Merry Christmas from the P---!
We hope this letter finds all of our family and friends happy and healthy as we end the millennium.
The most wonderful thing about 1999 was that it was a lot like 1998. We didn’t move, Gary didn’t change jobs, no new kids, etc., etc. A wonderfully stable year.
Sarah is 2 ½ and doing well – she’s happy and there are no major health problems. She continues to charm (and ultimately manipulate) her parents, grandparents, doctors, and therapists. Everyone is very pleased with the progress that she’s made in the last year. She’s walking now without the aid of braces. The concept of language seemed to just “click” at the beginning of the year, and she began to understand when we spoke to her. Recently she’s begun to be able to express her own ideas in two or three word sentences, and things are really getting interesting. Oh what goes on between those two cute ears! Sarah will probably remember ‘99 as the year she started horseback riding. There’s a wonderful therapeutic riding center here, and believe it or not, 2 year olds on horses is not unusual! Sarah LOVED it. Her horse’s name was “Moonshine”.
Gary and I are doing fine. Gary is really happy at his job; it’s a great mix of office work and travel. I’m doing well with my job as “mom the taxi” for all of Sarah’s therapies, but I’m strongly lobbying for a minivan!
We didn’t seem to find much time for hobbies this year, but we did have a big garden. Our “P--- Pickle Company” continues to gain fame amongst family and friends… so much so that we’re planning on doubling the cucumber planting in 2000! This year we added salsa to our list of canned products. We’ve received so many generous donations of canning jars that we actually could go into production (if we had the time!) but for now it’s just fun to make pickles, tomatoes, chili sauce, and salsa to keep and to share.
We’re looking forward to another wonderfully stable year in 2000… but who knows what the future holds? Merry Christmas and Happy 2000!
