Dear family and friends,

We hope this update finds you all well, and hopefully cozy warm; we are currently getting more snow. This is such an extra busy time of year. It can be so hard to keep the stress level down and keep our eyes on the true meaning of the season, Jesus our Savior. We hope and pray that you are all feeling the calm and loving presence of Jesus in your life, and we pray that the new year brings you even more love, peace, and joy. We hope you enjoy a little update from our family to yours.

Paul continues to work for County Market grocery store. He actually just celebrated 10 years with them and over 18 years in the grocery industry; that must mean he is getting old. The gray hairs don’t help, and are most likely a result of his wife and kids; what a handful. He reports he is extremely content and happy with his life which spells success.

Meredith has taken on a new title of home management engineer; it just sounds so much better than homemaker, and of course there is her other jobs of child educator and dutiful wife. Life is busier than you could imagine and more than she thinks about all in one sitting-might make your head spin. Thankfully, she too is content and happy and knows God will provide all she needs for the undertaking He has entrusted to her.

Elizabeth is in the 6th grade now and seems to be changing more and more into a young lady everyday, complete with mood swings and all. She is an amazing big sister and very devoted to her family and her faith. She was just trained in as an altar server and is anxiously awaiting her first Mass. She is really enjoying going to Youth Group events at church. She is in dance and continues to enjoy playing the piano as well as teaching herself to play the guitar. She also learned how to knit and is trying to peddle her wares for extra spending money; she would have more to sell if she could get her nose out of her books.

Olivia is in the 5th grade. Life has brought her some changes and challenges this year. She was diagnosed with ADHD and depression early spring and got partial braces this Nov. We have found some amazing resources for her, and we are looking at half days at the public school for her to hopefully build her skills and self-esteem academically. She enjoys regular outings with her mentor, and she is still taking dance and piano lessons. Livy continues to amaze us with her fashion sense and creativity with colors and patterns- maybe she will be a fashion designer someday!

Pauly is in the 2nd grade and he is considered a “shared” student and goes to the public school for half a day to get special services and gets his core curriculum at home in the afternoon. He is really blossoming; it seems like so many things are clicking for him, and his confidence and abilities are really soaring. He has an in-home therapist come twice a week, and he too has a mentor that he goes out with weekly; he loves baseball and bowling now that it is cold. Today, he said, “I think I’m going to be like R*** when I grow up.”

Gabriella is 4 ½ and loves to “do” school just like the big kids; when they take out their crates, she takes hers’ out too. It’s the best when the older kids start teaching her. She got glasses a couple months ago after she failed the eye exam at her check up. We found out she has a lazy eye which will hopefully correct itself. She’s totally about her glasses now, but we endured 2 ½ hours of tantrum the first day home with them. She’s a whole new kind of stubborn, and we know stubborn. Thankfully, she’s cute and we love her.

George is 3. He is our little man; he is like and old man squished into a little body. He is just funny and oh what a flirt; he takes after his Papa George and is quite a hit with the ladies. George is fully embracing being 3 and has intense and mischievous energy all the time. His favorite past time is pushing chairs around the kitchen so he can “help” with whatever you are doing, especially cooking.

Cecilia just turned one. Unfortunately, the big snow storm of 2010 got in the way of her party. Someday she will say it is because she is the sixth child; and we didn’t have time to do anything special for her. For now, she is a source of pure joy and delight. She is always smiling and is extremely silly. We love her personality; she has brought back a playful energy to our home.

We wish you all a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!