McLoughlin Family Christmas Letter 2016

Merry Christmas once again from the McLoughlins! Here’s all the latest for this past year and it’s a lot!

Aron turned 50 in November, traveled to South Carolina and Canada this year for work and grew a massive garden. He also got most of our kitchen remodeled. He went fishing in the spring with the Solsbergs and the boys. He’s still active in Joel’s Boy Scout troop and now also in Sam’s Cub Scout pack, along with helping out at Theology of the Body for Teens classes. He went to Camp Savio (including Schlitterbahn!) and Medicine Mountain this past summer (with Joel, see below). He also did the Octoginta bike ride in Lawrence and rode 100 miles in a row TWICE!

Kerrie turned 45 in June and is still homeschooling while running her writing-related businesses of writing books/magazine articles, proofreading, and blogging. She gets to teach high school PE, 5^th/6^th grade Drama, and 7^th-12^th grade Creative Writing at Christ the King homeschool co-op. Kerrie and Aron did something in March they had not done in 15 years: they went away overnight together ALONE!

Joel is 15, was Confirmed in March, and is the Senior Patrol Leader of his Scout troop. He enjoyed his co-op classes of Music Appreciation, Drama, and PE last spring and now likes PE, Study Skills, Creative Writing, and Latin. He’s always doing various activities and dances and lock-ins, as well as his Theology of the Body for Teens course. He went to Catholic Camp Savio for a week in June and then Medicine Mountain High Adventure camp in South Dakota, where he discovered his love for indoor and outdoor rock climbing. He also was a spring/fall soccer referee, played spring/fall soccer, babysits, and started a terrific lawn care job recently. With all of that working, he saved up for a really nice bow he is very proud of. He got his learner’s permit in the fall and has been knocking out those hours to prepare for his driver’s license. Oliver the bearded dragon is doing well and roams the house sometimes. The adjective I would use for Joel would be: social.

Michael is 13 is a super-smart Minecraft and Lego master who is going through Confirmation classes now to be Confirmed in the spring. Last spring he took PE, Science (shark dissection!) and LEGO Robotics in co-op and is making new friends. This semester he is taking PE, Study Skills and Engineering. Michael makes sure we make the Lego mini-build at the mall every month like clockwork. Jiggy the tortoise, who he has had for about 5 years now, is currently hibernating.

Callie is 11 and gave track a shot this past spring and is currently playing CYO basketball for Holy Cross. She got a sewing machine last Christmas and promptly made a bunch of pillows, a pillowcase, a skirt, and even a dress. She loved her PE, Science and Egyptian Mummification classes at co-op in the spring and now digs her Science Experiments, Drama and Handcrafts classes. She went to her first coop dance this past fall and lives life with flair J

Eva is 9, always talking and smiling, and had her First Communion in April. She loved her Catechesis, Science, Storytime and PE classes at co-op last spring with her friends and also enjoyed lunch and recess. Now she is taking Art, World Geography and Creative Writing. She likes to play My Little Pony, Shopkins, Littlest Pet Shop and Barbies with her friends and alone and likes to sit and color.

Samuel is 7 and is all super-snuggly boy. He’s going through First Communion classes and making new besties at co-op who like to play with toy guns and run around like he does. He played a little soccer in the spring, took up Cub Scouts, and at coop he takes two art classes, fairy tales, PE, and music. He took all the same classes as Eva in the spring. His fish, Spongebob and Patrick, live on swimmingly in our bedroom.

Here’s to a fabulous 2017 from The McLoughlins (Aron, Kerrie, Joel, Michael, Callie, Eva & Samuel)

HOPE{LOVEYDREAMRPRAYVLEARN&SINGTLAUGHJACCEPTASLEEP