Merry Christmas from the Bateson Family

Dear family and friends,
Merry Christmas from the Bateson’s. The year 2008 will be remembered for three significant and life-changing adjustments. The first major change was our move from Deming where we have lived for the past 25 years to Rio Rancho, an Albuquerque suburb, to be nearer to our kids and grandkids. We were fortunate to purchase a modest adobe home three blocks from Jordan and Tammy’s. The second big change was Mike’s hiring as principal of Taylor Middle School with Albuquerque Public Schools. He had been a principal with Lordsburg Municipal Schools for the past five years. The third and biggest change was Lynn’s diagnosis of progressive bulbar palsy in June at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. Each change has been both a blessing and an opportunity for prayer and growth. In addition to the Big Three, the lives of our eight kids and seven (soon to be eight) grandkids continue to grow and unfold.
On June 2, we welcomed a new granddaughter, Sophia Rose Quinonez to the family. She was born to oldest daughter Courtney and husband Fernando. Sophia joined siblings Nathan (5 yr) and Adam (2 yr). Courtney teaches with Rio Rancho PS and Fernando manages the Hastings store in NE Albuquerque.
Christian and his wife Connie continue to live in New York City. Like so many others, Christian’s job as a hedge fund manager was a victim of the credit market meltdown. The drama began last March when JP Morgan Chase purchased Bear Stearns. The drama ended several weeks ago when JP Morgan sent termination notices to 3,000 employees including Christian. He is currently in touch with a number of financial recruiter firms and we pray his job search will eventually land him out west.
Kelly continues to teach AP English at Palmer High School in Colorado Springs. She is active in the Regnum Christi movement. She continues to work in the church in a variety of capacities and we are very proud of her willingness to serve.
Katie and her husband Devin are still in Austin, TX. One exciting development in their lives has been their dream of adopting a child. This dream appeared to take shape this month when an opportunity unfolded to care for twin nine-month olds Tobias and Leo. They have had the boys for a week now and have found the addition of two new members to be exciting and challenging.
Jordan and his wife Tamara are now our neighbors in Rio Rancho along with their identical twins Ava and Addison (age 2). Jordan works for Rocky Mountain Construction and Tammy is a dental hygienist. Together, they are expecting their first son in March.
Bethany works as a labor and delivery nurse Banner Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix. She seems to have made the transition from Boston’s snow and ice to the triple-digit heat of the Valley of the Sun. We are proud to see her following in her mother’s nursing footsteps.
Emmanuel (Manny) finished his second summer as a member of the USFS Lassen Hot Shots. He spent the bulk of this forest fire season in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Manny moved back to Rio Rancho and will be attending UNM in January. He plans to study civil engineering when he isn’t shredding the pow.
Benjamin is a senior at Rio Rancho High School. He made a smooth transition to the much larger school and was a hard-hitting wild man on the Ram’s district-championship football team. After graduation, Ben is considering following his big brothers to the University of New Mexico. He and Manny have been skiing twice this month and he spends hours reading weather reports waiting for the next big storm to dump more snow on the Sangre de Cristo’s.
One high point of this year for Lynn was the visit of her four sisters in October for their annual Sisters’ Weekend. Sisters Evelyn, Carol, Kathy, and Debbie made the long flight from Oregon to spend a weekend filled with laughter, conversation, and story telling. We were very blessed to have their company and were grateful for their visit. The second wonderful high point happened Thanksgiving week when our incredibly generous children sent us to the Grand Hyatt Resort on Kauai for our 35th Anniversary. It was a wonderful week of relaxation in the South Pacific sun. We pray to the Lord Jesus that all of you have a blessed New Year. We would love to hear from you by mail (1013 27th St. SE, Rio Rancho, NM 87124) or email. Our address is mikebateson@hotmail.com.



Mike and Lynn