Happy Holidays

Our holiday letter for those we didn't reach by snail mail this year:

Dear Family and Friends,

2011 has been a fabulous year for the Kehs family. We find ourselves truly blessed with all that we have been able to accomplish this year. This year marked four years of marriage and our second year living at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana. It's no Chicago, and there are nine months of summer, but we really enjoy living here.

Mason is in the 20th Bomb Squadron and continues to fly the B52 out of Barksdale. He's been flying all over the United States on various training missions and works hard to protect the country on various assignments; he has almost 600 hours of flying time in the B52 now. In May, Mason promoted to the rank of Captain and earned himself the call sign "Krypto." In June, Mason flew his longest flight yet over to Guam where he was deployed for two months. He had some amazing experiences while in Guam and learned a lot about world affairs, flying, Thai food, and snorkeling. He returned in August to begin his Aircraft Commander upgrade course . He completed his course just after Thanksgiving and have been upgraded from Co-Pilot to Aircraft Commander, which means he is in control. While working hard in the air, Mason was also hard at work on land working to complete his master's degree. In October, he earned his Master's Degree in Aeronautical Science with a focus in Aviation Management. What's ahead, Squadron Officer's School (he finished correspondence but now has to attend in person). Never a dull moment for our aviator!

Ellen started her fifth year teaching, and third year teaching high school. She is continuing work this year at Stanley High School where she is teaching freshmen, juniors, and seniors. Once again she is the Junior Class Sponsor which means being in charge of prom. She is also a co-sponsor for the school's book club. She too burned the midnight oil to wok on her master's degree this year and completed her program in August earning a Master's of Science in Education with a focus in Adolescent Literacy and Technology. Ellen continues on the Board of the Officer's Spouses Club as a Co-Communications Member. She is also actively involved with the BOSC book club and continues to tutor at Sylvan Learning Center. She also supports her fellow military spouses in the squadron by being a Key Spouse and helping host and plan squadron functions.

In between studying and working we were able to escape for an adventurous weekend to white-water raft in Arkansas which we followed up a month later with a relaxing weekend in Fort Worth. While Mason spent time half-way across the world, Ellen kept her feet up in Chicago while visiting friends and family.

Perhaps the most exciting accomplishment and blessing this year was welcoming our son Theodore Lawrence into the world. We were lucky to begin the new year with the exciting news that Ellen was expecting and we spent months preparing for our little bundle of joy. We held our waiting to see if we were having a boy or a girl and all was kept a secret which added to the excitement on delivery day, September 29th. Life with Theo is amazing! We can't imagine life without him. Theo has already grown so much. He's around 12lbs, and 24 inches long already. He works really hard to hold his head up, and has strong leg muscles. He's begun to sleep (mostly) through the night since we wear him out playing a the park, taking walking, reading books, and learning about the world.

We have had a fabulous year together growing closer together and celebrating our successes. We hope that 2012 brings our family and friends the same happiness that we've experienced this past year. Happy Holidays!

Love,
Ellen, Mason, and Theo