{A LooK at 2007-better late than never?}

kEllY – I wasn’t looking forward to it but I knew it would someday happen and it did -my Mom passed away in July. She was my best friend and an example to me of being a faithful daughter of God. It was difficult to see her struggle with health issues over the past years but she endured. She is my hero and always will be & although I miss her terribly, I feel comfort in knowing I will see her again. I am really grateful to still have my wonderful, loving Dad who is always there for me. I keep busy running the household, overseeing the boyz, blogging, digital scrap booking & I finally decided it was time to lose weight. (37 pounds so far!) Yea, Me!

David – (the love of my life) didn’t get to play near enough golf this year. He played in his softball tournament in Vegas and I think he made it to Primm once or twice to golf with buddies from work. He works hard at his job, 19 ½ years with the State - countdown to retirement! He loves his boyz and loves being a Grandpa to Brooklynn. He especially loves me and that is the best!

Joyce, Shaun & Brooklynn,19 months - moved to Arizona after Shaun graduated from BYU. They bought a beautiful house & have been having fun landscaping and decorating it. Joyce has been busy blogging (she’s the one who got me started), making baby hair bows, tutus, bracelets, belts & I’m sure a lot of other things that would make me proud of her crafting skills. Shaun passed all of his accounting tests and is a CPA! My cute granddaughter, Brooklynn, is walking & talking up a storm. She is a grown up girl in a little body, just like her mom was at that age. Déjà vu!

Aaron,22 - spent the summer in Indianapolis selling Honeywell Security systems. He goes to school at BYU Salt Lake Center, works hard at putting together his sales team for next summer, plays lots of sports, gets lots of injuries (Mom gets lots of phone calls about them) but he seems to be happy loving life. It is so great to see him maturing into a wonderful man & figuring things out for himself and for the future.

Jake,15 (H.S. sophomore) –sings in the concert choir, chamber choir & is the drummer for the show choir band. He is doing well in Spanish 3 & his AP classes. He got braces & had two surgeries, one to remove a baby tooth & add a chain to pull up a permanent tooth which was growing sideways and the other surgery for varicocele. He attended EFY at BYU & is hoping to travel to Boston in the spring to perform with his school choirs. Oh, and he could have his driving permit if he would just do his Eagle project!

Sam,13 (8th grade) –loves trivia, going fishing, doing bike tricks and especially see how much air he can get going over jumps especially the dirt jumps near our house. It seems every day he shows us a new bruise or cut or scrape or is complaining about something that is sore. He also has a detailed story to go with it so be prepared to spend some time with Sam if you ask him how he got one of his injuries. He had his bike stolen over the summer and it was heart breaking, but with the help of some loved ones, he was able to buy another (Thank you g-pa Bill). He is a fun boy to be around and is looking forward to High School.

Thomas,9 (4th grade) - loves to play Guitar Hero, go fishing with Sam & ride his bike. He is a math wiz and makes friends easily. He still loves motorcycles and wishes he had his own. Until then, he loves to go to friends’ houses to ride theirs. He is already planning what to be when he grows up so he can buy stuff he wants. He is smart - a thinker and I sometimes hear him say things that I think are interesting for a 9 year old. I know as boys get older they think they’re tough but he & Adam still love it when I sing their favorite lullaby to them at bedtime.

Adam(AJ),7 (2nd grade) – is always smiling! He always has! He had oral surgery to remove an extra permanent tooth, is a soccer star & loves to read, read, read! He is the only one in the house that is a pro bowler in Wii (a video game system that g-ma & g-pa D gave the boyz for Christmas, thank you g-ma & g-pa, we ALL love it!)

Isaac,4- loves preschool, riding anything with wheels, playing with friends & playing Wii, especially the baseball game. He is a fun, lovable boy who really LOVES his mom!

Eli,19 months- is walking, trying to talk, loves to be outside & brush his teeth. He is a happy little snuggle boy that fits right in with the rest! He loves it when Brooklynn, his niece who is 3 days younger, comes to visit. They are going to be the best of friends if Eli has it his way.

Dutchess, our 11 year old border collie – has been keeper & protector of the boyz for many years. She has herded them around the yard & let them nap on her. She has been the best dog, loving and caring for all of us. Sadly she was diagnosed with lympho sarcoma on Christmas Eve and won’t be with us much longer. We will enjoy the time we have left with her & cherish the memories.

It seems that when faced with challenges & trials we wonder how we will get through them but somehow we do. We turn to our Heavenly Father, our Savior and our family & friends to help us and uplift us. We are grateful to have you, our family & friends, in our lives. Thank you for your love and friendship. We hope you have a wonderful 2008!

Love, the DeSchepper Family