Happy Holidays Family & Friends!
We hope you have had an awesome year and are enjoying this last month of 2015. December is a perfect time to celebrate the holiday season and to give, receive and most importantly pause and reflect on all that has happened. While every year is not always filled with rainbows and unicorns, there are always bright shiny moments that we should acknowledge, be thankful for and celebrate.
As the Newman’s think about the 2015 year, it is all summed up to be about TRANSFORMING.
Let us share with you what we mean by that:
This year a lot of the Newman updates connect to Christina. In July, she accepted a newly created position at Bauer Hockey in New Hampshire. Making the transformation from thinking about hand creams and lotions to how to sell hockey equipment was a big change. And you know, Christina loves a challenge! So…how is she doing? So far, she loves the company, the camaraderie and helping to build a new Retail business from the ground up. The fact that their new Bauer stores have a real hockey ice rink and amazing athletes and people from the hockey industry are some fun highlights. OH, you will LOVE THIS! She is also going to teach herself to skate! For the first time, she got on hockey skates and actually started skating! She has a ways to go, but off to a great start.
So with the new job at Bauer Hockey, the Newman’s had to move 65 miles north to the STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. While they loved the town of Waltham, they made the move north of the border to a beach town, Hampton. Hampton has a lot to offer: More house for your money, a town with a great community and school system, 7 minutes to Bauer Hockey and 10 minutes to the BEACH! Talk about transformative (and in a good way)!!! They are still getting settled in and finding time to make it feel like home. So far, Natalie and Clive’s favorite parts about the house are the playroom in the basement and the outdoor shower. They are in a great neighborhood and slowly making friends and finding their new routine.
Little Miss Natalie has TRANSFORMED into a PRESCHOOLER! The move was the most challenging for Natalie, but once she was used to her new room and her new school, she has truly blossomed. She truly is a kind-hearted soul and loves to be a care-taker. Right now, she wants to be a “Babysitter” when she grows up. She makes sure it is known, she wants to take care of REAL babies and not pretend ones. Do you see a teacher or nurse in the making?!?! Her latest favorites are eating raw cauliflower, watching Daniel the Tiger on PBS, gymnastics and helping Mommy with chores around the house. She truly is a helper!
CLIVE is a…left-handed KINDERGARTENER who loves anything that TRANSFORMS. Clive has grown up so much in the past year! This past year has been a challenging one for him, but he is ending 2015 on such a high, high note! He continues to amaze us with his agility, his mad-climbing skills and embracing being a lefty (we have no idea where he got it from!). He was the bravest of boys starting a brand new school and has settled in nicely as a Kindergartener. He has an amazing teacher and 14 other classmates. He is already writing, adding and starting to read! When he is not focused on being an awesome Kindergartener, he enjoys soaking up the nice weather, coming up with new tricks with his scooter, rivaling his sister Natalie, legos, tag and playing with his toys that transform into anything his imagination can think of!
While every family has their fair share of trips to the doctor, the Newman’s had to experience a pediatric surgery. Being in Boston, the medical care is unbelievable and this was no exception. Clive lost his tonsils and adenoids in July. This surgery has transformed his life and has given him better quality sleep, snore-free nights and waking up on the right side of the bed! He was incredibly brave and while it was not the most pleasant recovery, it was all worth it! Clive is strong, a fighter and his family knows he will always fight to stay on top! His favorite treat during recovery was Italian ice pops and chewing gum (who knew that helps with recovery?).
So what about Josh? Well, he has made quite the transformation in his 30+ years. He’s gone from an apartment renter to a homeowner and now a LANDLORD!!?!?! The Newman’s weren’t ready to give up their house in Waltham and so decided to rent their house to a nice couple. So far, so good and it gives us a good reason to stay connected to a place we hold so near and dear. Plus, Josh is working on his lawn care skills and being such a handyman we all know he is (wink, wink).
The family continues to grow and Christina’s baby sister, Casie gave birth to a beautiful little preemie named Jemma. To boot, her and he big sister Jasmine get to enjoy life and sisterhood in Hawaii! While we thought she was joining the world on Christmas Day, she decided to make her debut just before Thanksgiving. Everyone is truly grateful to have a new generation of family. Clive and Natalie love having cousins and while we don’t get to see Danica, Jasmine and Jemma as often as they would like, they are thankful that technology has transformed how they stay connected and shorten the gap (and the miles) between them!
As we look to 2016, one member of the Newman household is a bit skeptical of this new milestone. For Christina, January 2016 brings on a new decade for her…the BIG 4-0! While most of you know she tries to stay positive and smiling, something about hitting this new decade feels different. She will transform into a 40-year old woman with big smiles, laughter from her kids and finding balance with work, family, yoga, friends, good food and drink. Add a dash of style and we’ve got a woman ready to embrace 40 like no other!
From the tops of our hearts, we wish you a holiday filled with laughter, love and joyful memories.
We hope to hear from you and the exciting transformations you have made in 2015.
Here’s to an incredible 2016!
Love,
The Newman's
