Your Opinions, If You Please

Ok. I'm going to use all my internet friends as my guinea pigs this year. Its time for the annual letter. Now, I've seen some examples on some of your blogs, and you all are pretty good at this! :) So..... you get to give me some feedback on mine before I subject.....err, send it out to my friends and family. Hey?? Where are you going?? Come back!!

WHEW! Ok, thanks for caving... I mean, being generous enough to help a mama out here! :) Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. And, if you are one of the chosen who will actually get this along with a Christmas card from us, please act surprised when you open your mail in about a week, ok?

Merry Christmas to One and All!

Yes, I said “Merry Christmas”. Have any of you ever known me to be overly concerned with being politically correct?

Its time once again for the annual letter. And as they say, forewarned is forearmed!

This year marked the passing of another landmark in our household. Jock is now in High School. Yes, despite being an obnoxious teenage (albeit, still a pretty affectionate one towards his mother!), we have decided to let him continue with life, to see where it might take him. So far, we have survived the first season of high school football (undefeated season, thank you very much! GO BULLDOGS!), the first semester of extremely challenging class work (who decided that Algebra was necessary?), the rise in popularity (which meant for Coach and I—the discovery that we make awesome taxi drivers/personal bankers!), and the first “true love” followed by the inevitable break-up. I’ve been reassured by other parents of teenagers that the nightmares have only begun. Surprisingly, or maybe not so much so knowing Coach and I, we are looking forward to them. Also, we ask for your continued prayers and positive thoughts as we get ready to move into baseball season. As we discovered last year, Jock has a knack for luring pitchers to hit him with the ball at least once every game. That is truly frightening this upcoming season, as he has a very good chance of making the Varsity baseball team. That means the balls are thrown faster and harder, and not necessarily with more control. We could be looking at a very bruised teenager for a couple of months.

Bug is now in 4th grade. This has been a pretty big year for him as well. He was diagnosed earlier this year with ADHD, and his medication has made a tremendous difference! Where he was smart before, getting good grades in school; now he is brilliant, getting amazing grades in school. As an added bonus, Bug is now able to make and keep friends around for a while, so he spends almost more time that Jock outside of the house. Having increased focus has also been amazingly wonderful for his athletic endeavors! He learned this year what a remarkably accurate pitcher he is, striking out nearly every batter he faced. He has always excelled in football, but this year saw more power and determination from him. It also saw his first concussion, but since that first game was followed by injuries in every game after that I’ve become fairly accustomed to the fuss and drama. We’ve also gotten to know the league medic quite well.

Coach and I are still hanging in there! Thankfully, we are still employed. Coach is still driving, and even snagged a promotion to Shipping/Receiving Guy with his company. His boss has been a Godsend to our family, and seems to truly appreciate Coach for the guy that he is. I don’t have to tell you what a blessing that is! And while my employer has changed, I’m still doing property management. I’m excited about this new company, though! They are projecting a lot of growth, which means promotions and extra responsibilities for me coming soon! And we all know how I love the thought of being Queen of All I Can Control. As an added bonus for us, we are celebrating our 15th anniversary this month. Yeah, we sometimes can’t believe we made it, either!

While this letter is pretty brief, considering how amazingly full our life is, there is a way you can keep up with us on a regular basis. Yes, I’ve jumped on board the Blogging Bandwagon! I started a blog this year, and I’ve really enjoyed keeping up with it. If you’d like to take a peek in occasionally, please feel free (no, really….please do!) to log on to: http://youdonthavetolikeme.blogspot.com. I would love to have you visit me there, and you’d get a regular peek into our lives.

As this year winds down, make sure you take a few minutes to relax, breathe, and laugh a little. It makes the journey so much more enjoyable!


With love from our family to yours,

Coach, Sports Mama, Jock and Bug