2007 - A Year in Review

My husband, Gary, daughter, Haley and I moved to Central Florida in May 2000, not long after the death of my beloved father. It was was not an easy transition for any of us but nearly eight years later we are loving our new home and our new lives. Still, there are days of longing for our family members that are now so far from reach. Since Gary and I married, we’ve moved five times, each new home taking us farther and farther from family. My siblings have become “empty-nesters”. Their children have graduated high school, gotten married and now have children of their own. We have never even met most of our great-nieces and -nephews. They are growing up not knowing who we are.

It is the desire for familiarity and closeness that prompted me to create the Spiker Family Gathering Place. Certainly there are others like me that feel strongly about keeping those family ties in tact, even if it must be from a great distance.

The annual Spiker Family Reunion (held each Memorial Day Weekend) seemed to be the perfect time to debut the website. With a LOT of help from my mother and siblings, the idea became a reality. As the site continues to grow larger, the distance I’ve felt from the family continues to grow smaller. As we welcome the new year, it seems fitting to reflect on the past (Links to previous editions of the Spiker Gazette are shown below.) while we anticipate the endless possibilities of growth and change in our futures. As always, we would love to share in the exciting and the mundane events in your life. Submit your thoughts, stories, photos and announcements. It’s all news to us.

If you’re like me, traveling home isn’t always possible. But we can remain closer to family by returning to our “home” at the Spiker Family Gathering Place.

Announcements

• Submitted by Mike Spiker – I thought you might like to see what I got for my birthday this year. This is my second year of going to New Mexico and hunting the elusive big elk. This trip is a birthday present to myself before I get too old to climb the mountains and valleys needed to find a truly large elk. I harvested this 6 x 7 700-pounder on the last day of a 5 day hunt.

• Submitted by Bobbi Spiker-Conley – I don’t make New Years Resolutions. But there are tasks that I resolve to routinely perform at this time of year….replacing the batteries in my smoke detectors, reorganizing all my important documents in preparation for the dreaded tax season, and defrosting my chest freezer.

  Of course I also replace my calendar, making certain to transfer all the important dates. This year you can help with this particular task. Melanie Spiker-Fouse has been regularly updating the Spiker Family Calendar but she may have missed a few events. Please visit our calendar and verify that the dates we have listed (for birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) are correct and complete. Add the dates for the newest additions to your family tree and highlight upcoming graduations and nuptials. Then be sure to send us details about the occasion so that we may celebrate with you in future editions of the Spiker Gazette.