Lenard is TWELVE!....

Hard to believe and AMAZING, I know. Lenard is 12, will soon have the priesthood, be in Jr. High, and is going to MUTUAL tonight!! I love this young man more than I can say, I am proud of him and his accomplishments!! Here is a little look back at Lenard (or Grant....whatever the case may be, LOL!)

We love you Lenard!!

Another "FIRST" for 2009....

On Monday night for family night we had a FHE about Money.....spending it, saving it, budgeting it, etc. As part of that, we wanted to get the kids started with their first savings accounts (and it counts for Jon's scouts too!!). So today after school, I took them down to the bank and they each got thier own savings account. It was kind of fun, and they feel all "grown-up" about it too. I only had my phone with me for pics, so this is all I was able to get....

Sadie lost her first tooth!....

Sadie lost her first tooth on New Years Day!! The grown up tooth that is replacing it was already in......it came in in OCTOBER!! Weird!! She was scared for her tooth to come out, but was SO excited and proud once it did!

She sold it to Grandpa Daly for $5.....who needs a toothfairy when you can get that kind of a deal?

Holiday Magic at Disneyland....

This was our first time at Disneyland when it was COLD. We usually go in the summer or fall....and it is always hot. I LOVED being there in the cold. It was kind of rainy both days....or more drizzly, misty, foggy....whatever it was it was AWESOME! It must have kept some people away, because I did not think it was terribly crowded. We had my sister, Nancy, with us and Lennie's dad came too. It was SUPER fun, and we really cannot wait to go back. We even got EVEYRONE....yes even all the kids.....on Tower of Terror!! That will probably never happen again, lol, so it was quite impresive! Here are some pics from our Wintery Disney Trip.....

Want to know what makes a New Year really HAPPY!?...

Lennie had some bloodwork and tests done at the end of December and he is still TOTALLY CANCER FREE!!!! Heavenly Father continues to bless us with answered prayers, and we are truly grateful and recognize His hand in all of this.

We are also thankful for the MANY MANY MANY of you that have kept us in your thoughts and prayers the last 2½ years.....ps- don't stop now :0)....we can still use all the help we can get.

Lennie and Christi Starks and Family

Christmas Joys....

These are just some of the things that brought us joy this past Christmas.....

We hosted two Starks Family parties at our house this year. One was on the 22nd. It was a cookie party for the kids. We decorated Nutter-Butters to look like reindeer, and we made Rolo Turtles.......mmmmmmmmmm......those are my favorites! We also decided to have the Starks families over again on Christmas Eve. It was a wonderful party, and almost everyone was able to make it (we missed you Emilie). We ate, and exchanged gifts, read the Christmas story from the scriptures and had a talent show too. It was an important night for us to get together as a family and just share some good times. Here are some pics from those events.

Christmas day started out opening presents at our houes...and the rest of the day was spent with the Daly side of our family....another WONDERFUL time!! Again, we ate, exchanged gifts, and played played played. All the while we were missing our out-of-town families terribly. We really look forward to being all together again for the holidays soon!!

At one point in the day, Uncle Rob went outside and fired up Braden's dirtbike, which was still up at the house from the dunes trip I guess. Jon heard it, and next think you know, he was zipping around the yard and down the road!! He took to it FAST....even though he'd never ridden one before. He loves it, and I think we are in for much more dirt bike ridding in our future!!

and PS - I didn't know he was riding until I was called outside to watch...I promptly got him a HELMET!!

We also got a fun box of goodies from our friends Merce and Manolo in Ponferrada, Spain. Lots of Spanish sweets! We were all very excited about it, especially the kids!



We hope all our friends and family had wonderful holidays and a happy new year!!!