The following was written by Katie:

Thanksgiving- Aunt Mary, and her family, and Kathryn and her family all came out to see us for Thanksgiving and we were so thankful for that. We had lots of fun and things to be grateful for. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner there was turkey (of course!), mash potatoes, broccoli salad, rolls, veggie tray, candied yams, stuffing, and of course we had pies we had chocolate, apple, and heath bar pie and I forgot the rest of the food but we had an awesome Thaksgiving! On Friday we had pictures taken by a beautiful waterfall. Katie found two baby frogs! On Saturday for breakfast we went to Bass Pro it was a lot of fun. Santa was there but we didn't get to see him; it was to crowded.



Christmas- We are so excited to come to Utah for Christmas! We can't wait to see everyone and spend time together! We can't wait to see all the snow, we don't get a lot of snow here in Missouri. We almost got to fly out there but the school wouldn't let us because of our attendance policy number one; and number two by the time we decided we weren't going to listen to the school they had run out of tickets. Instead of driving strait through we are going to stay at motels. We can't wait to be there!

Happy Labor Day, Columbus day, Halloween and every other day that we have not written about in awhile...

We figured that if pictures say a thousand words, we could just post pictures and you could fill in the blank...I have been informed that is not how it works. So I will do my best to catch you up with everyone in the family...

Katie-

Katie is beautiful. She is really doing well in school and her teacher loves her. She was a little nervous to start the school year because she got a teacher that other kids said was very strict. However, Katie and Ms. Hayter (funny name huh? Its pronounced "Hi-ter not Hay-ter") have really gotten along well.

Still with all the success Katie has had in school, she is very concerned about not having a "best friend" like she believes the other kids have. She has a wonderful ability to see others who do not have friends and she goes out of her way to help them feel better, yet finds herself in the same perdictament as the kids she helps. She makes this a matter of prayer. As a side note, it is interesting to see a child move from a phase of childish problems to problems that seem to be more serious in nature.

Katie still is in love with every dog she sees which baffles Liz and I because the HUGE amount of fear she had toward even the smallest dog when she was younger.

Katie played "Fur Elise" in her piano recital and I will post a clip of her playing it on the blog. She is not always sure if she likes the piano, but she is sticking with it and is doing a good job.

Anna-

Anna is loving life. You will rarely find her without a smile on her face...though it can happen. Sam loves her guts and Anna is usually more than willing to sit with him and read to him.

Anna just got baptized and it was a special experience for the whole family. Just going down into the water with her I was able to sense her purity and our Heavenly Father's love for her.

Anna recently received the Student of the Month award the first month of school. She loves homework though she feels obligated to feign disappoinment and she reads soooooo much.

She is a very competitive little gal and super fast. Further, she is as strong as an ox. She must get it from her mother. For comedic purposes only, I will often arrange arm wrestles between Anna and boys who are 2-3 years older than her. She never loses, even against some boys that you would figure she would not have a chance against. Katie cannot figure out why Anna can beat her every time, but they laugh about it. We can't convince her however to get involved in sports but I think she is coming around. She likes soccer and I think will play this spring.

Sara

If ever there was a little girl made for school it is Sara. Liz and I crack up a lot when we go to the school or the store and Sara knows every little kid there. She has no fear around those who are her age. She loves to talk with other kids. She can talk and talk and has a deep concern for those around her.

Again, as a side note, I guess it should not be as amazing as it is, but nevertheless, I am amazed at how much kids do that does not seem to come from any training their parents have given them.

With that said, Sara loves to sing and she has a really good voice. She has volunteered to sing solo's and she and Katie also sang beautifully at Anna's baptism.

Sara also has a bit of a temper on her that can also, in a strange way, be kind of fun. She can be sooooooo mad but when you make a face or tease her right in the middle of her anger, she will begin to laugh. Pretty soon the anger will subside or she will try to make it worse and it get even funnier.

Emily

She is done being the baby. It is really a lot of fun to be able to have conversations with her. Last night I asked Emily if she would like to wear her Halloween costume to Church. She said while laughing, "No dad, everyone will laugh at me." Somewhere along the way of being able to run naked down the street and sleeping on the floor in primary, she has decided she does care what people think.

She also is best friends with Sam. It is fun to see them play together. She can just look at him and get him laughing.

She is in a pre-school that meets once a week. She loves going and seems to be a brilliant little child thanks to Liz and PBS.

Sam

This kid is giving us a run for our money. He has an attitude, (gets it from his mother no doubt). He has 4 little mothers that beckon to his every call and if they don't give him his way, we all hear about it.

He is also not afraid to give you a dirty look or two if he finds your work not up to proper standards.

On the other hand, he can be really fun too. Every morning as I am getting ready to go to work, he steals my shoes and runs around the house with them. He does this every day and is mad if I ever get them on before he can steal them.

John and Liz

We still love each other. We were very blessed to be able to go down to Dallas last week and spend some time with each other and think about, pray about and talk about our family. We love being with our kids and with each other.

Liz works with the YW in the ward and I am with the YM. Liz is loved among the youth of the ward more than I am. I know this because when they see her they say, "Hi Sister Awesome" When they seem me they say, "Hi Sister Awesome's husband".

Liz is very busy running kids all over the place and spending a lot of time with Sam and Emily. She is an impressive lady that is capable in so many ways yet will admit to none of them. My favorite thing is hearing her play duets with the girls. I love her sincerity in her desire to improve our family and to focus on eternal things.

Work is very enjoyable to me and really hard. Figuring out how to teach Young Single Adults is the hardest teaching I have ever done and it is very rewarding.

So that is it for now- thanks for checking in on us and you are welcome to stop in anytime you find yourself in southwestern Missouri like I am sure often happens.

Pics of our vacation in Utah

We love Emily's smile

If you look closely at this little lady's cute little smile you will see a gap between her two front teeth. She is convinced that she, like her older sisters, has lost a tooth and just can't find it.

Where do kids come up with some of this stuff?

The other day we decided to skip school and take the kids to Silver Dollar City. The weather was beautiful and the park was not too crowded. It was at one of our bathroom breaks that I was helping Emily take care of her business when she proudly looked up at me and announced, "Dinner's ready". "What?", I asked. "Dinner's ready!" she repeated. "Your poop?", "Yep" she replied with a giggle. GROSSSSSSSSSSS! Where did she come up with that?

Tornado vs. Tree

So there I was, in sunny Dallas Tx. all the while not knowing what Liz and the kids where experiencing. 120 mph winds! A small tornado touched down less than 2 miles from our house. It was 50 yards wide and traveled for just over a mile. Our neighborhood looks very colorful now. There are small, beautiful tarps on everyones roof...except for ours.

Our house turned out fine. We feel blessed. We did however suffer a sad loss. We had a 30ft maple tree bite the dust. The wind snapped it like a toothpick!

Liz said the morning the tornado hit she was getting ready to send the girls to the bus stop. A member of the ward called and said, "now you know you need to go into your basement now right?" Liz responded that she new whenever she heard the siren that we were supposed to go into the basement but the siren was not currently sounding. Our friend said, "You might just want to go into the basement now anyway." She thought he was being overly concerned but did so anyway. She was surprised to hear the siren shortly after. She said she could not believe how strong the wind was. Power was out for most of the day.

I can't believe I missed it... neither can liz :(

Ok- apparently pictures are not enough. We have been getting a bit lazy with the blog and so I am taking the initiative to post something...anything that will let you know what we have been up to. I imagine this will be very random with very few paragraph changes and no plot to the whole thing. I will start from youngest, Sam, to oldest, Liz who is 34 while John remains 33.

Sam- Sam is hanging in there. He successfully thwarted an attempt last night to have a Cinderella dress force on him. He has had a runny nose for the past 5 years its seems. Needless to say, when he gets in a "kissy" mood, which he is prone to do (gets it from his mom) it is an adventure. Even the girls put up with the "extra gushy" kiss from the kid.

He loves shoes. He watches his feet when he runs which seems to be his preferred method of transportation. Sam also is enjoying wrestling anybody, anywhere, anytime. This is a lot of fun except in grocery stores and sacrament meetings. He get the funniest look on his face when someone tries to make him smile. He purses his lips together and tries for the life of him not to bust out in laughter. He is rarely successful.

Emily- I never thought I could get a more girly girl, but she is the one. She is always, always tossing her hair. Whenever she is told how pretty she is, there is never a shy expression. A compliment like that is always greeted with a very business like, "oh. Thank you" usually followed by a very serious toss of the hair.

Emily is a smart little gal. She ponders a lot and often share what she is thinking about. The other day she told me that the little mermaid sang pretty but was immodest. She and I make up various stories about Dora. I tell her one and then she tells me one. Usually they are coherent and interesting and so are hers :)

Sara- Sara is amazing. She volunteered for a solo in school music program and then came home and asked us what a solo was. Her eyes got a big as dinner plates when we told her. Nevertheless, she was incredible. I have to admit I was shocked with how well she did. She sang beautifully, right into the microphone with the perfect pitch and volume. It was awesome.

Sara also is a great reader. Often times she is able to read her part in morning scriptures study with little or no help. Liz and I can't spell things to talk in code anymore. We have to speak "giddish"

Anna- Anna is an anomaly. We have no idea what happened to the little girl who would go to primary and put her blanket over her head for the whole time. She is incredibly outgoing since moving to Missouri. She has so many friends. Her teacher told us she is very popular among the other students and everyone loves her. The phone is constantly ringing after school from 7 year old girls who just want to chat with her.

She does not understand the fuss and is content not to spend much time talking with them on the phone but rather they come over to the house and play. She is a good example of the type of friend we are all supposed to be in my opinion.

Katie- STUDENT OF THE MONTH!!! Katie was just awarded the student of the month award and we are so proud. She struggled a bit with school and stuff when we first got here but she has just turned on the jets and really loves learning. She reads late into the night each night. She has completed the first 3 Harry Potter books and will often come talk to us with excitement or tears in her eyes from something she has read.

Katie also had become fascinated with all of the birds that live around here and as actually started a blog where she posts some of the pictures she has been taking of birds and comments on them. It amazes me how she looks more and more like her mama each day. It is also funny to watch her and Liz talk to each other because not only do they look alike but they way they talk is uncannily the same as well. This sometimes causes some strife between the two but they love each other.

John- Keeps getting better looking each day. I love our family. I love to be at home with them and spend time talking with them. There is a great feeling in our home. I was surprised though yesterday when that same joyful feeling was felt outside our home. We all went to Richard Hawg Wild Bar-b-Que in a little town called Aurora, Missouri. This place will be lifted up at the rapture and will serve food throughout the millennium!

I love my job. Sherri Dew gets to speak with me at a conference in Arkansas later this month. I imagine I will let her get a picture with me, let me know if you want a glossy 8x10.

The institute is great. It is so fun to watch these young adults struggle through school and relationships etc. That's right, I said fun. I love sitting down with them and laughing about how hard things are. Don't worry they laugh too, which is one of the reasons why I love being around the youth. Obviously, there are many instances where there is no humor involved, and my heart breaks for some of these kids and the experiences they live through. You would love, however, to be around them and soak in their optimism for the future.

Liz- She is a machine. Each day she goes over to a friends house and does some crazy workout that leaves her sore and exhausted. But she continues to do it. She makes the best bread I have ever had. She has more patience than she gives herself credit for. She has a new haircut. Her kids love it when she acts silly with them. She has printed off a least 50 different charts in an effort to organize and clean her house. She killed a black widow. She is going to girls camp...there are lots of black widow there. She is excited to go to Utah. She is not excited for me to go to Dallas this week.

Ok- so there you have it.

Katie thinks she is hot stuff, and the green egg to your is very hot and awesome indeed. Below you can see some cool birds we have at the house. Further, you can see Sam ready to explode.

Snow Days...Are You Kidding?

It does not seem fair at all. A couple of days ago in snowed. It snowed so hard that nearly 2 inches of snow accumulated on the ground. School was the subsequently closed for 3 days. It was a very creepy feeling driving to work and realizing that I was the only one driving around in the entire city of springfield. The place looked like a ghost town.

I laughed when I heard the poor radio host have to read off all of the schools that were closed, she should probably take a night job as an auctioneer. The snow has been fun and not too much of a bother. Unfortunatley for the kids, their spring break just got a bit shorter.

Lawson Family Holiday Vacation(s)

We just put over 5,000 miles on our mini-van in 2 months.
Liz and I pondered over the necessity of a DVD player installed in our van when we bought it almost a year ago. We decided to and now count that decision the most inspired revelation of our married life.

Our travels began shortly before Thankgiving. We loaded up the van and set a course to Chicago. Traveling with so many women in one car refines and molds a man into a vision of patience. Though inconceivable to me, apparently needing to use a bathroom every hour and a half is a trial that those of the fairer sex have grown accustomed to and I, by personal witness, am amazed.

Chicago was a lot of fun. We stayed at my sister's apartment which is only a few minutes from dowtown Chicago. Unfortunatley for us, my sister was not at her apartment, but was in Utah visiting family.

Thanksgiving at Aaron and Maggie's was awesome. There were so many kids there and it was fun to see them all playing together. And to whoever made the key-lime pie,you will have gold shingles placed on your mansion in heaven.

As part of the festivities, the ladies went to see Wicked, which, judging by the amount of times the soundtrack has been played in our house and car, was a lot of fun. It was a highlight for the girls. I got to drop them off and pick them up from the theater in downtown Chicago. I have never been in a city that size. It was incredible and mind boggling. The architecture of the city is something that can be enjoyed for a long time.

I ran in an 8k with Amelia and Michelle. I beat them both to claim the title "Turkey Trotter Extraordinaire". It turned out to be close to a half-marathon though. We lost the car and wandered for quite sometime through some of Chicago's more, ummm, colorful parts of town.

Fast forward 3 weeks and again we were loading up the van on our way to Utah. FYI, http://www.weather.com/ is not a reliable site for weather information. My hands have still yet to uncurl after driving, white knuckled, for most of the 22 hours it took. My hat goes off to those who live along the I-80 corridor in Wyoming. Truly those people are strong willed or mentally unstable.

Utah was great. Each day the kids got to play with there cousins, we were able to see friends from Bountiful and visit the ward. Katie was able to spend a day with her friend Sister Pope. We will let the pictures do the talking of our expereinces in Utah.

We were grateful for the feelings of sorrow we felt as we left to come back. That might sound strange but it confirmed to us that indeed family is the most important thing to us.
Driving back to Missouri was exceptional. In fact we drove straight through and did so in 4 hours less than it took us to drive to Utah.