dear family,
we have entered a new realm of technology, thus rendering paper communication more time consuming & expensive (although not less valuable)...in the interest of getting the information out more quickly, i have opted to test the family newsletter via a blog site. all feedback is welcome!
patman and loubaby:loubaby says they are planning a trip to houston soon to see their dear friend, nancy oliphant. as you know, her sweet husband, ben, passed away recently and nancy has just returned from their home in colorado.
downs, mccabe, haarala, blaylock:
mom and john have been keeping very busy, hosting visits from lou, patrick, john harden, leslie, daniel and a whole bunch of other folks. the book they wrote with their russian friend, dr. nick, has just been released and they are planning a medical mission trip to africa in january!
john harden is doing great, working off the coast of louisiana, dating paton and living in lafayette when he is on shore. zackary also lives in lafayette, so john harden sees him regularly.
eric and i are enjoying being first time homeowners, loving being back in denver and very much enjoying "this" side of the wedding:) posey and riley are doing great and loving their new back yard. posey just turned 12 and is just as silly, cranky, sneaky and clownish as always. our great dane, maggie, is now living full time with our friends in fort collins, though we have "visitation rights" and she comes to stay with us from time to time.
lou and john are in houston, both working VERY hard but still managing to get to a few LSU games! GEAUX TIGERS! miss parker is doing well and surely "discouraging" lou and john from getting a new puppy, a subject that is on the table for them these days!
patrick and jesse are in baton rouge, not missing any LSU games and also enjoying "this" side of the wedding. their biggest project these days is working on wedding thank you notes!!
lou, patrick and john harden were all at the LSU Florida game 2 weeks ago!
we are all grateful for our family's recent growth and good health! with all the weddings in the last few years, there is an unofficial pool on who will be adding to this clan next...anyone want to guess? lou, locksley or jesse?! i speak only for myself and eric when i say that we are really enjoying quiet saturday mornings and a diaper free existence...for now:) sources report new findings that some sort of "clock" is ticking?!
barbato, palmer:
our most exciting news of this newsletter is danny's health!! we are so grateful for the good news and so humbled by this family's faith through a scary time...not to mention fran's new found nursing skills!
cullen and sarah have been keeping us updated through their blog, which always means a giggle for me:) feel free to check their blog for updates http://barbatofamily.blogspot.com/ and if the pictures of jack don't make you crack a smile, it's time to check your batteries!
greg and lindley: living in orlando, lee learned to swim this summer and started playing soccer! anne calvert has started talking, and greg and lindley just celebrated their 8th wedding anniversary! sources tell me they are headed to marco island this month for a family vacation. greg is still working at novartis and lindley has picked up a few hours at the insurance company she worked with in alabama.
sarah is also living in orlando and has enjoyed being able to spend some time with the palmers.
aertker, schultz:
walter and gay are in goodlettsville, and from all indications, are working hard and enjoying life in tennessee....well, gay works hard:)
"mista walter" and his lovely wife, gay were in attendance for all the wedding bliss of the july 20th weekend in louisiana this summer.
we were also treated to a rare but welcome visit by the schultz's. always great to see our cousins from the big apple. helen reports that she is "working, sleeping and eating". her work as an attorney involves "commercial leasing and purchase & sale agreements for large retailers such as Target, Toys "R" Us and Polo Ralph Lauren"....sounds pretty good. carter is still peddling fur, and considering the recent warm temperatures in that area of the country, that's quite a feat..."that guy can sell fur coats during a heat wave!"
jen is also living in new york and studying for the GMAT. she reports that she misses her "grandmuthas" and hopes to travel to louisiana for a visit soon.
lord:
carol and rob are enjoying fall in new england...carol is working per diem with various doctors and rob is busy with their land in new england and louisiana.
dustin is living in baton rouge with his dog, maggie, and doing plenty of renovations on his home.
will and his dog, jackson, are recent additions to the growing population in summit county colorado (breckenridge) and are looking forward to their first rocky mountain winter, while brooks is still in new hampshire, plotting his move to steamboat springs, colorado later this month!
neblett:me'me' and tabb are doing great, planning a trip to athens, georgia in early november for parent's weekend.
edward is playing football and trying to get used to being the only kid at home:) he has a 4.0 and is hoping that will help him get into the university of georgia!! we all had such high hopes that this awesome LSU alum couple would produce a faithful TIGER, but alas the drool of "the bulldawg" is the glue that binds the neblett boys!
tabb and brooks are loving being at the university of georgia together. tabb is set to graduate this fall and enter THE REAL WORLD!!!
manning:
our aunt formerly known as catherine aertker is loving married life and handling the transition to step mom with loads of grace! her new family is wonderful....for those who were in baton rouge/lafayette this summer, you likely had the pleasure of meeting rodney, kathryn and victoria. once again, i feel compelled to mention how grateful we are for continued growth in our family!
boland:emily celebrated her birthday recently, enjoying coffee with friends and birthday cake with kevin, will and abbie. kevin is at Georgetown Prep and recently had Patman in the stands at one of his football games!will is in 7th grade and is yet another "cousin" who helps complete the roster for a successful soccer team.abbie (2nd grade) just turned 8 and had a big slumber party to celebrate!
while much of this letter is fun news, a family newsletter is for everyone in the family and journalistic integrity must be adhered to (i've always wanted to say "journalistic integrity"!) we are very sorry the bolands are faced with a struggle, but know they have the faith and support to navigate these tough waters.
colorado aertkers (colorado springs version):
robert is recovering well from back surgery and recently sold his real estate appraisal business, now turning his professional focus towards commercial development. johane has been doing a lot of mountain biking and i'm sure they are all looking forward to hitting the ski slopes again in a few months!
edward (5th grade) and matthew (3rd grade) are back in school, both playing soccer and growing up very quickly! edward is wrapping up a season with Rush Soccer, a competetive youth soccer league.
they live with their "mountain lion fighting dog", rogue, who looks a little like a beagle who stuck his paw in a socket! he's very smart and very sweet:)
colorado aertkers (denver version):paul, katherine, andrew and mary are celebrating their first year in denver! their first winter was literally FILLED with snow and they are hoping the experts are correct in saying it was a once in a lifetime winter.
mary (6th grade) just landed the lead role in The Phantom Tollbooth Play while andrew (4th grade) continues to improve upon his guitar playing skills and plays soccer on saturdays.
you've likely noticed that much family news is centered around or heading towards colorado. while i have long promoted the benefits of high altitude living, the migration has been slow but i am thrilled with the steady progress to the rocky mountains. colorado now ranks 2nd, after louisiana, for the highest concentration of "patman/loubaby descendents". i speak only for myself when saying that no matter how long i am here, or how far away i am, louisiana will always be my home and i miss it dearly (especially during football season)...i do love being in a place where my family loves to visit, and of course, our door is always open (except during blizzards, when we must conserve heat:)
i will do my best to make this a more regular update, and will also be using this as an update site for Team BlayLocksley! not sure how the blog life will fit in, but i'm willing to give it a shot in the interest of staying in touch with those we love.
i am also hopeful to be able to incorportate pictures into this in the future, so keep an eye out for those! and again, feel free to send feedback on layout, content, etc.
much love to you all,
locksley
the dogs were loving sleeping by the fireplace among all the wrapping paper...
