Burgett Family Christmas Letter 2006

The year 2006 brought several milestones to the Burgett Family. Not only do we now have a child in high school, but our family elder, Bryan; turned 40 this year. It seems that as each year passes by our lives get increasingly busy. Mornings are especially crazy as we are getting the three boys off to school at different times. Our afternoons and evenings generally revolve around sports. This fall was especially hectic, with all three boys playing on different teams. It was quite exhausting shuttling the boys to all of their practices and games; but we loved it.
The year started off on a bad note in January when Bryan’s father, Doug suffered a heart attack. He was in the cardiac critical care unit for over a month, but since then he has recovered unbelievably well. The power of prayer is awesome! In August we were saddened by the death of Christie’s grandfather, Rev. Ralph H. Pieper. He was the last of the living grandparents of Bryan and Christie.

Gannon is a freshman at Lakeview Christian High School where is plays on the varsity soccer team and junior varsity basketball team. He’s never been a big basketball fan, but he seems to enjoy playing on the team and he says it will help keep him in shape for soccer season. Like most teenagers he likes to spend his spare time communicating with his friends using the vast array of electronic gadgets he has.

Grant is a 7th grader at R.J. Baskett Middle School. He has made the adjustment from homeshool to public school life very well. He played on the 7th grade football team as an offensive lineman (just like dad). They had a great season finishing 8-1. He is on the honor roll and he plays drums in the school band.
Gibson is in the 3rd grade attending Westview Elementary School. Like Grant, he was homeschooled the past 2 years. He really enjoys school and his teacher tells us that he is an absolute joy to have in the classroom. This fall he played on a soccer team that was coached by Bryan’s friend Jeff.

Bryan still works at Indiana Wesleyan University recruiting students for the online graduate nursing programs. He also teaches online courses for the university. Speaking of Bryan, he recently hit the big 4-0. In September, Christie pulled off one of the best surprises in Burgett family history when she planned a 40th surprise birthday party. Bryan had no clue about the party (partly because his birthday is in December) The means by which Christie kept this a secret, while still managing to bring in friends and family from out of state was quite a task.

Now that Christie is no longer a homeschool mom, she has much more free time…..yeah right J She still provides care for several children in our home during the day. In August Christie had a thyroidectomy. She was in surgery for about 4 ½ hours, but she has recovered well is doing fine now.

At the end of May we made our way back to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to spend a week at one of our favorite vacation destinations. We rented a beach house along with Aunt Marilyn and friends of ours who have two younger children. We had a great time relaxing by the pool and hot tub. On the return trip back to Indiana we made our required stop in Hershey, Pennsylvania to visit HersheyPark. Overall it was an interesting year and we look forward to many more.

We hope you have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Bryan, Christie, Gannon, Grant and Gibson