Merry Christmas from the Sherwood Family!

It has been two years since you last heard from us because Linda was too lazy to write a Christmas letter last year (or too busy, depends on whether you believe Steve or Linda). This year, she thought she would avoid the last-minute rush by writing the letter in October, but Linda is also very good at procrastination. Thus, there are just 14 days left until Christmas, and Linda has a ton of papers to grade (finals week begins tomorrow). This, of course, is perfect motivation for Linda to avoid grading papers to write the Christmas letter. Plus, she promised Steve she would have it done two days ago, but she has to be in the proper holiday mood to get the letter done and after a weekend of holiday cheer, she thinks she has it.

Before we look back at the last year (or two), we wanted to take the time to ask you to “save the date.” Autumn is a high school senior this year, and we are planning to celebrate her graduation May 26, 2012, which is the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend. You are welcome to bring your camper and/or tent and stay in our yard. It should be a fun party. And yes, we will be sending out official invitations next spring.

2011 started well. Everyone was busy and productive, and Justin was following in his sisters’ footsteps and competing in Battle of the Books. It is an awesome reading competition that involves lots of practices and getting dressed early on Saturdays. It was one such Saturday when Linda was driving Justin into Houghton Lake for a practice competition when the pair was run over by a semi-truck. Luckily, the semi-truck missed any vital body parts although it totaled Linda’s minivan, which did NOT break Linda’s heart at all. Linda was adamant she would not replace her minivan with another minivan. She is now driving a car that can hold six people, but it is a car that doesn’t scream “mom” and still gets 28 to 30 mpg. The big news of 2011? Steve and Linda celebrated birthdays that started with 4 and ended in 0: 40. For the record, Steve is older (March to August), and Linda doesn’t look a day over 39.

Steve is still working as a field technician fixing the gigantic engines that push natural gas through the pipe lines. His work truck caught fire one day on his way to work, so he now has a new truck to drive. For most of the year, he worked near Gaylord and would spend at least one week away from home every month. In September, however, he was transferred and now works primarily in the Beaver Creek area, which is about 25 miles from our house. He didn’t have to travel out of state as much in 2011, and we were all happy to have him home more often. We like the guy, so we are happiest when he is around. This fall, Steve loved being able to take all four kids hunting although Amanda was the one who went hunting with him the most. Steve waited until the end of rifle season to take down a good sized doe.

Linda is still teaching at Ferris State University, which she loves. She teaches both in a traditional classroom and in an online classroom. Online teaching is great because she can wear her PJs while working, which is good since she is running out of work clothing that fits her. She lost about 56 pounds this year. After struggling with her weight for several years, Linda had gastric sleeve surgery in August and is very happy with the results. Although the surgery has definitely helped her lose weight, Linda has also become quite active in working out and going to Zumba to maximize her losses and get her to goal weight. Thanks to weight lifting, she is also happy to report that she has actual biceps for the first time ever.

Autumn, 17, was inducted into the National Honor Society and receives tons of mail from colleges all over the United States. She finally received the letter she has been waiting for – an acceptance letter to Ferris State University where she will attend next fall. She plans to study digital design. She received an early Christmas gift (her varsity jacket) and is looking forward to playing softball on the school’s new fields this coming spring. She is now working at Kmart, but she left her job at McDonald’s on good terms and may return there next summer. They were sad to see her go. In good news, it has been over a year since she received a speeding ticket, so she no longer has a graduated driver’s license. She now has the real thing, and we hope the cost of the tickets will continue to prevent her from future speeding. The girl learns lessons best when the lesson costs her money.

Amanda, 16, is the newest licensed driver in our house. The best thing about this is that Amanda is willing to do the most boring of errands as long as it involves her getting to drive. It seems Amanda learned from her older sister’s mistakes since it has been more than a month since obtaining her license, and she has not received a speeding ticket nor exhibited the behavior that would result in one. During the summer, Amanda worked for a local ice cream shop. She did a good job of spending her income wisely. She is the chief caretaker of our animals including the latest additions: four rabbits and a turtle. The turtle is all Amanda’s, but the rabbits were supposed to belong to all four children; Amanda, however, is the only child to take care of the rabbits without any reminders or nagging. It isn’t surprising to anyone that has ever seen her around animals that Amanda plans to study veterinary medicine in her future. She is looking forward to spring and participating in softball, which is her favorite nonanimal-related thing to do. Despite her love for animals, Amanda loves hunting. She is the first of our kids to bag a buck; she brought down a spike-horn during the youth hunt. She is a junior this year.

Maxine, 14, is a freshman in high school and adjusting to life in the high school very well. She has learned some tough lessons about friends this year, but she is figuring it all out. She worked at Merritt Speedway selling popcorn all summer, which helped her math skills immensely. Right now, freshman basketball is keeping her busy. She spends most nights at practice or games. It is paying off – she made a three-pointer the other night, and her family was there to see it. It’s a small team of just 8 freshmen, so she gets plenty of playing time. She has enjoyed having two older sisters to drive her around to the various school-related events. This was especially helpful during the marching band season when Maxine learned to march and play at the same time. She played alto sax in the marching band, but she is trying her hand at tenor sax for concert band season. Despite being a “cool” freshman, the girl still smiles incredibly easily and has the best giggles and hugs around. Plus, her dad protects her fiercely mostly from her older sisters.

Justin, 12, is just a couple of weeks away from becoming a teenager (January 7). He is in seventh grade and manages to get almost all As and could probably get all As, but he has a tendency to put off work and fails to turn in all of his assignments in at least one class every semester (I wonder where he gets that procrastination tendency from…). The kid is a computer whiz and pretty good at most video games as well (although his dad still beats him on the racing games, but it is getting closer). He played Jaguar football this year, and he surprised himself with how well he did. He loves tackling. He also played a number of positions in Little League baseball and is working on developing a killer throw like his older sister Amanda. He plays trumpet in band and never seems to be without a girl or two fawning over him. I have no doubt that he will become the tallest of the Sherwood kids in the coming year. The kid grew a LOT this year. He was pretty proud of himself (we were too) when he bagged his doe during the youth hunt.

The Sherwood family wishes you the merriest of Christmases and a very happy new year.

Love, Steve, Linda, Autumn, Amanda, Maxine and Justin – December 11, 2011