Welcome to Hoagy's World!

Merry Christmas 2005!

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2006. View our Christmas Newsletter Here!

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BRRRRR!!! Winter is nearly here....

This is our year for graduations....Jeff from 8th grade this past June and now David! On Wednesday, November 16, David graduated from the Cook County Sheriff's Academy. We are VERY proud of him!

We have photos of the event here (they are in a 2 page pdf format...you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them.)

11/18/05

 

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Welcome Summertime!

At last, summer is here! Our family has kicked off the summer season by celebrating the graduation of Jeffrey from 8th grade. Check out his photos on the Jeff Graduation page!

6/10/05

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Merry Christmas!

Yes, you did read that correctly...we wrote MERRY CHRISTMAS! Even though many folks claim it is not "PC" (politically correct) to say "Merry Christmas," we believe that Christmas really is indeed about honoring and celebrating the birth of Christ. To those who are not Christian, Happy Holidays!

Our family has had a full and busy year.

Tim is finishing up his sophomore year of high school; he will be 16 in January. He continues to take classes part time at the college. He is concentrating on computer classes at the college. This past semester, he ended up being an assistant to one of his teachers. He has been learning how to set up networks and webpages. He has also continued to grow his computer building and repair business. You can check out his business at www.houseofbugs.us. He recently began a part-time job at a music store. He hopes to buy a car in the new year.

Jeffrey is nearly finished with his eighth grade studies; he will be 14 in January. He will be starting high school courses at the end of winter. For the past year, Jeffrey has continued to participate in the theater program at a local arts center. This past spring, he had parts in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. During the summer months, he played the role of Kenickie in the production of Grease. He had his first singing solo in that play. This fall, he played the part of the cowardly lion in The Wizard of Oz. He quite literally stole the stage with his entrance as the lion! Earlier this month, he played the part of Bob Cratchit in The Last Christmas Carol. He did a terrific job with a singing solo in that production, too! This was the first time he had the opportunity to act with adults.

Douglas....ah, the baby of the family! True to most youngest kids, Douglas is the family funny guy. He is nearly 12 and never stops making us laugh. He has been working hard at his school work and will be finishing up his sixth grade studies in the spring. Douglas has a passion for clarinet music. He is now into his second year of private lessons. He will be participating in his first competition next spring.

All of the boys are still involved in Boy Scouts. They attended summer camp at Owasippe, in Michigan, over the summer. This past November, they spent a weekend at Eagle Cave, in Wisconsin.

Jeff and Doug are still altar servers at our church. The regularly assist the various priests there. Jeff has been helping to train other kids for this service, too.

David changed jobs back in February. He has been working for a local home builder. He is an assistant project manager....basically a glorified term for handyman. He likes it and likes the people he works with, too. In his "spare" time, he is scoutmaster to our troop of Boy Scouts and he continues to work on various stained glass and cabinetry pieces.

Karen continues to homeschool the boys. She helped to start Crossroads in Education, a homeschool study cooperative, this past fall with several other homeschool families. She continues to work on her writing and webdesign projects, as well as some programming classes at the college nearby. This past fall, she took a part-time job at a music store called Just Me! Music (owned by another homeschool friend).

All in all, a good year.

A Merry Christmas to you and yours! Wishes for a Blessed and Happy New Year 2005!

~Karen & David
12/23/04

 

 

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Season's Greetings!

As another year draws to a close, our family has had a lot to reflect on. Throughout the year, there have been so many changes.

Tim started classes at a local college this past August. The algrebra and critical reading have been a challenge to him. He continues to homeschool for his other courses. In October, Tim began to volunteer at a nearby animal shelter. This experience has been very rewarding. It has also contributed to the increase in the size of our family! We have added to pet rats and one chinchilla to our furry family members.

Jeff and Doug have been working on their interests, too. Jeff continues to pursue theater classes. Doug has been excelling in his clarinet lessons. Even David has tried something new this year...he is learning to use the computer! Tim was kind of enough to build him his very own computer (although we suspect that was to keep David away from Karen and Tim's computers!!).

The biggest event of this year has been the loss of David's mom, Rose. Rose passed away very unexpectedly on November 5. The family is still in shock over her death. We pray that she is now looking down over us all.

As we get closer to Christmas and the start of another New Year, we give thanks for the many blessings we have, we pray for those who have passed on to watch over us in heaven and we hope 2004 will be a blessed year for all.

~Karen & David
12/12/03

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Almost "Back to School" Time!

As has been the case for the last few years, the summer has flown by too quickly.

Tim graduated from eighth grade this past June; Jeff moved up to seventh grade and Doug to fifth grade. Darn boys keep growing too fast! Our boys did head off to scout camp. Doug went with David for a Webelos trip for five days in July. Two weeks later, Tim and Jeff headed off to Camp Owasippe, in Michigan. Once again, the boys were lucky enough to have their Grandpa Billy attend camp for the week.

In three short weeks, Tim will be starting some classes at the local college. He took placement tests at the end of June and scored very well. It will be a big change for him, but he is very excited. Over this last year, Jeff has taken a liking to acting. He participated in two different productions this year. Our family favorite was his rendition of the Big Bad Wolf! Douglas is going to start clarinet lessons! We may just get that family band together yet!

David has been plugging along in his job doing carpentry. He has also been helping some friends do work on their kitchen (also known as "the money pit"). David is also heading back to school this fall - taking a computer class! Karen is busy with the boys, doing paperwork for the scout troop and getting her business, KZH Design, off the ground.

All in all, life is pretty darn good!
~Karen & David
8/5/03

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Happy New Year 2003!

We wrapped up the 2002 year with quiet Christmas and New Year's celebrations with friends and family. For the second year, we attended the 9:00pm Christmas Eve Mass. The highlight of our Christmas was seeing our three sons altar serve together for the first time ever. We were fortunate to have a fellow parishioner take a terrific photo of the three boys, in their altar server garb, posed angelically in front of the altar. What a special gift it was to receive the copy of the photo! Following the Christmas Eve Mass, we continued our new tradition of sharing our gifts with the boys before going to bed. We started our gift sharing by singing Joy to the World while Douglas placed the Baby Jesus into Karens' Grandmother Elvira's old nativity set.

It's actually been quite a season for photos. Karen was able to gather all of her nieces and nephews together on the Friday after Thanksgiving. With the help of a couple of her siblings, she was able to capture some terrific photos of the children. Several days before Christmas (okay, who are we kidding, she finished this on Christmas Eve!) she compiled the many photos into a scrap book for her parents. The scrapbook, along with a framed 8x10 framed photo, was given as a one-of-a-kind gift. Grandma Patsy and Grandpa Remo enjoyed the photo very much!

With the new year comes some new activities. David and Karen started a brand new Boy Scout Troop last fall. BSA Troop 611 is chartered out of The Shrine of the Sacred Heart Church, in Chicago. David is the Scoutmaster, Karen is the Troop Committee Chair. They have two fathers on the roster as Asst. Scoutmasters and three women on the committee. The troop started out with five scouts and now has seven.

David continues to work hard in his carpentry work and with scouting. He enjoys the scouting program so much! Although we do many of the activities as a family, David enjoys pursuing many of the scouting programs on his own. Last summer, he attended the Woodbadge training course. He is working on his "ticket" items to finish up the requirements necessary for completing the course. He is also active with the Order of the Arrow. He continues to create beautiful stained glass pieces - visit our glass site to view those he has made already.

Karen continues to pursue her web development degree. She is currently the new webmaster for a local art center. She is still working hard with a local homeschool group, editing and producing the monthly newsletter, maintaining the group website and leading various activities for the children of the group. She also maintains several other websites, including 3 Boy Glassworks (our stained glass business), Homeschooled Scouts and BSA Troop 611.

The boys are continuing their homeschooling journey. All of them have birthdays over the next two months. Tim continues to plug away in the world of computers. He has a special knack with fixing and maintaining systems. He has built quite a nice little business for himself! He is working on his requirements toward Eagle Scout (he is nearly finished working on the Life Rank). Jeff crossed over to Boy Scouts last March. He has earned his Tenderfoot Rank and is steadily progressing. He hopes to be First Class before summer camp. Douglas...ah, the "baby." He is not such a baby anymore! He is also in scouts...working on finishing his Webelos Rank and Arrow of Light requirements. He hopes to cross over into the troop by September.

As you can see, our family is happily busy. Over the last year, we have made many changes in the activities we participate in. We are careful to choose those which bring us joy. As the New Year unfolds, we hope to continue on the path we set out on last year: simplify, spend time with our sons, take time to smell the roses and catch an afternoon nap!

Peace to all!
~Karen & David
1/15/03