December 2007

Prishtina, Kosovo and Anchorage, Alaska

Dear Friends,

Kevin married Shannon Lambert on September 8, 2007.  Brian’s wife, Liz, picked the date, 9/8/7 so Kevin could remember his anniversary.  The service was in Anchorage and we were blessed to have lots of family and friends present.  Rich’s mom came from New Jersey, Suzi’s sister Nancy from Minnesota, Suzi’s college roommate Carol Lam came from Brussels and several Sitka friends came as well.  (Carol and Nancy took many of the best pictures of the wedding we have, including these.  Thanks.) Shannon was raised in Eagle River and she and Kevin are living in Shannon’s condo in Anchorage.

Suzi spent much of the year preparing for the wedding, making Kevin’s wedding suit before the ceremony and a wall hanging of pictures from the wedding following the big day. 

Liz got her Master’s Degree from the University of Minnesota in Recreational Therapy and we went back to Minnesota for the festivities in May.

Brian closed out the construction permit on our house in Sitka, which now has a spectacular new addition and a lot more room for us when we move back to Sitka, hopefully sometime in 2008.  Suzi flew down to Sitka to help Brian install the floor.

Rich still does some work for the stations in Anchorage but spent most of his time working internationally.  His major project was in Egypt, spending about 10 weeks there this year.  He also traveled to and worked in Morocco, Jordan, Georgia and Kosovo.
Suzi joined Rich on some of these travels and in November they worked together in Kosovo, having not been there for 4 years.  It was rewarding for both of us to revisit old friends and radio stations we helped foster between 1999 and 2003.  We started this letter, as is our tradition, on the first Sunday in Advent in Kosovo.   It was good place to reflect on the notion of peace and reconciliation that is the promise of the Christmas season.

In December we took off from Kosovo and landed in the heart Christmas.  We spent a few days with our friends Dave and Carol Lam in Brussels visiting Christmas Markets on the week that St. Nicholas visits the Low Countries.  It got us in the mood to celebrate a long Christmas season.  This Christmas Rich and Suzi will be home in Sitka. 

Our wish for you is a peaceful and happy New Year.

Take Care,
Suzi and Rich MCClear

Pictures:
Christmas Decorations in Brugge, Belgium
The family at the wedding
Kevin and Shannon’s first dance
Liz and Brian at her Graduation
Rich at the Pyramids
Suzi on the Nile
Manger in an Oak Tree, Brugge, Belgium
Brussels City Hall at Christmas

suzi@mcclear.net  rich@mcclear.net
Coming soon, our rebuilt website at www.mcclear.net