Merry Christmas Everyone!

FINALLY! A family picture.

It has been so long—mostly because Boyd and I hate having our pictures taken. I would have sent this in a nice card but due to technical difficulties, I am having to broadcast it on my Blog instead. It was a self-timed photo and after about the 6th or 7th time of running to get in the shot I decided to call it quits. I was getting sweaty. Thank goodness for Photoshop! We ended up with a very good family photo that unfortunately won't print at the local drug store or even Walmart. I'm not sure what the problem is but I'm done trying to troubleshoot. My intentions were good but it's on to other things.

2006...what can I say. It was full.

Last February Boyd and I had the opportunity to go to Torino, Italy while the Olympics were going on. What an opportunity and experience of a lifetime — one that we'll never forget and probably never get again. We brought back lots of photos, some souvenirs and many memories. The only bad thing I brought back was an extra 5 pounds from all the pizza we ate. It was cheap and plentiful. We both fell in love with Italy and someday we want to go back.






Summers are always fun. We always kick-off summer with swimming lessons for the kids. They are both in level 7 now and there's only a couple more levels to go. The kids spend time hanging out athe public swimming pool or just playing with neighbors. Our camping trips are always fun....AFTER we get the camper set up. This year we camped at Taylors Falls with two other families and went to an outdoor water park. We spent a week at our church's "Family Camp". In August we spent a long weekend in Grand Marais MN on the north shore of Lake Superior. BEAUTIFUL!






2006 has also been a year of transition for our family. In July we made the decision that I would homeschool Joshua. It's never been my intention to homeschool our kids. I had complete confidence in the public school system. I turned out okay...I think... but because of certain cirumstances God truly led us to this decision. So far it's been going well. We are both learning to adjust to a completely different lifestyle and way of thinking about education. Joshua is happy and has no desire to return for at least the next year or two. For those of you who REALLY know me, never fear, BOYD is helping Joshua with math, not me. You can breathe now.

Once the decision to homeschool was made, we also made the very difficult decision to change churches. We left our church home of 20 years to attend one that has a large, well organized homeschooling coop AND it's only one mile from our house versus a 20 miles drive. We miss our old friends but we are slowly starting to meet people at this new church. It takes time. We went from a very small church to a very large church so it's been a bit of a culture shock. The kids love the large youth groups and they have settled in quickly. Also, the moms in the homeschooling coop have literally been my lifeline. They know just the right thing to say and are quick to reassure me.

Our other news was the new addition to our family. We adopted Finn, our 44 lb "lap" dog. He's a 2 year old whippet. He's sweet and we love him a lot. If you read the previous posts, you'll see more pictures of him.

Chloe is busy with 5th grade and still attends a Spanish Immersion School. She is in the Girl Scout program and also played on a volleyball league this last fall. She also started playing the trumpet in the 5th grade band. They just had a concert and I was pleasantly surprised (and relieved) at how good they sounded. Chloe also takes voice lessons and is in the New Song Kids Choir. Check out their sound at www.cdbaby.com/all/newsongkids.

Josh is in 7th grade. Even though he drags his feet when it comes to practicing, he is getting very good on his violin. The state allows homeschooled kids to take advantage of many school activities so he's in the 7th grade orchestra, the Honor's orchestra (7th, 8th, 9th). He also takes lessons every other week. I've also hired a Teaching Assistant from Chloe's school to come and tutor Josh in Spanish. He's spent 7 years speaking and learning the language and I want him to keep it fresh. Josh loves horses and took some lesson last summer. He has also recently signed up for the Jr High swim team which will help keep him in shape at least for a few months this winter.

Boyd is still working at the Newspaper. It will be 11 years in January. He is still volunteering as an Assistant Hockey Coach for the Jr B team--The Northern Lights. Check out their website at www.northernlightshockey.com.

Me? Well, I'm busy with running a home, my graphic design business, figuring out the homeschooling thing, beading bracelets and painting mirrors and furniture. It seem that I am very busy right now but usually it's feast or famine and at this very moment, it's feast but it changes from week to week and month to month. Praise the Lord. He is good and he's blessed us with health, family, home, friends, work and the list goes on.

Well, that about does it. If you're reading this, you're probably on my email list OR I got my pictures to print and you decided to visit this blog. If this is your first visit, make sure you bookmark the address and come back periodically to get the scoop on the Paavola Family.

In Christ's love
Merry Christmas to Everyone
Boyd, Sherry, Joshua, Chloe and Finn