I am sitting home on New Years Eve with the boys all tucked in for the night, Don working and thought I should post a long over due post on our year, it has been crazy busy! If you don't know why just read and you will soon find out........
DON - Don received the promotion of a lifetime on October 1st. He was promoted to Battalion Commander of Life Safety (Fire Marshal) of North Naples Fire Control District. We was also accepted in to the master's program at Florida Gulf Coast University and is starting in January. It was a blessing in disguise when he couldn't get registered for classes in August due to an immunization/antibody glitch. He is excited to start on his masters so one day he can become a fulltime faculty member. He continues to teach at Edison State College a couple classes each semester. Too say he is busy is an understatement. He is still an awesome dad and husband!
TANYA - Busy staying home and raising kids. I turned 40 in May and we had a great family cacation at the beach with all the kids! LOVED IT! We had a three year old foster daughter from March until November this year. And, we ended up with J and E coming back to us in early August and they moved to different foster homes the end of October. It was a tough decision to move them but we think the right one for them. E needed much more care than we could give and given the dynamics of our relationship with them and their family it wasn't healthy for the kids to stay. Sad! We had 5 kids for 3 months, for a while they were 5,4,3,2 and 1 years old. I was was tired but did enjoy it! Now we are taking a break from fostering and I am going back to being a guardian ad litem (child advocate in the foster system). Hopefully, it will allow me to give the kids more time while still doing what my heart yearns for.
MICHELLE - Michelle had a very exciting year! In late May her and her boyfriend, Ben moved to Brooklyn, NY. Ben is doing a 5 year residency in orthopaedics there. They are doing really well and have adjusted to big city living. Michelle is working at infertility clinic and enjoying it. She works four 10 hour days each week and has extra time to explore the great city! We hope to venture that way this summer. She is headed home the end of January. I cannot believe we haven't seen her in so long........
STEPHANIE - Steph is doing awesome! She is preparing to graduate in May and looking forward to finding a job that doesn't involve waiting tables. She is also interested in pursuing her masters. She had a great internship in the fall working for a non-profit in Tampa. Her plate was a little full but it worked out in the end. Will be interesting where 2012 takes her. She visited Michelle for Christmas along with their mom and her husband. I keep wondering if she will be drawn to live closer to her sister......
BRYNN - Brynn has had a busy busy year. She didn't return to Stetson in January but instead returned to Edison to continue working on her degree. Part of the draw was her boyfriend here and some uncertainty about where she wanted to be. She was in an apartment for most of the year but moved home in October to prepare for her return to Stetson in January 2012! She has been working at Stir Crazy waiting tables outside of her class schedule. We are confident that she is going to soar at Stetson and do great things!
OLIVER - Oliver has had a busy year! He turned 4 in April and in August he started at Classical Christian Academy on Monday and Wednesday for Pre-K4. I do a homeschool curriculum on Tuesday with him. On Tuesday and Thursday he goes to a 2.5 hour speech class at a local elementary school. He met his goals in November and could be release from the program at anytime. He is learning to read and loves all things school related. His teacher said he is a "teacher's dream"........hard to believe in February we will celebrate four years of loving him......not sure where the years have gone.
MATSON - My holy cow busy boy! He had a wonderful birthday in June, double celebrations in Florida and then in Omaha with all the family. He took his first steps on his birthday! It was so cute. There is no stopping him! He has a mouthful of teeth and can climb anything. Other parents comment at the park at how well he plays and keeps up with the big kids. Having 4 older kids to keep up with this fall did him a world of good. He is an all around toughy and just loves to go!
May you have a wonderful year ahead! We look forward to seeing what 2012 holds for our family!
Tanya
