Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas!  It's a blessing to be able to celebrate the birth of our Lord until Epiphany, the Feast of the Visitation of the Magi.

The Krondak/Ganzel/Burris Families gathered in KC on the Plaza for a pre-Christmas celebration.  Had lots of fun visiting with cousins, aunts, uncles, great-aunts & great-uncles, grandparents & great-grandparents.  We were even blessed to be able to attend Mass at Our Lady of Good Counsel in KC, MO, which is the church where Sophia was baptized.  Msgr. William Blacet is going strong at 90 as pastor...WOW! 

We took a nice break after returning from traveling and getting ready for Christmas here at home.  Put up our tree and nativity, baked up a storm, exchanged goodies with neighbors, and prepared to just be at home for Christmas.

Michael read at 5 PM Christmas Eve Mass and Sophia sang in the youth choir (in the choirloft with the other kiddos:) at the same Mass.  Michael also sang in the MidNight Mass Choir. 

It is a blessing to be able to be at home for Christmas.  We were not in a hurry to be anywhere on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning/day.  With that said, I do miss seeing family on these very important of days.  But the kids had all day to play with toys, I could cook at my own convenience, and on the Eve we got to track Santa on Norad and get cookies and milk out in a lazy way. 

I made crockpot Lasagna for Christmas Eve, a lot of bread machine panettone bread, and a rib roast on Christmas day.  I must admit kids ate alot of sweets and goodies both days!  We also made up single layer round birthday cakes for the big kids to decorate for Jesus' birthday. 

Nicholas finally started feeling better on Christmas Eve, but now Alex & Will are congested (but no fever, thankfully).

Here are some pix from our Christmas holiday:

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Merry Christmas

Christmas Greetings 2011

Dear Family & Friends,

Hope this Christmas letter finds you and your family healthy and enjoying all of the pre-Christmas excitement - parties, more parties and sugar.

The Krondak family has had a year full of school, house improvements and some traveling to visit family.  Here is a little update on our kids:

·         Sophia, 8 1/2, has become a proficient reader and is mastering the art of cursive handwriting.  As always, she is a big help to her Mom.  She made her First Holy Communion in May.  She continues to like to draw and color.  Her summer activities included coach-pitched softball and a lot of toad-catching.   

·         Will, 5 3/4, has officially become a part of our Divine Mercy Academy as a kindergartener.  He has a good head for math and is improving every day on his pencil skills.  He is our big-idea guy.  He usually brings big, complicated plans to Mom for her to execute - right now!  This was his first year to participate in TBall during the summer.  He had a great time playing on the team and wearing all the cool baseball gear.

·         Nicholas, 3 3/4, is in that awkward stage where he wants to do everything his big sister and brother do, but he isn't quite old enough yet.  This summer he did get to take swim lessons like the big kids.  Nicholas still loves to play with the Little People and his little Pirates.  He also has a cute little singing voice.

·         Alex, 16 months, is a busy toddler.  He's close to graduating from the crayon-eating class to the crayon-sorting class.  He's recently discovered his pointer finger and is slowly developing word skills to replace shrieking.  He is a cute little boy with beautiful blue eyes.

Some of the house improvements we've accomplished this year include a new AC unit in the spring and new roof with guttering, soffit, and fascia in the fall.  We also undertook a couple of bedroom re-models.  Sophia moved into a girly pink room, while the boys moved into the big blue room complete with their bunk beds set up. 

We also went to Michael's 20th high school reunion.  Michael enjoyed seeing all his classmates from Immaculata High School.  They had a great turnout and the reunion was very enjoyable.  We are planning on going to more reunions.

Emily's Dad, Frank, recovered well from his open-heart surgery in January.  Michael's parents, Bill & Anita, celebrated 40 years of marriage in June and his grandparents, Mike & Betty, celebrated 65 years in August!  We visited Wichita, Leavenworth, Pawnee City, Lincoln, Colorado Springs and even got to visit Michael's sister, Sara, in Las Cruces, NM.  Our parish, St Elizabeth Ann Seton, completed a year and a half long building project.  We are officially in the new beautiful church. 

Hope you find time this Advent to spend some quiet moments with Jesus as we prepare to celebrate his birthday.