See the kind of love the Father has given us that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are! --John 3:1 EHV Christmas Day, 2017 Dear Friends and Family, It's a quiet Christmas at home for me. I'm not traveling or entertaining guests this year, and also not taking time off. Still it's a special day! I've spent it first at church for a service of hymns and readings (including the one above), then calling my sister to wish her a happy birthday as well as a Merry Christmas, and next to catch the NBA broadcast of my local team, the Warriors, beating the Cavs. My cat Katinka is with me, alternating between snoozing on my lap and enjoying the new toys I bought her for Christmas. Later I'll catch Doctor Who, and then tomorrow I'll be back at work. Definitely a nerdy engineer's Christmas, but nice for me anyway. My health has held up well this year. PET scans have shown my lymphoma has been stable since I finished my last chemo treatment well over a year ago, and so hopefully it will be more years until I need treatment again. I'm still having (unrelated) foot problems, but I can walk longer distances now without much trouble. I get around more on my bike now to places I used to walk to, but that works well. I was able to make it to my usual week at Bible Camp to lead the singing again this year. That's always a joy, and especially appreciated now when my health hasn't always allowed it in recent years. I'm also still camp treasurer, as well as treasurer of my church and my condo homeowners' association. One sad thing that happened this year was the passing of my cat Tessa from kidney failure. She was about 14 years old, and I'd had her since 2005. She and Katinka had not been getting along well, so I've decided to stick to just having one cat for the time being rather than getting another to keep Katinka company. Katinka likes a lot of human attention and will meow nonstop until she gets it! I had a great trip late in the summer to visit my sister Mary in Milwaukee for a week, then on to my brother Bill and his wife Nancy in Massachusetts for a week. I did a little work around the house for Mary in between doing more fun things with her, while with Bill and Nancy I spent a lot of time playing Dominion (a rather addictive card game), as well as going for walks and visiting the local stamp museum. Work is still going well. VMware recognizes people at anniversaries that are a multiple of 4 years instead of the usual 5, so I was recognized this year for having been there 16 years. During that time we've grown from 150 employees to well over 15,000, and we're still going strong. Things have changed a lot, but my work and the people I work with are still interesting and enjoyable. Best wishes to all for a blessed New Year! Tim Mann