Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Merry Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas 2010 from the Greg Boss Family!

We send our love and greetings to all our friends and family! We hope this letter finds you enjoying this Christmas season.

This year has been another year of blessings for our family. We are most excited to announce the arrival of Bentley Cleon Boss, who arrived in our family July 16, 2010. (8 lbs 1 oz, 19 inches) He is most adored! Everyone fights over whose turn it is to take care of him, and it’s hard to say whether it’s because he’s so cute, or because someone’s trying to get out of other jobs.

Bentley Cleon (5 months) has a nice relaxed and sweet personality. He fits in just great with the chaos of a house full of boys. He always has a ready smile, and plenty of coos and gahs for whoever stops to say hello. His chubby cheeks are the targets of many kisses all day long.

Michael Victor (4 years) is in preschool this year and having a ball. He is always full of questions, and hates to be left out of anything. He’s outgrown his stutter, but still has plenty to say, and with all the expression of an adult. He loves to learn new songs and has a cute body wiggle to go with them. He has a very outgoing personality and burrows into the hearts of all those that he meets. We love our Michael!

Seth William (6 ½ years) is doing fantastic in first grade. He was accepted into the accelerated program this year and is reading like it’s second nature and showing math expertise as well. He continues to love music and can be found rocking to anything with a beat. He is also a very energetic and talented soccer player. He played positions for the first time this year, and as defender was often the MVP of the game with all the opposing goals he stopped. We love Seth’s laugh; no matter what he’s doing – swimming, boating, playing sports, running -- there’s always a laugh on his face.

Jordan Eric (9 years) is loving the fourth grade. He continues to excel in the accelerated program and show responsibility in his work. Jordan is doing great in cub scouts; he earned his Wolf this year. He loves Pokemon, reading, playing his DSi, and kissing Bentley’s cheeks. He also played soccer this year and did fantastic. Jordan loves to create – he is often making crafts and paper projects to share with the family or give to his mom. He has a very creative mind. He is also a great swimmer, runner, and sports boy.

Chandler David (11 ½ years) started middle school this year, and is loving it. He is in all honors classes and doing very well. He is participating in the orchestra for the first time, on the cello. Chandler is a great help to his mom and dad around the house; it’s great to have another “man” growing up to help them out. Chandler played basketball again this last winter and loves swimming. He’s also amazing on his ripstick (a self-propelling skateboard). Chandler is doing great in boy scouts this year, and has set a goal to get his eagle before his 13th birthday. Wow!

Andrew Gregory (almost 14) is growing into a great man. He shows great responsibility in all that he’s asked to do, doing his homework, housework, and other tasks without needing reminding. He’s a great example to his younger brothers. He’s also a great babysitter and help to his parents with his younger brothers. Andrew’s doing very well in school, getting nearly all A’s and a few B’s. He continues to show strengths in science, and is in the accelerated science class this year. He also continues to play the cello in orchestra, and is making progress in boy scouts. We are so proud of him.

Sherie (36) is happy. Her hands are full, but they are full of blessings. Most days are quite exhausting, but she’s grateful for the health and energy she does have. Besides being mom and having a new baby, she’s found the opportunity to do a little scrapbooking, painting around the house, and playing the cello a bit. She continues to serve as the Primary children’s chorister, and is also now playing the piano for the ward choir. She also had a great trip to Hawaii in February with Greg, a final “honeymoon” fling before the new baby. We vacationed there with some good friends from Utah, and had a fantastic time.

Greg (39) continues to have the blessing of employment with IBM. He has travelled this year a bit, with another trip to Australia, and several trips to both coasts and Toronto. He was released from the bishopric and now serves on the stake high council. Greg’s biggest project this year was an amazing treehouse that he constructed around one of the red oak trees in our back yard. The kids are in heaven! It was quite the undertaking, but after much planning, was constructed in record time (2 months) just before the cold set in. The kids have been having a blast playing on it now, and can’t wait to sleep out in it next spring!

As far as family vacations, we were blessed with visits from Kristen Parker and Annie Budge (adopted sisters from Utah) in August, the New York cousins (Gary and Michelle Boss’s kids) in August, and Sherie’s parents in September, who were able to be here for Bentley’s baby blessing. With the new baby, we didn’t travel far this year, but we enjoyed a surprise trip to Great Wolf Lodge in the spring, some camping and boating in the summer, and swimming almost every day at the neighbor’s pool. The treehouse has added another dimension of adventure to our back yard, in addition to the water fights, ball play, and laser tag in the woods. We are happy!

We love you all! Have a Merry Christmas!


Love,

The Greg Boss Family

Greg, Sherie, Andrew, Chandler, Jordan, Seth, Michael, Bentley