Christmas Greetings and a little update

Greetings from the East Coast!

We all survived 2007 with limbs intact and only a few trips to the emergency department for stitches and broken bones. Walter has had a few stitches due to occupational hazards and Spencer broke his arm in June due to a bike stunt that didn't quite turn out the way he had planned. This was a real disappointment since, first of all, it was his left arm (he's right-handed) and secondly, he couldn't participate in his favorite summer sport, paddling, at the local Cheema Paddling club summer camps. He was very grown-up about the entire situation, however, and had the later half of the summer to look forward to with a trip to Alberta and BC to visit family and do some sight seeing.

Leona, Lucas and Ethan remained free of any serious injury this year although Lucas' basketball gives him some fairly painful scrapes and bruises. Lucas continues to grow at an alarming rate (he's in grade six and 5'7") and he's the tallest kid in his school of 640 students. He enjoys any sport and is also a very good student, plays alto saxophone in the school band, and is a great help at home. Walter's home business has given Lucas an opportunity to help out on some jobs in the summer to make a little extra money from Dad, or on a trip to Home Depot, which they both enjoy.

Spencer is doing very well in school. He is well-liked and conscientious and I have always, over the years, received positive comments from adults about his cheerfulness and social graces. He is a fanatical (that is not an overstatement) reader and has been continuing his fencing at a local club this Fall. He has also joined the ski club at his junior high, which starts in January, and they go to a local hill over the ski season. Due to his high interest in skiing and Lucas' persistance over the last two years in learning to snowboard, we've decided to gear ourselves up for doing some family ski outings since Ethan has also started skiing last year. Maybe we'll be able to enjoy some Alberta and BC skiing in future!

Ethan is in grade one and is an enthusiastic and engaged student. He's reaching all the benchmarks and learning to read. It's always the writing that takes a bit longer...and, he's still working on our last name...give the kid a break! He played soccer this summer and was their top scorer. Ethan and I also enjoyed a lovely vacation in early May to the Dominican Republic for a week of R&R with a very good friend and her son, Noah. We had a very nice time and really enjoyed the tropical temperatures and beautiful beach.

And, well, Leona has been running the entire affair and also trying to keep one foot in the jewellery production business. She's persisted in keeping up with silver smithing courses which she enjoys very much and is learning a lot. It also gives her a chance to get out of Fall River since the Art College is right in downtown Halifax in an ancient building and the ambience adds to a nice break from my usual routine. On our trip to Vancouver Island this summer we found a wonderful beach on the Island that was loaded with beach glass which has been an inspiration for some recent jewellery. The entire family spent an hour picking up as much glass as they could!

Our big trip this year was motivated by attending Walter's brother, Rikk's, wedding to Valerie St. Cyr in Victoria, BC. We flew into Edmonton and spent a few days visiting family and then drove to Vancouver Island with Walt's younger brother, Henry and his family. The drive through the Rockies was spectacular and also gave us a chance to see some friends from William's Lake that we hadn't seen for a few years. On the Island, we rented a beautiful home on a lake near Langford for the week which became the main attraction for all the kids. The wedding was beautiful and the entire week gave us a chance to catch up with Walt's family since it had been a long time that we have all been together.

Walter's handyman/renovation business has been going well and we are thankful for God's blessings in keeping us all safe and sound. We pray that with all the ups and downs of living that you continue to count your blessings. Our family is particularly grateful that Leona's Dad is slowly recovering from osteomyletis in his spine although he still struggles with some foot issues that we pray will get better soon. Mom has been a wonderful support and caregiver through all this and took a little break recently to come and visit us for a few days, which was much enjoyed.

Most of all, we wish all of you a very blessed Christmas and New Year and hope to be in touch with you, one way or another, in 2009. If you like to check in with us every once in a while, we will be trying to keep this blog up to date. God bless.