FamilyMatters

Christmas Card 2009

Christmas 2009

Dear friends and family,

We hope this missive finds you all well, happy and enjoying the holidays.  In this holiday season, we continue to hope for a peaceful world where love trumps hate, and where those who can, do good.

It’s been quite a year (again!) for Clan Caraher, one of great moments, small achievements, some disappointments and repeated reminders that despite the difficulties we face, we are extremely fortunate.  We’ve come to the very real understanding that in the big picture, we are doing great, and this has become the theme of the year.  In times of great stress I can be heard muttering under my breath (or sometimes at the top of my lungs) “it’s all good, it’s all good, it’s all good.”

We are so thankful for the village that makes our lives possible.  Between the family, the teachers, the instructors, the speech and occupational therapists, the friends, the church, and the colleagues at work and the other organizations we are involved in, we have woven a complicated web of support that continues to buoy us through the easy and the difficult.  We are better for having you in our lives – thank you (and can you come over on Thursday and help out with _____? Ok I’m kidding.)

Michael, almost 12, is now in sixth grade and has fully embraced his “tween”-ness, much to our consternation.  Rolling of the eyes, heavy sighs of exasperation when we “can’t possibly understand,” and evil laughter pepper the day.  He continues to thrive at school in so many ways and we are thankful that the St. Matthew’s EDS experience is so good for him. This past summer Mike worked as a camp counselor at Trinity Stables near Eau Claire, which required patience with younger, less experienced riders, much riding of many different horses, care and love of said horses, and an abundance of sitting around.  He also got several “Staff” T-shirts which are now a wardrobe staple.

So his first job experience was very positive, and that is great. At his request, Mike hosted his first small dinner party this fall, and now that he has a better concept of being a host, will probably put off the next one for a while! He    remains committed to his music of choice – the piano, organ and school and church choirs – and to his equestrian and culinary pursuits. Homework? Well, not so much. But I’m reminded by other moms that in the big picture we’re all good on this front.

Liam has just celebrated his 9^th birthday in grand style with a celebration that spanned 4 days.  He has progressed tremendously this past year on all fronts — speech, motor, cognitive and emotional — and we remain confident about his future.  Arbor Bay School continues to be a shining example of what just believing in the worth of every child can do to transform someone’s life—we are so thankful that Liam is there.  Not shy, Liam is quick to raise his hand regardless of location or situation, assert his ideas and make his presence known wherever he is. He remains enthusiastic about horseback riding, swimming, soccer, all things firefighter and superhero, as well as “Dirty Jobs” and “Myth Busters.”  And he won’t stop talking.  So in the past 18 months we have done a complete 180 – going from prodding him to speak to answering a never ending stream of queries starting with “Can I talk now?” It’s all good.

 We are thrilled to tell you that we have a new niece/cousin in Emily Jane Caraher, now 3 months old and daughter of Tim and Jen.  Now I’m clear on why God gave us boys – put simply, if we’d had girls, we’d be visiting their wardrobes from the homeless shelter.

 On the work front, it’s been an “interesting” year at Double Forte as I believe I predicted in the last holiday letter.  In the end, failure is not an option, it’s just gonna look different than I thought – nothing new to those of you who’ve started businesses! So, in the big picture, we’re moving in a good direction there.

In July I was able to catch up with a bunch of my Boston-area friends from highschool and early Weber days -- where I learned to KEEP MY MOUTH shut and ask how everyone else is doing first! It was great to see Nancy, Mary-Jo, Cassie, Mary Pat, Lisa, Cheryl, Rebecca and Liz. I also went to a Red Sox game with my cousin Scott and had an EXCELLENT view of the old bleacher seats I used to have when I lived in Boston oh so many years ago.

Both boards I’m on have required significantly more time than planned this year as they both deal with economic and future realities and the desire to serve more people with constrained resources.  But this work is incredibly satisfying, and I’m hopeful that the people with special needs in San Mateo County and the people who enjoy public broadcasting in the Bay Area will feel the benefits of the incredibly dedicated people I have the honor to work with in these two organizations.

 Pete maintains his Car Talk-like ½, ½, ½-day, split between half-time work, busy kid schedules, and his Chief Home Officer position.  He and the boys spent another fun summer in Wisconsin with my father, playing much golf,  watching British TV series, swimming, going to Eau Claire Express Games, and having an overall great time. I was able to go back-and-forth several times, and now after 8 years of remote summers, think I have it down. The boys also travelled to Kansas to see Sue and Jerry when the O’Learys were visiting from Hong Kong, and that was also a fun-filled week.

Pete went to his 20th St. Mary's reunion this year and the pictures prove that a throw-back weekend was enjoyed by all!

Pete’s fascination with birds continues (which is fortunate as my father keeps unloading bird books on him when he least expects it) and he’s looking forward to the Christmas bird count next week (at which he will undoubtedly be the youngest and least experienced, but on par in the enthusiasm department).  He wears his Patriots’ gear proudly and refuses to submit to “fair weather fandom” in the face of a tough season.

 

We wish you all a joyful holiday and a wonderful 2010, and we hope for peace and justice in the world.

 

Peace,

Lee, Pete, Michael & Liam (oh, and Al the Cat)

 

 

 

 

Christmas Letter 2008

Happy Holidays! We hope this finds you healthy, happy, safe and -- hello! -- solvent!

 First, the kids. 

MIKE

Mike, a month away from 11, is now in 5^th grade (oops, sorry “Mommmm, I’m in Middle School now!”).

 

He remains focused and passionate about music, horses and cooking. Piano, Choirs and Organ dominate the music landscape, and Mike has progressed wonderfully under the tutelage of fantastic teachers and his own, very real, enthusiasm. He attended the Royal School of Church Music Choir camp in Tulsa (yes, that’d be the one in Oklahoma), has started horse jumping, and has played organ both at school and church services.

 

On the cooking front, Mike has really honed some tasty specialties.  He sees blending these all together in a lifetime vocation, as his plan is to convert a country church to a restaurant, so that people can ride their horses to dinner and he can entertain the diners in between courses with improvisations on the organ. Hey we’re counting on this for our retirement!

 

Mike’s Quotes of Note

“I’m going to spill the milk today.”

Mike telling his teacher that he was going to share that he would be playing the organ during Chapel.

 

“Mom, I know where I want to go to college. Where should I go to high school?”

“Mike, let’s get to 5^th grade first, ok?”

 

“Mom, I’m not going to try out for the play. I think starting 5^th grade will be too thrilling to add more to my schedule.”

 

“Oh, but I have a lot more to tell you.” Mike to his RSCM Medal examiners after they had told he was done with the test. He passed!

 

“Mom, we found out that we can say no if we’re eating something. So we’re going to hang out by the snack table, and if any girls come over to ask us to dance, we’re just going to put something in our mouths.”

 LIAM

Liam now 8 has made wonderful, dramatic strides this year.  We’ve been thrilled with Liam’s special needs school Arbor Bay, where he is now in 2^nd grade, and particularly excited about his very special teacher Mrs. King.

Liam is speaking with more and more vocabulary and diction and many full sentences, which is a huge achievement. (Remember when we told you Liam was quiet, and all we wanted was for him to talk? Oh yeah, beware what you wish for!). 

He attacks each day with enthusiasm and joy and is on the run from morning to night with school, speech & occupational therapies, horseback riding, swimming and soccer. 

Not one to question his worth, Liam commands great attention wherever he goes, and is not afraid to raise his hand in any situation (ask anyone at church!).

Firefighting and catching the bad guys remain favorite activities, (we’ve worn through 3 firefighter suits since last December!) while Emergency! (yes, from the ‘70s), Dirty Jobs and “’puter” games remain favorite screen time activities.

Carahers Staying Stateside: Cancel Move To Ireland!

The good news is: we won’t be moving to Ireland to escape the incoming administration. The bad news is: no vacation destination in the Emerald Isle for all of our friends.

We are thankful for and inspired by our friends who did so much to help reason prevail (Hello Suzanne Jancsek, it’s your turn to play, “this is your life!”) around the country. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

The particulars of this election + my advancing age drove me to start blogging, and sharing information broadly and even raising money for specific causes — a new thing for us. Thanks to everyone who is still talking to me!

And while we are hopeful for our country, we are bereft at the passage of Prop 8, which removed the right for same-sex marriage from the California Constitution. In the end, we believe that love will trump hate and that the separation of church and state will find its way back into the law.

And Now Lee & Pete

So it’s been another interesting year. (In college, when I got “interesting” on a paper, it usually meant it wasn’t an “A” grade.) In many ways it’s gone way faster than we’re comfortable with, and in others (can you say the never- ending election?) it seemed to drag.

Pete started the year by converting to the Episcopal Church (yes, totally of his own volition). He remains the “Rock,” is still with A&B Produce working half time there and, using the Car Talk Guy’s math, full time at home making it all work. He goes on his 3rd Christmas Bird Count in a couple of weeks and has built one of the largest unread libraries about birds in the Bay Area. (Who has the time?)

All the boys spent the summer in Wisconsin with my father, for another great “real” summer on the lake, were able visit Sue and Jerry in Kansas, and Pete and Liam visited Pete’s Aunt Jo in Arkansas.

We spent a another great week on Madeline Island with our friends the Blundells and the Skillings/Grahams (6 boys, 3 dads, 3 moms...wait make that 9 boys and 3 moms) which was fantastic.

Double Forte has kept me on my toes (and this economy is doing a good job too) and 2009 promises to be interesting, to say the least.

Beyond work, I’ve been busy on the board of Community Gatepath, KQED TV and Radio, and the Choir School — all of which have been fulfilling in different ways.

I’ve taken to blogging because I simply can’t remember it all anymore and we’re both active on Facebook so you find out so much more than you would ever want to know by connecting with us on FB or reading Lee's Blog or www.caraherfamilymatters.com.

 We wish you a joyful & restful holiday. We hope for peace, safety and justice in the world.

Happy 2009!

Love, Lee, Pete, Mike & Liam

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Letter - 2007

Merry Christmas and Happy 2008! We hope this letter finds you all healthy, happy, safe and not too busy!

2007 is hurtling towards it end at the speed of light, after a very full year, filled with many adventures, journeys, challenges and milestones to share.

Michael, almost 10, is now 5’3” (what!?!?). Now in the 4th grade (which, we are here to tell you is a whole different equation than 3rd grade), Mike has really focused in on several passions in the past year —- horse back riding, cooking, and music. This fall Mike lobbied successfully to add pipe organ lessons (yes, you just read pipe organ lessons) to the schedule, and now is studying with Dr. Susan Jane Matthews (Google her, be amazed) who is also the Director of the St. Paul’s Choir School, where Michael has just received his Dark Blue Ribbon in the Choristers. Mike also decided at the end of the summer that he would like to cook family dinner on Sunday nights — he likes to remind me constantly of the time that I halved the meat and doubled the breadcrumbs in a meatloaf to create a horrible brick on the plate dinner. Gnocchi, soup, pasta sauce all from scratch are some of Mike’s culinary achievements this fall. In fact, cooking has become quite the incentive for Mike — “Mike if you don’t finish your reading log, you can’t cook dinner tonight.” (Yes I get that I am probably the only mother on the planet saying this, but it’s working so I’m sticking with it!)

Liam has just turned 7! He is now in the 1st grade at a new school for us Arbor Bay, which is a non-public K-8 school for kids with mild-to-moderate learning and communication disorders or delays. We feel so fortunate to have Liam at Arbor Bay — it has been a transformative experience for us all. He is in a class with 3 other kids who are close to him in terms of special needs (and one other who also uses a speech device during class). His teach Mrs. King (and everyone there) believes in Liam like we do, and she and the other teachers there are working with him on academics, speech, fine and gross motor, and a whole host of other stuff that typical kids work on. Liam also is horseback riding now (of course at a different barn than Mike, to make it more complicated for Pete!) at the B.O.K Ranch which specializes in for people with disabilities, and looks forward to “big, horse, white, Zeke” every week.

Liam has become a rabid fan of the St. Ignatius Freshman Football team — the Cats — for which his uncle Tim is a defensive coach, and can be heard many times every day ringing out with an enthusiastic “go Cats!” — or when they lose, “Cats no win? Why?”

Pete has (finally) crossed over the 40 line, which we celebrated with many friends in November. (We went from no party, just golf, to party + golf, to theme party + golf). He still makes it all happen on the home front and is now in his 12th year at A&B Produce, where he is still working half-time (kick Mike out of the car in San Mateo at 8am, drive to Belmont, stop get coffee, drive to Redwood Shores, kick Liam out of the car, get to work. Work. 1pm leave work and off to the afternoon races!) He reminds everyone that he’s been a New England Patriot fan since the dark days of the 1986 Superbowl! Pete’s become even more interested in birds in the past year — next time you see him, ask him to empty out his cargo short pockets — bird charts and binoculars are never far away! Active at church, Pete is now an usher (he’s the one in the back who looks like a secret service agent), among many other things there.


We made a 2-week trip to Scotland and Ireland in June. First we visited our friend Lisa Eunson at her church in Banchory, Scotland (near Aberdeen) where she and her whole congregation welcomed us with open arms to tea, pony trekking, golf, and organ playing, and jumping fish watching. We can’t wait to go back!

From Scotland we flew to Ireland and spent 6 days with Pete’s sister Anne and the cousins, Eion, Lizzie and Ciara in Caherciveen on the tip of the Ring of Kerry, where they have a home. Anne’s husband Stephen was able to come for a day so we were able to catch up with the whole clan. We had a fabulous time! Swimming (well running in and running out of the cold water), pony trekking, castle and fort climbing, admiring cows and sheep, and roving the countryside — we can’t wait to go back there either! 

Once back in the States, Pete took the boys to Kansas to see Pete’s parents Sue and Jerry for almost a week. And then the boys made their way to Wisconsin to spend the rest of the summer with my father at Camp McEnany on Lake Altoona. We were very excited that my sisters Abby and Lizzie were also able to come to the land of cheese this summer. We also made our annual trip to Madeline Island, and were thrilled that our friends Kristi and Chip Blundell and their kids Joey, Keane and Bran came with us for a second year.

We are so excited that Pete’s brother Tim and his wife Jen are back in San Francisco, and are looking forward to seeing them a LOT in the new year. (Now they won’t answer their phone if they see it’s us!)

I’ve had a busy year. Double Forte turned 5 in September and I think is moving in a really good direction. I’ve continued on the board of Community Gatepath (where Liam was part of the 0-3 program) and will expand my role there a bit next year. I was also asked to join the board of NCPB (which operates KQED FM and TV among others), and after vowing to say no to any requests, decided to say yes to this one — so am looking forward to that. I also help out at church with the Choir School and this year the Pageant costumes (if you’re there, don’t look too closely — you’ll see that my glue gun has not gone into total hibernation since the time Pete asked me why I needed 3 of them!)

So only room for one quote this year. I started: “Mike, I won’t be able to help you with dinner tomorrow because Julie, Kristi and I are going to a mom class.” “How many weeks is that?” said Mike. “It’s only a few hours Mike,” I replied. To which he said “is that enough time mom?” And then his face almost split open with his grin. That there is the Caraher house in a nutshell.

We hope you take time to celebrate this season and that 2008 is healthy, safe and joyful for you, and we wish for peace and safety and reason in the world.

Happy 2008! Love, Lee, Pete, Mike, Liam and Al the Cat

Christmas Letter - 2006

Merry Christmas and Happy 2007! We hope this letter finds you well, happy, healthy and safe.

2006 has been another interesting year Clan Caraher, filled with many joyful milestones as well as challenging moments which we seem to have weathered without too many scrapes.

Michael and Liam each continue down their mostly entertaining, yet sometimes grey-hair producing (well at least for Lee!) paths of life.

Mike, now almost 9, is today practicing to be the Talking Donkey in the church pageant, about which he is quite excited (think Shrek in Bethlehem). This seems right up his alley given a strong proclivity for drama and humor (we’re not sure where this comes from). His love for music continues to grow, and earlier this year we successfully established a “No Piano Before 6:30 AM” rule which means that we listen to his favorite piece of the moment only 15 times a day. He very much enjoys school, is enthralled with all thing Penguin, loves horse-back riding, and has a strong command of language which he likes to exercise, particularly when negotiating. It’s a joy….no, really.

Liam has just turned 6 (with much excited anticipation as he really got the whole concept this year) and is now in Kindergarten in the special education program where he gets specialized attention for both his language and fine motor delays. He has Pete on the run in the afternoon with a busy schedule of therapies disguised as fun activities. The Magic School Bus in the written and video versions are great favorites, and it’s been a real joy to see him understand fully audio as well as video content to the point of laughing out loud during stories. His vocabulary has grown dramatically, as well as his ability to communicate verbally in full sentences – so progress!

It was a big year for the extended Clan Caraher as Pete’s youngest brother Tim married Jen Norman in a wonderful Tim-and-Jen ceremony in the Tahoe National Forest. It was a fantastic week with all Carahers from far and wide together to celebrate. Mike and Liam were ring bearers and there was a bit of tension when Liam decided he quite liked the ring thank you and didn’t want to give it up. Patrick has moved to Colorado, but we are looking forward to Tim and Jen returning to the Bay Area next year.

Pete and the boys spent their fifth summer at Camp McEnany with my father, while I traveled back and forth several times. This time was great for all of the boys, with camps, pool, golf, horses and fun had by all. We made our annual pilgrimage to Madeline Island, this time with our good friends Kristi and Chip Blundell and their three boys, which was a blast.

Pete and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary (I am instructed to say “celebrated 10 Glorious Years of Marriage”) with a week-long trip to Maui sans children (Thank You Sue!!). I found the arduous task of deciding whether to start the day at the beach cabana or poolside overwhelming, and almost couldn’t make the decision about where to eat every night. Thank God Pete was there to help me through this!

During that trip, I had a moment of weakness, where I conceded that yes, we could get a cat. And so Altuna – “Al” – joined us in November and is very much at home with us. Michael wants another cat, and I’ve promised him that as soon as he can consistently neatly clean the litter box we can get another cat. No fear there!

We’ve been able to spend a lot of time with Carahers and McEnanys this year with trips to some and visits from others — and look forward to trips to Kansas, Arizona, Wisconsin, Chicago and Ireland next year to do the same (with everyone so spread out it is a challenge!)

Work is going well for both Pete and me and much too boring to talk about here. We’ve all been active at church, and I’m excited to be back in the choir, which I had really missed.

Pete continues to make things happen here at home, and with the kids, and is known for adventure play dates. He was able to play much golf this year, and is looking forward to his 40th birthday next November, since he’s declared it the “Year-Long Birthday Celebration of Golf”- (I’m a little nervous to find out exactly what that means).

My father is doing well, thank you all for your kind thoughts and words about him. He is back in Snowmass for the ski season this year after several trips to see us and my sisters, and a three week trip to England and Scotland this fall. We are looking forward to him and my youngest sister Abby joining us for Christmas, and are sorry that Lizzie will not be able to come as she is in the throes of writing her dissertation.

We hope you have a wonderful holiday surrounded by those you love, and that 2007 brings great happiness to you and peace around the world. Love, Pete, Lee, Mike and Liam

Caraher Christmas Letter- 2005

So -- here it is, the Christmas Letter of 2005 -- no references to the single sock eradication program (basically because it's fallen apart a bit) -- and I confined myself to 1 sheet this year, soooo basic and brief!
Dear Friends:

We hope this letter finds you happy, healthy and rested!

2005 has been a year full of overwhelming sadness and incredible joy for the Carahers, and I find as I sit to write the yearly missive that too many thoughts and stories from the last year are flowing through my head to share on 1 piece of paper (yes, I am constraining myself to a single sheet this year!).

So I will start with the incredible joys of 2005 (because it’s always good to start with the good stuff). Michael and Liam continue to thrive in their own ways.

Michael – almost 8 now – has really developed a passion for music, drama, reading and horses this year. After just 12 weeks of instruction, we are getting used to waking up to the dulcet tones of finger exercises on the piano and now know that the real benefit of the electronic keyboard (that we gave back to our friends when the real thing came into the house last month) is that you can unplug the thing! A curious being of definite opinion, Mike has something to say about just about everything, and we find and has a real flair for the dramatic in almost all that he does….which makes it interesting or mind-bending depending on the day.

Liam, now 5, has grown in so many ways this past year. In the spring he was diagnosed with Apraxia and Dysarthria – two not-un-related neurological speech disorders – which has provided a definite focus with his education and therapies. Liam is very busy, as we complement his school time with other activities that work together to help him further develop muscle tone and balance and the ability to speak – and he’s making progress with more words every day. Karate has been a wonderful new activity from which we’ve seen dramatic improvement in concentration and balance – now if we can keep him from practicing in the grocery store, we’ll really be ahead of the game! Dressing up – astronauts, Luke Skywalker, Dash, Buzz, any assortment of knights & princes, anything with a cape -- is a favorite pastime, so you never know who will be at the dinner table!

I took the kids east at Easter and was able to visit with my great Aunt Barbara before she died this summer, and with many east coast friends and family.

This summer, we continued our now 4-year tradition of having Pete and the boys spend the summer in Wisconsin chez McEnany and I traveled back and forth, as someone needs to bring home the bacon! Pete and the kids had 2 extra vacations from vacation and flew to Kansas to see almost all the Caraher Clan and took the train to Chicago for a weekend with my sister Abby. We were also able to spend a week on Madeline Island in Lake Superior, which was spectacular.

Pete was able to have 6 days alone (for those of you who don’t know, alone is when you are by yourself without kids or spouse for an extended period and are not confined to the bathroom) while he drove to and from Eau Claire. He also played much golf (I am instructed to tell you that he did NOT “golf” he PLAYED golf) in between getting kids to and from day camp and doing “summer stuff.”

Pete was a HUGE help to my parents this summer, as it became clearer and clearer that my mother was nearing the end. I flew the kids home on Saturday, August 27th in time to start school the next week and was called back to Wisconsin the next Friday to be with my sisters and father for my mother’s last few days of life. We were all happy to get there in time for her to know that we were there, and once we had all spent time with her she went into a coma and then died on Labor Day.

We celebrated my mother’s life with a “very Gina” memorial service weekend (complete with bagpipers, balloons, short hymns, and too much food) and many of our family’s collective friends and family were with us for the weekend.

In September, Pete’s brother Patrick lost his long-time girlfriend Sarah in a freak bike accident close to their home. Sue was already her since she was staying with Mike and Liam while Pete and I were in Eau Claire, so she extended her trip, and Gerry and Tim and Jen also came. Patrick had a “very Sarah” memorial for her on Mt. Baldy in Los Angeles, outside on the mountain.

Throughout this time my sister Lizzie was a Katrina refugee from New Orleans where she is at the LSU Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry completing her work for her PsyD. The silver lining in the blur that was September and early October is that she was safe and was able to live at home with our father and help him with everything that happens after someone dies. She is now back in New Orleans (and was one of the few who did not lose their home to flood damage or mold) in what can only be called compromised circumstances.

My father is spending the winter in Snowmass in a full time capacity at the ski school, and he and my sisters will be here for Christmas, which we are very much looking forward to.

So it’s been a year. Through it all we have felt carried by the love and support of our friends near and far. Thank you.

We hope you have a wonderful holiday surrounded by those you love, and that 2006 brings great happiness to you and peace in the world.