CoombsFamilyNC: 2009 was good to us!

Most recently we did Thanksgiving (and "honey-do lists) at Nanny & Aunt Ally's in Memphis Tennessee, which was a great experience.
Halloween was totally fantastic but picture-less! Jake dressed as a soldier, Christien was a sky-diver who suffered a failed parachute--this was hilarious, complete with tree branches sticking out of his helmet, Chloe was Amelia Earhart, and Jonah was a pirate with Dad as his firstmate. Can NOT believe I missed this photo op...

First part of October "Pops" and his faithful canine, Charley moved in with us...Ben and Charley are best friends now and we love having Poparrazzi (as Chloe calls him) with us!

The summer included two weeks at a family reunion in ParkCity, Utah with all of Mark's siblings, their families and his parents, trips to Florida and for the older boys, a 200 kilometer biking trip through Austria. (Mark got to travel lots all year but somehow he doesn't get to do a lot of sightseeing...oh well). We've been to Lake Hickory to play and visit with wonderful friends, the Murdocks and the Ivey's; we've been to animal rescue camps to play with and admire beasts of all kinds, especially tigers; Mark and Lisa took a weekend to explore a bit of Charleston SC and Lisa took some alone time to play in Savannah Georgia, both beautiful places.

Utah was a wonderful time to re-connect with family members, immediate, distant and even some brand new that we'd never met before! Austria was an eye-opening, fabulous experience for Jake and Christien-they were truly on their own-and we loved hearing of their biking adventures & mishaps, impressions of people and places, and opinions about life after seeing a bit more of the world. Chloe and Lisa loved the Biltmore and Grandma and Grandpa Coombs, who are currently Elder and Sister Coombs for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Murphy NC, are taking Mark and Lisa for Christmas at the Biltmore this coming December 23.

The kids are involved in Boy Scouts, school band, Activity-day girls, gaming club, hiking, biking, air soft wars, night tag, camping, urban freeflow (le parkour-google it, it's Christien to a tee), babysitting, Wii/PS2/PSP/DS, etc...Mark and Lisa are just trying to keep up...with terminology as well as activities!

The Christmas Card that Wasn't

This card was prepared by Lisa and her Master Graphic Designer friend Heather last December...but it didn't get sent so they added a few more photos and called it a New Years Card...which didn't get sent either...so they added more photos and called it a Presidents' Day Card...which didn't get sent either. So here you have it a year late, but still cute. Don't know why the colors came out screwy negative colors...sorry. If you'd like a full .pdf file of this wonderful card just email lisa at likalis4@gmail.com.

Jacob Mark

Jake is BIG! He's as tall as Mark now and doesn't show signs of stopping the whole growing thing! He was accepted into an alternative high school program that integrates college and high school and so will graduate with a diploma and and Associates degree. He's excelling in this environment! But he has long days that begin at 5:30 am for a Bible study group of the youth from church each morning and then on to the college until 4pm! He is a few merit badges away from his Eagle Scout (plus his Eagle project) and has passed his drivers ed class! My son, behind the wheel...who'da thunk? He's actually a pretty good driver and loves to practice--shhh!

Christien Kingsley

Christien attends a private school here in the area called Grace Academy and it has really been a blessing for him. He is not a "fit the mold" public school kind of kid and Grace allows for lots of flexibility in learning styles and creative thought processes. Christien plays the clarinet and loves to draw cartoons. He is our main movie buff and my favorite shopping buddy! (His school schedule ends at 12:30 everyday at the latest and he has Fridays off so we get to hang out together a lot!) He is working on his "star" in Boy Scouts and is a deacon at our church.

Chloe

She's irrepressable, invincible, unstoppable! Chloe is the energizer bunny in our house--until we get her nose in a book, at which time she becomes completely immersed in whatever story grabs her imagination. She reads voraciously, explores relentlessly, never tires, and takes a whole lot of hurt before the bounce goes out of her! School is frustrating for her because things move too slowly or in a direction that she just didn't have in mind. There's not a soul in school who doesn't know who Chloe is, including janitors, cafeteria workers, etc. A perfect day for Chloe would be 8 hours straight in a pool or ocean, followed by 4 uninterrupted hours of reading. She is a joy!

Jonah Johnson

Jonah is our gentle man. He loves his older brothers and spends endless hours playing "zoo" with his sister, but still loves to snuggle with Mom. He loves the water, loves "Mom & Dad dates," likes to help others and waits anxiously for each sign that "I'm growing!" He can make a sword out of anything, will shoot his brothers endlessly with his cap guns (cracking up as they fall down dead) but will sit and do "a scrapbook" while Mom does her pages. Being the 4th of four, he's spoiled and a bit coddled but really loves to be a "big kid." Mom keeps threatening him that he'll be grounded if he doesn't stop this whole growing up thing!

Animals...and more animals...FYI - More family photos after the pet photos.

Skittles, aka "Dobby" from Harry Potter...Skittles was a stray that showed up at a neighbor's house a year ago, looking very much like he didn't have long to live, emaciated, infested with fleas, bugs, and who knows what else...I, of course, thought we'd just make him comfortable until he passed away. Well, that didn't happen and he became an integral part of the family--Ben's best toy. Until late summer this year. Unfortunately, he ran into the street one day and was hit and killed. It was traumatic for us all...

CoombsFamilyNC

2009 was good to us!

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