Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
We hope that God has blessed you this year and this posting finds you and your family well. Our God is an awesome God and has kept us well for another year. We cannot complain. We have been blessed with many wonderful friends and a healthy and happy family. We only made one trip to the emergency room this year - Half Pint did a header into a chair and put a tooth through the skin underneath her bottom lip. She was fine and didn’t even require any sutures, so we got off easy.
Jeff made a job move this year and is doing production work as well as still apprenticing in the tool and die profession with my Dad and brother. That and serving as Cubmaster of the boys’ cub scout pack keeps him on his toes.
We are still learning at home. Fratello Maggiore now has a middle school workload (more than I had when I was in school!) and Fratello Piccolo is now in 3rd grade. Half Pint now asks to do school and play-do is the perfect way to keep her busy. That little gal can “do school” with that goo for up to 8 hours! This year, play-do was her favorite Christmas present, by far!
Fratello Maggiore is still loving Scouts and will ‘bridge over’ to Boy Scouts in February. It is fascinating how far he has gone! Fratello Piccolo really likes scouts, too. I think his favorite part so far this year was earning his whittling badge. He was thrilled to receive his first pocket knife for Christmas.
Karate is going well. Fratello Piccolo is a yellow belt, Fratello Maggiore is a blue belt, and I have earned a green belt. The boys enjoy the “cool stuff” like sparring and competition, but I just want to workout and learn the katas. (those are choreographed patterns)
I just recently learned that I can sing. At least I don’t torture others with my voice :’) I decided to sing for the music director at church and not only did he stick me in the choir as an alto, but encouraged me to cantor (lead the congregation and do some solo singing)! You can imagine my surprise as the only recent feedback I have ever received was the kids covering their ears and grimacing when I would sing out loud. LOL I guess they just didn’t want Mom singing and were not being critics - go figure. Of course, now they can’t shut me up! The choir members even talked me into singing with the funeral choir since I am home during the daytime…
The boys also tried their voices at children’s choir this Christmas. Fratello Piccolo seems to enjoy it, but Fratello Maggiore put up with it only this once. So only Fratello Piccolo will be participating for Easter, I suppose. He has a joyful, willing personality so he is thrilled to ‘make a joyful noise.”
May you and your family have a wonderful 2008 and may God continue to watch over you.