Christmas 2011
Greetings to Family and Friends!
We hope this finds you busy enjoying the holiday season. We have been celebrating the holidays since before Thanksgiving when Joey’s good friends the Schmieders came from Germany for a special visit. We celebrated Thanksgiving with them and then in early December we had a Christmas celebration before they returned home to Munich. Special and blessed thanks to Juergen, Hanni and Joey’s Godson, Finnegan, for an early celebration and some amazing memories.
Our year has been full of new beginnings. There have been some life-changing days this year and we know we are blessed.
Adam is still working for the State of Michigan He is blessed to have such a good job with this economy and he knows it. With work, classes and running it leaves little time for much else but he does find time for trips to Minnesota to spend time with family there and make memories with his Godson, Tanner. He’ll finish his masters this coming year and begin life after a masters’ degree. He will begin life without classes!
Tim’s new beginnings took him ½ way around the world. After graduating from Loyola with his 2nd masters in theology, he moved to China to do missionary work there. Fr. Brian Barrons invited him to teach for Maryknoll in the seminary in China. Currently he is teaching students and nuns while being immersed (and I mean immersed) in the Chinese language. It was hard to let him go but God’s will trumps a mother’s will. Tim has loved China since his first year of missionary work there in 2005 and he has longed to go back. Truth is…he didn’t leave home…returning to his beloved China gave him a chance to go “home”. We “visit” Tim via skype and, with skype, he still does saint lessons for the first graders all the way from China. A special ministry for him and the kids. We thank God for Fr. Brian, Tim’s mission, his beloved China and…for skype!
Joey’s life is filled with new beginnings. He was blessed to find a new job with Playmakers in East Lansing. Not only does he still get to work in the sports field, he gets to work in an amazing atmosphere with great owners and co-workers and even gets to test and evaluate running shoes. The most exciting new beginning for Joey is being engaged to Addie Finelli. She is more than just his fiancé, she is a gift from God. She went to school with Tim, Joey played soccer with her brother and it feels like she was always a part of our family. On a trip to NYC, on a special stone bridge in Central Park, Joey asked Addie for forever..and she said Yes!. At that moment Joey was blessed with a new beginning and our family was blessed with Addie.
Pat’s new beginning came with the dealership undergoing a renovation that Chevrolet had mandated for its stores. It has been quite the project and for over 4 months they conducted business out of trailers on their lot. Just this week the project was done enough for them to move back into the building. It was emotional to see the old walls, offices and building demolished to begin the new project but we like to think his dad would be proud of the new building…the new Bud Kouts Chevrolet. Pat still runs every day, goes to church every morning and spoils our family with his patience, understanding and faith.
My new beginning came from uncovering a wish that had gotten buried through the years…a wish to be a writer. This summer I was fortunate to be chosen to be part of the Red Cedar Writing Project at Michigan State University. It is a project/class where you are immersed in writing every day for 4 weeks. It is designed to help teachers be better writers, better teachers of writing and better leaders in education. It was intense…every single day of the 4-week program but it was the intensity that helped me realize how much I love writing. I sat in midst of some amazing teachers and writers and the awe of being with them helped me want to be more…as a teacher and as a writer. I will always be grateful for the Red Cedar Writing Project and the opportunity to write and to resurrect my special wish. I do almost daily writing on my classroom blog: http://carecorner.weebly.com/ and weekly writings on my “life” blog: http://writingprojects.weebly.com/ I enjoy my writing but my first love is still the first graders in Care Corner at St. Gerard School. Each day in Care Corner assures a day full of wonder and discovery…and…even more…a day full of smiles and hugs. I am truly blessed.
I hope you and your family have been blessed with the excitement of new beginnings and the comfort of familiar traditions. Mostly, I hope that the celebration of the beginning of a little baby in a manger will help your Christmas heart understand the majesty of that moment and the magnitude of His love. Wishing you a blessed Christmas and blessed beginnings of the new year. Love and prayers, Pat~Sheila~Joey~Tim~Adam