Merry Christmas

Deuteronomy 11 ¹⁴ then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil. ¹⁵ I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.

2004 has been an exceptional year, filled with blessings and rain.   Our long-awaited Exie Irene Manahan, the Red Nosed Baby came on July 23.   Emily and Kam named her Exie after Grandmother Exie O'Brien and thrilled the whole O'Brien family.   Irene was after Kam's maternal grandmother Irene Weeks who is 95 and lives in Merritt Island, Florida.

2004 also brought news that Jane and Javier Jara will be married on June 18 in Cuenca, Ecuador.   Jane is still earning a dual masters at Texas in Journalism and Latin American Studies.    This has put her in the US for a year with only a short study period in Brazil and a visit to Ecuador.    Javier spent a couple of months working at the Swamp and loved it.

	Javier & Jane enjoy the Baby
Sisters enjoy preparation for the baby.

Javier & Tony Sparks at Hodge Camp

Kam and Emily continue to live in Santa Fe in a cute little house off Canyon Road.   Both are consumed with Exie, but Kam continues his career as a Mayan archeologist below while Exie studies more traditional forms.

The Madden boys also have their stories.   It was just announced that Hamilton will be a rush captain for his fraternity at Texas.    Even more important, he is doing well in school.

	Brothers
Hamilton escorted Catherine Baggett at the Admiral's ball.

Wales is editorial page editor of The Austin Student.   He is also a Spur and handler of Bevo.  You can see him at the games on the field.    He even was quoted in Sports Illustrated with an appropriately flip statement.

Susie has turned burnt orange and even borrowed a shirt for Jay to look the part.

Susie is in heaven having two sons at Texas.   She finds numerous excuses to visit Austin.  She is on the Fine Arts Council at the University of Texas and has become an avid football fan.  She was able to see Texas triumph over A&M.   Never being fond of football myself, I understand when wives call themselves football widows.  In addition, she is Suki (Japanese for Grandmother) to Exie.

Susie's parents are doing great.   They joined Susie at the Texas-A&M game and got to see Wales on the field and sit with Hamilton.  Susie spent Thanksgiving with them and the boys.

Susie, Wales, Dottie, Jerry and Hamilton prepare for the feast.

I spent Thanksgiving with the girls and my family at my brother's LIT ranch.   We hunted in the morning and had one of the best hunts ever on the LIT.       

Blake O'Brien, Owen Marmaduke, Bill, Alex & Jay O'Brien with Duke and Foxy after a bountiful quail hunt.	Alice O'Brien, Agnes Harrell, Emily and Jay O'Brien, Exie Manahan, Bobby Moore, Johnny O'Brien, Marty and John Marmaduke, Fay Moore, Lucy O'Brien and Dave Sellers.

John O'Brien celebrated his 87th birthday last summer.   He is healthy and still the center of our family.

With hopes that your 2005 will be as blessed as our 2004 was.