Wednesday, December 20, 2006

2006 went by so fast!

December 2006

Dear Friends and Family,

I hope 2006 has been a very good year for you. I feel bad for not keeping up with my friends and family as much as I'd have liked. It's been a very busy year, and for those of you with teens and pre-teens, you know what that's like. For those of you who haven't heard from me in a couple of years, my first news is that I went back to my old last name. The kids didn't mind, and the time came that it just needed to be done. On the job front, I never did reconnect in the programming field after 9/11/2001. I am now working in the field of property management, while in what little spare time I can find, I continue to develop my online maternity store. Sales have been up, but for now I'm keeping my day job.

The kids have been busy following their own dreams and interests. This year, Theresa (16) yet again won a prize in Congressman Kolbe's Congressional High School Art Contest. She placed 3rd in the Fantasy Category, which meant a check for $300 she earned all on her own. This year, she also had ambitions that outgrew her high school, so she simply withdrew and began attending the local community college. She is now an A student in Japanese, and if she weren't so ambitious with her life, I'd be a very nervous mother. It can be scary, but sometimes there is just no holding back the baby bird trying its wings.

Christopher (13) and Nicholas (10) are both very active in the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus, a world class operation on a par with the Vienna Boys Choir. Christopher made it into the Touring Chorus this year, which has meant several weeks straight this Holiday Season of 1-2 concerts per night for him, and next year, as long as he keeps his grades up, means tours to Texas, S. Korea, and Hong Kong. The boys just finished the season with a fantastic Holiday Concert, and we have a couple weeks breather before everything starts up again in January. Christopher also plays viola and violin in his school orchestra, while Nicholas is playing cello in his. They both take to the stage like ducks to water, and it'd be nice to hear them play or sing together someday, but right now they are separated by their age groups. Like most ordinary boys, though, when they are not doing schoolwork or rehearsing, they love their video games.

I hope it has been a good and prosperous year for you and your families.

Best wishes, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year,

Suzanne.