The Hand HeraldDebbie's big project this year was being the general contractor for her parents' new log home over in Graham, NC, 30 minutes west of Chapel Hill. Needing someone to do the legwork while they were in Baltimore, Dad Herron convinced Debbie she could be his right Hand--and legs and brain--for the job. It was a huge project to manage and nearly a full-time commitment during the first half of the year, but with only the occasional bump, she got it built. The Herrons have started settling in, but will finish out this school year in Baltimore before moving down to NC full-time. Debbie also continued to enjoy working as a part-time occupational therapist at the VA Hospital in Durham and has firmly declared she will not be trading in her OT license for a contractor's license anytime soon. With all that going on, she had cut back on some of her extracurricular activities, including handbells, leadership positions in the Durham Mothers' Club, and band. However, with the house now finished, she has picked up her flute again for band and resumed more activities with the PTA at Katie Rose's school, including yearbook editor.
Katie Rose loves school. Her first-grade teacher, Ms. Leonard, was Teacher of the Year at Frank Porter Graham Elementary for 2003-2004, reflecting that others shared Katie Rose's high estimation of her. Katie Rose has been very interested in England this year because her 2nd grade teacher is from the UK. This year, Katie Rose was selected for Odyssey of the Mind, "an international creative problem-solving program." Debbie is also a coach for the the 4th grade team at FPG. Last spring, Katie Rose continued jumproping and played YMCA soccer. She was on the swim team this summer for the first time, where she earned the "Most Improved" award. She sings in the children's choir at Orange UMC and enjoys Brownies. After several years of her asking and a demonstration of her skill on the swingset as "Katie Rose the Graet" [sic], we finally enrolled her in gymnastics, where she is doing quite well and having fun. Subsequent shows have demonstrated not only improved skill, but also a mastery of maximizing profits through differential pricing. In what is left of her free time, she continues to particularly enjoy drawing. Horses have been a favorite subject recently.
Pete switched to Greenwood preschool in January last year and loves it. He is in the Pre-K class this year, and loves seeing his cousin Collin Wilkes and friend Sydney Nesbit in the younger 4-year-old class. Pete turned FIVE on November 30th (a definite milestone in his book) and will be in kindergarten next year. In both the spring and fall, Pete has been in the younger children's choir at Orange UMC and has also enjoyed YMCA soccer. The improvement from spring to fall was marked: He even scored two goals in one of the fall games. Over the summer, he learned to swim. Pete followed the NASCAR races each week this season with Joey and likes Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and "Kasey Kahne in the #9 Dodge."
Joey has continued to enjoy work as an accounting systems analyst at IBM. His big project since late spring has been helping plan how IBM's worldwide ledger systems can keep books for two companies during the transition after the PC Division is sold next year. He still managed to get out and ride his bike during the warm weather, and was particularly motivated in July, as he has been for 20 years now [?!?!--Ed.], by the Tour de France. Lance's domination on the way to an historic sixth win certainly made this one memorable.
The bike-riding season started in the spring, when Joey and Debbie went down to Savannah for a getaway while Mom and Dad Hand kept Katie Rose and Pete. In August, the Herrons watched the kids and gave Debbie a break from house-building while we went to Boone, NC for our anniversary. Joey got to ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway, among other scenic mountain roads. We also returned to Bamberg to celebrate Dad Hand's 70th birthday. Other travel was limited since Debbie was busy with the house. However, her hard work paid off at Thanksgiving, when we celebrated at the Herrons' new home with the Wilkes (Debbie's sister's family), the Rock Hill Hands (Joey's youngest brother Shawn & Co.), and our Chapel Hill friends the Nesbits. Mom and Dad Hand will be with us for Christmas, and we will again go through some woods and over the Haw River to have dinner at Herron Heights. We wish you all a merry Christmas and a very happy 2005!