2007 Christmas Letter

Friends and Family:

As this year is quickly coming to an end it is time for the annual "last minute" Christmas letter to give you a quick update on our family.

Ryan (14 months) is vibrant, mischievous, and full of life. He loves to play with balls, spoons, and cars. He has been walking for the last four months and running for almost as long. The kid may be short, but he can close a gap in nothing flat! Ryan loves his big brother and really loves to egg him on. They are in the chasing and wrestling stage, which is really fun until someone gets hurt. Ryan loves his mom and is very attached to her. He will only tolerate Dad after he has searched the house and verified that mom is not home. Ryan is starting to talk and has embraced his "M’s." You know, Mom, Milk, and Matthew.

Matthew (3) is a great big brother. He loves playing with Ryan and playing with Ryan’s toys. Matthew loves cars and his whole life revolves around them, especially those from the CARS movie. He has learned most of his letters and numbers and will pick them out wherever we go (the Target symbol is an O or the M of the Golden Arches.) Matthew is very thoughtful and caring; he always wants to make sure that you are happy. Matthew loves playing outside, in the dirt, and with his friends. He will be moving out of nursery this year and we hope that he will be okay when he finds out they don’t have snacks or toys in Primary.

Amy is the typical amazing mother of two very active little boys. She fills her days with selfless service and love. Earlier this year she recertified her Utah teaching certificate. Amy continues her service as the Primary president in our ward and loves working with the children. Amy enjoys reading books, updating our blog, and doing the occasional craft. Miraculously, Amy found time to plan our trip to Disneyland in October. She is amazing and does it all.

Kevin transferred to a new position at BYU working as the Assistant IT manager for the Alumni Association. He really enjoys his corner-cubical office in the new Hinckley Center. Kevin plays "casual" indoor soccer once a week and is really enjoying the chance to exercise. Kevin loves playing with the boys. Balls, trucks, dirt, cars, blocks, and a thousand other toys…having little boys is wonderful.

As you can see our family has been very blessed this year. We have felt our Heavenly Father’s influence in our lives on a daily basis, strengthening our hope and faith. As a family we know that our Father in Heaven loves each and every one of us. May your Christmas season be filled with love and the light of Christ.

Love,

Kevin, Amy, Matthew, and Ryan Tams

Little Ryan

It seems Matthew has been getting a lot of face time, so here are some pics of Little Boy #2. Ryan is growing up so fast. I can't believe he is almost 14 months old! He likes to climb into and onto things. He loves dogs - everytime he sees or hears one he stops and responds with an "oo,oo" or "boof." He LOVES to get a rise out of his older brother and they enjoy chasing each other and wrestling. He also likes to play with balls and for some reason has decided to take one up the stairs every time we go up. I usually have to bring the ball collection downstairs at the end of the day. He likes to play with dishes (especially spoons), and he likes to wear hats around the house. If he can't find a hat he will put a blanket or shirt on top of his head. (I haven't been able to get a picture of that yet. He always pulls it off before I can take one.) He can also be really good at getting into trouble, especially things involving cords (Christmas lights, vaccuum, etc.) We sure do love our boys!!









Here are some pictures of Ryan snagging some raisins from the table and happily helping himself.

Christmas Lights!!!

We went to see the lights at Temple Square last Thursday night with Mom, Dad, Brittany, Kyle, Dillon, and Mylie. It was VERY cold, but the lights were pretty as always. Here are some great pics. My favorites are of the kids all bundled up, especially Ryan and Mylie. They just have

this look on their faces like "What are you doing to me?"





 

Matthew Part 2

It's a good thing Matthew had some sweet moments last week because he has more than made up for it the last couple of days. These are some of the messes he has gotten in to over the last two weeks. And no, I'm not exaggerating.

• Graham cracker crumbs dumped all over the floor


• Sneaking hamburger buns from the counter (aided and abetted by his younger brother)

• Green marker colored all over his face


• Hand soap on the bathroom counter, floor, and toilet seat cover


• Mom's makeup


• Hot chocolate powder spilled on the kitchen floor


• Spilled milk (would have been worse if I hadn't stopped him from almost dumping the last third of the milk carton on his cereal)


• Hand soap again


• Toothpaste squeezed onto the bathroom floor


• Hand soap again (it has been relocated)


• Water dumped onto the carpet in his bedroom


• Liquid dish soap squeezed onto the kitchen rug


• Raisins dumped out on the floor under the table

So we have had lots of timeouts and many talks about not getting in to things when Mommy is busy with Ryan or washing the dishes or doing other things. He has this uncanny ability to sneak away without me knowing. My mommy-sense is starting to kick in, though, and I have been able to avoid many potential disasters. A lot of the things were my fault, i.e. forgetting to put the hot chocolate or dish soap away. I have learned my lesson and am trying to remember where I leave things. My favorite response to all of this: "Mom, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Yeah, sure.

Matthew Part 1

It has been a long time since we have posted. I can't seem to keep up with this month. It won't be long before Christmas is here! (and I still have some shopping to finish!) Here is a brief summary of what has been going on around the Tams house and some of the sweet things Matthew has said or done.


On Monday, December 3, we found out that my sweet little nephew Ethan had passed away. Matthew could see that Kevin and I were very sad with the news. This is what he said to me after Kevin went to work: "Mom, don't worry. I'll call Grandma and Grandpa to come down and give you a blessing. Where's the phone?" He proceeded to look for his toy phone and when he found it he called my parents. "Hi Grandma and Grandpa. Will you come and give mom a blessing? Okay, Bye." It was such a sweet thought and I was glad to see that he recognized the significance of a priesthood blessing.


A few days later I was again having kind of a tough morning. I think Matthew knew what I was thinking about and he asked about Logan and Ethan. I tearfully explained that Ethan had gone back to live with his Heavenly Father and that he was no longer with Adam and Brynn. Matthew replied, "That's okay mom. The angels came to get him." I honestly didn't know what to say. All I could do was smile and give him a huge hug.











On Friday we went up to Logan, UT for Ethan's viewing and funeral. It was a very special service and Adam and Brynn did such a wonderful job. One of my favorite moments was when Matthew saw us all crying and asked why everyone was so sad. Kevin told him that Ethan had gone to live with Heavenly Father and that we would miss him until we could see him again. Matthew then said, "I'm not sad." When I asked him why he said, "Because I get to go back to Grandma's house and play with toys." I had to chuckle. I think it was just what I needed to hear. We were sad that Ethan was gone, but we also know that we will see him again someday. In the meantime, we need to be happy and live a good life to make sure that happens. And yes, that includes playing with toys. :) We love you Ethan!












Pictures of Matthew with his cousins - Trying to sneak some cookies with Makenna and looking a little bored with Dillon.

Ethan

Ethan Tuft, beloved cousin and nephew, passed away this morning. He was a little more than eight weeks old. We will miss you Ethan. Visit the Tuft family blog. Ethan's Obituary.