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

Corless Connection - Sterling Heights, Michigan - 28 November 2010

Grandma, Papa and Nona	Ryan & Maureen , Preston, Jacob, Sophia & Rex
Jim & Vanessa, Tyler, Samantha, Joshua & Olivia	David & Jana, Adam, Peter, David Jr. & Mary Amelia
Rex & Rex  (Rex Stuart at 1 yr & Papa Rex at 1 + 60 yrs)	Rex Stuart Corless 1st Birthday

Corless Connection - Sterling Heights, Michigan - 28 November 2010

Dear Family

Old Bones - Dad took Adam, Peter and David Jr. to experience the special dinosaur skeleton exhibit and have lunch at Cranbrook Science Museum. After returning home, the adventure continued as Papa canoed them across the pond to Treasure Island.  Photos: http://gallery.me.com/rcorless#100715

Ribbed - Tyler & Samantha watched the younger grandbuddies so Mom Dad, Jim, Vanessa, Ryan, Maureen, David and Jana could go for a delicious BBQ’ed chicken, pork ribs, salmon and beef brisket dinner at Famous Dave’s. After dinner we were hosted by Ryan & Maureen to play fun games. Everyone had a great time and didn’t want to leave.

Football - Thursday morning, Papa photographed the “Turkey Bowl” game featuring Jim & Tyler. Ryan was on the injured list due to a sprained ankle.  There was a lot action for these old guys, most of which played with Jim in high school. Of course, Tyler was much more mobile and, therefore, scored a couple fo touchdowns. Photos: http://gallery.me.com/rcorless#100707

Thanksgiving Feast - Mom & Dad started the festivities at 6:30 in the morning by stuffing & roasting the turkey. While the stuffed turkey roasted, Mom with expert care set the tables with just the right color combination and positioning, to be most lovely to the eye for all twenty one of the attending clan members.  In days proceeding, Dad had baked a total 21 pumpkin pies as the official dessert. The feasters started to arrive by 1:00 pm, which officially kicked off the the last minute preparations and proceeded with the traditional sharing of “What are you thankful for.” and the blessing. The beautiful buffet of bounteous food was invaded with great gusto by the happy, hungry hord of thanksgiving celebrators. Everyone enjoyed the time together. Cousins enjoyed cousins without any fighting or arguement. Brothers and Sisters enjoyed playing games and socializing. Grandma enjoyed the food went home took a nap and returned for dessert and socializing.  Thanks to all for the food and the wonderful memories of being together here!  Photos: http://gallery.me.com/rcorless#100690

   

Pizza Party - Before David & Jana returned to Illinois, we had a pizza party and games at Jim & Vanessa’s and once again all had a great time together. David called Saturday night to report their safe arrival - Thanks to Heavenly Father.

Settling - Grandma is getting more settled every day. This week she ordered a walk in tub with water jets to be installed in a couple of weeks.  She had her grandfather clock repaired and can, once again, listen to her chimes. Dad fixed her leaking toilet, which was keeping her awake at night - now she can get a good nights rest.

Love y’all, 

Mom & Dad

Grandma, Dad & Mom

Corless Connection - Sterling Heights, Michigan - 21 November 2010

Dear Family,

Return & Report - Mom has safely returned home and reported a very successful and enjoyable 6 week visit to our family in the southern hemishere. She has had a joyous reunion with the Michigan family complete with hugs and kisses to and from all available children and grandbuddies and wonderful stories of her family history adventures. Stayed tuned for more stories and pictures.  Welcome Home!

Settling In - Grandma has continued one step at a time in her quest to get things organized and her efforts are starting to take shape into a real nice home.  She got a new phone with caller ID and four hand sets to keep her connected. Dad helped her get the furniture arranged, which made a big improvement in the appearance of her front room and lifted her spirits and fueled her determination to continue the overwhelming task.  Go Grandma! You are Awesome! 

Illinois Tribe - The David Jana Tribe invaded the Michigan Tribal Territory last night to celebrate Thanksgiving together. It was another great reunion so see Adam, Peter, David Jr. and Mary Amelia with an abundance hugs and kisses for everyone before they retired for a nights rest.

14th Birthday - Ready or not we celebrated the almost 6’ tall Tyler’s birthday today. We witnessed his ordination to the office of a Teacher and attended the family party after church. He is really a fine young man and a good example, especially, to his school peers. Now that the football season ended, he is playing on the 8th grade Basketball Team and playing the role of Gaston in the school production of “Beauty and the Beast”. Go Tyler!

Love y’all,

Mom & Dad