2011 - What a Year!

In lieu of a Christmas letter this is my post for the Clint & Tewie Lord Family for 2011 - Enjoy!

Top 10 List


10 - No more rodents! After accidentally squishing, suffocating and leaving them outside where the cat opportunely flipped them up in the air, caught one in her mouth and ran away (for a snack), and the sniffles - all of the Lord Family Rodents (1 gerbil, 3 hamsters, 5 mice) line the pet cemetery graveyard next to our garden.  A source of sadness to some, glee to others - the pleading for a new generation has begun - we'll see.

 9 - Angry Birds, State Flags, "I can't climb trees" - Luke's corner (7 yo) - Spring 2011 - every day for 50+ days he would wake up, go to the computer, and print out a flag of one of the states - by sight he can tell you the corresponding state to each of them.  Fall 2011 - Mastered all the levels of Angry Birds and wrote an acrostic poem about it:

Angry birds are

Not happy

Green pigs stole their eggs

Rotten pigs!

Young and old birds come to fight

Because the pigs stole their eggs

In coming! Birds are coming to fight

Rotten pigs are going to die

Done with the fight

So happy now

By:  Luke Lord

Finally - funny story:  It is no secret that Luke loves Abby Peck.  One day he came in the house crying as if his heart had been broken.  When I asked what was wrong he said, "Abby will never love me because I can't climb trees."  I tried not to laugh and said, "Abby doesn't care if you know how to climb trees, but she does care if you share your toys with her and talk to her kindly."  His tears started to dry up as his mind worked on that thought.  A few days later he came to report that he had shared his toys with Abby.  

8 - No Concerta, Battleguard, Cranial Sacral, Minecraft & Montana - Jacob's Corner (11 yo) - Around April we decided to go concertaless in order to give Jacob more tools in his toolbox for his ADHD.  We did our research and found homeopathic and herbal supplements, as well as more behavioral modifications and cranial sacral massage (which helps make connections throughout the brain).  His genius is shining through as he builds in Minecraft and works on projects with his Grandpa Holmes up in Montana.  But Battleguard remains his great love!  He worked to earn a Claymore (a huge sword) which he wields with power and promise at weekly Battleguard - thanks Marc.

7 - Growing - Hair, Babysitting & Fun! - Joy's Corner (11yo) - Talk about growth spurt - last year she was the same height as Jacob, this year she is a full 4 inches taller than her twin brother.  With growing ideas about hair and style, I can honestly say, there has not been one day where she has not donned her ponytail with clip and front side dangles as her preferred hairstyle.  Running through the house and skipping through life; giving light and fun to all who know her, she is "perpetually sunny" and loves to give her whole self to all her projects.  She has moved on from babysitting one well-behaved 3 year old little girl to babysitting 3 highly active and verbal kids under 6yo.  Learning what it is like to negotiate and motivate - great skills for motherhood - which she has decided to actively prepare for for it is the area where her personality will shine the most.

6 - Paradigm, Comics, Novels, Hermoine - Faith's Corner (14yo) - Faith has now been through every type of schooling available to a 14 yo - Private (3-6), Public (6-11), Homeschool (11-13), and now:  Charter (14+).  She will tell you there are pro's and con's to each.  She is rounding out her personality as she maintains straight A's and acts as a "Hermoine" to her close friends, which happen to mainly be boys.  Reminding them of their missed assignments, tutoring them, and picking up after them.  She has grown close to them and, more so, with her girl friends who she loves to go shopping with, or just hang out.  Her writing has taken off as she is enrolled in a Novel Writing class which requires a 130 page novel by the end of the semester - she is currently 20 pages away from completion.  But comics - comics are her love.  Aside from the years she has spent filling 40+ composition notebooks full of manga comics, this year she has learned how to frame and block out her comics and her crowning achievement in this category is her retelling of an Irish Folktale entitled:  The 12 Wild Geese.  She also ran her first Theatre Camp this summer and put on a very successful musical production of (brace yourself): Eyefellgloffenhootenanniemerrieberriecrunch!  It's about 30 minutes long and it's on youtube in 4 parts.

Part 1 of 4:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96CbcaP1_HA

Part 2 of 4:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7CT0Mfo0NY

Part 3 of 4:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uebAlagkibU

Part 4 of 4:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up0V_I_jbz8 

This is not to mention that she was "The Merchant" in her Shakespeare Elite Class' production of "The Merchant of Venice" in November.

5 - Vacations:  Wicked (Boise), Cedar City - Shakespeare Festival w/ Paradigm & Bryce Canyon (Aug), New York (Sept), Montana (Oct) - We love vacations!  This year had a unwilled theme of Shows and Family.  After Clint's mom passed away in March 2010 we were able to still get together (almost monthly) with his brothers and sisters, whom we love.  They all live close and we are able to enjoy each other's company often.  My family is more spread out, but we climbed over that hurdle and were able to enjoy a trip to Montana with my parents - where we enjoyed the hospitality of the beautiful Montana farm my mom has decorated so beautifully (she turned the milk house into a quaint little homemade B&B), we helped clean up the underbrush (and Faith got to drive a truck - her highlight) and then had 2 huge bonfires which we roasted weenies on.  It was so fun to see where they work, play and where my ancestors are buried.  We came home with 3 dozen doughnuts from "Scumdiddlyumptious" and felt well-fed and loved - thanks Dad & Mom!  New York was CW & 2e's Anniversary Trip - we saw everything and ate real New York Cheesecake and New York Strip Steak.  We took in "Spiderman" which was great, but our favorite show was "Zarkana" from Circ du Sole.  We definitely are not in that kind of shape, but we admired their unique abilities and someday hope to be that flexible and buff.  Boise was Wicked - In May we took the shortest plane flight (45 min) to Boise where Luke got to know my cousin, Holly and her hubbie Luke better while CW, 2e, Fe, J&J saw "Wicked" - needless to say, we've been singing the songs all summer long (Joy can even hit the high notes - go Joy).  We toured the Old Jail, the International Bird of Prey Museum, found the gravestone of one of CW's ancestors (Susan Walkey) and discovered one of the coolest Science Museums we have ever seen - in Boise?  Who would've thought.  We're enjoying traveling with our kids - they are at the perfect ages and stages!

Grandma Holmes Loving Luke

Grandpa Holmes and Jacob Building a Swing in Montana

4 - Bishopric - Clint was put into the Crescent Ridge 5th Ward Bishopric as the Second Counselor Spring 2011.  What a great blessing to work with such kind and thoughtful people who truly love this great Work.  I always get the questions, "Do you ever see him? Don't you miss him?" and he gets the comments, "What did you do to deserve this?" and "I'm sorry."  To answer my questions I have two comments:  1- It would've been a lot more difficult with younger children, but my kids are at an age where they are more self-sufficient and 2- The blessing far outweigh the sacrifice.  He has been so humbled in this calling, seeing how these great Saints move forward this "stone that was cut from the mountain", and that has blessed our lives - the Spirit has touched us in ways I cannot describe and our hearts are filled with gratitude for Our Heavenly Father and His Son!

Older Writing & Literature Class (OWL)

Younger Writing & Literature Class (YWL)

3 - Starting a Homeschool Co-op - What started as a question has turned into a thriving supportive home-made community.  In the Spring there was a question posted on the homeschool chat boards, "Is there a Commonwealth (Co-op) in Sandy?"  My mind started churning and I posted, "Everyone who would like to have a conversation about the idea of a Co-op in Sandy meet at the library."  We met nearly every week during the summer and ironed out all the details.  We have 14 families and 70+ children with 11 classes being offered (Shakespeare, Writing & Lit, Geography, Science, Choir, Home Economics/Life Skills, Art & Art History, Liberty Girls, Knights of Freedom, Speech & Debate, and a Merit Badge Class).  We have grown to love one another and learn and grow, discovering our genius and providing a great place for inspiration and true learning to take place.  Some of our accomplishments:  The Skakespeare production of "Merchant of Venice" (Nov), Short Story Read Aloud Night (Oct), A Poetic Christmas (each child wrote 9 poems and memorized one Character Building Poem - they read 2 of the poems they wrote and recited their memorized poem) (Dec), the National Geography Geography Bee (Dec), 2 Choir performances (one at an Alzheimer's Clinic - one for family) (Nov & Dec), Making Costumes for the "Merchant" production (Sept-Oct), Seeing BYU and UofU productions, Reading The Hobbit, 20,000 Leagues, Arabian Nights, To Kill a Mockingbird and Screwtape Letters (all books they choose), an Art Exhibit (Aug) and Cardboard Boat Races (Sept).  This is not to mention Battleguard and Park Days.  We are busily engaged in a good cause and we feel great watching the God-given Genius come out of our children and positive relationships blossom!  Just see what we do in 2012!

Brock, Tewie & Shane (My Brothers)

(Faith, Dexter, Joy, Jacob, Ainsley, Darby-Mac, Queenie, Oliver, Luke, Sinjin, Adlyn - July 4th, 2011)

2 - My Brother coming to town - My brother lives in Kyrgyzstan - go look it up - it does exist.  He works for the State Department and it is always a little like a vacation to Disneyland when he comes to town.  We had so much fun with them as we did everything that 11 kids, ages 4-14, can do here in Utah.  They were able to stay for nearly a month.  The festivities commenced on July 4th with fireworks and fun!  We went to Lagoon, swam at the Rec Center, learned about the "Super power" Bugs and critters at the Aquarium (with penguins, sharks, rays and all other under the sea animal life, as well), Thanksgiving Point with the littles while the 8+ went to Space Camp, and even had some time to talk as adults.  I loved being with my brothers and their wives and especially their children.  They are awesome people and I am glad I get to share their lives with them.  Hopefully we'll be able do more with them in 2012!

Our BOM Family

1 - Book of Mormon Youth Conference - What a spiritual feast!  Our Stake put together this years Youth Conference, which was not your normal Youth Conference.  It was a complete reenactment of The Book of Mormon with all the youth and leaders playing all the roles.  Clint & I were asked to be one of 10 Lehi and Sariah's.  We were given a family of 10 youth (even though Faith went she was in a different family - we had 2 girls from our ward).  Our job was to help them express their feelings about what they were seeing and hearing.  I cannot, here, describe all that happened and the feelings that I felt in my heart, but those experiences I will carry in my heart forever.  I gained a stronger love for the scriptures Our Heavenly Father has given us to help guide us back to Him.  This experience strengthened not only my deep love for the principles and words of the Book of Mormon, but also for the Bible and it's influence on the human race.  My prayer is that we can study and learn from these great books of scripture so that we may understand why we are here, what our purposes are and be happy!

Wow!  Yep, I'm a writer - I make no excuses for my long blog.  I have said nothing about Talent Shows and Mansions, but suffice it to say they were definitely a part of 2011.

Love to all - you're the best!
2e