1 and 22: Family Celebrations

We are all nobly born;
fortunate those who know it;
blessed those who remember.
~Robert Louis Stevenson

Hello Shepard Family and Friends,

Greetings on this day of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and the first day of summer.

Happy First Anni- versary! Today is the first anni- versary of Nathan and Chenda Sou Shepard, who were married June 21, 2009 in San Diego. They and their baby Preslea now live in San Francisco, California. The first picture I am including today was taken last month and shows Nathan and Chenda, ice skating in San Diego, one of Nathan's favorite things, but a first for Chenda. 

These days Chenda is a full time wife and mother, while Nathan stays busy with work at Wells Fargo Bank. And Preslea stays busy bringing great joy to her parents and grandparents. (The creative ways proud grandfathers can tout their precious little ones know no bounds!)

Chenda tells me that she feels like she is getting adjusted well to life in the U.S., after being here just a year. This is now her home and we are her family, and she sometimes feels like it is a dream just to be here. She still stays in touch with relatives in Cambodia by cell phone, and remains concerned about her father, who is doing better after suffering what seems to have been a debilitating stroke several months ago.

Happy Birthday tomorrow to Vicki Boyd of Lakeside, California. She is the wife of Darren Boyd and has been in our family ever since she and Darren were married back in 1988. The second picture I am including shows Vicki and Darren. The third picture shows their three children, Kori, Brandyn and Courtney, grandchildren of Terry and Thelma (Shepard) Boyd.

Vicki said in an email to me: "I am still working at Grossmont Union High School District as a bus driver. That takes up a lot of my time, then I am with my kids for any spare time I get. My birthday is June 22 when I will be 40. Our anniversary is June 25th and that will be 22 years for us."

Happy birthday to Vicki on this special milestone, and congratulations to her and Darren on 22 years of marriage!

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Steve