Thanksgiving at the Valenti’s

Happy 2018 Everybody!!

I remember a time when I thought the year 2000 was so far away. And now, here we are, eighteen years passed since the start of the millennium. Whomever said that time moves quickly once you turned 21 sure was right!

Life hasn’t slowed down much at the Doerr household. I keep waiting for that day to happen, but so far I’m out of luck. In fact, life has gotten more chaotic as the kids have grown. Who would have thought having seven children under the age of twelve would’ve been the easiest part of being a mom. But it was! I sure miss those days! Life was simple then and I definitely got more sleep!

Mary and Tom just celebrated their 2nd wedding anniversary in December and they moved into a brand new house in October. Life sure is falling into place for them. Mary graduated with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy last May and is working full time at Methodist Texsan Hospital in San Antonio. She loves it! I just wish she and Tommy didn’t live so far away. The 5-6 hour drive is no fun, especially when we have to drive up and down the constantly-under-construction I-35. Ugh!

Mitchell graduated from the University of Texas in Austin last May with a Bachelors Degree and is now working on his Masters at UT-Dallas and living at home. In his first semester of grad school he got a 4.0. Brian and I couldn’t be more proud! I enjoy having him home, but he’s so busy with work and school that, believe it or not, we don’t see him too much! He’s continuing his pursuit of getting into medical school and will start applying again very soon.

Madeline just got off a ten month contract dancing for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines! She danced on the ship Empress of the Seas! She loved it! She met some great people and had an amazing time traveling to new places, especially Cuba! We were lucky as we got to go on her cruise ship twice! Brian and I went once by ourselves and then once with the rest of the family. It was so much fun! Now Madeline is back in NYC auditioning and waiting for the next adventure.

Mason is in his second year at Hendrix College in Arkansas! He continues to play football while maintaining a 3.8 GPA!! I’m not sure how he does it, but he does. He’s also observing and pre-student teaching in some classrooms in the Conway area. He loves it! He can’t wait to be a math teacher and a football coach one day. I’m not sure who he takes after but it definitely isn’t me! When he isn’t working his butt off, he’s volunteering with Young Life. He’s a leader for the local organization and he absolutely loves being around the kids. Honestly, he’s a natural!

Mark is staying quite busy during his senior year of high school. He turned eighteen in October and he’s ready to take on the world. Besides being the Head Drum Major for the high school marching band, he has the lead in the school musical playing Gaston in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Opening night is Thursday January 12th! We can’t wait to watch him and Matthew on stage! As if all that weren’t enough, Mark is auditioning for Oboe Performance at several Universities. He’s hoping to go to the University of Texas in Austin! Time will tell!

Matthew is still just the happiest guy in the family! He’s a sophomore in high school, but doesn’t show the attitude of a typical teenager. He stays busy being the Head Manager of the Drill Team (who wouldn’t love to hang out with thirty-five cute girls everyday) and being heavily involved in theatre like Mark. Besides playing Monsier D’Arque in Beauty and the Beast, he’s also been cast in the UIL One Act Play!

Maisie is a 7th grader at Shelton Middle School! She is now a teenager and it shows! Hahaha! Girls and their hormones can be quite a challenge, but so far she isn’t too bad! She loves cheerleading and hanging out with some sweet girls that she met at Shelton! I couldn’t be happier for her! Not only did she get all A’s this past semester, but she’s actively involved in extra curricular activities as well. Next up we get to see her in the high school’s production of Music Man in February. Only six middle schoolers were cast! We can’t wait to see her on stage!

Brian completed his Masters in December from the University of Texas at Austin!! Yes, we have another Longhorn! I couldn’t be more proud of him. Besides working a full-time job and taking care of all of us, he drove down to Austin every other weekend for the past year and a half! The 7 hour round trip drive was brutal and he never complained! Did I mention that he graduated with a 4.0?? Impressive huh? It’s even more surprising because he began UT on academic probation! Who would’ve thought that his GPA from 30 years ago would follow him into his Masters program?! That still cracks me up!

Finally, for those of you that don’t know, I’m back to work full-time. I’m in my 2nd year of teaching 6th grade English and Science at Maisie’s middle school. I love the kids and I love teaching, but I forgot how much work it is. I leave the house with Maisie at 6 AM every morning and we rarely get home before 6 PM. And if that isn’t enough, I typically go in to school at least one day over the weekend and work for another 5-6 hours. I’m starting to think that per hour, I could probably make more working at McDonalds! Ha! But I guess it wouldn’t be as rewarding and I wouldn’t be making the difference that I am now. I miss being home all the time and volunteering as much as I once did, but I love that I’m able to help take some of the financial burden off Brian. Along with having so many kids comes so many college tuitions! I guess we didn’t think that through very well all those years ago when I was cranking out babies every one to two years! LOL!

Well, I hope 2018 is good to you! Please keep in touch! Look us up on facebook if you have an account. You’ll find us under “Cheryl Brian Doerr”. Also, don’t forget to take a look at our 2017 Christmas Caper. The kids did most of the work this year which allowed Brian to take a back seat for the first time since 1999!

Lots of love and prayers for a heathy and happy new year are being sent your way!

Love, Cheryl

Brian Doerr Blogs, Cheryl

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