On a more serious note, Jo Anna (Paul's mother) lost her first cousin Anne Cowgill when she passed away this year. For those of you who don't know, Anne, along with her younger sister and brother (Fran and Bob Mason) are practically siblings to Jo Anna who was raised an only child. Jo Anna and her Mason cousins have always shared a close bond, and Anne will be sorely missed by everyone in our family. Cousin Fran, who lives on Bainbridge Island along with Jo Anna has been in poor health herself recently, undergoing a series of tests. We're saying prayers for her and everyone involved. And on another sad note, Stephen lost his maternal grandmother this past year as well. He and his sister Debbie flew home to Pennsylvania for services and to be with family. He was very close to her.
We also had visits this year from two of Stephen's Pennsylvania friends, Tommy and Mark Amico. Stephen's sister Roberta visited this fall, our good friend Jeff Lettiere visited from New York, and Paul's father is coming to spend Christmas 2000 with us -- his fist trip to Los Angeles in three years! Paul's mother Jo Anna had planned on spending Thanksgiving with us, but she came down with pneumonia only days before the trip and couldn't make it this year. It was a disappointment to be sure, but all in all, she's been doing very well and has kept extremely busy. She appeared in another print ad, this time for Washington Oaks: a Leisure Care Retirement Community. The ad showed up in regional newspapers, magazines, and on billboards throughout the Washington area, and she even spotted it on the back of a bus! And just a month ago, she was seen (very briefly!) in an installment of "America's Most Wanted" on Fox-TV being murdered(!) in one of their crime reenactments. She said it was great fun, and Stephen and I are very proud of our Actress/Mom! Although it's been a bumpy ride some days this year, we truly count our many blessings... and re-count them... and certify them... and double-check for chads and dimples too. We know that any way we look at it, we've come out winners. Life is good. And we're glad you stopped by in Cyber Space, even for a moment, and enjoyed a bit of it with us. God bless!
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