2013 was a not the easiest year for us. But through the tragic loss of our sweet seven year old, we still made many happy memories. Life has not stopped for us and in many ways it is a new beginning. Gordon has motivated us to do many things that we may not have otherwise done.
Gordon is our guardian angel and inspiration. I am sure he is being a big helper up in heaven welcoming everyone there with his giant grin and the best hugs. I can't wait to get one of those hugs again one day.
Our cat enjoyed all the flowers and cards everyone sent us. We were overwhelmed with the love that was outpoured from our friends and family at the beginning of the year.
We have a house that is being built that is taking forever. It has been over two years.
We keep thinking it will be done soon, so at the beginning of the year we did some renovations on our current home to get it ready to put up for sale.
Our Jamin turned 11. Just an all around great kid. A great helper and good example to his younger siblings. He enjoys playing squash, swimming, the piano, and soccer. He also likes building things and doing fun activities with his scout troop. His favourite subject is math. He wants to be an engineer when he grows up. We are glad that he is part of our family.
Grandma and Grandpa came to visit. We loved having them and wish they would move here! I have a feeling the don't always like the weather here, though. It just happens to be colder than the North pole today.
Matthew and I celebrated our 12 year anniversary. Love this man that has held me together and given me someone to confide in this past emotional year.
The day after our anniversary is Dallin's birthday. He is a big 1 year old now! He loves his older siblings, his cousins, his blankie, his thumb, and long naps. When he is not napping, he is a super silly fun guy. He loves slides, trampolines, balls, blocks, and tickles. Dallin brings so much joy to our family and we are so glad he is part of it.
My family had a reunion in South Carolina.
We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the beach and seeing the fireworks from our hotel room.
Neil turned 6 years old. Neil is full of questions. He loves learning, swimming, skating, playing the piano and hugs. His favourite thing is playing Minecraft on the iPad. Luckily, it is great motivation to get him to do anything that he needs to do. Neil wants to be a policeman when he grows up. Neil is a sweety pie and we love that he is part of our family.
September long weekend we went camping with a bunch of friends. It was good times. We hadn't been camping as a family for a long time, so it was a big deal for us. We look forward to doing it again next year.
Once again, the kids started school. Jamin in 6th grade, Neil in 1st, and Tegan in preschool. They all love school and are doing well.
I ran my second half marathon. I came in third place, same as last year. The kids ran part of it with me. It was a good time.
In October, we took three weeks off and went to Disney World! It was fantastical. Matthew had an optometric convention there, so we all decided to go. We went to the four kingdoms, the two water parks twice and spent a day at Universal. My little brother was able to meet up with us as well. He was so helpful. It was awesome.
We were able to swing by my parent's home on the way back to Canada and we were able to visit for a couple days.
Halloween is a fun time for the kids to dress up and for the second year in a row, I put together a story with my sister in-law for our kids.
Jamin had the lead in his school Christmas concert. He was Santa and sang a solo and everything. I smiled the whole time. He was great. He had to try out for the part and after he did his audition, all the other kids said, "Well, I guess we know who Santa will be." He is quite the little entertainer.
Matthew has been specializing in vision therapy for quite a while and has recently opened a brand new clinic.
The grand opening will be happening in a week. This is very exciting as it will likely be the best equipped clinic of this kind in Canada. Gordon was a bright child but had some challenges that made some things in school difficult for him. He had been assessed and was scheduled to start vision therapy in January of this year. After Gordon died, we knew that the new clinic should be named after him since he was a major influence in Matthew pursuing this course in his career. This will be a clinic that will help children and adults with many different vision disorders.
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