Christmas Eve 2010

 

Dear Friends and family,

                Wow, I don’t know where this year went (and, of course, my plan to write this in November and get cards out in plenty of time for Christmas didn’t exactly work out as originally planned).  It has been another busy one for the Ohio branch of the Clausing family, but as it draws to a close, we pause to give thanks for all of you and hope you all have a joyous holiday season and a happy and blessed new year.  So, let me give you a quick update on some of the things that have gone on with the family this year.

                This past summer saw the end of Shane’s 8-year commitment to the US Army Reserves as an MP.  He and Jen continue doing projects around the house they bought in 2009, the most recent being painting the kitchen.  They also took a trip to Italy this fall and arrangements are (nearly?) complete for their wedding this coming year.  They also have had a new addition to their family (a second dog).  Jen changed jobs over the summer, and looks forward to a much less stressful tax season in the new year.  Oh, and Shane will take his PT test for the Columbus Police Academy during the first week of January.

                Matthew has been home this week with his girlfriend, but returns to North Dakota early on Christmas morning.  He continues studying electrical engineering at UND and thinks he is beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel.  Between school, work, and his Army Reserve duties, he has had an exhausting year, but he and Becky did find time to take a trip to the Black Hills for a few days after his 3-week Army stint in July.  Jim and Sherry were able to spend a few days in Grand Forks visiting with him in Aug (more on that below).

                Erin, too, has had a very busy year with her schooling.  She is now in her 3rd year down in Athens and is working out the final details of her self-designed architecture major (OU offers interior architecture, but not the straight architecture that Erin has finally decided she really wants, so, at the urging of one of her professors, she has designed one of her own).  She had hoped that she would be done in 2011, but it now appears, she might be a class or two short, however, she is also beginning to see a light at the end of that tunnel.  Erin continues to enjoy playing rugby, despite our (and her doctors’) desire that she participate in something with less risk of additional concussions.

                Sherry’s year included another trip with the eye care group to El Salvador in late January and early February (she will be going back there and back to Ukraine with SARA again in 2011).  She is again the lead person in the surgical chart assessment group at Grant Hospital after the person that she had given that to left the department for a different position.  This fall Sherry has become a crocheting machine making scarves, hats, afghans, and prayer shawls.  She also took a cake decorating class which she enjoyed.

                Jim’s year largely consisted of stressing over preparing for the GIAC GSE certification exam.  This is an intense, two-day hands-on exam and because he didn’t know exactly what to expect, he stressed over it a lot more than he should have.  He successfully passed the exam in Las Vegas in September.  He also mentored two more 10-week SANS classes, SEC503 (Intrusion Detection) in the winter/spring and FOR408 (Computer Forensics Essentials) this fall.  Jim also used trips to NJ to see the boss as an excuse to visit his youngest sister in PA twice and twice (once with Sherry and once alone when she couldn’t get off work) drove down to NC to visit his parents for their birthdays.  2010 also saw Jim visit the final two states in the continental US, leaving only Alaska and Hawaii in his quest for “50 @ 50” (to visit all 50 states at age 50 – i.e., before his 51st birthday).  He attended a SANS class in New Orleans in January and visited Miles City, MT in September as part of the 10-day, 3500-mile road trip to visit Matt, visit Mt. Rushmore for Sherry’s first time, and attend the Storm family reunion in Mitchell, SD on Saturday of Labor Day weekend to check off states 47 and 48.  Jim continues to be active in the Central Southeast Ohio Association (United Church of Christ) Nicaragua partnership task force, the CSEA Department of Church and Authorized Ministry, and this evening for the 12th consecutive year will sing “In the Bleak Midwinter” at the 11:00PM service at Grace UCC in Lancaster.

                In April, we said our final goodbyes to Smokey, our 19-year-old cat who adopted Jim when he wandered onto the property as a stray in 1994.  We still have four cats (Jim only acknowledges the existence of three of them) and Morgan, the 100-lb Irish Wolfhound (she is kind of a runt for an Irish Wolfhound), who is still afraid of thunderstorms.

                Sherry’s mother and Jim’s parents continue to be in good health for which we are very thankful.  Again, we hope that this note finds you all healthy and happy and we wish you all the happiest of holidays and a joyous 2011.

 

Love and Shalom,

Jim, Sherry, Shane, Matt, and Erin (and Midnight, Wolf, Xav, Pete, and Morgan)