I have to be honest, 2013 was a long and hard year. I was pregnant a total of 10 months this year, I went through the first trimester of pregnancy twice. So basically I spent most of this year sick and throwing up. In April I had my miscarriage and d&c and then two months later I got pregnant (which was exciting) but summer was hard for me. My dear friend, Jenn Gent, was my rock this summer. And then in September she told me they were moving to AZ in October. I miss her a lot.
My brother got married in September. The wedding itself was crazy and stressful, school had just started too, but it turned out to be beautiful. I think the best part of 2013 was having my new sister in law, Kristin, join our family. I have loved getting to know her. Her and my brother then moved to CA which means I am the only one of my siblings living here in WA.
Also in the fall one of Steve's co workers quit and another went on maternity leave, so Steve was working a lot more. He also was a team Physician for a local high school football team for the 5th year. For a while it seemed like he was rarely home. Luckily it resulted in a bigger raise for next year and an extra bonus this season. Steve has been my biggest support this year. He has done more dishes and cleaning than ever before. He is also the Elder's Quorum president at church (he has been for about 4 years) and he does a great job serving people at our church by visiting them in their homes, helping them move, teaching Sunday school lessons, and helping with their welfare and spiritual needs. He really has been pretty amazing this year.
We did have some family fun this year. We traveled to Utah to visit family, we went to Oregon for a quick family vacation, and had my in laws come for a visit.
In November Jaxson turned 8 years old and was baptized. Throughout this year we set a goal to have one family night lesson a month dedicated to learning about baptism. Jaxson has grown spiritually and emotionally this year. Steve even worked with him almost every night and helped him memorize all 13 Articles of Faith.
Ehlana has grown this year too. (More emotionally than physically.) She has grown the most in empathy and love for her siblings. She is a wonderful big sister to Jakob and she prays every night that this new baby won't die. I think she will always remember that day that she came to the doctor's office with me and found out that the baby had died. Every appointment I go to concerns her and she asks if the baby is alive. She loves kindergarten and is excited about learning.
Jakob has grown in every way! He is the funniest, sweetest, most wonderful two year old I have ever known. He has the vocabulary of a 4 year old and is very mature for his age. He is my little buddy and we have spent countless hours in my bed reading, playing on my phone, and snuggling. He reminds me everyday that I have the best job in the world!
Our family has been very blessed this year. We are healthy and happy. We are spiritually stronger and closer as a family. I am really looking forward to 2014. Hey, maybe I'll even get around to posting about Jaxson's birthday, his baptism, and Christmas! Happy New Year!
