Nolden Christmas Letter 2009

2009-11-28T08:48:00.000-08:00

The Noldens have had another GREAT year! The Lord has been very good to us and we feel deeply blessed. We are on our second year living in Georgia and are enjoying it more and more every day.

At this time of year we stop to reflect on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave us the Plan of Salvation to help us all succeed here and in the eternities. We are grateful that we have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives, which gives us hope and peace in a world that can be full of turmoil. We acknowledge that we are constantly in debt to Him for His example, His sacrifice and His mercy.

We are also grateful for wonderful family and friends like you!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Here is a quick report on what we have all been up to:

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Frank

Frank has had another successful and busy year. He was selected to be a part of the “Executive Readiness” program with the IRS (where he has been for 21 years now!). This required that he work in Austin, Texas, as an Assistant Director for the last four months of 2009. He was gone for 3 week stretches at times before coming home for the weekend, which was not fun...but he was able to fine-tune his racquetball game while he was gone and lost over 25 lbs doing that (AFTER the pictures were taken...much to his disappointment ;-). Frank is the glue that holds our family together and we will all be glad to have him home again full time! He loves to serve others and do missionary work...so he really enjoyed serving as the Ward Mission Leader at church most of the year. His new calling is in the Young Men’s Presidency and he is excited about that as well.

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Shayne

Shayne has spent another year honing her abilities as a “Domestic Goddess” ;-). She deeply appreciates the fact that she can devote her full-time energies to providing a secure, orderly, spiritual and, hopefully, happy home where her family can prosper and advance in all areas. Shayne also spends time outside the home serving in the community. She enjoys volunteering at the Elementary School and being present for all of the kids’ activities. Her volunteer service at church consisted of Sunday School teacher and Cub Scout leader most of the year, but she was recently called to be the Young Women’s President.

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Cody - age 23 - at BYU

Cody (23) is still at BYU working on his degree in Information Systems. He is a senior this year but has already been accepted into his Master’s Degree program and is concurrently working on his requirements….he will only have one more year after this one before he earns his Master’s Degree. Cody is still earning excellent grades and has an academic scholarship. Despite that fact that he is working 2 jobs, he has discovered he still has time to have fun and enjoy the college scene. Cody’s website creation/database management company (http://Simpleslice.com) has done quite well and Cody’s industry blog postings have been cited in more than one online publication this year. Cody also serves in the Sunday School Presidency at church.

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Liz - age 17 - 11th Grade

Liz (17) is a Junior in high school this year. She finally got her Driver’s License in September (after having a permit for 1 year—per Georgia rules). She has REALLY enjoyed the freedom that comes with that and Shayne has enjoyed having an extra driver to help chauffeur kids around. Liz, who still LOVES to sing, chose not to do choir at school this year. Instead, she is branching out into Journalism. She is on the staff for her school newspaper and frequently has the most student photos in the paper. Liz, who is bilingual, is also active in the Spanish Club at school.

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Megan - age 15 - 9th Grade

Megan (15) is now a Freshman in High School. She started her high school career off by trying out for the JV Volleyball Team. Her team won the Regional JV Championship and she was named “The Most Improved Player” by her coaches. Megan is still in the “Program Challenge” (PC) at school and, as always, is earning straight A’s. Megan is also on her school’s Academic Team and because of practices is loaded with even more trivia than before. She loves to bake and will frequently try new things in the kitchen. Megan recently got her driving Learner’s Permit and is excited but nervous to be the newest driver in the family.

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Mikayla - age 13 - 8th Grade

Mikayla (13) is in the 8th Grade and getting ready to move on to high school next year. She has found a new sense of confidence this year and has developed a new sense of dedication to school work, which is helping her to succeed. Mikayla is still our natural athlete and is starting to develop her running skills. She is excited to try out for her school’s track team in the Spring. We have also discovered that Mikayla is musically talented. She taught herself to play the piano and is now working on the guitar. She has also found her singing talents as she is participating in her school choir this year.

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PJ - age 12 - 6th Grade

PJ (12) left Elementary School behind this year and is in Middle School now (6th grade). Even though he was nervous about the big change at first, he is really enjoying it now. He is also in all “Program Challenge” (PC) classes and is getting straight A’s. PJ has decided he wants to go somewhere like Georgia Tech for school and work at NASA one day. PJ made some big changes at church this year too. He has left behind the younger kids in Primary and is now part of the Young Men’s organization. He was given the Aaronic Priesthood and gets to help pass the Sacrament now. He also went to the temple for the first time in October. PJ grew about 1 foot this year and is now taller than his mom!!

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Ashley - age 10 - 5th Grade

Ashley (10) is in the 5th Grade…it’s hard to believe that she will be ready for Middle School next year! Ashley is still our bubbly ray of sunshine...most of the time. Nothing much can get her down...she has an innate ability to see the good and stay positive. She is a natural leader as well. She was chosen by her teacher to be the President of her 5th grade 4H group. When Ashley and Donovan aren’t concocting some elaborate plan of mischief together...Ashley is busy writing songs, developing dances, and generally developing her creative skills. Ashley is still our social butterfly and was very excited to participate in her school talent show this year and the Ward/Church Talent Show.

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Donovan - age 9 - 4th Grade

Donovan (9) is in the 4th Grade. Last year Donovan’s teacher had a hard time getting him to speak loud enough to be understood...this year a new creature has emerged and the shyness has subsided. Donovan has been on a Learning Streak the last several months. He seems to have a great desire to absorb knowledge. When he isn’t reading “How to Win Friends and Influence People” he is learning how to write the Arabic language from instructional videos on the Internet. We have also learned very recently that Donovan LOVES to draw and is actually quite talented in that area. It has been fascinating to watch his evolution this year as he grows and develops.

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We wish you all a VERY Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

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To keep up with the Noldens all year long, check our our family Blog:

THE NOLDEN FAMILY BLOG

2009 Family Portraits

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Nolden Christmas 2009

Nolden Christmas Letter 2009