PS - As I am writing this, it happens to be Christmas in Ethiopia and it is only 2007 there, so I am not late in some parts of the world!
So... A look back on 2014
Jet - What a character. He has learned so many things. He loved being in big primary at church and he runs around the block with the big kids. He actually ran an impressive 14 min mile. Not bad for a little 4 year old. He never stopped once. He thinks mom is a dud when it comes to hanging out while the kids are in school. Give me a break, he's comparing me to Cameron! His new year's resolution is to learn his colors since his 2 year old niece was putting him to shame over Christmas. Haha.
Levi - Levi is a total joy. He is so fun and loves everything. He can hang out and keep up with his brothers and still enjoy a cuddle with his mom. He is in the 2nd grade and excels in math. At parent/teacher conference his teacher told me she often calls on him to explain how he solved a problem to the class because he "speaks their language". He loves his siblings and enjoys a special relationship with those who have left the house. He will always be their baby. He is looking forward to being baptized and being a cub scout.
Ryan turned 10 and is now in the fourth grade. Ryan is all boy. And I mean all boy. Sometimes I wonder if I am going to survive his childhood! I wasn't sure I was going to make it through Tony's "adventures", but I did, so there is hope for Ryan. Haha Ryan has all of Whitman charmed. As nutty as he is, everyone loves and adores him. He is always the first to be a best friend to a kid in need or have the patience of Job in a hard situation. He is loving sports and looking forward to doing more rough and tough things in scouts.
Koli is as sweet as ever. He is 11 and is really getting into the merit badge thing. He is in 6th grade with Danny and is staying true to himself. He is very stoic and yet a ham when it comes to performing. He blew us all away with his amazing dance moves to "Soul Man" in the school talent show. Koli is a deep thinker who by nature comes up with the thought no one else did and enriches many a discussion. He LOVES his nieces and they adore him. He just got done with a volleyball season and is looking forward to basketball. He is reading the Harry Potter books for a second time because "Nothing else in our library interests me". He is looking so forward to having Tony come home.
Danny is 12 and getting more and more handsome. He likes being in the same class as Koli and loves being in mutual and passing the Sacrament. He passed all of his state tests at the end of last school year except one - English comprehension. Duh... He is doing awesome in school. His ELD teacher says he is her star pupil. He gave his first talk in Sacrament meeting and everyone was in tears at his sweet spirit and accomplishments. He is a great athlete and ran a 5.27 mile. He was once again the high scorer of his soccer team and had the most assists. They were 2nd in the tournament (the final game he didn't play in). He continues to learn and discover and is such a joy to our family. He also can't wait for Tony to come home and loves it when Shane visits.
Katie is now in the 8th grade and 13. She is great. She loves YW and loves to babysit. She plays the flute and accompanied the choir in church. She had a fabulous CC season and just finished volleyball. She is going to play basketball and her coach told me you can't let her size fool ya. She is a force to be reckoned with on the court. She is an A student and is the life of the party. She is always helpful and for some reason, loves to grate cheese. She is tender and talented and athletic. And very sassy and spunky. Nothing is boring when Katie is around.
Becca is in the big league now. She is 14 and a freshman. She LOVES seminary. She had a great year. She started high school with 2 years in math already done. She also loves to babysit and she and Katie are pretty inseparable. She is playing basketball and she is always the first one to the other end of the court and she is not afraid to get in there and go for it. She is another one that you better not let her size fool ya. She is also known as the hair queen in our family. She can do anything with hair. Shiloh and Shauna were always begging her to do their hair while they were here visiting. She is as cute as can be and becoming quite the spiritual giant. She is a force for good in this world.
Joshua has grown!!!! He is taller than Ali and Danny. He is most excited about this. I kept telling him to just be patient, it happened for all his older brothers, but I think he was beginning to wonder. At 15 and as a sophomore, he is quite the wrestler. He wrestles the 106 class (he weighs in at 99 or 100) and always fools his opponents. He is incredibly strong and ripped for 100 pounds. Just like his brothers. He has only been pinned twice in the whole season and he just got 2nd at his last tournament. He will receive his varsity letter. Josh also finished his Eagle Project. He did a great job. He is missing his brother Cam but is enjoying sharing a room with Danny now. Josh is looking forward to driver's ed this year and turning 16. He is a straight A student who has a lot of personality.
Ali is wonder woman. She worked a 40 hour job last summer and continues that job 15 hours a week while going to school at SCC full time and holding down several church commitments. She and Cam became legal drivers. They enjoyed doing it together. She is extremely talented on the piano. She writes music in her head. We got her a computer program that will write it for her. She plays for the choir and accompanies everyone. She also plays piano solos for the benefit of others. Ali ran her first half marathon with us and beat her veteran mother. Brat! (For the record, I am 30 years older than her and I ran on a 5 day fresh sprained ankle) Haha Ali has a plan. She intends on graduating with her AA degree, going to BYU I for a year and then going on a mission. She is incredibly capable and amazes me.
Cam is currently in the MTC in Mexico learning Spanish and then heads to Alaska on January 19. He had a wonderful year. He graduated and spent his summer working for Subway and Pizza Hut and then just Pizza Hut doing some driving for them as well. Cam is going to be an awesome missionary because everyone LOVES Cam. I just went to Pizza Hut to pick up his last check and everyone wanted to hear how he was doing and told me what a great kid he was and how much they missed him. His emails home have been awesome. He has matured so much and is so excited to be doing the Lord's work. He is so humbled by and grateful for his brother's examples on their missions and as a parent, I am so... can't think of an appropriate word to describe how wonderful it is to see this and his growth. We miss him terribly, but are so looking forward to watching him unfold on his mission.
Tony is in his last months of his mission. He is heartbroken and we are ecstatic! We all can't wait for him to be home. He started his mission on the Azores Islands and it looks like he might be able to finish there as well, except on a different island. He is the Zone leader so he gets to travel to all the islands and to the mainland often. He flies so much and all I can picture is those rickety 2 seater planes! Tony has grown a lot on his mission and has done so much good. He has seen a lot of success and has had to watch some reject the Gospel. His plans are in the air. He's not even thinking past May. He has been accepted to BYU I and Ali and Shiloh are so excited for him to go there. It will be interesting to see what Tony does. He is so creative and talented and loves to enjoy what he is doing. Can't wait for it all.
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Shauna and Wesley are doing great. Shauna graduated from Eastern and Wes will graduate in 2015. They celebrated their first year of marriage in August and we were so lucky to see them 4 times in 2014. They came in March for spring break, we went to see them in August, Shauna came in November for Shane's wedding, and both were here for Christmas! What wonderful times they were. They were great hosts in August and took us to some great places. Shauna works for SVU as the university's operations and dining coordinator and Wesley continues to play basketball while working in the athletics communications department. They are looking forward to graduating and they will spend the summer somewhere selling security systems and then head somewhere to work before grad school. I hope it is somewhere closer than VA! They are an amazing and busy couple.
Shane had a BIG year. He finished his first year at BYU with a 4.0. He worked all summer dating, and he had a job. :) He found someone great and married her in November. Heather and Shane are living in Orem while he continues at BYU in the Marriott School of Finance and she works at a cancer clinic as their top nurse, I'm sure. They are looking forward to 2015 and starting their new life and beginning the adventure. Shane also keeps busy as he is doing an internship and designing some websites on the side. We didn't get to see them for Christmas but are looking forward to a visit this month as Shane needs to complete some dental work. A little piece of work from Brazil we are fixing! haha
Shiloh and Scott had a busy year as well. They welcomed little Katie Grace into the world in May. We got to bring home the older two and have them for a week when Gracie was born. Now that's where it's at! Scott continues to work for BYU I and Shiloh continues to work taking care of her 3 sweet little girls. They are 3 under 3 right now. Shiloh is a busy mama. The girls are as smart as ever and we so enjoyed their visits this last year. Scott is the best at making sure we see them. He deserves a gold star in making the mother-in-law/Mimi happy! They are looking forward to Tony and Ali joining them in their neck of the woods and getting some great childcare! They owe Shiloh considering all her years of watching them. What goes around, comes around! haha
And then there's James and I. Well, you can already see what we've been up to! We did manage a trip to see Shiloh when she had the baby, a trip to Bear Lake Utah with the family for a Lee reunion,
a trip to see Shauna and Wes while celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary, married off another child, and sent another on a mission. We are looking forward to 2015 as it will bring Tony hime, bring a release for James - probably, maybe bring some new grandkids into the family - no pressure Shauna and Shane, send another kid off to college - sad, but true, and who knows what else. Ya never know with us!
----- The Lee's
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