Thursday, December 18, 2008

A white Christmas


The Fry house in the December snow – an unusual beauty.

Judy and Clifford Fry


Judy and Clifford Fry wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Alex Babineaux


Alex and Bella take Tae Kwon Do, and they are advancing in their skills. I know, because one day Alex nearly broke my thumb. (Clifford talking) Here is Alex preparing for battle.

Kristin Fry Babineaux and Clifford Fry


Kristin and Clifford enjoyed a daughter/dad night out - one of too few over the years.

Judy and Kristin, soul mates


Misty Raines


If you don’t think that cancer can take the young and beautiful from us, take a look at Misty Raines, who we lost in November. Judy and Misty were like sisters. Judy and Elouise held a birthday gathering for her at the Junkins’ house in September. That was her "outing".

A close crew


Misty was a regular at our jam sessions, a regular visitor to our house, and a close consistent telephone buddy of Judy’s. Clifford and Judy are with Misty and John McGee after a jam session.

Judy & Misty


Judy prepared a houseful of food for those who attended Misty’s visitation, and Judy spoke at Misty’s funeral. The last song Misty sang with the band at our jams was “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”.

Bella makes sure Nicholas cannot say "NEVER BEEN KISSED".


Bella (6), Nicholas (4), Alex (10), Gabe (4): They are no trouble at all.


Clifford's hat takes on a new friend in Gabe, here by the Babineaux's pool.


Gabe and Nicholas - two good natured and loving boys.


The Babineaux's in Galveston


Alex is with James LeBlanc in Galveston at Willie G's. The two have been friends for most of their lives.


Alex and Bella Babineaux: Clifford takes them to school every morning.

Here are Clifford and Bella in Junkins' boat, escorted by John across the waters. Visits to the Junkins' lake house are always a treat, and the Fry family went several times in 2008.
This picture was taken as Alex and Bella prepared to go see Miley Cyrus in concert at the Lanier law firm Christmas party in Houston with Clifford and Kristin.

Babineaux's and Fry's

We all went to the Houston rodeo in March and saw everything from pig races to a John Fogarty performance. Here are our grandchildren at the rodeo.





Here is Babineaux/Fry clan at their annual outing at the Renaissance Festival, minus the LeBlancs this year.



Scott and Kristin at the Bryan Festival listening to Jerry Jeff Walker.

Cliff’s Dad, Max Fry, plays in Georgetown at the County Seat with his group, Country Combo, and the picture of Ashley and Cliff was taken there.


If you are in the mood to make donations to worthy causes see the site below. There are a lot of girls with Rett Syndrome. Research has shown in mice that some symptoms of Rett Syndrome are REVERSIBLE. There are drug trials going on searching for some magic bullets in this fight. You can donate a drug trial of your own in honor of a specific girl. Ashley is one in honor of whom you can donate.

http://www.rsrt.org/news/Sponsor-A-Drug-3.html
Clifford's cousin Bob Loyd and his wife, Terry, visited us from California and attended a jam session. Randy, Darelyn, Max, Lance, Clifford, Kurt --- all original Texas Medicine Band members -- are "Still Crazy After All These Years".


Judy and Cliff try to control Betsy Duff while her husband sings "Deep In The West" at the February 17th jam session.


Jam sessions were a fun part of the gatherings with our friends; here are Kevin Duff, Randy LeBlanc, and Ken Appelt in action,


In August, we went with Lance and Barbara Webb to Kevin Black's special invitation benefit concert for Rett Syndrome in a Woodlands' club that included all the Black brothers, including Clint Black, jamming together. It was truly one of those rare magic music nights. Kevin had a daughter with Rett Syndrome that died a few year's ago.

Party Time

Clifford sings "Thoughtful Helpful Husband" to Renae and Mac Dillard and family and friends at their wedding celebration party in June. Kristin and Scott at Renae and Mac's party.


Randy, Max Fry, Lance Webb (Drums), Todd Pollard, Darelyn Jennings (Cliff’s sister), Kurt Zech, and Kevin Duff know how to make good music!






Ashley was Amy Winehouse at Halloween (look it up, old folks), here at a Project Sunhine event.


Esther Robert, a wonderful long time helper with Ashley and friend of us all, our Ashley, Cindy Ramsey, and her husband are in Cindy’s Lufkin, TX home prior to a large celebration. We met Cindy at the Galveston beach in 2007, and she was on oxygen at the time. She was awaiting a double lung transplant, as she had a rare disease destroying her lungs. Ashley went over to where Cindy was sitting and smiled close to her face like she was trying to tell her something, and Cindy and Ashley became immediate close friends. Ashley would continually go back to her. Cindy subsequently sent her cards. Cindy got her double lung transplant and went through a very difficult post operative year. This is the one year celebration of her lung transplant, and we surprised her at her Lufkin home with Ashley’s presence. You can see they are still buddies.

Ashly visits


Amy Hixson, Ashley beloved Project Sunshine buddy last year, got married in Waco with our help.

More Family


Carson Walter, held by his dad Ryan, gets Christened. Ryan, an MD, has moved his family to College Station, so we also got to attend Carson's first birthday party.




Clifford and Judy attended the Christening of Carson Walter. Here is Clifford with his Aunt Margie and his cousins and "cousins-in-laws". Here Tom gets center stage in the picture even though he is not REALLY in the family. Ha.



Kristin helps Ashley on the beach.


Ashley, Gladys, and Kristin in Galveston. They have been beach bums for years.


Clifford and Judy with Sally Foster and Pat Barlow Rainey at Papacitos in Austin prior to Danny Young's memorial service


Suzy and Francis Youngblood and Cliff and Judy in Kingsville


Maria Gonzales, Eli Solis, and Clifford perform Jalisco


Clifford and a few classmates in front of old King High School building


Louis Stripling and Clifford in Kingsville


Judy and her five Grand Prairie buddies see each other several times a year and share special times. This year the Junkins' lake house and Anita Bosworth's house in Grandbury were the favored meeting places.

Grand Prairie Friends







The picture below shows fun at Easter at the Fry house with matriarch Gladys and her family.

Judy and Clifford are blessed to have one parent each still with us. Gladys celebrated her 95th birthday with her children (Lori, Judy, Barbara, and Darwin) and Ashley at Bruce and Barbara’s house.

This picture was taken in San Antonio at The Landing in the Hyatt on the River listening to the Jim Cullum Jazz Band with Ken Bujnoch and his friend Margaret.
Max Fry celebrates his birthday with Judy, his wife Janet, Scott, Kristin, & Clifford in our house. He even wore the shirt that costs him $8 to dry clean – a once a year affair.

Friends enrich our lives so much. With Clifford and Judy are their friends John (best aerospace engineer in the world) and Elouise Junkins, next door neighbors and partners in party crime, here in New Braunfels, TX for the induction of their friend, Buddy Ferguson, into the Texas Swing Music Hall of Fame.

Lane (Economist buddy and former President of Washington State University) and Mary Jo Rawlins (who typed Clifford's Ph.D. dissertation in 1972!) and Clifford are enjoying an outing in Gruene, TX after a night of jazz on the San Antonio River (and a visit to the Alamo).
Judy and Clifford at The Gristmill in Gruene during Lane and Mary Jo's visit.