Christmas 2008

Dear Ones:

Let me begin with a sincere apology for the lapse in Christmas letters. I’m painfully aware that it’s been three years since my last one. I did write them (and in some cases re-wrote them for sending out at other times of the year…St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, 4th of July, etc.), but for whatever reason, I never quite got them out the door.

My mom always told me that time goes by more quickly as we get older. I never really believed her until I had children of my own. Now in the blink of an eye, it seems, 2008 is nearly over. Natalie turned 13 (a teenager!), Leland is 9 (and 11/12 J ), and George and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary!

Natalie’s in 8th grade—her last year at Buena Vista Middle School. She has become a terrific reader and is in the "Million Word Club" in her English class. With a friend, she entered the Science Fair with a project titled, "Mouth Microbes and You," which examined whether spearmint or cinnamon worked best to destroy bacteria in one’s mouth (the results were inconclusive, by the way, but she enjoyed doing the gram stain procedure and working with the microscope). She’s still playing the flute in concert band, and she’s looking forward to trying out some other instruments in the new year.

In the Spring, she ran track for the very first time and really enjoyed it. She won some heats and placed in some races during the season. At first, she wanted to concentrate on the shorter lengths (50m, 100m), but as she got into it, she found that she liked the 200m. The big surprise came at the championship meet when her coach asked her to run the 800m, and she got a third-place ribbon for her efforts!

Last year, while Natalie "made" the soccer team, she got almost no game time at all. She loves soccer, though, and wanted to give the team another try this Fall. In the first game she played only about 5 minutes, and in the second not at all. That night she asked me if she could leave the team after the third game if she didn’t get to play. I told her that would be okay with me—I couldn’t stand another season watching her sit on the sidelines.

The very next day, Natalie stayed late at practice to run some extra drills. The coach must’ve liked what he saw, because he told her, "Now, I can show you off!" Sure enough, at the next game, Natalie played the entire game, and she did great as a defender. After the game, the normally taciturn coach came to us and asked what we thought. We told him that we were thrilled to see her play. He said, "In practice yesterday, something just ‘clicked’ and she got it." I smiled, bit my tongue and thought in my mother’s heart, "No, something ‘clicked’ and YOU got it!"

It was truly a pleasure to watch her skills grow as she played in the rest of the season’s games. Her team won their playoff game. And even though they lost the championship game this season, it was still victory for Natalie. At one point, the opposing team was doggedly trying to score a goal. When their forward was thwarted, her teammates yelled at her "Why didn’t you take the shot?" And the forward yelled back, "I couldn’t—she was on me." That "she" was none other than my own Natalie! I was so proud.

Natalie has continued in Girl Scouts, and she has earned her "Creative Cooking" Interest Project Award (aka "badge"), trained as a Program Aide and acted as an assistant counselor at a summer day camp. As a troop, we’ve gone on a number of outings, visiting Winchester Mystery House, learning about the science of scent at The Perfumer’s Apprentice and walking in the Salinas Parade of Lights. Cookie sales start in January, so stay tuned!

During Lent, Natalie started Confirmation classes with our Priest, along with the Pimentel girls. And Natalie, Alex andra and Olivia were Confirmed in a lovely service in September, presided over by the Bishop. George and I were delighted to sponsor Alex and Olivia on this important day, and we were blessed to have Kathy & Rick Pimentel and Tim & Alice Knapp sponsor Natalie.

Now all about Leland: he’s in the 4th grade at Spreckels Elementary School. His favorite subject is still Math, and Science is a close second. He loves to ride his bike and skateboard, and when he’s not outside, he’s gaming on his DS or the Wii. He also became an Acolyte (aka Altar Boy) at church.

With his affinity for numbers, it’s not surprising that he’s not so fond of writing. Because he’s so formula-oriented, he takes instructions pretty literally. One writing instruction sheet said, "Your opening paragraph should tell: who, what, why, where and when." So he began his essay something like this:

My Trip to Elkhorn Slough.
Who: Leland. What: Field Trip to Elkhorn Slough. Why: Because we had to.
Where: Elkhorn Slough. When: October 17, 2008.

I tried to no avail to explain to him that the opening paragraph should contain sentences that include all that information. But he wouldn’t budge—he was certain he’d followed the instructions to the letter. He turned in the paragraph as shown above and was crushed when he didn’t get his anticipated "A." Since then, he’s learned to trust his mom when it comes to writing!

And how could I have forgotten to put this in the Christmas letter I mailed: Leland got braces this summer! He was very excited at first, but after wearing them for six months, he's getting tired of all the extra work they require, not to mention the foods he can't eat. Here's a "before" picture, and I should have an "after" picture sometime before the Fall of 2009!

Leland played baseball again in the Spring. He advanced to player-pitched ball for the Toro Park Yankees. It was a big shift from having a coach pitch right to him to facing a pitcher from the opposing team who was trying to strike him out. His speed served him well, though, helping him get to first base before the ball! And he’s already looking forward to playing in the Spring of 2009.

In the Fall, Leland played soccer again, and George helped coach. His team had just enough boys to field a team, so all the team members were on the field for every game—fun but tiring for the boys. He played forward a few times, but for the most part, he played his favorite position: goalkeeper. And some games were a real workout for him.

Leland is now a Webelo Cub Scout, and George is not only his Den Leader but also the Assistant Pack Master! Into his fourth year, Leland has earned so many sports and academic belt loops that he can’t fit any more onto his belt! He’s helped plant trees for the City of Salinas, helped beautify a trailhead in the former Ft. Ord on National Public Lands Day, and enjoyed summer day camp, marching in the Spreckels 4th of July Parade, Pack overnights at Toro Park, and a night on the tall ship Balclutha in San Francisco.

Work, thank goodness, is steady for George and me. George is approaching his three-year anniversary with HSBC in Salinas, and I’m in my 13th year with XL Insurance. With both of us in the financial services sector, it’s been a little disconcerting lately. And although there have been layoffs at HSBC, there’s no shortage of credit card statements to print, so George’s job seems secure for the moment. There’s also been a rumor in the financial press that my company is up for sale. The rumor has been neither confirmed nor denied by my company. So we’ll just have to wait and see what comes to pass.

With such a big vacation last year , we didn’t do much travel this year—much air travel that is. Instead, we invested in a new 5th wheel trailer! Our 1984 trailer [See the "Christmas 2006" blog for a photo-reminder!] had given us its all but was beyond repair. So just before Memorial Day, we picked up our 2007 Montana Mountaineer. It has a great floorplan, with a bunkhouse in the back for the kids, a bedroom up front for us and lots of living space in-between.

We hauled it to Casa de Fruta just outside Hollister for our shake-down cruise on Memorial Day weekend. Then we took it to Relay for Life so that we’d have something comfy to sleep in. We went (twice) to Wine Country RV in Paso Robles, which is conveniently co-located with the Firestone Winery and just across the street from a water park. For our big vacation, we traveled to the Benbow RV Resort for a week. George and Leland golfed while Natalie and I enjoyed tea and scones at the Benbow Inn next door. We swam, toured the giant redwoods and had a great time. George’s parents even joined us for a couple of days. We also had a wonderful trip to Columbia, where we met up with a bunch of family (14 of us in all). We’re starting to plan our 2009 trips. Who wants to go camping?

We did manage to sneak in a little trip to Disneyland in October with my sister, Vicki, and her grandchildren. We were privileged to share Jaden and Autumn’s first visit to the Magic Kingdom. It was awesome to see the park through their eyes.

Until next time…

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmasand a Happy New Year!

Diane, and the rest of the Mika Family –
George, Natalie and Leland

Christmas 2007

Dear Ones: [This letter was drafted to send out in the Fall of 2007…but never quite made it!]

2007 was another busy year. Two things consumed me this year: finishing a huge project at work, and planning and going on a European vacation (cannily timed to coincide with the completion of the above-mentioned project!).

Before I recount those two stories, I’d like to bring you up-to-date on the kids (that’s what you really read these letters for, isn’t it?).

Natalie
School and Sports: Now 12, Natalie started the 7th grade this year. She played soccer in the Fall for the Buena Vista Bobcats again this year. Although, I’d have to use the word “played” very loosely. There was a new coach this year, and Natalie didn’t see much game time. She was a real trooper, however, attending every practice and suiting up for every game. She was discouraged, but her love of the game was not diminished. [See the 2008 letter for a positive update!]

Girl Scouts: Natalie is now in her 6th year of Girl Scouts. In the spring, while still a Junior, she and her troop planned and executed a “Pet Fun Carnival” to earn their Bronze Award. They collected sheets, towels and blankets to donate to a local pet charity (see the recognition mid-way down the page at http://www.anniesblankets.org/archive/june07.html), and they raised $100 to donate to the SPCA. Natalie and several of her troop-mates decided to bridge to become Cadette Girl Scouts. However, their troop leader decided to move on, so I went through the training and am now the proud leader of Troop 33011!

Music: Natalie decided to continue with the flute. Since this is her third year in band, we rewarded her commitment by giving her a flute of her very own. She also started private lessons to help improve her music reading and fingering skills. We really enjoy her concerts.

Hobbies: She is a great “foodie” who is developing a refined palate and will try just about anything (unlike her vegetable-phobic mother). And she loves to bake and cook. Her dream is to become an accomplished pastry chef!

Leland
School and Sports: Leland is 8 and in the 3rd grade. Math continues to be his favorite subject in school. This year, we passed on the Spring soccer season and let Leland enjoy his second year with the Toro Park Thunder baseball team. He’s becoming a good hitter and a lightning-fast runner, and he likes to play 3rd base. In the Fall, he returned to soccer, and George helped coach.

Cub Scouts: Scouting is great! Leland now a Bear Cub. He has had fun learning new skills (like whittling, archery and compass reading) and camping in a tent. And he's enjoyed building and racing Pinewood Derby cars and Rain-gutter Sailboats. George has stepped up to become the Den Leader. It’s a lot of work but he finds it very rewarding to spend time with Leland and his friends.

Hobbies: He loves playing Gameboy and Gamecube, riding his bike and organizing things (I think he gets that from his Dad!). Leland tells us that that he wants to be an architect or engineer when he grows up. Not surprising when you see how he loves to build with Legos, K’nex, Magnetix, blocks and anything else he can come up with. Who knows, maybe my company will insure him someday!

Diane’s Big Project
Speaking of my company, I’m into my 12th year at XL Insurance, and I’ve kept busy with a number of projects but a major one in particular, noted at the beginning of this letter: managing the rewrite/update of our 500+ page contract guide for design professionals. This weighty tome rolled off the presses in July 2007, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief before we embarked on our family vacation. Follow this link to learn more about the results of my 2½ year labor: http://www.xldp.com/XLI_DP_Contract%20Guide%20Sales%20Brochure.pdf

George Update
George is still a Unit Manager for HSBC and will celebrate his 2-year anniversary there in January. He enjoys his work, even though he’s still on the graveyard shift.

Vacation
With my intense project work, we hadn’t done any traveling in a while. But we more than made up for it this summer! We began our adventure with an overnight flight from San Francisco to London, followed by a bus trip to Bath. We stayed in a lovely bed-and-breakfast inn, and enjoyed walking the cobblestone streets (although I admit we were tired of cobblestones before the end of our 3½ week trip!), touring the Roman Baths and taking a side trip to Stonehenge, the Avebury Stone Circles and the historic Lacock National Trust Village (where the kids had their picture taken in front of Harry Potter’s house!).

We returned to London by train, and stayed in a hotel near the London Eye. We toured the Tower of London and were awed by the Beefeaters and Crown Jewels. We took in the British Museum and the Natural History Museum. We visited Buckingham Palace. And we made a special visit to Lord Baden Powell’s house (the founder of Boy Scouts).

From London, we flew to Stuttgart, Germany, where my nephew Brad and his family are stationed. It was so wonderful to see them. And it was a unique treat to spend some time on the Army base. We were able to use U.S. dollars, and we didn’t have to use any electric plug converters! Brad and Stephanie took us to Rothenburg, a walled city dating back to the 12th century, and to Heidelberg Castle, a 13th century gothic and renaissance castle in partial ruin. Both were great trips, filled with history (and cobblestones!). We also enjoyed going to the commissary where we bought ingredients for a Mexican dinner! By that point, we had had our fill of pub food and schnitzel. We were ready for chips, salsa, fajitas and, of course, margaritas!

We were sad to leave Brad, Steph, Alexander and Chloe behind, but we were also excited to get to our next destination: Paris. We stayed in a small hotel near the Champ de Mars and the Rue Cler (another cobblestoned street, this one featuring many market stores and restaurants). We toured the city by bus, but really enjoyed our explorations on foot. The highlights included Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, the Louvre, and a day-trip to Versailles. We also got quite a workout climbing stairs! Almost 400 to reach the bell tower of Notre Dame, and almost 700 more to reach the second platform of the Eiffel Tower.

After bidding Paris adieu, we flew to the Midlands of England, to wrap up our vacation with George’s sister, Lori, and her husband, Steve. We really enjoyed just hanging out with them, and getting together with Steve’s family, but we also managed a fair bit of sightseeing while we were there. We visited Chatsworth House, the magnificent home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. And we also went to Alton Towers, a modern amusement park that is centered around a semi-ruined gothic revival country house (looked like a castle to this American!), the former seat of the Earls of Shrewsbury. We also went to a Nottingham Forest football (soccer) game.

It was sad to say our goodbyes to Lori and Steve, but we were comforted by the fact that they were coming to visit us at Christmas time! What’s more, we’d been on vacation long enough to be truly grateful to come home to good Mexican food and to leave the cobblestones behind!


With love from Diane,
and the rest of the Mikas:
George, Natalie & Leland

Christmas 2006

Dear Ones: [This letter was written but never mailed.]

As I reflect on 2006, it is with both great joy and great sorrow. And I feel compelled to begin with the sad news that my mother, Mamie Pogue, passed away in September. She was 83, and her mental and physical health had been steadily declining. We have been preparing for this eventuality for years, losing her by inches. Yet the final parting was still hard to accept. We miss the creative, passionate, opinionated woman she was before the dementia began its long, slow progress, and we miss the woman she became—sweet, quiet and smiling. I am comforted to know that she is, indeed, in a better place, reunited with our Heavenly Father, with Daddy and with my brother, Brad.

We were blessed by the support and loving care of our family and friends, and we are grateful to all of you who helped us through that tough time. The funeral and gather­ings were tearful events, but they were punctuated by moments of happiness: visiting with folks, reminiscing about Mom, seeing my five-month-old great-niece, Lola, for the first time, learning of the birth of my newest great-niece, Lucy, on the day of Mom’s funeral. How she would have loved those girls! And in some small way, she lives on in them and in the hearts of all who remember her. [The photo at right is the last picture of the kids with mom, taken in April 2006.]
The year was also eventful in other ways. In January, George embarked on a new career path as a Unit Manager in statement processing for HSBC. It has been a big change from food packaging. But as George says, he’s still managing to get a product (a credit card statement) into a package (an envelope)! He’s working the graveyard shift, which is great for the kids: he tucks them into bed at night, he’s home when they get out of school, and he’s here for dinner. It’s not so great for George and me—we are the proverbial “ships that pass in the night.” George leaves for work, and I go to bed. In the morning, we usually talk on our cell phones as I drive to work and as he drives home. We hope that he’ll have the opportunity to move to the day shift at some point. Soon.

George’s biggest news for 2006 is that he graduated from St. Mary’s College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Management! He went through the graduation ceremony in June and completed his last class in July. I don’t think it became real to George until this month, when he finally received his diploma in the mail. George worked so hard to achieve this, and we are so proud of him. And now he is spending all his freed-up time working through a nice long “honey-do” list!

Now, on to the kids—Natalie “graduated” from Spreckels Elementary School in June 2006, she turned 11 over the summer and she entered Buena Vista Middle School in the Fall as a 6th Grader. It’s still hard for me to believe. She had a great soccer season with the Buena Vista Bobcats, and she is in her 5th year of Girl Scouts. Natalie decided to continue with flute, and the difference between the 5th Grade Band Spring Concert and the Middle School Winter Concert was amazing!

Homework for Natalie is at an entirely new level now. She had the unfortunate experience of a group project gone bad, bringing home a resulting mid-term “D” in Science. She was devastated but vowed to do extra credit to bring up her grade. She wrote a great report on the Mourning Dove, and she ended the trimester with an “A+”! Natalie went to Science Camp in October and became an official member of the Banana Slug Club by kissing one! She also attended her first dance (where there was NO kissing!). [See the picture at left, where you can see Nat's kindergarten photo on the table as she admires her 11-year-old self in the mirror before the dance.]

Leland is 7, and he adores all things Pokémon. He’s in the 2nd grade, and his favorite subject is still math. He played soccer and baseball in the Spring (we’ll never do that again!) and soccer again in the Fall. George really enjoyed coaching soccer, and Leland had a great time for his first season in baseball. Leland has moved up from a Tiger Cub and is now a Wolf Cub. In Scouts, he has enjoyed camping in a tent, and building and racing Pinewood Derby cars, a Cubmobile (Soapbox Racer) and a Rain-gutter Sailboat.

Both kids were in the Christmas pageant at church. Natalie had speaking parts as two prophets and as Joseph. Natalie was a little leery of playing a boy at first, but she did a great job as her clear voice carried to the back of the sanctuary.

Leland moved up from being a sheep to playing one of the three kings. As he was getting costumed, I overheard one of the moms who was helping ask, “What do you think, Leland?” to which he replied seriously, “Hmmm…I think I need a little more bling.” I could see the mom struggle to keep a straight face as she draped a length of sequined fabric around his shoulders. “That’s better,” he said before running off to join the other richly dressed kings. There was a bit of jostling among the three kings in their eagerness each to be the first to present their gifts to the baby Jesus. All in all, it was a heartwarming service.

I’m into my 11th year at XL Insurance, and I’ve kept busy with two major projects: the first, working on an IT project for our underwriting department, is almost at its conclusion, and the second, managing the rewrite/update of our 500+ page contract guide for design professionals, should wrap up in June. My travel lessened a bit in 2006, taking me only to Ft. Myers, Denver, Chicago and Philly.

And I’m still involved with the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. My team raised over $7,500 and the Salinas Relay raised over $1 million for this worthy cause!

On Father’s Day, we trekked down to the Point Sur Lighthouse, where George Sr. and Lil are docents. The lighthouse began operating in 1889. It was a windy but beautiful day, and our great tour guides J showed us wildflowers on the hike up the hill, points of historical significance, and what it was like to live in one of the remotest places on earth.

We towed our old trailer on a couple of memorable adventures in 2006. We returned to Benbow for a week with our friends, the Whitneys, where we enjoyed the creek, the lake, the pool, golfing (yes, George has finally started golfing!), seeing the Budweiser Clydesdales, good food and great company. This year, George got to stay for the whole week! Later in the summer we got an awesome campsite at Spirit West Coast in Laguna Seca (we could see the main stage from our front door!). Our niece, Brittany, came for the whole event, and the Mascarellos and the Pimentels also joined us for a day.

We also shared a magical Disneyland vacation with Sal, Merrielle, Domenic, Sofia, Ray and Pat Lucido. For the very first time, we stayed at the Disneyland hotel, and we enjoyed five days of park hopping, swimming in the Never Land pool, eating and having lots and lots of fun! We even enjoyed a grown-up night out with Merrielle and Sal when Narnie Pat and Popi Ray took all the kids to Medieval Times for an evening of feasting and jousting!

In other news: We enjoyed a springtime visit from Brad and his family before they shipped out to Germany. The Mills Oklahoma branch made a summertime trip west; Natalie and Leland had a lot of fun with their cousins Kaitlyn and Zack. George and I celebrated 17 years of marriage in November. Natalie and Leland joined Grandma and Papa for a mini-vacation in Pacific Grove during Christmas break. And we wrapped up the year with a trip to Twain Harte, where we joined the Pimentels and enjoyed skiing at Dodge Ridge.

I’ve enjoyed this opportunity to let you know what we’ve been up to, and I look forward to hearing your stories.

And until we meet again, may God keep you in the hollow of his hand –

With love from Diane,
and the rest of the Mika Clan:
George, Natalie & Leland
(and our cats Mister & Missy, too!)

Christmas 2005

Dear Ones: [This was the last Christmas letter that was actually mailed!]

I am writing this in the delicious lull between Christmas and New Year’s. The wrapping paper has been recycled and Christmas dinner has been enjoyed; yet the tree is still up, the house decorated and the Christmas lights lit. I am on vacation this week, and we are enjoying our gifts, each other and the left­overs—it is about as stress free as one can get. The worries and pressures of work and world will return soon enough, but for now, we are healthy, happy and enjoying life. We hope you are doing the same.

Here’s why it’s been two years since you’ve gotten a Christmas letter from us: in Dec. 2004, George lost his job (or, as he likes to say, he “misplaced” it). While it may sound cliché, it was probably the best thing that could have happened to us. At the time, we were in a bit of a panic, worrying about how to make ends meet, how to explain the situation to our kids, family and friends, and how to salvage his senior project, which was tied to Fresh Express. We were just not in the spirit to write Christmas cards.

George took the time to update his résumé, but more importantly he took the time to do some serious introspection. George sought counsel from our Pastor. Not only did Pastor Patti provide some sage advice to us during our time of crisis, but she also offered George the opportunity to do a project for the church! And in that moment, our stress was lessened another notch, and George’s senior project, “Lay-Leadership Education: A Focus on Strengthening Parish Care and Outreach,” was born.

We were grateful for all of the electrical jobs that materialized for George during this tough time. So thank you to all of you whose homes and yards needed electrical work! And within a month, George landed a “regular” job with Weyerhaeuser Paper Company as a mechanic—not his dream job, but something to get by. So, a few months later, when an opportunity came his way to get back into produce packaging—in a management capacity—he took it. Let’s just say had this job been something George had purchased, he’d have returned it with the explanation that “the contents did not match the description on the box.” It was, if nothing else, a learning experience—and an important one at that. It gave him nine months’ experience supervising production crews. This experience has led George to his next adventure: in January 2006, he will join HSBC Card Services (formerly Household Card Services, where I worked from 1986-1991!) as a Unit Manager in its statement processing facility.

Amidst all this chaos, George finished his senior project and is now taking his last core course with St. Mary’s College. With just a couple of electives to finish, he’s in good shape to graduate with his Bachelor’s Degree in June 2006!

In hindsight, we can see that we were blessed and strengthened by what initially appeared to be an unfortunate event. And in seeing the terrible damage that the tsunami and hurricanes wrought, our plight seemed very insignificant by comparison. Now, on to the kids!

Natalie had a great year in fourth grade, including her project and report on the Carmel Mission (the “mission report” is a standard fourth-grade project in California). Now, she’s 10 and in fifth grade (the year of the state report—Pennsylvania, in case you’re interested J), her last year at the elementary school. It’s hard for me to accept that she’ll be in middle school next year. This year, she has joined the school band and is learning to play the flute (which brings back all sorts of “band” memories for me!). She is also singing in the children’s choir at church. And she’s now in her second year as a Junior Girl Scout, in troop 3011. Natalie has earned a number of badges, from the “Sky Search” badge (at summer camp) to the “Music Fan” badge (during an excursion to the San Jose Tech Museum and its “Amazing Music Studio” exhibit). She learned to crochet with her troop, and her potholder won a second place ribbon at the Monterey County Fair! Her troop also adopted a troop in Mississippi and sent the girls backpacks filled with books, stuffed animals, toothbrushes, games and more!

In Spring 2005, Natalie also joined her first organized sport: soccer. It was such a good experience that she also participated in the Fall 2005 season, and we’re already signed up for the Spring 2006 season. She has been rotated through a number of positions, but she enjoys being a defender—and she’s a strong one!

Leland “graduated” from preschool and entered Kindergarten at Spreckels Elementary in the Fall of 2004. Now he’s six (almost seven!) and a big first grader, who loves reading, math and science. He, too, has joined the world of scouting. Leland is now a Tiger Cub Scout and a proud member of Pack 60, which is sponsored by the Spreckels Volunteer Fire Department. He looks adorable in his uniform, and I’m told he looks just like George at that age! He has earned tiger-paw beads toward his Tiger Cub badge and also a Soccer “belt loop.” Speaking of soccer, Leland also joined the Salinas Valley Youth Soccer League in Spring 2005, and George joined the coaching staff for the Fall 2005 season. It’s been a lot of fun. Leland wants to try out baseball in 2006—and keep going with soccer. It will be an interesting juggle.

My mom is still living in a private-care home for Alzheimer’s/dementia patients. Physically, she’s doing fine for an 82-year-old woman. But mentally, she continues to decline bit by bit. She still recognizes her children and some of her older grandchildren. However, I have to reintroduce Leland and Natalie on every visit. It’s hard on Natalie, but Leland just throws himself at her with a big hug and says, “I love you, Grandma Mamie!” She still works her search-a-word puzzles and enjoys root beer floats, butter rum lifesavers and 3 Musketeers candy bars. And she’s been in a non-smoking environment so long that she’s finally stopped asking for cigarettes! Please keep her in your prayers.

I’ve kept busy this year with work and church, plus all the kids’ activities. I’m on the Vestry and Preschool Board for our church. While it has been a joy to serve, I am looking forward to a little more free time in 2006 when my commitment ends. I will continue to be active in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, an awesome event in Salinas that raises more than $1 million each year for cancer research and support. In 2005, I participated in my second Relay, and in 2006, I will be captaining my team.

I am still working for XL Insurance (formerly DPIC Companies) and am approaching my 10-year anniver­sary. I am still analyzing claims against architects and engineers (A/Es) and developing education programs and resources to combat the causes. I’ve also taken on the business management of an IT project for another department, which has added a little spice to my work life. My job-related travel takes me around the country. Some places—like Cleveland, Chicago, Austin, San Diego, Los Angeles and Indianapolis—have been pretty routine. Others have been a lot of fun because we’ve been able to make family vacations out of them. In 2004, George and the kids joined me for a week in Honolulu, where I delivered an education program to over 200 A/Es. And later in 2004, George, the kids and Grandma and Papa Mika joined me after a conference in Orlando for a week at Disneyworld!

Our 2005 vacations were more low-key but no less enjoyable. We kicked off the New Year in Santa Rosa with our friends, Sal, Merrielle, Domenic and Sofia Lucido. We brought our 5th wheel trailer out of storage in the summer and took it to Spirit West Coast, a Christian music festival at Laguna Seca in Monterey. Our great-niece Brittany and our friends, Michael, Michelle and Nick Mascarello, shared that adventure with us. Then, continuing with our camping theme, we spent a week with our friends, John and Sheila Whitney, at an RV Resort in Benbow, CA (a beautiful spot in Northern California near the giant redwoods). For our last camping trip of the year, we journeyed over the Labor Day weekend (with gas prices topping $3 a gallon!) to Buellton, CA, near the Danish community of Solvang. We met up again with the Whitney family, and this time Grandma and Papa Mika joined us in their motor home. Camping is such a joy: swimming, barbecuing, playing games, relaxing, riding bikes, and on. We’re so glad to be able to share the experience with our kids.

On the pet front, we are still enjoying the company of our wonderful and affectionate cats, Nimbus and Misty (AKA Mister and Missy), adopted from the SPCA in 2002.

And now, as 2005 comes to a close, it seems fitting to leave you with a blessing from the Order of Compline (service for the end of the day) in the Book of Common Prayer:

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night,
and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ;
give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering,
pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen.

With love from Diane and the rest of the Mika Family –
George, Natalie and Leland (Mister and Missy, too!)