2015 Christmas Letter

Oh my where to begin!  Two thousand and fifteen flew by and for us, it's looking to end the way it started:  Jeremy taking a new job.  In February, Jeremy took a position at the Nemaha County Training Center (NCTC) as the Director of Development.  The position was responsible for all events, both promotional and fundraising, associated with NCTC.  Jeremy really enjoyed this opportunity and his time at NCTC but after much deliberation along with prayer and spending a long time on the fence he decided to leave NCTC and take a new position with J-Six Enterprises.  As I am writing this letter he is still a week away from starting his new job so I can't really tell you much about it yet.  For everyone who is reading this that is from my side of the family, J-Six is the same company my dad has been working with for the past couple years.  So...now you are asking yourself, "How can an old vet and an almost 30 year old with not much of a farming background work for the same company?"  The answer it's a big farm with lots of different operations and they will be doing two totally different things.  Jeremy will be working the in the Seneca Corn Mill office.  As long as we are on the subject of Jeremy I will keep going.  He coached his first year of Seneca Post 21 Legion Baseball.  They had a very respectable season and I think he had a lot of fun teaching the "older" boys which he wasn't sure about at first.  He also got to spend a lot of quality time with his childhood friend Phil who was his assistant.  The kids and I spent many of those summer nights at the ball field cheering them on, which we all three enjoy doing!  Jeremy is also assistant coaching JH basketball again this year for Saints Peter and Paul boys team.  They ended the season last year 14-0 with the "A Team" winning the league championship.  So far they are having another undefeated season and with some hard work might be able to pull off another "perfect season".  FINAL news on Jeremy is that this past September he was recruited to be on the Seneca Volunteer Fire Department.  The best way for me to describe the Seneca Fire Department is by telling you that it's like a Fraternity that has a limit of 28 active members.  These members have monthly meetings, functions, parties, and also carry pagers that occasionally go off and call them to a burning structure.

Jeremy on far left.  They did the no hair cuts and beard shaving until they lost...

2015 OTL Champions (Jeremy on far right)

2015 Seneca Fireman's Ball

Ava is doing very well.  Just ask her.  She loves to converse and is very observant when it comes to people.  She does well in school and enjoys going places and socializing.  You never know what she is going to say and keeps up laughing.  She lives for weekends at Grandma Drag's and loves to put on a show.  In October, a couple of other mom's and I took our daughters to Frozen on Ice in Kansas City.  We had a wonderful time and Ava keeps asking to go back!

Piper, Ava, & Jaci getting ready to go see Frozen on Ice!

Ava & I on 4th of July

Will is on the go.  Constantly.  The kid doesn't sit down for much, except to eat.  He also loves to eat. Much to his father's dismay (sarcasm) he has already shown a keen interest in sports at his young age.  He lives for going to the diamond to watch the baseball boys and threw an absolute fit when we went up to the school for the soup supper and we didn't go into the gym.  We ended up having to take our meal to go so we didn't ruin the entire event for everyone!  His favorite toy right now his is his Fisher Price basketball goal.  He loves to "get his shots up" as his father would tell you.  He has finally come around to verbal communication and using more and more words everyday.  It's not so much of struggle to figure out what he's wanting anymore.  He is ornery as all hell will get out but he's got a smile that will melt your heart and quickly makes you forget how frustrated and angry you are with him!

Will's "typical" appearance. 

Put me in coach!

July was the highlight of our year as we got to travel to the beautiful state of Colorado to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday.  We had a wonderful time and almost all of my mom's side of the family made the trip.  This was our first real "road trip" as a family and it was perfect.  We really enjoyed our time together and I hope we can find time to do more things like that in our future.

Family photo in the mountains.  The kids were both disappointed to leave!

Great-Grandma Ann, Ava Ann, and Grandma Denise Ann riding the Gondola.

I am still working for Eisenbarth Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning and enjoy going to work.  My evenings are mainly full of trying to figure out how to get everything done.  My house is never clean anymore but I have learned that sometimes you have to put the mop down and instead read a book, pretend to be a horse, or just sit and rock.  God shows me my blessings on a daily basis and I am very thankful for everything I have in life.  I wish everyone a loving and peaceful 2016!  God Bless!

Love,
Brooke Ann