Corless Clan Connection - Sterling Heights, Michigan - 25 December 2011

Dear Family, 

Merry Christmas! 

Sports - Monday, Dad watched Tyler’s basketball game at Chippewa. Jim let Dad video the last half because he had to pickup Sam from swimming. Dad attended Michael’s Alumni’s basketball scrimmage game at UHS and watched, with Tyler, Michael score 18 points. Dad biked the whole Clinton River Trail on Thursday afternoon when wind died down and  the temperature was above freezing. Mom enjoyed her first ever “Zumba” session with Vanessa & Maureen, on Friday morning.

Tuesday Temple - Mom & Dad went to serve in the temple baptistry, but the scheduled group did not come. So we were let off to go home, which was a tender mercy to allow wrapping of Christmas gifts and prepare the downstairs for Dan & Lara’s tribe to reside for a week or so. Dad hooked up the stereo system and they got to listen to Christmas songs while they worked. 

Christmas Connections & Celebrations - Wednesday evening the youth from our ward came caroling.  Mom & Dad gave them cookies and took their picture.  Thursday - Dad baked 12 pumpkin pies. Saturday - visited Daniel & Holli on the way to pick up Dan & Lara and tribe, while Mom finished preparations for their arrival. n Dad played football with Nathan, Joseph, Joshua and Isaiah, while Daniel picked up Dan & Lara from the airport. Pizza for dinner, the live Nativity program, and funny family video clips rounded out the Christmas eve celebrations. Sunday - Early morning gift giving, pancake breakfast , church, dinner and more gift giving. Everyone had such a good time together playing games.   

Dan & Lara at Daniel & Holli’s 

Nativity Cast

Christmas Celebrants

Holiday Host Survivors

Love y’all,  Mom & Dad

Corless Clan Connection - Sterling Heights, Michigan - 18 December 2011

Dear Family,

Holes in the wall Gang - On Monday, Dad helped Ryan drill 5 holes in his basement wall to locate the source of the leaking crack. Then they cut a two foot wide section to allow access to seal the crack. Unfortunately, it was still wet and can not be sealed until it dries.  Saturday morning, Mom & Dad visited got professional hair treatment from Maureen. Mom & Maureen discussed the wedding reception decor and Dad helped Ryan with baking cookies to hand out to their neighbors. 

Social Security Benefit-er - Mom, with Dad’s help and by submitting in person the required documents, has officially applied for the monthly benefit starting in January.  Mom claims she will be a “real person” now. Of course, we all know Mom has been a real person for a long time, but it is nice that she thinks so too.

Temple Tuesday - Tuesday the 13th., Mom & Dad served in the temple and marked 37 years since they were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. That long ago day was dark, cold and rainy. We were joined in the temple by Grandma Nilace, Uncle Nile, Grandpa and Bette Corless, Grandma Matthews and maybe her son Tom, Vanessa (almost two) and Daniel, 4 months from being born.   The temple is a great blessing in all our lives.

Wedding Reception - Mom has met with the lady doing the flower arrangements and table center pieces to finalize the design concept. Meanwhile the music has been chosen and the DJ contract signed. The cake design and quantity has been determined and paid for.

M&M in Michigan - Riehl’s picked up Michael & Melanie at Metro Airport very early Wednesday morning. It is great have Michael home again and to hear Melanie share her enthusiasm about what she is learning and her experiences at school.

Stress Relief or Movie Mania - Mom has been diligently working on the wedding reception and preparing for Christmas to the point of exhaustion. So on Monday, Mom & Dad saw “Twilight”; on Thursday, “Hugo”; on Saturday, “Christmas Shoes” at Jim & Vanessa’s, and in the evening, “Sherlock Holmes II” with Michael & Melanie. It was good to have a little time together to relax.

Service Mission -  Mom & Dad are continuing to learn their “duties” (over dinner on Friday, at Red Lobster with Rich’s.)   Our respective ARP (men) and Support (women) meetings went well. One recovering alcoholic shared how difficult the holiday season is for him and how he is planning to attend the next meeting. It has become very clear, we all struggle with various burdens we carry around and it is difficult to keep all of them under control. However, there is hope. The Lord has prepared a way out                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              for us. It can be done. We can enjoy life as it is meant to be.  How grateful we are for the Atonement!

Clan Christmas Carolers

Christmas Caroling - Sunday evening, Mom & Dad & Michael joined a couple of missionaries, the Kulka’s and Ryan & Maureen’s tribe,  and went caroling  and delivering Christmas cookies in their neighborhood.  Afterwards there was hot chocolate and more cookies for everyone at the Kulka’s.  Though the weather was a bit cold,  everyone had a wonderful time.

Love y’all,  Mom & Dad

Corless Clan Connection - Sterling Heights, Michigan - 11 December 2011

Dear Family,

Christmas Celebration Preparations - Celebration plans are firming up and gift preparations are proceeding full steam. Hopefully,  everyone got our Christmas cards and letters. Dad helped Grandma Nilace with a some Christmas decor and a few outdoor lights - another Happy Customer! Dad distributed the Christmas gifts from Grandpa Ross.

Colon Clip -  Amelita’s 15 cm (5.9“) colon polyp removal in Porto Alegre was a difficult, but successful procedure. There was great family jubilation and celebration and an outpouring of gratitude. Thanks be to Heavenly Father!

Wedding Whirlwind - After much effort by the whole team to follow up with the non RSVPer’s, the guest list and the location of the M&M wedding reception is confirmed and Mom finally had a good night’s rest.  We are keeping the Troy building as the venue, even though the attendance total is slightly above the maximum Ryan and Mom found seating arrangements for.   We are hoping some of the “will comes” will end up “not”.  Now the execution of the plan details is the focus of Mom’s time and energy. Go Mom - you are awesome!

Handyman Corner -    Dad helped Ryan finish the installation of the console and screen valance in the projection room including all the electronics, which needed to be disconnected and reconnected in the new console. It looks very good and, most importantly, Maureen is a happy customer.

Pumpkin Pied - Dad baked a few more pumpkin pies and gave a couple to Holli for her birthday. She had come to visit Grandma Nilace for the afternoon.

Tuesday Temple - Dad and Mom helped in the baptistry with the Troy Ward youth and got to see some old friends. Dad saw Jim & Vanessa as they were leaving to pickup Sam from swim practice. The temple is a great place to meet family and friends.

Service Mission - Friday evening Mom & Dad had dinner with Bro. & Sister Rich at the “Rusty Bucket” before leading their respective Support and Addiction Recovery meetings.  Based on the attendee comments, during and after, the meetings were successful. It is always good to serve others, but servers are always the most blessed. It makes a positive difference in the lives of all those involved. This program could be very helpful to many, many others, who suffer from even relatively minor issues to major issues, if they would only give it a chance.

First Winter Snow - Gone are warm, sunny days, shorts and t-shirts as well as the green leaves from the trees. Here is pure-white snow blanketing the ground, warm coats and boots, and the warmth of the Christmas season.

First Snow Fall

Family History - Grandma Nilace’s Sorenson Grandparents. James Lewis and Johannah were married in 1875 and immigrated from Denmark to Richmond, Utah~1879 with the two oldest children. Grandma’s father, Alma Born 24 Dec 1886, is sitting on the lap of his mother Johanna. James Lewis (Jens Lauritz) was born  on 10 Jan 1849 and Johannah was born 11 Dec 1851 (160 years ago today)

Sorenson Family ~ 1888, Richmond, Utah

Love y’all,  Mom & Dad

Corless Clan Connection - Sterling Heights, Michigan - 4 December 2011

Dear Family,

Seminary Substitute - Early on a cold, rainy Tuesday morning, Dad taught applications of the Ten Commandments from Exodus 21-24.  He used Mom’s well marked Bible to lead the class through examples and associated blessings. No one fell asleep as everyone was involved. What great group of young people we have in the ward.

Christmas Celebration Preparations - This week Mom & Dad spent a few more hours writing, editing, publishing, signing and mailing the Christmas card and letter to 97 friends and family around the world.  We hope it will bring joy to them. What a relief to have that big job done. Dad helped Grandma Nilace unpack a few more boxes to find her Christmas decorations and set up her new 7ft pre-lit Christmas tree.

Dashing through the Snow - Mom & Dad “dashed” through the wet snow fall to get home from serving in the Temple Tuesday evening. The next day was a good day to stay home and nurse the cold symptoms Mom and Dad have been cursed with. Grateful for a good night’s rest afforded by “Nyquil”

Brazilian Christmas - Mom dazzled the sisters of the Relief Society Thursday evening with her presentation of Brazilian Christmas celebration and her beautifully arranged fruit salad. Grandma Nilace said her presentations were the best of all. No surprise to the rest of us!

Sam Swims - All of the hard work of swimming thousands of yards paid off. Samantha entered six events at the Swim Meet with 10 other clubs this weekend and she placed in all of them. She made Junior Olympic time in one of the events. Go Sam!

Handyman’s Corner - Dad brought a few tools and helping hands to assemble the new 10 ft. long console to go underneath the screen in their projection room/corner of the basement. It will look really nice when it is completely installed.  They are so excited to have that finished. Future “fun” to repair a leak in their basement wall is on the schedule!!! Stayed tuned “sports fans” for future episodes of Handyman’s Corner and/or Adventures with Ryan.

Wedding Whirlwind - In spite of the busy Holiday season, the preliminary reception attendance reports are greater than anticipated, which is a great honor for Michael & Melanie and, perhaps, an indication of the fame of the “Wedding Planner Extraordinaire”.  Mom has shifted into high gear investigating possible alternatives with her “advisory council” to accommodate all the guests. 

Homeless - Thursday morning, Dad left Mom at home to “find” her lost voice and went downtown Detroit with Sister Pix and the Missionary Elders to serve the homeless at the Fort Street Presbyterian Church. Dad handed out clothes, while the others served on the food line. As you can imagine, some of these guys are real characters.  It is a joy to help out those having a hard time, especially those who are appreciative of what they receive.

Two Years Old - Rex Stuart turned 2 on Friday the 2nd of December. The family party on Sunday was a joy for the Clan. 

Happy Birthday Rex

Ginger Bread house - The annual Ginger Bread house decorating was held after Rex Stuart’s Birthday party at Ryan & Maureen’s.  Actually, they are made of Graham crackers, but who can even tell.

Decorated Graham Cracker houses.

Love y’all,  Mom & Dad

Corless Clan Christmas Connection - 2011

Corless Clan - 2011

It has been another eventful year for the Corless Clan.

In March, Rex and Myriam packed up the MKX and visited clan members in Alton, Illinois, Denver, Colorado and Caldwell, Idaho.  In April, Guilherme (Myriam’s teenage grand nephew) and in July, Eduarda (Myriam’s college student grand niece) came to spend a few days here.  It was wonderful to get to know them better and all were sad to see them go.  Myriam and Rex enjoyed biking in the Clinton River Trail this year.  Covered by trees and following the meandering river, it brought beauty and cool refreshment on the hot summer days.  Myriam served as Ward Relief Society President until November, when she was called with Rex, on a Stake Service Mission to support the Addiction Recovery Program.  They still serve as workers in the Detroit, MI Temple.  Myriam recovered from a case of shingles earlier this year, just in time to be the “wedding planner”.  Rex enjoys his photography hobby and publishes the weekly Corless Clan Connection with photographs of the various activities and gatherings.  He still is Assistant HP group leader.

Jim & Vanessa (MI) are keeping up with two teenagers, Tyler & Samantha, and two preteens, Joshua and Olivia, in their busy family. Jim works for GM and serves as the early Morning Seminary Teacher. Vanessa was Ward Young Women President and now enjoys teaching music to the children in their very large Primary.

Daniel & Holli (MI) are serving in a branch in Detroit. They attend there with all four boys, Nathan, Joseph, Joshua and Isaiah. Daniel works at AAM and teaches at Henry Ford Comm. College.  He is a Scout leader, which included taking Nathan and several scouts to the LDS Encampment this summer.  Holli wears several hats in the branch Primary. 

Ryan & Maureen (MI) are busy with two (Preston & Jacob) in school and two (Sophia & Rex) preschoolers at home. They served as Ma & Pa in the Stake Youth Trek this summer. Ryan also works for GM.  He was Scoutmaster and now is the Ward Executive Secretary. Maureen is a counselor in the Ward Relief Society Presidency.

David & Jana’s (TX) time is well filled with the three boys (Adam, Peter and David) in school and Mary at home.  In June, “Dr. David” graduated from dental school and moved their whole tribe from Illinois to McKinney, Texas. They love it there and feel it is a great place to raise their family. David works with the Young Men program and Jana serves in the Primary.

Dan & Lara (ID) are busy with one (Abby) in school and two (Sarah and Sam) preschoolers. Sam was born in March, which precipitated a visit from “Papa and Nona” to ID.  Dan is a Deputy Sheriff and has been using his skills & tools on several home improvement projects.  He is a ward missionary and Lara is in the ward Primary Presidency.

Ryan & Rachel (CO) are enjoying their two (Mia & Lydia) preschoolers. Ryan is in his last year of Pharmacy School, which is series of 6 week rotations at various locations.  He serves as Ward Sunday School President. Rachel worked in the Relief Society, but now is the building schedule coordinator and Ward Christmas Party planner.

Michael (UT) is back in school after a summer internship in Michigan with an automotive supplier, Getrag.  He served in the YSA Ward as Executive Secretary and Elders Quorum Counselor. He plans to get married to Melanie Riehl in the Detroit Temple, this December. Back to Utah in January, Michael will attend BYU and Melanie will continue LDS Business College.

We are grateful that our children and grandchildren are doing well.  It is clear that we and our whole clan have been blessed by Heavenly Father with many opportunities to provide for ourselves and to serve others in meaningful ways.  We treasure your friendship and love, and pray that this has been a happy year for you.  Above all, we are thankful for the wonderful gift of God’s Holy Son and the hope and joy He brings to all.  It is true.  He was born.  He lives still.  Rejoice!  “GOD IS LOVE”!

We wish you a very Merry Christmas

 and a Happy New Year!

Rex & Myriam