CHRISTmas Letter 2011

Christmas 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

I cannot believe another year has come to an end. As the kids get older and our lives get busier we spend more time in the car and on the go. But life is great!!! We are so thankful for all we have and can do with our family.

I’ll give you a run down on all the excitement and happenings in the Mayo household this year…

BRIA--turned 4 on the 16^th of Dec. and I can’t believe my baby girl is sooo big. She keeps us always laughing with her “big” kid phrases and giggly laughter. You can tell she’s the youngest of 5 both by her vocabulary and her screaming when others aren’t listening to her J She is enjoying ballet, gymnastics and is trying to patiently wait until she’s old enough for both soccer, and basketball. The biggest blessing of 2011 was after 33 crazy roller coaster months of dealing with social services her adoption was final on April 20^th…..she’s officially BRIANNA GRACE MAYO!!!!! We couldn’t be happier! If only Richmond would move along and get us her birth certificate, we’d be finished!

BAILEY-- turned 7 after Thanksgiving and she celebrated her birthday with her first ever birthday sleep over with 8 other friends! What fun, giggly times everyone had. Bailey is staying busy as ever with ballet, basketball, soccer, art, piano, and just having fun with friends. She is quite a young lady and has taken up many hobbies this year i.e. sewing, looming, scrap booking, and any other artsy craft activities she can find. She definitely takes after her dad as she’s in the 80^th percentile for height!! She has a generous heart and is constantly helping me keep some order to this house and all these crazy boys. What a BIG help to me she is.

BRANDON-- 9yrs old ventured out to new things this fall by playing football. He had a great season scoring the only 3 touchdowns for his team as well as playing quarterback for part of the season!! Hunter and I realized our falls will now be split between the soccer and football fields. He’s still playing basketball in the winter and soccer in the spring so life is filled with sports. Brandon is enjoying 4^th grade, well as much as any boy enjoys school. He, Bailey, and Seth continue with art and this spring made sculptures that are in Berryville’s Visitor Center Mural in the new Barns of Rose Hill, so their creativity will live forever. Way cool!! Brandon has taken up piano this fall and is doing great and really enjoying it. We knew this spring and summer after writing many of his own songs for his sisters to dance to that he needed to play and learn officially.

SETH-- 13yrs old!!!! Now we have 2 teenagers in the house as well as 2 public school kids as Seth entered our middle school this year as a 7^th grader. He has done exceptionally well getting ALL A’s and becoming well known by everyone!! Not that we doubted that for a minute J He continues to play drums, guitar, and piano on his own. He also does band @ the school. Basketball and soccer consume his sports’ life and probably by the time you get this letter he will have passed me in height!!! I don’t know what happened to my little boys, but now I have to look UP to them to talk to them – it definitely changes the dynamics J

LEVI-- 14yrs old is in HIGH SCHOOL!!! Ughh this is when I KNOW time moves at warp speed!! Levi tried out and made the Clarke Co High School JV Soccer team last year as an 8^th grader and had a great season…even scoring a GOAL!! (Check out FB to see a video of it and hear his proud mom screaming) J Levi did great at the public middle school ending the year with straight A’s and getting a perfect SOL score in Geometry! He’s keeping up those grades at the high school and decided to join Eagle Band (marching band) this fall. We enjoyed watching him through all the football games. He plays a BIG bass drum that he has to carry on his shoulders. And the Eagle Band WON State Championships in Richmond for Marching Bands!!

FAMILY fun times abounded this year, we celebrated with my parents their 135^th (Dad turned 70, Mom 65). ALL the kids, grandkids, and great grandkids were there (30) along with family, and friends from over the years. What a joy it was to hear stories and realize the impact my parents have had on so many. God has truly blessed many through them. We also had our annual trip to Hershey Park, many trips to the Beach condo in VA Beach, Orlando over Thanksgiving taking in Sea World and Busch Gardens Tampa, Seth to up-state NY with a friend for Bible Camp, Levi & Hunter to Chicago with our church for an Evangelism Training and Outreach week, Levi doing Hispanic VBS with our church here in Winchester, and a big adventure this summer—family camp. We traveled to up-state New York to Camp of the Woods with a GREAT family (the Averys from our church, we also added an extra child Jimmy a friend of Levi’s). WHAT A BLAST we had tubing, water skiing, rock climbing, putt-putt, swimming, canoeing, caving, and just having fun on the beach!! Each kid had at least one “cousin” their age when we joined up with the Avery family and we all had a GREAT TIME!! We are so thankful they were willing to take on “Uncle Hunter & Aunt Sheri” and gang for the week. Will probably make this an every other summer vacation on the off years of the Colorado Reunion. We ended the year of fun earlier this month by going to Great Wolf Lodge with my (Sheri’s) family – 26 of us. It’s an indoor water park/hotel and what a blast everyone had. It was so great to see the cousins playing laughing and enjoying time with one another. We are so thankful that most of our families live in VA. What a blessing it is to raise the kids near their cousins. We will enjoy Christmas with both families. Hunter’s parents, sister, brother, sis-in-law, and their 9mo old little boy will be here from Oregon, as well as his uncle and aunt from North Carolina. It will be a great holiday time.

I am still home schooling the youngest 3 and trying to keep up with my albums through Creative Memories. It helps to keep me sane J I also got a Kindle for Mother’s Day and I LOVE IT!! You’ll find me with it almost every night after 10pm. It’s my wind-down activity. I’ve been blessed beyond measure to watch the kids grow up and am reminded often of the gift of being a stay at home (or stay on the go) mom. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. The kids are growing so fast and our time together is precious. Even on days when it’s loud and crazy and people are grouchy (I know you can’t believe that EVER happens) I remind myself all too soon it will be quiet. The days may creep by on occasion but the YEARS they fly.

HUNTER is my knight and my hero. He works so hard for all of us and we are both so thankful he loves the company and the people he works with. It is a blessing for him to be able to do what he loves. He celebrated 10 years and continues to travel for projects with IPA, but has also moved more into a training role with the company. This allows him to teach the new analysts coming in (a true passion for him). We are so proud of all that he does. Hunter and I celebrated 15 years this summer and took a 3 day weekend in October to NYC. It was wonderful! We saw Jersey Boys (again!!), Memphis (another Broadway play), went to the Statue of Liberty (which Hunter had never done) and tried NOT to get caught up in all the crazy protests on Wall Street.

Although this will reach you after CHRISTmas, may you know the JOY and REASON for the season!! May GOD Bless and hold you closely throughout 2012. You are a joy to us and we are thankful for the friendships we have with each of you both near and far.

Only Through HIS Grace,

Hunter, Sheri, and the gang J

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