A Yearly Update

Well. It’s been over a year since I’ve written – don’t know if I will start writing more regularly or not, but let’s at least get something in here about 2011!

The kids are all doing well. Courtney is in 8th grade, still in band & doing well. She didn’t play basketball at school this year, but asked to play in the Y’s winter league. If she had played at school, she would have had to take athletics as a class. It was fine with me for her to take an actual class. She’s done a few 5K’s this fall. She is also still taking piano and she & I are teaching Ben’s Sunday School class.

Rebecca is in 5th grade. She started violin this year and stopped guitar. She is also in choir and played volleyball this fall and will play basketball starting in January.

Ben is in 2nd grade. He played soccer this fall and will play basketball starting in January. (Not quite sure how I’m going to manage 3 practices, etc but will worry about that in January!)

My work has been crazy for the past year or 2 or 3. My boss was let go in January of 2009 and I basically took on his job yet no one got hired to do my job. That is still the case. We have been for sale (Citigroup is our parent company) forever but still not sold. Hopefully by next year. It’s hard to do the work of "selling" (I’m involved with any valuations we provide to a potential buyer) along with all our regular work. I can’t wait til things are more settled.

David is still teaching. He moved to full time a year or so ago and so feels better about his long-term prospects.

We are slowly starting to do projects in our house. I repainted Courtney’s room this summer. It was Pepto-Bismol pink with a black & white checkered wallpaper border–yikes! Now it is a nice light blue. David repainted the office with whiteboard paint on all 4 walls, and we took up the carpet and are getting vinyl flooring that looks like wood. It looks better than it sounds. We wanted vinyl so the walls could be washed down & not worry about getting the floor wet. And we priced real wood floors but they were prohibitively expensive to install. One of the walls of the room curves & that was why, apparently.

I’m on the PTA board this year, for the first time. I was co-chair of the directory committee. I sold all the ads that go in the student directory. It was kind of nice because it’s done now.

As I mentioned, Courtney & I are teaching Ben’s Sunday school class. Second graders are not my favorite, I’m learning. Oh well. I am learning patience.

I’m looking forward to a nice vacation – from December 20 through the 28th. Then I will be slammed until March, but I’m not looking beyond Christmas yet!

December 28 will be our 15th anniversary. I think we might go tour Cowboys Stadium?! Exciting plans!

Courtney has a boyfriend. She’s had boyfriends before, but now in 8th grade it’s a little more real. He has already turned 14. He’s spent a couple of evenings over at our house. He seems like a nice boy. He’s in band and some classes with her. Thursday they are going to a Pentatonix concert. This group recently won The Sing Off. Three of the members graduated from the high school Courtney will go to next year, and they are doing a concert at that high school.

This picture was taken in March. Courtney has gotten contacts since then and Ben’s front teeth have come in. And both girls have their braces off now. So, I really need a more recent picture!