2016 Christmas Letter

Another year has gone by and once again I reflect back to the beginning of the year and think to myself...that was 10 months ago?  It seems like yesterday.

5th Birthday in March

Miss Ava Ann turned 5 in March.  She has had a big year!  This past summer she got to play T-Ball which was her first experience in organized sports.  She did better than I expected and seemed to enjoy it.  It was a pretty relaxed atmosphere.  She started Kindergarten this fall and the first few weeks were pretty rough on her.  The all day everyday thing definitely interfered with her previous daily nap schedule.  However she has adjusted and is doing quite well in school and makes us proud. She played soccer this fall.  This was a little more rigorous than T-Ball and at times we had to convince her to go and participate however once there she did fine.  Her team ended up getting third place and were awarded medals, so then of course at that point soccer was the best thing ever!

At her Uncle James & Aunt Kelsey's wedding in April.

Before her first soccer game!

Band-aide over the 2nd set of stitches.

William gave this year some highlights.  He is ALL boy and loves to be outside and is happiest with a glove, bat, or ball in hand.  The worst thing you can do for this child is not give him an outlet for his abundance of energy.  He is a daredevil, not scared easily, and goes 100mph at all times.  Unfortunately this combination gave us our first trip to the doctor for stitches in late May.  Ava and Will were spending a few days at Grandma Drag's and Will decided it was okay to jump off the furniture and the upper corner of his right eye met the corner of the coffee table.  He got a decent sized gash and so Grandma loaded him up and took him into the Washington Clinic to see none other than Dr. Sherlock (MD not DVM) I am not sure who suffered more Will, Grandma, or Kellen but all three made it through and Will's scar is pretty minimal considering the gash he gave himself.  Fast forward a few months to August and I get a call from daycare that I need to go pick Will up because he fell into the corner wall and had a cut on the corner of his right eye that needed more than a band aide.  That's right...back to the doctor for a couple more stitches and he's definitely got a good side and rocking the tough guy look once again.  In September he started at Teddy Bear Daycare.  They have a very structured schedule throughout the week and Will has been doing well with this atmosphere.  He is learning new things everyday and we have been very happy with his is progress.  He is as ornery as the come but has a smile and a hug that will melt your heart.

Valentines Day 2016 - spiked hair for the ladies

Uncles James & Aunt Kelsey's Wedding

Overall both kids are healthy and happy and I thank God every day for the gift of motherhood.  I often find myself at times looking at them and assessing how much they've grown asking myself "Where have my babies gone?"  They bring me so much joy and I love watching them both thrive in this crazy World.

Super Hero & Firefighter for Halloween

4th of July 2016

James & Kelsey's Wedding April 2016

Jeremy continues to work for J-Six Enterprises in the Fairview Mills division.  He currently has the roll of Quality Control manager at the Seneca mill location.  He enjoys his job and likes the variety of tasks the position offers.  He coached Legion Baseball again this past summer.  They had another successful year and played a grueling schedule for their Zone Tournament and missed the State bid by a small margin.  It was a disappointing end to the season but still a fun summer of watching good baseball.  He is coaching junior high basketball again this year for Sts. Peter and Paul School.  He is the head coach after being the assistant the past two years.   They have had a great start to the season and he is enjoying the time in the gym.  Jeremy also has a year on the Seneca Fire Department complete.  They just voted a new member on in November so he officially has lost his "Rookie" status.  It is a great group of men and Jeremy and I both have enjoyed the friendships that come along with being on the department.

Seneca Firemen's Ball

I am still working at Eisenbarth Plumbing Heating and Air.  I was given some flexibility in my schedule this past year that allows me an afternoon every other week to be home and catch up on housework.  This has helped me out tremendously and helps keep me sane.  We are hoping to get some traveling done in 2017.  We owe my mom a trip to celebrate her 60th birthday...the idea of Boston has been tossed around but no definite plans have been made yet.  In March, Jeremy and I are planning a trip with 4 other couples to Nashville.  We are looking forward to this and there should be some good memories made.

We hope all our family and friends have a very blessed Christmas and Happy New Year!