So...I meant to send my Xmas cards...I REALLY did!!! Just didn't happen...along with the million other things that didn't happen. So I am just going to post the letter...already threw away the cards. They were even addressed already! Sigh...

Early 2010 
Dear Friends and Family,
I like to say that if it wasn’t for the last minute, I wouldn’t get anything done at all. Clearly I have gone WAY past the last minute, so I am going to pretend that this is merely an exercise in me executing a New Year’s resolution of no longer being late all the time and consider myself merely very early for the next Christmas season.
I would also like to express appreciation for those that acknowledged my lack of Christmas letter last year. I received many phone calls and emails regarding such…it’s nice to be missed! I highly doubt at this point in time that this letter will do justice to my stellar letter-writing reputation, but I’m bound and determined to give it a whirl!
So much to say about the last year or so, but I will start with a brief update of the kids. Garrett is 13 and I have to say that he is just wonderful. He has his teenage moments, but is incredibly helpful and funny and understanding and bright. He is doing well in school and is anxiously awaiting high school next year. He actually has taken on a lot of responsibility around the house this last year and it is so appreciated yet unfortunately often goes unacknowledged in the chaos. I so appreciate his helping around the house, helping with his brothers, and just generally being a good, responsible kid.
Cole is 12 and is doing well as well. He has taken a grave interest in his darn Nintendo DSI and in often found absorbed in such. He is such a tender-hearted boy and so full of compassion. He was able to be a TA at school this year and chose the on-campus child care they have available for the teachers. He adores young kids and is so good with them. Young children are drawn to Cole and he flourishes with the responsibility of caring for them. He loves to build things and figure out how things work…just wish I was more mechanically inclined to help with that. He’s doing well in school and is generally just a mellow, happy kid.
Blake just turned 10 in January and is a real character. He is witty and sarcastic…I have NO idea where he got that from! He does well in school and is involved in many activities. He currently has an amazing desire to learn to play the piano and is starting his eagerly anticipated lessons next week. He picks it up quickly and very much wants to be good at that. He is rarely at home, but rather around the neighborhood with other kids or they are all at our house. The front door is constantly revolving! All in all, he is a charismatic and fun kid that is often making me laugh…when he’s not driving me crazy of course!
Ethan is 7 and is still as little as ever. He proudly boasts his 41 pounds and has been surpassed in weight and height by his younger brother. Fortunately, he embraces his size and often uses it to his advantage, whether it be crawling through dog doors to open a locked house for a friend or successfully hiding in a cabinet in which no one else would possibly fit. He has a passion for Bakugan and I have those ridiculously expensive colored balls all over the house! He still has wonderful red/auburn hair and the cutest smile, especially with the two front teeth missing. He’s also doing well in school and is a very sweet little boy.
And then there is Wade. Sigh…what to say about Wade? Wade is energetic and boisterous and bright and LOUD and quick and often obnoxious. And yet none of that matters when he crawls on my lap and tells me I’m beautiful and he loves me and wraps his arms around me while he kisses me on the cheek. He started kindergarten this year even though his birthday was after the cut-off and seems to be doing well and is succeeding. He likes being at the same school as his brothers (and yes…all 5 are at the SAME school. I keep telling them I deserve some type of award or something.) and has made a lot of new friends. He and Ethan are both currently in basketball and he enjoys being able to now participate in group sports like he’s watched his brothers do his whole life.
And now for me. I have had so many prayers, phone calls, emails, and kind words this last year and am so grateful for everyone that has been here for me. For those of you that don’t know, although I can hardly imagine who that could possibly be considering I have prided myself in finally being very vocal about what my life has entailed the past 15 years or so, Jesse and I divorced. It hasn’t been pretty and most likely won’t be for a while. The divorce was finally final the middle of December although we separated December of 2008. If you are interested in details, I will most likely begin being a little more open on my blog (assuming I actually post ) www.theabernathyclan.blogspot.com, or you can always wait for the book I will inevitably write.
Meanwhile, the kids and I have moved into a house back in town in Surprise, closer to their school and friends. We are adjusting fairly well and seem to slowly but surely be figuring out how we are to do this new thing we’ve been thrust into. I started nursing school in October and I’m loving every minute of it. I was fortunate enough to be awarded a scholarship that pays my tuition and books and guarantees me a 3 year position at a Banner hospital in the valley at graduation. It is an accelerated RN program and I am in class many hours a week, but will graduate March 2011. I also coached diving this past fall after a few years off and enjoyed it so much! It was good for me to get a little break, wait for the kids to be a little older, and then be able to be back on deck. I’ve also reconnected with quite a few friends I haven’t seen in a while and done things I have rarely been able to do. I went to Seattle this past year (and got my first tattoo!), I went to LA and to Vegas…the kids and I went to my parents second house in New Mexico for the first time and we went to play in the snow…TWICE! We had a great, stress-free Christmas and enjoyed our time off at break going to the zoo, sleeping in, and playing rousing episodes of Rockband. I often say…we are truly “ROCKSTARS”…and we are rocking our world.
That is the sum-up…short and sweet. Hope to hear from those of you I haven’t lately and hear more from those of you I have reconnected with. Thank you all for your support and love. Hope 2010 is kind to you!
Love,
Melynda, Garrett, Cole, Blake, Ethan and Wade

Warriorcrew6@gmail.com
www.theabernathyclan.blogspot.com

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