Family Christmas Letter Part I

I wrote the family Christmas letter again this year. It's a tad long (as is most of my writing), so I'm going to post it in parts.

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Merry Christmas from the Nichols and Anderson’s. I don’t know about you, but in order just to survive this past year, I’ve had to adopt the motto, “one day at a time.” I think my entire family can apply that motto to their lives, as well. Here’s a glimpse into our lives, one family member at a time.

Shannon and Jeff have learned to take it “one day at a time” while raising an energetic toddler. Case turned one in June, and he’s well on his way to being a very grown up little boy. They have found a wonderful Christian daycare for Case to attend, and his teachers, along with the help of Shan and Jeff, teach him sign language. He can say, “Please, thank you, ball, down, apple, help, airplane, more, food, drink, and dog,” all with sign language. He can also speak, “No, mine, up, uh-oh, oh-no, Dido, mommy, daddy, and help.” His favorites are NO and MINE, much to his parents’ dismay, and he’s adopted a very stubborn attitude. Wonder who he got that from?

Sometimes I don’t think Case likes me very much. If I touch him, he’ll shout out, “NO, NO, NO,” and he’ll start hitting himself where I touched him as if wiping off Aunt Dido’s germs. Sometimes he runs away screaming if I look at him, and I’ve figured out if you’re not mommy then he wants nothing to do with you. Occasionally he’ll go to Grandpa Doug and Uncle Collin, and he LOVES his cousins. Well, I guess I should make that singular and say Case LOVES his cousin. His cousin being Carson. Case could probably do without Kyler in the picture, but I think the same can be said for Kye. Those two younger boys haven’t quite figured out how to share with each other, but Carson loves to play with Case and those two get along very well.

Shannon and Jeff went on an Alaskan cruise in July, so Collin and Katie watched Case for the week. Mom called Collin one afternoon to find out how things were going with three little boys in the house. Mom could hear Case crying in the background. She asked what was going on, and Collin said Kye had locked Case in the bedroom and was pounding on the door with a plastic hammer. All three boys survived the week together. Rather, I should say, Collin and Katie survived the week with three little monsters. Shan and Jeff had not a concern in the world while they sailed across the ocean blue. Actually, they were on a ship going from Seattle to Alaska with two very dear friends. They saw a whale, a few bears, wild salmon and some bald eagles. They had a wonderful trip.

As if that wasn’t enough for one year, Shan surprised Jeff with a trip to Vegas in October. They took a helicopter ride over the city, which was the highlight of their trip, and Jeff even won some money playing poker (he wants to go pro now). They celebrated their three year anniversary in August, and I haven’t heard them have an argument yet. Shan is in her third year of teaching at Goddard Middle School (her 10th year teaching overall), and she’s looking into getting her Master’s degree during this upcoming year. Jeff is still at Digitech Systems. He’s been promoted a time or two, so he must be pretty good at his job. All I know is his phone buzzes a lot, and sometimes he’s very serious while working on his laptop.

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Watch for more to come tomorrow...

Siblings

For some reason, I can't find pictures of Carson right now, but here's a side by side comparison of Kyler and Corinne. I'll post a picture of Carson when I can find one.

CorinneKyler

My Niece

I am happy to introduce to you Corinne Kennedy Louise Nichols. She was born this morning at 7:47am. She weighed 7 pounds and was 19.5 inches long. She has dark hair, and she looks like Carson but has Kye's round face. I'll post more pictures as I get them, but for now, here's a sneak peak.

To give you an idea of how Kye's feels about his new sister, the pictures speak for themselves. However, as Collin placed Corinne between the two boys, Kye shouted, "I don't like her!"

This is Corinne's first glimpse into technology. We called Aunt Angie so she could see her new niece. Carson was happy to join in, but Kye ran away and turned his back.

Wiping the Slate Clean

Have you ever had one of those moments that you totally regret? Where you'd go back and re-do the situation if you could? I had one of those moments this year. If I could, I would go back and change it. I'm sure you're dying of curiosity to know what I did, but I'm sorry, I'm not going to tell. It was not a high point in my life, and I do not wish to re-tell the story. It's my blog and I can say or NOT say what I wish.

On the other hand, I had a very proud moment this year, too. In fact, I had several proud moments this year, including riding the MS150 for my dad, but in this particular instance, standing up for what I believed in cost me something that I wanted oh-so bad. This situation involved a guy I really liked, but in the end, our morals and beliefs didn't quite equal the same. I wasn't willing to compromise on a certain issue, so we both walked away even though we both wanted it to work out. In the end, however, walking away was the best thing I could have done. He didn't end up being the person I thought he was, and I did not get hurt. I was quite proud to stand up for my personal beliefs.

As the year comes to a close, I reflect back over the past year. I'm not the same person I was a year ago. A year ago, I was dating Allen and I THOUGHT he had everything I wanted in a guy. We broke up, and while he's bounced in and out of my life over the past eight months, I realize now that Allen never was the right one for me. In fact, I'm not even the same girl he thought I was. While it was very tough to do, when he wanted me back in his life, I told him NO and walked away. That was also a very proud moment.

I've had a fabulous year, but it's also been one of the toughest years of my life. I've learned more about myself than I ever have before, I've gone in debt to pursue my dream of being a teacher, I've cried, I've laughed, I've had good times with friends, I've had bad times with friends, I've seen April fight for her life and WIN, I've mourned the loss of a niece or nephew, I've attemped a few relationships, I've cut off some unhealthy relationships, I've renewed friendships from years ago, I've nurtured relationships that are most precious to me, I've finished my Master's degree, I've changed careers, I've been unemployed for five months, I've ridden mile after mile on a bike for a passion very dear to my heart, I've loved God and I've cursed God.

Tomorrow, I welcome my first niece to the world. You have no idea how excited I am. It's like waiting for Christmas morning as we wait to see what she looks like and what her name will be. Just like the birth of my niece, 2009 is a brand new year where I can start anew. The slate is wiped cleaned, and it's my year to do what I please. I have big things in store for 2009, and I'm so glad you're here to share the journey with me. As you continue to read my blog, you'll share happy moments, funny moments, sorrowful moments and hard moments with me, but I hope you reflect upon your own moments, too, as you read along. I love to get comments, so share your story with me or even start your own blog. The point is, we all get to start fresh in two days. Make the most of it!

I'm not the best Christian in the world. As you read above, I have moments that I'm not proud of and would even change if I could, but what I do know is that Christ forgives. I am so thankful for His forgiveness and love. I know that my slate has already been wiped clean without having to start a new year to do it.

Christmas Traditions

Favorite Christmas Traditions:

On Christmas Eve, my family heads to the church where I "grew up." Typically, this is my favorite thing to do because I usually see old friends that I haven't seen in years. After the hour long service, it's time to catch up, fill in and say, "You sure do look good." This year, I didn't know a soul at the church. I've been away from Kearney for way too long, but I'm not complaining!

Once church service is over, the family heads home to eat a delicious prime rib dinner prepared by mom and dad. The more mushrooms the better, says I, and the best part is walking in the house and smelling the wonderful meat cooking away. We have potatoes, salad, bread and dessert.

Once everyone has stuffed themselves full of prime rib and other goodies, we head to the living room to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol, which we have watched for years. A few years ago, I introduced Elf to the tradition, and this year we watched Chevy Chase Christmas Vacation.

We NEVER get to open a gift on Christmas Eve. We always have to wait, but when we wake up on Christmas Day, our stockings are spread out throughout the livingroom stuffed full of goodies. The stocking is my favorite part of the morning. It always has fun stuff in it. We take turns opening our stocking, and then we open one gift at at time in a circle until everyone is out of gifts.

We eat breakfast and lounge about for the rest of the day. Usually mom talks us all into playing a card game or dominos. The past few years, I've met my friends at Cunningham's, our favorite bar, on Christmas night to have a chill night of hanging. This is usually one of my favorite times because it's with old high school friends and my closest friends just having fun. This year was no exception.

Collin, Katie and the boys weren't able to join us this year because they are having their little baby girl in a few days. Collin called up on his computer, so we were able to see him and show off our presents. I made sure to zoom into my prime rib so he could drool over my meal. We'll celebrate Christmas with them in a few days after baby Nichols is born.

Case talking to Uncle Collin via Skype

Christmas Break Half Over

It's so good to be home. As of this upcoming February, I will have been in Denver for five years. Oh how time flies. When I first moved to Denver, I was going home almost every month. It wasn't because I hated Denver but it was because some of my best friends lived in Kearney. As the years have gone by, life has gotten busy, gas has gotten expensive and time has gotten short. I have only been home to NE about four times this year, so it's good to be able to spend a week at home with those I love. Sadly, Collin, Katie, Carson, Kye and unborn baby are not here with us this year. Katie is having unborn baby girl in six days, and they didn't want to risk being so far away from the hospital. We miss our bro, sis-in-law and little boys, but we will celebrate Christmas with them in just a few short days.

Shan and I started our week long trip to NE in North Platte with my mom's side of the family. We had a good time at Aunt Janelle's house, and we got to spend some time with my cousin's whom we don't see very often. They had a little boy two days before Case was born, and this was the first time we had meet him. Case and Aiden had so much fun playing together.

My Aunt Janelle, my mom's sister.

My Aunt Lisa, my mom's youngest sister.

From left to right, back row then front row:

Shannon, Janelle, Sally, Lisa, Me

Briana, Grandma Van, Kaela.

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I've been spending time with April since I arrived in Kearney. She's doing great, and she's now been cancer free for about ten months. Her hair has grown back fast, and she looks great. We're having our girls' Christmas in a few days, so I'll post pictures of us. Last night, I went to our favorite bar, Cunningham's, to spend some time with some old high school friends. It was great to see some dear friends like Bill, Mike, Chase, Ben, Adam, Jarvis, and Katie, but I was also able to see high school classmates that I haven't seen in almost ten years.

Katie and I were lucky enough to be the only girls. We had a blast with the guys.

Mike can never take a serious picture.

Back in high school, I spent most of my time with Bill and Mike. They are great guys! Katie is now part of the gang.

Bill also has a hard time taking a serious picture. This is try three...

I'm a total butt girl, and Bill has a nice butt!

It's a Jarvis sandwich.

My Last Day

Well, today was officially my last at Columbine. I packed up my desk this morning, cleared off my bulletin board, and said my goodbyes. It was a little hard, but I managed to keep my emotions in check. It was hardest saying goodbye to Tiffany, my cooperating teacher, but I know that I have developed a friendship with her that will last for a long time. She's an amazing woman, and I am so lucky to have worked with her this semester.

Both my English classes signed a card for me, and they brought snacks. After everyone was done with their final, we had a little mini party. I had written a note to every single student, so I took that time to hand them out. Most of them read them silently and didn't say a word to me, but a few told me thanks and said they appreciated the note. While they didn't say much, I hope it meant a lot to them. Here's what a few of them had to say to me:

*"I hope you teach here next year. It would be great to see you again."

*"Thanks for being such a great teacher. Good luck at getting a job at CHS next year."

*"Thank you for being such a sick teacher."

*"You better not get attached to those CHAT-RATS. Ha, ha." (Chat Rats is what Columbine students call Chatfield students)

*"You are an awesome teacher. You are my favorite teacher I have ever had. Have fun at Chatfield and we're all going to come visit you wearing Columbine clothes and colors."

*"CSH sucks."

*"I love you. You were my favorite teacher EVER!!!"

*"I had so much fun when you were here. Thanks for everything."

My journalism students also signed a card right in front of my face and I never even saw them doing it. They are good. I was teaching while they were signing a card. Here's what a few of them said:

*"Coolest teacher ever."

*"This class was soooo much fun with you and you were one of my favorites. We are going to miss you. You will do great."

*"Chatfield is lame. CHS is better. Thanks for being our teacher."

Last but not least, my newspaper students also gave me a card. They said:

*" Thank you so much for all your help. You made this semester a lot less stressful."

*"You've been a great help and it was fun trying to figure out Photoshop together."

I'm so mad at myself, though. I forgot my camera, so I wasn't able to take a picture of my students. Stupid me! It was the most amazing students, and Tiffany told me I'll always remember my first class. I am leaving with very fond memories of my first semester of teaching, and while I didn't get paid a cent to do it, it was well worth the time and effort. I'm finally doing what I want to be doing. I'm pretty good at it, too, which makes it that much better.