Happy Holidays 2006!

What a year we’ve had!! In March, Katie became a 1-year cancer survivor! We celebrated with the release of her cookbook, Katie’s Cooking!, and a spectacular party generously hosted by Savona Restaurant in Gulf Mills, PA. Savona opened their doors on a Sunday evening to toast Katie and her cookbook. Chef Andrew Masciangelo’s food was wonderful!! The guests enjoyed food stations on each floor, butlered hors d'oeuvres along with many different wines. There was an estimated 200 people that came out to celebrate with us. We are so grateful to Savona for their generosity! We are equally grateful for the generosity of everyone who donated their time, and for all those who donated space at the many craft fairs, events and stores to help us sell Katie’s cookbook! THANK YOU!

Since the release of her cookbook, Katie has autographed books at several restaurants and at The Book and the Cook Culinary Showcase. Her story was featured in several newspaper articles and on the evening news. She was a guest on a talk radio program, and did a cooking demo on the 10! Show. Katie even met a few more celebrity chefs who donated recipes for her book. She is very proud of what her book is doing to help other kids with cancer.

Katie is in 1^st grade and loves going to school! Her after-school activities include Science Club, Brownie Girl Scouts and Jazz dance. Katie loves to read chapter books, ride her scooter with her friends, help with cooking or baking, and is always creating some sort of artwork that she shares with family and friends. She continues to go for her monthly blood draws, and her health has been good.

Kyle attends pre-school. He loves playing with trains, cars and trucks, and riding his tricycle with his big sister. He also enjoys books, painting, play dough, and taking things apart. He adores his big sister and wants to do everything she is doing. Kyle is fascinated with tools and likes to help John ‘build’ or ‘fix’ things whenever he can.

Every time we turn our Christmas lights on, Kyle yells: “Hooray! It’s Christmas again!” With Kyle’s curiosity and love for collecting things, we’re having trouble keeping ornaments on our tree. He’s also been quite helpful to Patty – by opening presents that have been wrapped as gifts for other family members or unraveling rolls of ribbon to decorate the furniture.

John has been VERY busy working on expanding/remodeling the kitchen and re-doing the deck to flow with the new kitchen. It’s a lot of work for one person to do, and is taking longer than he hoped. But, the plans are fabulous! It will be well worth the wait.

Patty is still a stay-at-home mom and has been busy selling Katie’s cookbooks at various craft fairs and events, volunteering at both kids’ schools, making fun soaps for kids (her hobby du-jour), and doing free-lance design work.

Life is pretty much back to normal again – and we’re loving every minute!!

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year!!

NEXT: Holiday 2007