“Therefore
the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and
shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah
7:14
Merry Christmas 2013!! This year has involved a lot of change, but
some things have remained the same.
January – yep, basketball season.
Teagan made the 8th grade team and I love watching her play. Brandon, Teagan and Erin were involved in the
Orchestras at their respective schools and in LifeGroups at church. I ran the Goofy Challenge at Disney World
with my friend Sabrina. That’s a
half-marathon on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday - 39.3 miles through
all 4 parks and many places in between. It was AWESOME!! Brandon turned 15 – only one more year until
he can drive! J
February – Erin played league volleyball to get ready for 7th
grade tryouts in the fall. Everyone had
weekly music lessons. Brandon had a date
to the Sadie Hawkins dance at school – seems like he ALWAYS has a date these
days. I’m trying to decide if I should
be concerned or not! Brandon and Teagan
ran the Rhythm & Blues 5K while I ran the half-marathon - set a new
Personal Record (PR)!
March – Cullen turned 10! Double
Digits! For Spring Break, Brandon got
his wisdom teeth removed. It was really
the only downtime in his schedule! He lived on nutrition shakes for a week but
recovered well. Teagan started AAU
basketball and Brandon did off-season football and worked on his bass solo for
UIL (he got a “2”.) I spent a week in
L.A. for more job training.
April – AAU tournament games began, taking up a LOT of time on the
weekends. Brandon and I started back into triathlon training and did the No
Label triathlon. We each won first place
in our age divisions! Erin turned 12 and
started wearing contacts, which are safer for sports and helped a lot with her
ability to see the ball in volleyball.
After having a lot of trouble getting along in school for the past
several years, we finally took Cullen to a psychologist, who recommended a
psychiatrist, who prescribed Ritalin and an anti-depressant. I’ve fought against medication for many
years, but decided to give it a try under the circumstances. It has made a HUGE positive difference for
him! I really do wish I had pursued this
course of action sooner for him!
May –
Swim practice started the first week in May.
I went with Teagan on the Jr. High Orchestra Spring Trip to Fiesta
Texas, where once again, Cinco Ranch JH bands and orchestras took home ALL the
trophies!! Erin, Teagan and I formed a
relay team for the TriGirl Super-Sprint Triathlon and won first place!! It was Erin’s first open water swim – 200m on
a choppy lake and she swam it like a true competitor! Teagan completed the 2mi. run at an
impressive pace! School ended with a
flurry of concerts, tryouts, competitions, tournaments, auditions and the Behrens
Bass Studio Recital, where the Settle Quartet made their debut with a piece
arranged by Sabrina Behrens for bass, cello, viola and violin. It’s on YouTube. J The kids finished 9th,
8th, 6th and 4th grades.
June – Swim meets and summer camps. Brandon, Teagan and Erin swam at Meet of
Champs, had a great time at Kamp Kingsland with the student ministry and attended
sports camps to get ready for fall tryouts.
Cullen did tennis and golf camps.
I got laid off from L.A. Turbine at the end of June. I was shocked, but was already looking for
another job and ramped up my efforts to 100%.
July – Brandon went to Chicago, Teagan to Waco and Erin to Houston on
mission trips with the student ministry and had wonderful experiences. Teagan
still had ongoing weekend AAU tournaments.
Brandon competed at the Shadow Creek tri in Pearland and finished third
in his age group at Jeff & Brede’s triathlon in Katy. July is also where the wheels came off. For
reasons I don’t want to share in a Christmas letter, and after much prayer and
counseling, I filed for divorce on July 5th. Stressful summer – uh, YEAH!
August – Two good job offers came in and I started with Zurich on the 19th
with training in Schaumburg, IL. I’m
back to Risk Engineering consulting, which I love! School started, Teagan was the last cut from
volleyball tryouts and was the Freshman A-Team manager all season. Brandon played sophomore football and his
team went undefeated!! In the average
week, we have 3 music lessons, volleyball and football games, LifeGroups and church. I now have two in high school, one in Jr.
High and am in the LAST year of elementary at a school we opened just 10 years
ago. I cannot WAIT for next year when
they’ll all be on ONE campus!!
September – Teagan turned 14! Brandon, Teagan and I ran in the church’s
Just Run for a Just Cause. That race
awoke my passion for running just four years ago and has a lot of meaning for
me. I went to Cranston, RI for training
at Tyco’s fire lab – cool stuff! Erin
auditioned for the school musical and played one of Ariel’s sisters in The
Little Mermaid. Brandon, Teagan and
Sabrina formed a relay team and I competed individually at the Katy Triathlon
at Firethorne. It was rainy, but we had
fun!
October – Per the September mediation, Robert finally moved out. It was rocky with everyone getting used to
weekends at dad’s place. Grades suffered
and stress ran high. Brandon earned
first chair in the 2nd group for Region Orchestra, made Area and
recorded for All-State, where he ranked #100 bass state-wide. Definite improvement over last year! J
Brandon and I competed in the Oktoberfest duathlon (swim cancelled due
to weather) – I placed second and Brandon first in our respective age
groups! YEAH!
November – Sabrina, Eileen (new tri friend!) and I formed a relay for the
Oilman Texas 70.3 tri on Lake Conroe – we JUST missed the podium, placing 4th,
but each had a good race. If that
half-marathon were stand-alone, I would have had a PR! Brandon played in the Region Orchestra
concert and Cullen attended a fun robotics camp. Teagan and Erin each made the school
basketball teams (T plays guard and E plays post) and are having as much fun
playing as I am, watching! Thanksgiving
was a little different – the kids were with their dad and I spent part of the
day with my parents and the rest of the weekend just getting stuff done. It was good and productive, just not as fun
or restful as I would have liked. But
I’m learning how to be myself again, which is great.
December – Sabrina and I did our 4th RunGirl 13.1. It was a misty 37°F at the start! I set a new PR at 2:05. Still trying to break 2:00 this season with 2
(or maybe 3) races left. We shall see! In
general, life is good, the kids are doing well, my new job is great and I have
the love and support of friends and family.
That brings us to present, meaning the Christmas letter will go out on
time!
Keep Christ first in your hearts, minds and
actions this Christmas!
Love, Donna, Brandon, Teagan, Erin and Cullen
