2012 ~ The Everly Family Year in Review

Welcome Family and Friends to our first ever blog style Christmas Letter.  Usually I include a short newsletter with our Christmas card, but this year I have decided to go 'paperless' and instead I will do a blog post about our year in review. This way I can include a bunch of pictures and more detail on the events of the past year.

December 2011- Being a military spouse has a few perks. I was invited to a special Christmas tour of the White House. Pat was busy with exams at NWC so I took along my dear friend Lora LaFleur.





Tammie continues to grow her handmade artisan jewelry & home decor business. Craft shows, bead and supply shopping, real business cards and lots of time spent in the work shop.


January 2012- Our family spent New Years Eve with two of our favorite families. Ben & Mo Reynolds hosted a murder mystery party which we attended along with Kurt & Joanne Kayser. It was fun and a great way to spend the evening.

A French playboy, a gypsy and a priest :-)

Rachel had her 14th birthday on the 29th. The murder mystery party was so much fun she did one for her friends too. "The Love Letter" was a big hit.

2.5 years seems to be all the Navy will allow us to stay in anyone place so we put 25021 White Sands Dr. up for sale in anticipation of our move to the Norfolk area in the summer.

February/March - Lots of people tour the home and we finally have a serious buyer. We begin making preparations to move.

April- Pat is in the final stages of his classes at National War College and preparing to go on a 10 day tour of Europe as part of his school.  

Rachel makes her confirmation with our good friend Stefanie Salazar as her sponsor.

May- We close on the sale of the house and move in temporarily with Pat's mom Nancy in Reston to finish out the school year. Tammie starts a TTE Designs blog [ttedesigns.blogspot.com] to chronicle the evolution of her business.

Casa de Everly South

June- Pat graduates from NWC and the kids finish school, we say goodbye yet again to many good friends in northern VA and we move the whole circus 4 hours south to Chesapeake, VA.  The move goes well and the house we are renting is across the street from our good friends Chris and Marci Brunett, it's just like being back on Rota Drive [but without the snakes, and boonie bees]

Just a few days after unpacking all the boxes Pat has his change of command to become the Skipper of HSC-2. This is a bonus command for him and we are so blessed to have this opportunity.  Pat's mom Nancy and Tammie's parents Cynthia & Don make the trip down for the ceremony, it's a lot closer than Guam was. We hosted close to 100 people for a fun change of command party here at the house.

JP turns 17 on the 23rd and is gifted a big burly 'man-truck'. It's got a few miles on it but it's all his!

July/August - We start to settle in to the area, re-connect with old friends and enjoy the area beaches, restaurants and southern hospitality. Tammie's work is accepted at an artists consignment shop called 'Two and a Half Women' in Elizabeth City, NC.

Flip Flops grill as seen on Food Network

World's biggest NEX

September- School starts. This year Rachel is a freshman and JP is a senior at Great Bridge HS. 
Rachel makes the JV Volley ball team. JP joins Model UN, representing Poland. 
Pat settles into squadron life while working his way through the syllabus to re-qualify in the aircraft. He makes a trip to San Antonio, TX for a conference and was able to see our friends Steve & JoAnn Vande Walle.

JP & Pat make a man trip to Richmond to a NASCAR race.   Tammie registers for several fall craft shows in the area and is in full creating mode making lots of inventory. 
Pat ran the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach it was a HOT and steamy day but despite that he finished in 1 hour and 50 min~

October- This month JP is in full college-bound mode. With Pat's help he applies to several schools. He takes another crack at the SAT and Senior pictures get taken.  
Volleyball continues for Rachel, and Pat learns more about the geography of the area as he makes a point to go to all the 'away' games. 

More craft shows fill Tammie's weekends. 

Pat ran the Wicked 10-K in Virginia Beach as the last race before the Freedom Marathon. Hurricane Sandy had other plans for the marathon and ends up sending Pat and members of his squadron and three other squadrons to the NY/NJ area to provide assistance in the stricken region.  Luckily the Shamrock marathon is coming up in March of 2013. 

We also found out that Pat had been selected for an O-6 level command.  A few weeks later we learned that he would be the Deputy Commodore then Commodore of Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Atlantic. Very excited for the new position and Tammie is thrilled that we don't have to move again for 3 years. 

November-  Even more craft shows fill the weekends. The finale' is Tammie's first ever TTE Designs Open House/ Trunk Show on the 17th where she turned the dining room into a little shop.  Thanks to the support of friends and neighbors it is a wonderful success.  

We were happy to host Nancy and Pat's brother Steve, his wife Amy & daughter/cousin Laura for Thanksgiving. It is a great visit and we thoroughly enjoyed having everyone here. We christened our new fire-pit and had a wonderful time.

This month JP also found out that he was accepted at University of Alabama, this was his #1 college choice and he is thrilled. Roll Tide!

December-  Pat heads to San Diego to speak at a change of command. The holiday season is in full swing. Lots of 'mandatory fun' with squadron events, neighborhood get-to-gethers and socializing.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read our 'year in review'. We hope that 2012 was good for you and your family and we look forward to 2013. We wish you all the blessings of the Christmas season and a prosperous and healthy new year.

Warmest Regards,

Tammie, Pat, JP, Rachel & Dixie