The 2004 Williams Family | ||
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Still, We Believe... And believe it or not, it's time for yet another Williams Family Christmas Newsletter! Like was the case with the Boston Red Sox (the coolest baseball team in the major leagues), 2003 and 2004 were very eventful years for us. So so grab a cold drink, maybe a Fenway Frank, and sit back and watch the game as the Williams Family runs the bases and scores a few runs! Leading off will be Brian ("Big Papi") Williams. He's still working in the Disneyland Band and doing his freelance playing, composing and teaching gigs, and he's also become quite proficient on the flute and piccolo. Brian is very active in community orchestras and plays quite often for our church services at Yorba Linda Presbyterian. On a recent "slide into home base", Brian broke his left foot and will be on crutches for the next few weeks (ah, the dangers of lugging equipment out to your car after a gig!) Brian's at-bat left him with one ball, one strike and a single; we have a man on first! Next up is Jan ("Johnny D") Williams. She has been having an All-Star season, so we expect good things from her. In addition to her beloved Red Sox winning the World Series (words you never thought you would see together in the same sentence), she has made a job change and is in the process of making a significant career change. After leaving Anaheim Band Instruments, she landed a job as Administrative Assistant at Yorba Linda Presbyterian Church, the church our family joined in July 2003. This position is purely clerical, which is much more to Jan's liking; it is part-time, and is very close to home. In addition, she is fortunate to be able to work with very nice, considerate, and respectful people. But the story continues: one day, Jan had a brilliant idea; Question - How do I achieve my dream of moving my family to New England, yet still be able to make a decemt living? Answer - Court Reporting! The more she checked it out, the more it resonated with her and she is now attending evening college classes to earn her degree. Jan has completed one semester (aceing both finals in the process!) and she feels she has truly found her niche. She looks forward to the time when she will be able to apply her skills in this highly in-demand and lucrative career - then it's goodbye California, hello New England (and season tickets to Fenway Park)! Jan's count ran 3-0, with a homah ovah the monstah; we're up two to nothing! Dana ("Man-nay") Williams has also been showing real promise this season, and we expect she will be a serious contender for quite some time. She continues to excel in school, receiving very high marks in all her Honors and Advanced Placement classes. In fact, she scored a 5 on her AP U.S. History exam, which is the highest score one can get! Dana is a senior at Esperanza High School this year, which means we are looking forward to graduation in June. Her post-graduation plans include taking her general education classes at a local community college while she earns money working part-time; then she hopes to transfer to a prominent four-year university, where she will pursue a major in political science with a minor in journalism. Last summer, Dana was invited to participate in the National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. and the National High School Institute for Journalism at Northwestern University in Chicago. She spent two weeks in D.C. and five weeks at Northwestern, made a lot of good friends, and got a taste of what life beyond Yorba Linda is like. She is very interested in eventually attending Northwestern, so it was a great oppportunity for her to visit the school. Dana is currently the Editor-In-Chief on her school newspaper, president of the Creative Impulse Club, and is very involved with various theater productions. She has a lot on her plate, but is very happy and fulfilled. Dana goes 2-0, hits one deep to left; it keeps going and makes it over the wall! Three to nothing! Chris ("Tek") Williams walks out of the on-deck circle and stands at the plate, ready to let one fly! He still enjoys school and is now in fifth grade, excelling in math and science. He is in his last year of Cub Scouts and looks forward to moving on to Boy Scouts next year. Chris had quite an eventful 2003 soccer season, as his team, the Golden Eagles, finished undefeated in both regular and post-season play. But that wasn't enough for them; they went on to win the JUSA Cup Tournament and the Commissioner's Cup Tournament! Chris is considering playing little league next season, and enjoys doing Tae-Kwon-Do. He's up 1-0 in the count, swings, and flies one into deep right field for a triple! The crowd's attention is now directed to the pitcher's mound, where Terry Francona is making an important annoucement which is sure to have a very significant impact on the game. In late October and early November, our family had a wonderful opportunity to help our next door neighbors, the Serratellis. They were selected to be on "Renovate My Family", where they not only got a fresh start in their life goals, but also ended up with a brand new house! For approximately 2 weeks, construction was occuring 24 hours every day as their old house was demolished and rebuilt from the ground up. Television crews were everywhere filming as much footage as they could. Brian and Jan were instrumental in rallying neighborhood support for this project and were extremely pleased that this was happening to such a deserving family as the Serratellis. Due to the significance of this event, it's an automatic win for the Williams Family team and the game is called in their favor! Will our streak continue? Will we make it to post-season play? Be sure to check back in 2006 for the latest standings; until then, Happy Holidays and remember to Keep the Faith! | |
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