Ah, yes, it is that time again. Time to deck the halls and take stock of the year for auld lang syne. The hall-decking is a bit delayed at our house since at the moment we are in the middle of finishing out the garage and so all the decking material is locked up in a storage container!
Nick received his Doctorate in Optometry in May and decided to spend a year in a pediatric residency at Nova University, in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. He loves the great experiences he is having there. And Jamie, Andrew (5) and Sadie (3) are enjoying the year-round swimming pool weather. We were lucky to have them home for a month between school and residency. And of course it is our dearest hope that they will be back here permanently by next year.
Natalie is back with the catering company she worked for several years ago – they pleaded with her to return and offered her a small ownership interest in the company. She works very hard and for long hours. She plays hard, too at softball and darts. She recently adopted another kitten, which brings her total fur baby count to 3.
Chelsea finished her Masters in Special Education. She was hired in February as a special ed teacher at an elementary school in the same school district she grew up in. She loves the job and they love her. She worried about putting Walker (2) into daycare, but in fact he is thriving. Trenton also earned his Masters of Social Work and is now working as an advocate for foster families. Chelsea and Trenton will be blessing us with another grandbaby this coming June.
Skyler and Sarah are still stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC although they expect to be transferred to Maryland sometime next year. Skyler has been busy with work and Sarah has been busy building her photography business (www.trulysarah.com) and taking pictures and writing for a local magazine. They also are both busy with the young people at church: he as Young Men’s president and she in the Young Women’s presidency. They took a short vacation to Europe this fall and we are looking forward to their visit out here for Christmas.
Martin and I had a fabulous vacation in the spring. We spent time in England – Bath, London and the Cotswolds, and in Ireland – a good portion of that time on the Dingle Peninsula, then stopped in Boston on the way home in time for Nick’s graduation. We both agree that if we were ever to leave this great country of ours, we’d move to Ireland. Almost immediately upon our return home, Martin was called to be Bishop of the Agoura 1st ward. He’s been pretty much going nonstop since then between Expedition Motorhomes and church responsibilities. Of course it hasn’t been all work. In September I attended a conference in Chicago and was able to sneak in a bit of sightseeing in that great city. We made a trip to Florida in October to surprise Andrew for his birthday. It was only for the weekend but worth every minute. Then in November we spent my birthday at the timeshare in Cabo just relaxing and enjoying the sun and sand (and the spa!) for a few days. I also have a new calling in church as Gospel Doctrine teacher. I continue to work for Kaiser and try to find time for quilting. I’ve been taking guitar lessons but don’t hold your breath waiting for music from me anytime soon.
Facebook might be making the tradition of the annual Christmas letter obsolete, but we love the opportunity for us to wish you all the best this Christmas and for a healthy and happy 2014!
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