Christmas letter

Merry Christmas 2012, Everyone! We hope our greetings find you well and happy. We are well and happy most of the time, and we are more grateful for the times when we are well and happy because of the times when we are not! Life is busy but good. I will attempt to give a brief update on each of the wacky but wonderful people in our family. Steven is 17 years old and a senior in high school. He loves: listening to an eclectic assortment of music, volunteering in Matthew’s first grade class, playing the piano (composing and accompanying various performing groups,) spending time with his good friend, Dawnika, soccer, teaching piano lessons, and reading. He does not love: filling out college and scholarship applications and doing/turning in homework assignments. He is looking forward to serving a full-time, two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, probably shortly after graduation since the minimum age for service was recently changed to 18. Steven is a great example to his siblings, a kind big brother and son, and a responsible leader of his church class. Daniel is 16 years old and a sophomore in high school. He loves: soccer, weight-lifting, rubber duckies, graphic design, writing code for computer applications, technology, his baby brother, playing video games, and bugging his siblings. He does not love: genealogical indexing of public records (but is conscientious about fulfilling his service requirement for NHS.) He looks forward to: maybe getting an iPad so that he can learn Mac programming language and writing his own apps to earn money, and someday getting enough driving time to appease his parents so that they will let him get his driver’s license. Daniel has maintained excellent grades despite a tough academic and extra-curricular schedule. Julia is 14 and a freshman in high school. She loves: learning about all different things, math and science, writing, reading, being with her cousins, playing the piano and violin (and wants to learn to play guitar, clarinet, and cello – but there are only so many hours in a day!) soccer, cooking/baking, and organizing projects. She looks forward to earning enough money through her babysitting job to purchase a guitar. She kept busy this summer with Girls’ Camp, BYU education week, and EFY (a church-organized week of inspirational talks and fun activities for teenaged youth.) Julia is very conscientious about fulfilling her responsibilities, whether in regards to completing assignments in school, caring for her siblings at home, or doing what is asked of her by her church leaders. Michael is 12 and in eighth grade. He loves: his frienemies (a term used by Julia characterizing the rough-and-tumble interaction among Michael’s group of friends,) soccer, electronic/video games, board games, and his youngest siblings Katelyn and Jonathan. He does not love: school (boring), reading (except about 5 or 6 series he has cycled through multiple times,) piano lessons (though he is a gifted pianist,) Scouting, or getting his hair cut. Michael won the school spelling bee and went on to compete (and tied for third) at the regional bee, though he did not win the spot in the national bee. Michael pretty much single-handedly persuaded us (through a well-researched power point presentation and persistent prodding) to take a family trip to Disneyland, which we did in October. Alyssa is 10 (nearly 11) and in fifth grade. She loves: drawing, music, candy, making sweets, dancing, crafts, soccer, giving her little siblings “rides”, pretty hair, and making things look nice. She does not like: headaches, piano (though she is talented,) cleaning up her crafts, competition, and waking up early. Alyssa is a cute and competent (though shy) member of the school’s elementary show choir. Natalie just turned 9 and is in third grade. She loves: reading, piano, math, more reading, playing with cousins and siblings, waking up early, still more reading, Tetris, and playing board games. She does not like: being late. Natalie takes pride in finishing first, and she is amazing at sharing with others. Matthew just turned 7 and is in first grade. He loves: friends, video games, elephants, machines, playing complex board and card games with his older siblings, Legos, creating things from our recycle bin, soccer, and having Steven volunteer in his classroom a couple times each week. He is a master of melodrama. You have to admire the enthusiasm (intensity) and energy in this cute kid! Emily is 5 and in kindergarten. She loves: My Little Pony, Barbie, hot chocolate, her unicorn pillow pet, coloring, drawing, painting, taking piano lessons from big brother Steven, playing with friends (including her best friend/worst enemy, little sister Katelyn,)and school. She makes me smile with her malapropisms, like “It’s not modest when people wear zucchinis (bikinis).” and “Why does Matthew’s head not need to be teleported (supported) in a big car seat like mine?” Emily is generally helpful and easy-going. Katelyn turned 3 in October. She loves: drawing and coloring, snitching treats (from the pantry or dad’s dresser or wherever she can find them,) hot chocolate, playing with her siblings, playing dress-up with Emily, singing, looking especially cute and animated when she thinks she might get into trouble, being read to, and watching Dragon on Qubo. She makes us all smile with her Katelyn accent; sister and brother become “sis-tah”and“bruddah”; door and car become “doy” and “kye”. Jonathan is the new addition to our family since our last letter. He will be one year old on January 18th. He loves: his parents and siblings, crawling around the house finding bad things to stick in his mouth, making us laugh with his funny gasping and satisfied exhaling sounds, fussing and crying when his baby life is just too exhausting and frustrating, dancing, pounding on the piano, looking at his beautiful blue eyes and gorgeous, bright red hair in the mirror, making messes, and just generally being adored by everyone in the household. Hugh keeps busy with his 2-3 hour daily commute, his job preparing tax returns and doing tax research for the LDS Church in Salt Lake City, attending BYU sports events and concerts with our kiddos, taking his turn at teaching Sunday School and playing the organ at church, and being the dad. Hugh had the opportunity to take Steven and Daniel with him to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland for three weeks this summer when he traveled there on business. It was an eye-opening experience for the boys and a great opportunity for Hugh to show them some of his favorite places from his mission experience in Germany. My greatest joys and frustrations come from being a mom and wife. I cherish all of it, and I hope I am blessed with enough wisdom to do it right. I have learned a lot in my calling as president of our congregation’s Relief Society (the women’s organization of our church.) It adds to my workload, but it has also forced me to face some of my fears and to see more beyond myself, and I am very grateful. What a sweet thing it is to remember that because our brother, Jesus Christ lived and died for us, we always have cause to hope. Our wish for you is that you will carry that hope with you - not just during the Christmas season - but in every season, and let it change you and make you more like Him. With love, Ann and Hugh Wilkins and family

May 2012 slideshow

Here I am, finally making myself sit down to record some of the things that have been going on in our lives the past six months. My life seems to get busier and busier, and so I generally get to only those things that seem most urgent. Since the guilt has been building for the last three months or so, writing is now on the “urgent” list!

Our biggest and best news since I last wrote is that we have a sweet new baby. Jonathan David was born January 18^th, weighing 8 lbs 4 oz, measuring 21 inches. He was born nine days early, just hours before his scheduled induction and after a relatively quick and uneventful labor. I was so grateful for meals from family and neighbors, as I developed what I now think was an epidural headache and a stiff neck shortly after coming home from the hospital. I was in serious pain for about a week and pretty stiff-necked for about a month. I don’t quite have my full range of motion back, but I will say that going through sickness or injury always makes me grateful for my otherwise good health.

The kids are officially on summer break now, as of May 25^th. Steven and Daniel finished all their projects and exams early so that they could accompany Hugh to Germany, where he has some business meetings. They are still there now – they will have been gone for about three weeks by the time they return next week. We miss them, but I am glad they have this opportunity, and hopefully they are making lots of great memories together and will take lots of pictures so the rest of us can experience their trip vicariously.

Steven just finished his junior year of high school with a bang – shocking me with a 4.0 despite very challenging classes. Not that I didn’t think he was capable, just that up to this point, he hasn’t been extremely disciplined! He took several AP exams, and hopefully he did well enough to earn some college credit for next year. Steven and Daniel just finished the soccer season playing for the high school team, and thanks to a couple of dedicated, demanding coaches, are much stronger and better players than ever before. Steven turned 17 while in Germany with Hugh; we have yet to celebrate his birthday with him when he returns! Steven likes to listen to music and read in his free time, but most of all he likes to talk to/be with his girl friend, Dawnika. Steven is almost always willing to run errands for me or wash the dishes (his one requirement being that he be allowed to listen to music while he does.) Steven only sometimes enjoys his near-celebrity status with his younger siblings – they really respect him and often greet him with hugs. I am grateful for his reasonable, rational approach, his desire to be good, and his pleasant personality.

Daniel just finished his freshman year of high school, also with straight A’s! Wow, I am impressed! These guys have worked hard this year! I have been researching scholarships, and found that Utah offers a substantial scholarship (the Regents Scholarship) to every student who completes certain core classes with A’s and B’s, so I am making sure that all of our children are on track to earn that. I was happy that Daniel participated in student government this school year because he is so quiet at school, but since there are so many classes he wants to take, he opted not to participate next year. I worry that other than his compulsive bugging, Daniel is pretty quiet and introverted, even at home. On the advice of his soccer coach, Daniel took a weight lifting class this year. He is a better player all around, and though he won’t admit it, he has some pretty mean biceps now! Between early morning classes, 2-3 hour soccer practices after school every day, and homework, Steven and Daniel haven’t had much leisure time this semester. When Daniel has free time, he likes to play video/computer games, write games with Adobe Flash, and read. Daniel was sad when we found another home for his dog, Jacques, at Christmastime, but it has worked out well and I feel very much at peace with that decision. We watched Jacques when his owners went out of town over spring break, and will be doing so again for three weeks during the summer.

Julia is my best helper with little Jonathan. She is the one most likely to say “yes” when I ask for help, and usually the first one to break down and pick him up when he is fussing and I am otherwise occupied. Julia spent the very first day of spring break in early April having her wisdom teeth removed and a ligation done, which entailed peeling back the gum tissue on the roof of her mouth and attaching a bracket and small chain to a wayward tooth, integrating it into the wires in her braces and, hopefully, gradually bringing the tooth into its correct position. She spent the rest of the spring break (plus some) recovering from the procedure, then had some problems with infection in the incision area, then came down with a bad cold which wiped her out and in turn caused a double ear infection and an eye infection. Wow! But she is finally feeling better and she is tough, and we are grateful for dentists and doctors and medicine, because think of how much worse it would be if we didn’t have them! Julia is always very conscientious about her schoolwork, and she maintained all A’s every term this year. Way to go, Julia! One thing I love about Julia is that she is not afraid to try new things. She loves projects like looking for and trying new recipes, running a “restaurant” in our house, teaching a cooking class to her siblings. Julia and Natalie have been sharing a bedroom since we reorganized everyone in anticipation of Jonathan’s birth, and their bedroom is usually the cleanest one in the house!

Michael turned 12 years old on April 4^th, thus happily graduating from Primary (the children’s organization at church) moving up to the Young Men’s organization and becoming a deacon. Michael doesn’t understand why, as a 7^th grader, he should still have to learn about English, science, and history. (He likes math okay, though he thinks it’s too easy.) He would much rather spend his time playing Plants vs. Zombies (doesn’t that sound like a practical scenario that could benefit him in real life?) Michael has been so cute with Katelyn and Jonathan – they bring out tenderness in him that I’ve never seen before.  Michael got it into his head that we should go to Disneyland this year. He got on the internet and researched ticket prices, hotels, approximate gas costs for our van, then made a Powerpoint presentation. He also talked about how this would probably be the last time our entire family could go since Steven will be graduating next year and going off to college, then on a mission. He talked Hugh into it pretty quickly. Hugh asks for very little, so once he said he wanted to go, it wasn’t hard to convince me. So because of Michael’s “awesome skills of persuasion” (and our otherwise frugal spending habits,) we are planning a trip to Disneyland in October. Oh – and Michael just showed me that he barely finished the term with straight A’s, after some work on his part to follow up on missing assignments and asking for extra credit work to help him reach his goal.

I guess I really haven’t written for a long time, because Alyssa also had a birthday since I last wrote. She got a baby brother for her 10^th birthday in January (four days early, but she was very excited.) Alyssa is often willing to hold Jonathan and/or fix Emily’s hair when I ask her. She objects to her current roommates Matthew and Emily, so she is lobbying for a change (which becomes difficult as our family grows and our house size remains the same.) Alyssa loves to get things out and make things, but not clean up – and her resolve to change her messy ways will determine whether we make the room change or not. It has been a difficult year in school for Alyssa socially. Some days she was the most popular girl in her class, and then other days, her friends would ignore each other and make her choose sides, and she often felt stuck in the middle. Fourth grade seems so young to start all that drama; I really hope next year she can start with a whole new group of friends who don’t play those kinds of games. Alyssa auditioned for and was given a spot in the elementary show choir. She has a good voice and natural grace, so I could see this being a great thing to help her break out of her shyness and build confidence.

Natalie is such an interesting little person. She loves to play Tetris and is a voracious reader – we struggle to find enough books for her. She is very cute and smart. Her teachers tell me she is competitive, that she likes to be the best and the fastest at everything. But she has a very short fuse and is unnecessarily unpleasant much of the time. Ironically, she is often one of the first to express thoughtful gratitude for little things that others may take for granted. She is a quick learner and has been working hard at piano, and can now play at least half a dozen hymns fairly well.

Matthew was sad to finish kindergarten a week ago. He often talked about the daily soccer games he would play during recess when his team would crush the other team. He has a quick mind for math, but has been sluggish to catch on to reading. I know he could be a great reader if he wanted to be, but he has resisted my efforts and my efforts have not been enough because I have so many other things/people that demand my attention. Matthew loves to play card games, especially Ultimate Queens (which Steven made up) and Nertz. Matthew and Emily and I usually play at least one or two every day, and Matthew usually beats me. He also loves electronics, whether Plants vs. Zombies on the computer or Angry Birds on Hugh’s cell phone. Matthew is our Drama King, which is always ridiculous, sometimes humorous, and sometimes exasperating. He likes to exaggerate what he hears “What did you say?! We’re going to eat dinner in 10 …hours? I can’t wait for 10 hours, I’m going to die in here!” and what people do to him (I could shove him across the room with my left pinky finger when he is in drama mode.) But he is a cute, energetic boy, and while we have our challenges at home, his teachers and friends’ parents always tell me he is very well-behaved.

Emily is generally pretty easy-going, small enough to still want and need more attention but big enough to be somewhat independent, and thus sometimes overlooked. Maybe because of this, she sometimes gets attention by being persistent(ly annoying.) She thinks she owns Grandpa and/or Grandma Dosdall whenever they are around. She is pretty adaptable at playing with either Matthew or Katelyn, and she likes me to read to her and play games with her. She struggles with words sometimes, like when describing Katelyn’s eye “confection” or Jonathan’s ten feet (toes). She told me the other day that “Waspes are the baddest kind of bee ‘cause they can sting you again and again.” Emily puts up with some abuse from Matthew (who will get rough with her if she does something that frustrates him,) and Katelyn (because she’s two and she still thinks her preferences are the only ones that count.)

And then there’s Katelyn. She is definitely two (and a half!) Initially, she was very welcoming of Jonathan, then went through a jealous stage when we would hear such things as “Stupid Baby!” and “We don’t hit Baby, we kick him!” She does pretty well with him now, and though she obviously felt displaced and resentful of him for a little while, she is almost as popular with and adored by her siblings as she was pre-Jonathan, even though she is quite the troublemaker. She talks a lot, and with lots of expression, often using her arms to add emphasis to what she is says. She can count pretty reliably up to 10 or 12. She wishes she could play card games with the big kids, so instead she has learned to sort out the multiple decks of cards we mix up during play. I love to hear her sweet little voice singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and the ABC song. She has her own little Katelyn accent. Anything that ends with an –er sound, she says “ah” instead, like, “I huwt my finga.” Or “Now it’s betta.” We cannot always understand what she is saying, and sometimes we wish we could not understand what she is saying  - “You a jerk!” (pronounced joke) or “Nice going-ah, Mom.” (said in a sarcastic tone, not an encouraging one.) But she can also be so sweet, giving out free hugs and “I love you’s” and she is cute even when she’s being rotten. Okay, except maybe that time when she found a sharp knife left in the dishwasher, and decided to see what would happen if she repeatedly poked it into the new leather storage bench in my bedroom.

Jonathan was slow to gain weight at first and so I have supplemented his diet with formula as often as he needs it, but he is now a strong, perfectly plump little four month-old. He looks like a Wilkins with his red hair and light complexion, slightly deeper-set eyes, and long (future-piano-playing) fingers. Because I think he is probably our last baby, I am trying to really treasure and remember everything about each stage. I had thought that at some point I would feel done having children. I don’t think I will ever be there; I think I’ll have to console myself with thoughts of many future grandchildren. Jonathan is so sweet and smiley and cuddly, I just love to hold him and look at him. Natalie recently accused me, “You’re in love with that baby!” to which I responded, “Yes, I am!” Then she and Alyssa both quickly agreed that they are, too.  Some of the novelty and thus the willingness to help have worn off since Jonathan was born, but all the kids really like him a lot. He rolls around and is learning to grab things – toys, faces, hair (much to Alyssa’s chagrin.) He is constantly gumming and drooling on everything he can get up to his mouth, especially his chubby little hands. Other than his given name, the kids and I call him Jon-Jon and Jonny; Hugh calls him “Whine-man.” Jonathan had his first cold recently, and it was a bad one; I am so grateful he didn’t catch it a month earlier because I really wonder whether he would have been strong enough to survive it. We are so grateful he is healthy now. Whether his nature or nurture, I don’t know - but Jonathan likes to be around people, be held and interacted with, and he handles chaos and noise well. He fits our family well, and we are so grateful to have him!

Hugh keeps busy at work with an ever-increasing load. At home, he plays lots of card games with Matthew and Emily, and is Katelyn’s favorite diaper changer since he always makes it fun by playing one of several songs on his phone that he customizes for her. (Sponge-Bob-Stinky-Pants and The Hey Song/Stinky-Poo are a couple favorites.) Hugh decided he was too fat (he said that, not me) and has been waking up even earlier (now 4:15) to exercise each morning before work. He has cut back on the amounts and the types of food he eats. I wish I had his self-discipline – it’s too bad wishing is not enough to make it so!

I perpetually feel like there is just not enough time to do all the things I need to do, but I am generally happy and very grateful for my blessed life and the things I am learning.  My Relief Society responsibilities require some time and mental effort, but mostly I worry about whether I am doing enough and doing the right things for my family. The silent auction I was co-chairing was cancelled when the school’s performing group won a spot at a national competition in Washington D.C. and our venue was taken away – and I am not complaining! It was a huge load taken off my shoulders.

One last thing I wanted to mention is how great it has been to have my parents close. My mom and Jeannie have continued to watch the little kids each Friday so that I could volunteer at school and then take a couple kids out to lunch. I always mean to take time out for dates with the kids, but until we started this arrangement, it was very hit and miss.  My dad is always willing to fix whatever is broken around our house. He unveiled his latest creations on the last day of school: a merry-go-round that can be pumped by the riders, and a zip-line spanning about 150 feet. I think it is very sweet that this most frugal of people is willing to spend countless hours and hundreds of dollars to make something he thinks his grandchildren will get a kick out of. What awesome grandparents they are!

Hello, from the reluctant writer!

It has been such a long time since I last wrote, I fear this will end up a saga. Whatever the case, read if you like, or don't if I drone on...

I found out just before school finished in May that we are expecting a baby. We love all our children, and it has been especially fun to have a baby now that the other kids are old enough to help. They have been the best siblings to Katelyn – it is truly delightful to see the way they take care of and adore each other. With this pregnancy, I have some concerns about a repeat placental abruption since I have all the risk factors (previous abruption, high blood pressure, and many pregnancies) and I admit that I'm tired of the nausea, fatigue, and pains that come with pregnancy, but I would love to have a baby and I hope and pray this pregnancy ends with a healthy baby (and mom!) I have been so grateful to have gone through the worst of the nausea during the summer when we have a relatively relaxed schedule and I could sleep in and not be running from one thing to the next all day. This has certainly not been my most efficient summer, but hopefully the kids have enjoyed my not pushing them as hard as usual. At nearly 19 weeks into this pregnancy, I am still nauseated (especially in the evenings) but better than I was the first 6-8 weeks, when the nausea was so severe it would wake me during the night. We all look forward to the upcoming ultrasound tomorrow, September 1st.

I am settling into my role and responsibilities as Relief Society president (the women's organization of our local church congregation.) I should and would like to get out to visit the sisters more. Hugh probably thinks I'm silly to stress about the once-every-month-or-two lessons I have to prepare when he has to teach Sunday School every other week, but at least I am becoming more comfortable with conducting meetings and teaching the lessons, as well as with being more outgoing. I am very grateful for this calling because it has pushed me out of my comfort zone; I am also grateful for willing, reliable counselors who do so well what I ask them to do.

We enjoyed the Dosdall Family reunion in early July at Yellowstone Park. Yellowstone was beautiful, but probably not the best pick for young kids since it requires a lot of driving to get from one attraction to the next. Everyone's favorite part was being together. We realize everyone made sacrifices to be here, and that means a lot to us. It was fun to have at least some of the group come back to Utah to visit more after the weekend at Yellowstone.

We also had a great time with the Wilkins Family at Palisade Lake (about 1 ½ hours drive southeast of Spanish Fork) later in July. We ended up driving down just for the day so that Hugh and some of the kids could attend a concert on Temple Square the evening before. (And neither Hugh nor I was crushed about missing out on the packing, unpacking, and sleeping in a tent...)
The kids have kept busy enough. Steven turned “Sweet (Sassy? - what do you say for boys?) Sixteen” on May 18th. He was in no rush to get his license until about a month prior when he realized how much more free and easy his social life would be if he had that kind of flexibility. After many stressful drives accompanied by critiquing (critical?) parents, Steven has finally earned enough our trust (or worn us out enough) that he drives himself to some friends' homes and to run local errands for us. He also drives his siblings to school much of the time, which is helpful and scary and strange all at the same time. I'm still somewhat nervous about his driving because I think he's over-confident. He is suddenly a favorite of his younger siblings (who call him “Steve”, which he never would have allowed when he was younger) due to his generally pleasant and often helpful disposition. He likes to listen to all kinds of music, solve crossword and logic puzzles, and read occasionally. Above all else, he loves to spend time being with and talking to his friends on the phone, and I can always tell the gender of the friend by the length of the conversation. Steven did very well on the ACT test he took in June, though I'm still hoping to persuade him to study and retake it since doing well would increase his chances for scholarships, especially since he is not participating in leadership and extra-curricular activities which might otherwise make him an attractive scholarship recipient.

Daniel has spent the summer doing puzzles, playing “Brain Age” on his GameBoy, watching movies, reading books, and learning basic computer programming using Adobe Flash animating software. After having observed his interaction and responsibility with Katelyn since she was born, I finally consented to let Daniel get a dog, which we did on the last day of school (May 26th.) The dog is a mild-tempered four year-old miniature schnauzer named Jacques. Feeding, bathing, walking, cleaning up after – is all Daniel's responsibility. He has done fairly well, though I think it hasn't been as fun as he had imagined all these years that it would be (and just as bad in many ways as I had imagined.) Daniel and Steven both participated in a Youth Trek with our church ward (re-enacting a pioneer journey,) EFY (a week-long inspirational youth day camp,) and a three-day backpacking trip with the Scout troop/Young Men to Boulder Mountain here in Utah. Daniel also attended a fun team-building leadership camp with the rest of the student government. He was recruited to play on a newly-formed club soccer team, and has been practicing once or twice a week for much of the summer. We expect him to earn the money to pay half the fees required to participate, and the coach assured us that he will have plenty of parent help getting the boys to their games (which may be played as far south as Santaquin and as far north as Logan) since we explained that we will have at least four other kids playing community soccer at the same time.

Julia is still a very petite, now 13 year-old (as of July 16th) girl. She loves to organize big projects, like the preschool she ran for part of the summer for her younger siblings Matthew and Emily. I really appreciate everything she did to ensure that they were learning and accomplishing something, especially as I was nauseated and tired constantly the majority of the summer. She also organized a “themed restaurant” with her younger sisters and cousin, Josie. They made a variety of foods with names based on the theme – Fantasyland Foods (fairy tales) the first time, and Willie Wonka's Breakfast Factory the second. They made menus and dressed in costume while they served their “customers” (siblings, parent, grandparents, and cousins.) They spent the couple days beforehand baking muffins and breakfast cookies and mixing up multigrain pancakes and waffles. Julia took arts and crafts and photography classes through the community during the early part of the summer. She enjoyed the week of Girls' Camp up at the Church's Heber Valley facility mid-July. She was very conscientious about trying to acclimate herself to the school schedule the last couple weeks of the summer, trying to get to bed early and waking early and getting herself showered and ready before what would be school-time (while I, on the other hand, slept in until the very last day...)

Michael stayed up late every night of the summer. His favorite way to spend time is playing with friends or playing electronic games of one sort or another. He also enjoys his baby sister, Katelyn, and I have been delighted to see the new tenderness she has brought out in him. The last month or so, Michael has become something of an origami and card trick master. Nearly every time I forget to lock the computer, I find him there either playing a game or looking up how many different kinds of face cards he can buy from online merchants. Michael somehow persuaded me to not cut his hair this summer, and while I threatened and planned to cut it the day before school started last week, I ran out of time and he sported very long hair for the first week of school. As a 7th grader and in the Jr. High, Michael seems to enjoy the variety of having five different classes and teachers every day.

Alyssa's favorite thing to do right now is hair. She will see a hairstyle on someone else or in a picture and can, without instruction, duplicate it on herself or on one of her sisters. Finally, my girls can have cute hair despite their mom's lack of ability! At her request, we signed Alyssa up for a gymnastics class near the end of the school year, and even though she has lots of natural ability, her interest fizzled out after just a few weeks. She is loving the new (used) 10-foot tall, metal swingset (with a stationary acrobatic bar) which Hugh, Steven, and my dad installed last weekend. Alyssa likes to color and make things. She took an arts and crafts class during the summer with Julia and really enjoyed that. Alyssa likes to dance and freestyle play the piano (not at the same time, thank goodness – I don't think that would work out so well.) She resists structured piano practice, though since she and Natalie finished the three-year “Let's Play Music” course in May, we did start them both on piano lessons. Alyssa's reluctance puzzles me, since she really seems to understand and have a natural ear for music; in fact, her composition was one of six chosen from hundreds participating in the program to win a prize. Alyssa is a favorite of her younger siblings, often their champion and defender against more easily irritated older siblings. She doesn't love to read, but is usually willing to read to the little kids.

We all have enjoyed Natalie's more easy-going temperament this summer. The kids were all excited when we told them we are going to have another baby, but it is Natalie who has offered several times to help ease my burden. She loves to read, and devours books without my prodding. She and Alyssa and their cousin Josie played together a lot throughout the summer. Natalie likes roller skating/blading and taking the dog for short walks. Natalie likes to be “Steve's” little buddy, and she says Steven drives at least as well as I do. Michael, Alyssa, Natalie, and Matthew all took swimming lessons during the summer.

Matthew just started kindergarten this week at the local elementary school. He seems to like it so far, except that he seems a little tired and grumpy from having to wake up early to be ready to leave by 8:15. He learned to ride a bike this summer. He enjoys playing electronic games, building things with Legos and blocks, and playing with friends. He is the king of drama at our house, very fond of exaggerating his reactions. He often pretends to have heard things incorrectly and responds with melodrama, like when I tell him he has to sit in the bathroom for ten minutes, he will exclaim, “Ten hours?! I'm going to starve to death in there!” He has a lot of energy and has resisted my efforts to sit down to read with him or work on teaching him to read, so I haven't pushed it too hard, though he is able to sound out simple words. Matthew loves to play card games – and especially for a five year-old, he can give me a good run for my money. He is usually much more willing to sit down and play a card game with Hugh or me than he is to read a book with us.

Emily turned four years old on July 26th. She will be starting pre-school next week, two days each week. She switches back and forth between loving “all things princess” when she plays with her sisters, and then trucks and action figures when she plays with her most frequent playmate, Matthew. Emily especially looked forward to all the festivities of the summer – the fireworks, hot air balloons, and“perwade” (parade.) She is my little hot chocolate addict, wanting at least a cup or two every day, even through the summer. She likes to watch shows on PBS or Qubo or play games on PBSkids.org when she can get away with it.

Katelyn is now 22 months old, though she often already acts the part of “Terrible Two”. She is adorable and opinionated; she loves to be read to and to “read” books out loud to herself. She is talking and communicating much more now, though she recently discovered whining. She torments Jacques, our dog, incessantly, but she is also the first one to sit outside in the summer heat with him when he is banished to the backyard for getting into her stinky diapers. Much to our relief, Katelyn is finally willing to attend the Nursery at church so Hugh and I can attend our own classes without her distracting presence. Katelyn is always trying to escape to the outdoors, and unfortunately does not feel limited by the bounds of our property or by dangerous cars in the street. She looks deceptively innocent; no one would guess she was the one who emptied the entire box of cereal on the floor, or took one bite out of every plum in the bowl, or squeezed out most of the contents of the toothpaste tube on the carpet, or raided the chore candy jar when it was left on the counter. Despite her mischief, we all adore her and enjoy watching her learn new things and become her own unique little person.

Hugh stays steadily busy at work with various projects and deadlines, at church with his Sunday School teaching, organ-playing, and a new auditing calling, and of course, at home. He and his BYU sports buddies kids look forward to the football season about to start, when they will attend as many home games as possible.

I will post another update after the ultrasound tomorrow!

Hello Everyone!
I haven’t written a post since before Christmas, and I don’t want the happenings of the last few months to totally fade from my fuzzy memory. So here goes, for your sake if you want to read, but mostly for our sake, as a record of our family.
It has been an interesting several months for me since I last wrote. After breathing a guilty sigh of relief that Hugh was not called to serve in the newly reorganized bishopric at the end of last year, I had convinced myself that our collective plate was full enough, and that it was not our season to serve in a large leadership role in the Church. Needless to say, I was shocked when, during what I had anticipated to be primarily a social visit with the bishop, I was called to serve as the new Relief Society President. Looking back at my interest the couple months prior in improving my people skills and overcoming my fears, I felt as though I had been perched on the edge of a diving board, looking out over the water for a long time wavering between, “You know, I really should learn how to swim…” and “But I’m really scared. I don’t know if I can do it…” when suddenly Heavenly Father pushed me off the edge and into the water. Those two weeks after I was called were very difficult emotionally and spiritually as I felt like I was drowning. I felt completely inadequate. My feelings of humiliation (I’m not good enough) turned to humility (I’m not good enough, but that’s okay. If I do what He has asked me to do, He will make me enough.) I hope I can remember that and apply it to my roles as wife, mom, sister, daughter, friend. As luck would have it, our family had been asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting the same day that I was sustained in my new calling, and it was after that initiation I began to feel like I had broken the surface of the water again, and though sometimes waves of uncertainty wash over me, there is hope that I can learn to swim. People in the ward have been so kind and accepting of me, and beyond that, they are good people who understand what it means to be Christian - to teach and support and serve one another. I have continued to immerse myself in thought-provoking talks and books as I did in that two week period when I was struggling to make sense of the situation and prepare my talk, and I realize how important it is to continually surround ourselves with good influences that buoy us up and keep our thoughts always on the things that really matter.
Our lives are busy, but good. Hugh is working hard at collecting information and preparing tax returns before the great and dreadful April 15th deadline. He never complains about the long hours of work and travel, the sometimes stressful kid interactions and never-ending housework at home, or the time I put into my church and school responsibilities. He has enjoyed watching the relatively successful BYU football and basketball teams in action this year both at numerous home games (with his BYU sports buddies Julia, Michael, and Alyssa or Natalie or Matthew,) as well as on TV and the internet. He studies hard for the adult Sunday School class he teaches every other week.
Steven, on the other hand, is not studying so hard! Unfortunately, he does not see the importance of grades; he argues that they are not a good measure of intelligence. This may be true to a certain extent, but they can be a good indicator of discipline, and that is where he is currently lacking! I am grateful that he is overall a really good kid, and I’m trying to help him understand that a little pain and hard work now could prevent a lot of heartache later! Steven has enjoyed playing soccer for the high school team. He arranged his class schedule so that he participates in a Sports Conditioning class last period every day in addition to the daily practices after school. He doesn’t enjoy the pressure of playing in the more competitive Varsity games, and instead has asked to play more time in the JV games. Steven enjoys driving when he gets the opportunity, even though I have become more critical as I realize the time of my greatest influence over his driving is growing short.
Daniel has been leisurely working to learn Adobe Flash Animating software since he bought an Actionscript manual at about Christmastime. A friend of ours in the neighborhood recently approached Daniel with a possible job of animating medical diagrams for a new business he is starting. Whether or not it ends up being lucrative, I hope it will help Daniel discover something he enjoys and does well. He is begging once again to get a pet dog, and maybe because he has been so sweet and willing to help take care of Katelyn, I have pretty much committed to at least giving it a chance this summer. I hope I won’t regret it!
Julia is looking forward to 8th grade next year, and plans to learn to play the guitar in addition to piano and violin. She is very musically gifted, so I know she could do well if she practices. She has enjoyed participating in a couple of regular activities which her cousin, Jamie, organized. Once a week, they (with a couple other girls) go to the local nursing home to play songs for the residents and then to play games with them. The girls also have a scripture reading club, for which they meet every other Friday to talk about the Book of Mormon assignments they have read over the previous two weeks and then have dessert and play games together. It has been really nice for her. Julia had braces put on January 3rd, and so far hasn’t suffered too much discomfort.
We celebrated Michael’s 11th birthday less than a week ago. He likes to spend time emailing his friend, Maddie (Madelyn) and playing games on the computer. He knows how I feel about him wasting his time and brain on mindless entertainment, so when he sneaks computer time, it is often with Boggle or some other “brainy” game. I have been trying to get him interested in reading something other than Harry Potter, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Charlie Bone, and Percy Jackson. I finally succeeded in persuading him to read the Hunger Games trilogy, which he did, but he hasn’t picked up anything else since. He also likes to “shoot hoops” with Matthew in the mini basketball hoop in the basement. Matthew is quite impressed with Michael’s prowess and can’t wait until he’s big enough to play actual basketball. Michael and Daniel are participating in community soccer right now (the girls wanted to, but I somewhat unsuccessfully defended my refusal by explaining that I can’t get them all to their simultaneous games and practices by myself when their dad has to work long hours)
Alyssa excels at school, but she says that she hates math. As we approach the end of her final year of music classes (Let’s Play Music) she insists that she hates piano and will not take lessons. I think she sees these two areas where her older siblings have shined, and she doesn’t want to compete with them. She is very graceful and agile, so we are going to start her in a tumbling class next week Hopefully this will channel her energies into something that will help her feel accomplished in something that is uniquely her own. She spends a lot of time experimenting with fixing her hair in different ways, and does an amazing job, but I hope she knows that how she looks is much less important than how she acts.
Natalie loves math and does well at reading and music, too. Her attitude is improving, but she is still a little Jekyll/Hyde. I have observed Natalie’s growing awareness of girl-boy tension, as there is a flirtatious little boy in her class who teases the girls about who he is going to kiss at school the next day. (Just to reassure you, he has gotten in trouble for threatening and following through with this a couple of times…) Thanks to my mom who comes to watch the three little kids, I have been able to help in Natalie’s class every Friday since mid-January. When it works out with our schedules, I have also tried to take Natalie or Alyssa, and then Julia or Daniel out to lunch after helping in Natalie’s class. (Steven and Michael treasure their social time at lunch, so I have to work in my “dates” with them at other times.)
We now include Matthew in the rotation of who will say the family prayer at night, and it is cute to hear his deepest concerns voiced – “please bless the toys not to break” or “please bless the mean people to be nice”. He and Emily are generally so good to Katelyn, and vice-versa. Matthew told me, “I’m in love with Sweet Katelyn!” Both he and Emily go to Katelyn for a hug of comfort when they are hurt or sad, and she is generally obliging and sometimes even looks for them expectantly when she hears them cry. Matthew was having some behavioral problems at preschool until we instituted a report card with incentives (incentives being Hot Wheels cars) program, and he is now a model student. He likes to play card games, his current favorites being “Hong Kong Phooey” (so named by Hugh) and The Memory Game (at which he does amazingly well.)
Emily also loves playing card games and watching TV whenever I’m too busy to make sure she is doing something else. She attended her Primary class at church the first two weeks of the year and now refuses, even though when she comes to the adult class with us we don’t let her look at books or eat snacks or do anything but sit there and listen. She subsists mainly on hot chocolate (which is not as bad as it sounds because I make it with milk) and would have it with meals as well as several times in between if we let her. She is a funny little person, or “character” as she has come to call herself. Following Matthew’s example, she often points things out that she would like for her birthday, which is still over three months from now. She and Matthew generally get along so well, in concert in their pretend play and in their conspiring to quietly sneak time to watch TV or play on the computer or raid their siblings’ bedrooms while the kids are at school.
Katelyn , nearly eighteen months old now and not really a baby anymore, remains much adored as the baby of the family. She is stone-faced and shy around just about everyone outside our immediate family (even poor Grandma Dosdall, who takes care of her weekly!) It makes me so happy to watch her siblings take care of her and to see how she loves them in return. Katelyn is a resourceful troublemaker, always finding ways to get into things she shouldn’t. I found that she had pulled out the bottom drawer of a dresser in order to climb inside it to reach something on top of the dresser. She is developing the will and opinions of a two year old (so hopefully she will get through the “Terrible Two’s” sooner?) She babbles in a language of her own that almost sounds like a real language, and is slowly picking up words we can understand.
I’m just tying off the loose ends of the silent auction I co-chaired for the kids’ school early this month, and looking forward to getting to some of the other things I have had to put off in the meantime. Everything is good – we’re looking forward to spring and summer and doing more fun things together.

Christmas 2010

Christmas Greetings for 2010, Friends and Family!
We hope you are well and happy. We have lived in Spanish Fork for twelve years now, and we are grateful for the natural beauty of this place and for the goodness of the people that surround us. Some of the highlights of this year include:
• Visits from siblings from all around the country (thank you for making us a priority; we appreciate your sacrifices for us!)
• The return of my parents from their 1½ year mission to India in April
• A welcome addition to the Utah Dosdall contingent: Derek & Alyson and their family, who moved to Centerville (north of Salt Lake City) in August
• A trip to Disneyland, California in October
Hugh marked nine years of working for the LDS Church in the Finance Department. He still doesn’t love the 1½ hour commute, but he works with and for great people, and generally enjoys the work. We appreciate it that he is willing to wake up at 4:30 every morning so that he can work all day long and still have time to be with us in the evenings. He takes good care of us! He has faithfully studied and prepared lessons to teach the adult Sunday School class for the past three years. He attends BYU home football games with his dad and several of our kids, and I guess they enjoy it because the kids always come home with full tummies and Hugh with a hoarse voice! Hugh also takes the kids to concerts on Temple Square at least a couple times each year. Hugh spent several weeks away this summer on business in Germany and Las Vegas.
Ann: My life is busy with nine kiddos to take care of, but it is certainly easier than sometimes in the past since our older kids are helpful and I don’t have to pack up all the little ones every time I need to shuttle kids from one place to another. I love watching my kids learn new things, especially how to love and take care of each other. I don’t love the messes and the fighting, but that’s okay – it’s all part of the learning experience. I finally figured out that I can listen to talks and books on tapes and CD’s, so I utilize those many hours I spend tidying, washing dishes, doing laundry, etc. and I love it that I no longer think of those activities as just necessary evils but opportunities to learn something or listen to a good book! I have happily faded mostly into the background this year within the parent organization at the charter school our kids attend. I still help in the classroom and will be co-chairing a silent auction in the spring, but I am so glad to have some responsibility off my shoulders.
Steven, 15, is a sophomore in high school. He enjoys friends, music (playing and listening), school and seminary, soccer, crossword puzzles, and driving…me crazy (no, not really – but I will say being the parent of a teenager learning to drive is a new and unpleasant experience.) He had a fun summer going with the church youth group on a river rafting trip and attending EFY, a summer camp where LDS youth hear motivational talks and socialize with like-minded kids. Steven is breaking us into the teenage years gently – he is generally pleasant, usually respectful to us, and kind to his siblings.
Daniel, 14, is in 8th grade. He is a jokester; he enjoys puzzles (like Rubik’s cubes) as well as logic puzzles. He rarely hangs out with friends, but is nevertheless well-liked at school and church (and at home, except when he is bugging his siblings!) He talked us into buying Adobe Flash and he has spent some time experimenting with creating animations and writing basic programs. He has pushed himself out of his comfort zone by participating in student government, which requires him to help plan and run activities.
Julia, 12, is in 7th grade. She is smart and keeps on top of her assignments and tests without being prodded, which makes our job as parents easier. She enjoys friends, reading, music (piano and violin), baking, fixing things, and understanding how things work. She is one of Hugh’s football buddies and concert companions. She sometimes butts heads with Matthew, but otherwise is helpful and gets along with everyone.
Michael, 10, is in 6th grade. He is smart, musically talented, and introverted (like his dad) so most of the time I can only guess at the details of his daily life. He enjoys friends, school, and sports (especially soccer and futsal.) Until recently, Michael spent lots of time practicing the piano, especially showy, upbeat pieces by Jon Schmidt. He spends a lot less time playing the piano since he discovered popular music, and now spends lots of time listening to the radio or MP3 player. He likes to play computer and video games, and will often do extra chores to earn playing time. His motto could be: “Will work for electronics time.”
Alyssa, 8, is doing great in 3rd grade. She is generally cheerful, and she acts as advocate for her younger siblings, especially when their older siblings have lost patience with them. She LOVES her school teacher and has plenty of friends and boys who tease her and chase her around. She still gets frequent headaches, an ailment which has plagued her for a couple of years now. She likes to write and draw and make things. She has a talent for making things pretty; she fixes her hair in all different ways without help. She loves candy and sweets. Her motto could be: “Will work for candy.”
Natalie, who just turned 7, is in 1st grade. She is a great little reader, she is in an advanced math class, and she is doing so well in her music class. But she is not enjoying school this year, and seems angry most of the time at home. I haven’t yet figured out where this 7 year-old angst is coming from, but hopefully we can help her get through it and she can be the happy, pleasant little person she used to be.
Matthew, who just turned 5, loves preschool. He has a never-ending list of things he would like to get. He loves trucks, cars, trains, action figures, etc. He likes to pull assorted containers and boxes out of the recycling pile to make robots and monsters and various creations. He loves to play with friends and with his best playmate and little sister, Emily. He is demanding and loud and melodramatic, and yet you have to love him because of his unabashed affection and enthusiasm.
Emily, 3, is (as she proudly proclaims) “a character”. She is happy to play noisy trucks and cars with Matthew, or dress-up and dolls with her sisters or friend, Lydia. She learned how to use the potty a couple months ago, so amazingly, we have only one in diapers! She loves hot chocolate, PBS and Qubo channel, and her siblings. She dresses herself in the most interesting combinations of colors and patterns. She sometimes regresses back into “Terrible Two” but is pleasant most of the time.
Katelyn, our baby, turned 1 in October. Like many of our children, she has red hair, but unlike the rest of us, she has blue-gray eyes. Also like her siblings, she is stoic and shy around people she doesn’t know well. She doesn’t talk much, but she loves to “sing” and dance and climb. She loves to clean out drawers and cupboards (empty them of their contents, not organize them, unfortunately for me…) She cleverly avoids a stern reprimand by doing something cute – dancing, shaking her head “no”, or flashing her chubby-cheeked, four-toothed grin. We all enjoy her immensely, and all the kids (especially Daniel, Julia, and Alyssa) are willing to help with her.
We are so blessed! Our biggest struggle is trying to keep the proper perspective and balance in our lives, which comes only when we keep our focus on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We hope that you carry the peace that He brings in your hearts at Christmastime and every day of the year.