Merry Christmas!

We hope this Christmas time finds all of our family and friends doing well and enjoying this time of the year (however crazy and busy it sometimes can be)! We sent out a few cards, but know that we may have missed a few due to lack of addresses or simply because we ran out of cards (I guess we need to buy more next year). So, for those of you that we missed we'd like to say sorry and we might just need to get your address too! Send me an email with your info if you want to be on our list! Anyway, here is also an account of our past year. Honestly, it hasn't been one with anything extraordinary happening, just the normal everyday types of things, but it has kept us busy making lots of great memories!

Curt is still doing his landscaping/mowing business during the summer and he started renovating some houses with his friend, Ben Jones. Curt is the best stay-at-home Daddy, but I think he secretly (maybe not so secretly) loves getting out of the house more to work part-time everyday! He has been working with the Young Men and Scouting in our ward and loves doing that. I think he loves wrestling with the boys even more than they do...it brings out the "big kid" in him.

Trieste is working, but started working part-time in August for the new school year. She also switched schools and changed from being a Kindergarten teacher (which she did for 8 years) to the ELP teacher/coordinator. It is such a different type of job that she feels like she's a 1st year teacher again. She loves learning more about how to effectively teach the gifted/talented upper grade (4-6) students! She is the activities chairperson in her ward and although it has kept her busy during the events it is a great calling for her to learn more about leadership and delegation! She also is the pianist in the Relief Society. Along with all of those things, she loves being home more with her two girls (most of the time)!

Jacie is almost 4 and so much like a 4 year old! She wants to go to school so badly and finally got the potty training thing down so she can go. She already knows her letters/sounds and can identify beginning sounds of words, she is so ready to be a preschooler! She loves Dora, playing with animals and building tall, tall towers! She loves her little sister, Rylie and it is so fun to watch them play together, especially those unique moments when they get along and are not fighting! She is getting so big and I cannot believe that she will be able to go to school next year!

Rylie is our 2 year old and she is definitely becoming more of her own little person. She is not a baby anymore, that's for sure. She is very opinionated and wants things her way, she can throw a mean fit if she doesn't get what she wants (which usually is candy). She still likes to be the baby in the fact that she likes us to hold her and doesn't like it if Mommy is holding another baby. But, hopefully, she will learn to get over that one. She is so sweet and lovable and if someone is sad or hurt, she is the first to run over and give that person a kiss and a hug.

Our family has had a great year with some wonderful memories and we hope you've all had more ups than downs this year too! Here's hoping that next year is even better! We are so grateful for all of our friends and family at this time of year, our lives are so much better and so greatly blessed because of each of you! During this time of year, may we remember the true reason for this season...

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

"He taught us the wondrous things of God. He opened the eyes of understanding to all who would listen. He was the fulfillment of the law, the sacrifice that would thereafter do away with every other sacrifice. We love Him. We honor Him. We thank Him. We worship Him. He has done for each of us and for all mankind that which none other could have done. God be thanked for the gift of His beloved Son, our Savior, the Redeemer of the World, the Lamb without blemish who was offered as a sacrifice for all mankind." (Ezra Taft Benson)

We love you all! Merry Christmas!