My 2007 Christmas Letter

*** Seasons Greetings **************** Christmas 2007 ***

2007 has been a quiet year for our family compared to 2006 (thank God!).

Johnathan and Carissa completed their first year of marriage in Everett, WA and added a member to their family - a Golden Retriever named Sydney with plenty of personality! Johnathan expects next year to be his 9th and final year in the Navy and is working towards a degree in Business Administration by taking classes at Columbia College in Marysville/Everett. (This college is actually a satellite college of the one in Columbia, MO.) Carissa began a new position as an ultrasound technician in an outpatient clinic in Seattle. All three (including Sydney) made the trip to Missouri and Illinois this summer in their sizable Armada SUV to be able to haul quite a few of their belongings in a U-Haul trailer back home to WA.

Holly still very much enjoys life in New York City, still working at a swanky restaurant owned by Bette Midler. Her back problems have improved considerably with therapy but still not 100% to be able to begin auditioning for dance parts. But Holly hopes that the coming year will be the year when she begins auditioning. (I tell her that as long as she's happy, that's all that matters to me.) Holly did make it home for Mernell's and my birthdays in early June.

This wouldn't a Christmas letter from me without mentioning the Cardinals, who had a subpar year and the three of us had mixed results in the games we attended. Johnathan pulled off a perfect trifecta by seeing winners in all three games that he attended, one of which I saw with him and Carissa. Holly, her cousin, Stephanie, and I watched a VERY boring game in which the Cards lost to the Reds--the only saving grace was that we saw future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. of the Reds hit a home run. So I went one for two. Holly saw another Cardinals loss against the Mets in a rain-shortened game at Shea Stadium in NYC in May. I was afraid that Holly would be shut out for the year at 0 for 2 but she did see a Cardinals victory in a makeup game in Shea Stadium during the Mets' historic season-ending collapse in September. The Missouri Tigers college football team had, perhaps, their best season ever and their first season since 1969 as a national powerhouse, being ranked #1 in the polls very late in the season before losing in the Big 12 championship game to Oklahoma. They play in the Cotton Bowl against Arkansas so either we Jarboes in Missouri or our Allen relatives in Arkansas are not going to have a very Happy New Year’s Day. (We won’t talk about the St. Louis Rams and their season.)

My mother, my sister, Diane, and I traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas in May to see my aunt Bea's grandson, Jared, marry a very special young woman, Danielle; Jared being the son of my cousin, Rob, and his wife, Judy. Those who know me well know that traveling is not my 'cup of tea' but once we got to Fayetteville, we all had a very enjoyable time at the rehearsal dinner, the beautiful wedding, and the festive reception with Jared's brother, Michael, being in the live band that provided the music. I also enjoyed seeing my cousin, Charles, and I was very glad to have the opportunity to visit with Rob's and Judy's daughter, Katie, who graduated from high school this year. Over the years, my aunt Bea had given me updates on Katie's theatrical activities that were in comparsion to Holly's dance activities.

I had a serious staph infection in my left forearm in July that required a three day stay (with antibiotic IVs) in the hospital to recover from. (As you can imagine, I was ‘meek and mild’ around the nurses.)

In September, my mother had a big 75th birthday celebration at her childhood home (which is only 3 miles from where she has lived since marrying my father in 1950) with all three of her sisters, all six of her 'kids', her aunt Phoebe, and many other family and friends celebrating with her.

I'm still hanging in there, a full 16 months since my serious heart attack last August. There's not many days that go by (if any, at all) in which I do not stop and thank God for giving me another day and asking Him to take good care of my heart. I do go to the YMCA three times a week and walk on the treadmill to get 'some' exercise, 35 minutes on a 6% slope at 3.2 mph. I know myself well enough to know that if I tried to do much more than that, I might not go to the Y at all. I am now keenly aware of a popular adage that everyone should be mindful of and that is:

"Tomorrow is promised to no man (or woman)."

We hope that you and your family have a prosperous 2008!

Greg, Johnathan, & Holly