Chrismas Letter

Diego continues to works almost full time at Best Buy (over a year now) selling big screen televisions and going to school full-time at MATC. He has maintained a 3.0 GPA and will be transfering to Edgewood College as a Sophomore next fall. He has an apartment just off the Capitol Square but still spends a lot of time at his mom's house because she cooks better then his roomates. Last year he was doing Ultimate Fighting grappling at Turner Hall but he has not done that in a while. He just came back from a 7 day cruise with his mom and brother and sister.

Sergio made the Dean's List with a 4.2 GPA. the first semester and says he is continuing to do well since he transfered at semester break to the Cornell School of Hospitality Management. He came home for Spring Break (I picked him up in Detroit after the NCCA's wrestling championships...) and dropped him back a week later in Toledo for a ride back with a former wrestler Curtis Roddy of Davison, Michigan and former teammate of Paul Donohoe. I am headed out to Ithaca the weekend of May 18th to pick him up for the summer. He already has an internship in the Dells and we are hoping he might get a better one within the Marriot Corporation, where my brother Jesse has some in-laws working.

Lorena just turned 17 and is completing her Junior year at East High. She plays JV Girls Soccer and is still in the PEOPLE program at the University of Wisconsin where she will spend six weeks in the dorm during the summer and has an internship lined up.

Javier is still 13 and an 8th grader, but is already taller then everyone except Diego and I. He comntinues to play soccer with the Monona Grove Soccer Club. He came to an Edgewood wrestling practice and it was clear that by being dragged to many wrestling matches he knew what to do (sprawl, cradle , double leg) when he practiced with the team. it remains to be seen where he decides to go to high school (He was "dating" a friend that went to Edgewood and has friends and teamates at Monona Grove"

I will be the Co-Head Coach at Edgewood Wrestling next year. It looks like we will co-op with Monona Grove, each high school approved it and the Badger Conference gave it's blessing and we are waiting for the WIAA to sign off. Monona Grove's football coach has been pushing for it and they have 20 kids that have expressed and interest. Steve Evans and I get along very well and we each have things we do like to do that compliment each other. Getting the kids to work a little harder and push themselves a bit more is a challenge but I spend time getting to know them and that seems to help them.

Omega School purchased a building in December, 2006 on South Park and West Badger Road. i know you understand that once you get you "own place" you can design it in a way that you want. We know have a childcare area, offer meals, have morning, afternoon and evening classes, have Saturday morning classes, have a electronic SmartBoard classroom, computer lab and quiet study space. We established an endowment fund and building fund and stand on sound financial footing. It looks like I will spend the rest of my career at Omega School until I retire (I am 52 years old now...) and hope to establish a training center for others to replicate our one to one GED programming..

My girlfriend Barb and I are still living in my house in DeForest. None of the other children wanted to transfer to DeForest so it is generally quiet. I get the two younger kids every other weekend, but I take Lorena to school everyday on my way to work, and still handle all the doctor and orthodontist appointments so a day doesn't go by without hearing from one of my children. Javier loves Barb, Lorena tells her everything and the boys have always been respectful to her. Clara and Barb get along well. Clara and I speak almost every other day, and mostly about the children. Clara and I and the three other kids drove to Ithaca together to see the Campus and visit Sergio over Halloween and we had a great trip. It was nice to see how well the kids like each other and get along...

Say hi to Shawn Spancer and the little one..take care..