Periodical-Lee 2016

•    Twelve - grades of public school completed by Noah, upon high school graduation (upper middle on the holiday photo).  Including Amy’s kindergarten year we just completed 17 years with the public schools and to Noah’s chagrin we savored every last moment this year with him. Whether it was with the tennis team (lower right on the holiday photo card), soccer, drum line, or just watching him hang out with “the squad” it’s been a good run and we look forward to what the future brings for all those folks.  

•    Eleven - weeks for the Great Kitchen IKEA-zation of 2016.  There was lots of turmoil and stress trying to finish that before graduation season, but was well worth it for the stylistic and functional improvements. And lots of extra planning/shopping trips to Denise’s favorite theme park, IKEA? Double-win!

•    Ten - how Noah felt on his Eagle Scout Days: passing the Board of Review and his Court of Honor.  That developmental journey is best represented at his Court of Honor, presenting the Mentor Pin to close family friend (okay, more like brother/uncle) Kent MacLean (lower middle on the card).

•    Nine - semesters projected for Noah at the Missouri University of Science and Technology at Rolla, MO.  Although starting as a computer engineer with his sights on something like a Disney Imagineer, he’s considering switching majors and estimates it might take an extra semester to finish that off.  Given his high math scores so far, who would argue with his forecasts?

•    Eight - days in NY for Sherman this year.  One trip was with Noah to visit Sherman’s dad, and also included an all-day tour of Manhattan (museums, comic book shops, etc.) on the coldest day of the year.  That wonderfully customized tour was given by a cousin, whose wedding (on the most beautiful day of the year) was the reason for the second NY/CT trip, taken with Denise

•    Seven - days in northern Bay Area California for an extended family vacation. As much as we enjoyed seeing the sights (like Muir Woods!) and San Francisco, nothing tops just spending time with relatives and seeing how quickly all the children are maturing. Although Amy couldn’t join this year, we all video-chatted with her as much as we could.   

•    Six - years Amy and Drew will have dated prior to the wedding (lower left on the holiday photo card is one of their engagement photos). We couldn’t be happier about their future lives together, except perhaps that Drew is so far away in Idaho for his first full-time job as a mining engineer. And apparently there’s an over/under betting pool about how many times Sherman will cry moisten his eyes on the wedding day. Not sure who’s charged with keeping the official tally...

•    Five - hours a week (minimum) that Denise and Sherman volunteer with Boy Scouts, civic, and arts/education institutions as new empty nesters. Even if the house is empty, the schedules are quite full...

•    Four - years completed at Missouri State University at Springfield for Amy’s graduation, upper left on the holiday photo card. With years of going to color guard and drum line championships in Springfield (while Amy was in high school), plus Noah’s graduation from the drum line, it’s a bit sad that there’s no annual reason for a Springfield trip. On the other hand, the spirit of Springfield will be well-represented at the wedding.

•    Three - scholarships for Noah at Senior Night. That the alumni scholarship committee couldn’t narrow down to four awardees and instead divided their pool to the eight semifinalists (including Noah) says loads about Noah’s graduating class. And the pleasantest surprise of the night was Noah winning the English Department scholarship, especially because Sherman’s mom is a retired high school English teacher.

•    Two - semesters for Amy to complete in her internship year for registered dietetics in Kansas City. After the internship, Amy plans to complete her master’s degree and devise ways of leveraging her degree while in Idaho (or other mining locales).

•    One - as in the One who we celebrate this time of year.  

Health, happiness and humor to you in 2017!

Sherman, Denise, Noah, Amy and Drew