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WEDDING PICS! Click HERE! Brother Chris and the Gang from Cali! added 3/9/2005
Latest News Below! *written by Chris Black 12/24/2004* "Dearest Family and Friends, Merry Christmas from the enchanted dwelling of Chris and Nancy. This has been a challenging, chaotic, but ultimately victorious year for us. The largest of our multitude of changes is that both custody cases we have been fighting for a year and a half were settled and all three children are now PERMANENTLY residing in Sacramento with Chris, Nancy and the Animal Menagerie!! Alyssa came to us the 4th of May after a (thoughtful) court assessor moved her immediately upon discovering that Alyssa was in a very precarious position at her father’s house. Since then, Allie’s grades have improved dramatically, bringing her back up to her honor roll status. Allie has many good friends who can often be found at our house being tormented by a little brother or any animal of their choosing. Allie turned Sweet 16 on December 17, 2004 and we had a “Barbie” party for our girl on December 2 (while Nancy’s mom was visiting). Chris and Nancy then took Allie and six of her friends glo-bowling until 1:00 am; very late for us old folks who do not know how to party like rock stars anymore. Tyler and Dallas moved up the first part of September and had a bit of a rough start at new schools. Two weeks later, however, they were fully settled in, making friends and recovering from 18 months of trauma. They are both so much happier and more secure now; you would not recognize them from just this past September before they came up here. Dallas turned 11 in May and his first semester grades from 6th grade are incredible! His teachers have nothing but praise for his talents and effort. Tyler hit lucky 13 on November 23 and we celebrated with the family and chicken jambalaya (Tye’s favorite!). Tyler’s first set of grades from 8th grade were leaps and bounds better than those he received at the end of last year when he was living with his father. Both boys have been mountain biking on a regular basis with Chris and playing Magik as well. For those of you who do not know Magik, it is a card game involving innumerate rules with characters that do battle with each other; very complicated. The boys usually attend a tournament or two every month and come away with some new insight. Chris landed a full time contracting position with Intel at their Folsom location. He is in Information Systems but seems to do a little of everything and anything they need doing. He has saved several departments from catastrophes and is happy riding in to save the day. Nancy was laid off from Intex Forms at the end of January following the owner putting his father into the company as CEO; that did not work out very well. She spent the month of February fretting and went to work for a former employer, Monument Security, in the beginning of March as the Loss Prevention Manager. Well, politics being what they are, that gig was up the end of May and since then, Nancy has been home with the kids playing housewife. She plans to attend school in the spring and eventually apply to McGeorge Law School here in Sacramento. After all the money spent on lawyers, we figured we should just invest in the education and have something to show for it instead of more attorneys’ bills. This summer saw many trips to the river, our 4th of July party (good party-everyone stayed the night!) and lots of trips to the local pool to stay cool. Nancy and the kids went to visit her sister, Pat, in Laytonville for a week and had a great time swimming in the pond and relaxing sans TV or cell phone reception. Chris turned 35 on November 8th, which was followed two weeks later by a visit from his parents. Doug & Leslie Black flew out from North Carolina to enjoy some beautiful California fall weather for a week. While they were here, we toured the Friendship Rose Garden (just outside the state capitol),, did some sight seeing in Old Town and had a beautiful dinner at Enotria Wine Bar & Café. It was a good time for them to get to Nancy and the kids and vice versa. All in all, we all had a fantastic time and are looking forward to another visit with them very soon. We spent Thanksgiving at home with the additions of Dottie (Nancy’s Mom) and Jeff (Nancy’s brother). The meal was great and we all passed out in true post Turkey tradition. Allie and her Uncle Jeff collaborated on a scrumptious apple pie that we all gorged ourselves on. The end of November brought the addition of a new German Shepard mix puppy from the SPCA named Miso. Our other dog, Sushi, is being a wonderful big sister to our new lively little girl. Tyler rescued a kitten before summer began and he is our reigning Prince of the household. His name is Elmer (as in the glue) and he really does stick to you. Anyone who sits still is HIS! Allie received a duckling as an Easter gift and he grew into a beautiful male Mallard named Bucket. Bucket is still with us, roaming around the yard and seriously thinks he is a dog! He quacks when the PG & E guy comes, chases the cats and bites at the dogs’ legs in play. Dallas brought his adorable dwarf hamster, Bob, with him when the boys came to live here in September. Bob is very cute and very attractive to Elmer, who likes to spend his days trying to get into Bob’s cage. Sadly, Nancy’s cat Splat passed away at the end of summer. Splat was 10 years old and quite heavy. She had a liver dysfunction that was incurable and she passed away quietly in her sleep. She is very loved and very missed; what other 25 lb. Cat could stand on her hind legs and play “Circus Cat” for a morsel of steak? Our big orange cat, Smoosh, rules the backyard and has kept us vermin free this year. He was joined outside by Mouse and Mohawk, two kittens that Nancy’s sister, Pat, “donated” to our household. The three outside kitties keep the rats away and keep the dogs entertained. Chris and Nancy have now been together for two years and although the road has never been smooth given the challenges of careers, no careers, and custody battles, we are both very happy to be together, to have our family together and look forward to many years of children, grand children, and of course, MORE ANIMALS!! We hope this card find you all well and happy. You are in our thoughts very often and as this chaotic year draws to a close, we want you to know how grateful we are to have you in our lives. If we have learned nothing else from the trials and tribulations of the past 18 months, we know that we will keep our family together and our friends close; because really, they are what is important. We are truly grateful for all of the good things that have happened and grateful to have you in our lives. Much love to all of you. We miss you very much. Chris, Nancy, Allie, Tyler, Dallas, Sushi, Miso, Smoosh, Elmer, Mouse, Mohawk, Bob & Bucket"
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