This is the time of year that we start to receive Christmas letters from friends and family. We enjoy them a great deal around the Weber household and are extremely happy that everyone is doing so well. That said, if the Weber’s sent one out, it probably look a little different. In fact, it might look a little like this:

Friends and Family,

Well we’ve come to the end of another year and Priscilla and I would like to report that once again we’ve managed to stay married, stay employed and stave off bankruptcy. Since love is never in shortage in our household, you would you think the aforementioned would be a given, however outside forces continue to conspire against us and we never take for granted our ability to beat them back.

We are still living in the same house in a neighborhood we adore despite the apparent ongoing shrinkage of the domicile and the pets and children’s incessant attempts to dismantle it. We are discussing whether to remodel or  relocate. Luckily we’ve had this discussion in both 2012 and 2013 so there is not a lot of ground to cover and the outcome should be fairly predictable.

Priscilla is still teaching. As you may know she teaches in a school with a high EL population and finds the children both challenging and rewarding. Luckily there is no shortage of people who can offer instruction and guidance on how best to serve this population, many of them unencumbered by degrees and experience. As we all know, those are things that can lead to making excuses for children and not allowing them to reach their full potential.

Thomas just completed his second fourth quarter managing a benefit call center. Since October and November are months that he virtually disappears from family life, the approach of Christmas is a time of renewal for the Webers. He has also increased his education policy advocacy work. Which has had little affect other then making the retention of Priscilla’s job a little more difficult and more hours away from the family, but he enjoys it and occasionally gets free meals out of it.

The children have been extremely healthy this year for which we are grateful. Avery has started kindergarten which has proven much less earth shattering then anticipated. We love her school, as well as her teacher and principal and despite the fact that it could soon be labeled a failing school by outsiders, she is learning to read, write and add at an astonishing pace. Peter is finishing up his final year at daycare where he has been fortunate to have been friended by some older boys who’ve taught him the finer arts of pulling peoples legs off, elves, superheroes and not letting adults boss you around. Both children have mastered technology and debate this year. When not on their Ipads they can often be found fighting with each other.

The pets are also doing well. Shelby has made it clear that any attempts at restraint are not appreciated. In her desire to be unencumbered and lounge freely in the porch area she has broken a door, a front window and partially dismantled the gate of her fenced back yard. She is a true canine free spirit and we celebrate her when not cursing her. This year saw a new cat join the family leading Thomas to reset the pet free clock. The other cats are doing well and look like they will be living long lives in the Weber household.

This year saw the Weber’s take trips to both Florida and Pennsylvania. Both kids proclaimed that living in these locales would be preferable to our current location. We also took trips to Franklin, Wilson County and Murfreesboro for a mixture of educational and entertainment purposes. The Wilson County Fair was especially enjoyable this year.

Lastly but not certainly not least, once again the end of the year has us filled with gratitude. At a time when so many have so little we are in awe of all we have and the fact that we have each other. I once heard it said that anyone can do the exciting things with you in life, but whats truly special is the person that can be with you for the mundane moments that fill everyday life. Well I’ve got three of those and I wouldn’t change them for anything. In fact I’d like to quote Tim McGraw to each of them,

Peace out and happy holidays to all!!!

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