I just have to say that I have awesome kids! I have the sweetest, kindest, gentlest, and just the best little boys ever. I am a boys mom. I wouldn't trade any one or all of my boys for one girl. I sometimes wonder why I was blessed by my Heavenly Father to have all boys and how it is that He has deemed me worthy to have these 3 beautiful boys. For you see, I truly am blessed by having boys. I get to see the world through the eyes of 3 different personalities and it gives me much to think about each day. I have one who is the most gentle and kind little boy I have ever known. I have one who is so passionate about learning and living that I am often worn out simply by watching him for a few minutes. And, I have one whose imagination is blooming bigger than I ever thought it could at such a young age.
Since my pregnancy with Korbin, John and I have made a "list" of sorts. It is a list that we keep, mentally for the most part, of why we are thankful to have boys. One of the top reasons is that I will one day have great daughters in law. So, you see, I will have the blessing of having daughters one day, but right now I am just so thankful to have boys....to hear their stomping feet running through the house, to see their joy in nature, to hear their laughter each day, and to feel their hugs each and every day.
Just for the record: I would never be disappointed if a girl were to come to our family.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
An(other) Year in Review
Here it is, the end of the year, yet again!! For weeks I have been thinking that I should be sitting down to update our blog. I mean, really, I haven't been very diligent in updating since our move. And then of course, there is the fact that the end of another year has arrived. Now, if I could just fine more time in my life, I might actually get to everything that I want to do done. So, without further ado...
This year has certainly gone much faster than we wanted it too, and it has brought to our family, many blessings and new experiences. We are truly grateful and abundantly blessed.
We began this year living in Murray, Utah, surrounded by lots of white, powdery COLD snow. We end the year back in Humboldt County, CA surrounded by family, friends, and lots of cold, wet rain. This was not exactly how we thought the end of the year would find us, but we have been reminded yet again that we are not always in control of the whole of the plan!
We returned to Utah after spending last Christmas with Sarah's family, leaving Connor to spend another couple of weeks with his grandparents and great grandparents. He got to fly home alone....how is it that they grow so quickly? John went back to his job at Gold's Gym and Sarah continued staying home, watching the neighbor's kids and making scrapbooks. Life was carrying on.
In April, John was offered a job with a local college in Salt Lake, doing admissions recruiting for their Personal Fitness Trainer program. This gave us a higher income, better benefits, and a pretty normal schedule. Plus, he had the opportunity to take classes at a reduced rate as well. It was during his time with the college that John decided he really wants to complete his Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science or a related field and perhaps go on to teach. He is a trainer at heart, and since losing a fair amount of weight, getting in shape and becoming a trainer, he has never looked back. Since moving back to Humboldt County, John has gone to work in the furniture department at Gottschalks and he will return to school in January.
In July, Sarah began working a part time job, only on the weekends, at a Hilton hotel in Midvale, Utah. It was a good way to pay for the student loan payment that was incurred while she finished school in the previous years. And, it provided a little extra for some fun acitivities for the family. Plus, Sarah got to use her Spanish speaking abilities with co-workers on a regular basis. Since coming back home, Sarah has returned to her job with the Humboldt County Social Services Branch as an eligibility worker for Medi-Cal and Food Stamps. It is hard to be at work all day and not at home with the boys, but we are thankful that grandma cares for them and that Sarah was able to go back to her job within just a couple of weeks of our return. Sarah just applied for, and was appointed to a position on the Scotia Unified School District School board. At least that education degree can be used for volunteer work!
Connor is growing like crazy! He is now 8 and in the 3rd grade. Connor had an exciting year in 2008! Turning 8 is pretty special for us being members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka Mormon) because at 8 we are ready for baptism. Connor was so excited for his 8th birthday since he was able to be baptized, his grandma was coming, and of course the presents involved in a birthday. Since we lived in Utah where there are lots more church members, we explained to Connor that he may have to wait until the month after his birthday to be baptized with all of the others turning 8 at the end of February and throughout the month of March. For Connor, the black and white in all aspects of life child that he is, this was seen as a major problem. Thankfully, our neighbor's children asked if they could learn about the Church and be baptized. They were taught in our home by the missionaries, and they decided to be baptized on Connor's birthday and our Bishop said that Connor could be baptized then too. What an awesome experience! Connor is still our very black and white child. He never seems to question what is right or wrong, he really just does good and seldom does anything wrong. Connor is doing well in school, enjoys Math and Science, and is probably going to be taller than his mother by next Christmas.
Aidan had an exicitng year this year, too! Since he was not able to transfer to school in Utah last school year, Aidan got to spend each day at home with his mom and Korbin. Not being in school also meant that Aidan got to come home with grandma for about a month after Connor's birthday. It also meant that Sarah was doing lots of stuff with the two little boys during the day, or trying too. By summer time, Aidan was reading pretty well thanks to Aunt Karen lending us her Hooked on Phonics program. Connor and Aidan went to spend 6 weeks with granparents again this summer and returned to Utah just in time for the new school year to begin. Aidan happily started Kindergarten with a great first year Kindergarten teacher named Ms. Miller. She told us several times that she was afraid she was not challening him enough and we worried that this could be very true. When we came back to visit Humboldt County prior to moving, we enrolled the boys in school at Scotia Elementary. Before doing so, we had Aidan tested to see if we could possibly put him in 1st grade. He passed the test with flying colors and began 1st grade after only having about 8 total weeks of Kindergarten. He is doing very well, and we are so grateful to have him as part of our family. Of course, there will probably come a day when we can no longer help him with his homework, but for now we are doing okay.
Korbin turned 2 and officially became a toddler in February! He is a great joy for us, and we are so glad that he is a part of our family. One would never know by looking at him, that he had such a rough start in life. Korbin has really developed his verbal skills this year and has really started using his imagination more than ever. He recently started to say his own name and somehow learned that he is "2 half" and not just 2.
So, as we have mentioned, we are back in Humboldt County. This year has brought us full circle. We made the decision to come back in October, when we realized how hard, health wise, the previous few months had been on Sarah's grandpa. Perhaps the biggest lesson (or reminder) of the year for us is simply that family is important, family ties cannot easily be untied, and in the end, family must support one another. In the end, we want nothing less than happiness and success for our children. We have really come to believe that for that to happen, we need to be near our family. We are truly grateful for the never ending love and support that we receive from our family and hope and pray that we can give them the same in return.
May all of you be blessed throughout the new year and always!
This year has certainly gone much faster than we wanted it too, and it has brought to our family, many blessings and new experiences. We are truly grateful and abundantly blessed.
We began this year living in Murray, Utah, surrounded by lots of white, powdery COLD snow. We end the year back in Humboldt County, CA surrounded by family, friends, and lots of cold, wet rain. This was not exactly how we thought the end of the year would find us, but we have been reminded yet again that we are not always in control of the whole of the plan!
We returned to Utah after spending last Christmas with Sarah's family, leaving Connor to spend another couple of weeks with his grandparents and great grandparents. He got to fly home alone....how is it that they grow so quickly? John went back to his job at Gold's Gym and Sarah continued staying home, watching the neighbor's kids and making scrapbooks. Life was carrying on.
In April, John was offered a job with a local college in Salt Lake, doing admissions recruiting for their Personal Fitness Trainer program. This gave us a higher income, better benefits, and a pretty normal schedule. Plus, he had the opportunity to take classes at a reduced rate as well. It was during his time with the college that John decided he really wants to complete his Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science or a related field and perhaps go on to teach. He is a trainer at heart, and since losing a fair amount of weight, getting in shape and becoming a trainer, he has never looked back. Since moving back to Humboldt County, John has gone to work in the furniture department at Gottschalks and he will return to school in January.
In July, Sarah began working a part time job, only on the weekends, at a Hilton hotel in Midvale, Utah. It was a good way to pay for the student loan payment that was incurred while she finished school in the previous years. And, it provided a little extra for some fun acitivities for the family. Plus, Sarah got to use her Spanish speaking abilities with co-workers on a regular basis. Since coming back home, Sarah has returned to her job with the Humboldt County Social Services Branch as an eligibility worker for Medi-Cal and Food Stamps. It is hard to be at work all day and not at home with the boys, but we are thankful that grandma cares for them and that Sarah was able to go back to her job within just a couple of weeks of our return. Sarah just applied for, and was appointed to a position on the Scotia Unified School District School board. At least that education degree can be used for volunteer work!
Connor is growing like crazy! He is now 8 and in the 3rd grade. Connor had an exciting year in 2008! Turning 8 is pretty special for us being members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka Mormon) because at 8 we are ready for baptism. Connor was so excited for his 8th birthday since he was able to be baptized, his grandma was coming, and of course the presents involved in a birthday. Since we lived in Utah where there are lots more church members, we explained to Connor that he may have to wait until the month after his birthday to be baptized with all of the others turning 8 at the end of February and throughout the month of March. For Connor, the black and white in all aspects of life child that he is, this was seen as a major problem. Thankfully, our neighbor's children asked if they could learn about the Church and be baptized. They were taught in our home by the missionaries, and they decided to be baptized on Connor's birthday and our Bishop said that Connor could be baptized then too. What an awesome experience! Connor is still our very black and white child. He never seems to question what is right or wrong, he really just does good and seldom does anything wrong. Connor is doing well in school, enjoys Math and Science, and is probably going to be taller than his mother by next Christmas.
Aidan had an exicitng year this year, too! Since he was not able to transfer to school in Utah last school year, Aidan got to spend each day at home with his mom and Korbin. Not being in school also meant that Aidan got to come home with grandma for about a month after Connor's birthday. It also meant that Sarah was doing lots of stuff with the two little boys during the day, or trying too. By summer time, Aidan was reading pretty well thanks to Aunt Karen lending us her Hooked on Phonics program. Connor and Aidan went to spend 6 weeks with granparents again this summer and returned to Utah just in time for the new school year to begin. Aidan happily started Kindergarten with a great first year Kindergarten teacher named Ms. Miller. She told us several times that she was afraid she was not challening him enough and we worried that this could be very true. When we came back to visit Humboldt County prior to moving, we enrolled the boys in school at Scotia Elementary. Before doing so, we had Aidan tested to see if we could possibly put him in 1st grade. He passed the test with flying colors and began 1st grade after only having about 8 total weeks of Kindergarten. He is doing very well, and we are so grateful to have him as part of our family. Of course, there will probably come a day when we can no longer help him with his homework, but for now we are doing okay.
Korbin turned 2 and officially became a toddler in February! He is a great joy for us, and we are so glad that he is a part of our family. One would never know by looking at him, that he had such a rough start in life. Korbin has really developed his verbal skills this year and has really started using his imagination more than ever. He recently started to say his own name and somehow learned that he is "2 half" and not just 2.
So, as we have mentioned, we are back in Humboldt County. This year has brought us full circle. We made the decision to come back in October, when we realized how hard, health wise, the previous few months had been on Sarah's grandpa. Perhaps the biggest lesson (or reminder) of the year for us is simply that family is important, family ties cannot easily be untied, and in the end, family must support one another. In the end, we want nothing less than happiness and success for our children. We have really come to believe that for that to happen, we need to be near our family. We are truly grateful for the never ending love and support that we receive from our family and hope and pray that we can give them the same in return.
May all of you be blessed throughout the new year and always!
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