For My Brother

Irish He Is
A strange blend of shyness, of pride and conceit,
And stubborn refusal to bow in defeat
He’s spoiling and ready to argue and fight,
... Yet the smile of a child fills his soul with delight.
His eyes are the quickest to well up in tears,
Yet his strength is the strongest to banish your fears.
His hate is as fierce as his devotion is grand,
And there is no middle ground on which he will stand.
He’s wild and he’s gentle, he’s good and he’s bad.
He’s proud and he’s humble, he’s happy and sad.
He’s in love with the ocean, the earth and the skies,
He’s enamoured with beauty wherever it lies.
He’s victor and victim, a star and a clod,
But mostly he’s Irish... in love with his God.


I just read this poem and it made me think of my brother. I'd love to know the origin of the poem but couldn't find an author on the internet. If anyone knows who wrote it, please, leave a comment.

Playing In The Snow

Lots of snow yesterday and last night so we played in the snow for a while today.

Jessica and Andrew

April

Andrew

Jessica

April doing an angel

The angel I did

Kylie doing an angel

Andrew, he said he was making a "glop", not an angel.

April trapped, she didn't want to mess up her angel

The Christmas Card 2012

December 2012



Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We have a tradition in our family where every year we think of something significant we have done as a family and then find a Christmas ornament for our tree to be a symbol of that event. Things like new babies, going to Disneyland, buying a house, etc. are some of the ornaments we’ve done over the last thirteen years. This year we tried to figure out something significant we had all done as a family and couldn’t think of a thing everyone had done. With the kids variety of activities and interests and how busy Jared has been with travelling for work it’s been crazy. So this past weekend we took a whole day to spend as a family riding the new commuter train and doing “touristy” stuff up in Salt Lake. It was lots of fun and we found at least one activity each person could enjoy.

Jared is working for a health supplement company in Draper, Utah. He’s had a chance to work with them from the earliest phase of growth to a point where they are now becoming profitable. It’s meant a lot of long hours and some international travel but Jared enjoys what he does and is an expert in financial management for this kind of marketing.

Amy has been able to tackle a few interesting family history projects for friends and acquaintances lately and finds a lot of satisfaction in dusting off that ol’ college degree. She is a Cub Scout Den Leader for the Bears and enjoys working with the boys. She is in a book club and loves the friends and books it has brought into her life.

Krista is in 7th grade at the Junior High this year. She’s taking honors classes and has joined the choir. In October she earned her pointe shoes for ballet, this is a major accomplishment and she continues to put hours every week into dancing. For her 12th birthday she got her ears pierced and now has a deep love of sparkly earrings, vintage earrings, dangly earrings, and earrings that may or may not go with her outfit.

Kylie is in 3rd grade and keeps us all informed about her various interests. Her biggest fascination right now is anything having to do with the TV show Monster High. She watches anything she can on TV or the internet that will further her knowledge of the show and the characters. She has a collection of the dolls and accessories and an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Monster High. Kylie enjoys her jazz dance class and is doing great at her piano lessons.

April started Kindergarten this year and has learned all kinds of excellent new things. Her homework yesterday was to demonstrate tying her shoes, spelling a few short words, and writing the numbers 1-20. She’s doing great in school and loves that her best friend, Clara, is in her class. April enjoys her dance class and likes to put on some music and show us all her flashy dance moves.

Andrew is four this year. He likes Spiderman, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Diego, and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. His best friend, Henry, lives next door and the two of them have a great time together. Andrew is at that great stage where he collects random rocks and bits of sticks and things and keeps them in his pockets so we have to be careful about checking his clothes before tossing things in the wash.

Jessica turned two a few months back and all the stereotypes apply. She’s a busy little whirlwind of activity and destruction and can somehow be louder than all of her other siblings combined. She’s also incredibly cute, snuggly, and sweet. She’s working on potty-training and is very close to moving up from a crib to a regular bed.

All our best to you and yours!
The Stone Family