Hello everyone,
Listening to conference this weekend made me think of you all more often, and I hope that each of you are well. We here in the Seattle branch of the Mather family have been eagerly anticipating spring and possibly sunny weather. Jeffrey told me today that it is time for us to move somewhere drier. I think he is tired of having his baseball practices and games rained out.
Emma just celebrated her 9th birthday. She has been described as the only extrovert in a home full of introverts, and there may be some truth to that statement. She loves anything pink, Minecraft, movies, wrestling with Jeffrey, and usually seems content to fit herself into any situation that comes along. She makes friends with the young and the old and is comfortable with both. She can sing most any song after only hearing it once or twice. She also makes sneaky insightful comments after scriptures as a family.
Jeffrey went to priesthood session with me last night for the first time, knowing that the reward for doing so is a steak dinner afterwards. He will be 12 in June. He is doing well in his first year of middle school and plays the piano for the jazz band. He continues to play soccer, basketball, and baseball in their seasons. He is the patrol leader in his 11 year old scout troop and doesn't yet like hiking in the rain, but will still do it.
Nicole is just a few days away from 15 and is starting to show interest in the details of operating and driving a motor vehicle. She spends her time with horses, friends, bunnies, books, and loves to cook but doesn't like the cleaning up afterwards. She has made a seamless transition to the freshman year of high school and works diligently to keep her grades high. No boyfriends yet, that I am aware of. She sings in the school choir, runs cross country and is now playing for the high school tennis team.
Lauren is two months or so away from graduation from high school and has just recently decided to attend BYU this coming fall. The opportunity to spend more time around grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins factored highly in her decision, so we are trusting that you will all feed her well and help her navigate the Wasatch Front. She works several jobs now - YMCA, babysitting, etc, and manages to fit in school, friends, family, seminary, track.....it makes me tired just to write about her schedule. Luckily, no time for boyfriends, that I am aware of.
Heather and I are simply grateful to be parents. I often comment to her that being a parent or father to our children when they were small was easier, in a way. I could change a diaper, fix a meal, read a book to them, put them to bed, give them hugs - all stuff that I knew how to do already and that I was comfortable with. Now that they are growing into young and younger adults, I find it challenging to help them with all that comes their way, not always having the immediate answers to their increasingly complex questions that are tied to eternal consequences. I know where to help them look for those answers, though, and find much comfort in the gospel and the plan of our Heavenly Father.
We love each of you, and I am so grateful to be part of a family like ours.
Ryan
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