MERRY CHRISTMAS~ Family newsletter from 08`

Merry CHRISTmas everyone! We have decided to do our card/newsletter on the blog this year since it's all here anyways. I will add a few new things here in this post, for more details please feel free to look through the blog and pictures for a recap of our year.

FAMILY~ we surprised all the kids last night with an evening at the Myerson watching the Dallas Symphony Orchestra performing their Christmas show. We told all the kids to be here at 6 pm and dressed up. We handed them their tickets when we arrived at the Myerson. It was a wonderful evening and a great experience to listen to and see the Symphony. We all had a great time!

As a family we spent a lot of time this year at the lake, boating, jet skiing and hanging out. We were able to take a weekend and get away to Bee House where we spent most of our time 4-wheeling. We all took a couple of trips to Tulsa. One in April to remember Jim on the one year anniversary that he went Home. The other was in September to celebrate Ed & Lois's 50th wedding anniversary!

The boys get together all the time. They each live in their own apartments but close to each other. They play a lot of basketball, cards and watch movies and football together. We love that they are all close and spend this time together. Several of their friends were married this year and we have been able to attend those weddings.

We have spent time with many friends & family members that have come to visit or we have visited and hope to continue getting together. We have two new additions this year. My cat Lili ( named after Queen Liliuokalani from Hawaii). And, Kevin & Nikki's cat Leonidas ( Leo).

We have sadly lost several friends and Chris's Grandma Doris this year. But know we will see them all again someday.

TIM~ will celebrate his 24th birthday in March and he has just graduated from UTD with a degree in math and a concentration in statistics. He is currently working full time at Prime Controls as a CAD technician and lives with a roommate in Dallas. He is in a band that he plays bass guitar and a little bit of vocals for. Tim has been a groomsman in a couple of his friends weddings and will also be for Kevin's.

Kevin & Nikki~ As you probably notice from our family picture we are now 6 instead of 5. Kevin will be marrying his fiance Nikki in June! She is already very much a part of our family and we all love her. They each have their own apartments in the same complex and live with roommates. Kevin is currently moving back in here at the end of the month to save up some money for his marriage. He and Nikki will get an apartment together in June.
Kevin~ works full time at Maxim Integrated as a manufacturing analyst as well as going to school full time. He is still at TWU in his Jr. year as a marketing major. He has played in a band this year as the drummer, and done some marketing for the band. He will be celebrating his 22nd birthday in a few weeks.
Nikki ~is also a Jr. in college as a Literary Studies major and works part time teaching gymnastics to children. We all went to see her perform with her college dance class in a modern/interpretive dance production. She was great and is very talented as a dancer. We have been able to spend time with her parents and sister, getting to know them better and look forward to meeting her brother.

MATT~ will celebrate his 19th birthday in April and is now a sophomore at UTD. He decided as of this next semester to change his major from Geology to Arts & Performance with a concentration in music. He works part time at an art store close by school and is working full time over the break at Prime Controls, where he worked this past summer. He also played in a band this year as the lead singer, lead guitar, keyboards and songwriter. Matt was a groomsman for his friend Gabe's wedding and will be the best man for Kevin's. The 3 of them are taking turns being the "best man" for each others weddings.

CHRIS & ELAYNE~ together we have spent a lot of time camping, running, kayaking, hiking and mountain biking. We try to take the camper and go at least once a month. We love to experience all the different seasons while camping. We attended Chris's work Christmas party this year and were able to get caught up with some old friends.

Chris ~took his Professional Engineer license exam and we just found out today that he passed! It was a tough exam and he studied long and hard for it. He has gone to a couple of concerts lately. He and all the boys went to see Kings X last week. Good dad/sons time! Kevin took him to see Joe Satriani and Tim took him to Robin Trower. He continues to play guitar for the FBC praise & worship band. They just did their Christmas concert and it was wonderful. He continues to be my faithful running partner and best friend :)
ELAYNE~ I'm sure most of you know I have been fighting cancer for a second time in the past 10 years. It has been a rough year but also filled with so many other wonderful things! If you would like to know more about this journey or keep updated on my health, I have a blog "Elayne's Blog" that you can check out. Click on the link under "family & friends blogs".
Otherwise, I am still running which has become my passion, therapy, medicine,etc. I plan to complete my first marathon in 09. I did a half marathon in 07~ the Dallas Half and ran the Komen "Race For The Cure" 5k in 08 with a PR( personal record). This year I completed and became certified as a Personal Fitness Trainer. Our game room has been made into a home gym where I will begin training clients in January. I will also be training my first 5k running group beginning Jan.5th. I had the honor of being asked to speak to a group of runners with Team In Training in July and am now a member of a group called TNT Victory that is comprised of people that are not only participating in endurance events but that are all cancer survivors as well! They are an awesome group of people. Over the summer I was also able to teach some swimming lessons again and loved it!
My wonderful friend Donise and I also took our first girl getaway to Lake Murray.

Believe it or not, this was the "short" version of our year. I hope you enjoy the blogs and we look forward to hearing from all of you very soon! Our family would like to thank all of you for your support and love over this past year. Please write and let us know about you and yours. Have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a Happy, healthy New Year in 2009!

The Minichs~ Chris, Elayne, Tim, Kevin, Nikki and Matt!

OH COME LET US ADORE HIM~ CHRIST THE LORD