Merry Christmas from the Cates Family!
Ed, Ellen, Clayton and Paige
Knoxville, Tennessee · Christmas 1996

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, we have joined the computer age! We got our first computer in October, and it came with a trial of the Internet, and Ed figured out that if we put our Christmas letter on here instead of mailing it, we could save the stamps. That's 61 letters at 32 cents apiece, or $19.52, which Ed would like you all to know he has already spent on Clayton. Grandma Betty and everybody else who doesn't have a computer will still get theirs in the mail, so don't worry.

It has been a full year at our house. Here it is, month by month, the way I remember it, with a few notes from Ed.

Our Year · Ellen's Cranberry Bread · Where We'll Be for Christmas

Our Year

January. We had a real snow, and Clayton went sledding for the first time on the hill behind the church on a borrowed sled. He came in soaked to the skin and asked if we could do it again tomorrow. It melted by tomorrow. He has not forgiven Tennessee.

February. Clayton made Valentines for every single child in his preschool class and signed every one himself. It took him four evenings. We have never been prouder or more tired.

March. Paige turned two on the ninth, and four days later she fell against the corner of the coffee table and split her chin. Three stitches at the emergency room. She sat on Ed's lap and never cried once. Ed would like it noted that he didn't cry either, and I would like it noted that he had to go sit in the car afterward. She's fine, and there's just the tiniest little line you can only see when she tips her head back to laugh, which is often.

April. The dogwoods were beautiful this year. Mother came up from Chattanooga and we drove the dogwood trails with the kids, and Paige said "pink tree" at every single one.

May. We took our first weekend in the Smokies as a family of four. We rented a little cabin near Gatlinburg, ate pancakes every morning, and drove the loop road around Cades Cove on Saturday. We saw eleven deer (Clayton counted) and a mother bear and two cubs way off at the edge of a field. Everybody stayed in the car, the way you're supposed to, though Clayton wanted to know why we couldn't go say hello.

June. Ed's parents, Grandpa John and Grandma Betty, took us all to Dollywood. Clayton rode the steam train three times and decided he's going to be an engineer, the train kind. Paige liked the blacksmith best, and fell asleep in her stroller with a sucker in her hand by two o'clock. Grandma Betty bought a quilted wall hanging she says is for us, but it's on her wall.

July. We watched the Olympics from Atlanta every night, and we were tickled that the canoe and kayak races were right here in Tennessee, on the Ocoee. Ed says next time they're this close we're going. Fourth of July fireworks downtown, with Paige's hands over her ears the whole time and her eyes as big as saucers.

August. The big one: Clayton started kindergarten! He wore his new tennis shoes and carried a lunchbox with dinosaurs on it, and he walked right in without looking back. I cried in the parking lot. His teacher says he's a good listener and a great helper, and that he tells everyone his daddy works at a bank "with all the money."

September. Paige is talking in whole sentences now. Mostly they are about what Clayton did wrong. Her favorites this fall are "I do it myself," "Where my brother?" and "That's mine." Football season started, and Ed has worn something orange every Saturday since Labor Day.

October. The computer came! Ed set it up on the desk in the back bedroom and I've learned how to send e-mail and print out recipes. Clayton has learned how to play a game where you help a dinosaur find his mother. For Halloween Clayton was a fireman and Paige was a ladybug. Paige said "trick or treat" to every house and "thank you" to about half.

November. Thanksgiving in Chattanooga with my folks, Pop Joe and Grandma Cece, with the whole family around the table. [Ed's note: We will not be discussing the Memphis game. Please don't bring it up at Christmas.]

December. Tonight is the Christmas program at church. Clayton is the third shepherd from the left and has been practicing holding his staff very still. Paige is in the nursery choir, which means she will stand up front and wave at us. The tree is up, the stockings are hung, and the cookies are in tins on top of the refrigerator where certain people can't reach them.

Ed is still at the bank, a loan officer now going on three years, and he likes the people he works with. I'm still at home with these two, which keeps me busier than any job I ever had. We're all healthy, we're all happy, and we have so much to be thankful for. We think of every one of you this time of year.

Ellen's Cranberry Bread

So many of you have asked for this over the years that I'm finally putting it where everyone can find it. I make two loaves every Christmas Eve, one for us and one for Grandma Betty.

Where We'll Be for Christmas

In case you want to call, or stop by, or send cookies: