and Ed Bagingito, along with new friends from
Eugene
at a conference in
Maui
. Squeezed in a couple of dives - got to keep those Scuba skills current!
February: Bradley Herrick and Cathy Tan’s Cabo San Lucas nuptials took us (and 70 others) down to
Baja California
for five days of fun, sun, fishing, and reunion-izing. Had it really been 15+ years since we’d seen some of these high-school pals? Made a stop in
Southern California
before and after to see more friends and family and to attend a conference in
Palm
Desert
.
July: Flew to
Indianapolis
for the wedding of Jodie (
Greenwood
) and Brad Meyer. While there, we BBQ’d at the home of Todd & Lucy Abel. Pyromaniac tendencies from high school/college still raging, Todd and Richard gleefully set off a trunkful of fireworks in the Abel’s front yard. Luckily, all the neighbors were invited to that spectacular Fourth of July display! Road-tripped to beautiful
Vancouver
, B.C. with Brian, Sharon & Nicholas Gosney. Richard and Sharon report 20/20 vision after Lasik eye surgery!
October: Using another conference to provide a tax advantage, we took a ten day trip down memory lane in
San Francisco
,
Carmel
, and the
Napa
Valley
. We ate in a deli we frequented in college, wandered the streets of
Union Square
, marveled at the changes in the once sleepy community of
St. Helena
, and argued about whether we had been in a certain quaint restaurant in
Carmel
with each other or dates of years past. We capitalized on the opportunity to see old friends, too; a fellow surgical intern, Anesthesia residents, and even one of Richard’s college roommates, Vernon Giang and his wife, Joy.
November: Tradition again took Richard to
South Dakota
for the annual pheasant hunt. He reports that it gets better and better each year. Kelly King, Charles Lee, and Kent Chow enjoyed Brother & Sister-in-law, Rodney and Dale’s, gracious hospitality once again. Charlene’s parents flew to
Oregon
to babysit her for the week.
Visits to the Northwest:
We’re so grateful that we’re located a mere two hour, non-stop flight from both sets of parents who managed to visit us several times this year and are spending Christmas in Portland. Richard’s sister, Susan, along husband and three kids, from
Ohio
, spent several weeks here this past summer and his brother, Ed and family, from
Montana
, dropped in for the Labor Day weekend, as well. We also enjoyed visits from friends (Kent Chow, Bart Soper, Kelly & Madeleine King, Ron Lee) who made their way to our
Rose
City
this year. We still have a guest room with your name on it!
New Directions:
This holiday season finds Charlene 19 pounds heavier, and for once in her life, she doesn’t care (that said, note the lack of photo enclosed this year). We’re expecting a little blessing from God, ETA
01-01-01
, to join our household. It’s been a good pregnancy this time. A few worrisome bumps (i.e. initial partial placenta previa, a gestational diabetes scare) along the road but nothing serious. Realizing that Charlene needed reassurance, a dear
OB
friend, provided almost weekly ultrasonic glimpses of our daughter for the first half of this pregnancy. He will never know the extent of comfort he gave us as we heard/saw the heart continue to beat, watched normal growth progression, and saw all the appropriate organs develop. Absurdly, she is convinced that no mother-to-be has ever enjoyed pregnancy more, prayed this much, or been this excited over an impending baby.
Holiday
Wishes:
Our prayer for you, our dear friends and family, in 2001:
May your relationships grow and enrich you.
May the stresses of your jobs, in the home and outside, strengthen but not break you.
May you have less to worry and complain about and more to be grateful for.
May you be given the opportunity to touch the life of someone else in a truly positive way.
We ask the Lord’s continued blessings on you and your loved ones.
We thank the Lord for each of you and the good memories we share.
