2013 Smith Family Update

2013 Family Update

This year I decided to not add the stress of getting Christmas cards out and I'm not allowing myself to feel guilty about it. I still wanted to do an update so I could have it for us to look back over the year and for our Christmas album.

2013 was a year of challenges and opportunities for growth for our family. 

Simeon continues to be cancer free. January 10^th he’ll be 4 years off chemo. In May right after his 12^th birthday he woke up with significant pain in his right hip. We visited the doctor and right away he was getting blood work and x-rays done. Fortunately his blood work came back great and his x-rays showed no damage from the steroids. An MRI, CT Scan, more blood work, an ER visit, a false emergency appendicitis scare and more than half a dozen doctor appointments later, a pediatric orthopedic doctor put a cortisone shot into his hip and the pain instantly went away. While being pain free for the 1^st time in months was awesome, it finally gave us a diagnosis that wasn’t what we hoped for. He has ASIS, which is like tendonitis in his right hip. It’s something he’ll have to live with until he reaches bone maturity, but he will outgrow it eventually. He’s learned to live with the limitations of not being able to lift his right leg very high. Stairs seem to be the biggest obstacle for him. He had to stop playing baseball halfway through the season because of the pain. He was a great team mate still attending all the games, cheering on his team and helping out with keeping the play book for the games. Because of his hip pain and not playing much during the season he didn’t make the 2014 team. He’ll play Iowa City boys baseball with Ammon this spring. He played football this fall, and was able to play about half the games before his hip pain got too intense. After resting for a few months, he’s taken up Polar Bear running club and is thankfully having no pain running. He started Junior high this year and loves it. He has been doing so great in school that he was able to switch from an IEP to a 504 plan, which meant that he could get into Spanish 2^nd trimester. He continues to play the baritone in the 7^th grade band and has improved so much in just a few months. He’s also playing in the Junior High Jazz Band. He started passing the Sacrament in June and takes it so seriously. He’s enjoying being in Young Men’s and Scouts and all the campouts they go on. He still loves to be outside on his ripstick, bike or shooting his hand made bow and real arrows.

Corrine-started 4^th grade with some struggles, but by the end of the year had grown so much. She started 5^th grade this fall with a huge smile on her face! Last spring Corrine played her 2^nd season of softball. Weeks into the season after weeks of a sore right foot we went to the doctor. X-rays showed no broken bones, but instead a mysterious mass the size of a BB near the growth plate on the top of her big toe. She had an MRI done, which showed multiple stress fractures and gave no clues about the spot. She was placed in a walking boot for 6 weeks, and worked her way out of it so she could go to a week-long horse camp through Girl Scouts which she absolutely loved. She also was an awesome team mate, going to all the games, warming the other girls up and cheering them on. She has a class rabbit at school that she quickly became very knowledgeable about. Her calm nature made the bunny warm right up to her. She spends many recesses playing and caring for the bunnies. In October just days before her practice 5K for Girls on the Run she had a repeat MRI which showed she still had a few stress fractures and the spot was still there. She was put back into the walking boot. Because she wasn’t healing they wanted to do some more tests. A bone density scan showed she has normal healthy bones, and her blood work only showed a Vitamin D deficiency like Simeon. In December after 2 months in the boot, she was placed in a walking shoe for a month to transition her back into a regular shoe. We joke that her right shoe is going to have an inch more tread on it then the left since she hasn’t been able to wearing it for so long!  She has showed so much bravery this year getting 2 IV’s placed for the MRI’s and blood work done. She wanted to take swim lessons in January. She amazed all of us overcoming her fear of the water and passing every level on the 1^st try! It was so awesome to see her confidence growing so much this year in many different areas. She was in the schools Lego Robotics Club where she helped make an App about emergency preparedness and presented it to a panel of judges with her group. She was a robot operator and on her run she earned her team 128 points. Corrine is quite a creative girl. She loves to write stories, sew, make rubber band bracelets, draw pictures and write cards to others. She is so incredibly sweet and loving with Rebecca.  Those 2 are the best of friends. She plays the viola in the advanced orchestra and the clarinet in the beginner band. She recently told us that when she grows up she wants to be a writer and an Olympic runner.

Ammon started 3^rd grade this fall and is doing so incredibly good in school. He soaks up information so quickly. He tells us all sorts of interesting facts he learns from books and school. He is an amazing reader and loves to read anything Simeon has read. He loves to learn about everything military. We took a trip to the Rock Island Arsenal and he loved every minute of it. He got into Harry Potter this year and can talk about any character or book. In June he was baptized and started Cub Scouts. He loves going to den meetings and working on the requirements to advance in rank. He is very athletic playing baseball, soccer, riding his bike, playing basketball and shooting his home made bow and arrows. He loves to be in the action on the soccer field running all over the field. He’s an aggressive goalie diving on the ball to stop the other team from scoring. He continues to increase in belt ranking in Taekwondo. He earned his 2^nd black tip in December. It’s awesome watching him do his form and braking boards. He loves to climb the hallway walls like Spiderman. He is a very loving kiddo especially with mom and Rebecca. He gives dad a running, jumping huge hug every day.  He enjoys serving our neighbors raking their leaves and shoveling their snow. He still thinks going to bed in not for him and loves to stay up late and sleep in just like his mom. He has been learning to play the piano this year and is getting better each month. He was very excited to get the Star Spangled Banner music from Corrine for Christmas.

Rebecca is the sweetest, loving little girl. She gives the best hugs and kisses dozens of times a day to everyone in the family. She has to give a hug and kiss before anyone leaves the house. Her hair continues to grow, but it’s getting straighter as it gets longer.  She’s decided that even getting her hair brushed is a horrible daily ordeal that she would rather not deal with, but she doesn’t want it cut. She wants to grow it long like Corrine. She started Pre-K this fall and loves every second of it. She gives her friends and teachers hugs every day when school is over. She’s learning so much so quickly. She knows and can write all her letters and numbers. She can write all our names and some other words without any help. She loves to learn to write new words and shapes. She can read a few easy books, and loves to find words she knows all around her. She plays with her babies and takes care of her toys just like Doc McStuffin.  She learned to swing this summer which has been so nice for all of us. When it’s warm she’ll swing for an hour straight. This August we discovered that she had a mouthful of cavities. We went to a new dentist that would fix them under general anesthesia in the hospital. Rebecca was so brave going into the operating room all by herself after we learned minutes earlier that mom couldn’t go in with her. The procedure lasted 2 hours and she came out with her baby dressed up for surgery. She ended up having 10 cavities and got a shiny silver tooth on a molar. She thinks it was so much fun that she wants to do it again. Mom and Dad feel differently.

Johann became the 2^nd counselor in the Bishopric this summer after 8 or so years in the Young Men’s program. He’s enjoying the change in service in the ward and getting to know more people through his calling. He works so hard for our family and is a great husband and dad to the kids. Rebecca and him have a special book they read together before bed. He made Ammon a loft bed this year which turned out so nice. He helped coach Simeon’s baseball team again this year.  He enjoys the rare chance he gets to sleep in. He doesn’t seem to mind the never ending to-do list of projects around the house.

Kari- I’ve learned a lot this year about patience, bravery, asking for help and excepting help. It was a tough year for me with my depression getting worse throughout the year. This fall I finally went to the doctor and started medicine and therapy. It’s been helping not only me but everyone in the family. I’m learning to be calmer, more patient and to know what’s really important and what we can do without. It’s a work in progress, but most days I feel better able to handle life’s challenges. I spent 10 weeks this winter/spring reading and rocking our sweet nephew Levi in the NICU while he recovered from having his intestines outside of his stomach at birth.  I loved being with him and am very excited for when I have time to be a volunteer at the University Hospital. This summer I started a small photography business. It’s been such a good thing for me to use my skills and to make some money doing it. This school year is my 2^nd year teaching the beginners Spanish class. It’s been so fun brushing up on my Spanish and feeling accomplished getting lessons made for the kids. It was a hard transition for me this fall having all the kids in school every morning, but it has been a wonderful chance for me to work on improving myself.

Cosmo/Bun buns-In November we adopted the sweetest mostly black bunny. He was found wandering by a police officer and taken to the shelter. The kids had been asking for a dog for years, but we knew that a dog was more then we could handle. A sweet little rabbit was a better fit for us. They think he was about 12 months old when we adopted him. He has one ear that lacks some muscle tone so it doesn’t stick up as much and he gets called helicopter ears because of it. He doesn’t like the hardwood floors, so he stays in the front room and hallway, except when he gets daring and explores the boy’s bedroom. His favorite treats are purple lettuce, parsley, cilantro, radishes, bananas, apples and carrots. We found out quickly that he loves to chew electric cords like Simeon’s ear buds and cell phone charger! He has been such a blessing for our family in so many ways. He is very loving, grooming us and running around showing us his happiness. If he didn’t enjoy digging up our carpet he would be the perfect pet!

We are grateful for all of the chances we’ve had to learn and grow this year. The kids keep getting taller by the day and will soon pass mom up in height. We’ve had lots of smiles and laugher and wonderful family time together. Even with all the challenges 2013 brought to our family, we also had so many amazing blessings and happy times. We spent a week tent camping in Northern Minnesota exploring the head waters of the Mississippi River, fishing, swimming, cooking over the fire and hiking. It was a wonderful week of fun.

We are looking forward to more chances to learn, grow, laugh, smile and play in 2014.

The Smiths,

Johann, Kari, Simeon, Corrine, Ammon & Rebecca