States Family Christmas Letter

States Family

Christmas Letter

2013

OK…..I know we don’t send this out every year, and I know that we really should take the time to stick a few stamps on some envelopes to help keep the postal service in the black, but, what can I say?  I’m just too tired after this weekend to bother, and I like spell check too much.

Before I get into this let me just say that blessings mixed with trials are real.  Your brain has to take pictures of the joyous moments and keep them in a safe place.  At the middle of the year, the sequester hit Rich and me very, very hard.  We didn’t know how we would make it, but we did, and our joyous moments have filled us and kept us warm. 

Cari and Aaron have the most fun little guys.  Ethan is playing the trombone this year and will be 12 in January (I can’t believe it).   Andrew (9) is quite the talented gymnast and in the advanced class this year.  Isaac (5) just started preschool, and keeps us guessing.  He is a very interesting kid to say the least.  Cari is back in school with a major in Anthropology and pulling straight A’s.  She is also a fabulous cook.  Aaron’s job keeps him busy, but he is a great provider and a fantastic husband and father.  Quite the feat, since his calling as Young Men’s President in their ward at Church keeps him very much in demand.

Ok…..Before the year began, we received some much awaited news. 

Patrick and Caite had made us aware that a baby girl was due to arrive sometime in June.

Lucy Joy.   

June 12^th .  8lbs, 11oz.    Born with lots of YELLOW hair!  She is such a sweet little angel.  I know I’m her grandma, but ….ok, yeah, I’m her grandma, so I can say it.  And it’s true.  Patrick is a pharmacy tech at Walmart, and Caite is a Radiologic Technologist.  They have a darling home where Caite knits and sews the cutest things for Lucy and Patrick.  Patrick is starting school in Jan to earn a degree in Sound Production and Engineering. 

THEN…..YAY!!!!  Scott and Ana informed us that Elijah Scott was on the way due in October!!!!  Oct 23^rd, Eli came into this world at 7.14 and gave us quite the scare.  But, he is here, and he is fine.  He lets all know when he is hungry with his powerful lungs.  I could never doubt the existence of a loving Father in Heaven as we were all praying in the delivery room waiting for his cry.  We know our prayers were answered, and how grateful we are for this precious little guy.  Ana works for Church Finance and Scott is working at DMBA, and getting his degree in Health Services Administration.

.Elijah Scott 

Sometime in May, Laura paid me a visit with her little girls, Meagan, 6 (smart as a whip and in kindergarten and ballet), and Madilynn, 3 (whom, for reasons I won’t go into, we have nicknamed, Bobcat).  She then told me she had something to show me on the computer, and I 

saw THIS:

It seems Baby Kirk is on his way on January 17^th.  Now, this one REALLY took me by surprise!!!  While we were sure they were having more, I couldn’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed….afterall, Lucy wasn’t even here yet!

Laura and Gerritt really are doing great.  Such cute parents.  Gerritt’s still working full time for Church security and going to school full time.  Laura is a full time Mommy and so cute with those little girls.  She loves her church calling with the special needs kids every Thursday.

Just a month after Laura’s surprising announcement my little Olivia ….YEP!  YOU GUESSED IT!!!

Robbie and Livvy are due to name their little GIRL Emalee Belle, My little Liv has been planning motherhood since she was five, so everyone is thrilled!  They bought a darling house last year, and she has been having fun with all the decorating!!  Livvy is still hard at work at DMBA, and Robbie is a draftsman at TBSE, a Structural Engineering Firm.

Ok.  Rich and I are getting older.  It happened before we knew it.  Our spirits don’t seem to feel any different, but our bodies really let us know when we have had enough.

I really enjoy singing in my choir calling, and it rewards me every day I am there.  It seems so surreal that I really do sing with such a fabulous organization, but I just chalk it up to our creator who gave me the ability to sing, and the gumption to audition.  I remember as a little girl in East Texas watching the choir in B&W wwwaaaayyyy back in the 60s dreaming that someday…… AND, I must add that without my husband’s sacrifice and support, I could never do it. 

Rich is still working at Hill AFB. AND, last May, he picked up his camera again.  Many of you know what a talented photographer he is.  Since a kid, Rich has taken some pretty great photographs.  Well, we decided to start a little business, and who knows?  Maybe something will come of it.   

Four of our kids had huge announcements, so we were wondering about our oldest kid, Cari, as 

well…..Cari has assured me that her hands are full.  J

As I have been reflecting upon this past year whilst writing this letter, and so much I do not write…..I cannot help but see and feel the Savior’s presence in my family’s lives.  I know that the Lord, Jesus Christ, lives.  I know He loves us.  I am grateful for His birth.  I am awed by His Sacrifice.  As we go about the Year 2014 making resolutions to better ourselves, let us also be resolute in our commitments to Him who never gives up on us.

Wishing you a Healthy and Happy New Year!

Rich and Lisa States

Lucy Joy

Yesterday, our sixth grandchild was born.  I've seen and experienced it over and over again, and it never gets old.  The exhilaration is always a brand new happening.  I have stood the anticipation with five pregnancies of my own, wondering what he/she will look like, if the baby will have hair....whose ears, nose, feet, toes....

Now, Rich and I are doing the same thing with grandbabies.  I'm amazed how much we can feel for something that we didn't birth ourselves.  The love and fierce desire to protect this brilliant little squirmy, gorgeous thing is almost surprising.  Two days ago, we knew nothing about her, except that she was a girl, and her name.  Every time I have looked into one of my babies' faces for the very first time, I've seen the same expression, and experienced the same feeling that I'm now feeling with my grandbabies.  It's as if we are saying to each other, "Hey, wait a minute....I know you."

Photo Card

Wrapped In Dots Christmas

Create beautiful photo Christmas cards at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Little Feet

Mother hears Little Feet of morning

And desires slumber could last…

Just a little longer.

Little faces, staring into hers, pleading for their breakfast.

“Please”, Mother says…"I really want to sleep.”

Little faces grow and have their own Little Feet
To feed.

Lots of time for rest.
Daughter asks…. "Will I never sleep?”

Mother sighs…."I miss the Little Feet.”

If That Shower Curtain Could Talk!

I talk to myself. A lot.  Often.  

Some might say that this is a sign I am going crazy.  I disagree with this.  I talk to myself to keep from GOING crazy.  

Many times have I told off the individual who offended me or someone close to me while in the shower (ME, alone...in the shower).  I think it is quite healthy...at least I didn't cause a scene or hurt feelings that didn't need to be hurt.  Everyone was spared, and I allowed myself to blow off considerable steam.  Forgiveness came much more quickly, and I was able to go about my business.  

So, maybe, I'm really not talking to myself....I don't answer back.  I am talking to the shower curtain.  It has taken on many faces.  Of course, when I get nervous old SC's tongue might be getting loose, I just throw it away.  

I am just very grateful that SC cannot talk. Or, Abbey, the cat.....Hmmm.

Just. Mom.

I read the funniest blog.... http://crappypictures.typepad.com/crappy-pictures/2011/06/what-it-is-like-to-not-sleep-at-night-illustrated-with-crappy-pictures.html

I so remember nights like this. I remember wishing these days would come to an end. They did. I remember waking up from a wonderful, restful sleep one night. Oh, it was a perfect night! I remember that I had not slept so well for so long...and a little 4 year old boy was walking into my room. I could see his face well, because the moon was full, and shining into through my window. He was smiling at me as if to say, "Aren't you happy to see me?" I wasn't happy to see him, for I was enjoying that well deserved rest, and he and his siblings had put me through it the day before, but I didn't have the heart to wipe that smile from his face, so I threw back the covers and let him into my bed.

There were many nights I was sandwiched in between this same child and his brother. I was afraid to move for fear of waking up one of them. Wait a minute? Since when did their sleep become more important than mine? :) Truth is, I loved it...I loved looking at them, smelling their hair, hearing them breathe.

I see my little granddaughters and think of my little blond girls....one with her high pitched laugh and the other with her thumb in her mouth. How many times did I tell the older to "hush" for that giggle was "driving me crazy" and, how many times did I pull that thumb out of my baby's mouth? Now, I tell the mother of the two little granddaughters...never to mind about such things....it will all take care of itself. I look at my three grandsons and am amazed at how beautiful they are. I love their little dirty boy smells whilst remembering telling my own to hurry and bathe.

When I was a girl, I felt it was forever that I was waiting to become a mother, and if you asked me, that was all I wanted to be. Just a mom. Just. Mom. I don't think there is anything I have enjoyed more. I couldn't wait to hold hands with someone for the first time. To get that first kiss. To say "I love you" or to hear it for the first time. I wondered the name of the person I would have children with and grow old with, whose name I would call to when I was in need of help when giving birth. It seemed like forever I waited for all of that to happen. And then it did.

So.... when my little boy came in that night with the moonlight shining on his face, I should have noticed the beauty of his little smile, and how glorious he was...for he was a glorious little boy.

I watch my oldest daughters as moms, and realize how blessed I am that they are my girls. I think I was too strict on them when they were little. What can I say, but that they were my experiment. I had to learn on them. Poor kids. By the time the boys came along I had calmed down quite a bit, and learned how to enjoy motherhood a little. I'm sorry, Cari and Laura. I hope the days of jumping on your beds when you were older made up for it a little. I'm sorry I didn't let you have more cherry and grape popsicles because of my stupified fears of staining your perfect clothes. But, hey! You both looked pretty great! I'm sorry I was so OCD about your toenails being clean all the time! Hahaha!

Life is so out there.....I could hardly wait to be a mother. Then, to hear the words, mommy, Mama, Mom. Then, I wanted to change my name and NOT hear it for awhile. Now, I long for the phone to ring so I can hear a sweet voice say "Hi, Mama", or "Mom", or to hear the front door open with little voices running up the stairs calling, "JaJa!"

My youngest is getting married. I cry whenever I think about it. I did the same with the others, but at least I always had kids to come home to. This time, I will be done. She's really flying the coop. I don't think I ever said, "Hurry and grow up!" I really did try to keep Olivia little. I knocked her down when she took those first steps, but she was determined, and walked anyway. She is determined now. I really am happy for her. I am happy with her choice. I am so missing my little children, tho.

I thought the days of being tied down to young motherhood would last forver. Now I realize that that was the shortest span of my life. And, the most precious. I know now, that I wasn't really tied to it. I was clinging to it. I've often said, I wish I could have each one of my babies back for just a few minutes now and then and hold them.....There is nothing like that sweet little face.....each one is it's own little person, and each one has something different and they leave it with you ...I guess...like an imprint that stays only with ...the mom.

My Daily Precious Nectar

I like Coke Zero. No, that's wrong. I LOOVVEE Coke Zero. My day just doesn't go right unless I can start out with that wonderfully carbonating twinge starting out on the tip of my tongue and bursting at the back of my throat before satisfying my belly at the end of it's journey. I live for the moment every morning when I can open my fridge and see that lovely 12-pack of coke zero sitting there. The perforated opening even smiles at me as I reach for my coveted can of glorious nectar!!!! It calls my name before I even wake up every morning!!!!

My husband knows to check if I have my supply before visiting Dick's Market, because Coke Zero must be included in our storage. OH, how I wish shelf life were a factor in Coke Zero!!!!!

I was totally out one day....posted it on FB.... my Janice-fairy dropped some on my doostep....even my friends know how I need my Zero!!!! Thank you, Janice...Never can I repay this amazing thing you did for me that day!!!!