Christmas Letter - 2008

Gibbons Family – 2008
Another year has come and gone. 2008 has been a wonderful year of opportunities and experiences for each of us. Here is a brief update of what we are up to.

Nathan is enjoying his work – being the director of the Provo LDS Family Services agency takes a lot of energy, but he works with great people and is doing a wonderful job. He plays basketball two or three mornings a week at the church. He is currently the scout master in our ward, and loves camping with the boys (good thing!). Beyond that, he has enjoyed following BYU sports closely, making it to the majority of the football games and many of the men’s and women’s basketball games.
Deborah has had a busy year. She started taking classes, working toward getting into a nursing program. If things go as planned, she will start her program in the fall. Outside of school, she has enjoyed serving in activity days, and helping on the enrichment board. With all of the children in school for a few hours each day, she has found that there really is no “extra” time, just lots to get done J She has continued to run, teach aerobics and yoga classes, enjoys teaching children’s dance at BYU, and shuttles the kids here and there.

Cameron is tall, handsome, and a great brother. He played on some great basketball teams last spring and summer, and continues to improve. Being 6’3’’ at 14 years old is an added bonus. Getting the stomach flu the day of team tryouts was disappointing this fall, but he continues to work hard. Cam has been playing ball at the church in the mornings with Nathan with other men in the ward. School has been a good challenge, and 9th grade is fun. He is looking forward to being 15 in January, and is hoping to get his drivers permit. He has great friends. He is looking forward to finishing off his eagle project this spring, and earning the rank of Eagle Scout. He is also hoping to get his braces off!

Jason turned 12 in November, and received the priesthood. He has enjoyed being involved in the Young Men program, and has done great with scouting. 7th grade is going really well, and he was on the honor roll last term. He is on track to be on the high honor roll this term. Yea! Jas is taking cello lessons and playing in orchestra. It is fun to listen to him practice. He is such a hard worker and a great brother.

Tiffany is 10, and is one busy girl. She competed in gymnastics again this year, doing really well. She was just moved up to level 5 and continues to work hard. Class is 3 days a week, for more than 2 hours each time. She also dances at BYU, and is a lovely dancer. Tiffany tested into the advanced program for 5th grade, and has enjoyed her challenging class. She continues to be a gifted writer and makes us laugh with her creativity.

Derek is 7 years old, and in first grade. He is a great reader, and has done really well in school this year. He started playing soccer in the fall, and we loved watching him get right in there, running fast, (laughing as he ran down the field) and making some great plays. He is such a happy boy, and his laugh is so fun.

Andrea is 5, and in kindergarten this year. She loves school, and has made a lot of friends. She is taking both gymnastics and dance classes, and seems to dance through each day. We enjoy her art projects, and she loves her dolls, stuffed animals and friends. She is a happy girl with a big imagination.

We had some good adventures this year, including going to Island Park and spending time at cookie Grandpa’s cabin, spending time at Grandma and Grandpa’s cabin just outside of Salt Lake City, traveling to Colorado to get Cameron’s braces tightened and visit dear friends, sledding, biking, rollerblading, running together, delivering phonebooks for a family job, repairing the house after Tiffany's heel went through the side of the FULL bathtub upstairs, mowing a huge “Y” in the front lawn (ok, Nathan did that one), playing games together, getting sick together (influenza A – nasty stuff!), enjoying family gatherings with extended family, and loving time with just our family. We feel so blessed, and are so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives! We truly feel that life is sweet, and we look forward to the opportunities of the coming year. We love you, and hope next year is a happy one for us all!

Chopping Down the Christmas Tree

We went to Price the day before Thanksgiving to buy a $5 tree permit. We then drove to 30 min down the road and began our search for the perfect tree. The kids loved running through the snow, and I was hoping the pick of the year wouldn't be found at the bottom of a ravine, 40 minutes of walking away from the van (yea, we've done that before). We found some options, but Andi insisted we keep looking. (I'm sure it was because of her keen 5 year old sense of knowing that we could find the tree meant just for us, and not because she just liked running in the snow!) So, with Andi as our guide, we did find the perfect tree! Nate cut it down, and then our own personal tree measurer did his job. Cam is over 6'3'' now, and before we left home we had him reach up and see how much taller the tree could be than his hand. After the tree was laying in the snow, he got to stretch out beside it and make sure we cut it to the correct length. So helpful! The tree got tied to the top of the van, and home we came. It was a great day!

Andrea and Tiffany's dance

Tiffany and Andrea take creative dance classes at BYU - I teach both of their classes. Each year, children are invited to create their own dances. They show the dances to the program director, and if the dance is chosen, the children perform in one of two evening performances at the Richards building on campus. The girls were chosen to perform in both shows. This is from the first show, and not quite as good as the second time, but still cute. They don't get a chance to practice on the stage, so it can be challenging to not get a bit turned around. It is called "Primary Jamboree", and the song is done by Inside Out.

Red is not our color!

This is the view we had on the lawn outside our front door.
It says "GO UTES 11-0"

This one says "Utes #1"

Here it is - our red Y. The top part doesn't look as red in this picture, because Nate was trying to wash it off with hot water. It got rid of the frost, not the red. Nathan mowed the lawn after the game to get rid of the red, but some neighbors thought it was mowed off because BYU lost so miserably. They obviously don't know my husband very well - he is a die hard BYU fan, come what may. Just not into a red lawn. I didn't get my camera out before we threw away the 14 or 15 cans of red spray paint stacked neatly on the front porch. My children are so lucky they got to hear the "don't vandalize" talk throughout the day. They loved it, and were grateful for the opportunity to hear it!

Things one shouldn't have to hear in the morning...

7:43 am "Mom, I have a note that says I can't go back to school until I bring in a record of my 7th grade immunizations."
"Ok then. Let's pull out the paper and make a copy."
Come to find out, we didn't have a copy of the immunizations.
"Why didn't you tell me about this after school yesterday, when we could have gone down and picked up a copy for you to take today?"
"Well, you were busy, and I didn't want to bother you."
"Why did we only get one night to do this?"
"Well, yesterday they pulled us out of class if we didn't have the shot record turned in. One of my friends got pulled out, but his mom had dropped the form off in the morning, so he went back to class."
"So, they told you about this last week."
"Oh yea, but I forgot."
7:45 am - the time he should have left for the bus.
7:48 am - the bus has now left the corner....but it doesn't matter, because we have to wait until 8:00 am, when the pediatric office opens and we can get a print out of the shots, and then go check him in to school, AFTER giving the office the magical form that allows him to go back to class.
Isn't it nice to know that our children are safe from un-immunized children. I now have proof!

How cute!

Yesterday Andi informed me that all of her dolls had a new name for the day...Chiwawa. OK then! Perhaps this is a not so silent cry for a longed for dog. I'm ok with dolls named chiwawa, since I don't do dogs.

Champion bowling night. Jas turned twelve on Friday, and we went to BYU to eat and go bowling. We had a great time - and we LOVE the gutter bumpers!!