As we sit back and remember the past year, it is hard to believe how quickly this year has flown by. This year we have had our share of trials and challenges, but we cannot deny the many blessings we have been given. We have much to be grateful for and know that we are loved and watched over. We hope that you have been blessed throughout this year and that this holiday season will be a joyful time where we can all remember the reason for the season, our Savior Jesus Christ.
Chris continues to work two jobs and while don’t get to see him as often as we’d like, we are grateful that he is able to work at all during this tough economic time. By day he does home mortgages and by night, family history. He was released this year as the Elder’s Quorum President where he served for over 5 years and was called to be the Emergency Preparedness Specialist, a perfect job for him. Any spare time he has is spent with the family and trying to keep the house in good repair.
I (Michelle) continue to pursue my Doctorate in Domestic Engineering and am hoping someday for a pay increase. The hours seem to get longer and the pay smaller with each new day. I was called as the Primary President in March and enjoy being back in Primary again. In January, all my kids will be in Primary together. I continue to volunteer as much as I can at the kid’s school, try to keep up with book club, have been walking nearly everyday with a group of friends/neighbors and spend most of my time running kids here and there. If I had more time I’d probably try to keep a neater house, kick up my cooking skills a notch and work on my scrapbooking, but for now, that’ll have to wait.
Tyler turned 11 this year and is in the 6th grade, teetering on the edge of being a child and wanting to be older and more independent. Unfortunately, as our oldest, he must endure our over-protectiveness and trial-and-error parenting tactics as we try to figure out how to let him gain his independence. He is a great kid though and we enjoy having him in our family so much. He has loved 6th grade and is doing fantastic. He is very conscientious about maintaining straight A’s. He might not always enjoy the homework, but certainly enjoys what they have been studying this year. He played Basketball the very beginning of the year and Football again in the Summer/Fall. He did great and had a really good team this year. They took 2nd in the league. He continues to enjoy Scouting and graduated to 11-yr old Scouts this year after earning his Webelos and Arrow of Light awards in Cub Scouts. He also continues to play piano and has done really well. He had his first recital this month and did fantastic.Lauren is 9 ½ and in 4th grade. She keeps busy with many activities. She played basketball early in the year and still plays soccer. This year her team moved up to competition which has been quite a change. They dominated in recreation and have had to adjust to playing harder teams this year. She is such a great player but might try something new after the Spring season. She also takes piano and also did very well at her recital. She also loves activity days for Primary. This year she started Drama and really enjoyed it. They just finished their performances and I think she has found her true love. She did a fantastic job. She continues to get great grades and is quite a social girl.
McKenna is 6 ½ and in the 1st grade. She loves being able to go all day and particularly enjoys running at recess. She spends all of her recesses running laps with her friends averaging about 2-3 miles a day! She has done very well in school and reads well above average. This year she took a couple of after-school classes and found a love for cooking in her food arts class. She now wants to help out in the kitchen all the time. She also took a clogging class which she seemed to enjoy after she got the hang of it.
Brooklynn is our baby and will be 4 in January. She is definitely the caboose in so many ways but is still a joy. She has developed quite a fun personality recently. She is learning more and more each day and soaking it all up. She is really excited to start the “big girl primary” in January. They started visiting and she really enjoyed it. She spends most of her life supporting her older siblings in their various activities and is a good sport about it all. She is excited to finally be able to play soccer next year. I have tried to savor the time I have with her a little more knowing that it might be the last bit of time I have with her if she starts preschool next Fall.
This year we added another addition to our family of the large, furry variety. Roxy joined us on Father’s Day and it really does feel like I have another child to look after. She is a German Shepherd/Rottweiler mix and overall a sweet, beautiful dog. However, she is a puppy and with that comes a lot of trouble. She is smart and pretty easily trained but since we aren’t the best at raising our own children, you can imagine her behavior is less than perfect. The kids adore her though and I am trying to remain optimistic that someday she’ll grow out of the puppy phase and be a really great dog.
Feel free to visit our blog to see our comings and goings throughout the year! (www.4inthenest.blogspot.com)
Merry Christmas from the Gleed FamilyChristopher, Michelle, Tyler, Lauren, McKenna, Brooklynn & Roxy
2 comments:
We're soooo glad you came! Have a wonderful New Year! :o)
Michelle, it's always been fun to read your Christmas Letter when they've come in our mailbox. Thanks for posting it here! Have a Happy New Year!!
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