The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
About 55,000 tourists visit Liechtenstein every year. This blog was viewed about 180,000 times in 2012. If it were Liechtenstein, it would take about 3 years for that many people to see it. Your blog had more visits than a small country in Europe!
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The boy with the beaming smile was born in Winchester, England.
The Hockley family moved from England to Connecticut two years ago and found Sandy Hook Elementary School to be a great fit for their two boys.
Dylan had special needs, his parents, Ian and Nicole Hockley, told the Connecticut Post.
“We do not and shall never regret this choice,” the Hockleys said. “Our boys have flourished here and our family’s happiness has been limitless.”
Dylan was learning how to read and looked up to his older brother, Jake, the family said.
The family praised principal Dawn Hochsprung, psychologist Mary Sherlach, Dylan’s teacher, Victoria Soto, and his special education teacher, Anne Marie Murphy, for truly knowing their son. All four educators died in the massacre.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/sandy-hook-elementary-school-shooting-victims/story?id=17984685#20
At nearly 7 years old, James Mattioli, who his family called ‘J’, loved to sing at the top of his lungs, ham sandwiches from Subway and being his father’s “mini-me”.
“James was especially thoughtful and considerate, always the first to welcome guests at the backdoor with a hug and his contagious smile,” an obituary for the first grader said.
James loved doing crafts with his older sister, Anna, who was helping her brother advance his reading skills.
And the first grader was caring, recently foregoing a gift for himself so he could use the money to buy his grandfather a mug for Christmas.
James’ mother, Cindy, is a native of Sherrill, N.Y.
“It’s a terrible tragedy, and we’re a tight community,” Mayor William Vineall told the Utica Observer-Dispatch. “Everybody will be there for them, and our thoughts and prayers are there for them,” he added.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/sandy-hook-elementary-school-shooting-victims/story?id=17984685#20
“You couldn’t think of a better child,” neighbor Kevin Grimes told The Associated Press.
Grimes told the AP that he was recently speaking with Chase and the little boy was telling him about winning his first mini-triathlon.
The athletic first grader ran in community road races and loved baseball, his family said in an obituary.
“He could often be found in the yard playing ball, riding his bike or quad,” his obituary said,
The Kowalski family has set up the Chase Kowalski Scholarship Fund at People’s Bank in his memory.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/sandy-hook-elementary-school-shooting-victims/story?id=17984685#20
Josephine Gay celebrated her 7th birthday Dec. 11. Friends and family describe the first-grader, who had a “joyful and giving spirit,” as “a gift.”
Josephine had two sisters, Sophia and Marie. Friends and family have been asked to wear Josephine’s favorite color, purple, in her honor.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/sandy-hook-elementary-school-shooting-victims/story?id=17984685#20
Daniel was the youngest of three children, his family said in a statement. The family described Daniel as “fearless in the pursuit of happiness in life.”
“Words really cannot express what a special boy Daniel was. Such a light. Always smiling, unfailingly polite, incredibly affectionate, fair and so thoughtful towards others, imaginative in play, both intelligent and articulate in conversation: in all, a constant source of laughter and joy,” the family said.
Barden’s parents and older brother, James, appeared on the television program “Katie” on Monday to talk about Daniel, the special little boy with an “old soul”.
“He was just so sweet and kind and thoughtful,” said James, who is just a few years older than his brother.
A celebration of Daniel’s life will be held Tuesday at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. A funeral is scheduled for Wednesday.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/sandy-hook-elementary-school-shooting-victims/story?id=17984685#20
The Liberty Tree 