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Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, and the best of holidays to one and all! It has been a long and tiring year, but has still managed to fly by. Is that even possible? 2017 ended up being a challenging year for the Schinkais, but we will say that we have stuck it out and are holding strong as it comes to an end. Our hope is that 2018 holds more triumphs than tragedies, more adventures than moments of sloth, and more calm than chaos.

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The root of our sadness in 2017 stems from the sudden loss of our father, Terry Kenjorski. At the beginning of the new year on January 6th, Terry suddenly passed away while working away from home on business. From his lovely wife, Debbie, to his children and grandchildren, Peter, Adrianne, Candice, Drew, Samantha, Philip, and David, we were all at a terrible loss. As the saying goes, Terry was the salt of the earth. A retired career Navy man, he was a highly intelligent engineer who loved to tinker with anything from home repair projects to the latest gadgets on cars. Terry was working on a self-driving car project with Autoliv at the time of his passing and his co-workers stated more than once that he had the brains of four or five men. He had an amazing sense of humor and was a goofball, both on and off the golf course. We miss him dearly and we have not gone this year without suffering emotionally, mentally, and at times, physically.  We know he is shining down on us this Christmas and our hope is that he brings in a shining 2018 from above. Rest peacefully Terry and know we all love and miss you.

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In mid-February, we decided that we needed a little extra love in the family, especially during the cold winter months. So after a bit of hunting and with the help of Tiger Lily Cat Rescue (a fantastic local organization), we brought home a new baby named Pepper! Pepper is a Russian Blue and a tiny little cuddle bum in the household. While she was meant to be Peter's buddy, she has taken to snuggling up to Adrianne while she reads in bed each night. She has a loud motor that would make her predecessor, Lovie, quite proud. While she is shy of strangers and tends to drive her big kitty sister, Penny, quite batty, she has been a welcomed addition to our home!

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In mid-January, our dear friends Kevin and Beth Krawetzke asked Adrianne to be godmother to their second daughter, Olivia, for her baptism. Adrianne was greatly honored as she has always had a cuddly spot for the kiddo. She gifted the blessed honoree with a prayer box and two notes to open up in the future on the days of her first communion and her confirmation.

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In March, Peter took a big leap and made a career change. After three years with Mood Media, he stepped down and accepted a well-earned sales position with T-Mobile. Peter has fully embraced the "magenta lifestyle" and is loving his new place with the company. He has stated multiple times that he loves the company's ethics and charitable nature, and especially how the company values its employees and their families. As a result of the work Peter's been doing with T-Mobile and what he is hoping to do with them in the future, Peter has been working on an accelerated MBA through Ashford University online, all of which is being paid for by the company! While Peter has been super busy between career and school (family too), he is looking forward to having some new experience on his resume and the holiday break coming up at the end of the year!

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During the summer, Adrianne started on the path to check off a bucket list item: run the New York City Marathon. While she did not run a marathon (and is still nowhere close to doing so), she did train and run her first 5K race. In September, she ran the Run Wild for the Detroit Zoo 5K and finished in 46:13. She was hoping to break 45 minutes, but she was proud either way and all smiles. In 2018, her goal is to run six races, with the final one hopefully being a half marathon (13.1 miles)!

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Anyone who knows Candice knows that she loves to make friends and hang out. This summer was clearly no exception! Over the last year, Candice has become quite close with one of the neighbor girls, Haley, and the two are constantly spending weekends and sleepovers together. Haley is affectionately referred to as "Kid 2" by Adrianne since she is over a number of afternoons. Candice also got to spend a nice amount of time with her best friend from up north, Katrina. Not only did Candice get to go up to Harbor Beach to stay with Katrina and her family for a couple weeks (and camping to boot), but Katrina came down to hang out with us for a week as well. As you can see, the three girls absolute detest each other! How sad!

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On Terry's birthday, July 21st, the three of us received some incredible news! Peter's brother, Drew, and his adorable wife, Samatha, called us on a video call (with mother Debbie in the background) to tell us that they were expecting a baby! Peter and Adrianne are looking forward to the arrival of their yet to be named niece and Candice cannot wait to meet her baby cousin. Uncle Peter went out right away and bought the baby her first book and stuffed animal, which were both appropriately Pete the Cat. Pictured below is the baby blanket Adrianne crocheted for the future addition along with her cat, Penny, who was clearly testing for coziness. To say the least, we are all waiting anxiously for the February due date.

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If you have stopped by the house in the last couple years, Candice has probably introduced you to her guinea pigs. Sadly, within the span of a month, we lost both Cocoa and Patches. But between then, Peter took Candice to pick out a new baby. They came home with this little nugget, dubbed Cookie, who has since grown quite a bit and takes up the entirety of Candice's hand! Cookie can be shy at times, but is a speed demon when running around her cage. She also likes to spend her time hiding in Candice's shirts and wheeking and purring loudly, especially when she's chewing on a veggie treat. This little girl has brought Candice many smiles this past year and is never far from her grasp.

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In mid July, we all got to take a nice trip...separately! While Candice got to spend the long weekend with her best friend Katrina, Peter and Adrianne went up to Port Hope (basically the most northern point of the thumb in the Michigan mitten) and relaxed at the Lighthouse Keepers Cottages (highly recommended). While the weather was a little chilly, Peter and Adrianne toured the area, eating tons of ice cream, walking the farmer's market, and roasting marshmallows. The sound of the water was the perfect ambiance to the nice little getaway.

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In August, a few weeks before the start of the school year, the three of us took a trip out west and toured a bit of California for a whole week! It was Candice's first time on an airplane and she enjoyed the experience, even if there were a few long flights to get there and back. During our stay, we had a day at Disneyland (Candice got an insanely awesome Cinderella dress that made Adrianne a bit jealous), went and saw the Anaheim Angels play (pictured below), fought some insane waves in Hermosa Beach (Candice went in wearing her jeans and jacket), shopped in downtown San Diego, ate some amazing seafood and steaks, and caught the San Diego Padres at home (Adrianne and Peter got their photo up on the jumbotron)! In between all of that, everyone enjoyed time by the pool. It was a fun trip, but everyone was happy to get home and see all of our furbabies by the end of the week.

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In mid-November, Adrianne's biggest dream came true! After begging and pleading for so long, we finally brought home a golden retriever puppy! Irish (named for Adrianne's beloved Notre Dame Fighting Irish) came to us just short of being eight weeks old. While she has shown many of the insane traditional puppy traits (slowly learning to house train, tearing up anything she finds on the ground, and power sliding on the hardwood floors), she has been the perfect companion for the cold winter months. At nearly twelve weeks currently, she has already mastered fetch, is getting the hang of sitting pretty for treats, and loves to play tug with her ropes and toys. While everyone loves Irish, it is safe to say that Adrianne is in puppy heaven and won't be returning to earth for a while!

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From our family to yours, we wish you very merry holidays and a blessed and joyful new year in 2018!

All our love from the Schinkais,

Peter, Adrianne, & Candice