Happy Holidays from Our House to Yours

Elizabeth: Elizabeth will not let us give her any kind of nickname. We have tried "Liz, Lizzie, Beth, Ellie, Eliz, etc." and she has a fit! She insists on everyone calling her Elizabeth, but we still try to squeeze in a nickname when we can and hope we don't get yelled at! LOL Elizabeth is now in 1st grade and loves it. Luckily she was placed with several good friends from her Kindergarten class and she has a fabulous teacher (the same teacher Abbie had in 1st grade), so we are all very happy! She is an avid reader/writer. She keeps a journal and writes down all kinds of things. She especially likes to write notes to friends. We are constantly amazed by her decoding skills when reading. Elizabeth still likes to play with Polly Pockets, draw and color. Over the summer we had a swim instructor come to the house twice a week and now Elizabeth swims like a fish! Elizabeth also started taking piano lessons this year -- just 15 minutes, but that's about all she'll sit for and luckily her teacher is very patient with her! She is now in Girl Scouts, too! She loves to ride her bike, swim, and have friends over to play.

Abigail: Abbie is a natural at math. She is now in 3rd grade, and we've been told that her teacher is the best teacher in the whole school! This is the second year for Abbie's piano lessons; however, we switched instructors for a lady who will come to our house. Abbie was very excited to be able to play Christmas music this year. Thanks to Shana, the wonderful swim instructor we had come to the house this summer, Abbie became an excellent swimmer. Shana insisted that Abbie put her face in the water and now Abbie goes under all the time -- diving for rings or just jumping in the deep end. We call Shana, the swim instructor, a miracle worker!!!LOL Last spring Abbie played softball and this fall she started playing in the town basketball league -- these seem to be the two sports she likes best. Abbie loves to have friends over, and especially loves talking on the phone to friends. We're afraid that sooner rather than later, we will need a second phone line!!! :o

Dianna: Dianna is currently busy as a stay-at-home mom but has signed up to substitute teach in the public schools this spring. Dianna was Abbie's Girl Scout Troop Co-leader and Cookie Mom last year and will be Cookie Mom again this year. She is also the Leader/Organizer for Elizabeth's Girl Scout Troop, which just started this year. Dianna is on a women's bowling league on Tuesday mornings and on Tuesday afternoons she volunteers in Elizabeth's classroom, helping with Writer's Workshop. She is in a monthly Book Club and monthly Bunko Group and enjoys going out to lunch occasionally with friends that have a weekly lunch group. Dianna loves gardening and always has some painting/decorating project going on around the house -- it never ends!!!

Scott: Scott still works at The University of Pennsylvania in the Radiology Department doing research. He currently has two grants funded and is always submitting new ideas to get more funding for his research. Scott has started to seriously ride his bike -- he trained and rode on two separate 50-mile rides with the South Jersey Wheelmen Cycling Club this past summer. He continues to work in the basement on "projects" and is currently making desks for the girls -- although Dianna thinks the progress is a bit slow! LOL Scott faithfully watches Penn State football and was happy they were in the Rose Bowl this year.

Gus: Our pooch, Gus, is 5 years old. Gus is on a diet and has become a sneaky shark around the diningroom table and kitchen looking for any possible food left unattended that he can snatch. We're not so sure that it's worth paying extra for "diet dog food" considering his recent behavior.....

If you are planning to travel to the Philadelphia area, please let us know! We would love to have you come for dinner or would welcome over-night company. We have a queen-sized bed in our guest room and our family room has a queen-sized sleeper sofa. Just remember that fish and guests stink after 3 days! LOL Just kidding......well, not really!

We hope that everyone had a healthy and happy 2008 and we wish all a blessed 2009!!!