Monica - Monica turned 13 years old this year and is in the 8th grade. As mom and Dad put it, "she is an expert in teenage attitude", whatever that means! Monica played in the Rec center basketball league and also in a fast pitch softball league. She pitched a good inning one game and she hopes to practice until next season so she can pitch regularly. Monica was a member of our church youth club and also the youth choir. She enjoys music, dancing and talking on the phone to friends.
Derrick - Derrick is 9 years old and in the 4th grade. Derrick struggles in school at times as school work is not one of his favorite things. This past year, Derrick participated in the Rec center basketball league and indoor hockey league. He also played his first year in the local baseball league, where he played right field. Derrick enjoys going to Sunday school and singing in the youth choir. He likes playing legos, listening to country music and playing computer games.
Calvin - Calvin is 8 years old and in the 3rd grade. He enjoys school and has a fairly easy time earning good grades. Calvin played baseball this year and had a good season. He batted leadoff and played first base. Calvin also participated in the Rec center indoor hockey league. He enjoys building things and taking things apart. Calvin also enjoys playing computer games and doing all kinds of yard work.
Tabby - Tabby turned 6 years old this year and is in 1st grade. Tabby loves school but it currently a little below grade level for her age. Tabby is a music fanatic and plays her Grease and Shania Twain tapes constantly. She enjoys playing Barbies, talking to friends on the phone and painting her nails.
Lawrence - That's me!! I turned one this year and it feels like the year went so fast! I have a great time crawling all over the place and I love to eat!! I enjoy playing with all my daycare friends and of course all my brothers and sisters. I am a happy guy and rarely fuss. Some people accuse me of being a "momma's boy" but hey, is there anything better in this world than the love of your mommy? I enjoy swimming and go to classes at the Rec center called Aquababies! I like toys that make noise and those pots and pans mom gives me to play with!
Felicia - My dearest Felicia. Felicia turned 13 this year and was to enter 7th grade. However, on July 31st, she fell ill and was admitted to Hershey Medical Center. Tests revealed that Felicia now had leukemia, her second cancer. Leukemia truly is a nasty disease and on October 1st, Felicia passed away. My daddy was with Felicia when she died and it has made a profound impact on his life. This has been an incredibly sad time for my family. Many, MANY folks stepped in to aid our family with food, money and most importantly, love. We are extremely blessed to have the friends and family we have. Before Felicia became ill, she played in the Rec center basketball league. Felicia enjoyed doing crafts and puzzles and playing games. She will be deeply missed by all who were lucky enough to know her.
Mommy (Deanna) - From what people tell me, my mommy has slowed down quite a bit since I arrived but I fail to see how, as I really keep her hopping! Mommy finished up a 6-year term as President of the Lancaster County Children and Youth Foster Parent Association. Mommy still enjoys public speaking about kids, foster care, and adoption. The highlight of the year was being the keynote speaker at a banquet in Philadelphia for about 300 foster parents. Mommy has found plenty of new things to concentrate on, other than me. She is currently hard at work putting the Rupp family on the world wide web. She has created and continues creating and updating the Rupp Family web page at http://mon12w-ivil.tripod.com. There are links to several other web pages she has created! Check it out! Mommy is also still working hard on her "COKE Kitchen", filling it with Coca Cola memorabilia. It looks pretty neat!
Daddy (Kevin) - Daddy's main interest (other than family) continues to be coaching girls slow pitch softball. This year he coached two teams, the Akron Mustangs (age 12 and under) and the Akron Ponies, which is a team Daddy started for girls age 10 and under. Daddy loves coaching and is always eager when Spring time rolls around to start playing ball! Daddy still enjoys "APBA" computer baseball and plays in a number of leagues on the Internet. In his spare moments, daddy loves to read and this year he has read almost 50 novels! His favorite authors are James Axler, RA Salvatore, Michael Crichton, Patricia Cornwell and Anne Rice. Daddy also enjoys playing computer games and working out at the Rec Center.
Mom and Dad - Mommy and Daddy still enjoy surfing the Internet and sending and receiving Email. Their Email address is krupp12w@ptd.net. My mommy and daddy are still active with the agency through which they did foster care, although they won't be taking any more foster children. They provide respite and emergency care when called upon and keep in touch with activities being planned for foster famillies. Mommy and Daddy also enjoy watching movies and "The X-files" in their very rare spare time. When the opportunity presents itself, Mommy and Daddy still volunteer with the Make a Wish Foundation.
The Hounds - Pugsley and Dinky continue to create havoc here at Willow Street. Pugsley seems to be forever in the "puppy stage." They both are a lot of fun and a big part of our family. They even tolerate me climbing all over them and "bopping" them with my toys!
Job Scene - Mommy and Daddy continue to run their in-home daycare business, Loving Couple Daycare. Of course, I am their number one helper and my official job is waving "hello" and "goodbye" to everyone. The pay isn't great but the benefits are super! My daddy has also taken a part-time job. He has joined the staff of Stradling Funeral Home of Ephrata and Akron. Everyone looks at him weird when he tells them this, but it is something he has always wanted to do and after experiencing the things he experienced with Felicia, he decided now was the best time to pursue his interest.
Family Activities - As usual, our family loves to travel and even having a little guy like me did not slow them down. We took two big trips this year. The first in July to Natural Bridge, Virginia. On the way down, we travelled the entire length of the Skyline Drive and had the opportunity to see a lot of wildlife. The second trip we took was in October, after we finished with Felicia's burial. We travelled to Niagara Falls, Canada. We had a fun time! The changing leaves were beautiful and the falls are so awesome and powerful. We will take one more trip this year some time in December. We will be going to the mountains of West Virginia where we have rented a cabin and hope to get to see and play in some snow! We also took many short trips to places like Hershey Park, Dorney Park, Reading Phillies, Rehoboth Beach and a couple trips to State College (Penn State), where we went to "Thon" which is a dance marathon many college students participate in to raise over $2,000,000 for the families of children with cancer through Hershey Medical Center. Thanks to the generosity of a friend, we enjoyed season passes to the Akron Pool and used it a lot! As for the home front, we continued remodeling our basement and added another bedroom (#7) and continued working on Mommy's COKE kitchen.
1999 - In 1999, Mommy and Daddy hope to add more children to our family. They are currently searching the state adoption lists looking for some new brothers and sisters for me. We are also hoping to do more travelling...there are just so many cool places to visit and cool things to do! Life is short, make sure you get out and experience it!
Well, folks, that about it! Thanks for helping to make my first year a great one!
Love & Peace,
Lawrence Rupp and Family
