
For the Passey family, this past year has been mostly about school, school and school. Jack is 4 and in pre-school. Star is 6 (7 tomorrow) and in the first grade, and Sheila and I both have been attending the University of Utah. Of course, the church is also a big part of our lives. Being ward mission leader keeps Tony busy and while Sheila helps where she can although he attends the brunt of the meetings and has the opportunity to teach Gospel Principles frequently. Sheila loves her new calling as 2nd counselor in the Primary and the kids love Primary too!Jack loves to go to church and school and, well, any place that has a lot of other children. Even on the days that he is sick, it is hard to convince him to stay home and sleep.
One day, Jack had come down with a cold and Tony volunteered to stay home from church with him. After laying down with him, to help him take a nap, Tony soon realized that he had fallen asleep and Jack had made an escape. Jack was no where to be found in the house. Tony went outside and learned from one of the neighbors that Jack had walked to church in his pajamas. Luckily, he made it safely all the way to church and to Sheila, who returned him back home. Jack is very social and hates to miss any opportunity.Star is doing well in school. Actually, she is doing a little too well. There is a continuous discussion about whether or not to place her in an advanced classroom. We tried it for a couple weeks and weren’t sure it was right, but she reads and learns just a bit too quick for her regular class. Star is pretty fast at things, when she wants to be (which does not include cleaning up). She has turned into a “dare-devil” skier. It is becoming difficult to ski with Star and Jack at the same time because Star just wants to ski fast. Jack is still on short skis that won’t keep up, and skiing is turning into mom and dad asking Star to wait for everybody. Sheila started back to school this fall taking a class in architecture and a class in art history. Although she managed to do very well, she found being a mom and finding time to do homework is a pretty big load of work. One of her favorite things to do as a mom is volunteering in Jack and Star’s classes. Although Sheila has been quite busy, she still managed to read plenty of books and make her way through some Buffy, Felicity and, along with Tony, West Wing and 24. We don’t watch a lot of actual TV- Tony’s just plain happier without the commercials.
Tony is finally almost done with his degree in Economics. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we are considering 4 more years of grad school. We will most likely stay at the U and Tony will still be somewhere on the front rows of the student section cheering for the football team. Tony has been playing hockey for the U and is about ready to retire. Sheila has been confused this year about what exactly is wrong with her husband. The man she married wasn’t raised to sit and watch sports or engage in these “stupid” rivalries. Even after 10 years of marriage, there are things we don’t know about our partners. All in all, our life is very different this year than past years, but it has been a year of learning and a year of family activities. This extra family time together has been a welcomed opportunity to bond as a family and teach important principles. Our children already are learning to rejoice when the snow falls and weep as it melts. Merry Christmas, be it white or sunny, from the Passeys.