Merry Christmas friends and family! 2018 has been a great year for our family. Here are some of the highlights from this past year.
Andrew (almost 22) completed his two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Mesa Arizona area, and returned home in May. What a wonderful reunion that was! He got to meet his youngest new brother for the first time! Many tears of joy, laughter and hugs were shared. We enjoyed having him at home as he worked over the summer for Michigan Sugar again. He returned to BYU in the fall, where he continues his studies in Chemistry and girls. We’re not sure which subject he finds more complex! We are looking forward to having him home for Christmas break.
Jordan (17) is in his last year of high school and senioritis hasn’t hit too hard yet! He has a schedule he really enjoys - lots of music classes! He’s taking piano, guitar, choir, (and would be in orchestra as well if there hadn’t been schedule conflicts), AP Calculus, IB English, and Peer to Peer. He’s also tutoring and teaching piano lessons after school. He played a lead role in the school musical this fall (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) and continues to amaze us with his performing and musical talents! We’re excited to see what his future holds.
Seth (14) is shining in high school! He’s in his freshman year and keeping stellar grades in his honor classes. He continues to excel in math and science. He finished his eagle project in the spring and is just needing to do the final paperwork to earn his Eagle. Seth is in seminary for the first time this year and is a star student, arising at 5:00am, arriving 15+ minutes every morning and maintaining 100% attendance. He serves in the Teachers Quorum presidency. He is also influencing his family to pick up on his healthy habits of eating better and exercising daily.
Michael (12) is a 7th grader at middle school and is also an honors student. He loves going to math clubs and participating in intramural sports before school. He is loving being a Boy Scout and camping, fishing, being outside, etc. He was ordained a deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood in October and faithfully passes the sacrament each week. He has an inventive mind and is a creative problem solver. A few weeks ago he repaired a Nintendo DS that was in my Ebay “sell for parts” pile (it was completely dead, not charging or turning on). I still don’t know what he did to fix it!
Bentley (8) was baptized over the summer when he turned eight. He chose to have his oldest brother Andrew baptize him. Bentley is loving 3rd grade - he really is! Whenever I ask him how school was, he enthusiastically tells me, great! And tells me some fun thing they did. This is a change from 2nd grade, when it was always a negative response. I think he’s feeling more challenged this year. Bentley started cub scouts over the summer and is loving the outdoor activities as well. Bentley loves to build legos, build in Minecraft, and play with friends.
Clayton (4) is in preschool with his cousin and loving it! He loves to feel more grown-up like his older brothers. He is a great older brother to Joseph and is always watching out for him. Clayton is starting to get into Legos and still loves swords, Star Wars, Mario, and superheroes. He is very kind hearted and is often doing helpful, peacemaking things without being asked. Just the other day, two of his brothers were arguing about a spill and who’s fault it was. Before I could intervene, Clayton had already cleaned it up for them!
Joseph (20 months) is our happy smiley boy! His face lights up for everyone. He is very friendly and happy to go to most everyone, though Mom is his favorite. When Andrew came home from his mission he went right to him, let Andrew hold him for a minute and just smiled at him. He is very curious and quite nimble. We have found him on top of the grand piano, inside the sink with the water turned on, on top nightstands and end tables, and we’re just waiting for the day he crawls right out of his crib. He has refused the high chair and must sit at the table with the family. He is always watching and trying to imitate - if we can do it, he must be able to do it too - all by himself! He’s not speaking a lot of words yet - too many older brothers anticipating his every need. He brings so much joy to our family!
Greg and Sherie have had an eventful year! We both changed church callings. Sherie was released as YW President and Greg as primary teacher; we were both called to be early morning seminary teachers. This means teaching the scriptures to the 14-18 year olds in our ward every school day from 6:00 to 7:00 am. We are loving this calling! It is the first time we’ve worked together in a calling, and though it’s been a great sacrifice of time (and sleep!), we have already seen blessings from it.
We teach in our home and therefore had a great excuse to finally finish out basement! It has been a monumental task that has taken all our spare time and weekends. We started in July and are feeling pretty close to the end. We held seminary in our dining room until just after Thanksgiving when enough of the basement was ready.
After 20+ years with IBM, Greg has changed jobs. He now works for United Health Group (Optum) and his work is primarily focused on intellectual property and creating patents. We are blessed that he continues to be able to work from home, and he still travels occasionally.
We are looking forward to a great 2019! Chandler will return home in the summer, and we will be united as a family of 10 for the first time ever! We pray that you and yours have a blessed Christmas, a happy new year, and a memorable 2019! We love you all!
Greg and Sherie have had an eventful year! We both changed church callings. Sherie was released as YW President and Greg as primary teacher; we were both called to be early morning seminary teachers. This means teaching the scriptures to the 14-18 year olds in our ward every school day from 6:00 to 7:00 am. We are loving this calling! It is the first time we’ve worked together in a calling, and though it’s been a great sacrifice of time (and sleep!), we have already seen blessings from it.
We teach in our home and therefore had a great excuse to finally finish out basement! It has been a monumental task that has taken all our spare time and weekends. We started in July and are feeling pretty close to the end. We held seminary in our dining room until just after Thanksgiving when enough of the basement was ready.
After 20+ years with IBM, Greg has changed jobs. He now works for United Health Group (Optum) and his work is primarily focused on intellectual property and creating patents. We are blessed that he continues to be able to work from home, and he still travels occasionally.
We are looking forward to a great 2019! Chandler will return home in the summer, and we will be united as a family of 10 for the first time ever! We pray that you and yours have a blessed Christmas, a happy new year, and a memorable 2019! We love you all!
Love,
Greg, Sherie, Andrew, Chandler, Jordan, Seth, Michael, Bentley, Clayton and Joseph
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