The Adoration of the Shepherds
                                                                    Gerrit von Honthorst 1622

And it came to pass, when the angels had departed from them into heaven, that the shepherds were saying to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste, and they found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. And when they had seen, they understood what had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard marvelled at the things told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept in mind all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken to them...

Luke, vrs. 15-20

 

        Christmas 2007                                                                                                     

 

Dear Family and Friends,

First of all, let us wish you a Blessed and Merry Christmas and a safe and healthy New Year...

We hope this letter finds you in good health, and that you feel the love of Christ in your hearts and home. This will be our seventh Christmas since we moved into this home and we look forward to celebrating this “wondrous creation” with those we love.

Can it be that another year has passed by this quickly? They say that time flies by quickly when you’re having fun but we feel that age has something to do with that also. We are pretty healthy though and together, that’s what really counts in life. We have such good friends here in Woodstock and the support of good friends counts high as we all age together.

Our year of 2007 started off with our traveling to sunny Florida, as we always plan on for needed R&R. We spent some wonderful, relaxing time together in Orlando and Port St.Lucie for about three weeks. The colder weather up here in the north can be a burden on our bodies and spirit as we grow older together and we both love the warmer weather which Florida offers. On our way home from Florida we stopped to visit a few days with our daughter Julie in Surfside Beach, SC. She has since taken new employment in Ashville, NC in the veterinary field and sold her home in Surfside Beach, and is renting a home in Ashville. She just recently purchased a Honda Fit, her first brand new automobile, her others were all used/abused. In July, we traveled to Kitty Hawke for a visit with old friends, Tom and Marty Haske, and in October, we spent a week in Myrtle Beach and Julie drove down from Ashville to spend half the week with us.

Janet is still spending one day a week in her volunteer work at the Shenandoah Valley Pregnancy Center, in Edinburg, although, the Center had to move from their facility and close their doors temporarily but have now purchased a new location in Edinburg. It is being outfitted at this time and should be back in operation in the next couple of weeks. Her duties there include answering phone calls, assisting with clientele, and teaching some classes. She is still active with the Carmelite Secular Order which requires her to drive to Winchester once a month for her meetings.

Janet is still involved with the Knights of Columbus Ladies Organization and although she was helping to teach CCD to kindergarteners at church, she had to give it up because of reoccurring illnesses that she felt she was picking up from the children. We’re both involved in the church choir and the Arlington Cursillo Community. AND, we thought we would slow down when we moved here to the Valley. David is still working full time at the Shenandoah Valley Golf Club since the summer of 2004. He is just one of the crew in the course maintenance, something that he always thought he would like to do part time, once he retired. Since we both love to travel, the added income of full time employment surely comes in handy. Besides working, he’s still the Recorder for his Knights of Columbus council, probably his last year after serving for five years. He is their newsletter editor, and is also the Webmaster for the site he constructed, ( kofcwoodstock.com ). During this past summer, Dave took on a new position in the computer field, he designed and wrote a new website for our church, St. John Bosco Catholic Church, ( sjbwoodstock.org ). Besides Dave’s occasional back problems, we’re both in pretty good shape for the shape we’re in. Janet has surpassed her ninth year anniversary in her recovery from Ovarian cancer, which is a ten year cure period. Thank God for that Goodness.

Our son Rick, is still working in the Title/Escrow/Settlement business but with the downturn of the housing market, he has been experiencing some hard times. The settlement company he had been employed with early this year had to close their doors due to the downturn in the market and Rick is now free lancing for a couple of companies in the metro area. In the midst of the market downturn, he has been able to keep up with his mortgage expenses on his home, mom and dad’s prayers have aided in this effort. His new girlfriend, Kelly, has been a big help in sharing the expenses since moving into his home during the summer.

We look forward to each day together, and with Christ’s blessings, we will live our lives one day at a time, giving thanks for all of our blessings, family, and good friends.

We feel great joy to write this letter to you, and we pray that this Christmas will be a very special time for you and your family. May God bless you in this Christmas season and throughout the New Year, and may He be everything that you wish for your family and your friends.

 

                                                  Dave and Janet Fairbank

                                                                                                                      

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