Best wishes for the Christmas season to you and yours!
Once again we welcome the opportunity to bring you up to date with the news in our family and we hope to hear from you too.
Carla continues in the job she started late last year with CGI Group. She quite likes the work, supporting the computer networks of CGI’s clients. Tyler continues at SIAST in Graphic Communications, graduating in spring 2012. They went back to Japan for three weeks in May to visit their friends that remain there, with a two-day stopover in Vancouver to visit Darren’s family. The excitement really ramped up in the fall when they bought a house and a new car. They bought the house in mid-September with possession on October 15. It is a townhouse downtown, about three blocks from Carla’s workplace, and surrounded by all the downtown amenities. It was a little bit more than they wanted to pay, but it was so perfect that they could not pass it up. It was built in 1983, but is in excellent condition. While they have most of the things they need to set up their household, they don’t have furniture. For some reason they did not want our old second hand stuff, so they are in the process of acquiring what they need. Their car is a Kia Forte hatchback.
Darren’s family began the year with a January trip to Shanghai to visit Sue’s sister and her family, with a side trip to Indonesia. Darren also went to Australia in mid-May for almost three weeks. He was one of a handful of people from his company that attended a conference and visited some mining interests there, and then had a few days of R & R on the company.
Sue and the boys went to the cottage in Ontario for the month of July again and Darren joined them for the last week 
before they all came to Regina for the wedding of our niece, Shauna. 
Sue went back to work in August, which led to a few weeks of uncertainty. They had arranged for a girl from Austria to come as an au pair for the boys. However, when she got here, there was a technical problem with her entry into the country and she was sent back. Sue scrambled to find a French girl who was already here visiting a boyfriend until late September and an Italian girl who could come in early October. We went to Vancouver to fill the gap and everything worked out OK. Darren spent a couple of weeks in Australia at a conference and touring mines and processing facilities for work. They will be spending Christmas in Kelowna with Sue’s family, but Darren and the boys will be here the previous week. They finished renovating the basement suite and used it for their kitchen and dining room while they worked upstairs. They finished the living room (bedrooms were done last year) and flooring throughout. Wall finishing, kitchen counters, and some bathroom work remained, but might be completed by Christmas.
Laura changed jobs a couple of times during the year. There was some shuffling of pharmacists within her company and she was looking for a change of scenery, so she volunteered to move from the east Superstore to the Extra Foods on Broadway. A couple of months later, she was offered an opportunity with improved benefits at North Albert Rexall and moved there. She also takes yoga and Irish dancing classes. Meanwhile, Brett continues in Education at the U of Regina. He interned for the whole fall semester at St. Matthew School and enjoyed it very much. He also continues part time at Results Training and Conditioning. He likes the work and is able to adjust his client volume to complement his other commitments. While working at the Canadian Plains Research Centre in 2009, Brett and his brother, Jesse, compiled almost one hundred sports stories, forty-four of which were selected for publication in The Salt Lake Loonie: and other stories every sports fan should know. It is very readable and entertaining. Makes a great Christmas gift! Check it out at http://www.cprcpress.ca/publications/The-Salt-Lake-Loonie
The two of them visited Darren and the gang in Vancouver in February and took a side trip up to Whistler. In May, they went to their favourite destination - Orlando - for a week. Apparently the Harry Potter attraction is very worthwhile.
And, of course, their spare time remains centred on their dog, Charlie.
We had some health scares from our parents this past year. Celeste’s Mom came down with a blood infection in the middle of September. She spent three weeks in the hospital, much of it in very rough shape. One nurse told us that only 40% of people her age make it through her situation. She spent another six weeks in rehabilitation and went home on November 15. She seems to be getting along fine there. She is not averse to going to some type of seniors’ accommodation, but she wants to stay at home as long as she can. So far, so good.A few days after Celeste’s Mom went in the hospital, Glenn’s Dad fainted while at the hospital for an eye appointment. They took him to emergency where they found that his heart was beating too slowly and gave him a pacemaker a few days later. In November he learned that his glaucoma has advanced, shrinking his peripheral vision to the point that he might lose his diver’s license.
Meanwhile, Glenn’s Mom also had surgery in September for a small skin cancer. I suppose all this is to be expected as we age, but that doesn’t make it any easier.Except for our kids and parents, our lives have been pretty boring. We helped Carla and Tyler with their move and helped Laura and Brett with a couple of outdoor projects around their place. Our major excitement was our trips to Vancouver in March, May, June, and September when we visited Darren’s family and helped out with some of their renovations. We never did finish off Laura and Brett’s basement, so that is on the project list for this winter. We are also looking forward to the whole family gathering at Playa del Carmen, near Cancun, in February.
Glenn hit the big six-oh this year, but it hardly hurt at all. We also celebrated our 35th anniversary in May, although we didn't do anything too special. We might have gone to A&W for Teen Burgers or had a family BBQ.Check http://celesteglennschristmasletter.blogspot.com/ for a copy of this letter that includes several pictures, particularly ones of our darling grandchildren.
Best wishes to all for a joyous Christmas and a wonderful New Year!
Glenn, Celeste, & Gang
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