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mom2mpr
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| Posted: Dec 19 2006 at 9:06am | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
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OK,I am waiting for someone else to go first-maybe someone with a big letter 
Anne
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Chari
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Joined: Jan 28 2005
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| Posted: Dec 24 2006 at 12:39am | IP Logged
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Okay, I guess I will go first......it was MY idea, after all
But first, I must tell you, I was wrong......it is NOT 4-5 pages.....its actually 6 
...how dare I think people even want to know this much detail about us
...but, this is my 19th newsletter.........I am a family joke.....a friendly joke.....people have come to expect it from me.....it is pathetic really  ....but, this is all the journaling I get to about our family life......and, this is who I am.
I am a bit disappointed with my letter this year.........but, I was so tired.......writing most of it at midnight........it just does not have the same "fun" as usual.
Well, I will post it......please do not make fun of me.....I am too sensitive (are you laughing, Willa? Robynn?)...seriously, I feel a bit like I am baring my self for scrutiny
...okay, here goes........
I am going to try to upload it first, including pictures and see how that goes.
I was going to volunteer to upload anyone else's, but I am goin out of town tomorrow, so that will not work.
Just cut and paste into the POST REPLY boxes........that is what I will do if this does not work.
Blessings!
__________________
Chari...Take Up & Read
Dh Marty 27yrs...3 lovely maidens: Anne 24, Sarah 20 & Maddelyn 17 and 3 chivalrous sons: Matthew 22, Garrett 16 & Malachy 11
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Chari
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| Posted: Dec 24 2006 at 12:42am | IP Logged
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Bridget wrote:
Isn't that odd? Do you think it's just a negative reaction to family life in general? I LOVE Christmas letters, even brag letters! Letters are meant to be fun and a way to share a little bit of ourselves with those we care about. |
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OKay, Bridget.....I will hold you to this!
__________________
Chari...Take Up & Read
Dh Marty 27yrs...3 lovely maidens: Anne 24, Sarah 20 & Maddelyn 17 and 3 chivalrous sons: Matthew 22, Garrett 16 & Malachy 11
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Chari
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| Posted: Dec 24 2006 at 1:08am | IP Logged
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well, of course my dial-up has to take all night......so, here is the naked letter.......sans photos and cute graphics. Those of you used to my letters........I promise to get them out before Christmas season is over! 
Letter from the Editor:
A blessed Christmas season to you, our dear family & friends! We have finally found a name for our home and property! We call ourselves:
Our Hearts' Haven
Please come visit us at Our Hearts' Haven in 2007! We would love to see you & yours!
The door is always
open to you!
One thing that stands out is the increase in our vocabulary this year!
From scrapbooking to skiing, from theater to quilting, from camp to attending college...every experience has its own special set of words. We have had quite the education!
One note, before you start to read this missive: Yes, this is a long letter, but I remind you that there was a time, before children, that I was quite a good correspondent. I would love to write short notes to all of you all year long, but alas, since that is impossible, I must burden you with this little chapter in our lives. Please read along with us; take a few days, or curl up with a yummy cup of tea & read on.
Now, please join us on our trip down "memory lane" 2006!
enjoy!
Who's who & What's what:
Jiddee: Arabic for Grandpa: Marty's dad
George/Georgie-Pop: Chari's dad
Jennifer: Chari's sister
Teresa: Chari's sister
Gazaves/Gloria: good friends of San Francisco, just like cousins!
The Frames: good friends of Lancaster, CA
Willa/Ryans: good friends of Shaver Lake, CA
Shawna: very good local friend
Louise: very good local friend
Great- Grandma: Chari's mom's mom
Aunt Nancy: Chari's aunt,George's sister
Uncle Howard: George's Uncle, aka Unc
Aunt Jo: Unc's wife
Aunt Sue: Chari's aunt, George's sister
Uncle Tom: Aunt Sue's husband
Tech week: the final week before opening night, includes final dress rehearsals
COS: College of the Siskiyous, local J C
Blue Beast: our 1987 Suburban
Cousin Julie: niece of George
CM: Creative Memories, scrapbooking company
Winter 2006
We began our winter with the four middle kids on the slopes, enjoying their season passes to the Mount Shasta Ski Park. They had a blast, skiing an average of once a week....all the way through March, as we received about 8 feet of snow at our house in that month alone! The snowiest March ever! Chari enjoyed the kids skiing, too....because she could set up shop in the middle of the Suburban and get a whole day worth of scrapbooking completed! Anne began teaching piano lessons to her first pupil, our dear little friend Abraham. They have been doing well together & are just about to begin their second year. Anne & Chari took a quilting basics class....and both are eager to begin quilting. Chari has been collecting fabrics all year to make a special quilt for the master bedroom. They both took a scrapbook class, too. In fact, Chari completed a wonderful album for Marty for our Catholic "Father's Day" celebration on Saint Joseph's feast day, March 19th. The album theme was the building of our home and the rest of the property, Our Hearts' Haven. It tells an amazing tale! We had a most special treat in March: Father DeLallo, whose family was a big part of Chari's conversion story, was able to come to Our Hearts' Haven TWICE in March, to offer Mass, as he was passing through Mt. Shasta. It was the first time we were able to have our home blessed & we took advantage of the opportunity. Father was great fun after mass, and he introduced us to our new favorite CD sung by his nephew Anthony DeLallo. Some people think he sings better than Josh Groban! Check him out on google--he has 2 CDs and we have them both! We attended the Air Force Band concert as a family....Kgreat show! Sarah had a small birthday party with a few close friends. In February, the four middle kids did something for the first time: auditioned for a play! Two, actually, though one was just for the experience. They had always wanted to be in a play. Their auditions were such a surprise! Who knew they had stage presence! It must have been all of the practicing they do together at home & in the car, singing and performing for the family. The play was Charlotte's Web. Maddelyn got the great role of Fern; Matthew was her father, John Arable; Sarah played her aunt, Edith Zuckerman; and, Garrett portrayed her brother Avery. Maddelyn had a sweet solo, and she & Garrett had a fun duet. They did amazing their first time as actors. We are so proud of them! They are hooked, as you shall see...Funny thing, Matthew did not even audition for Charlotte's Web, but he got a role anyway! It helped that he was a tall male! Chari helped during the shows, behind the scenes. Malachy was a great sport through it all, & enjoyed every show. It was during these rehearsals that we became good friends with the Broussards, a homeschool family we have known since Maddelyn was a baby, but had never "hung" out with....they have two kids with complimentary temperaments to our family. We bring them up here because we spent SO much of our time with them this year, an amazing amount of time! Anne started her college "career" by taking an college composition class....and, winter turned into....
Spring 2006
Sarah had her semi-annual heart check with an echocardiogram. Everything still looks great! A fun visit by Marty's nephew, Daniel & his new bride, Sharon Rose, was happily bestowed upon us. We just loved meeting our new cousin/niece! Can't wait to meet their new baby, in 2007! We remodeled our guest bathroom (aka the kidsˇ¦ bathroom). Marty did a great job. Our dear friend Louise threw a surprise birthday party for Garrett, including a gift of the coveted rubberband gun! Chari & her SF friend Gloria had a blast at a Creative Memories day-long Spring-FlingˇKwe won lots of prizes and got lots of scrapbooking completed! Our favorite cat, Dora, gave birth to four adorable kittens. We kept two, who were named Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn. Then we took a crazy trip...we spent two nights with Jennifer, one night with Chari"s dad, three nights with our friends, the Zampirros, one night with Jennifer, and then we headed to San Fran, where we stayed three nights with the Gazaves. This trip was made in order to have Maddelyn make her confirmation. It was a lovely Tridentine High MassˇKsimply beautiful! Marty was able to race down to San Jose in time to join us! We were able to join a San Fran homeschoolersˇ¦ spring recital while there. All of the kids played the piano and sang. They did the "So long, farewell" scene from Sound of Music along one of the Gazave girls...not realizing how much this scene was going to be a huge part of their life in the near future... Anne also had a friend cut her hair for donation to Locks-of-Love, and she styled it as well. It looks great! Jiddee arrived for his annual stay, in time to attend a Charlotte's Web performance. Maddelyn spent her 11th birthday on opening night, where the cast & audience sang Happy Birthday to her after the bows. The kids had their annual piano recital. Anne was going to play a small piece, but fell too ill to play...though her student got to play! We attended a world premier of "Tall Ships & Cutlasses," at our very own College of the Siskiyous (COS-where Anne is attending)...a fun pirate musical, with incredible music! We also attended a COS concert of the Messiah, parts 2 & 3. It was simply divine music. What a treat to have an opportunity to hear the Messiah only ten minutes from home! It was one of the things Chari put on her list of things to accomplish someday. Check. Jiddee led us in our annual Lebanese feast, with a small & intimate gathering, especially sharing with new friends. It was really special. Anne got three perfect papers in her college composition class & did not even have to take the final. God gave her such an incredible gift with the pen! Somehow in all of this, we got our garden planted, & Gloria and kids spent a week playing with us...too bad Chari got sick & Gloria got stuck feeding all of those hungry little birds!  She was a good sport & she and Anne had great girls' night at the movies. Matthew's performance in Charlotte's Web drew the attention of a dance instructor, who invited him to play Charlie's father in a dance version of Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. He did quite well. Chari organized yet another successful seminar for OB nurses, etc. Sadly, our dear uncle Tom passed away after a gallant fight with cancer. We are so grateful for the hours we spent with him unexpectedly last October. We just love looking at the pictures of him with the kids. Our boy babies always adored him! We were planning a Goldman/Scott family reunion for late June, but when that unhappily fell through, the kids found suddenly found themselves actually able to audition for a summer play with the Mount Shasta Repertory Theatre, two days after Charlotteˇ¦s Web ended. Not much time to take a deep breath! Bringing us to....
Summer 2006
This play was a dream-come-true: a full-production of Sound of Music! There was a lot of competition as the five older kids tried out. Anne & Matthew each got a role (singing nun & Nazi, etc), but declined due to summer camps. Maddelyn got the role of Brigitta, which turned out to have the best kid lines in the show. This was the Broadway version, not the movie version, so many of her lines moved the story forward. It was a blast watching her, often playing herself! Sarah played a singing nun, a village child and one of a quartetˇKas the lady-who-bows-forever-and-ever. She had small roles, but she was superb, and great comic relief, like she is at home! Garrett played a bit part, as one of the village children, singing "Do, Re, Mi" with the ensemble. The two Broussard kids were von Trapp siblings along with Maddelyn. It was a lot of work: rehearsals were often three hours a day, twice a day, for about 5 weeks. But, it was SO worth the effort. The show ran for three weekends, 11 shows in all. The theater was out of doors, near the Sacramento Headwaters, at the Mount Shasta City Park. Chari sold tickets at the door, and never missed a show, with Malachy on her lap, always falling asleep just as the third hour of the show began! Matthew handled the spot light, till he left for boyˇ¦s camp. He enjoyed that experience. George was the only family member able to make the play. Tech week was an incredible task, as the last week of June mimicked the first week of August, with temperatures over 100* and severe thunderstorms. As it was an outdoor play, I am sure you could see the problem this would present! It was quite the adventure! The whole family got in on helping to paint & build the set, even Marty! We now watch all shows differently, knowing how much work there is involved in a single production. Whew!!! Chari had to study & take a National Certification Exam in Electronic Fetal Heart monitoring. It was a strange test, but somehow she passed, in spite of the strangeness! The Gazaves took Anne down to the Bay Area where she could get some chiropractic help for her health, then, she took her first train ride over to Fresno, to spend a few days with her best friend, Clare & her family. They graciously dropped Anne off at Girl's State, where she spent a week living how our government works, including a visit from our governor, Arnold. It is a privilege to attend Girl's State, and Anne had a great experience. At the end of summer, she and a few other participants form our county had a luncheon where all of the girls gave a presentation about their week. Anne made a few wonderful scrapbook pages of her time there. Sarah also cut her hair for a Lock-of-Love donation. Her new hair style looks cute! Our 4th of July was great fun with the Gazaves and a lot of new people this year, too. After our fireworks at Lake Siskiyou, we all stayed for some patriotic singing. Matthew spent two weeks at a Catholic boys' camp. He had a great time, though he was disappointed there was not much down time, just to pray. Father said, "Boys must be kept busy," & took it to extremes. Matthew was made a captain of a cabin & was voted best captain by all of the counselors. The day after Matthew left for camp, Anne arrived home with Willa & family as escorts, and guest for the next week. Chari ran up to Medford, OR (airport) & picked up Anne's best friend from Virginia, along with her husband & 3 mo old baby girl. It was their first visit to Mount Shasta. We had an enjoyable week with picnics, lake visits, making soap & movie watching. At the end of July, we took Anne to a fasting center, hoping a fast would help cure her health problems, as it did Chari's 19 yrs ago. But, as of this writing, no improvements have occurred in her health, though she has now become a vegan, who also avoids all sugars, processed foods & oils. She is obviously having an effect on her siblings, as they have been reducing their use of all animal products. We picked up Matthew from camp & drove home a new way, seeing more of California's wine country, with over 100* temps and a suddenly busted air conditioner! Blech! Our friends, the Frames from Lancaster & the Zampirros from Northern NV arrived for a few days of fun before we all went to our 5th! annual westcoastfun Catholic homeschooling campout. We had 50% new folks & it was such a lovely time, especially being back in our old group site. We are already scheduled for next July! Join us! We took a day trip to see Lava Beds National Monument & Captain Jack's Stronghold, site of the last Indian War, as well as Glass Mountain. The Frames stayed another week & we visited all of the McCloud Falls. The kids had such a blast in the heat, splashing & singing Broadway songs! Our Dora gave birth to two more kittens. They looked just like her! These were named Holly & Ivy, from the Rumor Godden story, The Holly & the Ivy. Marty & Chari celebrated 21 years of marriage. At the end of August, Anne started with a full load at COS, as well as a full load in her last semester at home. Matthew also signed up for a class. Between the two of them, Chari had to drive to Weed 14-16 times a week! Lucky for her, there were friends & Marty to give her a break from the chauffeuring! In late August, we attended a Chamber Music Concert....it was simply wonderful! The treat: a couple of days later we had Laura Dahl, the internationally acclaimed pianist over for a luncheon & tea. She is a delight & the children just love her!
Fall 2006
September rolled around & found five of the kids taking part in an adult cast of Charlotte's Web, in minor support roles and performed on the COS stage. It was Malachy's stage debut. He played a very cute gosling. Then, four of the kids auditioned for 101 Dalmatians. They auditioned well & found themselves with these roles: Garrett as Pongo, the daddy-dog; Malachy as Two-tone, a puppy; Matthew as Horace, one of the two henchmen of Sarah, who got the lead of Cruella DeVil. Maddelyn was later offered the role of a narrator, as a Pink French Poodle. Once auditions ended, we loaded the Blue Beast, and headed south for Disneyland, where it felt like a family reunion! At some point in the three day visit, we were joined by Cousin Julie, Aunt Nancy and her three grandkids, and of course, the Frames of Lancaster, who put us up (or, is that put up with us???) both coming and going. Aunt Teresa & family were there, too, as were family friends, the Synders. Disneyland was a generous Christmas gift from Georgie-pop. Thanks, Dad! He had so much fun, he is thinking about doing it again! Plus, they were still celebrating the 50th anniversary which made it extra fun! Did we mention we ate at Johnny's Pastrami on the way to Disneyland??? Mmmm. Check them out online.....our family has been eating there for three generations and, we must admit, Chari took pictures of the place for her scrapbook. Best, and, most expensive pastrami in the world! We came home to find our dear cat Dora had died, leaving three week old kittens. Sarah was an incredible "guardian" to her two wards. Poor little things. Eventually, one died, leaving us with Ivy, who was renamed Ivanhoe. Yes, there's that literature theme, yet again. Garrett donned a soccer uniform for the fall season. His team was very good & only lost one game. His coach was the best kids' team coach we have ever had the pleasure of working with. Sarah's Fall check-up on her heart was uneventful. Our garden produced well, and the weeds were not as bad as usual, especially with our new hula hoes, and Marty taking the roto-tiller down the middle. Our favorite produce were the 8 pumpkins, one for each member of the family! Anne picked up a second piano student, and it has been going well for them. Anne's best friend from Shaver Lake, Clare, came and spent a busy 10 days with us, which included a birthday party for Malachy immediately followed by a surprise party for Anne's 18th birthday. We did it! We totally shocked Anne, especially when Shawna, Louise & Chari prepared vegan dishes out of Anne's favorite recipe book for the dinner. Of course, the rest of us ate pizza, too! The same weekend, Shawna, Gloria & Chari enjoyed each other's company at a CM Scrapbooking weekend. Can't wait to do that again! In November, the Bryssards, as the Bryan kids & Broussard kids have been come to be called, began a Drama Club for a small group of homeschoolers. They meet twice a month to enjoy a soup & bread meal followed by lots of variations on acting, especially musical numbers. There was our annual All-Saints' Day party after Mass, in Oregon. The kids always have fun stumping Father. We headed to the coast, Eureka, to visit Great-Grandma & Uncle Steve for Thanksgiving, and we are so appreciative for the yummy meal! We had a wonderful, sunny day to spend at the ocean. Malachy got soaked, even though there was no swimming. On the night of our arrival home, Malachy decided to check out the laws of gravity. He was on Matthew's top bunk. He dropped a parachute, and leaned over to see how it would fall....well, needless to say, he followed it to the ground. He fractured both his radius & ulna. It was a "good" break and has healed nicely, only needing his blue cast for three weeks. He was a pro with his left hand! The first two weeks of December were very busy. We attended a fun Christmas sing with the Broussards. We had a Saint Nicholas dinner party with Shawna's & Louise's family. We attended the annual Elves Workshop, where homeschooling kids have about 13 craft tables to create gifts for loved ones. While all of that was going on, it was tech week for 101 Dalmatians! It was a week that went very well, followed by four performances on the weekend. Sarah was a fine Cruella and kept knocking her henchman, Matthew, to the ground. There was a fun scene at the end of the play when Malachy gets to jump on Matthew's leg & knock him over. It was so cute and believable! Poor Maddelyn had laryngitis and could not project as well as usual, but her dancing of the Can-can was superb. It was fun to watch every show and wonder where Malachy was going to be next on the stage. The only family able to make it over to Our Hearts' Haven to see the play was Aunt Jennifer & her three kids. We loved having them here, especially since the kids had not met their latest cousin, Carter Thomas Bowden, born July 16. They went baby crazy, of course! We lost another family member this week. Chari's great Aunt Jo died a holy death. It is great that we made it to their home several times for visits, so the kids could get to know her, and Uncle Howard, and their cousins. Aunt Jo's last words to Chari were: You are so blessed to have so many children. Wasn't that just so sweet? She was the aunt you have growing up with all of those cookies in the cookie jar & the Popsicles in the freezers. You know she will be missed. We found ourselves enjoying much music in the middle of the month. First, the Bryssards performed the piece Matthew composed in his music composition class. It was the Angel of God prayer, set to music with 4-part harmony, with an extra verse composed by Matthew. It was a gift to Marty for Christmas. He was pleasantly surprised. Then Anne had two performances with the COS Concert choir. This time it was poor Anne with the laryngitis. We also found a few other free music concerts to enjoy. Anne finished up her finals this week, and is hopeful her grades are A's. She was able to get two perfect papers, out of three, in her English class, and have the benefit of not needing the final, yet again. We are all so proud of her! Now, she just needs to finish up a few loose items, to receive her high school diploma on January 12th. And.....now.....
Anne
18 years in October-favorite reads of 2006: MartinChuzzlewit by Dickens, Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas, War & Peace, GK Chesterton's Father Brown Stories, What Jane Austen Ate & Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool -Fave musicals of '06: Wicked, Fantasticks, Godspell-interests: knitting, scrapbooking, singing, teaching piano, Broadway music- took 12 units at COS for Fall '06: including several music courses & American Literature-taking 17 units in the Spring '07: including parts II of the Fall classes as well as Writing for Publication, Cultural Geography, Concert Choir & Ladies Chamber Choir- officially graduates from high school January 12th-still praying about her future vocation & college plans- fatigued organized-good student-reliable-kindred spirit
Garrett
9 yrs last March-played baseball in minors & U-10 soccer-recital piece: Castle in a Cloud from Les Miserables & Runaway River- Fave movies: Lord of the Rings "as always" & Les Miserables in Concert-Fave books: Howard Pyle's King Arthur stories -wears a head-gear for orthodontics, only at night now!-into all things camouflage-loves the WWI story of Sergeant York-full of smiles, quite energetic, thoughtful, physical, playful, a teaser & brave
Matthew
16 years in November- Fave reads of 2006: Citadel of God by Louis DeWohl, The Caledonia Series by Michael Phillips, anything by Theodore Roosevelt, All Quiet on the Western Front & The Father Brown Stories-piano recital: Mazurka by Chopin-took a class at COS: Music composition, whereby he wrote a tune to the Angel of God prayer, adding a second verse- improving writing skills-studying biology, 20th Century history-just under 6' 2" & quite thin-kind-intelligent- strong-thoughtful-helpful-generous-difficult to arouse in the morning- loves musicals-loves doing carpentry with his dad-a good cook-loves babies-adored by every baby he meets-loves to sing & act
Sarah
13yrs last February-fave reads: Fairest by Gail Carson Levine -Fave movies of 2006: The Fantasticks & Arsenic & Old Lace- piano recital piece: she canˇ¦t remember - has grown two inches, now 63"-loves snowboarding-loves to sing, esp Broadway music - -NOT typecast as Cruella, no matter what Matthew says-loves acting-hard worker-gets those breakfast dishes done so quick, some of us haven't even had breakfast yet!-less tolerant of "messes" than she used to be-starting to be a discipline problem, with her head often found in a book-sweet-kind-helpful-looks good in hats-loves scarves
Malachy
5yrs in October-says clever things-great imagination-loves to "act" like his older siblings, especially good at tragic & comic scenes -learning new skills everyday, and then promptly trying to teach everyone else what he learns-loves to do math-current book faves: "Little Critter" books, like the rest of his siblings at that age & books from the library-favorite toys: marble maze & blocks bought for Anne at age one, making Star Wars vehicles & Legos-loves salads now, or so he says-can play themes to Star Wars & Indiana Jones on the piano-learned everyone else's lines & songs in Dalmatians-sings along every song, heard once-silly-clever-great wrestler-no fear-always the cutest in family!
Maddelyn
11 yrs last May- recital piece: Sonatina in G Major by Camridge-enjoyed authors Noel Streatfield & Jane Austen in 2006-especially loved The Five Little Pepper stories-sincere-first one up in the morning, perhaps so she can read a whole book each day-natural actress, projects well-likes to practice the piano-great little dancer-enjoys history-strong-willed, still-
Confirmation names: Cecilia Therese-Confirmation sponsors: Cindy Marconi (Chari's friend) & Clare Ryan (Anne's best friend)
Marty
Helped coach Garrett's baseball team in the spring-snowboarded a few half days with his kids-completed the outside of the three-story fort-still playing recreational volleyball-working hard-a great wrestler, of course-a great dad of growing young ladies-always bombarded with goodbye hugs each morning by each member of his family-attentive-thoughtful-kind-generous-fabulous cook
Chari
Not working at the hospital very much these days, though does continue to provide for the antepartum interviews each month-had fun scrapbooking with Louise, Shawna & Gloria, especially after all of the wee folk are asleep-LOVES her digital camera & taking lots of family history photos-into 6th year of teaching childbirth education-enjoys tea, at least once a day, usually more- anxious to make a quilt-loves being home with the kids, loves homeschooling & learning along with them-planning OB nursing seminar for 2007-
tired, but happy!
The Present......and Future....
We are heading to northern Nevada for Christmas & New Year's. As for 2007, we have a few plans in mind....to remodel & paint the master bed & bath, make a new quilt. Marty & Matthew will finish the interior of the Fort. Maybe a new deck? The kids are hoping for more theatre experiences & a great ski season! We may be planning something BIG......but, we will just have to update you in next year's letter!
As is our tradition now, we will include all of your special intentions in our Rosaries & Masses & Communions for the month of January. Please keep praying for Anne's continued healing. Have a holy Christmas season & a blessed 2007! May our Lady wrap you in her arms and keep you spiritually safe to someday take to her Son!
Merry Christmas, friends!
Marty Chari
Anne Matthew Sarah Maddelyn Garrett Malachy
and you know............the coolest thing? I have started a scrapbook of all 19 letters..........half way there!
Any clarifications, if you actually made it this far!
__________________
Chari...Take Up & Read
Dh Marty 27yrs...3 lovely maidens: Anne 24, Sarah 20 & Maddelyn 17 and 3 chivalrous sons: Matthew 22, Garrett 16 & Malachy 11
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Margaret in MN
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Joined: Oct 15 2006
Location: Minnesota
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| Posted: Dec 24 2006 at 6:18am | IP Logged
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Thank you for sharing, Chari!
I am all in favor of newsy Christmas newsletters. We printed ours just yesterday!
Christmas Blessings to you all! 
__________________
Margaret
Mom to 6 and 4  in Heaven
Minnesota Mom
Come for Coffee
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MrsKey
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Location: Alabama
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| Posted: Dec 24 2006 at 9:27am | IP Logged
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We don't do one. But then we have a pathetically small family. I am an only child. My mom was the youngest of 6 (three of whom have passed awayy) only two of which had children. They live in Canada, we live in the southern US. We're not close. My dad is the younger of two. We're not close.
My husband is an only child. His father is an only child. His mother was the younger of two children. Her sister had two kids. They're not close.
We have only a couple friends to whom we send cards. They already know everything.
So there's no need for a letter. From us it would be redundant.
I don't mind the letters as long as they're real. But I have a friend who sends one every year and they're so phony. I mean one year she wrote about the birth of their "son and heir". Hello? Who writes like that? Especially when it is coming from two kids from decidedly middle-middle-class families and when the husband is an ensign in the Navy.
So if the letter is real and friendly that's cool.
But if the writer is simply trying to impress you with how wonderful their life is (using overblown phrases like "son and heir") then I just pitch the letter in the round file.
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Willa
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Joined: Jan 28 2005
Location: California
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| Posted: Dec 24 2006 at 9:45am | IP Logged
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I am not laughing, Chari! (see, not even a friendly laugh emoticon)
We like reading your yearly newsletter.
Even if we already knew about some event, it is nice to hear the narration from your perspective!
In fact, though we don't really DO newsletters ourselves, sometimes I think about writing one just for US -- as a sort of end-of-year summary, so we can look back and see the highlights of that year. The scrapbook is a great idea ! GO Chari and family!! 
__________________
AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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insegnante
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I wonder if the "son and heir" people were just being silly, thinking it was so obviously overblown no one would take it any other way, though technically he is their heir? Such silliness is not always a good idea in the absence of tone of voice or facial expression, but I think I would have assumed that particular phrasing was a little joke.
We don't do Christmas newsletters. At least at this point in my life I don't have that much of interest to put in one. We haven't sent out cards in I don't know how long either. I didn't realize people might consider preprinted cards impersonal though -- I thought it was a "thinking of you" kind of thing. It at least sends the message that you're not just as happy to lose touch entirely with someone you haven't been much in touch with for a while.
Theresa
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Chari
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| Posted: Dec 24 2006 at 12:13pm | IP Logged
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Margaret in MN wrote:
Thank you for sharing, Chari!
I am all in favor of newsy Christmas newsletters. We printed ours just yesterday!
Christmas Blessings to you all! |
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....so did we, Margaret! .......only three or four weeks later than usual......ugh
I will mail them next week!
__________________
Chari...Take Up & Read
Dh Marty 27yrs...3 lovely maidens: Anne 24, Sarah 20 & Maddelyn 17 and 3 chivalrous sons: Matthew 22, Garrett 16 & Malachy 11
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mom2mpr
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| Posted: Dec 24 2006 at 12:51pm | IP Logged
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Ok, Cheri did it so here I go! I have no blog so maybe you all can get to know my family a little better through my letter :) Just to get you all up to speed-most people get these letters from me every year:
We moved here 2 years ago in January from sunny, warm, beautiful Virginia(near Lissa :) It was a hard move as we moved in the middle of the snowiest winter on record in our area--on Jan 14-the start of the whole winter. I felt like I was dropped into the wild tundra-didn't even know where the grocery store was! Things are getting better-we met Rebecca and her wonderful family :)and our Catholic co-op--boy, they changed our lives!
PS-we are NOT having a white Christmas much to M.'s chagrin :)
November 2006
Hello Friends and Family!
It has already snowed 3 times – once a significant accumulation of about 5 inches. I am playing the Christmas carols and getting “in the mood.” I am guessing we will have a white Christmas. We now have sleds, hot cocoa ingredients (we cook it from scratch – the recipe on the back of the Hershey’s Cocoa can, try it!) and a plethora of cold weather clothing and accessories. We are ready!
We are still settling in here in Ohio. We cut back on a lot of activities this year because we all got burnt out with our explorations. We still kept busy though! We have thoroughly enjoyed the children’s concerts presented by the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. We miss very few. Both kids, and the parents, love them! Lunch in Little Italy after the concerts makes it extra special.
We had quite a few visitors. Thank you all for coming out to see us. Dee Dee and Pa (A’s parents) and J. (A’s childhood best friend), H., A. and D. made many visits. S. and S. (A’s cousin and daughter) from NY visited in the summer and S., G. (L’s godparents),E. and J. from VA came recently.
We traveled some this year. We went to Cincinnati at the end of December to catch up with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt C. and the M's (L’s sister’s family, from Louisiana). The cousins had a wonderful time together and the adults did as well! In January we took our long awaited trip to Sanibel Island, FL. We met the Y's there and “lived” next door for a week. The weather was wonderful, warm, and sunny. The kids had a blast out on the sand all day and crashed at 8pm. D. and J. V. came to see us, since they now live in sunny Florida, and we visited for a few days with them too! We went to Virginia to visit my parents in July. My Dad got himself out of the hospital in time for our visit. I think he paid someone. We were able to visit with my brother J. and his wife, C., from NH, and see my sister, C., from NC. C’s husband, B. had to work – booo! But, we were able to help Mom and Dad out a little which was nice considering we are so far away and don’t often have that privilege.
M. is 9 years old and is always busy inventing things, reading, playing Lego’s, drawing (cars, airplanes and houses), practicing piano, writing books on the computer, etc. He played indoor soccer at the beginning of the year and decided he prefers outdoor. He continues to take piano lessons, participate in our churches Children’s Choir, and take classes at our home school Co-op. He went to day camp at H. College’s Nature Camp for a week this summer and had a blast. The college owns hundreds of acres of nature preserve a mere 10 minutes from our home. There is not much a mere 10 minutes from our home :) We have found this a wonderful resource!
L. will be 4 years old on December 22 and is quite the little lady. Dresses, shoes, hairstyles – she does it all. She is looking forward to taking gymnastics when she turns four. She is also interested in dance/ballet and asked Santa for a tutu and ballet shoes for Christmas. She has really been “blooming” lately and might be ready to start preschool soon. I tried about 5 months ago and she really wasn’t ready. She loves home school Co-op and is proud she can go to one of her classes all by herself while mom helps teach the other class. She loves picture books and being read too, doing crafts (the messier the more fun!), play-doh, playing babies, cooking (both in her play kitchen and the real one, VERY messy!), dancing, swinging on the swings and helping Mommy do, well, anything.
Ashley is turning into a nice dog, still puppy at times, but settling in nicely. She took obedience class a few months ago. It helped me more than her. She loves to run and be in the yard. The electric fence, while I hated it in the beginning, is wonderful for a good lab. This summer she really enjoyed swimming in the pool with us. We kept it open through September for her! We certainly weren’t about to get in – brrrrr!
L. is very busy with work. He travels some. He recently did a world tour, visiting several customers over three weeks in Japan, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Croatia, Russia, Poland, Germany, France, and Sweden. We “followed” him around the world, studying each country from home, and learned a lot. It would have been nice to go but L. is just a little too young; maybe next time. He plays golf every week in the warmer weather and basketball in the cooler months. He and M. went to the Indy 500 this year. It was a dream come true for L., made extra special after the race when M. commented that he would “remember this day forever.”
I (Anne) help teach a preschool class at our home school co-op and am realizing a dream next session when I’ll teach Preschool Gym! I always wanted to be a gym teacher! Now, if I can just keep up with these 2-4 year olds and not get hurt! We have met some very nice families through co-op and are enjoying those friendships and playtimes. I continue to enjoy my days with the kids and the pup. We have started hiking again now that we have Ashley. We have found some nice parks and forests to explore whenever we have some time. I enjoy sleeping, and when I can get to it, I read. When I really have spare time I might clean the house.
Sending wishes for a healthy, happy and peaceful holiday and new year!
Love,
A., L., M., L.
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MrsKey
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| Posted: Dec 24 2006 at 3:47pm | IP Logged
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insegnante wrote:
I wonder if the "son and heir" people were just being silly, thinking it was so obviously overblown no one would take it any other way, though technically he is their heir? Such silliness is not always a good idea in the absence of tone of voice or facial expression, but I think I would have assumed that particular phrasing was a little joke.
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No such luck. They were dead serious. Complete to sending out very pricey, engraved, birth announcements with the same phrasing.
And since I know this couple quite well ... yeah. They were serious. The irony of the situation is that this was not her first child. But her first male child.
__________________
J.M.J.
Carole
Wife to Tom since '94 and mom to Bree since '96
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Bridget
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| Posted: Jan 03 2007 at 8:38pm | IP Logged
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I finally got a chance to read these! They're wonderful, thanks for sharing them. I was going to link or post ours but Kevin put it in a folder on his desktop and I can't find it now.
__________________
God Bless,
Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
Our Magnum Opus
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Jen L.
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| Posted: Jan 03 2007 at 10:22pm | IP Logged
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Since I don't have a blog either, I thought I'd post these. My husband writes them, but they give a little picture of us. We didn't send one out last year, so it contains 2 years of letters (each just one side of paper). As you can see, this year doesn't hold much news, but does describe a certain addiction the kids have that their daddy is quite proud of
_______________________
No room at the inn for Theotokos 2005
Big news this year was Jennifer's youngest sister got married just slightly north of the village of Hatteras, North Carolina. Even though it was in the last week of September, the clouds kept their distance and the ocean stayed warm and calm for her family and friends.
Ben (10) is into Star Wars. I would use him as a life line if I were on "Who wants to be a Millionaire" and given a difficult Star Wars question. I wouldn't have to give him the choices offered, he would just know the answer. What was the name of the Senator who took Luke's twin sister (oops! I hope I didn't give something away) when just a baby to Alduron? I think I need to use a lifeline Reeja'. Yep, I'm going to have to call my son, Ben...
Gracie (8) hates to be idle. She is very proud of the books she checks out in her school's library. Gracie loves to write notes to members of her family and is tickled pink when she wakes in the morning to find a secret note to her and her brother on the kitchen table. She loves a pun and is very willing to explain it to me if I don't get it right away.
Mary (5) just loves to play. She has four people around the house to play with and she bounces from one to the next quite easily. She is the last to rise in the morning; so she delays breakfast to catch up to her brother and sister in documented playtime. In the middle of a wrestling match with her sister, or a duet with her brother, she will announce that she is hungry, stop, mosey into the kitchen, blop herself down, and ask what is there.
Jennifer and I have decided that we should push our children, career-wise, toward hymnal lyrist. Might be a little early, true, but it can't hurt none. Hymnal lyrist? Does such a thing exist? Maybe I haven't got the job title correct, but something along those lines. Now, you ask why? We figure two reasons: the obvious one is spiritual and the other longevity. You ever look through a hymnal? At the bottom of each hymn it often times gives the birth and death year of the lyrist. I have yet to find one of these lyrists to kick the bucket younger than 70 years of age. The correlation is very high. Why just the other day one of my kids was belting out a song in the grocery store and a woman in produce -- stopping a moment between sampling grapes -- made the comment that it reminded her of Isaac Watts. Then there was that time waiting in line for ten crunchy tacos at Taco Bell, the change lady asked if Edmund Hamilton Sears was in my car. Oh, what a proud parent I was as I pulled away.
Maranatha.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
I think there at the busy inn
that he was meek and mild
And awed to be the guardian of Mary's sacred Child.
Perhaps all through the chilly hours
he smoothed the swaddling bands,
And Jesus felt the quiet strength of
Joseph's gentle hands.
- - When Joseph Went To Bethlehem (an excerpt)
_____________________________________________________
2006 was passed by sitting around the kitchen table.
Dad: Name a character Bud Abbott plays.
Child #1: Blackie.
Dad: Right. Next!
Child #2: Slicker.
Dad: Right. Next!
Child #3: Duke
Dad: Righto. Next! [pointing back to first kid]
Child #1: Um ... Dexter.
Dad: Good. Next!
Child #2: Slicker ...
Dad: Been said.
Child #2: Smokey!
Dad: Just barely in time. Good. Next!
Child #3: Algy!
Dad: Ok. Excellent. Now, name a leading lady in any Marx Brother film.
Child #1: Margaret Dumont.
Dad: Too easy. Give me another.
Child #1: Lucille Ball.
Dad: Nice. Next.
Child #2: Maureen O'Sullivan.
Dad: My favorite. Next.
Child #3: Kitty Carlyle.
Dad: [singing] Aaaaaloooooone. Beautiful. Who wants dessert?
Child #1, Child #2, and Child #3: Me me me me!
Dad: Ok, a group question for a dessert prize. Need to think about this one, so don't blurt it out too fast.
Child #2: Bring it on.
Dad: On what part of Lydia do we find the Battle of Waterloo?
[the kids form a huddle with lots of whispering going on]
Dad: Oh, come on. [smacking the table]
Child #1: Can we have another question?
Dad: No.
Child #2: On her muscle?
Dad: Holy mackerel. Wrong. No dessert. Unbelievable. See what happens when you fast forward through the songs?
Child #1: Some are so boring.
Dad: Forget working on your homework after dinner. Clean up the dishes, then go get "At the Circus" and fire up the DVD player. If it is the last thing I do*
Have a cup of cheer,
Klete,Jen, Ben, Gracie, and Mary
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mom2mpr
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| Posted: Jan 04 2007 at 6:36am | IP Logged
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Jen, your house sounds like a lot of fun Nice to get to know you all a little better.
Anne
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Family Christmas newsletters
