Merry Christmas to everyone!

Wow, the year sure has flown by hasn't it? I hope this year has been as blessed for you as it has for our family. Lots of changes happened throughout the year and many more are to come I am sure.

We have many things to be thankful for: our family, our friends and everything in between.

This year I have seen struggles with many friends and if you can afford (which I am sure you can) please say a few prayers for them and their families as they continue to move through these times.

Our family has been ultra-blessed. Ashleigh and Alex continue to grow and learn. We've had our challenges, but what family hasn't? Frank and I have so much to be thankful for, our kids, my mom, his dad, Gale, and the rest of our family. And we pray that it continues through many, many more years to come.

We were happy to see our friends, Jen and Terry return from their 2 year stint in Australia. They were sorely missed while they were "down under".

We reconnected with an old family friend and his children late this year. I am very thankful to have gotten back in touch with him.

Brian, my "little brother" adopted through Frank in many years of friendship. I'm very glad to have him around too, he keeps Frank busy, keeps me guessing and he loves to play with my kids when he comes to visit. *smiles* I have a feeling that this coming year will be good for him.

I also would be amiss if I didn't mention my friends, Suzanne and Craig. Thanks to them for listening, guiding, teaching and making me laugh. Our friendship there is boundless!

We also made it to my 20 year reunion this year… *OMG* and we reconnected with many friends via Facebook (with as much as I complain about the performance of their applications, the reconnection with the rest of my friends has been priceless). Just to name a few (if your name is left off, it's not intentional): Brandy, Ben, Paula, Margaret B., Fred and Laura B, Verlon, Joanna and oh so many more that I am running out of room. Thank you all for being such online and "Real" friends. And to those who are new friends via FB, thank you to you as well. (Barb, Lynn, Laurie, Kathy, Carol….)

As for work, Frank continues in his role for Verizon and we hope that it stays that way (who, in these days, doesn't?). He's gone through several management changes and reorganizations and survived layoffs so far too. Always a good thing!

This year for me started off really hard when many of my friends from work were laid off due to budget constraints. While I was thankful that I was not let go, our entire team was cut in half and we had to become a new group and learn new skills to continue through. It was a long hard road and we have learned so much, with so much more to go. I still miss my friends even though we have moved on. Many were really good friends and co-workers.

On a good note about work, for those who may or may not know, our family is slated to move to Florida within the next several months, and we are looking forward to being down there. The "getting down there" will be a slight challenge, but I am sure we'll make it. It was not a decision taken lightly, but in the end, it is something that Frank and I believe to be the right move. Whether or not we are right will remain to be seen.

So next year, we'll be finding Christmas pictures to take within Walt Disney World, Sea World, Busch Gardens and the like. Not too shabby if you ask me.

On a final note, I did something this year that I am proud of. I broke down and bought the new version of my Canon, the 50D and dusted off what knowledge I could from my college education and started snapping again. Something I am proud to say I missed dearly. You can see many of my pictures in my FB page: http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=1003881323 or on my Flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/peteypatriot

Or you can read what little I actually post on my blog here: http://peteypatriot.blogspot.com/ (this post will also be there).

I can truly say that I am ready for vacation, I have two weeks at the end of the year, which I anticipate catching up on pictures, video games, and.. oh yeah, packing.

So until the change of mailing address comes in, keep praying for us to make it through all the changes and we continue to pray for all who have touched our lives (whether they know it or not).

Many blessings upon you and everyone you care about. We love you and have a very Merry Christmas!!!

Frank, Kelly, Ashleigh and Alex