Merry Christmas 2007
One of the blessings of this time of year is the chance it gives us to connect with you, our family and friends! So sit back grab a caramel macchiato (my personal favorite) and we will give you a whirlwind tour of the year 2007.
As many of you know, at the beginning of the year, we had been looking into moving to Georgia. Tim had applied for a position at Warner Robins Air Force Base, which seemed like a sure thing, so we took a road trip with some friends to see what we thought about Georgia. We loved the area, the houses, the church, our realtor, and were completely sold on the idea, but it wasn't in God's plan for that time. The base had a hiring freeze right before Tim was processed through. We were a little disappointed, but it all has worked out, as Tim was offered a new position here at PAX, which has moved him higher up the pay and position scale. This seems to be a good career move, so we are glad.
Since we had been planning to move in the summer, we didn't plan a big vacation. We let the girls attend church summer camp in South Carolina, and fit in a trip to Grandpa and Grandma's cabin in Minnesota. We had a lot of fun doing the usual boating, fishing, and skiing. Bethany and Carlie both got up on skis this year. Ashley is still not sure about doing that, but had fun riding the Sea Do on her own. On our way home, we stopped off in Chicago and fulfilled a dream of Carlie, Bethany, and mine, we had always wanted to visit the "American Girl Place". We rode the train into Chicago, and arrived bright and early as the doors to "dreamland" opened. We spent the day attending the "American Girl Music Revue", having lunch with the dolls in the café, and picking out a new outfit for the dolls. Tim was a great sport and wandered Chicago, while we took all the time we needed. If you have a daughter, I highly recommend this adventure.
The start of the school year brought some changes in our household. Ashley started high school. I know you are thinking Tim and Carol cannot possibly be old enough to have a child that old; we think the same thing! We were very proud of her as she was 1 of 48 kids in the county who had the GPA requirement to be asked to be in the STEM program at the school. (Science Technology Engineering and Math). This is a new program partnered with the base to start training kids in the Technology areas, so they can take over the future jobs in this area, hopefully for the Government. They have put a lot of money into this program to give the kids hands on training in these specific fields. Ashley is with this small group of kids (only 28 chose to attend) for her Algebra II, Geometry, and Chemistry classes, after that she transitions into the main high school classes of Spanish 2, Honors English, History, and Band II. She carries a demanding work load, but has remained on the Honor roll with a high GPA. She still loves music and is playing the piano, hand bells, clairinet, and singing on the Praise Team at church. She just finished playing clarinet for the All County Honors Band, which put on a very impressive concert. Bethany, also was selected for the Honors Band at the Middle School level, and was the only 7th grade clarinet player from her school. Bethany still plays the piano as well, and has a knack for picking up tunes very quickly. Both girls continue to play soccer and had a great season as defensive players for their teams. Their lives are very busy as they continue to be involved in a variety of activities.
Carlie also had a change this year, as she went from being home-schooled to attending the new public charter school, which opened this year. She has a wonderful teacher and is in a 4th/5th grade combo class. She continues to love to write stories and songs, and dreams of being the next singing sensation. She sings in the chorus at school and will also be taking violin. Carlie has really been faithful with her piano practice and has become quite the little pianist. Do you see a theme with our kids? They all really love MUSIC.
Since I am not homeschooling this year, I have gone back to substituting for the school district, and have expanded my piano students to 10, which keep me busy. I have felt like a single parent for much of this year, as Tim has continued to do a lot of world traveling. He has had many business trips and has certainly logged in many airline miles. He loves the foreign travel, but we love it when he is home for a few weeks in a row.
For Christmas this year we are going to try another cruise. We will be leaving from Miami and cruising the Key west and Cozumel. On the way home we will be stopping off in Daytona Beach for a couple days, so Tim can visit the NASA Space Center. We are looking forward to just getting away and hanging out as a family.
If you want to visit the East Coast give us a call, we have loved having friends and family visit!
We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Remember what this season is all about!
From Our Family to Yours,
Tim Carol Ashley Bethany and Carlie
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