My Favorite Things

When you have family spread across the country like we do, it becomes increasingly difficult to share family traditions. It also becomes a real challenge to come up with original ideas for gifts each Christmas. We decided to address both problems at once.

For Christmas 1997, we asked each family member to complete a short survey titled, "My Favorite Things". (We got the idea from Julie Andrews singing in The Sound of Music.) Then we presented a book to each family that had all of the responses. It was a lot of fun and we learned a lot about each other.

Kerry & Teri

She says...

• My favorite place is home…because our family is most comfortable and close here.
• My favorite person is Katherine Hepburn…because she has personality.
• My favorite dessert is French Silk pie…because it’s rich smooth chocolate.
• My favorite activity is walking in the forest…because I love to observe nature.
• My favorite season is Spring…because I love to see all the flowers blooming,
• My favorite day of the year is Mother’s Day…because my girls make me feel special.
• My favorite color is ivory.
• My favorite song is “Unanswered Prayers” by Garth Brooks.
• My favorite thing is a cameo ring my grandmother gave me.
• My favorite food is prime rib of beef.
• My favorite part of 1997 was spending the day in San Francisco with Kerry (just us).

He says...

• My favorite place is Mom and Dad’s house in Chicago…because I enjoy sharing time, jokes and memories with them.
• My favorite person is Dad –“Charlie Barley”…because he is so interesting to talk to and fun to share time with.
• My favorite dessert is Teri’s pumpkin pie with whipped cream…it’s a little spicier than most.
• My favorite activity is dancing or running…because it helps me really burn up stress and extra energy.
• My favorite season is Summer…because I enjoy the sun and hanging out by the pool or the beach.
• My favorite day of the year is Christmas Day…because I really get a rush out of seeing the faces of our kids on Christmas morning.
• My favorite color is blue.
• My favorite song is “I’m Proud To Be An American” by Lee Greenwood.
• My favorite thing is my gold neck chain that Teri gave me.
• My favorite food is lobster tail…because it is so sweet and tender – ummmmmhhh!
• My favorite part of 1997 was taking the family to the beach for the very first time in their lives, body surfing with Amy and Jenny.