2012 Christmas Letter

Life is either a great adventure or nothing.

Helen Keller

As 2012 draws to a close, it certainly has been a year of adventure for us.  Here are some of the highlights:

Andrew (a.k.a. Elder Tonini) began his two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Riverside, California.  He spent the first eight months in his first area (Beaumont) and was only recently transferred to Moreno Valley.  We look forward to his email every Monday and love to hear him share his testimony of our Savior and how he loves to serve others.

Jacob played his first varsity season on his new Seminole High School baseball team.  It was a new adventure to have a post-season, even if they lost in the first round, and we were proud to have him named to the All-District team.  In our small town, jobs for teenagers are difficult to come by so we were excited when he got his first “real” job (i.e. taxes withheld) at a fast-food restaurant.  He valiantly stuck it out for nearly two months, working nearly forty hours a week (from 4 pm to close) while going to school full time.  He gained some valuable experience (and he enjoyed the paychecks) but ultimately decided to focus on his schoolwork.  He has been accepted to Texas A&M, Texas, Tech, and BYU-Idaho but is still waiting to hear back from BYU-Provo before he makes his final decision.

Corina made the freshman volleyball team, performed in the Regional choir, and finished first in a Science UIL competition that she participated in on a lark.  She enjoys her school work and is often found checking her grades online.  She surprised her dad by expressing interest in the political process and not only watched the party conventions but also the debates!  Corina blesses our family with our outgoing personality, her contagious laugh, and persistent smile.

Carson’s youth baseball team also saw post-season play and were one game away from advancing to regionals in Louisiana.   His first year at Scout summer camp was made even more memorable by his cousin Logan and Uncle Geoff joining our small troop.  As a seventh grader, he played on the Junior High’s football and basketball teams and even found time to referee flag football games.

After nearly twenty years out of the workforce, Raena has found her ideal job working at the County library.  As if that isn’t enough, she still teaches an early-morning Bible-study group for the teenagers in our church congregation, is a member of the Seminole Music Club, and is the secretary/treasurer of the Friends of the Library.   She has had to cut back on her piano teaching but still has a couple of students.

Greg continues to love his job at Hess and was surprised when they offered him to backfill his brother’s position in North Dakota.  He will commute Monday through Thursday until Jacob graduates and then the family will move up with him.  We have loved our West Texas adventure and now look forward to our North Dakota adventure.

We have been blessed this year with visits from extended family, memories of umpiring and scoring youth baseball games as a family, volunteering and riding in the MS150 bike ride from Midland to Post, and countless other adventures.

We are grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We know He lives!  We wish you and yours a Merry Christmas, a prosperous New Year, and a life full of adventures!