Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas Eve! I finally got all my cards sent out a couple days ago, but didn't include a Christmas letter - mostly just because I was not that organized. So, I thought I'd type one up here for my friends and family to read. So, see? You still get one. :)
2008 was a pretty eventful year for our family. At the end of the year, we are appreciating our many blessings including health, home and friends and family. The year started with ice and snow. The kids had a lot of fun going sledding and making snowmen, a snow dog, and snow angels. Shannon began her new calling in church as the secretary for the Young Women. In Feb. and March, Damian had some serious tummy issues. We were very concerned for a while, and even went to see a specialist at the St. Louis Children's Hospital, but were relieved to find out that it was just a bad virus, and he's been fine ever since. Yay! :) Angel got glasses in March. She wears them for reading, writing and computer/TV viewing. She loves her Princess glasses. :)
Spring brought a whirl of activity as Frank and I were busy planning bachelor and bachelorette parties and showers, and finally attending the wedding of our friends Max and Megan. Frank was given the honor of being the best man, and Angel was a flower girl (and soloist! - she sang the National Anthem at the reception when she got a hold of the karaoke mic!). Of course we also had our April Birthday Bash for the many birthdays in our family around March/April. Lots of partying for us!
Summer brought the whole (Harris) family together for Memorial Day. We were able to get some rare photos of everyone together. :) In June, the kid's had their dance recital. They have also been involved in other sports this year including BMX and soccer for Damian and gymnastics, and cheerleading for Angel. At the end of the year awards banquet for BMX, Damian won the Daredevil Award, and Angel got a "Female Vocalist of the Year" plaque for singing the National Anthem every week at the track.
Frank and a business partner began a new venture when they bought the inventory of 3 motorcycle shops that went out of business. That has kept him busy, along with working hard to get our "new house" ready for us to move into (hopefully soon). He also continued racing motorcycles this year, and his team finished 4th for the year.
The kids' Grandma and Grandpa Gonzales took them on a great vacation to South Dakota for a week over the summer, and Frank and Shannon were able to get away for a weekend, too. Just before school started, Frank and Shannon also took a trip to CA for another wedding. This time Shannon was honored with being asked to be a bridesmaid. We were also able to visit some family and more friends while in CA. We fell in love with San Diego and hope to go visit again.
On our way home from CA, we found out that Shannon had a brother and sister both in the hospital. Sean had crashed his motorcycle and several injuries. He spent a week in the hospital, another month on another sister's couch, and ended up moving in with our family. Frank was able to give him some work to do, and Shannon takes care of his kids. He will be moving into the duplex ajoining ours after Christmas.
Julie had gone to visit Sean in the hospital, passed out, and cracked her skull and had bleeding in her brain. She spent 35 days in the hospital, and is making a good recovery. She's still has some lingering effects from the head trauma, but has been cleared by her doctors to go back to school next month. She's very excited about that!
The beginning of school was very important this year, as Angel started kindergarten! She was very excited to start school, and has been doing extremely well. She was chosen as Student of the Month for the first month of school! Unfortunately, Damian was sick on the first day of school, but has been going strong since then. He aces almost every spelling, science and math test, and was chosen as this month's Student of the Month.
Damian turned 8 in October. He's growing up way too fast for me! He's lost several teeth this year, started scouts, and got baptized by his Grandpa Harris in November. November was also exciting because we got to go to Disney World! It was a perfect dream of a vacation. We spent a week in Orlando, got to visit with more family, went to the 4 main Disney parks, and Wet'n'Wild. It's hard to come home and back to reality after a trip like that!
This holiday season has been nice, with a lot of family time together. We're looking forward to more visiting and good times with family this coming week. I hope you all have a blessed and happy Christmas, too.
Love,
Gonzales Family