Family/Friends,
Another year down the tubes...
Wait, that's not the best way to open a Christmas letter, let's try this again.
What
another wonderful year this has been! (better). So much happens over
the course of a year but it all seems to go by too fast. Such is the
case with our family, as it's been one to remember for sure. First and
foremost we welcomed another wonderful addition to the McCoy household
of Springville, UT. Sophia Rose was born
Feb. 2nd
and weighed 17 lbs. 13 oz. Wait, that's a typo. She was only 7 lbs. I'm
sure Amanda wouldn't have appreciated that. She is just as cheerful and
happy as our first baby girl. Emma has been really good with the
adjustment actually. She loves her baby sister and is always excited to
see her when Sophie wakes up from her naps. There have been a few bites
and laying-on-top-of's but for the most part they play really well
together. Sophie is now 10 months old and is pulling herself up on
things, as well as climbing the stairs all by herself. She's an
easy-going, happy baby and has been an absolute joy to have around. She
does a little head shake any time music starts playing so it looks like
we'll have another dancer in the family. With Garlan's Michael
Jackson-esque moves we think she'll be in good hands.
Emma
is coming up on three this next March, which she says quite often now-
"I turn free, in March." Now that she's talking (non-stop) it's been fun
to hear her say things. Her favorites this year are: "I want sparkle
may-doe" (a YouTube clip of sparkle play dough, whatever that is), "Is
my favorite", "Uncle Spencer in Oakland, playing football", "You go to
work Dad? At Emma's BYU?", "Sophie's awake!", "Come snuggle with me. Sit
here", and of course the most-oft used "I can't want that". All in all
she makes us laugh and is a very good girl. Although she finally figured
out how to climb out of her crib so we switched it to a day-bed and now
bedtime takes a lot longer with having to put her down multiple times.
We eventually switched locks so we could lock her door from the outside
to keep her in her room if needs be. As we're putting it on she says
"You putting the lock on? To lock me in?" It's not cruel or unusual, so
no CPS calls are necessary.
In addition to Sophie, we did have
another person added to our family, albeit temporarily. Citlali was in
Amanda's Moms Young Women's program in Washington and graduated high
school this past June. She was preparing for a mission and wanted to
work in order to save up some money for it. We all decided to have her
come down and live with us while she got ready. She landed a job at
Pizza Factory and babysat a girl about Sophie's age for a couple who
both worked. She also helped tremendously with Emma and Sophie, who both
love her. She's wonderful with kids and was always very kind to watch
our girls if we ever needed (or wanted) to go out for a bit. Over
Conference weekend she got her call and will be going to the Illinois,
Chicago mission, Spanish speaking. She reports in late January and is
really excited to go. She went home for Christmas to be with her family
but we'll always be grateful for the opportunity to have her with us for
a time and to become friends. She'll be a wonderful missionary.
The
other adults are doing nicely as well. Manda took over as her unit's
head of education, which has added to her responsibilities at the
hospital in Payson. She enjoys teaching and this has given her a chance
to do that, in addition to still helping out part-time at BYU's nursing
program. Those will both probably fall by the wayside as she recently
signed a lucrative contract with Victoria Secret to be their top model.
She'll be touring with them this next year to teach the other models how
to actually be beautiful. She does a wonderful job at keeping our home
running smoothly. She's a great example of service to others and is
constantly looking for ways to help people in our neighborhood and ward.
She's currently the Relief Society Secretary and has enjoyed that
calling for most of the year. She participated in a number of
races/sprint triathlons and hopes to drag her husband out to one of them
in the near future. (Only one sentence in that paragraph was made up.
She has no hopes of getting Garlan out for a triathlon...)
Garlan
has had an extraordinary year. 2014 was kind to him to say the least.
First of all, he started balding (this in addition to the already
receding hairline up front). He's been ecstatic about that. He's also
seen his once-promising basketball career decline faster than
anticipated, which is always fun to see. He even almost made a shot this
past month! We're all very proud of his efforts on that front. He's
currently serving in the Young Men's program with the Deacons and has
had fun getting to know the boys. Despite his best efforts they all
immediately idolized him as the most interesting man they've ever met.
Here are a few notable examples of what they've said about him:
1. He once climbed Mt. Everest, going downhill the whole time
2. He once ran out of salt, so he squeezed a handful out of ocean water
3. He once had a dream about spanking his kids. They woke up the next morning with sore bums
4. When he per-chances to sneeze, an alternate universe experiences their own Big Bang
5. He once spilled some water while walking through the desert. The desert gave it back
6. He is recognized as the 51st state in America
7. A skunk once sprayed him. For the next decade that smell was the highest selling cologne on the market
8. He invented Chuck Norris jokes one day to amuse himself
9. While swimming one day he accidentally discovered the Mariana Trench
10. He once met the Most Interesting Woman in the World, but didn't find her that interesting
11. He can make water out of H1O
12. His middle name has its own shadow
13. Bill Gates pays him rent
14. National anthems sing his name before their sporting events
15. He discovered oil. And gold
16. Father Time stops for him
17. Sliced bread is the greatest thing since him
18. He once hit his head on the Sun, so he invented gravity
20. He doesn't always drink beer, but when he does he talks to his Bishop
When
Garlan's not busy doing all of that he works a 8-5 job doing finance in
BYU's Purchasing & Travel dept. which has been a good spot for him.
Trips this year for the family included the annual McCoy March Madness
get-together in Vegas, a work trip (with a couple vacation days added on
at the end) to San Diego, a visit to G-Ma and G-Pa's dairy/beef farm in
Washington, and a weekend getaway (parents only) to St. George with
some friends. We've had joys, sadness, frustrations, happiness,
excitement and letdowns all throughout the year, but above all we're
very fortunate to be in the situation we are- healthy/happy children who
mean everything to us, stable jobs, a great neighborhood and ward that
we're a part of, and most importantly the Gospel that is everything we
do and are. This year has come and (is almost) gone, but we want to
express our appreciation to all those who make our lives better. We look
forward to your association in the years to come and may the Lord bless
you and yours this next year!
With Love,
Garlan, Amanda, Emma, Sophie, baby-boy-on-the-way! (j/k)
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