A very merry Christmas and happy holidays from all of us here at The Rectory!  After neglecting to make time for last year's Year-In-Review, this year's edition will attempt to double your holiday pleasure, covering the past two years around the Priest household.  So sit back and pour yourself a cold one, and sure, (you've got an excuse) go ahead and make it a double!

Ashley is eleven now and enjoying 5th grade.  She's a great student and edging closer to the teen years (whether her Mom or me like it or not).  She's active in girl scouts and acting classes.  She enjoys going on walks and shopping with Mommy, and goes on an occasional Indian Princess outing with me.  She's looking forward to trying her hand at volleyball which starts up early next year.

Allison is nine and doing well in 4th grade.  She excels in the classroom and enjoys playing on basketball and softball teams.  She sings in our church's youth choir and is also active in her girl scout troop, which Laura helps lead.  She and I still do a few Indian Princess outings a year as well, which is always a great time!  She is looking forward to starting piano lessons here sometime soon!

Then there's Andrew, he's in a whole different classification all his own!  He's 5 and a half, and just loves Kindergarten!  He's a great reader and absolutely loves to talk...he's unstoppable...really, I've tried...he can talk right through a sock!  He's working on his focus and attention span, but he's sharp as a tack, and loves anything remotely related to electronics or Star Wars.  He played on his first basketball team this year, really enjoyed himself, and was proud as could be to bring home his first trophy they give out at the end of the season!

Laura has had a real busy two years!  Most of that time she was in school at Durham Tech working on her nursing degree.  She finished that up and passed her boards in May.  We are all so proud of her and happy all the hard work has paid off!  She's now working at Rex Hospital in the Labor & Delivery unit.  Also (it that wasn't enough) she still manages to keep things running as smoothly as usual around the house!

I've had a busy two years as well.  Laura's busy schedule translated to somewhat more juggling for me, balancing my work with being there for the kids.  Fortunately, my job has been flexible in those regards.  And speaking of my job, my time at Nortel came to an end in December.  It's been a long ride with some ups and downs, but it was time to move on.  I'm working now at McKesson, still doing software development, on a product anesthesiologists use.  I'm still in learning mode, but really looking forward to the new opportunity!

So in two years we managed to take a few vacations.  One of the highlights in 2007 was a trip me and the kids took in July (left Laura home to study) to see my family in Missouri.  We had a great time and the kids took in an air show and some "farm learnin" with Uncle Larry!

In August 2007, we took a vacation to Gatlinburg, TN.  We enjoyed the scenic drives through the mountains and hikes on trails we weren't sure were going to end before wild animals attacked us!  We also had a DDelightful time at Dollywood!  The kids, well, the whole family, loves roller coasters!

In May 2008, we finally broke down and took the kids to Disney World.  My sisters Lisa & Krissi, along with Krissi's kids, Jackson & Karsyn, met us down in Orlando for all the fun and excitement!  The kids had a great time and I'm now referred to as fast-pass Daddy, well, along with Goofy, and Dumbo...but that started way before the trip...  Lisa had a great trip as well, as she spent her time mostly at the local hospital enjoying the pleasure of passing a few kidney stones.  She really knows how to vacation!

Then in June the kids and I (Laura was busy with her boards) made the trip back to Missouri to help celebrate my folk's 50th anniversary!  Talk about an accomplishment!  People say marriage isn't easy, and my folks will attest to that...just ask them!  We had a great time seeing everyone and wished them well on the next 50 glorious years!

In July we were off to Panama City for two weeks of fun and sun at the beach.  Laura needed to relax after getting out of school and before she started up work at Rex.  We can't wait til the next time we get down there!

In October, we took a family camping trip over a long weekend with the Tibbetts and Greenes in Virginia.  We enjoyed the campfire chatter, Larry's cookin, a 3 foot monster snake gourd, and a bike ride on the Virginia Creeper Trail.  The kids all had a blast and hopefully we can do it more often, as long as some fishing gets worked in... :)

You can checkout all our photos from the past 2 years and more in the Photo Archives section of our website at:  http://www.TheRectory.org

Well, I guess that sums up the past two years.  We managed to work in a lot of fun, family time and vacations into our busy schedules.  Now hopefully we can keep that up!

We wish you and yours a happy and blessed holiday season and prosperous 2009!!!