"To us, family
means putting your arms around each other and being
there." ~~Barbara Bush
Hi all,
With the annual Christmas story only two weeks away, I decided
I should probably do some character recaps. But first...
I've actually managed to get caught up with my writing.
That being said, I'm still verrry much behind on updating the
web site so I haven't had time to properly link the two new
stories up. So I'm just going to give you those links
now:
"Broken
Hallelujahs"- When Fr. Mike is dismissed from his parish
by a power-hungry archbishop, a sequence of events is set off
that puts the Friends in contact with two survivors of
clerical abuse. With Joshua, they attempt to help the
two survivors heal and search for a safe place to worship.
"Sunshine
and Snow"- Over a year since Andrew discovered the
hidden baby bird in his and JenniAnn's nest on the family tree
from Joshua, the two are still waiting. And then a call
comes from Ireland about a very special baby boy...
The character recaps below spoil some of what happens in those
stories. But not terribly so. Still, if you enjoy
reading the stories, please do that before continuing on with
this newsletter. I have several more character recaps to
give but those are even more "spoiler-y" so... I've decided to
do something special. There will be another newsletter
next week containing the remainder of those recaps (thus
giving people a week to read the new stories if they're so
inclined). And then, on December 23rd, I'll send the
first part of the Christmas story. As I have the past
couple years, I'll add onto it each day through the Epiphany
(January 6th). So there will be lots of JABB!
If there's a particular character you're interested in getting
an update on, let me know! I'll be sure to include them
next week... whether I planned to or not. :-)
Stay warm!
God bless,
Jenni
Year-End
Dyeland Character Updates, Part I
Andrew, JenniAnn, Shelby, Belle, and
Avi- At long last, come August, Andrew and
JenniAnn got their final "baby bird." A call from a
contact in Ireland revealed that a baby like Vincent had been
discovered after being abandoned. Though the two thought
they were going only to retrieve the child for Vincent and
Catherine, they had other ideas. Vincent wanted the
little boy to grow up free to enjoy the sunshine, stars, moon,
etc. so he encouraged Andrew and JenniAnn to adopt the baby
and raise him in Dyeland. They eagerly agreed and named
him Andrew Vincent aka Avi. Because of his unique
features, Avi initially struggled to bottle-feed so JenniAnn
has been nursing him. Now three months old, Avi will
take a bottle if he needs to but JenniAnn still prefers to
nurse him. She took maternity leave from teaching Below
but is now back, bringing Avi to classes with her.
Andrew is thrilled with his baby son and also very happy that
God believes in paternity leave. He's also just barely
gotten back to his AOD work. Andrew continued his
carpentry business throughout his leave and, as the holidays
approached, his orders really picked up. Thankfully, he
received some help from angels taking part in Adam's
recreational therapy program. Even with his return to
AOD work and a thriving business, Andrew still makes plenty of
time for JenniAnn, their kids, and his friends. He's
also become very involved with the El-Chananite Church which
he and JenniAnn joined following her departure from the
Catholic Church.
Shelby is now fourteen years old. She's taking high
school level classes Below but continues to spend a lot of
time at Willowveil. As her friends are pairing off,
Shelby's becoming increasingly concerned that she's
different. Andrew and JenniAnn have been so busy and
sleep-deprived with Avi that she hasn't wanted to talk to them
about it. So she's turned to her journal which is really
long, heartfelt letters to Joshua. She's also taking
notes about everything going on around her because she thinks,
one day, she might like to write a book about it.
Belle is over the moon about her baby brother! After
years of wanting to take home each and every little Friend who
is born, Belle finally got a baby of her own. She just
doesn't quite understand why she can't feed Avi like her Mama
does and has loads of questions about that which will likely
come out at the most inopportune time.
Avi is eating, sleeping, pooping, and burping... because
that's what babies do. And being very cute and snuggly.
Violeta- While Violeta remains
devoted to Andrew, JenniAnn, and the kids; she's spending more
and more time on campus with Ivy and Sy or meeting with a
study group at the Al-Mitras. Now in their fourth year,
Violeta and Ivy are making plans for what they want to do
after graduation. They're contemplating continuing on
with grad school. Violeta has become especially attached
to a boy in their Theology program who she thinks just might
be interested in an anam cara lifestyle...
Ivy and Sy- As her graduation
approaches, Ivy is pretty much convinced she wants to stick
around Fordham for grad school. She'd love to get a
Ph.D. in Theology and, possibly, a M.A. in Ethics and Society
with designs on becoming a writer on Catholic morality and
spirituality. Though horrified by the events that
unfolded during "Broken Hallelujahs," Ivy has remained a
member of the Catholic Church and wants to work at making it
stronger, better, and free of corruption and abuse. On a
personal level, she suspects that Sy may be planning to
propose at her and Violeta's graduation party... a proposal
that she will definitely accept. On a more somber note,
Ivy doesn't think the boy in their Theology program is looking
for an anam cara lifestyle with Violeta...
Sy is also attending Fordham and working towards a Theology
major and Psychology minor. Upon his graduation in a
year and a half, he plans to start volunteering and then,
hopefully, working at his church where he hopes to, one day,
be a pastor. When he has spare time, he helps Andrew out
with his carpentry orders and uses the money to pay off an
engagement ring order.
Max and Rose... and Landon- On August 5th,
2018, Max and Rose welcomed baby Landon. Though he was
born a touch early, everything went extremely well... except
for Max nearly passing out during the delivery. He
recuperated quickly and was able to cut the cord. Max
and Rose were immediately enamored as were Landon's Gamma and
Grampy (Andrew and JenniAnn). Because Avi was born soon
after, Landon gets the distinction of being nearly two weeks
older than his uncle... something the two boys will tease each
other about for years to come.
Max continues to work towards becoming a psychiatrist
specializing in treating combat veterans. Soon he'll
start an internship at James J. Peters VA Medical Center under
Dr. Edmund Talson, the man who treated Andrew following his
traumatic brain injury.
Rose is enjoying being a new mom and bonding with JenniAnn
over the joys and annoyances of breastfeeding. Rose is
still on maternity leave, having taken an extra month, but is
looking forward to taking over the Tunnels' History classes
from Vincent.
Peter, Emma, and Sawyer- Landon
wasn't the first to start off the baby boom! On April
14th, 2018, Emma gave birth to Sawyer. Though the birth
went well, Emma was very nervous about it. Peter was an
incredible support... but sometimes you need a mom. So
Maryam showed up to coach Emma through the delivery. After his
parents, Maryam was the first to hold baby Sawyer who was
reported to look a great deal like baby Yeshua. Emma and
Peter are loving being first-time parents.
Professionally, Emma and Peter have granted space at St. G's
to Fr. Mike who has started an outreach mission. (More
on that next time!) Emma and Peter are looking forward
to another great season of shows!
Clay, Kylie, Ada-Marie, and Felix- And the babies
kept coming! On July 22nd, 2018, Kylie delivered
Felix. Clay and Kylie immediately fell in love with
their first son. Ada-Marie was less thrilled when she
realized having a baby brother means getting a bit less mommy
and daddy time to herself. However, Clay and Kylie do
their best to spend quality time with Ada-Marie and her
adoring Uncle Adam is always eager to step in to keep her
amused and content while baby Felix is being fed, rocked,
etc.
Mick and Beth- On November 28th,
Mick's 96th birthday, the couple had a romantic dinner
followed by dancing. And then some stuff happened.
They don't know it yet but, after a long, agonizing wait, they
got pregnant.
This newsletter is dedicated to John Dye for making me
forget what the word boring means on account of the
wonderful time suck that is JABB. Boredom...
What is that again? Hmm... dunno.
(Photo Credits: The photographs used on this page are from
Touched by an Angel and owned by CBS Productions, Caroline
Productions, and Moon Water Productions. They are not
being used to seek profit.)
