Merry Christmas from the Lotts in 2015
So once again the year has come and gone. Honestly if I blink I'm sure I will be 80. And believe it or not I'm looking closer to 80 with each gray hair that continues to pop out. Hopefully Mike will eventually catch up with me or we will look like a pretty interesting couple in a few years. Oh well, such is life. With that being said 2015 was a great year for the Lotts. We enjoyed a few family trips, camping, hiking, swimming and just making memories together- even working together. Someday hopefully my children will appreciate all the work we've done together. I keep trying to remind them that they enjoy the grass as much as I do so they get the chance to mow it like I do. That is the older ones complaining. Ethan actually offered me 50 cents to let him mow this year. I did take him up on it, but I didn't take the money. I should have though. It could have gone towards all the socks that end up with holes. The kids also weren't thrilled when we bought another push lawnmower instead of a riding lawnmower. Hey I've got children with a lot of energy. I'm going to take advantage of it while I can.
Ethan was so anxious to start first grade. Honestly he was a little more anxious than me. He gave me a little pep talk on the first day of school before I sent him off to the bus in tears (my tears), and not tears of joy. But all is great and I have adjusted well to all of my free time that still doesn't exist while he is gone. Ethan enjoyed playing soccer this fall. One day he scored three goals and said it was the happiest day of his life. I thought that was cute. For his 7th birthday he received a pretend plastic shaving kit. To be honest I'm sure he has shaved these last few months more than Mike has in his whole life. JK. One day he went in three times to shave. It was pretty funny. Then he would have me check for whiskers he might have missed. He’s so funny. Ethan surprised us a month ago by needing his appendix removed. Thank goodness for answered prayers and kind doctors and nurses. All went well. He spent the night in the hospital and was so brave. He actually has too many good of memories of the hospital and if you ask him he would love to go back. Apparently he didn’t get enough of all the attention. He especially enjoyed playing video games in his hospital bed as I hand fed him food. I've tried to explain to him that it is much cheaper to play video games in your bed. He got a little tiny guitar for his birthday. It's been cute to watch him strum on it as he sings songs. And I have had to tell him way too many times that if he doesn't want the dog to step on his head then he needs to not lie on the ground. But of course he hasn't figured that out yet. As you can tell there is still never a dull moment with Ethan around.
Adam is in the fourth grade. It has been a wonderful year as he has had no homework. I think all teachers should do the same. Adam has enjoyed swimming and especially was thrilled that I let him play flag football this year. To be honest he was amazing and it was very entertaining to watch as he ran all over the field dodging the other players. Sadly he did get depantsed once but thank goodness he had on clean underwear. After that he wore different shorts and held onto them as he ran. Adam felt left out with all the attention Ethan was getting after having surgery. He decided to cut his finger the night before Thanksgiving. It bled a lot and we were grateful he didn’t need stitches. He was lucky. It hurt him a lot. He promised to never use a knife again, until he needed to use one the next day and he cut himself again. Crazy boy. Adam loves being a cub scout. He’s well on his way to earning his Bear award. He loves being outdoors, mowing, and is great at taking care of our animals. He’s a pro at being a pooper scooper and can hire out if anyone is interested. He is also trying to raise money for his “sock fund” to pay for all his socks with holes.
Well it finally happened, Jaime is now officially taller than me. And she loves to stare me down and point this out. I kindly remind her to back up and that I can ground her at any moment. But really if you round my height up and round her height down we are still the same height. Right?? She doesn't agree. But it makes perfect sense to me. Jaime has been enjoying the ninth grade is getting wonderful grades. Yeah!!!! She also excels at piano. She recently played a piece in her recital practically by memory and it was six minutes long. We are so proud of her. It still is so crazy that instead of having to ask her to practice, sometimes we have to ask her to quit practicing so the kids can go to bed. But really we are so proud of the beautiful young lady she has become. She is also super boy crazy. We are still so relieved that she is in the phase where she momentarily stops breathing when she walks by the boys she likes. I dread the day when she gets the confidence to actually talk to them. I guess it is good she has lots of brothers to watch out for her.
I would be lying if I said this wasn't a hard year. This year would be Ryan's senior year. I am sure he would be dating and having a lot of fun. I'm sure he would be grounded at times as well but hopefully he would still be pleasant and happy. Without a doubt I'm sure he would be shaving much more than his dad has to. And I imagine he would be over 6 feet tall and still a big cuddly teddy bear. But I'm sure I could still take him down. OK, I probably couldn't but I would at least try hard. And in the end he might let me just to make me feel good. Ryan would be driving by now, but only if he had his Eagle, and hopefully he would be getting good grades. I can't believe he has been gone for 3 1/2 years. I know our family has been comforted and blessed in so many ways, even though it has been so hard. It does also make me sad knowing he would be preparing to serve a mission shortly. But I know his mission started 3 1/2 years ago and he is doing what he needs to be doing and serving up in heaven above. By doing Family history here on earth I know that I am working with him as he teaches those up in heaven whose names I find. And that makes me smile. We love and miss you so much Ryan. We are so thankful that families can be together and we wait patiently for our joyous reunion someday.
It's hard to believe that Alex will be home in six months. We are so proud of all that he is doing. He is living in such humble circumstances. It touched my heart to hear that for Thanksgiving he had a can of chili that I had sent him and he said it tasted good and he was full. He also said he recently, for the first time, heated up a bucket of water to have a warm shower. I am so blessed by his example. He is doing things I can't even imagine. I am glad he isn't experiencing everything over there. He recently sent us a picture of one of his missionary companions who is a native and was letting this giant spider crawl all over him. Then he actually let the spider crawl in his mouth. It was pretty gross. Alex has been enjoying riding on top of jeeps and doing many more things that I'm sure are illegal here in the states. He says the language is finally starting to click and it is neat for him when he runs into people he's taught in the past and he can actually converse with them without problems now. We look forward to hearing about all the miracles that have happened. We recently corresponded with a companion he once had. He said nice things about Alex and said it was an honor for him to serve with him. We love you so much Alex. Thank you for giving up two years of your life so others can find theirs.
It has been a busy year for me. I am still the Relief Society president and have been so blessed by all those I've gotten to love and serve. I admit it will be hard to let go next year when I am released. But for now I enjoy doing my “priestly” duties. (If you have ever watched Nacho Libre you will recognize that phrase.) Everyone got a kick out of me wearing a nun costume to our Halloween trunk-or- treat. I joked that I would wear to church the next day but for obvious reasons didn't. I am still taking horseback riding lessons. I have a wonderful patient teacher. It still blows my mind every time I watch a movie with horses running fast and the people looking so at ease. It isn’t easy. Hopefully someday I will get to that point. Mike jokes that he hopes to see me do barrel racing at the rodeo sometime. Ha ha keep dreaming.
Mike is still on the high Council. It is still fun to go listen to him speak. Sadly he hasn't had the opportunity to speak as much this year. I know he is so disappointed. He continues to enjoy having his new/old truck especially so he can do all of the honey-do projects for me; fix goat pens and haul wood chips. He was also a good sport and took us on a few work related trips and we played while he worked. Thanks babe. Mike and I celebrated our 20th anniversary this year. We enjoyed a belated trip to Washington DC. After this trip he only has one more state to visit and I have nine. Hopefully he won't have any business trips to Alabama anytime soon and I can catch up. In his spare time Mike loves to do yard work, dishes, laundry and especially clean bathrooms. (Haha - added by Mike)
I love this time of the year. I am so thankful for the birth of my Savior. Because of him I can be forgiven of my sins, comforted when I am sad and I can be with my family forever. That is the greatest gift of all. I pray that at this time of the year and always we can remember our Savior and live our lives as he did-by loving and serving others, being kind and patient and spending time with those that we love most.
Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Love, The Lotts
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