Happy Holidays! updated 12/22/03

Hello, and welcome back to efoxley.com.

This is the 6th Holiday Page we've published since 1997. I've got this page up for those family and friends who received our Holiday Cards this year (and those that didn't and who just stopped by).

This incarnation of the site is only temporary. I've had the site up and in some functional form since early this year, as it seems life is starting to allow me more and more time as the weeks go by, and I plan on spending more time updating the site over the coming months. I was ready to sit down and take care of the site (and my brother's, who I know is losing patience waiting for me to work some Flash Magic on his site shortly - sorry Peter), but this happened ... I decided to order a new Hard Drive for my computer, and take it all apart and put it into a new "modular" casing. It's nice, but it is only my second time building/rebuilding a pc (with no real instructions). I'm getting better. It powered up when I turned it on last Friday night, but I'm getting some error codes. I'm almost there ... but the Holiday Update kept calling.

So here we are, at the close of 2003. Big year for us. Elyce Joan Foxley was born into the world on Monday, June 9 at 5:19 pm (see pictures here). I never knew what having this little girl in our lives would mean for us. Never thought I would be a husband - let alone a father! It's the best feeling in the world - Absolutely. I have a lot more respect for the parents of the world (my father probably wishes I had acquired that respect when I was in High School). Anyway, I could go on and on about how much we love our lives as Elyce's parents, but I'll spare you: if you have a son or daughter, you understand - if you haven't procreated, hopefully you will get to experience it one day.

Grandmother Lorraine	Elyce's Aunt Suzanne	Grandmother Stacey and Grandpa Gordon

Prior to Elyce's birth this year, my sister, Suzanne, and her family came to visit us from Houston in February (yes, in addition to her returning after Elyce's birth!). It was the first time we had visitors to Portland since we moved here three years ago. We went snow boarding on Mt Hood (me and my three nephews: Gregory, Jordan, and Travis). It was so great seeing family.

Work ... well, it's work. Tina left her job after her three month maternity leave ended in September. We played with the idea of her returning, but we could afford for her not to -- and the decision was made. No regrets at all.

On the home front, we entered our second year of our work of refinishing every surface of the house we bought a short time ago. We've got the rooms carpeted, I finished painting the ceilings, etc. Once Elyce arrived, it all got put on hold until just recently ... last weekend I re-floored our kitchen, got a hip new fridge, and will soon be painting the kitchen and re-facing all cabinetry. I'm contemplating building a 150 ft retaining wall outside next spring. My neighbor said he'd be willing to help, so we'll see ... anyway, it's good to have more time now that Elyce is "aging" to get back into home improvement.

- Off Topic Mind Wondering - Why hasn't anyone really started mass-producing these yet? I see a market for this ...

On a sad note, in August, Tina and I awoke to our doorbell. It was our neighbor with our cat, Diego, dead in a garbage bag. He had been hit the night before on a road nearby by a car. I buried him in the backyard. It was very sad losing a pet -- it had been a long time since Tina and I had experienced that kind of pain, and it really made us understand the impact that Elyce already had on our lives.

So, that's pretty much the scoop from the Northwest USA. This year, it will be a Christmas without our close family members, but we are sharing it with friends nearby, as well as spending our first Christmas as a family unit ourselves. Regardless, we will miss family back home. Tina and I are tentatively planning on a trip to NM and TX sometime in the first couple of months of 2004 to see family and friends.

How are YOU doing? I encourage you to drop us a line. Seriously, we'd love to catch up with you -- so don't be afraid to say 'hi."

Have a Great 2004 !!!           (I thought we just caught this guy?)