We usually try to get out a letter to family and friends every year, but 2002 was such an eventful year that we didn't succeed. More precisely, I (Claude) did not get it done on time. Procrastination and getting sidetracked were definitely part of the problem! So now it is my Spring break and I finally feel free to write. In order to give you better pictures, I will print them on a separate page. I will write text that is illustrated by a picture in bold. The other pictures you may have to figure out.

Our biggest news is that God gave us two new additions to our family in 2002. On January 16, John David Anderson was born, and he has been the delight of our family. All of our children have been delights to us, of course, but John is special. He has Down Syndrome. WE have learned so much about living, loving, and parenting since he joined our household, and I am sure that we'll have many new things to learn! During John's first couple of weeks of life, I wrote a journal describing my reactions to everything that was happening (and a lot of pictures). I wish I could have continued it, but the reality of re-entry into our busy lives took its toll. If you are interested, you can read the journal at http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~anderson/JohnDavid

When John was about 12 hours old, he was taken by ambulance from Terre Haute to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, where we all stayed for the next 13 days, When he was about 60 hours old, he had surgery (duodenoduodenostomy) to correct duodenal atresia (an extreme narrowing of the beginning of his small intestine, which made it impossible for most food to get past his stomach, you can see a description and diagrams at http://www.emedicine.com/PED/topic2776.htm ), and this began his road to good health. John was on a heart/breathing monitor for four months, and it took about that long (and a lot of patience on Diane's part) before he was able to nurse. It took MUCH less time before he captured our hearts!

We are so thankful for the availability of the Ronald McDonald House within walking distance of the hospital, which was our home for eleven days.

We are also so thankful for the many people form our church and home school group who helped out with meals, the children, etc. while we were away. Diane's mother lived at our house for most of the first half of 2002. She was a tremendous help to us, and we also enjoyed getting to see her so often.

Now, at 15 months, John can crawl (on his belly), get himself into a sitting position, say "dada" and "mama", bounce around to music that he enjoys, and melt everyone's heart with his delighted smile. He has mixed feelings about his therapists—Tracy, Martha, and Michelle—they help him, but they make him work so hard!

Of course any parents (especially older parents) worry that their child might not be "normal." We have seen the realization of that fear turn into one of the biggest blessings of our lives. John is truly a gift from our loving Father in heaven, and we are so thankful for him.

Our second family addition was Matt Davis, Sharon's husband. Their wedding was June 1. They are living at 3723 S. Nebraska, Marion, IN 46953. Matt is working at two Christian bookstores, in Marion and Kokomo. Sharon is working at a bank, where she was just offered a full-time position. She graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in December. We are glad that they live close enough (150 miles away) so that we can see them fairly often. A picture that shows all ten of our children was taken last March.

This week Rachel finishes her sophomore year at Indiana Wesleyan University, where she is majoring in music. Her interest in science and math has been rekindled this year, as she has taken Calculus II and two courses in Anatomy and Physiology, Rachel is thinking about going to graduate school in physical therapy when she graduates. She spent part of her spring break on rounds with John's physical therapist.

On Friday, April 25, Rachel leaves for a two-week mission trip to Peru. She is going with a group of students from Indiana Wesleyan; they will be assisting the parents of one of the team members, who are long-term missionaries in Peru. They will spend a few days in the capital city, Lima; they will also take an 8-hour boat ride up the Amazon river to spend time with a tribe that has not had a Gospel witness.

For December through February, basketball was big in the lives of Will (12), Joel (11), Melody (9), and Esther (8). And also their parent's lives! They had practices at four different times, and games at at least four different times each week. On Mondays we had a practice at 5, another practice at 5:30, and a game at 6:00, in three different places! We enjoyed seeing the children grow and have a lot of fun.

They are also involved in musical activities. Piano lessons continue, plus an additional instrument (violin for Will, clarinet for Joel, flute for Melody, recorder for Esther). Will, Joel, and Melody have been playing in our local home school orchestra, and all four (plus Abby and Bekah) are in children's choirs at church.

Will and Joel enjoy archery, and they have a friend who has made bows for them. Melody has sewn a dress for herself, and a matching dress for her doll. Both Melody and Esther enjoy doing creative things with their American Girl dolls.

As you might expect from a 4-year-old and 3-year-old, Abby and Bekah add a wonderful degree of "you never know what they will say or do next" to our lives.

Children's church leader: Before Easter, Jesus' friends were sad. Afterwards they were ...
Children: happy.
Leader: Before Easter, Jesus' tomb was sealed. Afterwards, it was
Children: open.
Leader: Before Easter, there was a man in the tomb, Afterwards
Abby: There was a woman in the tomb?
My comment: At least she gets an A in logic!

On May 30, Will and Joel began a paper route for Terre Haute's daily morning paper. Their route covers our little subdivision, with 36 daily papers and 44 on Sunday. It has been a good way for the boys to learn more about responsibility, consistency, and persistence, as well as a way to put aside several hundred dollars per year for college. I am proud of the way that they have handled this job.

This is our 17th year of home schooling, and it has been our best. The children are really enjoying the things that they are learning, and are happy to be learning a lot of it with Diane. Diane has worked out a daily routine that works well, but is flexible enough to handle the realities of life. They have especially enjoyed discussing Josh McDowell's book, Don't Check Your Brains at the Door.

Last summer, we had quite an adventure with our swimming pool. When we bought this house in 2001, we were not so sure that the swimming pool was an asset. The kids enjoyed it so much that summer that we decided it was great to have it. During the winter of 2001-2002, it was clear that the liner had a leak. We decided that while we were getting a new liner, we would get an electric safety cover, which also required replacing the concrete (something that needed doing soon anyway). When they removed the old liner, we saw that the pool walls were rotten, so we decided that they had better be replaced. So what started out as a small project ended up being essentially a replacement pool, something that took almost all summer to get done!

To help us celebrate our 25th anniversary, Matt and Sharon took six of the kids to their house for a week. We had an enjoyable week at home with John. When he is no longer nursing, perhaps we'll take an anniversary trip. In 2002, John was our trip! At the end of the week, we traveled to Champaign for Matt and Katie's wedding, and then we thoroughly enjoyed a visit from uncle Newt.

We have enjoyed and appreciated the book Angel Behind the Rocking Chair by Pam Vredevelt, a mother of a Down Syndrome boy. We think it's a great book for anyone, but particularly for people who know people with disabled children and want to understand the joys and struggles.

After many years of thinking I was too busy and would have more time later, this year I agreed to serve as an elder at our church. I am in charge of missions. It is a big responsibility, one that I could not do without God's help and an excellent committee. I am thankful that I can serve in this way.

Things have been going very well at work. In the mid-to-late 90's, the number of Computer Science majors mushroomed, while the CS faculty grew much more slowly. Now the number of majors is growing more slowly, and our faculty has increased from 6 to 11 in the last five years. We have been able to recruit some outstanding people. The fact that U.S. News and World Report has ranked Rose-Hulman #1 in the nation among undergraduate engineering schools for each of the last four years (http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/engineering/nophd/topprogs_nophd_brief.php) has helped us to continue to recruit quality faculty and students.

After two years of very small garden plots, Diane is looking forward to having a larger garden this year. If we can afford to get some trees taken out so we can have a non-shaded area, we will expand the garden some more next year.

Our whole family has enjoyed reading Lord of the Rings over the past few months (about 100 pages to go!). I have also enjoyed Jan Karon's latest "Mitford" book, In This Mountain, Sherry Sontag's Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage, Jesse Stuart's The Thread that Runs so True, and several Civil War books. Next on our family reading list are Helen Roseveare's books about her time as a missionary doctor in the Congo in the 1960's.

We'd love to have you visit us if you are ever in the area (and if you don't mind life in a very active household). Our address is 421 Bluebird Lane, Terre Haute, IN 47803. Phone: (812)877-7898.
Email: anderson@rose-hulman.edu