WHEW!!!! 2009 is finally over!! Out with the single digits and in with double!!!

WHEW!!! 2009 is over with a big sigh as the Mottern family feels it was a constant run to the finish!
Emily probably had the shortest race since she is still young yet and life tends to be simple yet. In August she started 7th grade and is still one of smallest students in the grade. The greatest change has been that she is starting to become a little more outgoing and the sunshine of her personality outside the house has been a welcomed surprise to everyone. Her social life has began to pick up and Nick and I are relieved to see that she is not rushing to match the excessive social networking of society's normal 12 year olds, but Emily has found texting her friends and Farmville on Facebook to have its benefits in conversation among her friends. Not to mention, texting helps get a message quick and easy to all her softball teammates in a matter of seconds! Softball. Softball is still Emily’s love. She started in January 2009, practicing for ASA (Amateur Softball Association League) which led into Little League practice and games in April. In June Emily was chosen for Little League's All Star 11 year old team which made it to the State Play offs. They came in second place, failing to make first by the last play of the last inning. It was an exciting game played by a group of very talented, dedicated and very sweet group of girls. I am sure it helps being the parent and friend to the families of these girls, but it was just as exciting watching these girls as it would be watching the famous Yankees in person at Yankees stadium! (The Mottern’s favorite MLB team).
I suppose I should mention that academically Emily is doing very well! She started 7th grade with Algebra I and Spanish I, which means she is already ahead for her high school years. She is a distinguished honor roll student and plays percussion in Band. I am not sure if anyone ever knew this, but I myself just learned that Music Therapy is a form of therapy offered to children to help rather introverted children express themselves and be more comfortable in their surroundings. Without understanding why it was so important for Emily to be involved in Band, we lovingly pushed Emily to join Band letting her choose percussion. It has been one of the greatest things for her. She excels! I honestly believe that this was her means of expressing herself and why we are seeing her blossom socially. But, without giving you all the details, she is one of the best percussionists in the band, completely dedicated and naturally talented in picking up the rhythms and memorizing the music. We are looking forward to her marching in the high school band in a few years when it will become more challenging but for now we enjoy watching her learn to play her drum set. She hopes to be able to join the Jazz band next year.
As for hobbies, Emily is our little “Engineer” in the making! She is a Lego-maniac, building with Lego’s often, and recently added the Lego robot to her collection which will allow her to attend Robotics workshops this summer to expand her knowledge of computer programming and design to her Lego building. It sounds a lot more impressive that it really is, but none the less a ton of fun for her. She also loves to play video games with her friends, which is a newly added hobby, and in December she joined the Ski Club at school and thank fully for the recent snow, she has been outside practicing skiing. She is an active kid, with lots of interests and we are very proud of her! She still is a little peanut so we are excited to see if she follows in Nicks footsteps and has a growth spurt this summer, 2010…we’ll let you know!!!

Now…Kourtney Lynn!!! Our Social Butterfly! She is now 17 years old. We are not sure how it happened. It seems like yesterday I said she was 7. She has her drivers license, she is a Junior in high school and there are days when it is hard for Nick and I to breathe when the reality sinks in that she won’t be home much longer. There is a story I tell Kourtney about how when Nick and I were trying to decide whether it was time to have a second child, I kept struggling with how another child would ever compare to Kourtney. That she was on a pedestal for all the world to admire. There are days when I feel like that again. Like I need to place her up there again because we need to embrace the little bit of time we have until she leaves again..and then the most amazing thing happens…… REALITY! She is a teenager after all, HA!! Luckily we have raised a very level headed self confident daughter who realizes all the great things in life and having a boyfriend in high school is not one of the things she finds value in, so no boy friend drama for us. She has a wonderful group of solidly well adjusted friends who she hangs out with where all the parents know each other and are friends and therefore trust runs high. Kourtney does very well in school, choosing to take honors level classes and is constantly exploring new areas of interest. She started her Junior year of high school as the FFA (Future Farmers of America) Secretary and proudly organized in 4 days the FFA Halloween float demonstrating many of the successful careers that the FFA supports. Her interest in the FFA has strengthened her interest in Ecology and plant sciences. She participates several times a year in public speaking events, and demonstrates several plant science experiments such as “plant tissue culture” at local fairs. And thanks to the FFA, and her advisor, Mrs. Smith-Wells, Kourtney also got her first job this year.
This summer Kourtney starting working for a retired college professor, Dr Blair Carbaugh helping to care for several acres of newly developed blight resistant American Chestnut trees. Several decades ago, American Chestnut Trees began to become extinct due to a sudden blight. However, genetic engineering has brought them back and Kourtney actively helps Dr Carbaugh in the care and management of over 4,000 trees at his farm in Riverside, PA. This opportunity has led her to meet several interesting people, such as Sara Fitzgerald, professor at Penn State Univeristy who she will travel with this summer to work with at other locations planting more chestnut trees, doing research on the trees and learning various other key elements to the American Chestnut survival. Kourtney is still struggling with what she wants to go to college for and what she wants to do when “she grows up” but she consistently leans towards the sciences of Ecology and we are pretty sure you will find her as some sort of Ecologist someday.
Kourtney also is involved in Softball, active in summer ASA and this past spring 2009 played left field and third base JV for High School Softball where her dad coached. She has a heck of a bat on her and Nick is consistently watching her improve her stats, hoping that once she gets to college she will find her groove and find a real passion for the game. However, in 2010 she will leave the high school softball field and try Track and Field instead, wanting to revisit her days of junior high and give a go at discus and shot put again, where she was quite good once. Although Nick will still be coaching JV Softball, I will be proudly watching Kourtney at her track meets! Kourtney’s other “sport” is Bowling, where she is now a Varsity member of the bowling team.
As for Kourtney’s hobbies…this is where she is the Social Butterfly. She is our social networking queen. She has friends all across the globe and talks regularly to friends in California and Canada, Alaska and Quebec. She loves meeting new people and navigates the net very safely. She should probably give lessons to her friends on how to have modern day “Pen Pals”. She gets to learn about Yosemite National Park and all it has to offer from her friend Joe, a senior in high school in CA who tells her about his experiences out there and his fire fighting school training. He grew up near the national park and shares all it has to offer, which helps her to realize the benefits of Natural Resource and Parks Management as a career option someday. (again Ecology) Likewise, she tells us about her friend in Quebec and how she rang in the NEW YEAR, their traditions and their perspectives of the economy in 2010 and their view of America. (Kourtney is also very interested in economics and politics) And so it goes, each week Kourtney has something new to tell us about the people she meets and the new and exciting things she learns, places she discovers and ideas she explores because she can meet people like this. Although, as a parent, I could get nervous about this “new” means of socializing, I realize that this is going to be her means of staying in touch with all her friends when she is far from home. She will be able to keep everyone she loves close to her by sharing what is going on with her just by logging on. Likewise, I feel that wherever she goes she will have the opportunity to know a place or a face before she even gets there and she is developing a real talent for “reading “ people before she heads out into the world.
Every night we have dinner together as a family. It wasn’t something we ever consciously said we needed to do, it was just something that sort of was a given in our household, perhaps something Nick and I always had growing up and felt it was just what a family was supposed to do every night..have dinner together. Anyhow, another nightly routine developed from our nightly dinners together....”Story time”. Each night at dinner we sit and take turns telling our “Stories” from the day. It has become so ingrained in our routine that the girls sometimes have trouble waiting to tell their stories. “oh, oh, I have a story to tell then”….. And even funnier yet, when Kourtney goes away to FFA conferences, we really miss her stories, which always prompts us to call her, or for her to call us for the days “Stories”. It took several years of this before Emily caught on, several years of us asking Emily “don’t you have any stories to tell us?”…the funny thing is that now Emily will watch more carefully through the day for things to tell us at night. Funny conversations with teachers or friends, or funny situations that happened, successes in handling something that could have gone wrong, or maybe an injustice that she needs to vent about…either way, it is nice to finally see her join in with stories too.
Now for Nick and I…. Nick and I sit in amazement every day, watching our two girls. They truly are the light of our lives. But life needs to march on for him and I too…and so for me….nothing is really new…Still working full time, still in school part time working on completing a bachelors degree, and still trying to hold my head above water with overseeing the ASA program for Danville while I find time to enjoy my family and friends. My new year resolution for 2010 is to make life about experiences and less about the things I ultimately have no control over. My favorite saying is by Walt Disney “Keep moving forward” and so I shall…..
If you asked us what the best part of 2009 was, I think we all would have to say that the highlight came when Nick got a new job. After 16 years at Bloomsburg Carpet Industries. In September they announced they were reducing their work hours due to the economy, which if you read my August blog, came on the heels of them saying work was steady and they were going strong, but the reality was that they had not given any pay raises in three years and now they economy was forcing them to reduce the labor force to a four day work week and a 1 day a week lay off for 4 month minimum but potentially 6 months. So Nick set out to find something new and on December 2nd he accepted a position as the Maintenance Mechanic of the Danville Waste Water Treatment Plant. He was chosen out of 70 applicants. We were very fortunate that he was well qualified and the stars were aligned! Not only did this come with a nice pay increase and a set schedule of routine pay increases, better benefits, a closer commute, State pension plan and job security, BUT it also came with the promise of a job that has a brighter future, more challenge within the job for Nick, job advancement, an awesome boss and the added bonus of EXTREME happiness for Nick…who would have thought that working around a SEWER all day could bring such happiness. Hahahhahaha Seriously, he is in his glory and everyone who knows him sees it. I am so proud of him! This past year has brought great and necessary changes for him. His confidence as a softball coach has grown by leaps and bounds and the respect he has received in the community is amazing. Players, parents and members of the community have noticed his strong ability to be a positive role model, positive leader and positive influence in the community. His character in the community is known to be one that everyone respects and that helped him obtain a job that years ago he would not have had the confidence to apply for. Now he hold his head high and his shoulders straight, and feels confident about who he is. It is nice to finally sit at the dinner table and when the girls are done with their stories, Nick has stories to tell about his day!
I am sure there is a lot more I could tell you but don’t want to bore you with the details. I am adding random pictures that may give you a window into the life of the Mottern’s and maybe help you see how busy we are. Please know that you are always in our thoughts and in our hearts and although you may not hear from us often, you certainly are welcome to drop us a line or a visit. Our life is like a constant random series of events. One thing leads to another and then to another, like a domino effect. We wouldn’t be upset if someone came along and said “Hey, I need to stop the dominos here” and made us take some time for something else because it worked out that the timing met at that moment. We welcome life’s opportunities to stop and smell the flowers.
Know that we love you and miss you all very much!!
Best wishes to you and your families in 2010 and may we see you before 2011!!! Oxoxoxoxoxo