Merry Christmas!
This is our favorite time of year, for one obvious reason. It’s the best!
We love the lights, sounds, smells, and magic that comes with this season. We most enjoy reflecting on the birth of the Savior of the World. As the world turns more and more away from anything to do with Christ, it is great to really focus on Him and the blessings he gives us. This year we have been blessed in many ways.
This is our favorite time of year, for one obvious reason. It’s the best!
We love the lights, sounds, smells, and magic that comes with this season. We most enjoy reflecting on the birth of the Savior of the World. As the world turns more and more away from anything to do with Christ, it is great to really focus on Him and the blessings he gives us. This year we have been blessed in many ways.
Ryan took a new job working at an amazing hotel for an even more amazing company. He is learning TONS, and is really excited for the upcoming renovation of the hotel. He is getting back into hiking, and has just gotten even busier with church callings! He loves this area, and looks forward to all of the exploring we have yet to do. Ryan actually got into reading again; he's not much into novels, but "The DaVinci Code" grabbed his attention!
Melanie has enjoyed a calling working with the young women in our ward. She is thoroughly awed by the amazing youth we have these days! And the ladies she serves with are pretty neat, too. She got called to the activities committee again, and is loving that as well! She helps in Taylor's classroom once a week, and likes to take the girls to play group so she can have mom's social hour too! She's also been doing a lot of reading and learning, and hopes to take a class or two at the community college here.
Taylor is enjoying the first grade, and everything that comes along with it: reading, writing, computers, music, recess, PE, and yes, math! He loves playing Lego Indiana Jones on the Wii, and is really into the Magic Treehouse book series. And, for those of you who are long-time blog followers, he has officially gotten sick of "cold lunch" from home! He always tells me he wants hot lunch at school, so we're mixing up what I send him a little more! Taylor wants to play soccer and get into karate, so we'll see how busy we are in upcoming school years!
Callie has been working on her beautiful voice and really enjoys dancing and playing with new friends. She is a sassy girl! She is already such a little mother, and loves to boss everyone...hmmm...I'm sure she didn't get that from her mom! She would like to be a ballerina, so we'll have to see about getting her into dance classes; the girl is very talented!
Janey is walking now, and is growing up so fast. She’s not our baby anymore, and loves to let us know it! "Stop!" is her favorite new phrase... She also loves giving kisses and is very good at it! She is starting to love babies dolls, and is starting to be interested in other little friends. She's going to be our social butterfly!
Melanie has enjoyed a calling working with the young women in our ward. She is thoroughly awed by the amazing youth we have these days! And the ladies she serves with are pretty neat, too. She got called to the activities committee again, and is loving that as well! She helps in Taylor's classroom once a week, and likes to take the girls to play group so she can have mom's social hour too! She's also been doing a lot of reading and learning, and hopes to take a class or two at the community college here.
Taylor is enjoying the first grade, and everything that comes along with it: reading, writing, computers, music, recess, PE, and yes, math! He loves playing Lego Indiana Jones on the Wii, and is really into the Magic Treehouse book series. And, for those of you who are long-time blog followers, he has officially gotten sick of "cold lunch" from home! He always tells me he wants hot lunch at school, so we're mixing up what I send him a little more! Taylor wants to play soccer and get into karate, so we'll see how busy we are in upcoming school years!
Callie has been working on her beautiful voice and really enjoys dancing and playing with new friends. She is a sassy girl! She is already such a little mother, and loves to boss everyone...hmmm...I'm sure she didn't get that from her mom! She would like to be a ballerina, so we'll have to see about getting her into dance classes; the girl is very talented!
Janey is walking now, and is growing up so fast. She’s not our baby anymore, and loves to let us know it! "Stop!" is her favorite new phrase... She also loves giving kisses and is very good at it! She is starting to love babies dolls, and is starting to be interested in other little friends. She's going to be our social butterfly!
So, a quick replay of some of the exciting things we've done this year:
We spent lots of time in Salt Lake with Melanie's family this summer for her brother Aaron's wedding, and then her brother David's funeral. As most of you know, we moved to Page, Arizona in May, for an awesome new job, and bought our first home! We are loving the area- Lake Powell is our "backyard," and it is beautiful! We went hiking in the world famous Antelope Canyon, as well as other beautiful places, and have been swimming at the lake several times. We've had many family members and friends come to visit, too, which has been fun! We've gotten to spend a lot more time with cousins Scott and Karen and their children, which has been fun for parents and kids alike! Taylor and Ammon are best buds. We are regulars at library story time, and went to movies in the park in the summer. More recently, Ryan and Melanie celebrated their 7th anniversary in style! The amazing chef at the hotel fixed us a 5 course meal, and it was delectable! Melanie went to see "New Moon" with all the other crazies at 2:30 a.m. opening day. We spent Thanksgiving on a houseboat with friends, and have attended some awesome ward activities! We went to a NICU reunion for Janey, hosted at the Jubilee of Trees, in December, and got to see a lot of dear friends. We've made lots of great new friends here, and are just loving our ward! We look forward to spending Christmas and New Year's with lots of family!
