PES-KES News 1993 (January)
Happy New Year everybody!
We thought we’d do a newsletter again to catch up on all the wonderful Christmas mail we received. We’ve had a great Christmas season – hope you did too.
We spent New Year’s eve playing games over at our good friends’ Jeff + Lisa Tatarsky’s home. We all realised half way through the evening that we’d done the same thing last year, so we figure we’ve started some kind of tradition now!
We spent Christmas eve dinner with our in-town-family (Harold, Hildegard, Sharon, Mike, Lynn, Ansley, and newborn Tradd). That same evening we had two Christmas eve services at church. I played piano and keyboard, and arranged some of the music. It was very different from the regular Vineyard-style services – we had a choral group and a 6-piece instrumental ensemble – and played some classical, some carols, and a couple of modern pieces. It was a lot of fun.
Christmas day, the three of us went over to a local nursing home and visited with several of the residents there. Of course they all loved seeing Peter. Then we had a quiet rest of the day at home enjoying the fireplace and a turkey dinner. It’s been quite warm since then (upper 60s), so we haven’t used the fireplace much since.
A big highlight for us earlier last month was Peter’s 1st birthday (where has the year gone??). We are so thankful that he’s such a healthy and happy little boy. We had a big party for him the Sunday before his birthday – it was so much fun. I think he was rather overwhelmed by it all, but still had a great time. He loves playing with other children. We were also delighted that his “Uncle” Andrew (Ross) who lived with us for nearly 2 years was back in town that weekend and got to come too. By the way, Andrew is now engaged to Jenny, and they will marry in April, then live in Sydney. We miss him very much.
Paul and I celebrated our 7th anniversary on November 30th, and took our holiday this time to Jekyll Island, off the coast of Georgia. There are some beautiful beaches there, and it was quite secluded that time of year. There are a lot of beautiful huge oak trees with Spanish moss on them, along with lovely old mansions. It was a relaxing and peaceful getaway.
We’ve been enjoying the unusually warm winter weather, and have been out in the yard quite a bit lately. We planted 14 trees this week – a weeping willow, 3 crabapples, 3 cypresses, and 7 crape myrtles. The back yard is starting to look quite lovely, except for a slight drainage problem up the very back (we hope it’s not the septic tank!!). Paul is currently in the process of building a lattice wall / fence and arbor to grow climbing roses on. It’s very romantic! He’s also just built Peter a gorgeous little kitchen table of his own, and is soon to do a chair or two to go with it. Paul really enjoys working with wood, and has a natural flair for it.
On the church scene, our Atlanta Vineyard will be moving locations next month from the plush Seventh Day Adventist building to the bare bones Mercer University gymnasium (affectionately known to us as “Mercy” University). It will be a good move, as the gymnasium will seat more people, we can go back to one service, and we can get bagels and doughnuts from the snack bar!
Paul’s been wearing a beeper for the last few weeks for work. They pay extra “beeper pay” just for wearing one. He only gets beeped every couple of days, and has only had a few hours of work for it. I’m so glad he can work from home on his computer when he needs to. He has a great job and still enjoys his work at GE very much.
I’m still having the time of my life homemaking with Peter. We have so much fun together, although I can see he will really enjoy having another little playmate (we’re ready any time!). It’s amazing how many neighbours we’ve gotten to know this past year – we enjoy daily walks around the circle, and everybody talks to babies!
We’re looking forward to 1993 in so many ways. There are many exciting and challenging things to look forward to in our home, our church, and our work. We pray that you will find 1993 to be a year of growth, blessing, and joy. Write, phone, or visit soon! We love you –
Paul, Karen, + Peter xxxx
“Praise be to the Lord, for He showed His wonderful love to me . . .” – Psalm 31:21
