2010 "Virtual" Christmas Newsletter

Here is our 2010 Christmas Newsletter presented to you in "virtual" format ;) If this is your first time visiting our blog, welcome! If you want to see what we have been up to this year, you can look at the archives (down on right sidebar). We try hard to keep this blog current so check back often! Feel free to comment and look around. We are thankful for you all dear friends and family!

Merry Christmas!

A lot has happened this year! The biggest news being that we have moved (again)! We moved a little closer to family and are now in Sherman. Sherman is a great little town and has a lot to offer. Ashley really likes it because it is not too far from Dallas/Ft. Worth and, mostly, it has lots of shopping ;) Ryan really loves the small town mentality and support he gets from the community. The girls are attending one of the best schools in town and even get to ride the bus! We have really enjoyed traveling to see family for the day and then getting to come back home and sleep in our own beds. We also have found a church here and are working on getting plugged in. Here are some tidbits of what each one of us has been up to this year…

Ryan is the Head Boys Basketball Coach at Sherman High School (4A). He is on his 10th year of teaching and 6th year of being a head coach. He had a great year last year in San Antonio and finished with a 25-10 record. They were District Runner-up and Bi-District Champions. The season has started here in Sherman and right now they have a 4-4 record with a lot more games to come. Ryan also completed his Masters Degree in Educational Administration this summer.

Ashley continues to stay at home with the kids. She is still working for Educate Online, and will start a new position within the company in January. Lord willing, she will finish out this year working for them and then get a full-time position with Sherman ISD in the Fall, teaching, as the girls will be in school all day. She has enjoyed getting to decorate our new home and getting to know new friends she has met. She is attending a Bible Study that meets every Wednesday at the church.

Cate is in third grade and just turned 9 years old. She loves playing outside with her friends she made across the street. Moving to a new town and attending a new school was an adjustment for her, but she is doing well, although she still misses San Antonio. During the first 9 weeks of this year, she received the Husky Writer Award out of her class! She finally learned how to ride a bike after giving up on it a long time ago (yay!) and is attending her 5th year in AWANA as a TNT.

Cara is in kindergarten and will turn 6 in January. She does enjoy school, but we believe she would rather stay home some days. She asks us almost daily if she has school tomorrow. When we say yes, she isn’t too excited. Cate and Cara are sharing a room again and are becoming very close. They do not like to sleep without each other. Cara is known for telling it like it is and we get many a laugh out of the things she says. She is doing an excellent job reading and started AWANA this year with Cate.

Claire will be turning 4 in a few days and attends school part-time every day. In February of this year, Claire was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She is making great progress thanks to her teacher and therapists. She attends speech therapy twice a week and also is getting some occupational therapy. She is talking more and more each day and we are so thankful for that. She loves playing outside on her swing set, is still a huge fan of Dora the Explorer, and loves climbing. She is very affectionate and happy-go-lucky most of the time. She is definitely a favorite at her school and is very busy here at home.

Have a blessed Christmas! Ryan, Ashley, Cate, Cara, and Claire