Merry Christmas!!

I know I'm a day late with it, but I was having way, way too much fun yesterday watching my awesome family open their gifts, and then spending the day with them, to get on the computer!  I hope you had a wonderful, joyous Christmas and were able to spend it with those you love the most.  And above all, I hope you remembered the true meaning of Christmas.

Answers to Prayers

So, I was sitting in church today, listening to some beautiful, amazing ladies sharing their incredible voices while they sang about the birth of Christ.  As the music surrounded me, I let my mind wander.  Earlier this month, I gave a talk in church about answers to prayers and personal revelation.  It's funny that this was my topic, because I have always had a hard time feeling like my prayers are answered.  I've spent a big part of the last few months feeling sorry for myself because I felt that a very big prayer of mine had gone unanswered.  It struck me today how very, very wrong I've been.  My prayer did not go unanswered.  It simply was answered very differently than I had expected it to be answered.  And I don't have words to express how very, very grateful I am that my prayer was answered in the way that it was!!  I am so, so grateful to have a loving Heavenly Father who knows what is best for me and what I need, even when I am sure that it's something else.   My life course has been changed because He knew so much better than I what I needed.  And for that, all I can say is....

Whole Lotta Catching Up...

 ...wow, I can't believe I haven't posted since July!  Life has been busy, busy, busy.  I know I'll forget something, but here goes a month by month update!

August

I got hired by two new companies for work.  They've added quite a bit of work for me, and have very, very quickly become one of my main sources of work.  I'm very, very grateful for having found them, and credit these two companies mostly with the fact that for the first time ever in my career, I'm as busy in December as I was over the summer!

Josh started his Senior year of high school.  Crazy!!!

The Snake River Panthers, led by Josh and the other Senior captains, started their soccer season and their quest for a State title.

And.....taaadaaaaaa......I bought a new car!!!  A much needed, long overdue new car.  And I completely, totally, and completely LOVE it!  It is a red Pontiac G6, and is beyond fun!

September

More soccer ensued!!  I think I was at two soccer games, as a minimum, a week.  Sometimes, Saturday games were added too.  One of the great things about my job is that I was able to schedule my work travel so that I could attend as many games as possible.

The Soccer girls made fun shirts to support each of the boys on the boys team.  They wore them to every soccer game.  This is cute Jessie in her #5 (Josh) shirt.

October

Josh turned 18!!!!!!!!!

Snake River Panthers won Districts!!

And then, on to State, where they WON THE STATE TITLE!!!!  WOOOHOOOO.  For the first time ever, Snake River Boys Soccer are Idaho State 3A Soccer Champions.

The exhausted champion spent most of the drive home from Boise passed out!!

November

I got to attend the assembly at school where they honored the Soccer team.  And boy...does Snake River know how to put on a show!!

And, of course, later in the month, we had the Soccer banquet, to pass out letters and celebrate the end of a very successful season.

 I loved getting the team a cake to celebrate their win!

And of course.....Thanksgiving!  Normally, we have friends over for Thanksgiving dinner, which is always so much fun.  This year, they were able to go and be with some family members, so it was just the three of us.  It was a wonderful day, and it was special to be with just the family and be able to reflect on the things we were grateful for this year.  I don't spend enough time thinking about my blessings and all I've been given, and it was a good thing to be reminded that I'm very, very blessed and fortunate.  This has been a year of many, many changes.  Some endings, some new beginnings.  It's been very nice to be able to look back on all those changes and endings and beginnings and truly be able to see that every change, every door closing, and every window opening, has been a blessing.  They have all been to my benefit and helped me grow and become a better, stronger person.

December

HOW can it be December already?!?!?!  It's crazy how fast the year has flown by!  Our new ward has put me to work, and put me on the Event Committee for Relief Society.  At my first committee meeting, I got put in charge of all the set up, decorations, and clean up of the ward Christmas dinner.  EEEKKK!  Put the new girl in charge of the hard stuff!  But it was so much fun.  It helped me meet so many people and make more new friends in the ward.  Last night was the dinner, and it was delicious and went off perfectly!  The kids in the ward acted out the Nativity Scene, and it was darling!

And now....the Christmas season is right on top of me!  It's coming whether I'm ready or not, so I fully plan to spend the rest of the month being super busy working, enjoying my family and friends, and getting ready to have a peaceful, relaxing Christmas with my family!

Merry Christmas to you all, and I hope you are able to spend the season with those you love the most!!

Happy 4th of July!!!1

Wishing you all a Happy 4th of July!  I am so proud to be an American and so proud of the freedoms that we enjoy as Americans.  It's a privilege to have been born in this wonderful country and be an American citizen.  Enjoy your celebrations today and remember to pay tribute to the freedoms and liberties we have as Americans.

Welcome Home James!!

Wednesday was a big day in our family.   James returned home from a successful year in New Mexico, completing his mission.  I am so proud of him and of the decisions he's made and the work that he's put into turning his life in a direction that he's proud of and so that he's headed down the paths that he wants to be on.  It's been a long road for him, but he's made good decisions.  I'm excited for him to be home and ready to start on the new chapter of his life!

It was great to see several of his friends at the airport with us to meet him.  

And then it was time to party!  It was so much fun to have so many of his friend and family friends join us for a BBQ in our beautiful shady yard Wednesday evening.  Yummy food, beautiful weather, and wonderful friends made for a very fun evening! 

Thank you for the cake Nadine!!  It was beautiful and so delicious!!!!