Merry Christmas 2010!

Another year has gone by and time has come to reflect upon 2010. Overall, this year has been quite mixed, but we are happy and healthy and continue to feel blessed. Christmas 2009 was a rough time for our family and especially for Paula, whose dad passed away just after Christmas day. As I was looking over last year's blog entry, I realized that I wrote it without any inclination that Paul would be battling to stay alive. This year we remember him fondly and wish that he were here to celebrate with us. We know that he is up in heaven, looking down on us and enjoying a laugh or two at our silliness.

Paul F. Coleman, you are truly missed!

As with every year end, I am happy to share highlights from our year with all of you. We pray that wherever you are, you are feeling the love and grace of God and that you are able to celebrate the season surrounded by friends and family.



Now, an update on all the Mazza Monkey happenings:

Cassidy turned 17 this year and started her Senior year in high school this past August. It has really been a banner year for Cassidy as she looks ahead to college life. Highlights from the year include hanging out with friends at Forest Home Winter Camp, getting her driver's license, an April trip with Mom and Dad to Washington DC, a great night at her Junior Prom, rocking the SAT test, and playing violin with the San Diego Symphony as part of our church's annual holiday concert series. Cassidy was able to take a trip to Northern California with Paula and Emily to visit colleges in Sonoma and Monterey in August. She is currently considering a dual major in psychology and music. She is very interested in music therapy as a vocation and this past year has taught herself to play guitar, ukulele, and viola.


It is hard to believe it, but our Emily is almost a teenager! She will turn 13 this coming January. Emily has had another great year, highlighted by her promotion to Junior High in June. She is now a 7th grader at Diegueno Middle School, where Paula attended during her childhood. Emily has shown an affinity for the dramatic arts and was able to take some theater classes with CYT this year. She is hoping to continue that this year and possibly audition for a couple of productions in San Diego's North County area. Other highlights from this year for Emily included a trip with Paula and Cassidy to see America's Got Talent, seeing Tim McGraw and Lady Antebellum with me and Ally, and a trip up to Los Angeles to see performances from the Grammy Nominations concert. Emily is looking forward to life as a teenager, getting her own Facebook page and hanging out with her friends at school and Fringe (the Junior High youth program at our church).


Anthony had a rough start to 2010, having to spend some time at Children's Hospital due to an allergic reaction to poison oak. The rest of the year has been much better! Anthony turned 11 this year and celebrated in September by having a Nerf party with some of his friends. He is now in 5th grade at Flora Vista Elementary. Like his oldest sister, he has an affinity for music and is continuing to learn how to play guitar. He has learned songs by Switchfoot, Chris Tomlin and The Beatles this year. Anthony played Spring and Fall baseball this year and is looking forward to playing some flag football at the Y in 2011. Other highlights from 2010 include the Pilgrim Overnight (where he got to spend the night on a ship with his classmates), summer camp at Forest Home, and being a part of the SHOUT team at church.


Alison turned 9 this past August. She is now in 4th grade and is quite the social butterfly. She loves to sing and write her own songs. She often sneaks away and spends some time noodling around on an old upright piano we have in our garage. Ally has had a lot of fun this year being a part of the Children's Choir at our church and performing at special events around the holidays. Other highlights from the year include her first summer camp at Forest Home and a fun birthday party with all of her friends at a local park. Alison took this year off from softball, but is looking forward to playing again in 2011.


As already mentioned, Paula had a rough start to her year. She continues to amaze me with her balance of being a mom of four and also working full-time. This year, she has taken on the additional challenge of training to hike Mount Whitney, which she plans to do next Summer. She is taking the challenge on by hiking, jogging and working out regularly and has lost over 50 pounds in the last 4 months. Paula continues to work at Solana Beach Presbyterian in Pre-Teen Ministries and recently re-christened the program as Fuel, a place for 4th - 6th graders to come and get filled up with the love of Jesus and then go out and share it with the world. Some of Paula's other highlights for 2010 include taking her SHOUT team kids to Forest Home for a winter weekend, America's Got Talent with Cassidy and Emily, college visits with Cassidy, and recently attending the 10th season finale of The Biggest Loser.

Have you heard about the newest addition to our family? You've heard of the Mazza Monkeys and have probably even heard mention of our two beloved hermit crabs, but our newest member is a desert tortoise. We call him Louie and he even has his own Facebook page! He has grown quite a bit since we first brought him home in August. He loves to burrow, climb logs and sun himself on the rocks in his terrarium. He is looking forward to eating lettuce, bathing in his drinking water and sleeping the days away in 2011...


Not much has changed for me this year, but it has definitely been a busy one. My job at Tax Compliance continues and I have been there for three years now. I also have been continuing my volunteer leadership at church, with both our high school ministry and as a vocalist with the worship team. Paula and I both turned 38 this year and we celebrated several milestones. In May, we traveled up to Sonoma in California wine country and spent part of a weekend seeing the sites and hearing great music from one of our favorite bands, Jackopierce. With our kids all at summer camp, we celebrated 13 years of marriage with a "staycation" week together, away from work and the normal stresses of life. We also both had 20 year high school reunions in 2010 and had a lot of fun reuniting with friends.

As 2010 rides off into the sunset, we look forward to many more adventures in the coming year. I hope you enjoyed reading up on our adventures from this past year and I look forward to catching up with you in 2011. From the Mazza family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!