2009 in Review

As 2009 comes to end, Kelly and I decided we should probably write a Family Update Letter to keep everyone aware of what is happening in our family and to help us remember years from now what happened. We have learned that the older we get, the less effective our memories are! I planned on keeping this letter at a page, but soon realized we have too many kids to summarize our lives in just one page.

This was an exciting year for our family because we had a new (and final) addition: Ty Daniel Addington joined us on April 17th. If that date rings familiar it may be because it is also the day Brooke was born seven years earlier. I think this is great; we can knock out two birthdays on the same day now. I don’t think Kelly shares my enthusiasm.

Not a lot changed in my life. I am still a Lieutenant with the Pittsburg Police Department assigned to the Investigations Division. I did get to take a month off of work when Ty was born. That is the longest amount of time I have ever taken off, and I really enjoyed bonding with Ty and giving Kelly the opportunity to get a little more sleep. Church has been great. I am still the Elders Quorum President, but I am not thrilled about the 7:15am meetings every Sunday. I finished all of the my classes for my Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership; know I just need to pass the Comp exam. I take it the second week in January. Not much else has changed for me.

Kelly’s life has been busy. Not only does she have a new baby to care for, she has to orchestrate getting the other kids to school, church activities, piano, soccer practice, doctor's appointments, keeping us all fed, etc... And keep in mind she doesn’t get much sleep because Ty wakes up every few hours to eat. Kelly is the Activity Days leader so every two weeks she gets to plan activities for about 18 girls. At least she isn’t PTA president anymore; although she is the Parliamentarian, whatever that is!

Kristina turned 19-years-old in November. She lives in American Canyon with her boyfriend Victor and she is attending the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco. In her spare time she works at Payless Shoes.

Cody has probably been the busiest of all our kids. He turned 14 in March and was ordained a Teacher. He now gets to arrive at Church 20 minutes early to prepare the sacrament. His summer was packed. He went to summer camp at Westminster Woods for the 8th year in a row; he went to Scout camp, and he went on a Mexican Cruise. Then he started High School and he loves it! He is also quite the athlete. He played soccer and his running has continued to improve. He can officially beat me on both distance running and sprinting. He is running a mile in 6:00.

Troy also had a lot of changes this year. He officially becomes a teenager just a couple weeks into 2010 and already knows everything. Amazing... He went to Scout Camp for the first time and had a great time. He then started Jr High; not fun! He has six periods with six different teachers which requires better time management and organizational skills, which Troy is working on improving. He also played soccer and he and Cody were on the same team. The brotherly rivalry had both of them playing their best. Troy still loves playing the guitar. He takes private lessons plus he takes a guitar class at school so he gets lots of practice; he is one of only two seventh graders who made it into advanced guitar.

Morgan turned 10 this year and is loving the 5th grade. She is one of the tallest girls in her class. She will be taller then Kristina within a few weeks and taller then her mom by next year if she keeps growing like a weed. Morgan loves to cook and her cooking skills are improving every day. She is having a great time learning to play the piano, and she is quite the texting expert. The other day she was in the backseat when I was driving. I received a text and saw that it was from Morgan. She texted me to change the radio station to Radio Disney! Morgan enjoyed playing soccer this season, but what she really enjoyed was going to her first concert ever with her sister Brooke. Kelly and I took them to see Miley Cyrus at the Oakland Coliseum and we had a blast; dad even liked it.

Brooke turned 7 this year and is very excited that she will be 8 next year and will be baptized. She loves the 2nd grade; she has already mastered the highest reading level required for her grade. She is also taking piano lessons with her sister and loves it. She is always practicing so we listen to the piano all evening. She loves sharing her birthday with her new baby brother. In fact, she called his birth the best present she has ever had. Brooke is always off playing with her friends. If she is not home she is off playing with either Claire, Jordan, or Taylor.

And last but not least our new addition Ty Daniel. He is great. He is always happy and makes everyone laugh. He makes our family complete. I really enjoy watching all the older kids lovingly care for their baby brother. We are looking forward to all his future endeavors in the years to come.

We are very fortunate that our Heavenly Father has continued to bless us with love, good health and good friends. Sometimes being in a large family can be hectic, but the joy and love we all share makes it worth it.