I love this picture of Ike and I love that he is so sweet to let the kids dress him up. Doesn't he look so smart with these specs on? I seriously do not know what we would do without Ike in our family. He is such a blessing and such an example of unconditional love.
For our birthdays and Christmas, John and Darolyne give us each $175. Such a generous gift! Joey has been holding onto his money since his birthday. He found a brand new Mrs. Pacman arcade game and used his birthday money to buy it for the kids. The kids were so so excited! So sweet of Joey! He is such a thoughtful Dad.
I cannot believe that this year has come to an end. We have had to deal with such a different world this year. One of the greatest blessings through all the chaos and uncertainty has been the Gospel and my family. I have loved that no matter what is going on outside of our home, I feel love and peace within the walls of our home. I am so blessed and so grateful. I have also loved the opportunity to focus on what is really important.
Just like in years passed, here is a little wrap up for each of the members of our Childs family:
Luke- This year has brought a lot of new freedom for Luke. He has his license and a car! He has been so willing to help with driving the boys to swim and running any errands I ask him to help with. It has been such a blessing to all of us. Luke has also worked through some difficult struggles with anxiety and has strengthened friendships. I am both proud and so happy for him. He spends every weekend out with friends. He has become friends with Trace and Max. They spend a ton of time together and he also hangs out with his other friend group. He is working at Traverse Mountain elementary as a sub but should get to go full time for his senior year. He is doing well in school also which is such a blessing. I am so grateful for Luke. He is such a good person and overcomes difficulties that are in his path. Such an example to me. Can't wait to see what this next year brings for him.
Harlee- I seriously do not know what I did to deserve Harlee. She is truly the best of the best! I am so lucky that Heavenly Father gave me His best girl. Harlee has had a great year. She has been serving as the Beehive president. She is such a great example to kindness and fun to all of those she serves in her class. She has great friends! Her closest friends are Nicci, Audrey, and Lily. Harlee is still doing dance and loves it. She has been so dedicated to school and I never have to ask her to get her work done. She is such a self-starter and her grades show that. Even though she has had a very hard math teacher and her difficult Math Science class, she pushes through and is successful. Harlee is so sweet to spend time with me. We have had many fun girls outings: eating out and shopping. She is so fun to be around and is my saving grace around all these boys in the Childs family. I just know she will keep doing amazing things in 2021.
Nash- When I think of goodness I think of Nash. Nash is the one I can count on to help me without complaint. He likes to tease and is so much fun. He never goes to bed without giving me and Joey a hug. Nash started Deacons this year. I have loved watching him pass the sacrament whenever we have been able to attend in person church. He even got to pass the sacrament to Elder Oaks this year! Nash has done amazing in 6th grade. His teacher said she wished she had a class full of Nash's. Nash has a lot of friends. His closest friends are Tracen, Dylan, and Kai. Nash is excelling in swim and works so hard. He was swimmer of the month and keeps improving his times. I love watching him succeed at everything that he does. I just know he will do great things in 2021.
Gray- Whenever I think of fun I think of Gray. Gray makes life fun. He is always joking around and also loves to tease. He has loved having his own room. He loves to spend time with his friends whether it is playing Fortnite with them or hanging out in person. His closest friends are Sam, Eric, and Kai. Gray is such a blessing to Tag. He is always looking out for him. Whenever his friends come over he invites Tag to hang out with them. He is such a true friend to Tag and such a blessing to me. Gray has been working so hard at swim and is an amazing swimmer. He made State this year for his 50 Free which is so exciting. Gray is so smart and has done amazing in school. His teacher says that he is always willing to answer a question and to help others that may not understand. So grateful for my Graby! Can't wait to watch him grow and succeed in this coming year.
Tag- Tag is such a blessing in our family. He is honest without fear of what anyone things. He is so funny and we are always laughing at the words that come out of his mouth. Tag has loved working on his YouTube channel Tig Gaming. He is so good at video games and can master anything that he tries. He has done great in school this year. He is a master at reading and working so hard to master math. Tag loves his mom and I could not be more grateful. He loves to give me hugs and tries to pick me up. He will come and give me a kiss on the cheek when I am working. He is pure goodness and I strive to be like him. I know that Heavenly Father knew of the blessings that we would have in store if we listened to the prompting to have one more baby. Tag is the teacher in our family and I am so blessed to be his mom.
Joey and Jamie- Although this year has been so crazy, Joey and I both had our most busy and most successful work years to date. He is still at Teva as the Senior Supply Chain Director. He is over both the East and the West sites. Due to COVID he spends at least 2 days a week working from home and I have loved having him as my co-worker. I am still doing loans- my own and still coordinating for Jeff. I made more than double what I did in 2019. It has been crazy but such a blessing. I am so grateful for Joey and his calming presence. He grounds me and pushes me to be my best. Joey completed his calling in the Bishopric and his beard is back in full force. He has been so grateful to have something off his plate. We are hoping to be able to spend more time in SG now. We are working hard to pay off our Lehi house. We were able to pay it down to $269,000 this year and hope to get it under $200,000 next year. We have kept our tradition of Saturday dates and I treasure that time with him. He is truly my best friend. I cannot wait to see what this next year brings. I know that whatever we are faced with we will be good because we have each other. I am so blessed that Joey is the one leading our family.
So that is it! We survived a pandemic year. Hopefully we can get the vaccine and get life back to normal. Things we are looking forward to in 2021: our family trip to Hawaii and hopefully concerts will make a comeback. So blessed to live and learn from the greatest. Love my family more than words.
We got up and were on the road by 10am, so excited to spend some time in our favorite place. We got there and spent the rest of the day just relaxing. It was so perfect. That is kind of how the rest of the trip was. Joey and I both had to work a little but we found time to enjoy ourselves. One of my favorite moments on this trip was playing Last Word as a family. It has been such a long time since I have laughed that hard. One day we went to Pizza Factory for lunch and then went to the "Red Park". The weather was so nice and we had the best time. We came home on Wednesday evening so that the kids could spend the last part of the break with friends. Such a wonderful trip and I am so not ready to get back to reality.
The kids were given strict orders to wait until 6:30am before coming in our room. They did not wait a second longer. They woke us up at 6:30am on the dot. After the obligatory picture we made our way downstairs to see what Santa had brought. Santa really spoiled them and they were so excited. I believe that Santa got them everything on their lists- lucky kids! Here are some of the favs: Luke got his own PC, monitor, and desk for his room. Harlee got a record player and a hot chocolate maker. Nash got an apple watch and a Dundee award. Gray got a punching bag and Super Mario 3D allstars. Tag got Luigi home circuit and a cuphead shirt and book. They also got a Marvel arcade, gaming chair, and VR. They almost missed seeing the VR and that was what they all wanted the most. They spent the rest of the day enjoying their gifts. Cory, Holly, and Smith came over to visit for awhile which was so fun. We relaxed, ate finger foods, and pizza. At the end of the night we put all of the Christmas decorations away. Tomorrow is the wedding and then we will leave for St. George. What a wonderful day. So grateful for all of the blessings that we have. So grateful for the birth of our Savior and for the gift that He is in our life.
Once we got home from Jenna's house we spent the rest of the night celebrating with our little family. We opened up the Christmas jammies (we even got Ike a matching sweater) and each of the kids got a new blanket. The kids also each got their dates for this next year. They are going to get to do some fun things. Once everyone was snuggled in their new jammies and blankets we settled in to watch our favorite Christmas movie Elf. Once the movie was over the kids all went to bed in Tag's and Gray's room so that Santa could come. Hopefully they will be able to fall asleep with all of the excitement of Santa coming. Such a fun night with my favorite people.
Since so many of my siblings are coming into town for Bren's wedding the day after Christmas, we went back to our Lovelace Christmas Eve. Joey, Luke, and Tag opted to stay home but the rest of us went. It was so fun to see Tara and her family. Susie is so cute and has the sweetest personality. It was also so fun to visit with Cory and Holly and to get to love on baby Smith. We watched the DVD and then had dinner. I sure love visiting with my siblings. I am so grateful for the close relationships that we all have. We missed Jeremy and his family for sure. So nice to celebrate a little of Christmas Eve with all of them.
Nash has been thinking about getting his patriarchal blessing for a little while now. Harlee told him of how they did a devotional at HXP b...
