Congrats (and prayers) Lee and Terri - what wonderful news. Beware though - I have cousin who was told by at least 3 docs that she could never have a baby. She became pregnant, had a very healthy baby - and then another one 11 months later - and then 3 more over the next 5 years!

Jay provides us with yet another image of his photogenic grandson to beautify our weblog. I got a lot of congratulations and some questions about the recent news so I want to thank everyone for your kind words and thoughts. If you'll pardon the metaphor, it's not generally recommended that to count your peeps before they hatch so we were reluctant to share the news of Terri's pregnancy until we were sure it wasn't a false alarm. She's only 7 weeks at this point and I know that the trickiest part is not over, but we are hopeful she'll carry to full term. We feel like newlyweds again. As for Terri's sister not being the source, Arlene, I'm pretty sure that if you didn't hear it from her directly, if you inquire back far enough, she would likely be the source. Within a few minutes of getting the news and being asked to be discreet, she was on the phone with friends and neighbors and just couldn't help herself. She's not the person you want to keep your secrets for you . It's OK though, everyone would likely find out soon enough. Terri is doing very well and is very calm and peaceful. She has been having cravings for ice cream and milk shakes and seems to be much more aware of when she needs to eat. Other than that, I haven't noticed any change in her behavior, but I've been warned to look out for it, not so much now but later .

As you can see, I'm experimenting with a new layout template. I always got some kind of weird error messages when we published with the old one so I'm taking a risk and changing it. I hope it doesn't cause any other problems for us. I've also noticed that the Archives haven't been getting indexed which made it impossible to read the December postings so this should fix it. Let me know if this new layout causes you any problems and we can try something else if you don't like it. I just thought you might be getting a little bored with the old one and so this one is a bit more flashy. I can see already that there is a problem with it generating a page that is too wide on IE and too narrow on Netscape. Oh well, maybe I'll try a different one later...

Ann-Marie, in answer to your question on the Iraqi situation, I can only speak as a parent of two young men that are of draft age... I'm as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a rocking chair factory... Lee and Terri, from the bottom of my heart... Many heartfelt congrats on your good news. I'll continue to pray for both of your good health. I'll add you all to the payer network in my church and others that I'm affiliated with... Where ya been, Homer?!

Sorry Lee. I didn't mean to spill the beans, but it seems that everyone needs to hear some good news. FYI. I didn't hear it from Terri's sister, but that is all I'm going to say. I'm taking the 5th! Hope all is well with everyone. Looking forward to hearing details from Lee and Terri, and some good news from Jay.

Hi Guys,

Well Congratulations to Lee & Terri, it's about time we all heard some fantastic news. I could just see it now a Website dedicated to Baby Devlin. So like Ann Marie said, where's all the details, like when is the baby due, what are you hoping for, a boy or a girl, or who knows, one of each. Are you going to find out if it's going to be a boy or girl or are you going to be surprised. Between Bob's family and you guys, there's definitely a baby boom going on. Three of Bob's cousins are all due the same week, the 1st. week in March and now Lee and Terri, seems I should be buying some stock in Toys R Us. Congratulations again.

Lee and Terri...God's blessings and the warmest congratulations. It is such wonderful news! So we look forward to seeing many pictures as Terri progresses. Here goes the 101 questions. About when is Terri due? How is she feeling? How are you feeling? Does she have morning sickness? Is she craving any foods? I could go on and on...*laughter*

Seriously it is really wonderful news.

Arlene, Max and Donna, I'm sorry to hear about your loss. May God comfort each of you and your families during this time.

The Superbowl is over and the BUCS are world champs, we had Lee and Terri's good news over the weekend...what else can we ask for? God is good, life is good. Karen even made it through her thoughts of sleeping for the next 20 years.

What are everyone's thoughts about Iraq and the current situation?

Gee Lee and Terri... How did THAT happen?! From your most Prolific classmate...

I had to laugh out loud when Ann Marie made reference to my 18 foot trout, but sure enough, I looked back and saw the typo and could hardly believe it! Isn't that just like a fisherman? Exaggerating like crazy. Well, hopefully, you were able to see from the pictures that the trout was only a foot and half.

Just when you think the weblog might be slowing down, someone stirs things up again. Thanks Arlene! Terri and I are experiencing a true miracle. After 17 years of marriage, Terri is pregnant! She had it on good authority (her doctors) that she couldn't get pregnant. And yet now she is! It's probably too early to be telling everyone but we shared the news with her sister Lori and that's somewhat like announcing it on CNN, only with better coverage. It's very exciting to think how our lives will change with a new family member and we are very much looking forward to it.

Hi Guys,

Is it me or am I missing something, why is Arlene sending congratulations to Lee & Terri, I'm lost here help me out, did Lee get another fish??? C'mon let's hear some good news as I could sure use some, I had a really bad day Friday, it was soooo bad that all I wanted to do was just go home and put the covers over my head and sleep for the next 20 years but Saturday was definitely better so If I hear what I think I'm going to hear that'll mean life is definitely getting better, c'mon Lee I know you read your own page, let's go, let me know on this page or send me an e-mail.

Karen

Hi Arlene, Sorry to hear of yours, Max's, and Donna's loss. We hope to hear more news on Tuesday night. I'll let you all know what I know when I know it. God, I hope that came out alright!

Just wanted to send my congrats to Lee and Terri. That is such great news! I hope that Terri's Mom will be well enough to celebrate with you. Yes, Jay, we are waiting to hear some good news from you. You are all still in my prayers.We had a funeral to attend this morning. Mary Ann Maximowicz's brother passed away at the age of 53 from cancer. He was married to my husband's cousin. He was also brother-in-law to Donna Walsh Maximowicz. It was a sad day for all.

Good day, eh, Hoser? Looks like it wasn't too good of a day if you're an 18ft Rainbow Trout! I'll have to show pictures of my fishing excursion with Captain Ahab's Whale Watch... Just a little fishing humor.... Darned little, I guess.....

Hello Everyone,

Lee those pictures are great, but don't know if I'd like the sport of ice fishing, just waiting around in the cold cold air for a fish, especially when you can buy a fish in a nice warm supermarket, only joking but I keep asking Bob to take me Deer Hunting, I'm not crazy about Bambi Burgers but I wouldn't mind just trying it once just for the sport and to say I did it, but Bob only says, you and me together in the woods with me having a gun, don't tempt me, I don't understand this, but maybe someday I'll get it, I guess I'll just stick to my metal detecting hobby. Now putting all jokes aside, I'm sorry to hear that A.M. has no immediate plans of getting back to the Valley and just to prove how slow things are around here if someone recalls HOTC telling us about the Train that was stuck on the tracks on Pringle Street in Pringle some time before our reunion, ever since they moved it out of the roadway it's still sitting on those tracks, I guess someday they'll move it, it's just a little odd to just be sitting there for months and not be missed. Jay I hope all is going well at your end, we're just all waiting for you to say everything's going to be ok with your daughter, I know it will, but we're just waiting to hear. I ran into one of the Church Ladies, Dorothy Artim, she says there was a problem with some bad e-mails she was receiving so she got rid of the internet temporarily, but she says she'll be back. Where are the rest of those Church Ladies, what happened to Chuck and Arlene, I know Mike reads these but doesn't participate, and whatever happened to Paul McAndrew and Bob Dougherty. Well just to let everyone who doesn't live around here know, it's extremely cold here, like 5 degrees, I always hated the cold weather here, can't wait for the spring and summer and those summer bazaars, they can't get here quick enough for me.

Nice pictures Lee. My husband loves fishing. He also loved the cold weather in Orlando. (It got below 35 degrees while we were there.) He was hinting that if we ever returned to the US he would possibly consider moving to the NE so he could really experience the cold and of course snow. I showed him the ice fishing pictures. He said no way would he go out for an all day trip in the cold like that and stand around for a couple fish. I told him he had to look at it this way, Lee caught an 18 ft rainbow trout. *wink, wink*. Now that is worth the cold for a few hours. I've heard of fish tales Lee, but 18 ft?

And I am teasing right now so please don't be offended. It looks like it was a great day. I am really envious. I can only imagine the breathtaking views on your way there.

Karen, I don't forsee myself or family coming back to PA for quite awhile. Before I come back to PA I want to take a trip back to England. I will also be going back to Florida because my daughters are there. So I don't think you will be seeing me in PA for a few years. But then who knows...

Well everyone, I was devestated on Sunday. My Eagles did not make it. They played a lousy game. My hats off to the Bucs. They outplayed the Eagles. R. Barbar...what a player! He was all over the field. So what's everyone doing Superbowl Sunday?

It's great to see some activity in the weblog. I hadn't checked it in a few days and so it's always exciting to come back to find a few fish in the net, so to speak. I've scattered through this posting a few postage stamp-sized images which you can click on to see a bigger image. The pictures are of an ice fishing trip I took yesterday with a few friends from work. Most of these pictures are self-explanatory, except for the one where my friend is laying on the ice with his head covered with a blanket and looking down through the hole in the ice. The reason is that the water is clear enough that you can actually see the fish swimming around beneath the ice!

I had not been ice fishing in more than 17 years. I know this because I can't recall having gone ice fishing since being married. It's a crazy activity when you think about it, except for when you start catching fish, and then it's exciting and lots of fun. There's always a risk that the fish won't be biting and yesterday they were biting way less than normal. But I did manage to catch an 18' rainbow trout and my friend Bob caught a 14" cutthroat trout. Ice fishing requires you to get up pretty early and perhaps this is why I haven't done it in so long. I'm not an early morning person. I had to get up at 4:15 so I could meet my friends in Fort Collins at 5:30 and then we drove for several hours to Lake John, on the other side of the Continental Divide which meant going up through Laramie, Wyoming. The scenery was spectacular all the way there and we had a good time catching up and reminiscing about old times. I've known Bob and Kelly for nearly 20 years and our career paths have crossed several times in the intervening years and we have many friends in common.

We fished for nearly 8 hours and with only two fish to show for our efforts, we figured each one took about 13 man-hours of effort to produce. It was a very slow day for the fish, but at least we didn't get skunked and there are worse places to be than on a frozen snow-covered lake surrounded by a few good friends and snow capped mountains, provided you're dressed for the occasion, of course.

Hi everyone... Sorry it's been so long since I posted, but things are pretty busy around here. Please keep the prayers going for Emily. We're still a week or so away from finding anything out. My baby boy turns 14 today! My, where has the time gone? Hopefully, I'll have some group shots coming soon. Just wanted to take a minutte to let you all know that you ALL are never far from my thoughts. Peace...

Hello Everyone,

I, like Ann Marie, visit the blog on a regular basis, sometimes a few times a day. I'm sorry to hear about everyone's bad news, many of you already know that I don't go to Church on a regular basis, but I do still pray, and you are all in my prayers. Ann Marie, it's good to hear from you again, when do you think you'll come back to Luzerne for a visit. Jay, you really surprise me, your kids, what we've seen of them are beautiful, you better start getting that shotgun shined up for your daughters beaus, and I'm surprised that you're not one of those parents who walk around with a photo book with 50,000 photos of their kids because they are beautiful I thought you'd want to show them all off, who knows Jay, maybe you'll have a group photo taken someday of your entire family. I think I'll have to try one of those speedie sauces one day, it sounds like a change. Ann Marie, you may have Bill Clinton there, but we had President Bush visit us yesterday, yippee. It's getting really cold in the valley here, it's suppose to go down to -3 degrees tonite, but baby it's really cold this morning, it's so cold that I saw one of our Commissioners this morning with his hands in his own pockets. Well everyone, have a good day and you guys are right, where are the Church Ladies and what happened to Paul McAndrew and Chuck and the others.

Hi everyone. I visit the blog on a daily basis. It's always great to see updates or read chit chat between eveyone. As always I love the pictures.

Arlene you and your family have been in my prayers. Jay, the same for you, the family and your daughter. Lee you and Terri's Mom the same. I know it is difficult times when illness strikes a family. I also know from my own experiences that I have drawn a lot of strength, wisdom and peace from God. I will continue to pray for all of you and your families. I will also ask the prayer groups within my church and my office to also pray.

Jay, Emily is beautiful. She has the same sparkle in her eyes that her Dad has. I know how proud you are of your family Jay. I feel the same about mine. My husband and I are still pouring through pictures of our vacation and still have more to develop. We waited until last weekend to watch the video of bits and pieces that we had taped over the 3 weeks. What a wondeful family I have. I have really been blessed.

Lee, marinate the meat over night in the Speedie sauce. I was sent a variety of sauces a few years ago. They are mouth watering sauces. My husband had never had a proper shish-ka-bab. I made them with the different Speedie sauces, took the time to marniade the meat and veg overnight. Delish. Enjoy them Lee and Terri.

So what is new with everyone? Nothing much here other than busy with family and work. Bill Clinton arrives on the island today for government arranged lecture that he is giving tomorrow. There's quite a hullabaloo happening over his arrival. More negative than positive. Cest la vie.

Lee, as soon as I have a few minutes, I will scan and send loads of pics. You will have many to choose from. My husband and I have put them to the side as we've been looking through them. We've been sick since we got back. This week was the worst with all four of us in bed for a full 24 hours. This is not our family. I'm feeling much better today thank goodness.

Sunday is a BIG day in our home. The Eagles versus the Bucs. We have two Bucs fans and Two Eagles fans. Sunday is going to be very interesting. Anyone else rooting for the Eagles?

Anyway, I hope all is well with everyone. I haven't seen two of the chruch ladies for awhile. It would also be nice to see Rose get involved.

This beautiful young girl is Emily, Jay's daughter, the one for whom we are all praying. Jay has been very generous with sharing photos of his family which really add a lot to the weblog and I very much appreciate it. He certainly knows how to make good use of his digital camera.

Incidentally, Jay, we tried the BBQ Chicken Speidie sauce and it was outstanding. Terri used it much like other BBQ sauces and baked the chicken in it. Next time we will use the original recipe and marinate overnight like you suggested which I understand the 'right way' to use spiedie sauce.

OK, enough intrigue, the mystery man who broke into our rental car for us was... John Cheremsack. I am sure that if a St. John alum showed up in the weblog, he or she would have guessed it correctly. But the prize money will have to go unclaimed and returned to the kitty for our next trivia contest.

I've been getting quite a few viruses sent to me lately because my email address is in a lot of address books. To make a long story short, you should never open a message that has some kind of attachment that ends in .exe, .bat, or .scr even if you 'trust' the sender. It seems the the people who are writing these viruses are getting very clever and so the viruses go through the address book of the computer that they've infected and substitute the 'from' address with some random name they find in the address book. Since it is probable that the addresses in the book can be related, you might see an attachment that looks like it's from someone you trust, say, me. Then you think that I'd never send you a virus because I'm computer savvy, but in reality, it might be originating from someone else's computer even though it looks like it's from me. So you should never open attachments unless you're sure that the person who sent them to you is actually the 'real sender'. Some attachments are benign, like .jpg (images) or .eml (email), but if you're unsure, you should send an email to the person who sent you the attachment and make sure that it's safe.

Karen recently sent me some new pictures and I've appended them to the end of the Thankgiving 'mini reunion'. Check out the 9 new picture at the end.

I will definitely put Emily and Terri's Mom at the top of my prayer list. I hope everything works out well for both of them. For those of you who knew that I was ailing last summer, I have just found out that I may have Fibromyalgia. But I, too, am going to pray and think positive, and do the best I can to get through each day. Prayer, for me, always helps!

I will make sure to hold off in unveiling our mystery man for another week in the hope that someone from St. John's will show up and identify him.

Jay, we'll make sure to keep your daughter in our prayers. My mother-in-law is in the process of getting chemotherapy and radiation right now so I'd appreciate it if others would keep her in their prayers as well. I know how devasting cancer can be. Terri and I have both lost family members to it. But cancer can be survived, especially if you're young and it's detected early, and I sincerely hope and pray that your daughter will be among those who overcome it.

Hi Karen, Lee, Ralph, Sandy, Denise, Tom, Mick, and assorted others. Hope that the New Year went well for all of you. If you have prayer networks at your chuches, please put my daughter Emily on them. We found that she is in the early stages of cervical cancer, and we need all of the prayers we can get. Thanks in advance... We're hoping that we caught it "really" early...

Hello Everyone,

I know it's definitely not John Simonitis, I went to grade school with him and he did attend BOR in our freshman year. Hey Lee I have something in common with John Simonitis too, we both have the same birthday. I do have a 2nd guess though, the 1973 photo, that John, kind of looks like it could be an older sibling to Jim Urban, is it possible it's John Urban???? Don't spill the beans in 2 days, give us at least another week, it's nice to have a little trivia here. I too have to say I hate this snow, especially since I have to travel to Scranton every day, the hill I live on has to be the worst, although when I'm home and don't have to go anywhere, it's a picture perfect sight of the valley in my backyard. Hey maybe Mark Hession can get us a recent pic of John Simonitis for the website, it seems John can be spotted in Mark's restaurant, if not, I see John's sister and brother a lot, I could always ask them for a picture.

Hi Helen, You're the second one to guess John Simonitis. John and I are related somehow, but I'm not sure exactly how...I think we are second cousins. But it's not him. The mystery man in question never attended O'Reilly and he's was quite a bit shorter than John Simonitis. You can see him standing between Kathleen Brennan and Joanne Dula in this 1973 graduation picture. Speaking of John Simonitis, it appears that his teenage son was recruited by Pitt and is 6'3" and 290 lbs! Just a tad bigger than than our mystery man. I will wait for another two days before I spill the beans. If someone from St. John's shows up in the meantime, I'm sure they'll identify him.

As for snow, in Colorado it's generally a soft, airy, powdery substance that shovels easy and disappears soon after it falls, usually in a day or two down on the plains. After shoveling the 18 inches of heavy wet stuff we got in PA during our visit, I can certainly understand why you're looking forward to summer .

Hi Everyone!
Hope everyone's holidays were peaceful. Guessing on the mystery car man - could it be John Simonitis? We've experienced what seems to be a never ending snow storm here in the valley - expecting more snow tonight. Can't wait for summer!
Happy New Year!

Hi all, nice to see the web site is still going strong. Lee, Thanks for the advice on Catch me if you Can.
I have not gone to see it yet. I have read the book and really enjoyed that.
Happy New Year everyone!