2009 Christmas Letter

My favorite part of Christmas cards are the year summary letter, but instead of sending it: I am going to post it here. If you want a copy--feel free to print it. Otherwise we will pretend to go green and save the paper.
This year has been one of changes for us. The first change is that we didn't change residents. We have enjoyed our little house in West Richland. We keep thinking we will find a bigger house, but we like our low rent and big yard. So for now, we are still here. But we did change our family dynamics by adding another little girl. Kaylyn Ruth was born 5/26/09 after 30 hours of labor. She was 5 weeks premature and had a few complications. She ended up staying in the hospital for a week like Karla did. Unlike Karla, she stayed in the special care nursery instead of my room. She was the first patient to use the new special care unit at KGH. Kaylyn has since grown out of all her complications. She is still small though. She was 5 lbs 13 oz and is still only 13.4 lbs at 6 months. But she is growing and the doctor isn't worried. Kaylyn has been my best nurser and the only one to nurse this long. I am still on high blood pressure medication but so far my diabetes has gone dormant. Kaylyn has brought a lot of joy into our family. She is happy and quick to smile. And if I do say so myself, I think she is beautiful!
Kylee has become quite the big sister. She loves on the baby. And I think the most said phrase in our house has been first "is it my turn to hold the baby" and then "leave the baby alone!" Kylee loves to dress up and is all about princesses. She also loves to sing and swing. She is my night owl and has trouble going to sleep but loves to sleep in. She is independant, stubborn, and cute! We love her very much.
Karla has started preschool this year. She loves school. She is maturing some and with that comes a quietness about her. She is still great at making friends and makes friends everywhere she goes. She loves to play games, do homework, and read books. She still gets out and runs and plays with the best of them but takes some quiet time for herself. Karla seems to follow her dad in that numbers are coming to her better than letters. Her teacher says she is very independant as well as many other strengths.
Todd has also started school this year. He started off the year working for Keller's Supply as their out of town deliviery guy (just a 6 hour run round trip). He really enjoyed it. Unfortantly this economy hit. His boss said "I hate to let you go, but we are laying off good men just to survive." He wasn't the first to be laid off, but his turn came this August. With encouragment from Brother Hazel, Todd has gone back to school to become an x-ray tech. He is actually kind of excited about the career (not school). He has worked hard. He gets up at 6:00 to be to school by 6:50. He is on campus until 4:00 when he heads to McDonalds. He usually starts at 5 and works to between 11 pm and 1:30 am. He comes home and sometimes studys even more. I will wake up at 3 for my paper route and kiss him good night. And when I come I kiss him goodbye. He has read all his assigned reading, and he puts in hours and revisions for his weekly assignements.
As for me, my hobbies has changed to nursing and exercising. I still keep up on my blog because I can do it while nursing. I have started doing papers again. This time I have a friend also doing papers--since at that time in the morning minutes are free, we visit. I love ear buds! I am trying to find the right balance of trying to keep my house clean, caring for my kids (especially with Kaylyn nursing), and trying to get healthy.
We have been richly blessed. I find myself counting my blessings often. Most of all, I am learning that everything I am is thanks to my Savior. I am grateful for his atonement and infante love. I have learned a lot from Him and His example, and when I fall short, He makes up the difference. I know He lives! And I am so grateful He does.