Sunday, December 27, 2009

MERRY CHRISTMAS - 27 December 2009 - Sterling Heights, Michigan


Dear Family,


A week full of celebrating culminated the hectic preparations.

Wednesday morning Myriam, Michael and Dad went to Daniel & Holli's for breakfast and to exchange Christmas gifts. Nathan, Joseph, Joshua and Isaiah seemed to have fun with the Nerf guns from Papa and Nona. We enjoyed being together for a few hours to share the Christmas spirit.

All the Christmas Eve festivities were enjoyed by the Corless, Kulka and Hreinson clans and our friends the Reihl family. After the popular pizza party, we had the Nativity program of songs enthusiastically lead by Ryan: scriptures read by Jim; narration by Papa; costuming by Nona and the moms; photography by Maureen and portrayal by the grandbuddies. The star of the show was Rex Stuart as the sweet baby Jesus. It was a grand reenactment of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ to be remember by all. It was a great joy to see 14 grandchildren all having fun with one another.

Christmas Day started at 7:00 am with the Missionaries coming to share their Christmas with us. We started with singing Silent Night and a thanksgiving prayer and then we opened gifts one by one for the next couple of hours. When this was done, we were all ready for our traditional pancake, bacon and egg breakfast. Later we were joined by the rest of clan for a big turkey feast followed by fun games. Once again the great joy was watching the grandbuddies playing with one another.

The gifts were thoughtful and well received, but the most important gift of all is the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and we, family and friends, are all together in the celebration in our hearts.

The only Christmas Day event that did not go well was that a joint in the sump pump piping decided to break loose flooding part of the basement. However, with quick action to stop the deluge and soak up the residue, the flood was controlled, the damage minimized and the pipe joint was repaired.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas celebration.

Love y'all, Mom & Dad


Sunday, December 20, 2009

20 December 2009 - Sterling Heights, Michigan

Dear Family,


Christmas - Festivities are fast approaching and preparations are in high gear. We have been purchasing and returning and wrapping gifts so that our matter will be organized in time for the birthday celebration. We have enjoyed receiving the Christmas cards and letters from friends and family and we sent the last of our cards. Last night the complete tribe of David & Jana arrived safely after traversing an adversely conditioned road. It did not snow much, but it did leave some treacherous slick spots on the road. They saw many vehicles that had spun off I-94 in Michigan. We are so grateful for their safe arrival – “one less worry”.

Seminary – Since, Michael graduated, we had thought we were finished with Seminary routine, but the ward building was being re-carpeted and the Seminary class met at our home each morning this week. It was good to partake of the enthusiasm of the young people and we hope they found our home a house of learning.

Entertainment – Dad, Mom and Michael really enjoyed the new movies “2012” and “Avatar” at AMC 30. We saw Avatar in IMAX and 3D to enhance the experience. Also, we were entertained by Tyler's 7th grade basketball games on Tuesday and Thursday – they are undefeated so far. Additional “entertainment” was supplied by Ryan, who invited Dad and Michael to paint the walls in his basement. Actually, it turned out quite well considering the level of talent we have obtained. Michael, Dad and Jim were also, “entertained” by the Jeep ignition, which decided to not let the key turn to start the engine. (Another thing on the never ending “to do list”.)

We wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Love y'all, Mom & Dad


Monday, December 14, 2009

13 December 2009 - Sterling Heights, MIchigan

Sunday December 13th 2009


Dear Family,

Michael is home and he is glad to be here, and we are happy to have him here. His flights were delayed almost 8 hours, just in time for the snow to make the roads slick for our drive home.

Most of our time this week was devoted to Ryan & Maureen in support of the family and specially Rex Stuart. Another high priority was finishing the basement enough so the Preston and Jacob could sleep there to make room for Maureen's parents, who came late Thursday night.

Friday, Mom, Dad, and Michael went to see the new inspirational movie “Invictus” about the South African Rugby team and Nelson Mandela. David has got to see this one!

Sunday we attended North Shores Ward for the blessing of Rex Stuart Corless by Ryan assisted by both Grandfathers, Rex and Stuart and Uncles, Jim and Michael. Tyler held the microphone making it completely a family affair. We then rushed back to attend our Ward meetings. After all the church meetings, we went to the Frank's annual Christmas Party where we enjoyed seeing some of the people from the old neighborhood and singing Christmas carols. We went to see Jim and Vanessa and then Ryan and Maureen for few minutes before going home, to give them all the Christmas gifts from the Frank's. Later, (around 10 pm), we stopped at church to take home all the gifts from the Relief Society to the women's shelter so they can be delivered on Monday.

Never a dull moment as we approach Christmas. We hope we can “hold together”, as Grandma says.

Love y'all, Mom & Dad




Sunday, December 6, 2009

Sunday 6 December 2009 - Sterling Heights, Michigan


Sunday December 6th


Dear Family,

The Best Gift - The crowning event this week is the arrival of a handsome and healthy little boy to Maureen & Ryan. He was born 4:19 am on Wednesday 2 Dec 2009 and weighed 7 pounds 4 oz and was 20.5” long. Mom & I were privileged to stay with Preston, Jacob and Sophia for a couple of days until Ryan & Maureen brought Rex Stuart Corless home, where he was received with great anticipation, love and care by his siblings. Thanks to Heavenly Father - all is well!

Technical Difficulties - Wednesday we got a new AT&T fiber optic phone, internet and TV, which took about 4 ½ hours to install, so we were not able to take the siblings to visit their brand new brother on the day of his birth. The backup visit plan was to go the next day, but the alternator and battery of the Explorer gave up after 7 years and 94,000+ miles of service; the “Little Red Wagon” had to be hauled to the dealership to be repaired. Since we could not all fit in the Jeep the backup visit plan was scrubbed. Sorry!

Matter Organized - Mom worked hard to get the house, inside and out, to look just right for Christmas. She is so relieved to get that finished and all the storage boxes etc. put away. Once again, the house is clean and in order! We are almost ready to publish the Christmas letter, which summarizes our journeys of 2009. There is still much to be done to complete the preparations, but we have gotten a start and the efforts are proceeding to realize the plan to have everything ready.

We hope all is well with everyone.

Love y'all, Mom & Dad

Friday, December 4, 2009

Welcome Our Latest Grandchild - Rex Stuart Corless


Name: Rex Stuart Corless
Born: 2 December 2009 4:19 a.m.
Executive Producers: Ryan & Maureen Corless
Perfect Design by: Heavenly Father
Weight: 7 pounds 4 oz.
Length: 20.5 inches
Condition: Perfect
Family Atitude: Thankful and happy beyond measure.