Family Photo 2010

It is hard to summarize the year by family member, and I'm still giving it a try!

Chuck continues to work at BIC APP in Red Wing full time plus OT as well as attending classes full time at Metro State for Business Administration. I am happy to report that he is decreasing his course load as we miss him - the kids wouldn't see him from the time they went to bed on Monday night until they got home from school on Friday, and it was hard on ALL of us!

Chris (age 25) is the Production Manager for Lyric Arts theater in Anoka and continues to work FT during the day hours at Epiphany church as a "gravedigger". He lives in Minneapolis with his girlfriend, Allie who works as a Manager for a group home in Minneapolis and also completing her Community Psychology degree from St. Cloud State University. We love when Chris comes down to see us, and as he tells his friends about his visits, "I'm a pretty big deal!" Mitchell was Star of the Week and when asked about siblings he said he had 1 brother and 2 sisters! So, Allie is a "pretty big deal" down here too!

Mitchell (age 6) is in first grade and his teacher keeps a blog at http://cf-firstgradefun.blogspot.com/
He is doing quite well in reading and spelling - he'll practice once and then gives us a hard time when we quiz him, and he'll say, "I already know that!" And he's usually correct! He played some baseball this summer and tried football this fall, and he says he likes to run! He's full of energy and quite curious about how everything works - engineer or mechanic perhaps? He's a great big brother to Maria - even though they have their tiffs, they really do have a good time playing together.

Maria (age 4) is a lucky girl to spend Tuesdays and Thursdays with Grampa & Grammie and then she attends Cannon Kids Pre-school full days on the other days of the week. She loves her teacher Miss Megan-so much that she gets confused sometimes which she likes better - Grandparent Daycare days or pre-school days! Grammie and I take her to dance class at In Motion Dance Studio on Tuesdays as she tried a week of dance camp with Miss Shannon this summer and she loved the dancing and Miss Shannon! The dance team in Canon Falls does well in competition and usually earns a place at State, so if the trend keeps on I see Maria wanting to be part of that!

I continue to smile each day I go to work as the school counselor at Cannon Falls Middle School and High School. I enjoy my work and the students and staff - it's nice to work so close to where the kids are as well. My mom lives 4 miles away and comes over every Tuesday and Thursday morning and takes care of me and the kids - all I have to do is get myself ready and go to work - she does the rest! She has been a Godsend as I described Chuck's schedule earlier, it sure is a wonderful thing to have my mama take care of me! It's fun to play with the kids, but it means we have a pretty messy house - we've got lots of time to have a clean in the future though! I've been meeting my dear friend Deb at kick-boxing/aerobics two nights a week-great stress reliever and good for my state of mind. I am blessed to work side by side with her daily, as well as some other close friends. We will be enjoying our winter break with plans to spend time with friends and family.

It's been a great year - we've all stayed healthy and continue to learn and grow with each other! We hope to see you before the next year's annual post!