Well, I finished the Christmas mail letter yesterday...a very brief yet tender expression of my love for all our dear family and friends. Really, without these strong influences for good and this support group our family would not be who we are. Our children have tremendous role models and Har and myself have grown and continue to grow up a little more each day by watching great examples around us. Not to mention all the help we have been given...the leaders in scouts, primary, school teachers, family functions, day trips with strong public figures, outings....just all the time with our children and even us. We are truly blessed to rub shoulders with such awesome people who we call family and friends. THANK YOU! On the letter mailed out I put our blog address....so here is the detailed letter.
So for the update, pictures and a detailed message about our family on a more personal note...I have been compiling some thoughts on paper and in my head for a couple of days. As time goes by I may edit the post and add a bit more that was forgotten...not because it wasn't important, but because it's been such a full year of blessings.
I'll start with little J who's 18 months. Well, you may remember he was born a preemie at 34 weeks. He now is the chubbiest baby we've ever had matching his older sisters weight. He's a thinker. I sense his deep thoughts as we sit by his window and watch the finches, mag pies, and robins outside in the tree.They fly back and forth from the plowed corn field, the tree, and the flower beds in our yard. He loves the outdoors. He is an early talker and sounds a lot like the minions from "Despicable Me" movie when he talks. He loves to cuddle and plays the kazoo out his nose at night while mommy sings him lullaby's!!! Oh, I forgot to mention he loves to dance. For the whole song he just bounces! It's so funny. We have the hardest time being reverent during prayer time because J is always so entertaining, especially when he thinks no one is watching. Lately he has learned to kneel. It's the cutest ever with his chubby little belly over his bended knees. He smiles with accomplishment as we all praise him.No one ever closes their eyes anymore!!! We giggle a lot. Here he is with Grandpa and big brother!
This was at the airport when Grandpa and Grandma returned home from the Scotland Ireland Mission. J, me, and Grandma
Next, is our sweet little E who's 3. This year has been such a fun year watching her grow. She's the bossy Queen and lets everyone know it. She is so grown up as she lays in her bed at night with her crossed feet kicked up on a pillow while reading her books. She loves books and lives for story time at the library. She often wears her tap shoes and prefers her hair long and flowing like the princesses. On Thanksgiving she got herself all dressed for the big party in a velvet, fancy dress. I said, "that dress with get ripped today because you will be playing games with your cousins." She said, "Heavenly Father will help me be safe. I'll ask Him to." She then knelt down in her room and said, "Heavenly Father pweese pwotect me today cause I'm a pwincess." Another fun fact about little E is that she loves the dentist. I haven't had a child yet who loves to get their teeth ex-rayed and cleanings, especially at such a young age. She's precious.
This picture is in front of the Library.
E's big sister A is next. She is 5 this year and in Kindergarten! After lunch today she read me two books. She is flourishing in school and loves her teacher. She carries a notebook around most of the time writing letters and numbers and drawing people. She is a very good artist and won the Reflections Art Contest. Poor thing was so shy when all the winners got their picture taken, her eyes had tears in them. She doesn't like being in the spotlight, but is gradually overcoming it. Last Sunday she said the prayer in primary without any problem at all. I'm so proud of her and the darling she is. She is as smart as they come and loves to dance and tumble. She does round off's where ever she's at! She loves fitness and when she grows up she wants to be a PE teacher. I also forgot to mention she kicked our butts bowling!
Well, let's see next is B who is 7 this year. She has had a great year too. She makes me laugh. She comes home from school the other day and says, "I eat my apple cores." I started to laugh and wondered what brought that on. She is my tom-boy, girly girl. She's daring, brave, diplomatic, and feminine. She loves to wear her fanciest dress to our regular family meals and yet doesn't get freaked out by slimy fish and water-snakes camping. She's a crack-up with her dry humor, and usually has us all laughing. She's very smart and creative. Her mouth is usually flapping, but she is learning to be very polite and let others have a turn. She's a joy to have a round. If I had to take a long, boring drive and could only take one of the children it would be B! She could liven up the worst of times and turn them to the best of times. She's so much fun!
This year she spent a lot of time with one of her bestest school friends! We went to visit her at the hospital. She's out now and healthy. All is well.
See, check out A"s bowling score! Wow!
Now next is J-dog who's 9. He is a smartie too. He turned down the spectrum program at school to expand on his learning on his own time and do regular school. He has a deep love for learning. He especially loves his scriptures. Every night after we read and pray as a family we have snack then off they go to brush their teeth and climb into bed. We have taught our children to have personal prayer and study time too. When I make the rounds tucking them all in bed, J always has a great scripture that he has me read. He usually writes it in his journal and sometimes has a tear as it touches his heart so. He know's a lot about faith and God's love. He has felt it many times. He's a lover of the scout program and has the greatest leaders ever. He loves the bonfires, crafts, and friends. He also has come along nicely on his piano songs. He's working on a whip in tumbling and can do several back handsprings. He just ran a 5K with me. He actually set the pace for me!!!! I had to laugh because he never stopped once, but got bored so he'd run on the curb keeping balance then back on the road, back and forth. I think he was playing TV games in his mind. He's the man!!!
Oh, yeah J-dog and M both won Reflections too. They all thought getting trophies was the coolest ever! They also joined the ward choir and sing often in Sacrament Meeting. They get up early Sunday morning and race off to practice. I admire the children. M took voice lessons in the summer and wants to expand her talent.
And, next is M. She is 11 this year and has taken quite a liking to baking and cooking. Recently it was my birthday and our anniversary. Har suggested we all go out for dinner so Mom wouldn't have to cook. She put her hands on her hips and said, "Are you crazy? I'm going to make dinner, a cake, and cookies." After school she hurriedly did her homework and began. We had Hawaiian Haystacks, chocolate cake with sprinkles, and chocolate chip cookies for our anniversary. It took her two hours in the kitchen! She is a very thoughtful daughter who is growing up right before our eyes. She is a member of the student council and has many good ideas. She loves to read, read, and read some more. For her Family Home Evening Lesson recently she read us many stories and poems. She really likes drama shows like Little House On the Prairie, but also Studio C!!! This has become a favorite for many of our children. Below is a picture of her with S dancing. With even numbers of boys and girls this has become a fun family activity.
S and M dancing~ family dance night at the girls request!
M was Helen of Troy for the Greek wax museum. Beautiful
And that brings us to S who is 13 this year. He is a Life now in Scouts so he can start doing his Eagle project and finish up with his merit badges. He is also a member of the Youth Council doing tons of service and volunteer projects. He is on the National Honor Society and keeping a 3.9 GPA. S loves gaming. Among Pokemon and Zelda he likes a good board game too like monopoly or chess. He kicks my butt and sometimes his big brothers! He had a cool opportunity to be the Uncle Sam in the 4th of July parade. He's getting pretty awesome on the piano and plays while we sing. S is pretty laid back and enjoys things as they come. He has his bedroom downstairs now in the basement with his big brothers so his responsibilities have increased. He keeps up with his laundry, ironing, bathroom, and room and sets a good bedtime for himself. He wakes and is ready for school on time and many mornings early. He's disciplined. He's a comic writer and artist and sends his brother M a great new one on his mission every so often. He loves the super heroes and Studio C too.
This is when we hiked this Fall. S- man the best super hero of all.
Now for J- man who is 15. He has had a prosperous year. I really have been touched by his example and his love for learning knew things. He wanted to crotchet so he figured it out on U tube. He has made tons of little animals and is working on some socks for himself. He also wanted to sing better. He just has struggled so much. His voice is super low. He joined the Ward Choir and faithfully goes each Sunday to practice. The director wrote him a special part lower than a base. He keeps trying and is progressing. He also joined the swing-dancing club at school and has learned some pretty cool moves. He was honored this summer to wear a past war veteran uniform from WW11 in the 4th of July parade. He was very humbled and developed more respect for our soldiers and freedom. He is Mayor Pro-Tem on the youth council and plans all the activities with the other officers. He's also on the Interact Club. He's a member of the National Honor Society, and loving High School. He's driving with a permit! He worked a lot this summer house keeping, mowing, dog babysitting, and weeding for the neighbors and can't wait til he turns 16 to get a "real job," or so he says. He saves a lot of his money and wants to pay for his mission in 3 years and counting!!! He also ran XC and leaves for footlocker (a big race) tomorrow in CA. He loves rock climbing and makes sure we get all our knots tied right so we don't die!! He's a great pianist and drummer. He didn't play in the band this year because of a busy schedule so he's selling the drum.:(
Yeah that's J man at dinner time with the gang during our party months.. All the kids have their birthday's in the summer. 5 in May, 5 in June, and 1 in July.
J man on the left, then S, J-dog, and N
J man and N also went and built a home on the Navajo Indian Reservation with the Rotary Club over Spring Break. They are hoping to be able to go every year. This will be their 3rd year going.
After a color run 5K ~ tons of fun
Now for N...He is 17 and preparing for his mission. He is super stoked and plans to leave right on his 18th birthday this summer after graduation. I'm super impressed with his dedication. He is working hard week nights and weekends trying to earn all the money for his mission. Har and I thought we would pay for our son's missions but they all have insisted that it's their mission and they want to pay for it. WOW. He also wakes up early on HS late start day to study with a group of his friends out of the Preach my Gospel Manuel. He is President of the Interact Club and attended RYLA in the fall. He was awarded the Visual Arts Sterling Scholar which will be a great scholarship for college. He is taking college classes in HS and plans to attend BYU after he returns home from his mission. He's super busy but finds time to keep up with his responsibilities and go on all the girl choice dances!!! He's been a year-round runner in XC, indoor track, and spring track. Him and J man ran the Ragnar too. They were on different teams. N's team was the HS XC team and they took 8th in the men's division. This is a 182 mile race divided in 12 team members each running about 3 legs. N won the color run 5K too. He played the piano at a leadership meeting for the Church Stake Meeting. He plays pretty good. He's been prospered by God's hand this year because of his obedience and faith. He's a great man and ready for a mission.
Halloween~Before Costume
After Costume....makes a great rocker!!!
Now for M who's 19 and on a mission in Houston South. M left in February and has been in the same area for 9 months. He's been training since he got there. He was blessed to have an Interview with a member of the 70...Christofel Golden. He loves sharing truth and has baptized 2 so far. One was in Spanish. He isn't in the Spanish speaking area, in fact they hand out about 7 different languages of Book of Mormon. He has learned some Chinese, Swahili, and Vietnamese too. He also taught himself Hebrew!! Before his mission he was super prepared but not too tolerant of poor English. Knowing this you will find this excerpt from his last letter as funny as I found it. He is quoting here a man he just taught..("Ya so den Adam go dawn to Eve and trick Eve wid da snake and da Man God said to da Lord God "Why is we naked"".... well Jamarkus Adam actually didn't trick Eve... "Well da Bible says.. [20 minutes later they talk without stopping about their half way made up stories of the garden of Eden])We love our weekly letters so much. I have to add a small side note... He is a fantastic missionary and loves the work of the Lord! He has taken the time to memorize the church hymns on the piano and has been blessed to play a lot for the mission choir. He has made several arrangements of his own that are magnificent! He'll be home not next year, but the year after. I miss him tremendously, but grateful for all he is learning about the world, himself, and God's mercy.
M is 4th one over from the left.
Now for A who is 20. She is the most awesome nanny. She was working as a nanny for a doctor for quite some time. Her boss, the doctor, had a friend that also needed a nanny part-time. Now A watches two Doctors children and loves them so. They love her too. She has taken a couple of trips to St. George as her friend went on a mission too and to visit her family there. She is an awesome photographer!. She took our family pictures which was a huge blessing! She has taken pictures for many others! She has such an eye for beauty and talent to capture it at just the right moment!! She's the best. She joins us often for family fun activities and we love her boyfriend T too. I am amazed at her talents and love having her around. Here she is hiking with us and rock-climbing. She loves her younger siblings so much. This is her and little J.
Now for H. She is 21 now and lives just over an hour away. She works at a Law firm called Mylar Disability. After 3 months she was promoted to case manager...which meant pay raise and bonus possibilities! I'm so impressed with her abilities and working with people. She comes down or we go up to see her. We got to spend the day with her just recently going bowling and visiting. When she comes our way she takes her siblings to go get treats which they love! We played games and just the two of us stayed up way past hours and visited. Time flies too fast when we have our good heart to heart talks! Here is a picture of us at Women's Conference and bowling. We lucked out and got to sit in the reserved seating in front at the Conference Center where women's conference was held! It was so totally awesome being that close to the Prophet! She is so much fun to be with. I love my grown-up girls so much. They are my best friends.
Now for Har and me. So let's see...Har is still working hard doing all the things a CFO does...payroll, bills, and working with attorneys. The company in New Zealand has ended which means only a branch in Texas and the main office in Bountiful. We've been very blessed and he has learned so much. Also, Har was called to serve in the Bishopric as 2nd councilor. He is a little busier and gone a little more but our family has seen many miracles because of his service to God. Har consistently takes me out usually twice a week for date night or lunch. Some of the memorable dates this year have been ummm going for a midnight boat ride on the pond. We also got to go to the Man in the Moon show of Glenn Beck and a couple of premier shows, but hands down the biggest highlights for us have been watching our children grow and progress. They're so much fun to be with. We're kind of funny this way. We would rather spend a getaway with all of them than anyone else. We love playing games, hiking, biking and spending time doing just whatever. For our summer vacation we spent time at a condo swimming, and hiking on new trails we haven't been on before. We visited museums, and new restaurants, and ended it at boondocks until midnight. Most every night after the children are in bed and our teenagers are doing their homework or talking while eating in the kitchen...(usually) we go for walks, runs, play games, or start movies we never finish!!We love being together. He's my best friend.
We were blessed to have a student from China stay with us this summer. He is like a son to us and we love him very much. He still calls me his American Mum. He gave us "much happy" as he says. We visit often through email. Someday we plan to see him again!!
I resigned from being Adviser for Youth Council in our city. I still serve with the Rotary as New Generations Director, which means I've had the opportunity to get a Community Interact Club up and running. I love teaching the youth to lead and carry-out. We now have 30+ members and it's growing rapidly. I'm super happy about the service we've been able to do both locally and internationally. I also started a club which reaches out to all missionary moms. We love getting together and sharing our miracles with each other. We meet about every other month for potluck get togethers sharing ideas and such. I also took up learning a new instrument...the flute. I can play a few songs and am loving the progress. It now sounds like a flute when I blow not a dying goose!! I have been painting a lot more too. I set up my canvas in the dining room which inspires all our children who are artists too! We have fun! I have been following a pretty structured week to be able to get everything in. I do preschool with my little ones in the mornings which consists of nature walks, library story time, projects, and then go to the Temple on Thursday mornings taking my little ones to my friends daycare for 3 hours!! I have been able to do some family names which has been exciting. I love being a mom and teaching, loving, and nurturing. I have started writing a book about it! Maybe someday we'll see it at All-A-Dollar! :)
Har and me have a good life. It hasn't been free of trial... but God has carried our burdens as we've placed our trust in Him. I am happily in love with my hubby. He's the Knight in Shining Armor I always dreamed of.
It's been an awesome year full of blessings. I can't believe how fast it's gone...
Merry Christmas!
