I hope this letter finds you happy and healthy this Christmas season. It’s been a busy year as usual in the Tingle household. With four little princesses in school and two full time jobs, we stay on the go. Peyton is much better at finding time to enjoy the fun things in life than I have ever been, but I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older (the big 4-0 in January), that I had better enjoy every moment with the girls that I can. They are growing up so quickly. I’m afraid that if I blink again, they’ll be married with kids of their own.
I caught myself telling Sabrina not to correct Amelia’s improper use of the English language last night. Our little four year old Elsa wannabe has a fantastic vocabulary. She typically sounds more like a teenager than a baby, but there is one word that does not exist in her world. She does not know the meaning of the word, YESTERDAY. She has always said, LAST MORNING. Everything happened, last morning, never last night, never yesterday. I can’t help myself, but I don’t ever want her to quit saying that. It’s the very last sign that my little girl was ever my little baby. She will be five in February and before we know it, the littlest Tingle will be in school. Just like almost every four year old girl in the country, she loves Frozen and dances and sings around the house all day. I wish I could say that the words to those songs drive me crazy, but they don’t. I could listen to her sing forever.
Sabrina and Samantha are both excelling in the fourth grade. Sabrina loves to read and to write stories. The older she gets, the more she reminds me of myself. She’s generous and kind and she likes to be in charge. Sabrina loves to run. She and Sam have both hit the 50 mile mark in the running club at Inman Elementary.They run every morning before class (weather permitting). Samantha seems like the quieter kid around the house, but I’ve learned that isn’t the personality trait that comes out when she’s with her peers. She is as outgoing as her dad and I combined. She loves to ride her bike, but skateboarding is quickly turning into her passion. She’s asked Santa for a new board this year. She’s also the resident queen of Minecraft and I’m pretty sure she’ll either be a vet or a computer engineer someday.
Destiny is just a few months shy of starting high school. It’s so hard to believe that she will be driving by the beginning of summer. It’s pretty awesome to have a kid that is old enough and PATIENT enough to babysit this bunch for a couple of hours. She’s a great big sister. She’s been running more this year too. Peyton is bound to end up with a couple of 5K partners out of this bunch.
We bought a 1978 Dodge Motorhome a few months ago and Peyton has really enjoyed fixing it up. We took it on our annual Thanksgiving camping trip to Indian Springs. It has been the best “garage sale” item we’ve ever stumbled on. It makes a great playhouse too. It’s pretty funny to see Peyton driving around town in the Mystery Machine. Everywhere he goes, he gets an offer or two to buy it. Tingle Moving Service had another good year and Peyton got to spend his days with his dad, his brother and his son. He might not have a house full of boys, but he has a wife who loves a good football game and girls who think they are the Lords of Dogtown.
I started off the year feeling pretty bummed about work. Things were changing quickly within the organization and it just seemed like I couldn’t do anything to help my team succeed. I felt a little bit like I was swimming upstream, but in late spring, I underwent a blood transfusion that changed everything. The red and yellow that coursed through these veins was turned to purple. It was a huge leap of faith to leave DHL after 12 years, but I joined the management team at FedEx Trade Networks in June and have never looked back. In just six months, I have learned so much more than I ever could have imagined possible. I don’t see that slowing down in 2015 as I take on another role within FTN. It’s the biggest challenge of my career and quite frankly, I am having a great time doing it. It is so amazing to be working again with a GM that I adore both professionally and personally and I don’t mind bragging about having a team that rocks.
I am just shallow enough to say that the most exciting moments for me this year were watching Garth sing live (awesome floor seats at Phillips) and visiting Seattle for my first Seahawks game at Centurylink with Shelby Lee.
This year has been full of challenges, but in the end, there is nowhere I would rather be this season than hanging out with these beautiful Tingle girls and snuggling up with the sweetest man alive...even if it is under our “Frozen” themed Christmas tree.
Merry Christmas from the whole Tingle crew!!!
Love,
Bobbie
