Our Family: 2015

Impromptu family photo taken on Megan's 18th birthday

2015 has been full. Our lives have not been without challenges, but we are all well and have faith that our future will be bright! We miss far-away family and friends and love the way the Christmas season brings joyful memories to the forefront and gives us a chance to reconnect through greetings. Here are a few of our individual thoughts regarding this past year; summaries of our entire year in review can be perused by scrolling down through past posts.

MARC - I continue to split my time between leading two research projects at NIST, serving as a Bishop, and being a dad. I am enjoying the time I occasionally get to spend with Nikki, and time we get to spend with our two teenage children - well, one child and one young adult. I won't comment on which is which. Megan and I have been running together, and she has a goal for a half-Marathon before she graduates high-school. I am happy to run it with her, although don't feel the need to pay someone so that I can run 13.1 miles. (I'd prefer to run for free...). I also enjoyed working with Jacob on his Eagle Project. It is a 60 foot long, 6.5 foot wide bridge spanning a marshy area on a nature trail in our community. Did I mention it is 60 foot long? Collectively we hauled > 4 tons of cement and > 3 tons of lumber down a steep incline, then spent > 50 hours each cutting and bolting and screwing it together. Jacob's friends put in many hundreds of hours in addition. For a time it seemed that they stopped taking his phone calls... (OK - maybe it just seemed that way, but maybe not...). It has really been wonderful watching my kids grow into capable, caring adults. I am grateful for the influence of their mother. It is a rocky road sometimes, but diamonds require considerable heat and pressure to form.

NIKKI - It's the most wonderful time of the year! With all my heart, this is how I feel. Some view Christmastime as stressful, but I simply want to drink in the joy. (Sappy, yes, but true!) It's been a blessing having both Megan and Jacob in the same school for this one last year before Megan heads off to college. It's wonderful to support them in all of the good things they are doing. Often, it's exhausting. But there isn't a thing I would change. Retirement has been an adjustment, but I am enjoying being able to better support my family in all of their endeavors, particularly with teenage athletes who endeavor to eat constantly and so need a mom who can shop and cook constantly! This year I developed an affinity for Thai food and have become pretty decent Thai cook. In my spare time, I am having fun doing some web development and being a "Lash Lady" (selling naturally based mineral cosmetics).

MEGAN -This year has been full of transitions for me. I've been in the middle of the typical college search and application process, and it's been an adjustment for me and my parents to start planning with college in mind. I still run, but I'm working on transitioning more into a music focus. I have the amazing support of my piano teacher, my music teachers at school, and my parents as I start to play more for events and learn about being a formal, professional musician. Most exciting has been the opportunities that have opened up to meet new people and get exposure to the real world that isn't High School. It's a big place out there! But Im thankful to have the people that I love around me.

JACOB - This year, for me, has been full of new things, High School and High School sports, including football and track, and so far I am enjoying them both. This year I have been working on getting my Eagle Award. For my project I built a 60 foot long bridge over a section on a nature trail that has a spring running through it, making it very muddy and near impossible to walk over. The whole project took me alone over 50 hours, not including the hours that others put in; but the project turned out very well and it is very sturdy and looks good. Also, this summer I went on a 51 mile canoe trip, which was a lot of work, but was very fun and was definitely worth it.