Greetings one and all!
As another year draws to a close,
it’s time to look back and bask in our many accomplishments over the course of
this year. No broken bones or stitches- check! A plumbing disaster resulting in us replacing
our dishwasher and kitchen floor by ourselves, and just for the heck of
it, our front room floor (a process still not completed)- check! A
million and a half loads of dishes and laundry- check! Family dance parties in the kitchen- check!
A summer vacation to the Oregon Coast with sewage coming up into the
bathtub of our rented condo during Elizabeth’s shower and therefore leaving us
without a working bathroom for several hours- check! Man, we are crushing
this thing called Life.
The biggest change we saw this year
was Ryan giving up his summer to do summer school, or rather, buying
a “new” car and no longer driving his truck the Sunnyside Police Dept. call the
“Warrant Wagon,” I mean, feeling like he was ready for new challenges
job-wise. He applied for three different jobs in our school district during
the summer, and after several nail biting, sleepless weeks, he got the
principal job at Annie and Maddie’s school. He’s enjoying it, and Annie
and Maddie think it’s the Coolest Thing Ever to have Dad as their principal. When I go places with Ryan, it’s almost like
being with a rock star. Kids wave, shout
“hi!”, give him high-fives, and occasionally try to hug his leg.
Emma (15) is a sophomore in high
school. She is that kid who is taking two math classes and Honors
English, and is thoroughly enjoying after school drama. Emma landed the
part of Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz and did a great job. She did have to laugh off the many jokes
about her being brainless, and finally reaching puberty to get that man-ly
voice she talked and sang with during the play. (Her character voice was
pretty epic.) Emma goes to her early
morning seminary class, is taking French 2, has her driver’s permit, pesters
her sisters as only an oldest sister can, and would rather read than clean her
room.
Elizabeth (13) is in her final year
of middle school. She loves to rattle off science facts for my
edification, but loves her art projects even more. Our old kitchen table
has been repurposed as The Place For Crafting.
Elizabeth decided this year to follow in Emma’s footsteps and has traded
her clarinet (the one we are still making payments on- hope one of the twins
will want to play it someday) for the bass clarinet in band. She also
performed in the high school play with Emma, but as a Munchkin, a poppy, an Oz-ian,
and a flying monkey. She also enjoys
4-H, decorating her room with her art, and pretending not to hear her parents
request to collect eggs and feed the sheep.
Annie and Maddie (10) are in 4th
grade this year. They made the mutual decision to give up shin guards and
soccer cleats at the end of the spring season, and so they were enrolled in
Acro-Dance this fall to impress one and all with how flexible we… aren’t.
But they are enjoying it and work hard to acquire new skills. This was also the year to tackle their
cross-bites (when the upper and lower teeth don’t meet up the right way), so we
paid the big bucks to have the orthodontist install Torture Devices, aka palate
expanders and braces. Annie and Maddie love to try to trick
people, as only identical twins can. They also think it’s great that
their growth spurts hit earlier than their older sisters, and they can borrow
certain clothes and shoes from any other female in the house, much to the
dismay of their mother and sisters.
As for me, I keep things running
around here- getting kids to and from their various activities, making sure
everyone is fed and has clean clothes, a listening ear for life’s woes,
refereeing hormonal teens and preteens, and attempting to teach “adulting”
skills to grumbling children so that someday they can strike out on their own
(a thought that actually makes me want to weep. Well, most days.). I volunteer 3 days a week at school, teach
the 11 and 12-year-old kids at church on Sunday, and feel like my life is a
spelling bee. (“Mom, how do you spell
[insert word here]?”)
We
are thankful for so many of our blessings and cherish our moments with family
and friends. We wish you a very Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year.
With
much love,
Ryan, Danae, Emma,
Elizabeth, Annie and Maddie Kannely