Noel Voisey

This is our sixth grandchild and she was welcomed by five previous grandaughters. As if required by the family, she appeared with beautiful blue eyes and is gorgeous like all her cousins. At 14 months we see that she is a bright child too, and wonder of wonders, she takes a real interest in music! She is also motoring real good now and is very curious. We just love Noel Voisey

Nathan Voisey

This is our seventh grandchild and our first grandson! He is definitely a first round daft pick. But how is he going to survive at family gatherings with all those girls. He has a nice laid back personality like his mother and Grandma Voisey and Uncle Bob Kittle or even Great Grandpa Joseph Kittle. We think he is going to be big like his uncles Keith and Mike. Now, who put that hat on his head while he was fast asleep? We just love Nathan Voisey!

Nora Voisey

This is my 5th grandchild and she is an energetic spirit. She is very bright and developed language skills very young. I can see her getting involved in athletics, perhaps running. She is alive to the world around her, loves to have fun and mixes well with other children.
She is 2 and a half and loves Sesame Street and BluesClues. She loves the playground where you will see her agility, speed and adventurous spirit. We just love Nora Voisey

Emma Bate

This is the fourth grandchild and she loves going to preschool. She loves her friend Noah Kelly. She is three years old. She has a favorite stuffed toy, a dog, that accompanies her everywhere. She loves to play "Mommy" with her baby dolls . She used to share a room with Natasha but now she has her own room. She likes Winnie the Pooh and Dora. Like the rest of her sisters, she is photogenic and we just Love Emma Bate!

Natasha Bate

This is our third grandchild and she is special too. Last summer she enjoyed this popsicle from nana's ready stash of goodies. Natasha is very precise and deliberate about all that she does. She loves pink and she fashions herself a princess which she is! She is five years younger than Lydia and when Emma was born shouted "Yes! It's another girl!"
She is very intelligent and does very well in school. She is eight years old now and has a very interesting bedroom designed on the princess theme. She has a nice voice. She also memorize scripture and poetry. I see success in the future for this child. She will figure out what she wants and go get it. Precisely and deliberately. We just love Natasha Bate!

This is my second grandchild, Lydia Bate. As you can see, Lydia is an adventurous sort. She is an artist too and you can also see her work on the Bate Family Website. She is much older now, the very mature 11 years old. She is high tech, loves the computer, and is learning the trombone. She excels in the geography bees at her school and got a trip to Washington for being on the winning team. I see for her something perhaps on the scientific side. She can do well in anything for which she develops a passion. She has great promise too. Oh yes, Lydia is inquisitive about how to do things. And she like to cook. We just love Lydia Bate 

This is my first grandchild, Heather Bate. As you can see from the picture, she is a perky child, photogenic and petite. She is much older now, 13 years of age and I see for her a life in the creative world. She is developing into a fine artist, and you can see her artwork on the Bate Family Website. She is also benefiting from the influence of Carol Jaudes and is working at her acting. She could end up in the field of design, performance or the ministry. She has a sensitive heart and don't be surprised if she appears on stage somewhere. We just love Heather Bate! 

The Last Dance

This is our last official photo, not that we had that many. More than touches of grey, a little bend of the neck forward...could this possibly be us? we said to each other. Lt.Colonels--half colonels as Gowans used to say....a vanishing breed. Almost 11 years and it is not hard to see the change. Of course, nothing stays the same. We must look forward. I love the past but I am not going to spend time there. We are moving on and life will never be the same. And by the way, it isn't the last dance, the truth is, we are going to rock. 

here I am as an old man

Here I am as an old man!

Here I am as a young man!

A mouse

From Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver

“ God does not want men to fear. When you come to think of it, to every great figure of the Bible, in the one crisis of their lives, there came the challenge: Do not be afraid. When Abraham set out on his journey to the unknown future, he was told, ‘ Do not be afraid. I will be your shield.’ To Isaac, God said: Do not fear, I will be with you and I will bless you.’ When Jacob was about to leave the Land of Canaan to go down into Egypt, he hesitated, and was told: Do not be afraid! When the Children of Israel found themselves by the Red Sea with the waters in front of them and the pursuing Egytians behind them, there came the voice of God: Do not be afraid! Stand Firm! When Moses was faced with the prospect of fighting every foot of the way for his promised land, the word of the Lord came to him: Go up. Conquer! Do not be afraid’ When Moses died and Joshua took command, the same words were spoken to him. It is amazing-the recurrence of the phrase. It is not an accident. “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid! Do not be frightened! (I saw a mouse today.)

Grandchildren

The picture on this site was taken this summer (2005) and the four oldest girls (Heather, Lydia, Natasha and Emma-far left front by herself) are Carole and Alastair's, Jeanne has Noel Evangeline in her right arm (Norm and Alie's) and Nora in her left(Dave & Lori's) and finally we now have a grandson- Nathan Andrew thanks to Dave and Lori and I am holding him. We are so blessed to have such great children and grandchildren.

Shakespeare revisited

Some time ago I read a business book entitled Power Plays and the plays of Shakespeare were used to illustrate the point of the book. It was at that time I realized how I wasted my english literature classes in high school. At that time I didn't think Shakespeare was "cool". A few days ago, I was drawn to a book, a Pulitzer finalist, "Will of the World"- How Shakespeare became Shakespeare. Again, the thought occurred to me why did I waste those days and really get into Hamlet, the Merchant of Venice, MacBeth etc. For it was then my mind was sharp and retained what I read. Reader, if you want a good book, written by a Harvard professor, you can pick it up a your local bookstore or on line.

Let me introduce myself this way:
I like anything that is old-books,music (classical), history, the history of the Jews. Some of my favorite authors are Allan Eckert, James Michener, Joseph Campbell, Shelby Foote. Favorite composers are generally Russian though I like Mahler very much, and Charles Ives (who laced his compositions with over 200 hymn tunes) and 60s jazz. Favorite artists are Urbie Green, JJ Johnson, Kai Winding, Philip Smith, NY Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra. Yo Yo Ma, Rafael Mendez. The New York Staff Band, Arturo Sandoval. I am a cellar dweller, have a general disdain for TV except for BookTv, Brit Hume and Sports, primarily limited to the Superbowl, the Stanley Cup and the Baseball playoffs. Family history is another prime interest and I have trouble throwing things away unless it is something that I am going to need, then it is usually in the trash right way. I tear up during the Olympics whenever O Canada or The Star Spangled Banner is played.