Merry
Christmas from the Slininger Family!
We
had a busy year, but what else is new?
Here is our year in review:
2011
began with most of the kids heading back
to school. In spite of one blizzard
after another, we had a wonderful winter! The Slininger Family loves snow! Kate had moved home, and had begun a job as a
reporter with the Coast Star newspaper in Manasquan. Mary was able to come
visit in the springtime, and that was wonderful! Also
by Springtime, Kate had made the decision to head back to the academic world,
and move to New York! She was accepted
to the New School in Manhattan, to begin work on her Master’s degree in Media
studies. In May, Michael and Nicole
headed to the Senior Prom. They had a
wonderful time! June brought Christopher
and Mary for a visit, thankfully during the week of Nicole’s high school
graduation. We had so much fun
celebrating Nicole, heading to the beach for a day, Father’s Day, Val’s
birthday, family movie day, family pictures ….so many precious family memories! The students all went on their summer break. Also, in June, Kate moved to Brooklyn!! She found an apartment in Crown Heights with
her undergrad roommate and dear friend, Martha. Kate was blessed to find work
both at the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelesness, a non-prof
organization, and Brassland, a record label.
Michael worked with the Point Pleasant police, in parking
enforcement. July was incredibly hot,
and August was not! September began with
our 27th anniversary, and a trip out to California to visit
Christopher and Mary. We were able to
spend an amazing 3 days in Yosemite National Park, spent a lovely day in Napa Valley, and a got to
spend hours and hours just hanging out with our kids! Which brings us to
current. Here is what’s new with our family:
Mike
is in his 3rd year at Ocean County College, still in the Liberal
Arts program. This semester he has been studying
law enforcement and military history. He
was just accepted into the Ocean County Police Academy, and will start his
training in December!! His sweet
girlfriend Nicole is continuing in her Vo-Tech program studying Early
Childhood
Development. She also works at the
Primary Learning Center, working with 5 year olds, and loving it!
Kate
is finishing up her first semester at the New School in Manhattan. She is
loving every moment!
She
has classes in the evenings, and works during the day. Her schedule is very full! You will see her most often with
a professional video camera on her
shoulder! Also, she has had 2 additions
to her little home-Marzuki and Baez,
her
adorable Siamese mix kittys.
Nick
is in his 3rd year of seminary at Westminster Theological, and
continues to work full time also. It has
been an intense time for he and Shayna, as they are both full time students as
well as working etc. They are happy
though, and the crazy schedule will only last about 1 ½ more years. Shayna will be graduated from Rutgers by
January, with a B.A. in Classics and Music, with a concentration in Greek and
Latin. Her graduation ceremony will not be until May, but we will celebrate now
AND then! Congrats to Shayna! Also in January, Nick and Shayna wil be moving
to Pennsylavania to be near seminary and Nick’s job at Highpoint Insurance. Shayna will seek employment close to home
also. They drive home to the shore most
weekends for church, and are actively involved there. Nick continues as an intern at CBC, and
Shayna is involved in choir and in leading worship during the services. January 2nd is their 2nd
anniversary!
Christopher
continues to study at Life Chiropractic
in Hayward, CA. He also has about 1 ½
years left. He has signed a contract
with Upper Cervical Health Centers of America, to begin following
graduation. He and Mary are praying
about where they will settle to start his practice. Italy is a strong
possiblity! Chris is still serving in
the U.S. Army Reserves, and has about a year left on his contract. Mary works as a yoga instructor, and also in
retail at Fleet Feet. She teaches Yoga
at a gym, at a small store called Eco Chic Baby, and also in their home. She loves to teach prenatal yoga best, and
prefers to give private lessons at home.
They just moved to a new house, still
in Vacaville, CA. They are
settling in nicely, along with their dog Takoda, who is about to start his own
career as a stud puppy! They have found
some very dear friends in California, who help to make them feel like they have
a family/home away from home. They have
also been doing some modeling, both separately and together, which has been fun
for them. We miss them every single day!
Craig
and I forge ahead, with a nearly empty
nest! We are so glad to have Michael still here! He and Nicole spend some sweet time with us,
and we are grateful. We had such a
wonderful time in Yosemite with the kids, and we would both say it was the
highlight of our year! Nick and Shayna
were able to visit Christopher and Mary in the summertime, and were also able
to visit Yosemite. It is a piece of heaven on earth.
Val
continues her work at CBC as the churchlady (secretary), and Craig continues to
work at Nestle. He just received his national
certification for “Certified Industrial Refrigeration Operator” . We are looking forward to having the family
mostly together for the holidays. Part
of our hearts are always in California with Chris and Mary, but we are so
thankful for Skype! We are enjoying our
dog Jake in his twilight years. He isn’t doing very well physically, so we are
making the most of our moments with him.
As
always, we look forward to being together as a family more than anything
else! We count our blessings, and we
thank the Lord for this big family that we treasure so much! Merry Christmas to you, and may the Lord
bless and keep you for another year through!
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