The Holm’s Christmas Letter 2005 - 2006


(blue text is additional material)

December 21, 2005 – January 1, 2006

Greetings from the Holm family,

It’s been years since we wrote a Christmas letter updating you on how and what we are doing. Every year I want to write one, but have usually gotten swept away and lost time in the days proceeding Christmas, or have not even started because I couldn’t think of something funny, witty, or clever to write. Since I’m not feeling particularly witty this year, I just decided to write.

We added a cat to our family this year by adopting Callie, who had been virtually abandoned when the neighbors were divorced. Callie is happier now that she doesn’t live outside and has begun to play much more with the kids. Susannah says Callie’s also growing stout from all of the food they keep foisting upon her.


Susannah, Amelia, and Linnea showing off Callie
Amelia took some classes this summer at Cañada College and learned to knit. She’s made a scarf, potholders, bookmarks, purse, head kerchief, and a baby blanket. Her next project will be another baby blanket for some other friends. She doesn’t know what else to tell you, but I’ll say that she is enjoying 7th grade and being in the Middle School group at church. In November she was a late addition to the handbell choir at church. They played at the big “Christmas in the Village” event at church Dec. 3-4. In addition to playing with the cat, one of her favorite “activities” continues to be reading, and she usually has 3 or 4 books working simultaneously.

Susannah’s 4th grade teacher this year is Maestra Nancy, the same one she had in 2nd grade. Susannah really likes her but thinks there’s too much homework. Susannah really enjoyed swimming lessons this summer in a neighbor’s pool and felt she made a lot of progress. She entered the GATE program at school this year, and has shown some interest in clothes designing. Later this year she will be going on an overnight field trip to Columbia State Park, which we are helping to organize. This week she has begun to learn knitting from Amelia and is starting her first project.
Linnea entered Kindergarten in August. She says it is fun, but not as much fun as preschool, “because there is more work.” She has made several friends in class, and has her friend Sienna from Preschool at Adelante School with her. This is the first year we have had all three girls at the same school, and it has made our schedule much easier. Linnea is anxiously waiting for one of her teeth to get loose and fall out. She feels left behind by all of her friends who have been so lucky already.

Linnea had an accident in late August and broke her left elbow. She was running, tripped, and fell on Grandma’s driveway, landing square on her elbow. The upper arm bone
(humerus) sheered off at the growth plate at the elbow and required emergency surgery, an overnight hospital stay, and two pins to hold the bones in place. In addition, the ulna broke clean in half. The bone pins and five weeks in a cast took care of the problem so she’s back to normal, but still has an exquisite set of purple scars to show for it.
“Grandma Time” is important for all three girls. They enjoy snacks, art and cable TV with Grandma Holm; the cooking shows are rivaling Animal Planet these days. (We are antenna people, so this exotic stuff is a treat.) At Grandma Lou’s they get snacks, activities and riding their bikes around her cul-de-sac. We are fortunate that all of the grandparents invest so much time and love in our children.

We took some really pleasurable trips this year. In February Donna and I attended a Couples
Conference weekend at Mt. Hermon. It was the Valentine’s weekend Romance Special, with lots of extra treats. Ten other couples from our
Grandma Holm treating the family to ice cream in the Mt. Hermon fountain.
church also went, so our contingent was about a third of the whole camp. We formed some new friendships with people we hadn’t met before.

In February we took an overnight family trip to the Monterey peninsula. Since the best thing the kids like about traveling is eating the free motel breakfast and swimming in the motel pool, this was an easy way for us to score some big points. We spent a grey and windy day at Point Lobos looking at the surf and sea otters, and taking some short walks along the trails. The girls discovered seashells and berries, and Donna and I found that we still enjoy walks along the beach together. This trip also included a day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium where we got to see all of our favorites: penguins, jellyfish, and the schooling anchovies.
In March, our good friends Tom & Stephanie invited us up to her aunt’s cabin in Truckee to the snow. It was the only weekend that season where it actually didn’t snow, which made the driving easy. Nonetheless, to the delight of everyone there was plenty of snow on the ground to play and sled in. The girls had never really seen or been in snow before, so they particularly enjoyed the icy saucer run we made on the hill behind the cabin. The best part for me was to just hang out with our friends around food and conversation after being wet and cold in the fresh Sierra air all day.
Linnea, Isabell Couch, and Susannah take a breather from a snowball fight for a picture.
Donna’s mom Mary Lou took us to our church retreat at Mission Springs in May, and then to Mt. Hermon family camp again in July. We always look forward to the Mt. Hermon sessions with the speakers, and being together and not having to cook or clean for a week. They really put on a great program with swimming, a train ride to the Boardwalk, campfires, s’mores, and our family favorite, the ice cream fountain! It was a little different this year because Amelia
graduated from Day Camp to the Jr. High group, which left Susannah alone in Day Camp with 70 other kids. I think it was also Linnea’s last
We made a splash at the Mission Springs church retreat in our matching tie dye.
chance for Child Care as she will be entering first grade next year and eligible for the Day Camp program with Susannah next summer.

The big trip of the year was a week in Mexico taking a train excursion to see the Copper Canyon. Mary Lou also hosted this adventure for the whole family. We had never heard of Copper Canyon before, but it is larger than the Grand Canyon, and greener too. We stayed in top hotels and enjoyed a horseback tour, car tour to the rim, meeting local Indians and buying their baskets, and strolling through the village of Ahome where tourists are never seen. The girls got to practice their Spanish a little, and cringed whenever we attempted to speak it. For a more detailed description and lots of scenery and family pictures, check it out here. Linnea says the best part of the trip was swimming in the pools, putting her feet in the ocean, and petting the mongrel dogs at the hotels.

In the job & money area it’s been a year of feeling frustrated and discouraged. I started looking earnestly for a job early in the year, but I got little response to the companies I applied to. I worked with a career coach who was very helpful with my resume and interviewing skills, but unfortunately he didn’t have a secret list of open positions that could be filled at his command.
I spent a lot of time vacillating between looking in the financial field and high tech. Several financial firms would have taken me in as a salesman, but on commission-only with no base pay – and they would keep half of my commissions! Hmm, what’s to like about that deal? They didn’t feel right, nor were they a good fit for my abilities. In July I came close to getting a job at Intuit (six interviews and actually filling out the job application), but
Lunch in the Hotel Mirador dining room overlooking the Copper Canyon in Mexico
 was passed over for the other finalist candidate. I’ll admit it was a real disappointment.
I was able to get a contract job designing and editing two large books early in the year, and that helped financially and emotionally. Finally in December I reactivated my teaching credential and was able to substitute teach for 3 days before the schools went on break for Christmas. The “subbing” went very well, even for a rusty old guy out of the business for 15 years. It’s not a long-term solution though – more psychological and for providing pocket change than anything else. But who knows, the contacts I make may develop into something.

Our anchor has been that we know that God has something better for us, although we can’t see what it is. We have many people who are praying regularly for us, and a few who have helped us practically. Knowing that people love and care for us has been a great comfort and support. If you work (or know of) where they are hiring people with training or tech support skills, please contact me!
Late in 2004 Donna lost her diamond wedding ring. We looked for it for a long time, but early this year conceded defeat and filed an insurance claim. Yes, I still have a diamond connection in NYC, and my friend Gerry was able to even find the same setting from 19 years ago. (If you’re in the market for diamonds, give me a call!) I arranged with our pastor and presented the new ring to Donna with a ring ceremony (complete in Tux) in the parking lot at church outside the preschool playground.

I’ve kept myself busy while not working. On Friday mornings I volunteered at the San Mateo Senior Center by conducting the senior band. I’ve continued to sing and assistant conduct in church choir. In December I played a Roman
soldier in the Bethlehem AD living pageant recreating the first Christmas. Even in the rain it was fun marching around, but the girls were disappointed that I was a “bad guy.”
Donna is busy volunteering at school; Kindergarten book program on Monday mornings, two classes of Seventh Grade Art mentoring on Tuesdays, and Fourth Grade Art mentoring on Fridays. The Scholastic Book Fair is scheduled to consume all of her time for two weeks at the end of April. All of this may change rapidly, however, if she is able to find an Administrative Assistant job.

Donna really enjoys her weekly walks with her walking partner Kathy Voss Jensen, a professional organizer, no less. (Her Web site was made by Chris.) Kathy and Donna walk fast for an hour and a half or two hours, settling the problems of the world and critiquing the architecture of the houses they pass. Highlights of the year: a thistle field full of chuckling California quail, a real estate tour of a $10.4 M house (NOT worth it), and walking together so fast that they registered on the Atherton Police radar speed signboard.

We hope you had a great year and look forward to hearing from you too!

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