Christmas letter

Sprowls News Herald -- 2009 Edition

Sarah – A second grader already? Sarah, 7, has finally decided that she loves reading (just like her mom, both grandmas, and her great-grandmother). She has made straight A’s both six weeks. (This is the first year she has received grades, and we are so very proud of her!) Last spring she played softball and this fall she played volleyball for the YMCA. She continues to love Girl Scouts and this year she is a Brownie. She spent a week at day camp and tried several other activities as part of Girl Scout’s Summer Extreme program. Sarah participates in Kid Serve at our church; this is a ministry where she performs puppets for Shane’s class. She is still very into Hannah Montana and anything creative. She has recently taken over the job of completing her own scrapbook pages. We enjoy working together to decorate the pages. We had the experience this year of having two pet hamsters (Princess, then Whiskers). Very cute and cuddly, but neither faired well health-wise, so we probably won’t get another one.

Shane – 4, is such a BOY! Always busy running, jumping, and climbing. He does stop to cuddle and can still barely fold his legs up so that he’ll fit in my lap. He attends preschool two days a week at Heritage Church of Christ again this year. He loves preschool, but doesn’t enjoy going to day care while Mommy works….partly because they make him nap and partly because he is spoiled and likes to be with Steve or me. He is looking forward to kindergarten next year at Sarah’s school. He played T-Ball both this spring and fall. He cannot wait to play again in the spring. He had a Star Wars birthday party and was a Storm-Trooper for Halloween. (Sarah was Princess Leia.) He still loves Disney cars, but has a new love for Hot Wheels and Battle Force 5.

Steve – still flies out of Dallas for Southwest. One of Steve’s favorite places to over-night is San Diego. We spent a week there this summer for a family vacation. We enjoyed the San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Park, and most of all Legoland. Gotta love free airline travel! While in CA, we got to meet Darren Sproles, the running back for the Chargers. Steve loves to her “Sproles scored a touchdown” announced on the TV. He has thoroughly enjoyed being back in Texas and getting to watch the Cowboys live at the new stadium. It is unbelievable! Steve has continued to focus on working out and running. From the time he started in May ’08, he has lost 30 pounds. He was under 200 for a few days before Thanksgiving. Girl Scout nuts and pumpkin pie have pushed him back to 200. After Girl Scout cookies in Jan and his birthday brownies, I’m sure he will work it back off! He still works with the Air Force reserves to interview high school students that would like to go to the AF Academy.

Shannon – My days as a full-time mom only lasted one semester. In January, I took a job as a long-term sub for a 4th grade Language Arts teacher that had a baby. Mid-way through, she resigned, so I stayed the rest of the school year at Justin Elementary. This fall, I tried something new – first grade. I spent 9 weeks with the little ones, learning how to teach reading and writing from the beginning. I loved the age level of the kids, but as always, trying to balance work and family was hard. I finished just before Thanksgiving, and am glad to be home again (for now…) I am Sarah’s Brownie leader again this year and enjoy the simple pleasures of taking my kids to and from school. Of course, I still scrapbook, but find myself doing more digital books these days. If you have a chance, visit our BLOG at creativescrapper.blogspot.com

Until next year, Steve, Shannon, Sarah, & Shane

** PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR ZIP CODE HAS CHANGED TO 76244