Some of you may have all ready gotten this letter, but I thought I'd post it for anyone I missed or had the wrong email address for. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas full of family, good friends, good food and the spirit our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ. Love to all!!!
Another year has passed in the Coppinger household and after 5 ½ years we are happy to still be in beautiful Colorado. We love it here, even if the nearest freeway is 3 hours away. This was another adventured filled year including: Mike’s first year at Scout Camp with the older boys, Cousins Camp in Cedar City, Family trip to Moab to watch Mom run in her first big race, our annual trip to Denver for Dr. appointments and family fun and a week away for Mom and Dad while Mike was at MDA camp and the girls spent a week with Grandma and Granddad Coppinger! Here’s a little something about each of us.
Kirk: Still working for 4CORE with the Colorado Governors’ Energy Office. He’s been with them for 20 months now and just got a promotion which means we should have a job for a few more years. They are a non-profit organization that helps “weatherize” low-income homes to make them more energy efficient. He started as an inspector and now he is the Program Manager (boss) for weatherization. He works hard and is always learning something new and getting new certifications. I tease him that he speaks geek too much sometimes. It’s funny.
He has also gotten into running and is helping me to get faster. Sometimes I just want to quit and walk for a while, but he won’t let me (Darn it!). What a good coach. J When he’s not working or running he enjoys listening to books, watching movies, teasing the children and being one of the children. He has also been learning about apple trees and planted 5 this year as well as a garden which we hope to do better next year. He is always busy learning something new, I tease him that he’s a human encyclopedia.
Susan (AKA: Mom, The Boss) Still has the running bug. In May I ran in the Red Rocks Relay with 5 other friends. We ran a total of 70 miles and had so much fun along the way. Kirk and I are currently training for the Canyon lands Half Marathon which is on St. Patrick’s Day 2012. Here’s hoping we make it through the drawing, otherwise we’ll be headed to Gateway Colorado for the Half Marathon that same month.
Other than running, I’m busy doing the usual Mom duties. When I have some spare time I like to try and read a book, bake, sew and play my guitar for Emily. I was recently released as the Young Women’s President at church which has been bitter sweet. I miss seeing “my girls,” but I still grab them in the halls.
Olivia: Says she’s growing like a weed, but she doesn’t want to grow. She turned 10 in August and is up to Mom’s chin. She likes to ride her scooter, bike, play soccer, draw, do crafts, and sleep. (Silly Kid). We’re working on running with her and she is up to 1 ¼ miles at an 7:00 – 8:00 minute mile pace and is doing really well. She’s always out ahead of Mom and Dad and runs home by herself while we keep going! Keep your eyes open… she’s going to be fast!
Mike: Says he likes to play Nerf N-Strike on the Wii, build with Lego’s, tell jokes, play board games and loves Christmas. He started middle school this year and says “It ‘rocks!’ because I like science and math.” He is also in band and loves art as well. This year he turned 12 and is now part of the youth program at church. He now passes the sacrament on Sunday which reminds Mom how much he has grown. We are very proud of the young man he is becoming!
His health is still good and he seems to be having a good year at school. He is in his chair full-time and has faced a lot of new challenges this year. The teachers at the middle school have been amazing and have helped Mike succeed academically. It’s been a good change to spite the tragedy of losing his ability to walk.
Emily: Continues to earn her nick name of Em-Silly. Her laughter and smile are infectious and fills our house on a regular basis. She has started using a crutch to walk with at school, she still won’t use it for us but I hear she’s pretty fast! I actually went to see her at school and once I got there she would not walk with it. Turkey! She understands so much and has really matured which has been great to witness. To know her is to love her!
We are grateful for our family and many friends all over this beautiful country and hope you can feel the love of our Savior and remember He is the reason for this season.
Love The Coppinger Family
