Saturday, March 3
Tuesday, December 21
Christmas Letter 2010
Greetings!
Thanks for taking the time to read the 2010 Steffey Family Christmas Letter. We hope that the next 5 to 10 minutes of your life is well spent. Let’s get going…
Braedan, the little man of the house, had quite a year. He is now a proud member of Edgeworth Elementary School in Mrs. Croft’s kindergarten class. He really enjoys everything about school, and especially likes reading, recess, and art. He kept up with a furious pace of sports activities this year as well – he played on my Coach-Pitch baseball team, dominated the local 5-year-old soccer league, and continued to play House league ice hockey.
Fascinating fact about Braedan: He is tall for his age, in about the 80 percentile, despite his smallish parents.
Braedan incident of the year: While tubing behind a speedboat at Surf City, Braedan decided to jump from one tube to another, landing his daring feat without a problem.
Mark, the big man of the house, really enjoyed 2010. His job continues to be a great fit, working in athlete ministry at Pitt, where he influences and mentors dozens of student-athletes. He spends his days on campus, meeting with high-profile basketball players and low-profile cross-country runners, giving them guidance and listening to them. Mark is the ultra-dad-coach, as he volunteered to coach Haley and Braedan’s baseball team, Haley’s all-girls hockey team, as well as Braedan’s hockey and soccer teams. Somehow he also found time to (sort of) train for and complete his first half-marathon.
Fascinating fact about Mark: Mark had alopecia areata this year. A bald spot formed on the back of his head, but he is happy to report that it slowly grew back in and is almost completely gone!
Mark incident(s) of the year: While at PNC Park to speak at the Pittsburgh Pirates chapel service, Mark passed Taylor Lautner in the hallway, and while attending a Max Talbot fundraiser, Mark rubbed shoulders (literally) with Hillary Duff.
(on to the Steffey’s that you really want to read about – the girls!)
Haley, the 3rd grader, really blossomed this year. She is a star student and a super athlete as well. After playing in an In House hockey league for the past 2 seasons, she made the decision to try out for a travel team this past spring. She made the AA Mite team from our local rink, and as far as we know she is 1 of only 2 girls in the Pittsburgh area playing boys’ hockey at this level. It has been a new challenge, but she has stepped up and really embraced it. She also has dominated the 3rd grade travel soccer circuit, and at times her coach (mom) has had to create new challenges on the field for her during games (pass 3 times before scoring, shoot with your left foot). Haley has also come into her own as a student, and proudly earned straight-A’s for the fall. Oh, and she also played on an all-boys all-star baseball team over the summer.
Fascinating Fact about Haley: She does not like to sleep. She gets by on about 7 or 8 hours a night – we put her to bed at a reasonable hour, and then she ends up finally falling asleep LATE. But it doesn’t seem to affect her days; it’s just how she’s wired.
Haley incident of the year: While at Surf City, a summer camp for middle schoolers, Haley got to be a part of the “skit” that was happening up front, with a couple of lines and a full-camouflage costume.
Hannah, the 5th grader, is also having a great year in school and in sports and other activities. She transitioned to “cup” soccer this fall and it was a great success. The season ended with a tournament in West Virginia, and Hannah scored all 3 goals in her team’s 3-1 win in the championship game. She also is enjoying playing ice hockey for the 1st time, following in her younger sister’s footsteps. Next week, in fact, they will be playing together for the first time in a little end-of-the-year tournament on an all-girls team against all-boys teams. Hannah’s other highlights included performing in the 5th grade musical, being chosen for the Student Council, getting to go to an overnight Horse Camp in the summer, building great friendships with a neat group of girl friends. 5th grade is the 1st year of full grades in all of the classes at school here, and Hannah has achieved all As and A+s so far.
Fascinating Fact about Hannah: Hannah has developed an almost nightly habit of Bible reading and devotions and is really taking ownership of her spiritual journey. She asks deep questions and has a real thirst for knowledge and wisdom.
Hannah incident of the year: Our family ran in a 5K a couple of weeks ago, and without training Hannah completed it in just over 28 minutes.
Kristin, the mom of the year, continued to work part-time and run the family full-time. She coached Haley’s soccer team and did some other soccer coaching and training for local clubs, as well as running her soccer camp in the summer for the 11th year. She also got a chance to play in a couple of women’s leagues (indoor and outdoor). One of the highlights for Kristin this fall was Coaching a program called Girls On The Run for a group of 3rd and 4th graders including Haley. It was a 12-week girls-only fitness and positive self-image program, and she put in lots of hours making it a great success. Kristin also is a MVP wife, loving Mark with understanding and extreme patience.
Fascinating Fact about Kristin: She is often mistaken as a teenager or college student!
There is so much more that we could write about; our great family vacation to the Outer Banks in September, the three-family getaway to Kalahari Indoor Waterpark in January, our 2 weeks at Surf City, our trip to see Michael and his family over Thanksgiving, our hope to adopt out the foster care system, the challenge of my mom’s brain surgery, and the list goes on!
We look forward to more adventures in 2011 and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year. Catch up with us on Facebook!
Thanks for taking the time to read the 2010 Steffey Family Christmas Letter. We hope that the next 5 to 10 minutes of your life is well spent. Let’s get going…
Braedan, the little man of the house, had quite a year. He is now a proud member of Edgeworth Elementary School in Mrs. Croft’s kindergarten class. He really enjoys everything about school, and especially likes reading, recess, and art. He kept up with a furious pace of sports activities this year as well – he played on my Coach-Pitch baseball team, dominated the local 5-year-old soccer league, and continued to play House league ice hockey.
Fascinating fact about Braedan: He is tall for his age, in about the 80 percentile, despite his smallish parents.
Braedan incident of the year: While tubing behind a speedboat at Surf City, Braedan decided to jump from one tube to another, landing his daring feat without a problem.
Fascinating fact about Mark: Mark had alopecia areata this year. A bald spot formed on the back of his head, but he is happy to report that it slowly grew back in and is almost completely gone!
Mark incident(s) of the year: While at PNC Park to speak at the Pittsburgh Pirates chapel service, Mark passed Taylor Lautner in the hallway, and while attending a Max Talbot fundraiser, Mark rubbed shoulders (literally) with Hillary Duff.
(on to the Steffey’s that you really want to read about – the girls!)
Fascinating Fact about Haley: She does not like to sleep. She gets by on about 7 or 8 hours a night – we put her to bed at a reasonable hour, and then she ends up finally falling asleep LATE. But it doesn’t seem to affect her days; it’s just how she’s wired.
Haley incident of the year: While at Surf City, a summer camp for middle schoolers, Haley got to be a part of the “skit” that was happening up front, with a couple of lines and a full-camouflage costume.
Hannah, the 5th grader, is also having a great year in school and in sports and other activities. She transitioned to “cup” soccer this fall and it was a great success. The season ended with a tournament in West Virginia, and Hannah scored all 3 goals in her team’s 3-1 win in the championship game. She also is enjoying playing ice hockey for the 1st time, following in her younger sister’s footsteps. Next week, in fact, they will be playing together for the first time in a little end-of-the-year tournament on an all-girls team against all-boys teams. Hannah’s other highlights included performing in the 5th grade musical, being chosen for the Student Council, getting to go to an overnight Horse Camp in the summer, building great friendships with a neat group of girl friends. 5th grade is the 1st year of full grades in all of the classes at school here, and Hannah has achieved all As and A+s so far.
Fascinating Fact about Hannah: Hannah has developed an almost nightly habit of Bible reading and devotions and is really taking ownership of her spiritual journey. She asks deep questions and has a real thirst for knowledge and wisdom.
Hannah incident of the year: Our family ran in a 5K a couple of weeks ago, and without training Hannah completed it in just over 28 minutes.
Kristin, the mom of the year, continued to work part-time and run the family full-time. She coached Haley’s soccer team and did some other soccer coaching and training for local clubs, as well as running her soccer camp in the summer for the 11th year. She also got a chance to play in a couple of women’s leagues (indoor and outdoor). One of the highlights for Kristin this fall was Coaching a program called Girls On The Run for a group of 3rd and 4th graders including Haley. It was a 12-week girls-only fitness and positive self-image program, and she put in lots of hours making it a great success. Kristin also is a MVP wife, loving Mark with understanding and extreme patience.
Fascinating Fact about Kristin: She is often mistaken as a teenager or college student!
There is so much more that we could write about; our great family vacation to the Outer Banks in September, the three-family getaway to Kalahari Indoor Waterpark in January, our 2 weeks at Surf City, our trip to see Michael and his family over Thanksgiving, our hope to adopt out the foster care system, the challenge of my mom’s brain surgery, and the list goes on!
We look forward to more adventures in 2011 and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year. Catch up with us on Facebook!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
