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Update - 7/5/04
Hello folks,
2004 has been a good year for us to date. The weather couldn't have been better,
we even had rain all spring and into June, and that's a good thing. We hope
to do some traveling this fall as I have two weeks vacation this year from my
"permanent part-time" job at Christ Methodist. I still love my job
there. There's much diversification and it keeps things interesting for me .
. . never a dull or boring moment. Fitz continues to do some gardening,
some fishing with family and friends, and a lot of reading. He's particularly
interested in reading history, anything except fiction. As for me, give me fiction,
fiction, fiction, and maybe a biography and I'm a happy camper!
We had a great time in Cancun with Steve and Marilyn earlier this year. Ate,
fished, and made merry for a week in sunny Mexico. Also have done a few
day trips around Missouri, Arkansas, etc. We are considering going to
the Grand Canyon and environs westward this fall. So much for the travelog.
Toby FitzSimons is engaged to Liz and they are planning a November 7th wedding.
Hope you can come to Tulsa and help us celebrate this happy event. Liz
is in the National Guard (Army). She plays an instrument in the band! Anyway,
her unit is on alert to be called to active duty in the near future. They won't
know when until the Army tells them when, so we are going ahead with wedding
plans for now. Will update you as soon as we can.
On that happy note, I'll say adieu. Please pray for peace and for our
troops in Iraq and around the world. My oldest and dearest friend in Tulsa is
Kathy Wright, and her son-in-law is in Baghdad with his National Guard Unit.
They see unfriendly action each and every day! His unit is there to help the
Iraqi people rebuild the infrastructure of their country. Would you pray that
God will keep them safe from the insurgents' bombs and guns?
Love to all,
Rachel
Update - 7/2/03
Hi family! Well, can't believe another year has
come and gone. So much hasn't happened around here! Really, we have had
a very quiet year. Rachel is still working three days a week at Christ United
Methodist Church and Fitz is still enjoying his retirement. He has put
a lot of time in the garden this year and it looks great. The tomatoes plants
are loaded with green tomatoes which will be ripe for Mother's annual trek to
Tulsa Town. He has also been doing a good bit of fishing with a friend
and with his son John. Recently, he and John floated and fished the Elk River
in Missouri. They caught and released lots of fish and had a great time.
David and Debbie McGuffey came to Tulsa last weekend for Debbie's 30th high
school reunion in Sand Springs. They stayed with us and we had a lovely visit.
We love to have family here, so come on up. Also had a brief visit from Don
Wood earlier this year and it was so good to catch up on each other's doings!
Our children are scattered far and wide . . . not
too good for a granny, I'll tell you. Steve and his wife, Marilyn, are
in Edmond and both are employed at University of Central Oklahoma. Their lives
are full and busy and very happy by all accounts. Since it is only about an
hour and forty-five minutes to Edmond, we see them fairly often. Mark and Colleen
and their boys, Patric and Ryan, are still in Davis, California (way too far
away) and have a great situation in that Mark, who still writes a sports column
for the Sacramento Bee, is able to write most of his columns from home, thanks
to the computer! Colleen is a stay-at-home mom and keeps busy just keeping up
with the two boys and their schools and extra curricular activities. The
boys are both in competitive swimming and Patric is in a Spanish immersion school.
He is in fourth grade and can speak and write and think in Spanish. Hey, they
are truly California Kids. Kay and Gerald are still home in Lee's Summit, Missouri.
Kay has started a new business and is deeply involved in PTA and in her church.
Gerald's architecture firm is still very busy and he is also involved in the
children's after-school activities and in their church. He is in the praise
and worship singers on Sunday mornings and is in various action groups as well.
I plan to take Mother for a visit with them this summer. John FitzSimons
is still living here in Tulsa. Since both of his boys are out of Boy Scouts,
he has given up working with the troop as well. He is now able to spend
some time doing some serious fishing with his Dad. His son Toby is still in
college, still pursuing the Biology degree, but with a new twist. He is
considering transferring from OU to UCO in Edmond so he can get into a
forensic science program (not to mention he will have Steve and Marilyn there
for any help he might need). Sounds like a good plan. Cody is working at Phillmont
Boy Scout Camp in New Mexico this summer and is having a great time. He
is undecided about what he will do next! Annette and her husband, John,
still live in Claremore, OK. John is employed at the local Vo-tech. Annette
had to make a move this year as the program she was teaching was deleted from
the offering. So, she is working for a local dentist in his office lab as a
dental technician. She really likes the work and the new surroundings, and is
learning some new tricks of her craft. All is well that ends well, I suppose.
Bob FitzSimons and his wife live in Shenandoah, Texas. She is an RN and is working
to put him through nursing school. His BA was in business. We don't hear much
from them, but do understand that his boys have both graduated from high school
and apparently all is well.
We hear through the family grapevine that there
will be a big birthday bash for Mother Doris on her 90th birthday in December.
Hope a whole lot of you can join us in La Grange for the celebration. Until
next time, much love.
Update - 8/11/00
Audrey and Babar came to Tulsa for the annual tomato feed-fest on July 12th, Audrey's birthday!! Fitz and I met them at the airport and brought them home to a birthday dinner for Audrey. We commenced to play Spite and Malice after dinner, and really never stopped for anything except the necessities of life. Eating, sleeping, etc. Well, you get the point !! A good time was had by all. Audrey had to go home (to our sorrow) on the 17th . Mother is still here and the routine is the same, except we have switched card games. We now are playing Spades every evening, but we are careful not to miss Wheel of Fortune or Millionaire when they air. Otherwise, we nix television-watching and keep our eyes on the game. A little background music, please.
Babar has been having a great deal of trouble with her vision recently due to cataracts. She can't see the writing on the TV screen (during her game shows this is a problem). She also can't see some of the small road signs and that could be a major problem. So, she has gotten a second opinion regarding her cataract (right eye) and found that in the five years since she consulted her eye doctor in Killeen, her cataract on the right eye has grown and hardened to some extent, and she has one on the left eye of approximately the same size. She decided to have them removed here so we can be her drivers, food fixers, etc, while she is recovering. She will have the cataract removed on the right eye first, then after proper healing, will have the left one done. Then she will have to be refitted for glasses. Dr. Cole thinks she should have significant improvement in her vision. There is a great deal of blurring at this point. The good news is, he says she has minimal degeneration for a woman of her years. She will be here into the month of September. Do feel free to call her here, or write, or e-mail (at lrfitz@gateway.net). She is very upbeat about having the surgery and likes Dr. Cole very much, as we do. He has been our ophthalmologist for many years and we know him to be a very good surgeon.
We are going to see Kay, Gerald, Rachel, and Greg next Friday. Gerald has finally started to feel like a real human being again after a long siege with Mono and Hepatitis this summer. He is not working full time yet, and still poops out pretty fast, but most other symptoms have subsided. They have a new addition to their family too. A new puppy named Zeeza (?). They got him with that name already chosen don't have the slightest idea what it means!! But, different!! Maybe I can persuade Kay to put an update on the Good/Wood Website !! We will leave here on August 11 and return on August 15th. Then we just have time to get in an appointment at the Salon (most important) before Babar has her surgery.
Fitz and I are planning a fall trip out west, maybe to the Grand Canyon , maybe just to Carlsbad Caverns. Then we are going to a 50th Wedding Anniversary surprise party for a couple in Edina, MN. Fitz was in the Air Force with the husband, Don Buck, and we have met them a couple of times since Fitz and I married. Their children are planning the affair as a surprise for them hope their hearts are in good shape as it will be quite a jolt when we all show up!! Air Force days were many moons ago, during World War II.
Shannon says she wants everyone in Dallas for Christmas at the Swopes'. Hope all of you can come. We are making plans to be there and spreading the word among our family that it is a must-do!! See you there.
Rachel
Update - 12/27/99/99
Hope you had a great Christmas. Heard Marilyn and Danny took Daniel and David to Dallas, sans parents !! How brave! Bet they all had a good time visiting the folks there and eating all the yummy food they always have ready to consume.
We had a relatively quiet Christmas. Like Laura and Donald, we had no children (or grandchildren) on Christmas Eve. Fitz and I went to a midnight candlelight communion service that night and exchanged our gifts to each other. It was especially meaningful this year as I helped serve the communion with the ministerial staff and it was truly an awesome experience to be allowed to do so. Christmas Day brought Steve and Marilyn from Edmond, John and Annette from Claremore , and John, Toby and Cody from far north Tulsa !! We had a great day with the traditional Christmas turkey dinner and oodles of goodies to munch on all day and all evening. We had our family gift opening in the early evening, watched a couple of favorite Christmas movies and played a few games , keeping tradition in tact ! We gave thanks for a bounteous year of good health and good friends and for the wonderful family we have, both near and far. God is so good to us. Sing praises ! Our hope is for peace in the coming new century, real and everlasting. Happy New Year All
Tulsa Update - 10/28/99
Enjoyed having Babar with us this summer
for a nice long tomato visit. We did not take a vacation this
summer, opting for a fall fling. Here we are in October, and no
fling so far ! We did get in a beautiful trip to Roaring River
in Missouri a few weeks ago. Had a great time relaxing in a rustic
cabin overlooking the river and trout hatchery !! We did some
fishing, some hiking, and some porch sitting and just generally
enjoyed mother nature at her best. Weather was cool and crisp
and just about perfect. Rachel took along a book (what a surprise)
and did some light reading while Fitz took afternoon naps. Hey,
what is vacation for anyway ?
We will be staying here in Tulsa for Thanksgiving this year. John
and Annette Rosell, and John FitzSimons and his family will join
us. Hope you Texans have a great Thanksgiving. Play one game of
Spite for us !! Steve and Marilyn Kreidler and her boys, Jeremy
and Brad, will come for Christmas this year and join the Tulsa
family. Kay and Mark Kreidler and their families will be at their
own homes this year , giving Santa a break . Well, it's tough
trying to remember which Grandma and Grandpa everyone is visiting
!! We will also be here for Happy New Year 2000. Where is everyone
else going to celebrate this special time ? More later.
Tulsa News - 7/9/99
Had a great Fourth of July weekend here
in Tulsa. Mother is visiting us for her annual Tomato Feeding
Frenzy. Donald and Shelly were here visiting Shelly's brother
and his family, and were able to come over to our house on Saturday
while Steve and Marilyn were here. We had a traditional spread
including grilled hamlurgers, potato salad and baked beans, watermelon,
brownies, and------well, you get the picture. We had a nice afternoon
(Donald read from the encyclopedia of unrelated historical facts)
and all in all, just enjoyed visiting with each other. Wish we
could have these group meetings more often !! Our " Bed and
Breakfast" is open and ready for you, so come on up here.
The garden is in full swing now and we are up to our eyebrows
in tomatoes. Hey, what is summer for, if not for eating tomato
sandwiches?
Mother and I are going to Lee's Summit to stay with Kay and her
family for a few days of fun with the Janssens. Fitz will stay
here to keep the red spider mites from taking over the tomato
patch. Someone has to do it! We are also planning a trip to Edmond
to see Steve and Marilyn's handiwork in the back yard of their
home. They are completely changing the looks of the place ,as
I understand it, and have a garden pool complete with goldfish,
a slate path (backbreaking work), and thousands of flowers, bushes,
and trees to attract butterflies and birds -- not to mention us
mere mortals. Should be a fun day trip. We're hoping to see Jeremy
and Brad while we are there as well. Jeremy has his first summer
job and is really having a good experience with it (not to mention
the pay check, which mostly goes in his "piggy bank"
to help pay for that all important first car).
That's all from here for now. Hope you all have a good summer.
Oklahoma Twisters . . .
Whew! All of our family in Oklahoma/ Kansas/ Missouri escaped the wrath of the tornado barrage. Not a scratch to us, but many, many people are without homes. The devastation is truly awesome! We are all very lucky and very thankful to be alive.
Monday, May 3, 1999 -- a day that will not be forgotten for a long time here in Oklahoma. Storm refugees are getting a great deal of help locally and from around the country, but it will be many years before all is back to"normal".
Great Mothers Day . . .
. . . with Kay and family . I (Rach) went up on Thursday and back to Tulsa Sunday afternoon. My whirlwind tour included baseball, soccer (twice), pizza party, Girl Scout Hayride and Barn Dance, School visits (lunch included), church Sunday morning and out to eat for a Mothers Day treat after church. I am still a little winded!!
Retirement from Urologic Surgery, Inc 4/1/95 . . .
Just beginning to adjust to retirement after four years. "Being Lazy, as and Art Form" is our next course of study. Spring has sprung here in Oklahoma and Fitz is busy planning and planting his garden vegetables. We already have asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas. A few green beans are sticking their slender necks out of the ground.
Allergies aside, we love this time of the year when nature again gives us hope, and renewal of life becomes evident. Since our activity level picks up, a few "old folks" aches and pains are also evident!!
Never-the-less, Viva Spring! Ya'll Come!
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