Paul & Christine Winward Family
Letter 2009
The Best, the Worst, and the Most Unusual
Biggest change this
year:
- In
June we had to move with only 30 days notice when our landlady decided to
allow the townhouse we had been renting go into foreclosure (so take note
of our new address!)
Most precious moments:
- Carol
Lynn giving “kisses” not with her lips but by gently (and sometimes not so
gently) patting your cheeks with her hands.
- Christine
being able to attend the temple with almost all of her family, as her
little sister, Janet, took out her endowments in preparation for serving a
mission.
- Christine
being able to meet up with some dear friends at BYU’s annual Women’s
Conference.
- Enjoying
a family vacation at the beach.
Most exciting
purchase:
We are finally a minivan-driving family, hurray! With baby number four on the way (another boy
due at the end of February for those of you who haven’t heard yet), short of
strapping him to the top of the Camry, we didn’t have much choice but to
upgrade. We all love our new Sienna!
Funniest quotes:
- I came
down the stairs to find Peter rubbing Vaseline all over his head. “Are you surprised Mommy?” he asked.
- After
saying a super fast prayer, Paul commented, “Peter, that was too fast,” Peter smiled, “Yep, my lips are
smokin’!”
- Peter
said: “I think that our next baby is going to be a boy because Heavenly
Father likes patterns!”
- Rebekah
complained loudly while picking up the living room, “What did you have
children for? So you could have slaves?!”
- “You
know what the difference between Mommy and Daddy is? One has long hair and one has short
hair!” (Rebekah)
Most expensive
mistake:
This was definitely a lesson in paying attention to Heaven’s
promptings. I was packing for our trip and decided that instead of putting
all of the laundry away, I would just leave it folded in the baskets and put it
away when we got home. As I glanced down at one of the baskets, I noticed
Rebekah's blue dress's tie was hanging out and I had the very clear
thought, “you should hang up the dress or Rimsky (our cat who is part goat and
loves to eat clothing, especially strings) is going to eat it”. But,
instead, I decided to just tuck the tie under the clothes and I figured if he
couldn't see it, he wouldn't eat it.
Well, needless to say, he did eat the tie. By the time we got
home, he was in pretty bad shape and Paul was worried enough about him to take
him to the emergency vet clinic. They had to do surgery to remove
it. I think this episode makes our cat the most expensive member of our
family.
Most terrifying
experience:
We had a quite a scare this year. When Paul was
changing Carol Lynn’s diaper, she lodged a goldfish cracker in her
throat. She had taken in a big gulp of air (like they do when they're
really about to let loose), then there was total silence for way too
long. Paul began firmly patting her on the back immediately, but nothing
was helping. I've never been more frightened in my life than when looking
into my baby's blue face, just pleading with Heavenly Father to let her
breathe. I think that she actually lost consciousness for a little while
because she went completely limp, but I continued to pat and I finally started
to notice slight movements in her face. Her eyes opened and closed and I
could hear very faint breathing, then she started coughing. We both cried
for quite a while. Peter ran and grabbed her two favorite blankets for
her and Rebekah came down and told us she had been praying for Carol
Lynn. It’s so easy to forget just how fragile life is. Tragedy can
strike so quickly. One minute we were all laughing, and the next, we were
all pleading that Carol Lynn not be taken from us. We’re so grateful
she's OK.
New hobbies/talents:
- Rebekah
has learned to swim and read this year!
She also has discovered a love for math and is one of the best
students in her class.
- Peter learned
how to count to 209 and can now pump himself on the swings. He has also discovered a love for
soccer. I think he may have a
future as a goalie.
- Carol
Lynn loves birds, fish and amphibians.
She is so fascinated by them.
She even sleeps with a stuffed animal frog she calls “Poppy”. She is also our little climber and dare
devil.
- Christine
was able to rekindle her love for art by taking a community watercolors
class over the summer. She also got
CPR certified after the terrifying experience with Carol Lynn.
- Paul
has enjoyed learning how to create applications for his iPhone. I’m amazed at his creative ideas for
games. He hopes to be able to
market them eventually, but for now it’s a fun hobby.
We wish you all love and good wishes this Christmas and hope
you have a fabulous New Year! Keep in
touch!
Love,
The Winwards (Paul, Christine
(Wilcox), Rebekah (6 ½), Peter (4 ½), Carol Lynn (2), Rimsky (cat))
