I've been meaning to post for along time, and have several posts partially written, but haven't finished much of anything this year. I did write the family Christmas card this year though and wanted to post it. I hope to still get some individual posts from some of the fun events of this year up, but this will at least cover some of the big points.
The Lindsays 2013
Christmas time already? Has it really
been a year? Everyone says that time goes faster the older you get, but
that seems to be especially true these days. It has been a wonderful year
full of many adventures and misadventures, and we are truly grateful for each
of you that have helped to make it special.
Ken -
Ken celebrated his 90th birthday in September,
and we pulled out all the stops for the celebration. Thank you to each of
you who came, sent cards, or in any way helped to make it special. The
crazy rainstorm that dumped on Salt Lake and Utah Counties made for an
interesting twist to the day, but people came out of the woodwork to help us
celebrate. When asked how the day had been Ken's answer was
"Marvelous. Marvelous. Marvelous!"
Ken considers days with his family to be a
little slice of heaven. A few special events have stood out this year.
February he was able to witness the baby blessing for his first great
grandchild Lottie(Bob & Carrie). In June he had the opportunity to attend
the Oquirrh Mountain temple with his granddaughter Chelsea(Bob & Carrie) as
she went through for the first time. August brought the wedding of his
granddaughter Calli(Kelly & Teri) to Kayden Dastrup. In November he
traveled with Bonnie and Melissa down to St. George to attend the St. George
temple with his granddaughter Aubree(Kelly & Teri) as she went through for
the first time in preparation for her mission to Mexico.
Ken is still a mischief-maker. He loves
to tease the little grandkids, and give them chocolate and cheerios when their
parents aren't looking. He takes good care of his health by making sure
to have his "heart medicine" (a square of dark chocolate), and eats
his cholesterol medicine (cheerios) every day. He continues to read the
Book of Mormon out loud in Tongan daily, and is pleased with how much it has
helped him both in his study of the gospel, and his fluency in the Tongan
language.
Bonnie -
Bonnie is a busy bee if ever there was one.
She always manages to accomplish more in a day than anyone should be
allowed to. She is involved in a book club within her neighborhood, and
has enjoyed expanding her literature horizons through the books they have read.
She particularly enjoyed one on the early saints that settled St. George.
It included some history on the building of the St. George temple which
she was able to reflect on, and helped to make the already special experience
of going through that temple with her granddaughter Aubree that much more
meaningful. Bonnie is also actively involved in her camp of the Daughters
of the Utah Pioneers (DUP).
In late June Bonnie's sister Cathy came out to
visit, with their former sister-in-law. They had a wonderful week here,
before the two of them drove out to California for a little over a week.
Bonnie loved visiting and spending time with her family. She does
not get to see them nearly often enough. She particularly enjoyed
spending some one on one time with her brother and sister-in-law who had
recently lost their oldest son. It had been hard on her to miss his
funeral, so she was glad to have that time with them. She enjoyed meeting
some of her great nieces and nephews for the first time, and reconnecting with
some of her cousins and her uncle.
Bonnie has enjoyed making the condo more of a
home, and conducive to family life. One of the biggest changes was an
upgrade to a beautiful laminate wood floor in the dining room and family room.
With kids and adults alike playing and eating in these rooms the hard
floor is so much easier than the carpet that was previously there.
Melissa -
Melissa closed on her first house in January.
A small townhome in a more urban area in the south end of the valley.
She was able to get in early on the building process and select all of
the finishes including the flooring, cabinetry, countertops, and appliances.
She absolutely loves her new home, and having everything exactly as she
had hoped. The only problem she has found with any of her choices is that
they were so perfect that she doesn't have any projects to work on, or dream
about changing. She has focused that energy into decorating, and is
completely in love with it. Her favorite piece of furniture she bought
for her house is a turquoise couch from IKEA for her living room. It is bright
and cheerful, and with yellow, pink, and green pillows it fits her personality
perfectly. While her favorite furniture piece shows her whimsy, her
favorite features of the house show her practical nature. Those features
include a garage, a washer and dryer, and a dishwasher.
Melissa is an aunt always and forever.
Most of her highlights for the year have centered around that
relationship. She has attended several school plays, choir concerts, an
opera competition, football games, a mission farewell, temple experiences,
graduations, and primary programs. She has loved having her own house to
host sleepovers with her younger nieces. She keeps toothbrushes and kids
toothpaste on hand for the four that come regularly, and they all have their
preferred couches/fold-out cots and blankets that they pull out when they
visit. She has also enjoyed having some of the older nieces and nephews
over for dinner, or girls nights, and loves getting to know each of them a
little better all the time.
Melissa continues to work for SirsiDynix, a
library software company in Lehi. She has been in their Customer Support
department for a little over a year, and recently was promoted to a newly
created position responsible for the thousands of Knowledge Base articles that
have been created regarding the configuring and fixing of problems within their
various software programs.
Melissa has made a larger number of smaller
trips this year, rather than one large vacation as in years past. Her
trips this year have included a weekend at Bear Lake when her nephew Jake(Bob
& Carrie) graduated from USU with his Master’s degree, 3 weekend trips to
St. George for Aubree’s high school graduation, first time through the temple,
and mission farewell, a weekend trip to California for her cousin Steve's
funeral, and a 5 day trip to Kentucky to visit her cousin Brian's wife and kids
while Brian was in Afghanistan. Melissa also participated in her first 5k
this past October with her niece Chloe(Lisa & Tim).
The other children are all doing well, but are
responsible for their own family newsletters this year.
We love all of you, and are grateful for the wonderful influence
you are in our lives. At this time of year, as we celebrate the birth of
our Savior we are truly grateful for our testimony of him, and his love for
each of us.
Here are two versions of the family Christmas Card. I actually had a little too much fun, and made 5 of these, but these were the top 2 favorites. Take your pick.
