Dear Friends & Family,
I hope you will forgive receiving this year's Christmas card via the Internet. I have been so busy that I am trying to use the free time I have to spend with Stephen & the children. I decided to scale down Christmas preparation to savor the time we have together. I still want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and update you all on how our year has been.
I will start with Jonathan. I have watched him grow from boy to young man this year! He started the year off by finishing his Eagle project for Scouts. He made bean toss games for the Children's Unit at the Utah State Hospital. It turned out to be more difficult than he thought it would be, but he stuck to it, and felt satisfied when he finished. He also excelled in debate last year and took second place in Region. He went to State, but didn't place. So, you may assume that he wants to be a lawyer? Nope! He loves science and his professional goal in life is to be a head researcher in a big medical lab one day making medicine or tools to assist surgeons in surgery. For now, he still loves his job as camp counselor at Maple Dell Scout Camp as a rowing and canoeing merit badge teacher. He spent the entire summer working at the camp, and loved it! He has met some of his best friends (other camp staff) up there and they are like brothers to him.
In August, he started his Senior year and he is loving it. He is taking 5th year Spanish and he is almost fluent in the language.... if he is speaking to a non- native speaker! He wants to go on a Spanish speaking mission sooo bad. We tease him that he will be called to Russia or Germany! He is also enjoying taking a building construction class. He is helping build a real house, and says he will build his own house one day. He also took a social dance class and loves it. I think it has more to do with the girls in the class than loving dance! Yes, he finally discovered that girls exist sometime last summer and started dating. He has dated several really nice girls this year. Among the girls he dates, he has a favorite friend, and his sisters show no mercy teasing him! All those years that he teased them is finally coming back on him!
In mid September, he announced that he decided to change his college plans. Instead of attending Utah Valley University as originally planned, he is headed to Snow College, 2 hours south of here. It breaks our hearts. Emily cries when she thinks about it or anyone says anything about it. We will miss him more than words can express. But, he is growing up. He needs to get going on his education and living on his own for a year before his mission will help him learn to be independent. Still, it's hard.
Kaitlyn performed in Beauty & the Beast in January and loved it. She also sang in the concert choir during her 8th grade year. She tried to run for Track, but her allergies got the best of her. She took piano lessons all year and although she is not the pianist she dreams of being yet, she is progressing rapidly. I love listening to her play the piano. She comes home after school and goes directly to it. First, she plays the songs she composed or rearranged on her own. I can tell if she had a good or bad day by the songs she selects!
She turned into a beautiful young woman overnight, and boys are starting to notice, which does not sit well with Stephen! She is 15, not quite old enough to date yet, but we enjoy looking at formal dresses for next year's dances. What a fun, exciting time in her life! She is also very excited that she auditioned for Advanced Women's Choir at the Junior High and made it. Their concerts are beautiful!
She has decided she wants to follow after her dad and grandmother, and become a nurse. She is in 9th grade, and very motivated to do well in school. She achieved straight A's last term and is working very hard to get a 4.0 second term. She is taking 5 honor classes. Sometimes she feels stressed out between school, choir, piano, and being the Mia- Maid president. We are pleased by her desire to achieve and work hard. In her spare time, Kaitlyn loves to read, cook, hold babies, and hang out with her friends.
Emily is still the same sweet, sensitive, compassionate girl she has always been. She started Junior High this year and it was a bit of a culture shock, but she is adjusting. Her friends from Elementary school went to different schools, and it was very hard for her to switch schools without friends. The first week was filled with tears. But Emily is so sweet and nice, that it would be impossible for her to remain friendless for very long. She made friends with some very nice girls in her math class and slowly made friends with many others through the year. She is happy and we are thankful.
School is still very hard for Em and she gets frustrated with the constant struggle. At the beginning of the school year, she felt exhausted trying to do homework, go to Young Women, and gymnastic practice. She decided on her own to cut gymnastics. I admit, it made me sad because she was almost at competition level. But, she had to do what was best for her. She works hard in school and gets good grades. She plans to run for the track team in the spring, then go back to gymnastics next summer. She loves cooking, crafting, playing with Hannah, doing hair, and holding babies.
Hannah is our spunky 9 year old. She has the widest, happiest smile I have ever seen! She loves to talk, talk, talk! She also loves to dance and sing. This year she is in her school's after-school choir program and we discovered she has a beautiful voice! Hannah takes school very seriously (older sibling example I guess) and completes her homework on her own (mostly) without constant reminders.She also found a really good friend at school this year and is very happy. She is very imaginative and spends hours playing made up games in her room or with her sisters. She adores Jonathan and follows him around everywhere. She loves to read and when she is quiet, I know she is curled up reading a good book on her bed. Simply put, she is adorable!
As many of you know, Stephen went back to school this year to complete his Bachelor's degree in Nursing. He chose to complete the program in one year instead of two, and he has been very busy. He completed his Bachelor's as a requirement to apply to graduate school. He is applying to the University of Utah's Psychiatric Nursing Program. The application process is long and difficult. If he is accepted, it will be a long and difficult two years, but we are ready for it. After he graduates, he will work with severely mentally ill patients. He will prescribe medication and do individual and group psychotherapy. Aside from school, he started raising chickens this year. He was released from his calling in the Young Men Presidency & he is the Men sport's cooridinator & BYU booth cooridinator.
Last, but not least, me! I spent the year trying to help Stephen with school by editing his papers and keeping the house running and raising our family. Earlier in the year, I worked as a layout artist for a few designers, but decided to take a break to keep up with family life.
It has been an amazingly busy year filled mostly with hard work. We did find time to enjoy a two week vacation to California to see my side of the family. We played in the ocean and saw San Franscisco for the first time. We also bought season passes to Seven Peaks and went to Lagoon once last summer.
Most importantly, our lives have been blessed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I enjoy watching my children learn about the Gospel. Each of the children know Heavenly Father loves them, and will answer their prayers. They know Jesus Christ is the son of God and they love him. We have read the Book of Mormon as a family and individually. I can feel the change in our home as a result. There is more love, more peace. Steve & I have strong testimonies and we are pleased to see that our children are continuing to develop strong testimonies of their own. As this year end comes to a close, we are thankful for all the blessings we have! We love our friends & family! Merry Christmas to all!
Love
The Daissons
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