it's been awhile....

It has been a long four months. I actually got on my computer a few days ago and wrote a long post with all my updates, but the next morning when i went to add pictures, it was gone. i have no idea what happened. i have some time today and thought i'd attempt to catch you up -again.

First... Christmas. it was the smallest Christmas we've had, but by far my favorite. funny how that works. As you know, instead of buying presents we did service. (however, Santa is never unemployed, so he did make an appearance. albeit, a small one.) Christmas morning noah woke us up, with all the energy of 20 children put together waited anxiously for reagan to wake up so he could see what Santa brought. Once she was awake, we him wait a few minutes more while we checked to see if Santa had really come. reagan wasn't as excited about what was awaiting for her, but more just feeding off of noah's energy. he has a lot of energy. Once we were ready, they ran into the living room and started opening presents from Santa. Noah got a bumble bee transformer helmet and hand gun and reagan got her first real doll and a little doll bed.

Noah was excited enough about his transformers stuff that he didn't notice there were no other presents to open, which was a relief to us as we were worried he might be upset.

I have no idea why i don't have a picture of reagan with her doll from Christmas morning, so here's a picture of her with the doll from today. depending on what day it is (no rhyme or reason) the dolls' name is either Macie or Sally.

 

After they opened their two presents from Santa, we pulled out the service jar from under the tree and sat in the middle of the room taking turns reading the slips. as each slip was put in secretly, we had no idea what would be on them as we pulled them out. There were at least 20 of them that said "i made noah's bed for him today". between aaron and i, i don't think noah made his bed once the entire month. (January was a rude awakening. it really sucks having to make your own bed when you're seven.) there were other ones that said things like, "i helped mom with reagan" or "i let aaron have the last cookie" or "i let brenda sleep in today", stuff like that. We also started writing down things that others did for us and how that made us feel. In the end, i think my favorite slip was one that noah had put in that said, "I was nice to a bully at school today". how perfectly sweet is that? As Hallmark card as it may sound - it really was the best Christmas. we spent about an hour going over each slip and laughing and sharing stories as we read them. we had such a great time that when it was done and we were cleaning up - no one really noticed that there weren't actual presents to open. i think that in the future, when there will be presents under the tree, we'll always do our service jar.

A few days after Christmas was the anniversary of my dad passing away. one of the things I've really struggled with during this trial is not having my dad here. I wrote in a letter a few weeks ago that for a girl, during a really hard time in life, there's nothing like having your dad tell you that everything will be ok. There's just something about having a father's comfort when times are hard. the anniversary of his death is usually a very hard day for me. I feel angry and sad and lonely. with all that was going on, i knew that day would be an extra tough one for me this year. But then, through some events that could only come from the love and tenderness my Heavenly Father has for me, I was able to wake up that morning with a sense of peace I haven't felt in four years. that morning i only felt the love that my dad has for me and i knew that if he could, he'd wrap his arms around me and tell me that everything would be ok. Oh, how i love and miss my dad.

This is a picture from the last time i was able to see him. i know it's not a very good one of him, as it was towards the end of his illness, but it's my favorite one. Because no matter how sick he was, or how much pain he was in, he would put on a brave face and smile.

ok - i'm going to move on as i need to stop crying.

January... our big event in January was our trip to the Dew Tour. (the Dew Tour is sponsored by Mountain Dew and is a contest for snow boarders and skiers) Aaron entered a contest for a VIP trip to the Tour about six or seven months ago. He didn't win. however, two days before the Tour, the winner had to cancel - so they drew another name and this time it was Aaron's. The package included free hotel, breakfast, VIP lounge and VIP seating to watch the competitions. As it was at the resorts in Ogden, it was a short drive for us. It really couldn't have been better timing with the stress we'd been feeling with aaron's unemployment and the fact that the trip was completely free was perfect. Here are a few pictures from our grand adventure...

Now - for the final update. This morning aaron accepted a job offer. That's right - aaron got a job!!!!!!!!!!!! frankly, i'm surprised you all didn't hear me screaming this morning as it finally sunk in. The job is in D.C. and is in public relations, which is perfect for Aaron. (lets hope that in this case it's 'second time's the charm' because i don't have the mental or emotional capacity to do this again.)
Noah was really upset about the prospects of moving when we first told him. he cried and cried. While he was crying we were trying to tell him all the fun things he'd be able to do there, etc. but nothing worked. Only when we told him we'd take him to New Jersey to see Buddy at Carlo's Bakery (he loves watching The Cake Boss and it's located in NJ) did he completely stop crying and say, "oh, ok. i guess we can move then." for the love.

Well, there you go. it's been a long hard four months, but it seems to have come to a close and we couldn't have done it without all the love and support from friends and family. i love you all!