Here's the recap from the beginning of the year. In January, we bought a new house (5+3, 3300 sq. ft., on a third of an acre) and moved in. We also went to Florida for a wedding. In March, the contract Jackie is managing was canceled, which was a big disappointment. We also went to another wedding. In April, Jackie put our entire family tree on the Internet. In May, Jonathan turned 3, and we went to another wedding. In June, Marc accepted a full-time job with a company called ISX in Westlake. Marc's new job represented a major improvement in position, salary, career development and job satisfaction. Jackie started work on a new long term project at XonTech. In July, Marc started working at ISX, and Jackie scaled back her hours at XonTech, so that Jonathan would not be in preschool more than 3 days a week. We also went to another wedding. Oh, and let's not forget -- we got pregnant. In August, we took a MAJOR trip, encompassing three weeks, half a dozen cities (Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Niagara Falls, Corning, Kerhonkson, and the New York area), two countries (the U.S. and Canada), and (are you surprised) two (more) weddings (one in Chicago and one in the New York area)! In September, we did a chromosome test and found out (among other things) that our baby due in March will be a boy.
Our insurance company settled with the %*&@! motorcyclist on cocaine for $285,000 (slightly less than policy limits). For those of you who haven't heard this story, here's the *quick* version. Two years ago Jackie was stopped in an intersection and a motorcyclist high on cocaine drove right into the side of our van. He had more than enough time to stop, but, being high, he never tried. He sustained major injuries, and, since he had no insurance of any kind, and we did, he sued us. Even though the accident was 100% his fault, our insurance company believed that a jury would award him some damages out of sympathy for his injuries, and deemed it cheaper to settle. The good news is that at least the hospital that treated him was paid. The epilogue is that we heard that he is now in jail in Pennsylvania. We don't know why, but we're not surprised.
Some better news is that as the first trimester of pregnancy faded away, so did Jackie's morning sickness. The second trimester has gone very well. The baby seems to be carrying high, so Jackie does have some problems with becoming winded on stairs. On the other hand she doesn't have to race to the bathroom every hour like some of her pregnant friends! Both Jackie and Marc got to feel the baby kick for the first time this month, which is always fun.
Jonathan greatly enjoyed Halloween. He dressed up as Simba. Jackie almost missed it, due to a business trip to Dallas, but made it back just in time to go trick-or-treating.
The word for November was Travel! First Marc had a week-long trip to Miami, then Jackie went to Dallas for 3 days, and then Marc had a 1 day trip to Palo Alto. Jonathan's schedule got very mucked up, which bothered him a little, but once things returned to normal, he did too.
We had an ultrasound performed which showed the baby to be a few days bigger than average for his age, but not too bad. Since Jonathan was born via C-Section because he grew so big in utero, we will be watching this one's growth very carefully.
This month's highlight was Thanksgiving, which we hosted. We got a little nervous when the guest list passed 50 (not counting the kids under 4!) but circumstances whittled the list down to 32 (plus the 6 kids under 4) which was very manageable. Next time we'll hire someone to do the dishes though! Everyone seemed to have a great time (even the angels who pitched in and helped out in the kitchen!) and we got loads of compliments.
December's word was definitely Party! Chanuka will do that to a family. Chanuka started on the first Thursday in December, and we celebrated with Jackie's family on Friday, with friends on Saturday, with Marc's sister's family on Sunday, with Marc's father on Monday, and with Marc's mom's on Thursday. Also, there was a baby shower for a cousin who is due the same day as us and the yearly holiday party for AAUW (a non-profit organization to which Jackie belongs). Then, once Chanuka ended, the holiday parties kicked in. There was the XonTech holiday party one Friday at lunch, a friend's party that evening, baby-sitting for Jackie's brother on Saturday so that he can go to his work's holiday party, and Marc's work's holiday party on Sunday. Whew! Things have been hectic -- not that we're complaining -- it's fun! Things should die down (for us anyway!) as Christmas comes around.
Work has been going well for both Jackie and Marc. There aren't enough hours in the day, but so what else is new? We hope the new year finds all of you in as good spirits as we are and we hope you are blessed as much as we are with good jobs, good friends and good relatives.
Love to All,
Jackie, Marc, Jonathan, and ???
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Created 1/27/97. Send corrections, criticisms and comments to: jzev@isx.com