Meeks Family Christmas Letter

Hello Family & Friends,


We hope that you are all healthy, happy, and full of the Christmas Spirit. What a wonderful year 2008 has been for our family. We moved at the beginning of the year back to Bakersfield because of the market and a great opportuniy to buy our first home. We found our home in April and moved in the beginning of May. We love our house and we are very grateful for the opportunity to buy a home and to get to know the wonderful people in Rosedale Ward and hang out with our friends in Bakersfield. We miss our good friends in LA and they will always hold a special place in our hearts. Tye and I really enjoyed our time in LA and we are very grateful for all of the experiences we had there especially being so close to the Temple.

Khalei and Kendyl really enjoy having a backyard to play in. They have helped us plant flowers, and loved watching Tye put up Christmas lights. I have loved parking my car in our garage, doing laundry in my home, planting flowers, planning decorating ideas for the house, and cooking and baking in our kitchen. Here is some more information about our family.



Khalei is 4 and she loves to play with her cousins and friends, sing, dance, read (pretend to read), and listen to her parents read her books, play dress up and put on shows, and watch movies. I have had the opportunity to teach her preschool with 2 other moms from our ward this year again and it is so rewarding to teach her and watch her learn. She loves drawing and learning to write all of her letters. She was able to write her name last year but has improved alot and writes her name and other words very well. At the ward Christmas party this year Khalei and Kendyl were waiting somewhat patiently for me to help clean up so we could leave. The microphone was being put away when Khalei went over to one of the bishopric and asked if she could sing a song. He said sure and plugged it in for her. She sang what I thought (of course I am a little bias) was the most beautiful rendison of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. I was actually pretty shocked. She loves to sing and dance at home but usually gets pretty shy around other people. Khalei can also be pretty dramatic, imagine that. If she get's in trouble she immediately starts to say or cry , " I'm such a bad girl, I'm such a bad girl. " Then I have to continually remind her "Khalei, your are not a bad girl, what you did was not good, but you are not a bad girl." And then there are the times that makes your heart full of joy. Tye took me to my doctors appointment in LA because that is where my surgeon is. We said a prayer before we left the house and headed on our way. The weather has been foggy and rainy and when it rains in Bakersfield that usually means it snows on the Grapevine pass, which we have to take from Bakersfield to LA. Tye checked the road info. before we left and it showed that the roads were clear. But as we approached the Grapevine it had begun to rain and as we started through the mountain it was foggy. Khalei immediately said, " mom, should we say another prayer," " sure, I told her and she offered another prayer for our safety. I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for all the the teaching we are given. Tye and I pray often that we will be able to teach our children all that our Father in Heaven has for them so they have all of the tools necessary to make it happily through this life and on into the next.

Our sweet little Kendyl is 2 but still tells you she is 3. She loves everthing her sister does and she especially enjoys dressing up and dancing and then getting naked and dressing up and dancing or singing. She has been potty trained for almost 4 weeks and has had a few accidents in the last week; I believe she plays too hard and just doesn't know when to stop. She is a bundle of energy that can just go and go. She definetly has some of the typical 2 yr old traits, and I look forward to them subsiding. Although, she makes me laugh and smile constantly life might be a little boring if she lost all of her spark. Here is an example of Kendyl's wit. The girls have slippers that they are suppose to wear when they are at home and we even had a pair at Grandma Sally's house so that they would wear their slippers there. Well, one night at grandmas Kendyl kept taking off her slippers, and grandma explained that she was wearing her socks and slippers and so Kendyl needed to wear her socks and slippers. Well, a little time passed and grandma thought she got through to Kendyl. Well, shortly after, Kendyl slipped quietly over to grandma and quickly took off Grandma's slippers and socks and ran into the other room and hid them. Then she came back in the room and pointed out that grandma didn't have her slippers and socks on so she didn't need to have her slippers and socks on. She definetly is a little thinker or did I say stinker. :) Kendyl can almost count to 10 with no mistakes by herself, she likes to draw while her sister works on her preschool papers and she can draws some pretty awsome circles and jaggedy lines. She likes to pretend she is writing words.

One of the YW in the ward that I get to work with was in a community play called Beauty and the Beast. I took the girls and we went with Heather (my sister) and her kids and my mom. The girls both really enjoyed it and it was very entertaining to watch their facial expressions.

We took Khalei to the Nutcracker ballet this year and plan on taking both girls next year. When the ballet first started Khalei turned to me and said , "mom, this isn't right, I don't like this." Then as she kept watching she became mesmorized and soaked it right up. I think she thought it was going the be The Barbie Nutcracker Ballet. Well, I guess we can't have everthing. Tye still wrestles with the girls almost everynight and if he's not there because of work they have learned how to wrestle without him; they just don't have as much fun.

Tye is enjoying his new office and has had the opportunity to do some HAZMAT training in Clovis. Right when I think I feel a little better that he is in an office that is somewhat more safe, he is asked by his Seargent to do a very difficult training that focuses on very dangerous chemicals. But, he is enjoying the classes and is doing very well, so I guess I'll try not to worry and just focus on other things. Tye has enjoyed rifle and bow hunting this past year and although he didn't get a deer, he did assist my brother in getting his first deer in CA. They had a great time hauling it out of the mountains and skinning it. The deer meat has been good to eat. I also really enjoy eating all of the fish he brings home from fishing.

I am still recovering from my 3rd knee surgery that I had on Oct. 22. I really miss teaching the aerobics and weight training class at the Stake Center, biking, and roller blading and well just being able to move around more quickly and getting things done more quickly. I hope that this surgery will buy me some time before the inevitable next surgery which will most likely be a cadavar transplant. When it comes to my knee I am definately working on my faith and patience. I know that all of the years that I worked at a physical therapy office has helped me and that my degree in Kinesiology has also given me alot of knowledge and insight into my rehab. I love being at home with my girls. I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to spend so much time with them. I tend to keep our schedule pretty busy and I know Tye wishes he could do more of the fun things with us that we get to do.

"The Savior is the Light of the World. He is the sure guide for each of us. His light is the guide each one of us may have." We are so thankful for this time of year to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. He is truly the light in our lives. We know God lives and loves us and that because of our Savior Jesus Christ we can return to live with him again.

Our thoughts and prayers our with all of our family and friends. We continually think of you all and wish you the very best Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

One more poem to share: (Friend, Dec 2008)

Oh, star bright-the world is pining

For you to turn night into the day;

Oh, star bright-in Heaven shining

Come glow within me

On Christmas Day.

With All of Our Love, The Meeks Family (Tye, Bonnie, Khalei, and Kendyl)