Christmas Newsletter...

December 22, 2007

Dear Family & Friends,

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! And joyful days all year long! Most people start a newsletter when they start a family, but since that isn’t exactly in my cards right now, I decided to start one when I finally got a “life!” This year marks a lot of firsts for me…

Last year I started working on my ESL (English as a Second Language) Endorsement and finished this past June. While working on my ESL, I discovered an incredible opportunity to get a masters degree in Education with my ESL Endorsement…something I NEVER thought I would do! The masters program started in January ’07 and will be done in July ’08…that is, if all goes well☺, ha-ha, it better, it’s a costly expenditure! Sheesh!

Teaching at a year around school definitely has its perks. I took advantage of one of my 3-week breaks in March and went on backpacking trip with my roommate Natalie and 3 other friends. With an outlined itinerary, a map of Europe, a compass, a backpack, a train pass, and no hotel reservations, we managed to see Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg, Holland, Paris, England, and Switzerland in only 2 weeks! Coming home was a whole new adventure…as you can imagine we were quite ready to shower and wash laundry…however, the weather in NYC kept us from coming home as planned. The inclement weather meant we had to sleep in the airport (the blizzard hit a few hours before we landed and all the other travelers beat us to the hotels!) Luckily it was only one night, we really lucked out because many people had to wait a few days!

In May I went through the temple to receive my endowments. It was an incredible experience that I was able share with my parents, my brother Joey, and many co-workers. Also, in May, my entire family went to the Salt Lake Temple to do temple work…this was a special occasion because 20 years ago this year, my parents were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple.

Joey left to serve a 2-year mission in Recife, Brazil in June. We are all so proud of him. We hear from him weekly and he seems to adjusting to the changes…he’s even become quite a neat freak and cook (just a little background on Joey…it was like pulling teeth when he had to clean his room at home, and I don’t think Joey even knew the term cooking…)

During the summer I kept busy doing random things, well not really random, because they were planned at least a little bit ahead of time… I took a watercolor art class. I’m not talented in any sense of the word; it’s just fun, fun, fun! I also kept up on my piano lessons this summer, I think my mom is glad all those lessons I took as a kid weren’t a waste (however, I’m still in level 1 books☺.) One day this summer my roommate Niki convinced me to climb Mt. Olympus, I assumed it would be one of those little 2 hour hikes, just enough to get a workout and enjoy the fresh air. Oh no, 8 hours later we were done! I now ask for details before going ANYWHERE with her! And one last summer event…I got in a car accident (NOT MY FAULT) and had to pay my deductible, thank goodness for insurance because he didn’t have insurance!

The rest of the year I spent teaching and traveling….I love my class this year! As a teacher, there are always stories to tell…my top story this year was when a student decided to steal his mother’s checkbook, write a check out to “Book Obers” (his spelling) and turned it in! His mother’s first response was “was it a Snoopy check, because those are my favorite?!” During fall break I went to visit my friend Melissa in Sacramento, California. We saw the Golden Gate Bridge, down town Sacramento and I went to the Sacramento Temple. For Thanksgiving break my family went to Las Vegas, Nevada. Aaron and Ryan played in a football tournament and kicked some royal butt! And last week I went to Chicago, Illinois to go to the Temple with my good friend Molly.

And finally, for the first things that haven’t happened this year…I haven’t had to move this year, I haven’t had to change wards, I haven’t had to do taxes in more than one state, and I haven’t had to change grades! Happy, happy, joy, joy!

Wow! Now that you’ve read my whole life story and you’re still reading…thank you…thank you for being a great friends and family. I hope that this letter finds you happy and healthy! I love you all dearly! May the spirit of Christmas fill your heart and homes!

Love,

Tiffany