Christmas Letter First Draft: Notice for all who wish to edit - Please do!
I decided to post the "christmas letter" ahead of time on my blog so that it may be revised by readers with actual talent for writing, specifically desiring the addition of some humor. These will be published as is if not edited.
The year 2006 has been a year of "firsts" for the Reeds.
Michael and Susan became grandparents for the first time with the birth of Mabel, closely followed by Caroline. Becoming a grandparent is certainly one of life´s greatest milestones. They also entered the world of empty-nesters. Michael seems to be adapting the best - an empty house is not much different than his apartment in Mexico and he doesn´t seem to mind all of Susan´s attention being focused on him.
Bethany and Brandon welcomed their first child, Mabel Patrice on January 2. Mabel is a great combination of both parents - tall and fair like dad, and beautiful, loud and assertive like mom - a perfect first grandchild. Bethany had "Baby 411" memorized before Mabel was born, but still makes an occasional consult phone call to her favorite pediatrician - grandma. Brandon has been able to work from home while watching Mabel. Bethany is in her third year of residency and races home every day to Mabel, who loves her mommy!
Ryan and Brianna still live in Arizona, where they purchased their first home this year. Enduring dust storms and 110° weather they trained for and completed their first (and last, according to Ryan) marathon. Ryan is scheduled to complete his MBA program at ASU in May and is aggressively seeking employment - hopefully in Texas, although Brianna would love to stay in Arizona. The new house provides a little incentive for the latter.
Brittany completed her first year of teaching physics and chemistry at Mt. DeSales Academy in Macon, Georgia. In addition to teaching she mentors students, coaches the cross country team, manages the dance team and also a private soccer team. Who would have thought - our least athletically-inclined child. The faculty are slowly beginning to differentiate her from the students, but only because the students wear uniforms.
Ashley recovered from that post-mission awkward phase and focused her enthusiasm towards finishing her degree in economics, working as a teaching assistant and managing Lindsey's social life. She will be completing an internship in Washington, D.C. next semester, for which she received a substantial grant. She will graduate in April from BYU and has already signed on with a terrific company in Dallas, Texas for her first "real" job.
Carrie and Shawn received their first big surprise when Caroline, their first child, decided to come 7 weeks prematurely. After two weeks in the NICU they brought her home, only to return several weeks later for surgery. Amazingly, neither parent suffered a nervous breakdown and they both managed to finish their coursework on time. Shawn graduated from BYU in April and began his first year of medical school at UT Houston. Carrie will graduate from BYU next April after finishing her remaining on-line courses. After all that trouble, Caroline turned out to be a very sweet, healthy baby and is best friends with cousin Mabel.
Lindsey graduated from Reagan High School as a National Merit Commended Scholar and began her first semester at BYU with 52 credit hours from AP exams, saving her parents a ton of money. Her seminary class voted her "most likely to be proposed to in several different languages her first semester" but she failed to live up to the challenge. She did get all A's, however. She works part-time scooping icecream while practicing her flirting skills. She loves BYU and claims to have adopted the "catch and release" method of dating. We'll see how long that lasts.
May each of you enjoy peace and happiness this next year. With love, The Reeds
