Christmas Letter

In lieu of attaching a letter to our Christmas cards, I am simply writing a blog note. First of all, we would like to wish everyone a safe and joyful holiday season. We will be traveling to Texas to see family, and we are very excited (except for the 17 hour drive).
It has been another busy year in our house, and we don't foresee it ever slowing. We added one family member and lost 2 this year. Lily, our labradoodle, was born in January and came to live with us in March. She is a red-chocolate color with a silver face. She is a bundle of energy, and she loves to play. Fred, our crazy cat, passed away in May from a blood clot to his lower body. He was joined in heaven today by Lady, our Australian Shepherd, She was suffering from severe arthritis, and her pain was too much to endure. We are saddened by our losses, but Lily will keep us on our toes!
Jaxon is in preschool at Country Day, and he has lots of friends. All of 'his boys' run up and hug him whenever he arrives. His teachers say he is quite popular, and there are many fights at lunch over who gets to sit by him. His Spanish teacher even said he is the class clown and most interactive one in the class. That's pretty amazing since he has always been so shy. He is currently only taking Spanish class, but he claims he wants to try soccer again this spring (and, of course, baseball in the summer). When you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, he replies, "A Gator football player." Who knows - he could be the next Tebow.
Gracie is in 1st grade and loves it. She is still very social and friendly to everyone. She is in the school chess club, and she takes Spanish class once a week. She also does tap and sings in our church children's choir. Last but not least, she is in Brownie Girl Scouts. If anyone is looking for Girl Scout cookies, she's your girl! She, too, wants to play soccer this spring and possibly softball this summer. She has an awesome memory, and she doesn't let us forget a thing!
Brandi left her job as a Nursing Coordinator at Shands this fall. Her decision to leave was based entirely on family. She took a role working at UFfor a pediatric endocrinologist (Dr. Stalvey is actually Gracie's endocrinologist, so we have known him for 3 years) as his Research Coordinator. She works part-time and is off when the kids get out of school. She gets to work and be Mom at the same time. She is busier than ever, but she is extremely happy. A portion of her salary comes from Gatorade royalties; therefore, drink more Gatorade!!!
Kevin is still the Turfgrass Breeder for UF. He considered a job offer from a seed company in Arizona, but he wasn't ready to leave academia. Tenure is in sight, and that's too much to leave. His first graduate student, Nick, received his Master's this fall. Brian will be finishing up his Ph.D. under Kevin sometime this year. We're not quite sure how we'll make it without Brian & Susan, but we're very proud of the opportunities that await their future as well as Nick's. Nick and Brian will both be missed - they were great guinea pigs for a brand new professor!
We hope you have a blessed 2008!

Love,
The Kenworthys