Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We're so thankful to have you all as friends and to keep in contact via this newsletter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. We're loving the current Minnesota winter weather...breaking records with high temps that don't require a coat!

FAMILY FUN
This summer we took a few days at the awesome water parks at the Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin and visited with my uncle Bob nearby. A big highlight of this year was our recent trip to DisneyWorld at Christmas. It was truly magical and a great rejuvenating family time. Some highlights:

• Tim got to go behind the scenes on a backstage tour through the Disney Institute. Read about it soon on my Child at Heart blog.
• Arianna dressed up as Belle (of Beauty and the Beast) with her missing front tooth and danced around the parks. Brielle dressed up as Ariel (of The Little Mermaid) at Disney and got called "my angel fish" by the real Ariel at dinner. As a father of girls it's very important to know all the princesses names.
• Brenda dressed up as herself and had Cinderella pay her a huge complement from her coach during one of the Disney parades.
• We lost Arianna among a crowd of 10,000 people watching millions of Christmas lights for the longest 20 minutes of our time at Disney. We thought she'd be easy to find with her costume and light up LED shoes...but no. Fortunately, she was safe with another mom and Disney security. She made the most of her "missing parents" by saying she was hungry...for which she received chocolate to stay out the time.
• Utilizing some smart tips and information available on the iPhone we never stood in line for more than 30 minutes and saw so many incredible shows, met so many characters and got their autographs, and did the rides. We also left some things for our next trip!

We've posted photos of our 2011 year in review on Facebook.

WORK
We've really concentrated on building the Cimbura.com Technology business and the results have been incredible. We completed many successful projects with all kinds of businesses from non-profits to law firm associations. One particularly fun project was building a custom iPad application for the Minnesota State Fair used to judge horses and livestock and display live results on a mega screen in the coliseum. It revolutionized a paper procedure that took hours to complete and made it happen nearly instantaneously and with greater accuracy. I had a great time at the FileMaker Developer Conference in San Diego this year meeting with innovators and learning about the future of this incredible technology platform we know so well.

We've updated our list of FREE Tech Christmas gifts. You'll also find thousands of dollars of free advice and information on our web site.

It's been an great year and terrible year for Apple. Apple had great financial and product success. Siri made voice recognition practical for the first time on the iPhone 4S. Apple changed the way I do photography... mostly in that I do not have to carry a camera anymore. With the high quality camera in the iPhone 4S, Lion, and iCloud I can take a photo and it appears automatically on all my computers, our iPads, and Brenda's iPhone as well. It is so simple, intuitive, and easy to use. On the other hand it was so sad when Steve Jobs passed away. I realized how he profoundly impacted my entire life and career. I did an interview on Fox News shortly after his death.

I performed walk-around/strolling close up magic at a French themed gala for a particularly fun event last fall. I spoke with a French accent and gave guests a truly memorable experience with amazing things happening right be for their eyes. I continue to be active in the National Speaker Association and speak for groups about success principles we can learn from kids in my Child at Heart program.

SCHOOL
After a ton of planning and preparation, our plan to open a new private Christian school Propeller Academy last fall got delayed due to issues with our facility leasing agreement. It was a big disappointment. In the sincerest form of flattery, schools have already begun copying many of the ideas we shared on our web site. Preparation for the school was an exciting time. We won first place in a parade for the best community float and came close to death in another parade when 70 mph wind storm surge surprised everyone! We are still open to the possibility of opening Propeller Academy in the future if the right partner organization comes along...someone that believes in our mission and goals. In the meantime, Brenda is back at work as a consultant with Cimbura.com, continuing working on her doctorate at Bethel University in educational administration, and privately educating our girls in a Propeller kind of way with the assistance of our favorite teacher Lisa Coffland.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS AND RECENT EVENTS

• The girls (age 5 and 7) are picking up on technology quickly. One time I told Arianna that there would be no more TV or DVDs for the day. A few minutes later, she's at the computer typing "Shaun the Sheep" into Google (copying the spelling from the front of the DVD) and watching the same video streamed via the internet according to my rules "No TV. No DVD." Another time, I found the girls watching cartoons via Netflix on the iPad in their closet among tons of stuffed animals and blankets. I believe DVDs will soon be obsolete.
• The girls love Lego toys, playing with friends, gymnastics, swimming, dancing, and giving us "fashion shows" of their latest clothing offerings in our living room.
• There were many first time things for Tim this year including... Paint ball, running in a rolling zorb ball, fishing on the Mississippi, visiting Jackson Hole Wyoming, building a parade float, getting glasses (not 3D), test tracking a Ford Focus, playing guitar, zip lining, and participating in a flash mob in downtown Minneapolis. Tim still loves the hip hop and zumba fitness classes at LifeTime Fitness.
• Thanks to Brenda's father and brother and their flooring business, we got a beautiful new hard wood floor in our home that we'll enjoy for years to come. Watch a video that shows how they did it.

Many of you have said you love our funny "Kid Quotes" (2010), family friendly movie reviews, and other newsletter traditions. They're coming for 2012...stay tuned. We encourage you to follow us on Twitter or Facebook where we will send those out via our blog over the next few weeks. Also check out resources that regularly inspire us at Eagle Brook and NorthPoint.

We wish you all blessings and success in the new year. Enjoy every moment with those that you love.

Tim, Brenda, Arianna, and Brielle Cimbura

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