Christmas 2016 - greetings from our home to yours

Christmas 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

It’s hard to believe 2016 is winding to a close, but the calendar doesn’t lie! Here is a little update about what has been happening with our family.

Richard continues to work as a Registered Nurse at Kingston General Hospital, as well as being a clinical instructor for a Queen’s University nursing course during the winter semester each year. He is still doing weekly volunteer work with the Circle of Friends group at Westside Church and with the Run & Read program at the newly-opened Molly Brant Public School in Kingston. Richard also stays active by biking to work, running, and playing squash, soccer, and softball. He was voted Most Sportsmanlike Player by his church softball team and came second in the Men’s 50-59 age category for the Kingston Roadrunners’ Association in 2016.

I (Jeannie) am still working at Queen’s University as an online instructor/TA for the course I co-developed, Fundamentals of Academic Essay Writing. I also keep up my blog at little house on the circle (http://prinsenhouse.blogspot.ca/) and continue to work on my poetry and short stories. My rejections greatly outnumber my acceptances (such is the life of a writer – at least this writer…), but I did have a short piece published in the Readers' Notes section of the literary journal Ruminate and was also a finalist in the same journal's 2016 short-story competition. I also read some of my poems at a Poetry Showcase held by the Kingston library's Poet-in-Residence, Helen Humphreys, whose workshops and critique sessions I had attended. Besides my writing, I still attend my book study group and two women’s groups at Bethel Church, as well as singing on the worship team when called on.

Allison graduated from Loyalist Collegiate and Vocational Institute this year. The last week of June was an exciting one for her, with graduation and prom on consecutive nights. She was accepted into first-year Arts at Queen’s University for this fall, but decided to defer her acceptance for a year so that she would have more time to prepare for this transition.

Jonathan also graduated in June: he finished Grade 8 at Rideau Public School. It was really hard to say goodbye to Rideau because it has truly been a home-away-from-home for Jonathan for the past nine years. He is now attending Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute in their School to Community program; he is in a small class of about six students and has an Educational Assistant, Matt, assigned to him. Overall, Jonathan has adjusted very well to this big change. He likes his classmates and the staff, and he does interesting activities each week like going to volunteer at the Food Bank and going swimming with his EA. He is also, for the first time ever, taking a bus to and from school each day – something he enjoys very much.

Being in contact with friends and family is one of the highlights of this special time of year -- so we hope you'll keep in touch. May you have a very blessed Christmas, and all the best in 2017.

Richard, Jeannie, Allison and Jonathan Prinsen

30 Alamein Drive, Kingston, Ontario K7L 4R6

(613) 549-1881

jandrprinsen@kos.net
(Richard, Jeannie, and Allison
are all on Facebook;
and Jeannie's on Twitter @JeanniePrinsen)