Our family has had two additions in the last year!

And, we’ve done the usual world-wide traveling. We went back to Nicaragua and visited the homes of our sponsored people, Maura and Pedro. On the way back we stopped in to Florida, since it was on the way, and had nice visits with some nephews and nieces.

June 16th we went to Brooklyn to witness the wedding of Jan-Luc and Olivia Mueller.

 Shortly afterwards, we went to Europe for the Van Hout family reunion. First, we toured the north side of Ireland, where they come from. We also spent a few days in the English Yorkshire Dales highlands.  

Later, we had a nice reunion of our immediate family in Woodstock, in the Catskills, for a few days of mountain climbing and exploring during daily thunderstorms.

In the spring we renovated our main bedroom and little bathroom, with new ceiling, walls, floor, and plumbing. The dust was worth it.

We took a couple trips to Michigan to see family there. Jim's Dad is doing well for 96; he moved out of his home to an assisted living place.

Leo is doing really well selling Medical Device Equipment for Karl Storz. He coaches Annika's soccer, basketball, and softball teams, Vaughn's hockey and t-ball teams, and supports Avery to the highest degree with swimming.

Katie is heavily involved in St. Rita's school: Box Tops for Education program, weekly articles on school for the church bulletin, and the Parent Advisory Committee. She has started working at Vaughn's old Pre-K as a teachers assistant. Her second job is with Children's Institute, evaluating Pre-School programs.

Vaughn started full day Kindergarten and loves it. Annika is now in 5th grade and her final year of elementary school at St. Rita's School. She is enjoying being the eldest in the school. Avery began middle school at Our Lady of Mercy, an all girls Middle School/High School in Rochester, and couldn't be happier.

We cannot list all the activities the kids are involved with but they are happy and healthy. Their blessings are many and their lives are filled with lots of love and happiness.

Jan-Luc and Olivia Mueller jumpstarted a prismatic year making an offer on a house an hour north of New York City. The deal fell through after bank and realtor hassles. Jan proposed to Olivia on a mountaintop in April. After a small wedding on June 16th they took a big honeymoon through France, Belgium (attending the Van Hout family reunion) and Germany (visiting Olivia's relatives). Sight was granted to the blind when Jan got laser eye surgery in the fall. He continues to work in show biz, while Olivia manages the clothing archive at GAP International.

Marieke and Curt had another great year, in which their family grew by one. They kicked off 2017 with the sun, history, and wine of Portugal. February's highlight was a family-and-friends trip to Ann Arbor and Detroit with fortuitously spring-like temperatures. March brought the news that they were expecting a baby in November! They packed in a lot before she came: trips to London, Belgium, Washington, DC, the Catskills, Berkshires, NYC, Cape Cod, and Detroit again. Marieke continues her work as executive director of the Cambridge Historical Society, receiving a programming award from the American Association for State and Local History. Curt remains senior editor at Harvard Business Review, crafting audio strategy and producing podcasts.

The Van Nickisch Family grew by one on November 4  with the arrival of Margaret Tinneke Nickisch, or Maggie for short. We were there for the event, and a week afterwards. They look forward to you meeting her!

Kateri continues as the lab manager at LensCrafters. She got to be part of the exciting events of the year, traveling to New York City for Jan-Luc and Olivia's wedding, attending the family reunion in Belgium, and welcoming baby Margaret to the family shortly after she was born. She resides near Syracuse, with her long term boyfriend, Laford, who is growing his popcorn business, Syracuse's Original Carmelcorn.

MM still has a few paying jobs interpreting for the Deaf, and Jim is quite used to retirement. We're still teaching NFPclasses online. MM is still excited about genealogy. Heronions were happy, and predict that winter 2018 will be normal.

Keep in touch at the addresses at the bottom of the page. We hope you are healthy and happy. Best wishes for 2018!

Jim, Mary Margaret/Tunkin, Leo & Katie & Avery & Annika & Vaughn, Jan-Luc & Olivia, Marieke, Curt & Maggie, and Kateri

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