Holiday Newsletter

Merry Christmas! If you are visiting our blog for the first time as a result of receiving our Christmas card, then WELCOME - you can see our previous postings by perusing our archives. We have had a great year and we wanted to share with you a little bit about what we have been up to:

We continue to live in Hermiston and truly enjoy our home, neighborhood, friends, and family. We completed our first major home renovation, remodeling our bathroom, after working on it for about six months off and on. It was fun learning new skills, like tiling, from our knowledgeable friends and family who were a great help in getting the job done. I think I still need a bit more time before I am ready to use my new-found skills on another project, though! We also have been working on getting our yard the way we would like and even put in a tiered box garden down the slope in the backyard.

Jared is in one of his busiest seasons at Les Schwab, which became even more hectic with the recent snow. At church, Jared teaches the 16 to 18 year-old Sunday School class which he really seems to enjoy. In his time off, Jared's main hobby is playing with Gavin - they have a BALL together! When Jared comes home and sits on the stairs to take his boots off, Gavin is right there on the stairs next to him "chatting" about his day. Jared is a wonderful dad and he eagerly awaits the arrival of our daughter.

My major news this year is that I resigned from my teaching position. Last year I experimented with working half time and loved the schedule, but I still yearned to be home full time. Now that I'm not working regularly, I supplement our income by substituting occasionally and also by teaching piano lessons. I have absolutely loved being home and have discovered that, when I have the time, I really don't mind cooking! I'm also kept busy by my calling as Primary Chorister, which I absolutely love. Although it is growing a bit more tiring as I continue to grow larger - "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" is becoming "Head, Shoulders, Thighs and Knees". :) If you were curious about what my baby bump is looking like (at just shy of 28 weeks), here is an extremely recent picture taken as I'm writing this newsletter in my sweats (oh, so glamorous!).

Gavin continues to be the light of our lives. He is a sharp little guy and constantly keeps us on our toes! He is turning two this month and Elmo just barely beat out horses for the party theme - those are his two major loves in life. He also loves music and has learned how to turn on the radio so he can dance to his "tunes" and find a "fass" song if the tempo isn't right for his "moves". The rest of his time is most often spent playing with toys, riding his toy horses, looking at books, eating, watching video of himself on the computer and TALKING! He is our little chatterbox - it is nice to have someone to talk to when it's just the two of us at home.

We are excited to be having a daughter in a couple of months. So far we have been blessed with a healthy and uneventful pregnancy and we look forward to February (or March - the appointment isn't scheduled yet) when our little one will arrive! Gavin loves to lift up my shirt to give the baby kisses, but he is quick to put my shirt back down and tell me "Shhhh...baby...sleeping..." We can't wait for him to meet his sister and are excited to experience life as a family of four!

We hope that you will be surrounded by love this holiday season - by the love of family, of friends and of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We love you and wish you all the best in the New Year.