Well, the yearly letter has had a little trouble happening this year. I ran out of stamps, and the bridge express lane services are being taken over by the government, so I currently can't pay the toll for the advance lane, and I just don't have it in me to wait for over an hour to cross a bridge, SO I have not gone to El Paso to buy more stamps. Some of you have received it. Some of you haven't. Sorry about that. Either way, I'm going to go ahead and put it here.
We moved to Ciudad Juarez,
Mexico, on December 31, 2014, and rang in the New Year in our new house in a
new country. And 2015 has been a great year!
Jeffrey has adjusted to his
new job as the Facility Manager of the largest American consulate in the world.
He manages a great team of about thirty locals, comprising of grounds crew,
handymen, janitors, electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, and engineers.
Together they keep the Consulate and diplomatic housing in tip top shape! He
plays on a basketball team in a local civic league, and he takes tennis lessons
three times a week. He is also kept quite busy at church, where he serves as
the Young Men’s president, which means he’s the youth leader of the teenage
boys, 12 to 18.
Michelle has been much busier
than she imagined, and she can imagine quite a lot of busyness! She had no
plans of working, but the children’s school offered a part-time position
teaching English, and it seemed like a fun opportunity and something that would
look good on her resume in the future when she may actually feel like working
again, so she took it! She’s been teaching English all year to children ages 3
to 12, preschool through sixth grade. She also is busy with church work; she is
the music chair person, choir director, and teaches music to the primary
children (also ages 3 to 12). Full disclosure? She’s also surprised by how
overwhelming it is to have four children—not to mention children in school and
activities.
Jill turned 6 last April. She
played soccer for the first time this spring, and she began tennis in the
summer and added on gymnastics this fall. She just competed in her first
gymnastics tournament, at the beginner level, and had a lot of fun and did very
well. It has been a lot of fun to watch her learn Spanish and flourish in her
new school. Her favorite subject at school is math, and she loves being able to
read and write now. Big moments this year for her were taking the training
wheels off of her bicycle and learning how to roller blade.
Daniel turned 4 last January.
He also played soccer at the beginning of the year and is currently playing
tennis. He may be starting soccer again soon though, because he’s starting to
show a lot of interest in it, which his mom is thrilled about. His favorite
activity at home is break dancing. He loves his preschool and is just starting
to speak Spanish. He went through a delightful stage where he would use what
little Spanish he knew and then fill in the rest with English words spoken with
his version of a Spanish accent. It was really cute.
Alice turned 2 last February.
She’s a little spit fire! At the parent teacher conference at her preschool,
her teachers delicately called her a leader, but we know the truth. She’s super
bossy and expects to get her way. She’s also very loving and fun to have
around. She’s currently in a mimicking stage. She likes to repeat every single
thing everyone says, entire conversations word for word immediately following
the speakers.
Gordon Philip Collett Boling was
born on April 1, 2015, here in Juarez. (Mexican naming laws require the
paternal and maternal last names.) Thus far he has been an incredibly chill,
easy going baby. He’s crawling all over now and pulling himself up. He loves
smiling at everyone. It really has been amazing to have such a happy baby. He
receives a lot of love from his older siblings—sometimes too much.
Family highlights were having
Mimi’s parents and grandmother and Jeff’s mother visit us in Mexico, making it
back to the Midwest for Mimi’s grandfather’s 90th birthday, and going
to Houston for Thanksgiving with Mimi’s grandmother and extended family. We
have loved eating delicious Mexican food and improving our Spanish. We’re all
looking forward to another year in Mexico.
We miss you and love you and hope you have a wonderful
2016!
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