Shanah tovah u’metuka. May you have a good and sweet year ahead.

Like we do every year, Parzen family sliced apples and dipped them in honey this week to celebrate the sweetness in our lives and the year to come.

Georgia (below, left), age seven, will be turning eight in December. She’s really been enjoying her violin lessons and had her first solo recital on the big stage earlier this month. She decided not to do ballet this year and is doing karate instead! She’s also been working on her own compositions on violin and keyboard — something that fills her daddy’s heart with immense joy.

Lila Jane (right) turned six this summer and is having a great time in first grade. Her cello playing is really coming together in terms of her intonation and tone. She’s also experimenting with different melodies and has started to sound out chords on the keyboard. And this summer, she and I wrote and recorded a song for her cousin Emilee. I’ll never forget her putting on her headphones and tracking her vocals in our little studio — a memory I’ll cherish for a lifetime.

Both of them are bright, happy, and healthy little girls and we all have so much fun together.

Tracie has continued to grow her skin care business this year and her cookie business has also been humming along nicely. Between the girls and our two little crazy chihuahuas, she has her hands full. The girls and I (and our doggies) couldn’t be more blessed to have such a great and loving mommy, already ready to kiss a boo boo and share a “snuggie.” In January, she and I will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary!

Me? I’ve had an extremely rewarding but exhausting year professionally. I wish I didn’t have to travel so much for my work but I’m not complaining. We made some real progress on our financial goals this year and I still manage to find time to write and record music and play out occasionally with my cover band. I even wrote a critical essay about a young Italian poet whose work I translated (poetry is something I have missed a lot since I turned to wine).

Happy, happy new year, everyone. May your year ahead be a sweet one.