Merry Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas 2011!

What a great year it’s been for our family! We are astounded by the blessings the Lord continues to pour out and count each one of our friends and family as part of those blessings! Here’s what’s going on with our family this year:

Andrew (almost 15) is showing great drive and responsibility in high school! His parents may actually let him drive next year. He is getting all A’s in school, and even putting out A+ scores and marks in some of his classes (science is still his favorite subject). Every one of his teachers is amazed at the responsibility, leadership qualities and brains that this boy has. Andrew worked real hard this summer and fall, and earned enough money to buy himself a laptop! It’s all that boy has breathed and talked about for the past six months; and now he can play Starcraft 2 on his own computer! Andrew continues to play cello in the high school orchestra, and is also very close to earning his eagle. He faithfully fulfills his priesthood responsibilities each Sunday. Drivers’ ed is on the docket for next month, and Mom’s looking forward to next year when Andrew may be able to drive himself to early morning seminary! Speaking of which, Andrew has faithfully arisen each morning at 5:15 to get ready for seminary and school. Wow!

Chandler (12 ½) is doing fantastic in 7^th grade! He’s getting all A’s, making friends with many, and involving himself in as much as he can. He participates in Math Counts, Science Olympiad and has plans to join the swim team, play basketball, and hopefully qualify for Math Olympiad like he did this last spring (he scored in the top 25 of his age group!). Chandler has an artistic side to him as well: he’s had several art pieces entered into displays or art contests, and he loves being part of Clay Club. He continues to play the cello in orchestra and take piano lessons, and he is the Ward Priesthood Pianist! He is working towards earning his Eagle, which he plans to have earned before his 14th birthday! Wow! Chandler faithfully passes the sacrament each week as part of being a Deacon in the Priesthood. And he somehow finds time to play Starcraft 2 and Xbox with his friends and brothers. This boy has a lot of drive and passion for life. Unbelievably, he has a hard time getting up in the morning! His parents can’t seem to figure it out…

Jordan (10) is in his last year of elementary school (5th grade) – hard to believe! He’s doing fantastic, and loves his teacher, Mr. Bailey. He is continuing piano lessons, cub scouts (Webelos) and played soccer this last spring as well. Jordan has also played in chess clubs and scrabble club, and he has fun running in mileage club with his cousin Ben. Jordan loves building legos, creating projects and games for his brothers to play, and of course playing Starcraft 2 and Xbox. He is also a natural story-teller and uses this gift to entertain his classmates and teacher with funny puppet shows and stories as part of school assignments. Jordan has a streak of independence that will serve him well in the years ahead as he stands for the right and forges new ideas like his dad. His parents are trying their best to remember this vision!

Seth (7 ½) is gearing up for baptism next year! He continues to show musical prowess, is now officially taking piano lessons, and loves to play his pieces at lightning speed, the same way he runs. He is quite the natural soccer player, swimmer and runner, and has SO much enthusiasm. Mom tries to remember that it’s ENTHUSIASM, not try-to-drive-your-mom-crazy-ism. He’s doing great in 2nd grade, reading lots of books, and showing independence in his homework. He also loves chess and has participated in a couple of chess clubs this year (as the youngest member!) He has joined his brothers in the Starcraft 2 world, and loves it too!

Michael (5) is loving kindergarten! He has the innocence and wonder that makes this age so fun. He comes home each day with some treasure (real GOLD pebbles from the playground) or an interesting rehearsal of the day’s events. He is learning to read at a great pace, and loves his math like his brothers. Michael speaks very fluently for a kindergartener, and with a lot of gusto and passion. He is a fun pal to have around. Of course, he also loves computer games and Xbox – he’s a Boss isn’t he? He has an interesting view of the world – he fits his view to his liking, and he will insist that things are the way HE sees it. Right now, this is funny to his parents. We’ll see how long the humor lasts.

Bentley (1 ½) has so much personality! He truly brings such love and laughter to our home. He’s very easy going (a smart choice, being the sixth!) and everyone loves taking their turn watching him and playing with him. He’s starting to make sound effects for his cars and trains, and loves to throw and kick around balls as well. When he starts shooting guns and dueling with light sabers here in the near future, it will be official – this boy is all boy! He already plays toddler games on the computer and mom’s phone, so, yes, he’s on track as a Boss boy!

Greg is still with IBM and still loving it! He has been able to continue working from his home office. It is somewhat amazing that this still works, as things get pretty crazy with six boys, and his office is right at the front of the house. But he’s a great dad and husband, and will come out during the day to help mom with dishes, conflict resolution, and calming the fray. He travels occasionally, generally in San Jose, CA, New York and Toronto, but this year he also went to France. He was recently honored with a Technical Achievement Award, partly due to the fact that he now has filed over 250 patents through IBM! He continues to serve on the Stake High Council at church.

Sherie is not deaf yet. It’s a noisy busy house, but thank heavens for school! She actually has a couple hours of quiet time to get things done. Then, at around 3:15, chaos ensues: the baby awakes, the children come barreling home, the homework gets worked on, dinner hopefully gets made, and somehow the family tries to have a few crazy moments together before the younger ones get shipped off to bed. When Sherie finally gets to her bed at night, she sings, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time…of the Day.” But, amidst all the craziness, it’s a happy time for us. We try to remember that one day, these will be the “good ol’ days.” Sherie is no longer the Primary Chorister at church, she is now serving in the Relief Society Presidency. It’s been a fun change for her to be with the grown-ups again!

Our family had some fun travels this year. In May, Sherie, Greg and Bentley had a short jaunt to Utah while Greg was there on business. He celebrated his 40th birthday while we were there, both with friends and with Sherie’s family. It was a lot of fun!

The summer was full of one thing to the next. The older two went to boy scout camp, and Jordan got to go to day camp for four days with his cousin Ben.

In July, Sherie’s brother Jered came out with his boys to Detroit. Greg and the three older boys joined them down there, where they attended a couple of Tigers’ games (baseball), did some sightseeing, including the Ford Factory Walking Tour, and did some boating as well. They had a blast! Later that month we met Sherie’s brother Richard and his family in Palmyra, New York. We stayed there a few days, saw the church history sites, and loved seeing the Hill Cumorah Pageant. On the way home we visited Niagara Falls.

In August, we had an exciting family reunion with Greg’s family. We were scheduled to arrive at the Outer Banks in North Carolina right at the same time that Hurricane Irene decided to come! So we spent the first few days of our reunion in Scarsdale, New York at Greg’s brother Gary’s house, and then drove down to the Outer Banks for the rest of the time. It was beautiful and we had a fantastic time!

In October, Greg and Sherie went on a cruise with their good friends, Heath and Cora Merkley. It was a great break from all the craziness, and fun to relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of the Bahamas and Key West. One of our favorite excursions was kayaking, snorkeling and dolphin watching in Key West. What a great time.

We are so grateful for all of you that we have come to know over the years . Each one of you has impacted us for the good in some way, and we love you! We appreciate the continued friendship and keeping in touch. We are also so grateful at this time of year especially, to reflect on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Without Him, life truly would have no meaning. We love Him, we love you, and we wish you a most Merry Christmas, and a Beautiful Year to come!