1994

GREETINGS FRIENDS,

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from soggy, dark, and cold Seattle. This holiday season seems to be just dripping with goodwill as we think of all our good friends while drying out our rain soaked sneakers awash with the chilling beauty of the NorthWest.

Bobette didn't want to move in the worst way. But, she submitted to my will, and followed me like a good little woman. Yeah right! Really, she engineered the move, motivated the kids, and kept me in line. But, at least I get to see her more often; intensive therapy in Volunteers Anonymous has left us with actual time to talk; without an appointment. With spare time on her hands one day, she decided to get a dog for Joseph. Biting, whining, chewing, running away, barking, drooling, throwing-up, and messing on the carpet were easy to adjust to; not unlike the kids. But, peeing on the carpet is the unforgivable sin and will be engraved on Lady's tombstone. Despite the hassles, Bobette is looking prettier, and more gracious all the time.(I decided to be nice this year, I'm still paying for last year)

This year Derrick got a drivers license, bought his first car, went on his first date, and had his first accident. The move was difficult, leaving many good friends and starting at a new school. Never ask your teenager how his first day of school went after moving; "it's a stinking rotten hell, and I never want to go back.” He's a swimmer and is quite impressed with his own muscles, a real bad situation for little Joe and Michael. He adjusted well, but still can't figure all the starring and giggling from the underclass girls. A church youth group leader, high grades, muscles, and girls have made Derrick a well balanced young man with a big head. . . both here and CA, you can count on honesty; why did you buy that stupid mutt?

Michael, dealing with a fresh crop of teachers, has managed to earn all A's and B's. He's now 13 and officially smarter than mom and dad. He adjusted well and made good friends already. Michael loves projects. The messier and more complicated, the better. He has the house pretty well wired with speakers and cable. However, opening the garage door disconnects the speaker in the family room which is controlled by the radio in Michael's room. He also invented a nifty alarm system for his room; opening the door connects speaker wire to a 110 Volt system which turns on a light, shocks the intruder(dad), and starts a fire all at the same time - very ingenious.

Joseph loves Seattle, and the weather doesn't seem to bother him; he wears shorts and a T-shirt year around. He's made friends, played football, got a dog, and got his own room. The dog, "Lady", seems to actually like Joseph. They seem to be on the same level somehow, always fighting. We just have to get Joseph to stop biting the mutt. Joseph has calmed down a slight bit since he hit his head on the concrete while jumping down the stairs with his new pogo stick. We knew he was seriously injured when he wouldn't fight with the dog, argue or tease Nicole, or insult mom or dad with insensitive comments. We were hoping for a permanent change, but he was back to normal within a day. He got a young attractive teacher again this year, so he's a motivated student. Although the smallest on the football team, by the end of the year he played center linebacker and was getting most of the tackles.

A package of energy and temerity, Nicole has difficulty being limited to only two parents. Ever since leaving her surrogate parents in Calif., Nicole has had to find other ways to release her energy. The mutt and Joseph get much of it, but dad and mom get more than they can handle. We think she has a good chance of winning the world chatterbox competition. She thought the move was vacation and wanted to go home after a week. "How come when NOBODY wants to move, and ONE PERSON wants to move, we have to move anyway?" But the new house is more fun, you can run, jump, climb, and mess things up. Besides once we get rid of Derrick we can get a cat. ("Cats are smarter than dogs, they are careful where they place their feet. Dogs step on everything.") Right now she thinks she's a dog named "Pester" with an imaginary dog friend named "Pepper." Nicole was nonplused when mom put her on the wrong school bus. When finally found she sure read mom the riot act!

Despite leaving the best job in the world to live in a high cost area, commute on a bus, and listen to my kids whine about moving, I did get promoted and I'm doing pretty well. The move has drawn our family closer together and presented many positive challenges. I enjoy both work and family and we are making some good Christian friends. But, I am still waiting for enough money to afford a mid-life crisis.

THE SCHEIDS, 1994