Judy and Rick - The Haas Connection

Hi everyone! Thought I'd share this picture from the special day we had last weekend, when Rev. Michael Samson (right) came home to Grace Pres. in Montclair, NJ to do his first baptism(s): first, sister Heather and Dusty's little Julia (left); and then Mandy and Steve's wee Alex (center). It was also Mother's Day, a first for both Mandy and Heather. Both Julia and Alex, and Heather Leigh's Ava (Sandy and Barbara's other Heather) are all 6 months old now. They were all born a week apart!

Our children and THEIR children, taken in April, 2007:

Seated: Mitchell, Brad, Katie, Alison, Mandy's Alex; behind sofa: Steve and Mandy

To re-cap the Judy and Rick Haas side of the Samson's:

Rick and I are living back in NJ (again!), at the shore, and loving it. We hit our 35th wedding anniversary last December, and are grateful every day for Rick's good health after his quintuple heart by-pass surgery last year. Mandy, Steve and Alex are in Baltimore, along with their Boston Terrier. Their big news of the year, of course, is ALEX! Brad, Alison, Mitch, and Katie moved to NH shortly after we left! (hmmm....) Brad's big news is that he just passed his CCIE certification exam, which is a special Cisco certification for network engineers.... I don't understand it -- I just know he worked very hard for it, and it's like getting his Ph.D. in networking! Alison works part time as a pharmacist, and keeps busy running Mitch (7) and Katie (4) to their schools/activities. They also have 2 dogs, 4 cats, 2 gerbils, a turtle, and a horse!

Here's a picture of the 3 babies born last fall. From left to right: Julia (Heather Samson's), Alex (Mandy's), Ava (Heather Smyecko's), all 2 mos. old at the time. The 2 girls are both Sandy and Barbara's newest granddaughters. They are currently awaiting the arrival of their daughter Dana's and her husband Chris' 2nd child, a son, due in July. Wayne and Nicki will become grandparents again when Matt and wife Sarah have their first child, a girl, very soon!

So that's life in our world lately! Thanks again,Willie, for setting up this Blog so we can keep in touch!
Judy and Rick

Brad's band, Foxtrot Zulu, still plays from time to time, and just made a new CD which will be released soon. (see www.foxtrotzulu.com)

Here's a picture of our 3 babies, at about 2 mos. old: