{2016 Christmas Letter}

Here we are again, at the close of another year.  2016 was quite the eventful year for the Mighty Meeks!  Our biggest highlight of the year was being able to take our whole family on a 2 week trip to England.  We loved sharing London with our kids, and were able to enjoy time with friends while we were there.  We saw so many fun things, and had a wonderful time!

Gabe (right) and his best friend, Mica (left) show off their graduation shirts.

Gabe (18 and a freshman...in COLLEGE!) had a very busy and joy filled year.  He turned 18 in February and ran track in the spring.  He worked very hard for his team and was part of a first-ever podium sweep at the District meet for the 3200m run where all top 8 places were from North Central.  May and June were filled with "last" moments of high school... Last band concert, last AP exam, last track banquet...until, finally, graduation!  Gabe graduated as a Distinguished Valedictorian from North Central High School in June.  He was also honored as one of the Outstanding English Students of the Year, and earned many accolades from his AP scores, and hard work at maintaining his 4.0 the whole way through high school.  He is now attending Whitworth University here in Spokane.  He is living at home, which is saving him a pretty penny, but is connecting and making friends through the Cross Country and Track teams.  He ran as 3rd man on the squad for most of the XC season and is enjoying college and college running.  His hard work continues to pay off both in school and on the XC course... He moved up to 2nd man for the final meet of the season, and is finishing his first semester of college as I type...having taken courses through the Honors program at Whitworth and keeping his grades up.  He is technically still undeclared, but leaning heavily toward and English major.

Bethany and Mica look great as they head to Prom.

Bethany (16 and a junior) lives for her running career.  She started her winter training by doing PT for a knee injury, which kept her out of track season until the last few meets.  She worked very hard to get her knee back in shape, and was able to qualify for the regional meet in the mile.  Her summer consisted of training, training, and more training.  She was a girl with a goal for State, and she came so close.  Her XC season was amazing, she ran the whole season with no injuries (a first!), and PR's around every corner.  Her dream of State came up short this year, but we are very hopeful that a strong team next year will finally realize the dream of an NC Girls State Title.  She has also done a great job in the classroom this year, earning mostly A's and B's.  However, she is quite ready to be done with Math!  Beth is still dating Mica, who is now a freshman at WSU in Pullman.  They keep in touch via facebook and text, and enjoy time together any time he is able to make the trek back to Spokane on weekends.  Beth is beginning to consider her options for beyond high school, and while she isn't excited about heading to college, she is looking at some programs that may lead her into personal training, which Jon and I think she would be excellent at.  She loves to encourage her team to work hard, and is able to inspire them to give their best.

Micci and Jon after the St. Patrick's Day parade.

Michaela (13 and an 8th grader) has explored lots of new things this year, while still continuing with old favorites.  She turned 13 in January (all my babies are teenagers now!), continued to work hard at her studies and Irish dance, ran track in the Spring and ran cross country in the fall.  She ran with the NC girls during some of their summer "off-season" practices, and has made some great friends that she is excited to join in high school.  She is still attending the North Central IST (Institute of Science and Technology) program, so she is already at the high school, just not able to participate in sports with her sister and her friends yet.  She has been struggling a little bit with a knee problem because of the strain of dance and running, but so far she isn't ready to choose one or the other, so she is in PT to get strong and hopefully be able to continue with both.  She is keeping her grades up and has studied and learned a lot as a part of this program.  She has major goals of becoming a humanitarian aide worker when she grows up, and she works hard at her studies to help her reach this goal.  She has also donated school supplies to our local refugee agency, World Relief, and was very helpful with our Grace Church refugee dinner on Christmas Eve (as were Gabe and Bethany).

Dolly, our sweet pup, is now 6 years old.  She has mellowed a bit in her middle age, and spends her days lying on Micci's bed, "guarding" the neighborhood from rogue cats.  She has become quite lazy, but she is still a sucker for affection, and loves to curl up with us in the evenings for some cuddle time.

Jon and I are both doing well. We celebrated 20 years of marriage this year (the reason for our England trip), and we are still very much in love.  We really enjoyed taking our kids to England this year, it was probably the highlight of my year.  We are both still running, not as often as we would like to be, or as consistently as we would like to be, but still involved and enjoying it.  For some reason, my autumn and back to school were very busy, and so I have taken a season off of teaching Oula, but I am really hoping to get back to it this Winter and Spring.  I am still teaching at Holmes Elementary, and Jon is still teaching music lessons and pastoring our small church.  We are still loving Spokane, and enjoy being a part of the many different facets of our community. 

2016 was such a full year, I'm sure I will look back on it with joy and great memories.  We had many friends and family come to visit us this year, we hosted Thanksgiving, and had our wonderful trip.  We watched our amazing children continue to grow and change and become amazing young adults with big dreams and big hearts.  There are too many pictures of so much fun and wonderful things from 2016 to share here.  If you would like to follow my instagram (beccameek), I post regularly, so you can keep up with the happenings of the #mightymeeks. 

Much love and happiness to you all in the coming year!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

{Catching up}

Merry Christmas from the #mightymeeks!!

It's that time of year again when I take a look back over the year and recap for all my friends what has gone on in our lives this year.  Many who read this will have seen many, many Facebook updates or Instagram shots, but I like to have a way to recap the year in one place.  Although I've neglected this blog all year long, this seems like the logical place for my year end letter.

Gabe, (age 17 and a SENIOR!) has had an eventful year.  He turned 17 in February, ran track in the summer, ran like crazy all summer for summer training, attended cross country and youth camps, got his driver's license, ran cross country this fall and has kept his amazing 4.0 GPA while taking Honors and AP classes, and beginning to apply to colleges this Fall.  So far, he has been accepted to Whitworth and the University of Montana, but no decisions have been made yet.  He had a great XC season, helping his team win their 10th straight State title and a number 3 place at NXN Northwest.  We are so proud of him and all his accomplishments.  I can't believe he will be graduating in a few short months.

Bethany, (age 15 and a sophomore) has been busy this year, as well.  She is doing well in school, and her running keeps her busy.  She ran Varisty track as a freshman for most of the Spring, attended cross country and youth camps, turned 15 in July, and ran as the number 3 Varsity XC team member until her recurring hip injury pulled her out of racing for a few weeks mid-season.  Rehab and PT got her back in shape for the last couple of meets of the season, and she was back to number 3 by the Regionals qualifier race.  Unfortunately, the girls team did not make it to State, but she had a great time cheering on the boys with the rest of the girls and guys teams.




Michaela, (age 12 and a 7th grader) is involved in a new school program this year.  She is taking part in a pilot 7th grade program housed at North Central (Gabe and Bethany's high school), called the Institute of Science and Technology (IST).  She absolutely loves it.  She is taking microbiology as a 7th grader!  It's been very fun seeing the things she is learning and it's also great having all 3 kids at one school!!  Micci turned 12 in January, ran Bloomsday in May, "graduated" from elementary school, earning several awards for community service and being an all around awesome kid,
attended youth camp and spent some time in Montana with family while the rest of us were at cross country camp.  She also ran cross this fall, and of course, is still dancing.  She had her winter recital a couple of days ago, and I am so impressed with the progress she has made since last year.



Jon (not 40 yet), finished out the school year with Guitar Club and was able to pull back from it this fall when our church was able to start paying him more.  He still teaches a few private lessons here and there, and teaches at a homeschool co-op one day a week.  This has been a big blessing for him, as he now has more time to spend with our church family and training younger leaders (which he loves).  It also enables him to spend time at cross country and track meets for our kiddos, and to continue mentoring the different running groups he has been part of.

As for me (also not yet 40... nice try, Matt), it's definitely been busy.  Spring felt like a whirlwind of OULA classes, submitting my first National Boards component, concerts, track meets and all around craziness.  Summer was more relaxed, but it felt very short for some reason this year, and with Montana trips, youth camps, birthdays, anniversaries, training for a half marathon... Well, it was very fun, that's for sure.  This fall has been great; trying to savor every moment of Gabe's senior year, and not be a puddle of tears the whole time... It's been busy enough and joy-filled enough that, so far, I haven't had any ugly crying episodes. 

We are enjoying our winter break, we had some relaxation before our quiet Christmas at home, and are looking forward to the fun of family filled days when we make the trek to Montana. Then, we jump into Spring and concerts and track and yes, a graduation!! (Family, mark your calendars! June 11!!)  It's always quite the ride for us here at the Meek household, but it's always marked by joy and memories, so I don't complain!  We are looking forward to 2016, and hope this finds you and yours well.  Please drop a line or visit, or keep up with our journeys however you can...  I'll leave you with a few picture highlights from our year!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Love,
The Meeks

Gabe and his best friend, Mica, at Nike Cross Nationals, their last XC race together

The kids enjoyed showing Mica around Missoula this summer.

First day of school 2015

My beautiful girls... One of the last shots where Beth is still taller than Micci.

Turkey Trot 2015

Nike Cross Nationals

Winter Glow at Riverfront Park

Year in Review

2013 is coming to a close, but as always, I try to look back over the year and remember what we've accomplished. This year has felt very like a whirlwind to me. So many amazing things have happened, and we've had some really great times. Here are some highlights...

Gabe (age 15 and a sophomore) is very involved in his high school running team. We live and breathe and sleep cross country (XC) in the fall, and in the spring it all channels to track.  He is doing very well, running solidly in the top 12 on the XC squad this fall, lettering in XC, and even winning a JV race. He has a good shot at varsity next fall if he keeps training and pushing himself.  He is also still involved in band, is always coming up with creative things to pursue, and keeps his grades at top notch as well.  I'm not sure exactly when he has time to do all this, but we are very proud! 

Bethany (age 13 and 8th grade) is also excelling at school. This year she earned straight A's for the first time ever, and is enjoying singing in choir and being a part of the yearbook committee.  She ran track last spring and had a great season, but is not planning to run again this year.  She has also become very involved in a local youth group she attends with several friends (since we don't have one yet).  She has many friends who are very amused by her sweet, funny, and sometimes quirky personality. We often have a good laugh over things she says and does. She is sunshine in our lives and it is impossible to not smile when you are around her.

Micci (age 10 and 5th grade) has handled two school transitions in two years with grace and confidence.  She is coming to Holmes with me this year and is having a great year so far.  She loves her teacher and is at the top of her class in everything.  She has made some great new friends, and is involved with student government and a playground mediation group called Peacemakers. She also helps in a kindergarten class a few times a week and is dreaming of becoming a kindergarten teacher someday. She is really coming out of her shell and gaining confidence in being a leader to her friends.  She is also still very involved in Irish dance and is doing a great job!






As far as Jon and I go, we are also both doing well.  Jon is still doing Guitar Club and is also teaching privately and in a homeschool co-op. Our church is growing slowly but surely, and we are excited for the coming year.  We moved out of our living room at the end of February last year, and we are again finding ourselves feeling like we have outgrown our new space.  So we are praying and looking for the next step. 
We were able to buy a home in the spring, and spent a couple of months remodeling before we moved in at the end of July. We miss our neighbors, but we love our new place. Jon and I also ran our first Bloomsday races in May, and accomplished our first half marathons in October! Running has definitely become a way of life around here.
I am in my second year at Holmes and so far, this year is going very well.  My before school choir has grown from about 8 students last year (on a good day!!) to right around 35 this year!!  We were able to take two field trips in December to sing for local businesses that provide support for Holmes. 
Dolly is still our sweet, lovable dog.  She will be 4 in April, and has become very lazy in her "old" age.  She loves to lay on the couch, take naps, and keep the neighborhood watch out the front window.
We have many plans for the New Year, including continuing to work on little jobs around our home, more running (lots of it), and some travels as well.  We hope this year end review finds you well, and wish for blessings, peace and joy in the coming year.  2013 was grand, but here's to 2014!!

If you instagram, you can follow our adventures using  #mightymeeks.

{New Year}

2012.

I will forever look back on 2012 as a year when life changed dramatically for the Meek family.  It was a year of firsts and lasts and lots of happy memories and some sad ones, as well.  Here's my year-end letter, as promised...

The first half of the year was a combined amount of finishing strong with work, school and everything else, along with numerous home showings along with the normal busyness of the Meek household.

Gabe turned 14, participated in his final Robotics tournament, enjoyed being a part of the Five Valley Honor Band, graduated from 8th grade, and did an Eagle Scout project.

Bethany finished her 6th grade year, decided to give piano a try, gave amazing Irish dance performances, spent a great deal of time with friends and turned 12.

Micci turned 9, worked very hard at school, danced her heart out during the St. Patrick's day events and others, and continued with her piano as much as possible.

Jon recorded and produced two CD's, one of which is an EP with his most recent songs, and the other, which was a live album that required hours of prep and rehearsals from all of us involved.  All of this while continuing to study and complete his Church Planting Training, and get ready to move...He did the majority of the packing since he could work from home and I couldn't!

I graduated from the University of Montana with my Masters in Curriculum and Instruction, finishing my coursework and practicum classes over the summer before our big move.  I also served as chauffer to the three most amazing kiddos when I could during the month we lived with Jon's parents in Florence (about 40 minutes south of Missoula).

Our house sold in June, which worked out well, and by the beginning of July, we had placed a deposit on a place to call home in Spokane.  Lucy was able to come visit for a month, and we took a quick trip to Yellowstone National Park.  Lucy was also able to be with us for our big "Send Us" dinner, though she had to leave very early the next morning.  Our final weeks and months in Missoula were nothing short of amazing, filled with memories and love.

On July 24th, we pulled out of Missoula and drove to Post Falls, ID, where we stayed with friends and then drove into Spokane on July 25th and moved into our new home.  We are renting for now, and hoping to be able to buy a home this Spring.  After being here in Spokane just a couple of weeks, and beginning to wonder exactly what our income was going to look like, I was offered a job with Spokane Public Schools as a General Music Specialist.  I am currently working a .8 FTE, which means that I have Thursday and Friday afternoons off!

Since the big move, life has slowed in some ways and quickened in others.  After a "chance" encounter and mixup with Gabe's high school registration, he is now the 4th place freshman on the North Central Cross Country team, a team which took the Washington State XC title for the 7th year running.  Considering that the boy had never run before, we have all been fairly impressed with his talent for XC.  He is also still excelling in his studies, taking Honors courses and on track to begin Advanced Placement (AP) courses next year as a sophomore.  On December 27th, he went before the Mullan Trail District Eagle Board, and was approved as an Eagle Scout!  Jon and I are so proud of his hard work!  We plan to have his Eagle Ceremony in Missoula this Spring.

Bethany is enjoying her 7th grade year.  7th grade is the first grade of middle school here in Spokane, so lots of kids were making new friends, and Bethany has a great group of friends around her already.  She is enjoying her choir and production classes especially.  She also was recently invited to be a part of the yearbook committee and took part in the middle school cross country program.  Irish dance has become a fond memory for Bethany...but she is enjoying other activities, so that is ok.

Micci is still dancing and has made several friends in her 4th grade class.  She also seems to have won the heart of her teacher, who has nothing but praise to say about her.  She is going to be considered for a special program here called Tessera, since she is so far ahead of her classmates in both reading and math.  All in all, our kids are thriving and we are super proud of them!

Jon is working on getting an afterschool club going here in Spokane called Guitar Club, which is after school group guitar lessons.  So far, it is going well, but is definitely having some of the fits and starts of a startup business.  We hope that it will become something that we can offer to kids as a service in the future, so that we can be a blessing to our community.  Our small church is going well and we are looking for a location outside of our home, hopefully by the end of January.  Our neighbors are awesome people who we have a "kindred spirit" with.  We truly love our neighborhood and the people in it.

As for me, I'm doing well with all the changes.  My job is good, and challenging, which is also good.  I know that it is where God has led me to be and while it is a steep learning curve to relearn how to teach music after so long, I'm enjoying it and having fun. 

So there is my year-end update...It's been quite the year, and quite the ride.  While we miss our family and friends in Missoula, we are also enjoying making new friends and creating a church family here in Spokane.  I'm looking ahead and looking forward to what 2013 will bring!!  (I'm hoping for transporter technology so that I can see all of my friends and family from around the world whenever I feel like it!)

PS...Dolly continues to be our sweet, lovable dog.  She loves us and we love her.  She spends her days sleeping and watching the squirrels who love to torment her from the trees in front of the house.  It's a dog's life.