This is why I write things down.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  We thought we would send a newsletter this holiday season because time seems to pass so quickly, and there never seems to be enough time to write to all of you.  Do know however, that you are all in our thoughts quite often.

So much has happened in the past year.  First of all, the kids are growing up so quickly.  David is 11, Chris is 9, Brad is 6, and Stephanie [Malia] is 4.  David is growing up to be a nice young man.  He does well in school and again will be on the basketball team this year.  He is in his 6th year of karate and is now a brown belt.  He just got rollerblades and has been practicing as much as he can.  He is quite good with the younger kids, does housework with a minimum of arm-twisting and overall is a good kid.  Chris also does well in school, has a phenomenal memory, except when it comes to things like remembering to pick up his clothes or brush his teeth.  He also takes karate and just got rollerblades.  He also does housework only under duress.  Brad is learning to read bedtime stories to me.  He also takes karate and our guess is that he will eventually be the athlete of the bunch.  He just got rollerblades today and we were outside practicing with a karate belt tied around his chest and me holding the other end, lifting him up every time he would fall.  The two of us were probably quite a sight.  He had no injuries, but I got run over, kicked and scratched up several times.  He falls, but I get injured…funny how being a dad works.  Stephanie [Malia] just started Hanalani Schools this year, and now all 4 go to the same private Christian school.  She loves school, wants to be a teacher, and will go around pretending to read books to a class, and asks to bike without training wheels and is almost always a pleasant and loving child.  I needed a girl just like that.  For the past year, she has taken dance lessons which are a combination of jazz, tap, and ballet.  She has a great time at dance and recently was in a community parade and programs at a couple of shopping centers.  She has several outfits including a “caveman” one for a song about dinosaurs, another Princess Jasmine costume for her Aladdin song, an outfit complete with ballet tutu for dancing to “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, and others.  So cute!  The first time I saw her in practice was one of the those moments I will remember for the rest of my life.  David and Chris joined Cub Scouts this past summer and I am an assistant den leader, complete with uniform, patches and a hat.  We have been having weekly meetings at our house and it is really a lot of fun, although somewhat time-consuming.  We were all in another community parade on the Cub Scout trailer, and had a great time.  David ran / walked the two mile course and passed out candy.  The rest of us rode.

We renovated our house.  After about 3 years in the planning, construction began in May and continued for almost 5 months.  Every single area was changed to some degree and we had to move out.  Luckily, we were able to rent a house 2 doors away so were able to watch it come up, communicate easily with the contractor, remain with the same neighbors on our cul-de-sac where the kids could play, with lots of neighbors their ages.  It was still a two minute commute to the office, and the kid’s school routine was not disrupted in any way.  We rented space in a public storage facility nearby which was convenient.  Being two doors away from our house made the move slightly less horrible and were able to move our things back and forth even late at night, and I suppose things went about about as smoothly as possible.  We are back in our house now and still have boxes all over the place, but are quite pleased with how things turned out.  Each child has their own bedroom, and we have a study where all of us can work.  There is a little workshop area off the new garage, a larger kitchen, and all in all, we are quite happy with the way things turned out.

The office remains busy and we are very fortunate to have excellent employees.  We have been in practice together for about 9 years and for all its hassles, really enjoy the flexibility of being our own bosses.  We are in the middle of the fastest growing area of Oahu, both residential population and commercial-wise with K-Mart, Eagle Hardware, Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart all opening within 5 minutes drive of our cul-de-sac.

I hit the big “4-0” this year.  I feel good and have no complains about the milestone, because as far as I am concerned, life just keeps getting better.  Theresa and I have been “working out” at the YMCA several times a week for the past couple of years in an effort to slow the deterioration of the old bod.  Seems to be working nicely for her, at least.

No major trips this past year mostly because of everything going on with the house, but we will probably try and get the kids back to Disneyland next summer.  We did have a short trip to visit my dad on Maui, and will return over New Years’.  During their longer breaks, we sometimes send David and Chris up there by themselves to visit.

Well, that’s about it for now.  For those of you who have written, thank you for your letters.  For those of you that haven’t, the ball’s in your court.  We really have been thinking about you, particularly as we unpack a Christmas ornament, a wedding gift, a picture, or something with a special memory.  Life is full and we have a lot to be thankful for.  We wish the same for you.  Happy holidays!  Take care.