Merry Christmas 2008!

Here we are again and another year has gone by. As I get older (and my kids get older), I enjoy taking a few moments to reflect on all that has happened over the year. Going through the pictures from 2008 helps me to remember all of the great things we did, but I also catch myself going back to pictures from previous years. They are memories of some great times and younger days. Sometimes I miss the babies that we once had, but Paula and I are truly enjoying our kids as they grow and mature.

We hope and pray that all of you had a wonderful Christmas wherever you were. For some, this year has been especially hard, considering the economy and frailty of some companies out there. We pray that you have been able to find peace and happiness with family and friends this holiday season.

I would have to say that this year has been marked with some new challenges, but mostly Paula and I have been busy raising the kids and being as involved as we can with our church community.

Here is what each of our monkeys have been up to in 2008:

Cassidy is now 15 and a Sophomore in high school. She is becoming more and more interested in photography and put some photos in this year's San Diego County Fair. She received first place ribbons for the two photos that she entered. You can see some of her pictures at her Flickr website. Cassidy continues to excel at playing the violin despite breaking the tip of her left index finger in a freak accident at school. She could not play for a few weeks, but then picked up right where she left off. Cassidy is looking forward to getting her learner's permit for driving a car this year, getting her braces off and starting to consider where she might like to go to college!

Emily is looking forward to her 11th birthday in a few weeks. She is planning a trip with her mom to Hollywood to visit the American Girl store for her birthday. This year, Emily really enjoyed the Pilgrim overnight trip that she attended with her fourth grade classmates. She played softball again this year and her team won the 10 and Under championship for the season. She is enjoying life as a 5th grader and loves helping Paula out at church as a Shout Team member, helping to lead worship for the children's program. In 2009, Emily is looking forward to getting into drama more, attending camp in the summer and becoming a 6th grader in the fall.

Our boy Anthony is now 9 years old. He had a lot of fun playing baseball this year. His team name was the Storm. He continues to excel in school and really loves to play any kind of video game that he can get his hands on. He also had a great time this summer attending family camp at Forest Home. Anthony is looking forward to moving up to the next division in Little League this year and he can't wait to be a fourth grader in the fall so that he can start attending Quest with Paula on Wednesday nights at our church.

It's hard to believe it, but our little Alison is now 7 years old and is in 2nd grade. She continues to expand her interests and has a lot of fun with playing instruments, singing and writing songs and dancing. She has a pretty active imagination and her favorite place to play is in the garage. She also played softball this year, her second year in the T-ball division. In 2009, she is looking forward to playing softball again, going to camp and hopefully taking some piano lessons.


Paula continues to excel in her profession and has been so happy to work with the new Minister of Children and Family Ministries at our church in Solana Beach. She also took on a new challenge this year and is attending Bethel University to work towards her Master's degree. She had a health scare earlier in the year with some strange heart palpitations, but has not had any issues since last January. She had a lot of fun this year helping to coach Ally's T-ball team and coordinating fun events for the 4th through 6th graders at the church. This year she is looking forward to continuing her school work, including a trip to Minnesota in the fall, and is excited to see what God has in store for her.

This year has brought some interesting challenges and discoveries for me. In September, I had some heart troubles of my own. Nothing too serious, but I did make a trip to the ER where the doctor assured me that I am pretty healthy and that I had been experiencing some heart palpitations related to stress. I continue to work in the software industry as an Implementation Specialist at Tax Compliance. Fortunately, the company continues to be stable. But, I have also been hearing God calling me to new and exciting things. I continue to volunteer as a small group leader for the high school ministry at our church. Through my serving here I have found that I am very passionate about coming alongside students and young adults to let them know that they are loved and are supported as they move into the next stages of life. I continue to pray and look for opportunities to do this kind of work with more of my time. I look forward to seeing where God will lead me in 2009.

Some family highlights this year included trading in our old purple minivan for a new Toyota Sienna. We broke it in this past April with a trip up the California coast where we camped and visited the sites for a week. Paula and I celebrated our 11th anniversary with a trip to Catalina Island at the end of June. We also were able to take our annual winter trip to Disneyland Resort in Anaheim where we kicked of our holiday season.

As always, you can check out pictures of the Mazza family over at our Flickr website. Would you be shocked to learn that I have a year's worth of pictures to still upload? I try to put them up on the website when I get the opportunity and I hope to be able to concentrate on that in this new year. So, keep checking back for new photos.

We hope this post finds you all healthy and happy. The Mazza family wishes you all the best in 2009 and we look forward to hearing from you. Please drop us a line any time by sending me an e-mail.