1996

                                                                                                                                     November 29, 1996      

Dear Family & Friends,

The kids always seem to object to what I write about them in the annual “letter” so I decided to let them write it this year.

* * * * *

Hi. I am Nicole – I will nine years old on December 14. If I could only get one thing for Christmas it would be a puppy. Daddy asked me to describe my brother and sister. Well, my sister Christie is a crazy lunatic…very annoying and she lies a lot! Okay, sometimes she can be nice. Stephen? – He is annoying to and he does disgusting things – yuck! I suppose sometimes he is nice.


Mom buys lots of stuff. She is late a lot because she is shopping. She is real pretty and she is nice (sometimes.) She works at Amoco and has nice parents. My Dad is sometimes nice and kind of fair like Mom, but sometimes he is mean. He is tall.


I am in third grade. I like my teacher and I like math and writing and art and gym and recess. I don’t like social studies and language arts (note: used to be called English.) I like playing soccer because I am good at it and it is fun to score goals; I also like swimming because I like the feel of the water – it is different. When I grow up I want to be an artist or an actress.


This is Stephen. I will be twelve next month and I am in the sixth grade at Chute Middle School. This is a new school for me and I really like it – the food is much better here. My favorite class is Spanish. I played soccer this fall, but baseball is still my favorite sport. I am learning to play chess. Girls? Some of the girls at Chute get into trouble, but other are pretty smart.


I have two sisters; Christie can be a pest and sometimes she acts like she is in her own world. She can also be nice, but she talks a little too much. Nicole is sometimes crabby. She always wants to get her way. She is shy around others (like at school), but at home she is a loudmouth.


My Mom is short; I grew nine inches this year so I am now as tall as she is; She is nice and thoughtful. My Dad writes the Christmas letter every year and I don’t want to say anything bad about him or he might dock my allowance. He enforces the rules. He is tall.


I am not exactly sure what I would like for Christmas – I am not much help in that area – unlike Nicole who gave Grandma a list of 28 things she wanted.


Hi! I am Christie. I am having a birthday party soon at Discovery Zone – I will be 7 years old. For my birthday and for Christmas I want Beanie Babies and Barbie stuff.


My sister Nicole wants lots of stuff. She is sometimes crabby and she wants all the power in the world. Good points? Sometimes she is nice to me and she is really good at adding – she added up over a hundred dollars on that list of presents that she gave to Grandma.


My brother Stephen has a really clean room (only to Christie.) He likes legos and playing Gameboy and going over to his friend’s house. He is nice to me sometimes, but sometimes when I go in his room he yell, “GET OUT!” He does play “bomholyokes” with me (a game they invented which involves throwing a frog bean bag around.)


My Mom loves QVC. She takes a lot of pictures and buys too much stuff. Mom likes to play with me and she loves hugs and kisses. She goes to Bible class. My Dad is really nice; he tells us to clean our rooms and sometimes he is kind of mad (I think she means angry.) He works at Engine Supply with his partner Uncle Tom. His job is to show people engines. When I grow up I want his job. He wears a lot of jeans.


At school my teacher yells a lot. I have never gone to the principal and I got a good report card. I am going to work on listening better and talking a little more in class (presumably at the right times.) I don’t hurt people and I have a lot of friends. I like playing soccer and basketball and swimming and ice skating.


My babysitter is Antoinette. She is very nice. She helps me learn Bible stories, she cleans up for us, and watches over me. When Daddy and Mommy went to Japan (in May) for vacation she and Grandma and Grandpa Sawada took care of us. Antoinette says that I am her friend and sometimes she tells me that I “made her day.” She is going back to Jamaica soon to visit her family. We will miss her.

*****

Well, I guess there is not much to add to all of that. There seems to be a consensus that Suzanne is nice (and shops a lot) and that I am tall.


We hope you all have a safe and joyful Holiday season.


Len, Suzanne, Stephen, Nicole & Christie