It’s
been a year filled with blessings of the Lord and growth for our family.
Highlights: running out of gas on trip to Denver in Feb; marriage of my sister
Sheree in April; family stay-cation in June including happy camping at Yuba
lake; family reunions in Midway, Seattle, and Hobble Creek; trip to Las Vegas
in the fall, St. George service trip in December; John and Lani trip to
Chengdu; visits from family and friends, daily fun in our home and answers to
prayer after prayer. Here’s a little update for each of us.
Katrina (3): smiles,
laughter, cuteness. A blessing to our
family! She told me yesterday she loves serving because it makes her
happy. Easy to love. Loves to talk,
talk, talk especially at bed time. Happy to play with friends, unhappy to run
errands with mom. Also loves hugs, tickles, being read to, and using scissors
to cut paper into really tiny pieces; loves anything tiny.
Joseph (6): fun, fun, fun.
Quick to forgive, quick to help, eager to learn; Bikes, army men figures,
legos, treasure chests, card games like Monopoly deal and Skip-bo, Great
Dalmuti—amazingly keeps up with the older crowd; capable vacuumer, improving
leaps and bounds in reading and piano skills, loves reading “Indian in the Cupboard”
with his dad, kind friend to his mom, protective older brother; great at making
deals, chasing people at recess, being a good friend at school and bringing
peace to all.
Maria (8): loving heart,
remarkable persistence, Chinese tenacity, loves to write, beautiful cursive and
recently started the Harry potter series. She loves playing with the younger
children, especially babies (good thing a new addition is coming to our family
in 2013!). She tells me so is so excited and pats my growing middle. One of
many goals she kept, was finishing the entire Book of Mormon before she was
baptized. At times it seemed impossible to her mom, but she was self-motivated
and often read for 40 minutes a day to accomplish her goal. She uses this
stick-to-it-ness in piano; she’s willing to play songs repeatedly to get them right—all
self-motivated. Younger siblings love it when she is home as she is so
attentive and playful with them.
Annemarie (10): peacemaker,
helper, reader, inquisitive, hard worker, master counter wiper: She really is a
thoughtful, kind-hearted girl. She often will be the one willing to share or do
without to bring peace and happiness to her siblings. She even shares ice cream
and other favorite treats! She reads on average a book a day, yes that is over
300 books this year, at least. She can read, write and speak in Chinese. She
pretty much amazes her parents. She also has improved a lot with persistent
practice and can perform hymns, and some fun recital songs. Her hair is long
and blonde similar to a favorite Disney character. She loves the scriptures.
Levi (11): valiant, kind,
smart, leader, great cleaner and launderer: is learning that diligence pays
off. He participated in his first piano competition performing “Tarantella” and
“Scherzo in D minor” receiving “superior” marks from all judges. He also has
seen rewards for effort and work, receiving all possible awards as a Webelo, earning
the “super achiever award”, and already has 8 merit badges. More importantly,
he is the most energetic playmate at home and makes all his siblings and
especially his mom laugh and laugh. Very kind and thoughtful to Katrina. Uses
his computer skills, more for family history research than computer games.
Lani: working on
mastering motherhood, wondering how many times her children will need to
forgive her for mistakes made; truly finds joy in her children, grateful for
time to landscape, study, organize, write and love; enjoys: speaking to youth,
traveling with her husband, speaking with her husband, finding super deals; thoroughly
loves: playing with, cooking with, cleaning with, learning with, reading with,
memorizing scriptures and poems with, talking with her children. Celebrates
gospel learning and teaching. Grateful for a thoughtful, unselfish, brilliant (not
to mention handsome!) husband who works magic in his family and professional
life.
John: patient
homework helper, full of ingenuity, time-efficiency master, proficient
dish-washer,favorite professor and speaker to youth and Time Out for Women,
writes, writes, researches and writes some more. 12 articles (wow!) published
this year (see http://johnhiltoniii.com/book-of-mormon/ for his
favorites), and a new book called The Big
Picture with Deseret Book. A 2012 highlight for him was being a guest
professor in China for one month with Lion Education.
Frequently
the volume at the dinner table is way too high, or it seems no one is happy, but
we are learning to follow my grandmother’s saying that “a grateful heart is a
happy heart” and count our blessings rather than the perceived problems. We
really miss this grandmother who passed on in March of this year, but we are
grateful for her uplifting influence on us of love, forgiveness, gratitude, and
kindness. We hope amidst all the chaos of a young family we are developing
these Christ-like attributes as well.
Merry Christmas!
Love, John and Lani Hilton Family
