Corless Clan Connection - 26 December 2010 - Michigan

Dear Family,

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

Intestinal Uproar - Almost all the family’s “inurds” were in an uproar for a few days, starting last Sunday.  After a couple of days, we were back to normal and completely capable of over-eating our way through the Christmas celebrations of the various breakfasts and dinners and completely enjoying the season together. 

Celebrating of Christmas Eve - Michael, Mom and Grandma went to Kulka’s for breakfast while Dad stayed home for a little while, waiting for the delivery of Mom’s Christmas gift. It arrived just in time for him to go and have a delicious meal, too.  In the evening, the annual Corless/Kulka family Christmas Eve pizza and Nativity Program was joined by Grandma Sparks, the Riehl and Tolboe families. All the children  were intimately involved as cast members in the traditional nativity play.  The “Come Let Us Adore Him” program, taken from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke and punctuated with the Christmas Hymns songs, served well to focus our thoughts and actions on the birth of Christ. 

Christmas Day - The Christmas morning tradition of gift giving followed by a pancake breakfast included the brand new Sister Missionaries assigned to our ward. It was snowing slightly and everything was beautiful and filled with peace and joy. Later, Dad & Mom started preparations for the turkey dinner, while Michael configured Mom’s new iPad and taught her how to use it.  Kulka’s & Grandma came for turkey dinner and sharing gifts with each other.  They watched a movie -“Despicable Me” - in Papa & Nona’s bedroom, since the sound equipment in the family room collapsed.  It took longer to get the movie going than it did to watch it.  It was awesome!

Love y’all,

Mom & Dad 

Corless Clan Christmas Celebration Survivors

Corless Connection - Sterling Heights, Michigan - 19 December 2010

Dear Family,

Christmas - Mom & Dad refurbished the old 60”wreath and hung it on the house to complete the outside Christmas decor for this year. “Lookin’ good!”  Mom & Dad went shopping with Sister Starr to set up for the Ward Christmas Party on Thursday, and with the Hansen’s, decorated the gym on Saturday. Dad took Mom, Grandma and the ham to the party and photographed the decor and attendees. 

Christmas Cargo - Mom bought, wrapped, packed and Dad priority-mailed the Christmas packages full of fun stuff from Papa & Nona to the tribes of Dan & Lara and Ryan & Rachel. 

RS Dinner - Thursday evening the Relief Society had their Christmas activity featuring soup in a bread bowl to eat.  Mom, Grandma & Dad attended. (Dad was the official photographer for the event)

Home for Christmas - Ryan picked up Michael at the airport on Friday afternoon and invited us over for pizza to celebrate his homecoming. It was great to see and hug him again and share the event with family. Thank Heavenly Father he arrived safely.

License to Drive - After accumulating the five pieces of appropriate documentation and a visit to the local Secretary of State, Grandma has her Michigan Driver’s License and her Jeep is titled in Michigan. It is amazing how illegal aliens obtain a driver license. After the ordeal, Grandma treated Mom & Dad to lunch at Appleby’s. Thank you Grandma!

We love y’all and have a Merry Christmas,

Mom & Dad

Merry Christmas from our Home to Yours!

Corless Connection - Sterling Heights, Michigan - 12 December 2010

Dear Family,

Christmas Connections - Completed, published and mailed the 2010 Corless Clan Christmas Chronicle to friends and family around the world.  (One big job checked off the list.)  Failed in our attempt to replace the lighted 60” wreath, looks like we will need to refurbish the old one. (Add one big job to the list.)  Visited a few church members to bring  some Christmas cheer to them.  Enjoyed a pizza dinner with Stebar’s here, Friday night.  It was peaceful, fun and filed with the wamth of dear friends.  Perfect!

Family History Connections - Grandma & Dad sat in front of the computer for a few hours and added names and info to the collection of Sorenson/Petersen ancestor photos. It was good to get to know and connect to these precious ancestors a little more. Tuesday evening the ordinance work was started for Mom’s Greek Grandmother and family. 

Woodcrafters - Dad helped Holli repair (reconnected a few pieces) and fit ball bearing glides to the famous oak chest of drawers, which is now a totally functional and operational matter (clothes) organizer.

Athletics -  Dad attended Tyler’s Basket Ball games on Monday & Thursday. Dad played and won (21-20) a very hard fought game of singles in Racquetball on Friday morning, which left a few sore muscles for him to enjoy in the afternoon.  Mom & Dad attended Joshua, Preston & Jacob’s Roller Hockey tournament Saturday afternoon.  They won the first game in which Jacob scored a goal.  Go Jake!  The second game was . . . the official end of the season for the three hockey cousins.

Love y’all,

Mom & Dad 

The Roller Hockey Cousins - Joshua, Jacob & Preston 

Corless Connection - Sterling Heights, Michigan - 5 December 2010

Dear Family,

It’s Looking a lot like Christmas - Decorating for Christmas consumed a large part of the time and effort this week. Accompained by the music of Christmas, Mom made the inside tree, stairway, and all 7 nativity scenes  look very beautiful, festive and classy and aimed right at celebrating the Nativity.  Go Mom !

Temple Time - Mom & Dad served as endowment witness couple and sealing patrons during their Tuesday night shift. 

Date Night - Mom & Dad went with Stebar’s to Bronner’s in Frankenmuth, to find the perfect tree topper. They had dinner at Culver’s, in Birch Run. It was great to be with Stebar’s for the evening.

Chapel Cleaners - Mom & Dad dusted and vacuumed the Chapel and Cultural Hall on Saturday morning. Dad hung out with Ryan & Boys while Mom took the girls (Vanessa, Maureen, Samantha, Olivia and Sophia) to the movie “Tangled”. They really enjoyed it.  After movie and Subway Subs for dinner, Mom & Dad played a game of Hearts with Ryan & Maureen. 

Teachers - Mom taught the lesson in Relief Society and Dad taught the lesson in High Priests about Christmas Scriptures. Mom organized a total of 12 Nativity scriptures, from the Old and New Testaments and Book of Mormon, to be read one each day for 12 days of Christmas.  Her goal was to help us all learn to focus on what is essential.  She had 12 different sisters read those scriptures, then watched a 4 min. video of pictures from “Reflections of Christ” to the sound of “Come Thou Fountain”.  The class finished with each of the sisters bearing witness of what “they KNOW” - a true testimony.  It was simple, entirely focused on the Savior and wonderful!  HE LIVES!

Love y’all, Mom & Dad