1988

December 26, 1988

Dear Mom and Dad,

This is my version of the standardized Christmas letter; I keep the basic message the same, but add a few lines to personalize it where appropriate. Thank you for the sweater and tee shirt and all the gifts for Stephen and Nicole; Stephen hasn't finished opening all his gifts yet. It is nice to be home, as this month has been very intense, but also quite rewarding.  Suzanne and the kids will be coming out to Phoeinix in Februrary for a vacation.  So I don't think we will have any extended periods of separation at least for awhile.

We hope you had a very Merry Christmas - as you can see we are running a little behind schedule this year. December is normally a busy time for us with yearend legal activities, Christmas, our anniversary, Stephen's birthday and Nicole's birthday; in addition this year Tom Vecchi and I bought a business in Phoenix and the transaction closed the beginning of December. Suzanne was the lead attorney representing our buying group.

The company we bought is called Engine Supply Inc. - it is a remanufacturer of automobile engines and related parts and distributes throughout the southwest. I have been spending about 2/3 of my time in Phoenix and expect that that pace will continue for some time. However we are structuring our responsibilities so that some of my work can be done from Chicago.

Stephen is now four years old and Nicole turned one. They get along reasonably well although Stephen is not too good at sharing his toys (or her toys) with her; Nicole is quite determined and is learning how to get her way. Stephen goes to school three mornings a week; we have a complicated pool schedule which requires me to take two kids and bring home four every Friday; so far even with my Phoenix travel schedule we have managed;

We had a nice leisurely Christmas at home - it took Stephen about five hours to open his presents since he insists on putting together and playing with each toy before going on to the next package. Suzanne's parents gave us a Sony video camera as an early Christmas present so we can now offer for only $9.95 a 15 minute condensed version of the festivities and we will throw in Stephen's birthday party and the kids' Christmas eve bath with their Mom for no extra charge.

Hope you all have a great 1989.

Len & Suzanne
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