Merry Christmas From The Harts - 2022

Christmas 2022

Dear Family & Friends,

I'm watching college football (Go Hawks!) and wrapping presents while the kids are out Christmas shopping. With the change in weather this past week (from 75° to 25° and snowing) and the constant Christmas commercials, it sure seems that the Holiday Season has arrived.

Kaitee turned 20 in May. She has been working full time in the daycare industry this year. She LOVES her kiddos, but it is safe to say that she enjoys coming home after a long day of work and vegging for the evening - watching her favorite TV shows (especially Wheel of Fortune) and movies. She purchased season passes to a few of our local venues to watch traveling Broadway shows as well as plays/musicals put on by local talent. She is hoping to add some travel time to her calendar next year - she would love to see more Broadway shows in different cities. Trivia nights are a favorite and she tends to be a great source of (useless?? Ha!) knowledge! Kaitee (along with Maddie & Will) volunteers every other week at church with the kids, where she gets lots of cuddles from the babies. We moved Kaitee & Alex upstairs to our upper duplex in July. While there have been some growing pains/learning curves to them living "on their own", I think it's safe to say that we are all adjusting and enjoying the new norm.

Alex is 18 (March birthday). She also started working (part time) in the daycare industry, at our local YMCA, in May. Bonus benefit of working at the Y - free family membership! She graduated early from Moline High School in January then walked with her class for the official graduation ceremony in May. This past month she purchased her first car, a 2011 Ford Escape. Pretty exciting!  She also voted for the first time during the Illinois Primary in June. Her first semester at Black Hawk College is just a few weeks from being complete. She is looking forward to a break from homework and studying. Her & I traveled to the Chicago area in April for her (belated) 16th birthday getaway. We shopped, ate great food and went to Wrigley for a Cubs game (Win!).

Will is 16, almost 17 (January). His year has been busy with lots of school activities. He is very active with the high school band. Marching band season just came to a close (lots of extra practices, football games, competitions and parades). Pep band will be starting up in the next month (basketball games) as well as jazz band practices (early morning). He loves his time with Bass Fishing Club (spring) and Chess Club (they went to State last year!). When he isn't at school, he is working at Culver's. This past summer, he traveled to Disney World with the school music department. He saved up for the trip, paying his own way. He really enjoyed his time, experiencing it with his friends. Upon arriving home, he unpacked, did laundry and packed for church camp - leaving one day later (with Maddie)! He & Matt put in a lot of time behind the wheel this year. He's close to getting his license - about 10 more driving hours to go!

Maddie, also 16 (going on 17), just got her license. It's been wonderful to have her drive to/from school and work! She is working at Culver's (with Will) and loves it, most days, ha! She is currently saving most of her paycheck to pay for her summer (2023) trip to France, Germany & Switzerland. She will be traveling with a school group and is super excited! In April, she played her last high school level volleyball game (club ball). It was a hard decision to make, but overall, a good decision. She loves her time at youth group - often meeting up with her best friend for coffee beforehand. Her & I attended a Casting Crowns concert in April as a part of her 16th birthday gift. A few months later, we headed south for a day of shopping (lots of Goodwill stores).

Matt & I celebrated 23 years of wedded bliss in April. With the kids working, driving and keeping busy, we have many evenings/days to ourselves. We enjoy heading to our favorite taco place or the occasional drive, usually ending at one of our usual pizza spots. It's a strange but nice promise of what is to come! It definitely makes us appreciate the precious time that we have together with all 6 of us.

This year had no shortage of trips - We traveled to Kentucky over Spring Break to tour the Ark Encounter, Creation Museum, Lincoln's Boyhood Home and Mammoth Cave. Lots of history to see and read about! In July, we traveled 5,300 miles from IL to California (Joshua Tree) and back home again. We made lots of stops along the way - Colorado Springs, Four Corners, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Sloan Park (Cub's Spring Training), Carlsbad Caverns, San Antonio and many more! What an amazing country we live in! The girls & I traveled to Chicago a few times to shop at IKEA and eat Chicago Deep Dish pizza - always fun days!

We loved seeing Matt's parents in September. They flew to Moline from Oregon to spend the week with us and celebrate their 50th Anniversary together. We were able to drive to the Chicago area, where they showed us the house they were married in, their first house, Matt's childhood homes, etc. It was a wonderful weekend, full of memories and lots of Q & As! Of course, our time together wouldn't be complete without a trip or two to Whitey's Ice Cream!

My family will be getting together for Thanksgiving - It is always great to have us girls and our families together with Mom & Dad! Even with a few of us living within miles of each other, it is easy to allow weeks to go by without seeing each other. We truly have to be intentional about our time together. 

We pray that your holiday season is full of much Love, Laughter, Family & Friends. Above all, we pray that you have the Hope of the World - Jesus Christ - in your heart and life.

Merry Christmas & May your 2023 be blessed!

With Love,

Matt & Becki Hart

Kaitee, Alex, Will & Maddie