I started writing a yearly summary as part of our Christmas letter, but decided it was too long to include. We'll post our Christmas letter tonight after taking pictures of the kids in their Christmas outfits.
*****
2013 has been a dizzying combination of super high highs and
super low lows for us.
We started off the year by Rob having surgery (his third
hernia repair). This actually ended up being one of our highs as he got a month
off work and the two of us got to spend the whole month hanging out with each
other and enjoying time with the kids. It was a wonderful way to start off the
year. Beth turned 7. Megan fell (read between the lines here – was pushed by
Jack) on the kitchen floor and chipped a tooth (I’m shocked that we made it
this far without one of the kids doing that). Laura started eating solid food.
In February, Beth pulled out three of her baby teeth (all of
which were not loose) with the help of Megan and a scarf (the first was a
mistake, the next two were attempts to imitate the results to get more money
from the tooth fairy). Laura started sitting up. Eva did headstands in the
aisle at church in her dress. Rob went back to work. Eva, Laura, and I watched
“The Lorax” at least 4 times a day.
March brought Megan’s choir concert, Kylie’s living library
presentation on Annie Oakley (picked as Kylie thinks she’s super cool because at
the age of eight Annie shot a wild turkey in the head), and trips to the park
at night to look at planets through Kiki’s telescope. Laura started crawling. In
March I interviewed with Dr. Mark Bird, who works at a private practice called
Healing & Recovery, asking him if I could do my MFT internship with him. I
also was introduced to the “John School”, which is the other half of the PDI
program. The last week of March I was diagnosed with heart failure.
April brought adjustments to new medications and a stronger
emphasis on, and greater appreciation for, family time. Jack went on the
traditional Kindergarten field trip to the zoo, although the rest of us missed
it. Fortunately Miss Jojo came to the rescue and Jack had a fabulous day,
reporting that he got to walk a baby lion and baby gorilla around the zoo with
him the whole time (Jojo says Jack’s version of their day is much more
interesting than her version, so we’re sticking with his).
Beth and Kylie both went on field trips in May. Beth went to
the Aquarium and Kylie went to the Mint. Rob told Kylie to ask if they handed
out free samples (they don’t). Eva slammed Jack’s fingers in the door so hard
that we ended up at urgent care. Fortunately his fingers weren’t broken. I
turned 35 and went out with Jojo and Betsy for pedicures and dinner. Kylie turned 9. Several pieces of Beth’s
artwork were featured in a district-wide art show. I started working at Healing
& Recovery with Dr. Bird (hereafter referred to as Mark).
Megan graduated from elementary school at the beginning of
June. I can’t believe we have a middle-schooler! Jack graduated from
Kindergarten. We kept busy with field day and a trip to the science museum and
visits from both Travis and Elder Randle (one of our favorite elders who came
back to visit us after his mission was over). Once school got out, we made
weekly trips to Jojo’s pool. Rob won tickets to a water park called Hawaiian
Falls, so we got a sitter for Laura and Eva and took the four older kids. Our
friends Damian, Rhea, and their daughter Jia came to visit. I finished up the
coursework part of my program (although I still have classwork that goes along
with my internships), with a 4.0 GPA! Jack got a Mohawk. Ashley (Betsy’s
daughter) started working as our summer nanny.
July started off by me ended up in the ER with a GI bleed.
The CT scan they did at the hospital also discovered a lesion on my liver. Over
the next few weeks I got to have an MRI done to check out my liver (benign) and
a colonoscopy (why stick with just echocardiograms and EKGs when there are so
many fun tests to choose from?) to figure out what caused the GI bleed (food
poisoning). We continued to try to make it to Jojo’s pool weekly, making sure
to stop at Sonic on the way home for half-price milk shakes. Eva always got
peanut butter and bacon. I don’t think we need a paternity test to know that
she is definitely Rob’s daughter. Beth went off the diving board for the first
time. Jack went off the diving board without floaties for the first time
(although his was less voluntary and more being thrown in by me). Laura started
walking. Rob turned 38 and Megan turned 11.
Jack turned 6 in August. Aunt Kate sent the kids a fabulous
“Christmas in August” box that they loved. Elder Jensen (another of our
favorite elders), who we originally met in RI a decade ago (which makes him,
Rob, and I all feel very old), came to visit. Rob and I celebrated our 16th
anniversary (that made us feel old too). The kids started school; Jack in 1st
grade, Beth in 2nd, Kylie in 4th and Megan in 6th.
Middle school has been an adjustment, but Meg loves it! Mark hired James, a new
therapist, to work at Healing & Recovery. James and I started working as
co-therapists.
We celebrated Laura’s first birthday at the beginning of
September. Brittney moved in to provide childcare in return for room and board.
Damian, Rhea, and Jia came to visit again. I worked to find time to spend with
the kids, going to Cabela’s for family dates and singing to them at night. I
started doing weekly individual check-ins with the kids every Sunday night,
which all of us love. I became a presenter for the John School, teaching the
section on Pornography Addiction. I also started co-teaching a once-weekly
twelve-week class on sexual addictions with James and a therapist named Pennie
Johnson, who teaches the section of the John School on Sexual Addiction.
Due to my schedule (I work afternoons and evenings), I
barely see the older four kids except on weekends, so in October, I started
pulling one of them out of school each week and taking them out to lunch with Eva
and Laura. Jojo joined us, making it even more special. Jack went to
Chick-fil-a, Beth got Sonic and went to a playground, and Kylie went to
Chick-fil-a as well. Kylie did such an amazing job taking care of Laura and Eva
and the other toddlers playing on the Chick-fil-a playground that another mom
bought her and Eva ice cream. Megan was grounded for two months as she adjusted
to the increased responsibilities of being a middle-schooler and having to turn
in assignments rather than have them collected, so we had to wait for her
grades to come up before she got a lunch date. We made it to the Pumpkin Patch
and dressed as Despicable Me 2 characters for Halloween. Even Rob and I dressed
up this year (kudos to Rob for making it through the trunk-or-treat wearing a
turtleneck; he hates turtlenecks). One of my best friends, Leah, passed away
after fighting brain cancer for the past 15 months.
Eva turned 3 in November. We had a very quiet (ok, more laid
back than quiet as quiet isn’t really synonymous with having 6 kids)
Thanksgiving with just the eight of us. Megan finally brought her math grade up
enough that she was no longer grounded and was able to be pulled out of school
for her lunch date. We joined Jojo at Central Market, hitting it on a day when
the weather was perfect. Another mom saw Jojo with Megan and shared how
impressed she was with Megan’s approach towards taking care of the littler kids
on the playground, saying Megan “sounded just like a therapist”. Definitely my
daughter! :) My cardiologist sent me for a MUGA scan. There is something a bit unnerving
about having radioactive blood carried into the room in a lead-lined container
and then injected into you. To our disappointment, it did not make me glow in
the dark.
December began with an ice storm that resulted in three snow
days for the kids and a weekend with all of us snuggled up in the house
together. Next time a huge ice storm is predicted, we are parking our cars in
the driveway instead of the garage. It is easier to clean 3 inches of solid ice
off a car than off a driveway. Driveways do not have defrosters. Also, our next
house will have the driveway on the south side of the house. Brittney decided
to move on and gave her two weeks’ notice. We finally put up our Christmas tree
a week and a half before Christmas (ice storms and health issues delayed it).
For the first year ever, we did not make presents for each of the kids’
teachers. We didn’t hand out cookies either, although we missed that last year
too. Stupid heart issues. We have each other though and that is most important!
We’ll be spending Christmas at home with just the eight of us.
Lessons learned this year –
Life is short and can change in an instant. Cherish the
special people in your life. Make time for those you love. Surround yourself
with people who believe in you and support you. Figure out what’s really
important and make sure your focus is on the things that really matter. Treasure
the “Kinkade” moments in your life. Never miss a chance to tell someone you
love them or appreciate them. Laugh. Love.
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