2014 Christmas Letter

Winward’s 2014

Paul, Christine (Wilcox), Rebekah (11), Peter (9), Carol Lynn (7), Eric (4), Kathryn (2), James (7 months)

‘Twas soon to be Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, except for my mouse;

I began taking stock of our year with great care,

To share struggles and joys with our friends everywhere;

The biggest changes to our family this year,

Came on the same day, bringing us so much cheer.

Just hours after our sweet James had arrived,

We bought our first house, at the hospital bedside.

Though packing and moving is now just a blur,

The summer flew by in a haze we are sure.

We love our new home and our neighbors are great!

We have plenty of room for our family of eight.

Paul loves to care for our beautiful front lawn,

Where many a Saturday hour has gone.

After hanging rope over our tree for a swing,

The neighborhood kids have pronounced him the king!

To hear Christine call out children’s names without pause,

Is a feat few have heard.  It’s unlikely because,

Though she starts out strong, her tongue tumbles & twists,

Her quick plea for help comes out something like this:

“Rebe - Carol - Kath - Lynn - Er - Peter - I mean,

Argh!  You! Over there, please just hand me that thing!”

While each precious child is so loved and treasured,

Her brain cell count was falling, last time we measured.

Despite this decline, she is proud to announce

This fall she began taking classes that count!

Returning to college has been a long-time goal,

Realized through Pathway BYU-Idaho.

James is a blessing, and his smile we adore.

Each sibling will claim they’re the one he loves more.

Crawling at six months and cruising along too,

He’s eager to catch up and join the Winward zoo.

Kathryn (a big sister), grown so tall, so quick,

She’s feisty and bossy, and boy can she kick!

But oh! What a charmer when you play her game,

She rides trikes, sings songs and is really quite tame.

Eric builds and designs, with supplies that are near.

Curious George inspires our young engineer.

When scissors and tape are missing quite often,

We know a masterpiece is under construction.

Now Carol Lynn is reading, a book worm is she.

Magic Tree House has become her best friend, you see.

Her two-wheeler bike, she has conquered at last,

And math is the subject where she has a blast.

Peter thrives solving puzzles, improving his speed.

In the Rubik’s cube club, he soon took the lead.

Pushing his limits, running with Grandpa is fun,

Beginning to play cello, he’s an active one!

Overcoming her fears, Rebekah clearly sang,

As the good witch of Oz, Glinda was her name.

Her creative writing earned smiles and applause,

And playing violin is still one of her loves.

As a family, we’ve been blessed to attend,

Not just one, but two temple dedications.

First Gilbert, then Phoenix, we felt so much joy,

To be there as family, with each girl and boy.

We’re grateful for each of life’s little lessons.

Our year has been full of so many blessings,

With hearts full of gratitude, and eyes full of tears,

Merry Christmas, dear friends and a Happy New Year’s!

Love,

The Winward’s