Dear Family and Friends,

Hello from Ohio!  Yes, we are back in Dayton for our third tour.  Jim finished his squadron commander assignment last April and headed off for 14 weeks of training at the Defense Systems Management College (DSMC) at Ft. Belvoir in Washington D.C.  I stayed in Dayton to manage our rental property and to care for our cat.  They don’t allow pets in the quarters on base at Ft. Belvoir. Our renters moved out the end of July and we moved back into our house in mid-August. We’re glad to be back – we have good neighbors and friends here and it feels like home.

 It’s taken us awhile to get settled because I sprained my ankle badly this summer and wasn’t able to clean and paint the inside of the house before our furniture arrived as we had planned.  So, we’ve been doing it in stages.  We’ve also had some minor repairs to make.  However, overall we were very fortunate with our renters.  They were a military family from Belgium and during their five years here they treated our house as if it were their own.  They assured us if we ever visit Europe we have a place to stay.  We may take them up on that some day.

 Jim is as busy as ever with his job. He’s in charge of a $3 billion contract to buy simulators for the Air Force.  Although he’s not traveling overseas anymore he still has stateside TDYs now and then. We’re glad to have more time together.

It’s not all work and no play.  When Jim attended a conference in Orlando, Florida last month I flew down to join him for a few days.  We were typical tourists – visited Universal Studios and Gatorland.  Despite the tacky title, Gatorland is really interesting – they have breeding marshes for the gators and there are lots of them!  One afternoon we drove to the Daytona International Speedway and watched part of a race between old Porsches.  The speedway itself is amazing – the bank on the ends is 31 degrees.  If you’re not going at least 90 mph you’ll slide down to the bottom!

We’ll be home for Christmas, and then travel to Pennsylvania to visit Jim’s family. We hope that whatever your plans are for the holidays, they fill you with joy and peace.

Much love and God bless!

Jim & Ellen
New Address/Home Phone:
6329 Pheasant Valley Rd.
Dayton, OH  45424
(937) 236-9306

Jim’s e-mail:  rattijm(nospam)@mindspring.com
Ellen’s e-mail:  ellenr(nospam)@mindspring.com