Greetings once again from the Land of Enchantment, sunny New Mexico. It is the time of year again for that time honored custom, the Christmas letter. We have had so much happen this year that it will be difficult to shorten to just two pages.

At the top of news is the birth of our second son, Donald Diego Rains, who came into the world two weeks early by emergency c- section on October 28, 2003, at a healthy 9 lbs 4 oz. I had quite a rough month post-partum with complications from the c-section, but I am now pretty well back to normal, and planning to start a diet and exercise program. Don Diego is eating (slurping) like a horse and growing like a weed, he is a big strong fighting son of a gun and between the two boys Jack and I are not getting any peace and quiet. JJ had some issues at first, but he has settled into being a wonderful big brother, and we appreciate his help - no more so than on Thanksgiving night this year.

Thanksgiving night we managed to set fire to the roof of the house - fortunately we discovered it early, before leaving to have supper with some friends and managed to get it out just before the volunteer fire brigade arrived (two fire trucks, 50 pickup trucks and a host of the curious). It truly was a comedy of errors that were pretty freaky to start with - Jack grabbed the Chemex from its drawer and then I had to read the instructions to him as he did not have his glasses on. It did not do what it was supposed to, so we threw it into the fire and figured it would go off when the casing burned through. Then Jack could not get the fire extinguisher off the wall. (It took about 20 or 30 seconds to get it out. I twisted it enough to clear the top hook. The replacement will get some work on the band with files and pliers to make the hook release instantly. Check yours! JR). I galloped outside to turn on the hose to hose the roof and not a drop would come out - the hose was frozen solid, as it was the coldest night of the year to date. Having banged it and got it cleared, as I aimed the water up the roof, it was running back down and freezing solid on the front step, which turned of course into a skating rink for volunteer firefighters and homeowners alike. I had put JJ and the baby into the truck - JJ was cold and scared but he did what he was told and held onto his baby brother for dear life while I tried to help Jack. We truly had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving - we have learned our lessons from it and will be replacing the chimney set up we have now as soon as we can, as well as making sure that we are much more fire prepared and equipped. We will also put an extinguisher in the attic.

The early part of this year was pretty sad - Jack's father died on our wedding anniversary, just a day after Jack and JJ got back from saying goodbye to him. Then a very good friend and important person in the community died very suddenly in early March, leaving a lot of organizations in the valley bereft, including our own water association. It took me several months to get back into the routines of collections and reports, and I must admit that I have lost a lot of my enthusiasm for it. Life was not made easier by a total crash of the billing system with the loss of a years data, just as I was going into hospital. We now have it restored, but what a pain.

My father had to have major surgery and was pretty ill for a while, but he is now doing very well, and Jack and I seemed to catch one thing after another from JJ and the Germ Warfare department of the Head Start Program. Jack had a bout of pneumonia and I had bronchitis twice - no fun.

Summer was better, but West Nile really put a damper on going anywhere. We did go to a couple of Rendezvous, but I mostly stayed at home and indoors as West Nile can severely damage a fetus and I have gotten more risk averse as I get older. JJ learned to load and fire a small blackpowder rifle with a guy named Bearpaw who was absolutely wonderful with the kids - his little knees were knocking together but he carried it off like a champ. Jack was under strict instructions to douse himself and JJ with mosquito repellant, and to keep themselves in long sleeved shorts and buttoned up collars. This summer we have to face it again - I guess we just have to take our chances with the West Nile lottery. Currently there are 3 strains of flu going around:- two are covered by the vaccine, but the third is not, and it is a doozie. It has killed 3 children in New Mexico and five in Colorado, so I am very nervous about going down to Albuquerque without a compelling reason. This means that Jack gets to go by himself to do our major shopping and stuff. So far this year the bugs are winning, hands down.

We did get to go to Jack's 45th class reunion in Las Vegas, which was very enjoyable. It was kind of strange - they were talking about their retirement communities and there is Jack with a 4 year old and another on the way. JJ was beautifully behaved, almost supernaturally good, and won lots of praise. He has taken another leap in maturity, and surprises us both with the sophistication of his speech and phrasing, and depth of understanding and he is generally interesting and stimulating, and tiring to be with.

I am still working at the Magistrate Court here - this makes two years (cries of astonishment and wonder and disbelief) and still enjoying it. Currently we do not have a judge so there are just the two of us clerks in the office, which is very pleasant. Judge Romero from Las Vegas comes in once a week to hear our cases - those days are an absolute zoo of course with an overfull calendar every time, and this Judge loves Drama and Theatre, so by the time he leaves we are exhausted and longing for some nerve restorative.

Despite the problems we are pretty content with our lives and happy in our valley with our neighbors and friends. It is a small community and there are many people who care, like the wonderful volunteer fire fighters, and we would really have to search pretty hard to find anywhere as nice. Last year I butchered a calf and an elk, and this year I did a young buffalo heifer, just before I had Don Diego in fact. Delicious lean meat, and I have the hide to tan if I ever get around to it.

So here is wishing you a merry Christmas and a Wonderful year, full of peace, joy and contentment, not to mention health and well being.

We wish you a peaceful and contented Christmas, and a healthy, happy, prosperous New Year.