|
Merry Christmas 2002 from the Holwicks Dear friends, Merry Christmas from the Holwicks! As always, I intend to get this out before the 25th but hopefully your holiday spirit is lingering because unless you live within five miles, a timely arrival doesn't look promising. The greatest honor ever bestowed on our family came in April when the local schools honored Celeste as a "Hometown Hero." It was preceded by an hour-long variety show and the quality was amazing. The dignitaries awarded Celeste with a plaque and an ovation. Others were also honored, but not me. If I bribe enough school kids (they do the nominating) then maybe my time will come. Celeste was embarrassed to death. In May I got to fulfill one of the dreams of my life - I visited Egypt with Celeste's parents. Her brother Tim has been living there for his job and we got to spend a week touring temples and pyramids. The highlight for me was the Cairo Museum. The taxi driver suggested giving us two hours but I told him to come at closing time. We needed every minute to see all the treasures, though I had to drag Celeste's dad by the end. In November, Sarah went over for the Thanksgiving break. She didn't tour any museums but she did go to Mount Sinai - the resort. I told her it was supposed to be a mountain where Moses got the Ten Commandments and she said it was an ocean with really nice swimming. For our summer trek we journeyed to New England and Nova Scotia. In Massachusetts I fulfilled another dream (two in one year!) of visiting Great Misery Island. I remember seeing it from the beach when I was in seminary and always wanted to go over to it. We took a horde of kids and Celeste's sister Sara and got on a ferry for the small island. Everyone was astounded how beautiful it was (it's now a wildlife sanctuary) and once again my taste in adventures was vindicated even to Celeste, who is very hard-hearted. After a short stay at the Triehy's cabin in Maine, we took the $700 CAT ferry with our car and camping trailer to Nova Scotia. We walked the tides and took a whale tour. It exceeded our expectations and even the expectations of the crew - these whales leaped into the air. My digital still camera recorded big splashes but no whales because of its time delay, but Josiah got every one. It looked like a Pacific Life Insurance commercial. Definitely a blast! On up the island we toured forts and forests and ended up at the northern tip at Meat Cove. It was a rather primitive campsite but the scenery was out of this world - it really seemed like the END of the world. In October I attended my first high school reunion in Alexandria, VA. It's been 28 years since I graduated from Heidelberg but most of them hadn't changed one bit. They indicated I had changed a lot, until I opened my mouth. The group was mostly the ones who went to the PYOC (Protestant youth group); three of us are still preachers, another is in full-time Christian work and all of us were involved with churches. It was a fun time for me and provided the motivation to join Weight Watchers in May and lose 35 pounds. Now to see if I can keep them off (three homemade cookie trays have been dropped off this week!) We had a special treat at Thanksgiving by having my Dad visit with his friend Mary Ann. We took them to Manhattan and saw Rockefeller Center, ate in Chinatown, and went to the top of the Empire State Building. Celeste and I love New York and signed up for an apartment in the city, just above Times Square. It's only for eight days in the coming year but we intend to make the most of it. Our church continues to bless us. The little kids are now graduates and some are having kids of their own. In January we lost a dear friend to cancer, Trinka Osborne. Later in the year her husband John found out he has inoperable cancer. They put us up on our very first visit to Ledgewood and we love them bunches. John even provided us with a car for Sarah which turned out to be providential because Becca is back home now. She loved California and did a semester in Yosemite but this autumn decided to come home. Her new goal is to go to school in Chicago or Australia. Her last brainstorm in school was to shave her head and paint a picture on it. Then she let it grow out into a pineapple. It looks normal now. Daniel is a freshman in high school and is excelling in drama and the concert choir. Josiah is more interested in his dog, Kato, than in the science his dad tries to teach him. Sarah graduates in May and needs to decide on a college. Now. Other than that, life has been good and our God is great. We hope He is giving each of you his riches too!Love, |