Dear Family and Friends, December 2008
“It's the circle of life, and it moves us all, through despair and hope, through faith and love, 'till we find our place, on the path unwinding”. I have never really loved that song by Elton John, but I do love the sentiment. 2008 was a year of the ongoing inevitability of the so-called circle of life.
The New Year brought some new sorrow for the Baines Family. As we continued to heal from the passing of our mother and grandmother the previous September, we learned that another dear friend had passed in January. Dr. Heather Heim Cody was a close friend of the family and much too young to leave us. She passed on January 24th 2008 at the age of 37. We continue to think of the family she left behind and pray for them this Holiday Season.
On July 15th, 2008, the circle of life finally took a new turn. Rachel gave birth to a beautiful baby boy! Maxwell Joseph Sanderfoot weighed 4lbs and 10 oz and was a little early. He took awhile to learn how to eat but once he did, he was free of the nursery he had spent the first 6 weeks or so of his life! Jon and I are thrilled to be Grandparents! Max is now 5 months old and is beginning to reach for things, laugh and make sounds. Rachel has been a great mother and has just completed a college nursing course with an “A”. She and her boyfriend Pete live at Pete’s parents’ house. Pete is working and going to school full-time.
Our big vacation this year was to go see Jon’s mother in Arizona. The plane trip began with evasive maneuvers to avoid hitting another plane. That’s when Michelle realized she should have packed the Valium! It was a great trip but very hot. We did get to see the Grand Canyon but didn’t get a chance to see as many people as we had hoped including Michelle’s brothers Eric and Pat. Our summer was a great summer for soccer. Jon coached Rhi’s team again and this year they made it to State! We were knocked out in game three but it was a pretty good run. Our friends the Maldonados finally made their big move back to Texas. David stayed and lived with us for about a month to finish his program and earn some extra money moonlighting before going to join his family. Best of luck on their new ventures!
Jon will finally finish his Residency this spring. He has signed on with a local Clinic. We still dream of moving out West but feel that keeping Rhianna in Rochester until she finishes school would be in the best interest of all. Rhianna is a 7th grader this year and is involved in basketball, private French Horn, and Soccer outside of school. She made the “A” honor roll this past quarter and is currently fascinated with history. In Arizona, she picked up The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and has been reading it ever since. Michelle is just very happy to be a Grandma! I am in my 10th year of teaching but big budget cuts are looming.
We are fortunate this year to have Jon’s mother Carolyn and his sister Rebecca join us for Christmas! We send out all of our love to family and friends that cannot be with us and wish you all the best of love and joy in the New Year!
Cheers!