What a year this has been! I had every intention of getting cards out but then it just wasn't meant to be. This year has been quite a roller coaster so hopefully that means that things will calm down a bit next year but I am not holding my breath! I thought that maybe this year I would tell you the highlights that happened with each of us during this eventful year.
Coulton: Our Coulton has had such a big year this year! He turned 12 February 1st and he was ordained a deacon by his dad. This was huge to him! He has been very diligent in learning how to pass the sacrament and learning how to honor his priesthood. He was even the 1st counselor in the deacons Quorum over the summer, and got to do baptisms for the dead for the first time in October. In school he also reached a milestone and started 7th grade at Lehi Junior high school, he has loved going to school, but with 8 classes it's a bit more challenging that he expected. He attended his first school dance in October and even danced with a girl to a fast song (and he asked her!).
When Coulton turned 12 he also got to advance from 11 year old scout to being a full fledged scout! Coulton loves scouting and has made tons of progress since February. He has made 3 rank advancements from Scout to tenderfoot to 2nd class. He has 10 merit badges already with another 4 in progress, and most of them are ones required for his Eagle Scout.
In October Coulton passed another milestone when he broke a bone! Believe it or not he is the first one in our family to break a bone (not even Mom and Dad have done that one). He broke his pinky finger on his right had playing football with his friend across the street. He was really funny in the ER and almost was completely giddy when they told him it was broken. He reveled in his status until they put a cast on it- and it was no longer a fun thing! Of course he was able to get a camouflaged cast which has helped to make up for the fact that it itches and he can't write! The brace that replaced the stinky cast only has to be worn for 1 more week and then he will actually have the use of his entire hand back- I can't wait!
Taylor: Our Taylor has been so fun this year. She is getting old enough to really help Mom and start to learn how to do so many fun things! She is to the point where she can even cook some things by herself! She has also started learning how to baby sit and has been able to go over to her Aunt Heather's and watch Spencer and Rachel while their parents (who work from home) get some work done. Taylor loves going to Achievement days and has been learning so much about so many things that are helping her to become an amazing daughter of our Heavenly Father.
Taylor turned 10 in April, and it’s hard to believe that she is getting so big! She is starting to be able to use her creativity to make a difference in her world. She is always making up fun things to do for her and her sisters, whether they are making paper dolls or playing wizard you know that Taylors mind is working in over drive! Taylor started 5th grade this year and was so excited that her 2 best friends are in her class! She also ran for Student Counsel and MADE it! She has been so excited to be able to join the student counsel meetings and plan things for the school. They have recently been planning things such as a food drive and Christmas activities! She always comes home brimming with news of all of the stuff that they got to do for student counsel!
Taylor has also been really excited that this year the girls get to walk to and from school every day with her best friend Ashley. Plus Ashley's mom has been helping us in the mornings only have to drive the kids in to town once, by letting the kids come to her house to wait for it to be time to walk to school.
Mara: Mara is our ray of sunshine, and constantly amazes us with the way that she cares for others. Mara turned 8 in January and she was baptized by her dad and confirmed by her grandpa. This happened the same weekend that Coulton was ordained so it was only fitting that we had a big party. We where able to get the church and Grammie helped us get all of the food together (she is the catering wiz now!) we all ate until we couldn't eat any more and still had too much food! 8 is a great birthday because Mara got to start going to Achievement days! She has been so excited to be able to go and learn how to do things with Taylor and the other girls.
In school Mara started 3rd grade this year. She loves her teacher and the other students in her class. She loves to run and her favorite past time is chasing boys, the bad part for the boys is that she is faster than they are so she is always able to catch them. Mara also has a really tender heart and when she sees someone in need of a hug she usually doesn't hold back. Unfortunately, needing a hug does not necessarily make the other students comfortable with getting one and she has had to learn to hold her hugs back and give things like high 5's instead.
Mara is also our child that tends to feel things more than others. When Andy started getting sick in October she was the first one to be really concerned for him. She also had a harder time understanding our move to Grammies and Papa's house because she really just wanted us to be in our own house! Not to mention Mara had a really hard time leaving her friends, but she is so glad that she gets to stay in the same school for the rest of the year so that she can still play with them there.
Lexia: Well my baby is not really a baby anymore! After graduating from Kindergarten in May, Lexi turned 6 this summer and started 1st grade! She is doing amazing in school and is constantly amazing me with how fast that she is learning. She is really starting to get the hang of reading and even better spelling! She has brought home quite a few 100% spelling tests which are also helping her with her reading. Our Lexi has been doing amazing with all of the changes that we have made the last couple of months and seems to be more able to adapt to the changes than the rest of them. We are not sure if it’s her age or her resilience that keeps her optimism up!
Lexi is really into her American girl dolls and you can find her making sure that Alice's hair is done in the latest style and that Baby Ann is well cared for. I think that she is definitely going to be our little mother around here. Lexi loves trying to steal any alone time that she can with Mom and Dad whether it’s just a trip to the store for milk or sneaking into bed with Dad when Mom is tucking the other kids in!
Lexi is also our artistically inclined child. She loves anything to do with drawing or writing stories and loves anything to do with crayons or markers, and glue. Lexi is also our cuddle bug and has been right there when both her parents have needed a little extra sunshine when we have been sick this year.
Andy: What a year this has been! Andy is still working at Cabela's and was promoted to a training manager in the spring. He completely loves being able to work with and around guns and it has been a lot of fun for him. Andy has also been going to school this year, online, and will have his associates degree by the middle of January! He spent most of October sick and we couldn't figure out why but after a barrage of tests we finally where able to determine that his gall bladder was not functioning much as was making him incredibly ill. He had surgery to remove it in November and is starting to feel 100% better! They even let him go back to work just before Christmas so that he wasn't going crazy just being at home.
Tammy: Well this year has been a year of doctors for us! In May I started having anaphylactic reactions that they couldn't stop and they put me in the hospital for a week. After tons of steroids they finally let me go home but I was a very sick person. This however, led me to Cheryl, my wonderful therapist that has been helping me to work through all of the things that I have ignored in my life and has helped me to become a much better and happier person. Not to mention healthier. I have started really working on self improvement this year (and I have even gotten Andy to do it with me) and it has made it a better year for me. I am still working at 1-800 CONTACTS and even though it gets a bit repetitive I am so glad that I work for such great company!
The end of this year has been a bit of a trial. Our landlord decided that he was going to have all of the properties that he owns vacated and sold. We ended up having to be out by November 7th and with Andy down sick with his Gallbladder and us trying to be able to buy a house we loaded up all of our stuff into PODS and moved in with Andy's parents for a while as we finished repairing our credit and Andy had surgery. We are so grateful to have such wonderful parents that are willing to take us and 4 kids in for several months.
I am sure that the next year is going to bring its share of changes- and hopefully it won’t be to long before we are able to look at houses again. When ever it is we know that the lord has a plan for us we just need to have the faith to be able to see things through to the end. We are so grateful that the lord has lead us to have so many great friends that have touched our lives in so many ways. Thank you for being a part of our lives.
12 years ago
