Seasons Greetings from the Waligura family!

Another year gone by in a blink! It seems that each day is soooo long, but the weeks, months and this year have come and gone in a flash. As we looked back and were deciding what we wanted to include in our Christmas letter, we were surprised at what all has taken place. Here’s just a snapshot at our lives over the past year.

2005 was the year of “the house”. What started out as cleaning out our garage and attic turned out to be MUCH more. And to tell you the truth, I have no idea how it all slipped past me. Let’s just say that I think I was duped. I think someone had a plan all along…I just wasn’t privy to that plan…nor was I sharp enough to realize what was going on.

It all started with cleaning out 30-some years of accumulated stuff from the house. We got a dumpster and had at it! We had a little more room at the end and Cherisse craftily suggested that we “get rid of the carpets” on the first floor. So off it came …back to the hardwood. This was a battle that I had slowly been losing over the past few years. OK, I would give her the hardwood floors…choose your battles, I thought…no problem.

The floors were exposed and needed A LOT of work (see pic 1, 2, 3), so in came a floor guy, and all of the floors were to be redone in a couple of months when he could work us into his schedule. Here’s where it all began. Since the floors were being redone, it only made sense that we paint the rooms..since we wouldn’t want to do that AFTER the floors were beautifully redone (pic 4). And since we were repainting, why not redo the plaster….and the paneling….and the wallpaper…and that old chandelier just won’t do now, will it. So we were under construction for most of the year. Did I mention the furniture? Yep…all of the living room furniture just had to be replaced, and the dining room furniture just had to be refinished. What started out as a simple cheaper disposal of old carpeting escalated into a several month project…and, of course, it was not under budget…it was not on budget…it was, in fact, in comparison to a public works project budget.

Next, it was Carters room.  I was given the design work...and Cart & I decided upon airplanes (OK...I decided...he was convinced).  The walls are clouds and sky and we have BIG honkin airplanes hanging from the ceiling.  Cher worked her magic on the other walls, and we continue to add  touches to it (more airplanes...yeah, thats what we need). 

Needless to say it all does look beautiful (pic 5, 6, 7, 8). So now I take credit for it also…of course. After all, it was all my idea.

Me…Trevor. 2005 was a year to get back to work even more than last. My little venture into web site design (3-C-Sons Web Designs) has expanded to digital photography, office networking, server installation, workstation trouble shooting and, of course web site design. I am only doing work for a few companies here in Uniontown. I get out to clients on Tuesday and Thursday when all the boys are in school…and even take Cooper to clients on days that he is with me. I go into the offices at night when the boys are with Cherisse, and when there are no clients to “interrupt”. My clients appreciate the convenience and it works best for me…a win-win situation. I really love what I am doing and enjoy the mind-exercise that I was so obviously lacking. It takes up a lot of my time, but I am making a few bucks and feel a sense of accomplishment.

I also decided to throw my hat into the coaching arena and was the head coach for Cart and Coles t-ball team and now their basketball team. I had no idea what I was getting into. It took a bunch more time than I could have imagined. But it is all worth it. I was fortunate to have great kids AND great parents. I had so much help in T-ball and am getting a lot in basketball from the parents. If you ever thought of helping out with your kids team…do it, you won’t be sorry. It doesn’t matter if you think that have no clue what you are doing, it just matters that you spend the time teaching them the basics.

Unfortunately, with the time needed to keep it all going, I have had to put a part of my life on the back burner. I have not been able to..or just have not… flown in a LONG time. The only exception was a dream come true flight that I was fortunate enough to find out about (thank you sooo much Janet). I got to fly a WW II fighter trainer. You can read more about that here. There is also a short video accompanying the story and pictures. Check it out if you get the chance. I keep telling myself that I will get in the air next weekend, then next weekend..then a project needs to get done, a game is scheduled in the middle of the day, or one of another million excuses. I need to just do it… Anyone want to go flying???

Cherisse has been busy with the above-mentioned house projects. She did most of all of the painting, wallpaper, design work, picked out furniture, etc… She would get home from work and work on the rooms till late at night almost every night. Like I said it all paid off. Cher continues her guitar studies, but has also taken up the piano. In fact, part of the house project was acquiring a piano and refinishing it herself. It too, turned out great. She is playing real songs after only a dozen or so lessons. I foresee a family jam session. She complains about her work from time to time, but she loves what she is doing…still…after all the years.

Carter just turned 8 and this was a full year for him as well. He played soooo well in T-ball. It’s really amazing how much a year makes in abilities. Baseball is definitely his sport. His batting technique is truly impressive.  He played the pitcher position this year and did a great job. He is in the middle of a basketball season. In his first game, he scored more than he did the entire last season. A year is all it took. Cart’s pet rat Squeakers unfortunately developed a cancer and died this past May. It was not an easy loss…Cart’s first. And to tell you the truth, not an easy one for me…it was my first time having a child go through the pain of loss. Not a nice feeling. Several weeks later Cart decided that a bird was in his future, so Polly, a green-cheeked conure, joined the family. She spends time outside in a tree, on the swing set and, of course, on Carter’s shoulder. She (I say she…we cannot tell without a DNA test) is a great little bird and prefers her Carter to anyone else.

Carter is in second grade and gets straight A’s…in fact, anything less than 100% is very uncommon. He loves school and has a great teacher. He was lucky enough to get in a class with several of his T-ball teammates. I was concerned about them all goofing off, but he and they are perfectly well behaved…or so his teacher tells me. Cart continues with his guitar and got an electric guitar from Santa last year. Santa…if you are reading this…no LOUD musical instruments this year…please!

Cole is 6 now. Kindergarten at the new kindergarten center in Uniontown is going better than we thought. We were concerned with him being loud and the class clown (how he acts around the house and with the neighborhood kids). He absolutely loves his school, his classmates and his teacher…Mrs. Coleman. How’s that for fate...Cole and Coleman. Not only is he doing great in school with his studies, but he has been on pink card (a kind of self-imposed behavior rating system) the entire year. He is so proud of himself…almost as much as we are of him.

Cole also played his first year of T-ball this year and did a fabulous job. He was taking coach pitches by the end of the year and hitting them consistently. He is still a rather small guy and seeing him smack the ball and run to first base is a treat for everybody watching…our little Cole. Cole spends his days playing with his cat Mittens who really sees him as the mother-figure…absolutely loves him better than the rest of us. Cole has also adopted a toad (Jabba), and we have decided to let Jabba spend the winter with us, then release him back into the wild this coming spring. Cole is playing his second year of basketball, and although he cannot shoot to the basket yet, he is such a great player. His dribbling and specifically his defense are incredible for someone his age and size.

Cooper is now 3, but will be 4 in January. He is a real armful. Not a handful, a whole armful. Maybe it’s being the third of three…that’s what I keep telling myself. He is sooooo ornery….and sooooo loud. I swear that he thinks that he has to be the loudest in the room at all times. And his volume can really turn up. Loud is only half of it… “constant” is the other half. I know we will be begging him in 13 years or so to talk with us…but right now...not so much. Given the opportunity, though, he will go out of his way to help you any way that he can. He sets the table better than his older brothers, picks up his toys better…but just don’t ask him to stop wrestling with his brothers and the neighborhood kids…cause it just ain’t happening. Ask him to sit at the table without fidgeting …nope …ask him to give you a hug or a kiss…and he is right there. He loves his “sounds” and his favorite things to do are to take a bath,  play in the sink, and swim at the local pool.  By sounds…I mean he makes sounds of the school buses backing up (beep, beep, beep) and, of course trucks (vroommmmm).  Once he gets ahold of a sound in his head, he will make it for hours and hours.....and hours....and hours.  He loves to “clean leaves” (make leaves move by running past them with his wind) He just never bothers to watch where he is heading….just the leaves getting (moved) “cleaned”. Coop is our “bull in the china store”. He just runs into, over, and through stuff. Usually unhurt, but look out for the stuff he runs through/over.

Coop cannot wait to play ball with his brothers.  He gets so worked up when we have a game.....and he HAS to wear his Yankee colors.  "Go Yankees" he shouts from the bench.

Nanny (aka Anita) has continued her traveling way. She spends 3 or 4 nights at her daughter’s (Traci) and here at 101 Ben Lomond Street. She still spends her Sundays with her sister Snookie and goes out once a month with her old high school friends and does events with the Red Hats. She attends shows and events at the State Theater (the local hot spot for cultural events) and is really soaking in her retirement, her grandchildren, and her friends. She and her sister Snookie spent a couple of weeks in New Hampshire this past year with Snookie’s son John and his better half. The two sisters helped out with the catering business, Protectworth, and spent time in John’s new Café and probably worked harder on their vacation than most of us do during our work week. That’s Nanny, she just doesn’t ever stop.

That’s it in a nutshell. Please drop us a line during the year at waligura@atlanticbb.net. We truly hope that you and your family have a great and joyous holiday season!

Happy Holidays from the Waligura’s

Trevor, Cherisse, Carter, Cole, Cooper, and Nanny (Anita)

& Mittens, Polly, Jabba & Goldie and many many other fish