Christmas Letter 2024

 December 2024

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!

Our 2024 was much better than some years. Let’s play the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Remember that movie? One of the few times my parents took us to the drive-in in Ephraim; I only remember the opening music. Most of us kids climbed into the back of the station wagon and fell asleep. Now for my letter…

Good: After Christmas, still technically 2023, we took half of our children to Georgia as a Christmas gift. We flew in to Atlanta and then we drove almost to Tennessee and stayed in a little condo we rented. Attendees were Dog Walker, Crafty, Sport, Scout, Curly, and Baby Doll. We hiked and visited Chattanooga and rode on the train. We laughed and played games, including an interactive game of Mission Impossible that required the kids to complete missions before we could watch the next movie. So much fun!! Dog Walker published his 3rd book.

Bad: Right before that, we moved Grandpa into Carrington Court. 

Ugly: I had a raging infection in my leg that required 3 rounds of antibiotics and two kinds for the last round.

Good: February was amazing! My sweetie and I went to California for a cruise to Mexico on Valentine’s Day where Princess and The Frog joined us. We were so surprised! Curly had his Eagle Court and Baby Doll played some amazing volleyball.

Bad: Actually, nothing bad or ugly happened… maybe this letter plan won’t work.

Good: Easter was amazing with lots of new traditions including Cousin Camp. Baby Doll played tons of volleyball including a tournament in Reno. My sweetie, Scout, and I stayed in Lake Tahoe at a beautiful cabin right near the water while Baby Doll stayed in Reno with her team. Curly went to Prom, and Scout graduated from Bingham!

Bad: I had cataract surgery on both eyes and our Elder Taco had his first seizure in Ghana.

Ugly: My sweetie’s ugly infection returned, attacking his wrist this time. Thankfully, he was in the hospital for about a week with only one surgery.

Good: June was much better! Baby Doll played her final volleyball tournament in Phoenix. My sweetie, Scout and I flew out for the week and then flew back to get ready to leave with Curly and Sport for our trip to see all of his mission places in the Dakotas. We got in late and left early the next morning. Other things included the Dance Recital (Skittles’ first one!), the Family Campout and trying to help caterpillars become butterflies. Drama Queen finished her program to become an official Software Designer.

Bad: We still dealt with my sweetie’s infusions (with only a midline this time, so different), they lost our luggage coming home from Phoenix, and some confusion led to many of the caterpillars never making it to butterflies.

Ugly: Elder Taco had his 2nd seizure and he was immediately sent home for treatment. We made room for him to go with us to the Dakotas while his future was up in the air. He had a 3rd seizure in South Dakota when the fire alarms went off in our hotel, so he took a little ride in an ambulance…

Good: The trip to the Dakotas was amazing and exhausting all at the same time. We are no longer meant to drive such long distances. Maybe it was because my sweetie was still recovering or because it followed the Phoenix trip so closely, but we will be more careful in the future. The rest of the summer was full of camps for Baby Doll - Girl Scout Camp at Trefoil, Oakcrest, and then YW camp. Thankfully, they were one week after the other. 

Bad: (Not really bad.) Curly spent the entire summer after our trip with the football team. It made planning anything very difficult, but we still managed to throw in a few last minute summer activities like seeing the Big Boy train in Ogden, a trip to Tuacahn with my Girl Scouts, and the Bees last game in the stadium downtown.

Ugly: (Not really ugly.) Elder Taco was reassigned to be a Church Service Missionary. He is serving at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple and at the Church Office Building. He seems happy to be able to still serve.

Good: Fall brought on tons of football. Scout bought out Crafty’s roommate’s contract when she got married and Scout moved to Provo to live with Crafty. I should mention that Crafty also has a boyfriend. He is a great guy and we hope he hangs around. Scout got a full time job at Regions Bank, where The Beast, Bossy, Crafty, and Sport work. She also passed all of the tests to become our first licensed Nail Technician. We threw a shower for my niece, prepped and held Burrito’s Eagle project, and Scout finished her Gold Award (phew!)  Baby Doll made the jr. high volleyball team for Bingham and my sweetie and I took a trip back east to see Drama Queen and Teach and her family. The grandkids have grown SO much!! Teach is back at teaching in an elementary school. Beauty opened an Etsy shop to sell her amazingly crafted items and The Beast received a super cool promotion to AVP Assistant Division Manager at Regions Bank.

Bad: I did lots of gardening and lots of canning. The Dog Walker and I put in the garden back in May when my sweetie was so sick. It was an adventure! I don’t love yard work… but to be fair, this isn’t really bad, is it? We did get rear-ended in Maryland in our rental car. Thankfully, they haven’t tried to charge us anything since it was clearly not us, but we stressed about that for months before finally believing it wouldn’t affect our insurance.

Ugly: Curly dropped a weight bar on his big toe and broke it right during football season. Thankfully, he was able to play with a carbon insole inside his shoe. It was still painful, but thankfully not life-changing. Queso was officially diagnosed with Autism (definitely not an ugly thing, but hard at first.)

Good: My sweetie and I took our November trip to Nashville with time in Indiana and Kentucky. I loved our visit to Churchill Downs and the Louisville Slugger tour. Back in our condo, I watched the Secretariat movie twice in the same day! Ryman, the Grand Ole Opry, the Johnny Cash museum, the Hard Rock Cafe; it was all so fun! We also took a hike down into the Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. The Dog Walker published his 4th book.

Bad: Bingham didn’t do so well and Curly’s football dreams were cut short early. We got lost driving to the Mammoth Cave. It was beautiful, with millions of fallen leaves, but when you see a sign that says “Road Ends Under Water” you rapidly look for somewhere to turn around!!

Ugly: The transmission went out in Scout's Jeep. The traffic in Nashville is terrible!! Enough said.

As you can see, it has been an (almost) perfect year here at our house. It is December 5th and as of this moment, my sweetie is on a work trip in California, I am having a colonoscopy tomorrow (YUCK!), Scout is coming home for the weekend to take care of me. Bossy is getting ready to take her last final to earn her Masters degree. Sport and Crafty are at BYU getting ready for finals. Sport has a girlfriend, so does Curly, but he has a date next weekend with a different girl to Bingham Ball. Baby Doll made the 2nd Elect team at Club GSL and she is excited about getting in even better shape and playing her best.

I just want to make it through, a day at a time.

We all wish you good health and happiness in the coming new year.

Love,

Mom of Twelve

Christmas Letter 2022

 

December 2022

 

Happy holidays! We hope the season finds you and yours well and happy.

 

Our year could best be described with the title of a western movie from our youth. Remember The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly...?  Just so we can end on a positive note, we will cover the three in reverse order.

 

The Ugly

In March, we got a call from Crafty on her mission. She had recently transferred from Kansas back to the Philippines. Our sweet girl had contracted Dengue Fever, a life-threatening disease spread by mosquitoes. She had been hospitalized for nearly a week when she finally called us and let us know. Hospitals in the Philippines consist of a bed and an IV with a daily blood test. Food and drink must be provided by family or friends. She was really sick, but eventually she started to recover. Several weeks later, her hair started to fall out. On October 1, I didn’t feel well. Turns out it was a Staph infection that almost killed me. I tallied 18 days and 3 surgeries in the hospital in October. I didn’t drive for the entire month of October, and I spent all of November recovering at home. Mom of 12 also struggled with medical issues. At times she still struggles to keep her oxygen levels up and she also has unexplained bouts of extremely low heart rate. After a number of emergency room visits and specialists’ testing, all we know is that she is not in immediate danger, and we have ways to monitor and check and avoid the ER. Last, but by no means least, after 5 years of marriage, Dog Walker's wife decided she no longer wanted to be married and she asked him for a divorce.

 

The Bad

Like many of you, we saw significant challenges with inflation. Covid refuses to be a distant memory; several of us managed to catch it this year despite being vaccinated and having previously tested positive. For many in the family, this time was much more difficult than before.  Our retirement funds went down with the stock market. Scout has struggled with depression and school. We have had numerous expensive car repairs, and the high school car died along with the built-in microwave. Elder Sport suffered a dog bite and had to be checked out for rabies. He also got a mission car stuck by following Google Maps down a muddy dirt road. Curly had to have his wisdom teeth removed, I had a tooth break off and then I got dry socket, and Baby Doll has been suffering from headaches. (Wow, that was a bit whiny!) Now for the Good…

 

The Good

Despite the trials, we truly feel blessed. So many good things have happened. Despite the challenge of divorce, Dog Walker is doing well. He is happier and more relaxed than he has been for a long time. Watching him hand out candy at Halloween was so fun! He’s back to living in our basement and working full-time at Wal-Mart. His first youth novel is now available on Amazon in both kindle and paperback versions. Please forgive me for including the link. I told him he couldn’t openly solicit readers…  

 

https://www.amazon.com/Samy-Kind-Special-Orange-Glasses/dp/B0BHNNZWB4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2QETRN5A0Q4XL&keywords=samy+kind&qid=1670125245&sprefix=samy+kind%2Caps%2C271&sr=8-1

 

For the first 8 months of the year, we had the privilege of having two missionaries in the field. Crafty is now home, her hair has grown back, but now it’s curly????  She is going to BYU and working for Regions Bank (same place that Bossy, Beauty & The Beast work). She is also teaching a couple of classes for C&C Ballet Academy, the same place she danced way back in the day when she was only 2. (It’s true! I have pictures!) 

 

With Crafty coming home, we are privileged to have one full-time missionary. Elder Sport is doing great on his mission in North Dakota. He was assigned to Fort Yates, an Indian reservation, for several transfer cycles. He instituted a youth activity night and had great success fellowshipping and ministering to the community. He currently serves as the District Leader. He is such a good missionary and we are so proud of him. 

 

Scout so impressed her bosses as a volleyball referee that they asked her to stay on, and she now works at the front desk, referees and just generally does whatever needs to be done. She is the President of our Girl Scout troop and she was excited to have her Gold Award idea sent to Committee on the first try. She is on the Executive Committee for the Youth City Council along with her nephews which is a fun service activity for them to do together. Scout is also the class president of the young women in our ward. While her attendance may not be the norm for such a position, she has done some amazing things, reaching out and helping several young women with challenges. It's amazing how in-tune she is, serving those in need of help. She is also getting really good at doing fancy fingernails. She plans to start the nail program at JATC next semester. Dad is relieved that now the nails can change weekly, and the hair color can stay for a month or two. 

 

Curly has had an incredible year. His 13U baseball team moved up a level to much harder competition. Curly was a bit too slow for that level of play, so he lost his starting position at first base. Rather than pout, he started conditioning and he lost 20lbs. He eventually won his starting position back, and while he didn’t pound as many homeruns on the larger fields, he had a lot of fun and got to travel to tournaments in Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Omaha. He also played football for Bingham’s freshman football team and received an academic award at the season banquet. He is planning on trying out for their baseball team in the fall. His slam dunk rec basketball team had a lot of success (Mom of 12 was their coach) finishing second in the league. He is a 4.0 student, and he is working on his Eagle scout. He is also president of the Teachers Quorum. He did such an amazing job on a talk in sacrament meeting that the stake president looked him up on LDS tools, figuring he might be going on a mission before Elder Sport was home. He was surprised to learn that Curly is only 14.

 

Baby Doll is in 6^th grade. She is the Young Women’s secretary, and she does a great job at her calling. She is active in girl scouts and is dancing at the studio, as well as playing basketball, but first and foremost, she is a volleyball player. She was the star of her 11U team last spring. Then she played for the Jr High Bingham team in the fall and earned a spot on the top team at Club GSL for 12U starting in January. She is almost as tall as her mother and likely will be taller soon. Her new team will include some out-of-town tournaments and after seeing Curly get to travel for baseball, she is so excited to travel with her team. She is extremely creative, and after running up and down the stairs for her sick dad, she created a simple dumbwaiter system with a wicker basket and some ribbon. 

 

Mom of 12 is busy doing all her normal activities, Girl Scouts, her blog, coaching basketball, writing grants for the ballet, loving and nurturing the children and grandkids, serving as the stake women’s sports director, etc. New this year, she has been working as a secret shopper, acting as a caretaker and nurse for her sick husband, and making amazing keepsake badge blankets for boy and girl scouts and serving in the ward nursery. We enjoyed a long weekend in New Orleans in August before I got sick.

 

I started the year the normal way, working a lot of overtime and driving a lot for baseball. I enjoyed yardwork and smoking meat with the pit barrel smoker. I am grateful to be alive and healing and would like to thank everyone for their prayers on my behalf.

 

I will leave all of the kids not living at home to update you in their own letters, but I will say that we are proud of all of them.

 

Merry Christmas,

 

Sweetie