Cheryl Flory of Lewiston made a return as the final winner in our Finish the Holiday Letter contest. Her entry was selected as the best conclusion to the Sheldon’s letter. Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s contest.

Week 1 winner: Cheryll Root of Troy

Week 2 winner: Cheryl Flory of Lewiston

Week 3 winner: Jean Pici of Deary

Week 4 winner: Cheryl Flory of Lewiston

Holiday greetings from the Sheldons!

It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone, and here we are sending our annual holiday family letter to you again.

This year can be described with one word: busy! The five of us (or eight, if you count all our fur babies) have so much to share. If you haven’t been following us on Instagram, YouTube or Snapchat, you are definitely missing out on some wild adventures.

I’ll start with our biggest news, the birth of the newest member of our family, Klashton (the “l” is silent). Klashton is nearly a year old and is already walking and choosing his own clothes, and I have to say, he has great taste! He has memorized 27 baby sign language signs, and we are really enjoying his sense of humor and requests for more complicated bedtime literature. Last night he asked for “The Canterbury Tales” by Chaucer!

Not to be outdone, Kyleeh, age 5, appears to be on a fast track toward the legal profession.  She gives bedtime stories a thorough analysis, followed with a written brief. Don’t even get me started on her legal case on behalf of the “Three Little Pigs.”  And now, having read “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” Kyleeh is working on an advocacy statement on behalf of the family for roof and chimney damage. 

Kannon turned 15 this year, started driving and spent the year testing his newfound independence (and our parenting skills!). If you saw my frantic series of viral posts when he went missing for two weeks last spring, rest assured it all turned out for the best. We were astonished to see Kannon on YouTube handing former President Jimmy Carter nails as they worked on building a house for Habitat for Humanity. How proud we were when Carter thanked Kannon for being such a great role model for young people and complimented his parents for raising such a wonderful son. Even though Kannon put 5,060 miles on the car driving to Plains, Ga., how could we be upset?  Kannon is invited to stay at the Carter’s home next spring!

Before I get into what dear hubby and I have been doing, I’m sure you’re dying to hear the latest about our fur kids, Noodles, Frisky Business and Silent Bomber who now have 2 million followers on Instagram! Their popularity spiked when Klashton (silent "l") decided to teach the trio his baby sign language, which they quickly mastered. He then persuaded big brother Kannon to video a sign language parody of "The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas and called it "The Three Mousecateers," complete with soundtrack, period costumes, choreography and closed captions. Well, needless to say, it went viral on social media and Noodles, Frisky Business and Silent Bomber are now worldwide feline sensations. Sister Kyleeh, who wrote the script, is handling numerous performance contract negotiations for them and we will all be attending the YouTube Awards ceremony in Hollywood where all the "kids" have been nominated in several categories.

Whew! While I’ve been wrangling all these kids, Dave has broken the all-time sales record at his company and was rewarded with an all-expenses paid, five day family vacation to Disneyland, complete with a VIP pass (bye, bye lines!), tour guide and special access to the mysterious Disney Club 33, a hidden, exclusive, members-only dining venue where we will be able to eat gourmet meals with the fabulously wealthy and Hollywood elite!

As for me, I blush to remember the kind words my boss said as he announced that I was “The Employee of the Year” and handed me a bonus check big enough for us to put in that covered salt water swimming pool we’ve always wanted.  The pool will be great to stretch our tired muscles in after a long workout training for the Boston Marathon, which we both qualified to run April 20, 2020.

It has been a busy year!

Sending wishes to you to dream big in 2020,

The Sheldons