Merry
Christmas from the Eggertsson Family!
December 1999
Dear Ones,
It was with the best of intentions that I sat at the keyboard so many times in the last few weeks composing (and DE-composing) this Christmas letter.I had visions of it being witty, yet insightful; warm, yet cool (as in “Dude!”); funny, yet touching. Basically, it would win the Pulitzer Prize and Oprah would put it on her list of “must reads”. Somehow, for reasons that escape this fledgling author, that did not come about. So kids, here is the scoop on the Eggertsson clan, sans a book signing at Barnes and Noble.
1999 has been very good to us. We are all healthy and well and enjoying
life in our little corner of the world. We now have two teenagers in high
school, and after five years of having three kids in three different schools,
we are closing the gap now that Danny and Amy are both enrolled at Suncoast
High School,A Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, where they are
both studying in the International
Baccalaureate Program. They work very hard to maintain high grades and
play varsity sports, and somehow they manage to carve out some free time
for friends and family. Guy and I have spent so much time sitting in the
stands this year that they are thinking of naming the stadium after us!
We don’t need reserved seats; everyone knows thatthe bleachers that are
worn down in the shape of our backsides are ours! Corey has been a real
trooper through hours of football, volleyball, soccer and basketball games,
although having a concession stand nearby and the letters ”ATM” stamped
on my forehead definitely lessen the pain of having to sit through yet
another season.
Corey is in fourth grade now and doing very well, although he is quite sure that school is all part of a vast conspiracy by grownups. “First they make us go to school, then they tell us we can’t bring any toys to play with!” Egads! Call The National Enquirer! His life revolves around Pokemon, which is self-explanatory, unless you live under a rock, in which case you won’t be receiving this letter anyway. It is his passion, with no signs of it waning any time soon.
Guy and I spend most of our time involved in the kids activities and volunteer as much as we can. Guy is refereeing Junior Varsity basketball games, which he enjoys doing very much. I keep the home fires burning and stay in close touch with my family via e-mail, sometimes several times a day! We now number more than 20, including 13 grandchildren, starting with Wes, who will graduate from Notre Dame in June, and down onto Allie, who is about 19 months old now. My parents celebrated 56 years of marriage in August, and Guy and I had our 18th Anniversary in October. We feel truly blessed!
We spent our 17th summer in the mountains of North Carolina at our family reunion of my parents, brothers, sisters and beloved in-laws, nieces and nephews. The family keeps growing and the house in the mountains keeps shrinking! It is such a fun week it is hard to leave, but we know we’ll be back in 12 short months. My sisters and I had our second annual reunion in Atlanta this April, which is always filled with late nights, long talks and much laughter. I don’t know what I would do without these remarkable women in my life!
Well, this is our life in a nutshell. I am happy that you are a part of
it, and wish you much happiness and good health in the New Year.
Much Love,
Patty, Guy, Danny, Amy and Corey
