Shipley Family Update 2023

Happy Christmas to all! We are grateful for this year of growth and love our family has experienced, and for the gospel that has allowed us to focus on our Savior Jesus Christ. Here are some updates from our family and a GIFt from each of us. 




We moved! After 9 years (and 8 days) of living in our beloved Durham we decided it was time for a change and bought a home on the coast this August. We are loving life here in Leland, and LOVE having visitors!!



Matthew's top 10 highlights of 2023 (in no particular order)
  1. Paternity leave to ring in the new year
  2. Working at Nugget from home, finally in a room he doesn't also sleep in
  3. Pickup soccer
  4. Darts league
  5. Continuing working on designing his board game, Best XI (almost done!)
  6. Being married to Elise for 10 years! Becoming a better birder with her.
  7. Trip to Dominican Republic in November & taking surf lessons
  8.  Seeing Lionel Messi play in person for Inter Miami @ Charlotte FC
  9. Youtubing how to install ceiling fans, car maintenance, install garage door opener, etc.
  10. Living close to the beach, beaching in NJ, beaching in DR...



Elise's top 10 highlights (in no particular order):
  1. Going back to teach in the Fall for BYU-I (highlight: paycheck)
  2. Making one (and only one) recipe of sourdough all the time
  3. Embroidering some things for some people (vague I know)
  4. 116/120 bird goal (although I still have 20 days left!) Favorite find: Bananaquit in DR
  5. 23/23 book goal. Favorite reads: Remarkably Bright Creatures and Know My Name
  6. Teaching gospel doctrine in Durham, and compassionate service in Leland
  7. Trips to Utah in August to see family and Easter with Durham friends in Virginia
  8. Making new friends in Leland & staying in touch with old ones in Durham + beyond
  9. Surviving/conquering all the acronym-illnesses- MRSA, COVID, PPD (but luckily not at the same time!!)
  10. Celebrating 10 years with Matt by going to the DR! Loved seeing all the birds and beaching. (Shout out to mom/dad for all the help!)




Callum's top 10 highlights:
  1. Kindergarten graduation and flourishing at a new school for 1st grade.
  2. Pokemon!! Even though mom won't even let him watch it, he is still basically a (self-proclaimed) expert.
  3. Learning about & quizzing everyone on all the animal facts
  4. Reads like a pro, LOVES math, and is learning to write messages on sticky notes such as "I want to be alone!!!" and "Mom is the WORST"
  5. Scootering tricks and playing outside with Enos & Hyrum in Durham 
  6. Boogie boarding at the beach with cousins and swimming at all the pools
  7. Loves decorating the house. Halloween, Christmas, unpacking stuff... He's an organizational enthusiast
  8. "How come all you feed me is chicken nuggets, pizza and hot dogs?" (Cue screaming whenever we feed him anything that is not one of those 3 things)
  9. A sonic the hedgehog themed birthday party at the pool
  10. Inventing a contraction that now half the people in the family regularly use. "I AMN'T GOING TO CLEAN MY ROOM"




Zack's top 10 highlights:
  1. Self-inventing knock knock jokes that don't make sense
  2. Facetiming Cooper to rehearse aforementioned knock knock jokes
  3. Getting potty trained!!!
  4. Saying all the cute things. "I have to get my dressed on!" "Teenee nenee neena turtles" (TMNT), "I AMN'T (am not) a silly goose!!" "I've got a hypopasis" (hypothesis)
  5. Preschool co-op with sweet friends in Durham, "Home-preschool" with mom in Leland... when she remembers to do it...
  6. Paw patrol, wild kratts, kinetic sand, transformers, "Myqueen" (lightning mcqueen), and being "equally interested and knowledgeable" about everything that Callum is.
  7. Watching Bluey with dad & Callum during nightly teeth brushing
  8. Nightly kisses with mom (eskimo kiss, butterfly kiss... and the invention of too many more, such as fish kiss, beaver kiss, shark kiss, vacuum kiss, gopher kiss... etc.)
  9. Adding unnecessary sound effects for any and all actions or movements
  10. Testing his parents' ability to parent patiently by seeing how many times he can get them to ask him to do something before he actually does it.




Finn's top 10 highlights:
  1. Being just a stinking adorable 14-month old
  2. Also being a whiney, clingy, overly dramatic child THAT WE LOVE SO MUCH
  3. Littering the floor with foods he will not eat within seconds of it being placed on high chair tray
  4. Waving, high fives, "mama" "dada" "HIIIII" and giving kisses/bites
  5. Snuggling/suffocating real and stuffed animal dogs
  6. Booty shaking and head banging to "twinkle twinkle little star" and "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam"
  7. Growing out of a dairy intolerance hallelujah 
  8. Watching Callum get off the bus every day and seeing dad when he gets off work
  9. Being a skunk for mom's forced Halloween family costume theme of Wild Kratts + creatures
  10. Terrorizing Zack by looking at, breathing on, or appearing to be thinking about interacting with any of his personal possessions.


We are grateful to get to connect with friends & family near and far at this time of year, especially as we spend our first Christmas in a new place, and send our love to you wherever you are!


Much love,

The Shipleys





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