Christmas Letter 2012

Dear Family and Friends:                                                                                                                      

It is hard to believe that another year has gone by.  Merry Christmas!  Our family is well, and we hope the same is true for each of you.  Our kids are busier than ever, which means we spend most of our time just trying to keep up with them. 

Austin will turn 16 in May (translation: this kid could be driving unsupervised down your street and dating your daughter in a few short months; don’t say I didn’t warn you!).   I’m not sure who is more excited –he to drive or me to not, as I am definitely looking forward to being fired from my position as his personal chauffer.  He finished his Eagle in May (Hallelujah!).  We dropped off the final paperwork and, within an hour, signed a contract on his long-awaited cell phone.  He promptly recorded the voicemail message to sound like he was actually answering the phone.   He did such a good job that I fell for his clever trick every. single. time.  I would hear his voice say, “hello,” and start talking for several seconds before being cut off and realizing that I was actually talking to myself.  This went on for months.  I never learned my lesson and every encounter I had with his blasted voicemail left me wanting to throw his phone from the nearest mountaintop.  He finally took mercy on me and changed the message –thank goodness.  He is doing great in school and no longer requires us to nag him to do his best.  He actually, really, truly cares about his grades!  His favorite subjects are History and French, and he is currently trying to figure out how to get himself to France.  I tell him to keep dreaming because I have lived way longer than he has, and I have yet to go myself.

Ashleigh is a “sevie” this year (this is what everyone at her school calls the seventh graders).  Junior High has been an adjustment, but she is doing great.  She has lots of cute friends and has been able to avoid most of the drama that is normally associated with this time in life.  She is a talented girl and still loves to stay busy.  She is taking sewing, voice and piano lessons (all half-time lest you think we are crazy), and is still clogging every week.  She played lacrosse this fall, but whether she liked it enough to stick with it is pending.  Ashleigh will be a teenager by the end of the month and has already acquired a taste for all the things that teenagers like:  music, clothes, shoes, jewelry and makeup.  Her favorite destination is the mall.  She tells me that she even loves the way it smells there.  I tell her to get a job ASAP, because it smells expensive to me.  Ashleigh loves to make crafts and bake goodies.  I once heard a quote that said something like, “a messy kitchen is a happy kitchen.”  If that is true, then our kitchen is never happier than when Ashleigh is trying out a new recipe.  She discovered Pinterest this year and regularly stalks my boards for fresh ideas.  I should probably be glad that someone is making use of all the time I waste on that website.  She is very creative, and it has been fun to see her learn and try new things.

Hayden is still our avid, over-the-top BYU fan.  I went to a basketball game with Cameron last month and, a few minutes into the game, I realized that I had missed 5 phone calls and had 3 voicemail messages from home.  Each was from Hayden.  In the first message, he wanted to know what channel the game was on because he could not find it on TV.  The second one was the same, but he was stressed because he knew the game had started and he was missing it.  By the third message he was in a full-blown panic.  Each message was left within one minute of the previous message, equaling a grand total of three minutes that it took for him to arrive at a complete melt down.  A true fan for sure.  Hayden played flag football again this year and loved every minute of it.  He is excited to play Jr. Jazz basketball this winter.  He rarely goes to school without some kind of a ball in his hand or backpack.  His Christmas wish-list includes a soccer goal and Under Armor (because it makes you play better football, right?).  I think it is safe to say that he loves sports.   He also loves shoes.  I don’t know how it happened, but I have a son with a shoe fetish.  He is always asking for a new pair of shoes.  The problem is, I don’t believe in buying shoes unless they are needed, and he just doesn’t need any more.  He already has cleats, flip-flops, tennis shoes, hiking boots, winter boots and church shoes –more than enough, if you ask me.  He doesn’t agree, and has added new shoes to his Christmas list as well.  I would really like to ask Santa if any other nine-year-old boy has requested shoes this year or if Hayden is the only one.

Ellie is in first grade and trying to like being at school all day.  Every time I drive carpool the last thing she says to me before pushing the car door shut is, “When can I get checked out early from school?”  In the past, she has been checked out for doctor and dental appointments.  I can’t decide if she would really rather receive immunizations or have cavities filled than go to school, or if she is just trying to extend the goodbye process.  I say process, because with her, a proper goodbye is just that.  According to her rules, we are required to give her a hug and a kiss, tell her how long we will be gone (which she then promptly translates into how many sessions of general conference this amount of time is equivalent to), say the exact words “goodbye” and “I love you,” and wave.  If we miss a step…let’s just say we never miss a step.  She is headstrong (for good or for bad), smart, and plenty sassy.  We get a kick out of her when she is in a good mood and try to stay out of her way when she is not.  One thing that sets Ellie apart from many other six-year-olds is that she loves to eat her vegetables.  She was delighted to discover that we had green bell peppers growing in the garden this summer and would often pick and wash and eat them like an apple.  One day, she accidentally picked and bit into a jalapeño pepper instead.  She came into the house with tears streaming down her face, holding the remaining half of the offending pepper in hand and demanded, “What is wrong with this pepper – it is SO hot!”  Funny girl!

Hadley is our little melt-your-heart, snuggle-bunny of a girl.  She will bring her favorite blanket, “Pinkie” (which used to actually be pink, and is now quite threadbare and not very pink at all) and curl up in my lap for long stretches of time.  She likes to twist her blanket between two fingers on one hand and suck her thumb on the other while we rock or read stories together.  She is a real mama’s girl right now which is both a blessing and a curse.  Most of the time I love it, but sometimes I wish she would let her dad carry her to bed, brush her teeth, read her a story, help her with prayers, tuck her in, bring her a drink, turn on her night-light, adjust her door just right, and then tuck her in and adjust her door five more times when she gets up for more drinks and trips to the bathroom (can you say high maintenance?).   She and I have an ongoing negotiation between us.  I tell her that I want her to stay little forever and offer her all kinds of crazy bribes if she will just stop getting bigger.  I can usually talk her into agreeing to the deal and sometimes we even shake on it.  Then, out of nowhere, and in the most random places she will announce very loudly for all to hear, “Mom!  I’m growing up!”, as if she just saw it happen in that very moment.   And with that, we begin a new round of negotiations.   Her favorite punch line to ANY joke is “chicken nugget!”  For some reason, she thinks this is so funny and, while I can’t explain why, somehow, the rest of us do too.   Nuts.

Last week in church, I was thumbing through my scriptures, reading different passages that I had previously highlighted when I came across Luke 19:10: “The Son of God is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  I was struck with the power of these words as I realized that in this single sentence He tells us why He came.  He came to seek; He came to save…that which was lost.  Whether we realize it or not, every single one of us is lost to the Father without the Son.  He is called the Savior of the world for a reason—because His purpose is to save us.  This scripture also speaks to me of His power to save and redeem that which is lost to each of us in this life.  When Annie died, we lost a precious daughter, a baby sister, a piece of ourselves, and part of our hearts.  Not a day goes by that we don’t ache for that which we have lost.  We know that we are not alone, that many are suffering, and that loss is an inevitable part of this life.  However, we also know that because He came “to save,” these things are not lost from us forever.  Words cannot begin to express our gratitude for this.  And then there is the promised seeking.  From this verse of scripture, we know that He is seeking us, and we feel to ask ourselves: 

Are we seeking Him?

Merry Christmas,

 

Cameron, Amy, Austin, Ashleigh, Hayden, Ellie and Hadley Sabin

Relief Society Spotlight

Amy Sabin
   

I was born and raised in Sandy, Utah.  I went to Brighton High School where I ran track (for one year), sang in the choir and met a cute boy with a bowl-cut that later became my husband.  My dad was a dentist and I began working for him full-time every summer at the age of fourteen.   I did not appreciate it then, but now feel so grateful that he taught me the value of hard work.

After graduating from high school, I decided I wanted to become a dental hygienist and graduated from Weber State three years later.  As it turns out, I have never had a job outside of a dental office.

Our family lived in Midvale, Utah; Iowa City, Iowa; and Silver Spring, Maryland before finally settling here in Lehi.  We have had great experiences and met wonderful people wherever we have lived (I look forward every year to the Christmas cards we receive from our friends across the country), but we feel so blessed to have ended up here.  The best part, hands down, is living among such outstanding people.

I have six children: two boys and four girls (our youngest daughter passed away in August, 2010).  I used to have hobbies (mostly scrapbooking), but it seems that these days I am too busy keeping up with my kids to really pursue them.  I do like to do projects around the house (painting, hanging bead board, refinishing furniture, etc.) and am definitely a “do-it-yourselfer” (Cameron did not appreciate this quality when we put in our sprinklers and spent countless hours digging trenches, just because we could). Some of my favorite things are: date night with my hubby, snuggling with my little ones, reading a good book, going on vacation and sleeping in. 

 I’m not sure I can pick one favorite scripture, but one that I love is found in Moroni 7:41:

“And what is it that ye shall hope for?  Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.”

I love this scripture because I have learned firsthand, that while we hope for many things in this life, the only sure hope we have is in Him and in His promises. 

Some things on my bucket list are:  taking photography classes; traveling to France; vacationing in a bungalow in Tahiti; serving a mission; and learning to quilt.  My favorite non-dessert foods are shrimp, mushrooms and tomatoes.  My favorite desserts usually involve chocolate…the darker the better. 

Something nobody knows about me (I’m counting this for my funny story as well): When I was in college, I went country dancing a lot.  After tons of practice, my dance partner (Cameron was on a mission at this time and I really wasn’t very good at “waiting” for him) and I entered a contest at The Palace, a dance club that used to be near BYU campus (this is really dating me!).  We ended up winning and the grand prize included, among other things, matching hand-made cowboy vests and a year of free admission to the club.  We never wore the vests, but the free admission saved us a whole lot of money that year.  When I look back on this experience, it doesn’t even seem like something I would ever do, so please don’t ask me to show you any moves as they have long been forgotten and I would be too embarrassed to show you anyway. 

A favorite recipe: I love this one because it is so easy and I usually have everything on hand to make it.  It is especially good when served warm.

Death by Chocolate Cake

¾ c. Sour Cream

4 Eggs

½ c. Water

½ c. Oil

1 Chocolate Cake Mix

1 small box Chocolate Pudding

1 c. Chocolate Chips

Powdered Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Beat sour cream, eggs, water and oil together in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed.  Add cake mix and pudding mix.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Place batter in greased and floured bundt pan.  Bake 45-55 minutes, or until knife inserted comes out clean.  While still warm, invert cake onto serving platter.  Sift powdered sugar over top of cake and serve. 

 

 

 

Dear Family and Friends:                                                                                                                                              

Merry Christmas!  We hope you are well.  As our kids grow older, we find that we are heading in different directions ALL the time, so this holiday season, we are looking forward to just being together.   It is always fun to reflect on the past year and see how we have changed and grown (well…hopefully, just the kids have grown).  It has never been difficult for us to count our blessings, even when we have been through hard times, and this year is no exception.

Austin (14) has grown tremendously this year.  He is now taller than me and wearing the same size shoe as his dad (size 13!). He is working hard in school, especially now that his grades “count” for college (it probably helps that we are CONSTANTLY on his case).  He is loving lacrosse and is playing on the JV team for Lehi High. He still loves video games, reading and especially eating.  I’m coming to realize that keeping a 14-year-old boy fed is like throwing money to the wind.  I would guess that every time Austin even comes near my kitchen, it costs me at least two dollars in groceries –yikes!  Austin has a wonderful group of friends and loves spending time with them whenever he can.  He is a great kid and even the girls are starting to take notice (if you get the chance, you might ask him about the Hot Tamales that showed up on our doorstep last summer).  He is becoming a master at debating anything and everything.  When we complain, he is quick to point out that it is not his fault that he is the son of a lawyer and is, therefore, genetically wired to argue (and then, he proceeds to debate how this makes any sense at all).

Ashleigh (almost 12) is our child that keeps us running the most.  She has many interests and wants to pursue them all (never mind that there are not enough hours in a day to do everything she wants to do).   She is still playing soccer and involved in clogging.  She takes piano and sings in the ward choir.  She is a great babysitter and is requested often by families in the neighborhood.  There are many other activities she would like to be involved in, but we have to draw the line somewhere. Ashleigh is very social and outgoing, and when we watch her with her friends, we can hardly believe that we used to think of her as shy and timid.  She is a great student and is somewhat of a perfectionist, so instead of pushing her to do better at school, we usually find ourselves telling her to “chill out,” and “let it go.”  She is, no doubt, hitting the “tween” stage of life as evidenced by her Christmas wish-list this year:  clothes, a crimping iron, music and…a giant Costco teddy-bear (doesn’t every girl need a teddy bear that stands at nearly 5-feet tall?).  She is growing up way too fast, and with Junior High looming in her future, she has us wishing that time would slow down a bit. 

Hayden (8) is the biggest BYU fan that you could ever hope to meet.  He loves everything about it, and I am starting to wonder if, maybe, he actually does “bleed blue.”  He is happy (or rather, ecstatic) to attend any game, any time, in any weather (and I mean ANY weather), as long as BYU is playing.  While the other kids attend once in a while, and mostly for the food and to be with cousins, Hayden goes because he loves the game.  We came home last week to a pre-recorded message on our answering machine from J.J. DiLuigi (one that I am sure every season football ticket holder received).   J.J. invited our family to attend the bowl game in Dallas, Texas at the end of the month and said that he really hoped to see us there.  Hayden nearly lost his mind to think that he had been personally invited by his all-time favorite football player to the game, and cried for more than an hour when we told him that we would not be going.  “But Mom, (sob!)…I’ve never even been to a bowl game, and J.J. said he wants to see me there!”  Hayden has more fashion sense than the rest of us combined.   We can’t figure out where he learns what is “cool,” but he seems to be right on with the trends.  Whether it is skinny jeans, skater shoes or layered shirts, if it’s in style, it’s on his radar.  I took him to get his hair-cut last month, and while he waited for his turn, he found the “perfect” style in a magazine.  When his name was called, he did not hesitate to show the hairstylist exactly what he wanted done.  She was clearly amused.  Hayden played soccer and flag football this year and wants to try lacrosse in the spring.   When it comes to sports, he loves them all.  He is extremely enthusiastic and always excited about the fun things planned for each day.  This is a problem when there are no fun things planned for the day.

Ellie (5) started kindergarten this year.  She is as smart as a whip and packs enough attitude to keep anyone on their toes.  She dresses herself every day and does not want any input from me, so we have made a deal that as long as she is dressed modestly and appropriately for the weather, I will try to keep my opinions to myself.  This has proven to be very difficult, and on several occasions, I have had to bite my tongue as I’ve watched her climb into the carpool van in an outfit that might consist of something like: a navy-blue BYU t-shirt, a bright pink and orange ruffled skirt and knee-high black boots (this particular outfit has been our reality on more than one occasion).  At times like these, I remind myself that not every battle is worth fighting (unless, it is Sunday morning and we are getting ready for church…then, I tell myself that it is time to put my game face on and prepare for battle).  Ellie is known at our house for her quick wit and her quick temper.  Last month, she woke up in a bad mood and was taking it out on anyone that crossed her path.  I implored her to stop yelling at everyone, when, in response, she snapped, “I am not yelling at everyone!  I have not even seen Ashleigh yet!”  She didn’t think this was funny, but the rest of us had a good laugh!  Her favorite past-time, of late, is making wish-lists for Santa.  She spends hours poring over magazines and ads, circling what she wants (which is almost every single thing on every single page) and then cutting and pasting her favorites onto one of her many lists.  I can just imagine how overwhelming all of this is for Santa, and can only hope that when a child wants everything, then anything will do.

Hadley (almost 3) is as sweet as they come, but is learning to put up a fight when she does not get what she wants.  She loves to be held and rocked and is, by far, our most snuggly child (which is saying a lot, because all of our children have been snugglers). As she is learning to talk more, it is obvious that she has older siblings because her vocabulary includes phrases like:  “That be awesome,” and “What the heck?”  She loves to sing, especially the primary songs with actions, so our family spends a fair amount of time looking out the window at “popcorn popping” and melting all over the floor like snowmen that were once “tall, tall, tall.”  It always makes me smile to watch even her fourteen-year old brother participate, because in these moments, it is obvious that she has this entire family wrapped around her little finger.  She can be a stinker at church and has taken to yelling out, for all to hear, “I don’t want to go time-out” when she knows that time-out is exactly where she is headed.   She will soon be three, and we are hoping that she will soon be potty-trained.  To say that we are excited about this is an understatement.  Now, if we could just get her to be as excited about it as we are, we would have it made.

Annie would have been one this year.  Instead of celebrating milestones with her, we marked many firsts without her.  We truly miss her all the time.  A prayer is rarely said in our home when mention isn’t made of our littlest one that is not here.   While we certainly ache for what might have been, we look forward with great anticipation to the miracle of what will be.  In a Christmas devotional last week, President Monson referred to this miracle, born of Jesus Christ, when he said, “Because He came to earth, there is meaning to our mortal existence.  Because He came, death has lost its sting, the grave its victory.  We will live again…because He came.”  For our family, this means that because He came, our tears will, one day, be no more.  Because He came, our empty arms won’t be empty forever.  Because He came, broken hearts (hers and ours) will, someday, be made whole.  Because He came, we know that we will have our Annie back again.

We are so glad He came.

Merry Christmas and much love,

Cameron, Amy, Austin, Ashleigh, Hayden, Ellie and Hadley Sabin

Hayden's Eighth Birthday Party

 

 

 

Austin Becomes A Teacher

Annie's First Birthday

Wishing she was here...

 

 

 

 

Rub-A-Dub-Dub,

Hadley's in the tub.