{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

Random "Eve of school" thoughts

Tonight is the last night of summer vacation.  Tomorrow, my children will head off to school they have never gone to before.  I will enter my very own music classroom...something I wasn't sure I would ever do, to be honest.  We are all excited and a bit nervous, but mostly excited!  The backpacks are packed, the clothes are ready, lunches are ready; all the things we need for a successful tomorrow have been prepared, including the most important ingredient:  prayer.  Over the last week especially, I have found myself in constant prayer for my children as they prepare to enter uncharted territory.  I have prayed for myself, that I can be an effective music teacher, that kids will like me (selfish, I know, but hey), that I can make some small impact on students from my school who live in poverty (over 90% free and reduced population) that will make a difference in their lives.

Prayer is something that often does not come easily to me in formal situations, yet I find myself talking to God throughout my days, which leads me to these verses from 1 Thessalonians:

And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.  Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  (14-18)

This section speaks directly to my teacher heart, and my mama heart.  I plan to hold tight to it over the course of the next few months.  I will pray for my children and strive to help them with these transitions however I can.  I will also pray for my students, and I know that my prayers will not be in vain.

{Summer}

I so can't believe summer is almost over. It has been a whirlwind! It's also been a TON of fun. And while I'm looking forward to getting back into a bit of routine, I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to summer just yet. That's why tomorrow will be a computer free day, and we will play in the sun (if we have any) and enjoy our last day of summer as a family.

Last day? Yes, Jon is heading out of town for a few days, and I am going back to work this week, and then we have church on Sunday, and I have PIR days starting Monday and then the kids go back Wednesday. So, even though we technically have a week and a half before school starts, tomorrow is our real "last day" of summer all together as a family. I think the summer of 2010 will go down in our family history book as one of the busiest on record, but we enjoyed ourselves a lot, we spent time with wonderful friends, we enjoyed each other and we didn't go crazy. All in all, I'd say that's a good summer's work.

'Til next time,

Mrs. Meek

3 weeks...

That's it. That is all there is left of summer for my kids. Three weeks from today, they go back to school. I am down to 2 and a half. Bummer. We will be squeezing every summery sunshiny drop from those 2 1/2 weeks that we can.

Time to update....

Wow, has it really been since August that I've updated this thing? Seems not right. Well, one of my New Year's resolutions is to update my blog more frequently, so I guess I'll start now. Look for our family's Christmas letter to come soon, since I didn't send it out this year. And since I put those little notes in all of your Christmas Cards, I guess I should keep you informed.


Gabe's cast is expected to come off on Tuesday. For anyone who didn't know, he broke his wrist at the beginning of December. He has been in very good spirits about it the whole time, but he is very excited to get the cast off.

Bethany is playing Christmas songs with some other violinists before church this Sunday. I'm pretty excited that she has progressed on her violin enough to be able to do this! She really enjoys playing!


Michaela will be singing at church this week as well. Her Christmas Program was yesterday, and she did a great job!

I'm done with school for the semester, having achieved A's in both my classes! I'll take one class next semester, and I'll be working as much as possible, too! Right now, though, it's Christmas Vacation, and I'm planning to enjoy the next two weeks. The plan that isn't really a plan includes baking cookies, getting the house back in order after a semester of craziness, hanging out with the kids, and just enjoying our family.

Til next time...
Becca

Back to School

A new school year has started. I (Becca) started class yesterday, starting work towards my library media endorsement. I'm very excited about this program, as well as the possibilities for the future that it holds. I love books, so it's a great fit!
Gabe and the girls start tomorrow. Gabe will be in 5th, which is absolutely amazing to me. 5th grade was the year I started band, which eventually led to the teaching journey I am currently on, as well as a major part of what defines who I am. It is crazy to me that Gabe is old enough to be at that same beginning place. Whether or not the love of music takes ahold of him the way it did Jon and I remains to be seen.
Bethany will be beginning 3rd grade. I am a little apprehensive about this, as I remember 3rd grade as being the year when the girls really begin to show that whole "2 years more mature than the boys" thing. Fashion, boys and being "in" become more of a big deal in 3rd grade. Maybe the fact that I attended a much smaller school than Beth's is part of why my 3rd grade experience wasn't such a great one, but then again, my 3rd grade experience just simply wasn't all that great. I do pray that she remains my sweet girl, and that perhaps she will remain unaffected by the rumblings of growing up all around her.
Michaela starts kindergarten tomorrow. This, I think, is the hardest part of school this year. I know, things will be crazy with me taking classes and working, and juggling the car, and making lunches and doing Scouts and Awana and worship team (wow, when you write it out, it looks like a LOT!), but the fact that my baby is going to school, that just tugs at this mama's heart. I know that she will be fine, and she will make lots of new friends and it will all be good, yet something inside of me aches as she goes off to school tomorrow. Perhaps it is the fact that tonight, I put her to bed for the last time as a preschooler, she is sleeping her last night as a preschooler. I love celebrating her firsts, as I do all my children, and I know that there are very, very many more to come, along with much joy. But tonight, I'm reflecting that as we move forward, there are also lasts that begin to come our way. We very likely will not have another child with this same kindergarten teacher, who we love. We very likely will not have another first day of kindergarten. And while it is always inevitable, it is still cause for reflection, and sometimes even a small sense of loss.
So, with that reflection, I'll say goodnight, and hopefully post something more uplifting and joyful (such as 1st day pics!) tomorrow!