The Timmins Family

Can it really be time for us to write yet another chapter of our annual Christmas letter ?! The years just seem to tumble by anymore. We can still remember the first Christmas letter we sent to many of you, with news of a Christmas present that came early – the birth of our youngest daughter Elizabeth. Well, we just helped Elizabeth celebrate her 22nd birthday a couple weeks ago. Time does fly as they say.

Last year we reported that our children surprised us with a 60th birthday party (there's still a link to our birthday blog below). This year we treated ourselves to an extended celebration of our 40th wedding anniversary. We called it our 40th Anniversary Tour, and it started the week of our anniversary (August 23rd) with a vacation at Glacier National Park in Montana. Pat went online and found us a cozy little cabin, located on a small lake just a few miles from the West entrance to the park. We spent a gorgeous week there, hiking, touring and taking in all the beautiful sites.

The second part of our Tour was a 10 day Mediterranean cruise. Terry was talked into taking time off for the cruise by our good friends and lake house partners, Bill and Rene Flannery. We flew with them from Chicago to Venice, where we boarded the Grand Princess. The cruise took us to Split, Croatia; the Greek Islands of Corfu and Katakolon; Athens; the Greek Island of Mykonos; Kusadasi and Ephesus in Turkey; the Greek Islands of Rhodes and Santorini; Naples and Pompeii; and finally, Rome. That was our first cruise - ever – and a real doozy for a couple of small-town kids from the Midwest ! We still have to pinch ourselves when we look at all the pictures. Did it really happen?!

We also managed to spend more time at the lake house this year, since Terry cut back to working 80% time at the Iowa League of Cities. Our children and grandchildren really enjoyed themselves there on several occasions this past summer, and Terry actually managed to spend quite a bit of time fishing with his sons-in-law. Pat just finished her second year of phased retirement from the University of Iowa Hygienic Lab, working 60% time, and Terry’s goal is to reduce his work time correspondingly this year and next.

All of our children and their children, spouses and significant others are doing very well. In the BIG EVENT category, we can report that Theresa and Randy Bruske will be married on New Years Eve. They are having a small ceremony and reception for immediate family members. Theresa and Randy will reside on Des Moines’ East side, and it will be great to have another daughter and her husband living so close to us.

We hope and pray that this finds you and your family in good health and good cheer. And more than at any time in the recent past, we need to remember in our prayers and with our generosity the many who are struggling.

Terry & Pat Timmins & Family