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We Wish You a Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!!!!!

The Adventure Started Immediately!

First and foremost - a huge thanks to Kim, Heidi, Eric, Stacy, and everyone else involved in catching up with and keeping track of our class!

This is the condensed version of my past 20 years:

After graduation from USM, I married Lee Grubbs from Laurel, Mississippi. He was an Army guy, and already stationed at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, so the Adventure started immediately! Besides New Mexico, we have lived in Arizona, Germany (x2), Washington DC, Kansas, and now, New York. Lee is a Lieutenant Colonel assigned to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum. We have been here 3 1/2 years with Lee being deployed for 2 of them! Right now he is in Afghanistan, but (thankfully!!) we are expecting him home in a couple of months. Next move - back to the Pentagon.



Lee and I have 3 boys - Jackson(10), Connor(8), and Tristan(2). They keep me so busy that to say, "I'm a stay-at-home mom" just doesn't cut it anymore!! Besides trying to keep up with the little guys, I am a volunteer in several organizations. The majority of my time is spent training new Army wives on the ups, downs, ins, and outs of Army life.

After college, I stayed in contact with Andy Hanson for a few years - he'd give me updates several times a year - but I never made it back to Slidell. (My parents moved back to Lubbock, Texas, their home, in 1993.) I was in Germany for the 10-year reunion and couldn't make it back.
I can't wait to attend the 20-year reunion! Please keep me posted on all the goings on!

Thanks, again, for all your hard work!
Christy Chapple Grubbs
** I attached 2 recent photos (hence, no Lee) - one of the boys and one of me and the boys!

Weird Small World

Great work on the blog! It is really great to see all of the updates.

After graduation, I attended Centenary College of Louisiana and began teaching middle school in Shreveport. I have been in the same school teaching 7th grade Life Science for 15 years! I am also in the Louisiana Army National Guard Band. I have been in for 14 years musically supporting the state. Last year, we were deployed for 6 months mainly patrolling the streets of New Orleans.


I met my wife in college, we married in 1991 and now have four kids. After the hurricane, my parents retired from Slidell and moved up to Shreveport to live near all of us. I am looking forward to seeing all the "old"classmates.



Weird, small world...Back-to-School night, 2006...a parent keeps looking at you with a puzzled look...comes up afterwards and tries to place your face...graduated with him, 1987 SHS! I have Chris Williams'son in one of my classes.
David Anderson (not the blonde one!)

ps: Yes, those are MRE's under the stockings--after 6 months on patrol
in New Orleans, I had cases and they were novel to the rest of my
extended family!

Still Don't Know What I Want To Be When I Grow Up

Unfortunately, after graduating high school, I wasn’t able to take up Bauder Fashion College on the scholarship. Too many things were going on in my life. From my prior marriage, I have 2 beautiful children, Jarrod (18) and Caitlyn (12). Jarrod won’t let me take any pictures of him, but here’s one of Caitlyn.

After high school I worked a myriad of jobs, including payroll coordinator for the City of Slidell , office manager for Adaptive Resource Training Center and a transactional secretary for a law firm in Slidell . I moved to Fairhope , AL in October 2003 and started working as a transactional assistant for an attorney in Gulf Shores that specialized in high-end condominium development. I’ve since moved on to a law firm in Mobile doing transactional, secretarial and paralegal work. I still haven’t quite decided what I want to be when I grow up!

I’m hoping by next summer I’ll be moving back into the general area ( Metairie ), as I do miss it so much. I look forward to seeing all of you at the reunion!

Heidi & Kim, great job. I appreciate all of the work you have been doing!
Shalom Ford Hood

Were they High School Sweethearts???

Jana Henderson Smith and Donnie Smith wrote us to tell us what has been going on in their lives for the past 20 years. We don't exactly remember if they were high school sweethearts, but we are thinking they were. Here is what has been going on in their lives for the past 20 years.

Well, Donnie Smith (87) and I got married in 91. We have 3 children-Hayden 14 ( our only girl), Ryder 8 and Sloan 5. We moved into the house on 9th Street about 6 yrs ago when I found out that our 3rd child was on the way. Donnie has been working at Textron Marine and Land Systems for 13 yrs this past August. They are currently building the Humvee's for the army. I taught at Emerson for 10 yrs. until it closed in 01. I really enjoyed working with the "hard to work with kids". Right now, I am tutoring Homeschool High School Students. Its fun but at times I miss the feel of the chalk in my hand and having a class. Hayden, our oldest, is currently a freshman at First Baptist Christian School. She is playing Basketball--with her dad's height its a good thing. Ryder and Sloan both are attending Florida Ave. Elementary. My old stomping grounds. Ryder is in 3rd grade and plays soccer. Sloan is in K and just likes doing his own thing especially if it involves dinosaurs. Donnie and I have been extremely blessed with our children, home and job. Its funny how after all those days in high school we use to swear we would never end up back in slidell, ect. But for us, my childhood home has also become the only place I would ever feel comfortable raising our own children. Thanks for keep every one up to date.
Donnie and Jana Smith

PS. Notice that Donnie still has that grey hair. It started long before he and I ever married. Must be in the water.

If you click on DONNIE's name you can check out more of their photos. For some reason they wouldn't post any bigger than this.

If the 'view my photos' button above does not work, copy and paste the link below into your browser
http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=679111160598837146/l=215059467/g=38559021/otsc=SYE/otsi=SAIS

Snipits & Tidbits

Sorry we have not posted in a while, but our lives seemed to have gotten away from us and now the holidays are fast approaching and we have turned our attention elsewhere. We have received so many emails from you and are really getting excited that our 20 year reunion is only months away. Some of our fellow classmates sent us short updates about what has been going on. Here is what a few of them had to say:

I definitely plan on being there next June. I have enjoyed seeing the updates on classmates that I haven't thought about in a while. I have lived and worked in the Cincinnati area for more than 10 years. I have a 5 year-old daugther, Sophie. Our second child is due at the end of September. I met my wife, Amy, at LSU and we will have been married for almost 12 years. Hamilton is her hometown and we live amongst her very large family here.
Greg Tischler
Hamilton, OH

I have 2 children ages 5 and 6. There names are Susanna Breah and Logan Tanner Shilatz. I can't wait to see everyone and catch up. Talk to you soon.
Michelle White Shilatz
Mandeville, La

I still live in the Slidell area. I currently teach Gifted Math and Science at SJHS. I am happily married and have one son, Ethan Martin.
Kristen Evans Martin
Pearl River, La

Just updating you on my status. I was formerly Tamara Ernce. I am thrilled about the upcoming reunion. My daughter Brittany is in the class 2007. Mark now lives in Carriere but I'll get word to him about everything.
Tammy Ernce Torres
Slidell, La