Elvin and I have had a busy year - at least it seems like it - I really don't know where 2009 went. Seems like such a short time ago that we were celebrating the beginning of a new year and now it is almost time to welcome in 2010. One of my coworkers and I were discussing this week the fear and trepidation with which many welcomed in the turn of a new century in 2000 and the preparations that were made "in case everything crashed, etc." And here we are just 10 years later and not much thought about the transition from one calendar date to the next!
Anyway, in 2009, Elvin and I have continued to live in the same house and work at the same jobs! Elvin is still working as a TSS (therepeutic support staff) with TW Ponessa and Associates. He very much enjoys working one on one with the two or three boys that he has at any one time. He looks forward to going to "work" everyday and loves the challenge of helping them to grow emotionally. The downside of his job is that when the boys are ill and not in school, he doesn't have any work and therefore doesn't get paid unless he can substitute for another TSS or can use a "vacation" day. The beginning of the summer is also difficult as he needs to transition from school hours to summer hours and sometimes it takes a month or so to get back to a full time schedule!
I continue to serve as the administrator of the Wonder Club Early Learning Centers, one of the five divisions of Water Street Ministries. Last spring we underwent a name change both in the overall ministry and in my part of the ministry. It is amazing how much is involved in changing a name - all the forms, etc. that had to be rewritten. I love the challenge of working with the teachers and children, but when a teacher is ill and I have to step in as a substitute, I come home at the end of the day thankful that I am not actually the preschool teacher!
Elvin's passion continues to be cooking and he loves making soup twice a month for our home group, now known at our church as the "Soup Group." We meet the first and third Sundays following our first service; therefore, we have lunch of soup, bread, and dessert before our discussion and prayer time. As a group we enjoy the fellowship time that comes with lunch.
Elvin loves developing new soups for the group to try and the soups are always met with enthusiasm from the group. My passion continues to be reading and scrapbooking, neither of which I seem to have enough time to do.
We enjoyed some vacation and traveling time as well. In June we spent 4 days at a B & B outside of Lexington, VA. We camped at Knoebels with church friends, spent a day with the family in Cape May (a belated 60th birthday trip for me), and in November spent a couple days in Smithville, NJ. That last trip was quite an experience since it was weekend of Hurricane Ida and we were just north of Atlantic City where all the flooding took place. It was a very rainy and windy couple of days. Lorraine also enjoyed a few days of scrapbooking with a close friend at her vacation home just outside of Rehobeth Beach, DE.
Of course, one of the things we enjoy most is spending time with our children and grandchildren. You can see updates on what has been happening in their lives by reading their blog posts (Jeff and Nean: Rodney and Alicia). Elvin and Dante enjoyed planting a "purple" garden this year and we've had lots of time playing in the backyard with Dante and Zoë - one of the advantages of living right next door! We love grandparenting! It is a joy to watch them grow and learn so many new things on a
daily basis. We continue to enjoy relatively good health even though our bodies indicate that we are getting older.To all our family and friends, we wish you well in the New Year.
Love to all,
Lorraine and Elvin
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