Where did January go?

Well, it's March already. That's right, I said it, MARCH!!! Can you believe it? I can't. We're still living life. Learning things here and there...it's actually quite fun.

J O H N    U P D A T E
John has decided to return to school. He is planning on attending the Art Institute of Salt Lake City next quarter. We're freaking out about the cost, but it has been made VERY clear to us on a spiritual level that this is what he needs to do. So, we're going on faith that we will have what we need to get through it. He is so nervous, but I keep telling him it will be fine.

John has also quit Toys R Us for the year. He may return at Christmas time for the holiday help, but for now, he's planning on using his time to go to school.  

John had a bit of a scare when he thought he was having a heart attack and I had to take him to the E.R.  It turned out that stress has a powerful effect on him.  I added some pictures of his trip to the hospital, including the photo of his EKG.

E M I L Y   U P D A T E
Emily is almost done with First Grade! She has learned so much this year and has taught Parker to read, how to do Math and teaches him everything she possibly can. She is excited to be in Second Grade. She is friends with everyone in her class and overcame the bullying from the boys at school by proposing they play rock paper scissors to see who would do the chasing at recess...Emily won. She has 5/5 for all of the categories on her report card and works hard to get her homework done every night. She is learning how to ride a two-wheeler with training wheels and she is already good at roller skating (just like her dad).

If Emily could tell the whole world something about herself, she would want the world to know that she is the nicest girl, well sometimes she's not nice, but she tries to be.

We took the kids bowling and decided, after seeing our scores, that we would stick to Wii bowling.  John was the most disappointed in his score.  I came in first, Parker in second, Emily in third and John LAST. 



P A R K E R   U P D A T E

Parker has learned to read and do math. He's even started learning his timestables! He can tell you how many three 3's are. He can also count all the way up to 100 (he will sometimes skip 15). He an Emily have counting contests while we are driving somewhere.

Parker already has a favorite video game. He LOVES Lego Star Wars the best, although Rampage has come in a close second. He will also play the SpongeBob video games with Emily. The other weekend, we had John's sister Jamie and her husband Axel over for an evening of playing Wii. We had a bowling tournament with Emily and Parker. It was Emily and Jamie against Parker and Axel. The Bowling Sisters versus the Strike Brothers. It was funny to see Parker jump up and down when he got a strike, but he also was talking trash the whole time. I was surprised he knew how to do that. We're going to have to sensor a little better. :)

If Parker could tell the world something about himself, he would want the world to know that he is good at math.

B E C K Y   U P D A T E
I turned 32 this year. Some of my friends have freaked out about turning 30, but I hardly ever think about my age. I think you're as old as you allow yourself to feel. I don't want to be sitting around complaining about how I may feel, nobody likes listening to that. I'd rather have my family and friends remember the fun they have with me than what ailments I have. So, I try to remember that I'm as young as I want to feel. We'll see if I feel the same way in 30 years :)

Well, work is getting crazy. I still work at the pharmaceutical company in the Data Management department. It is so fun and I'm learning a lot. Recently they put me in charge of a major task and it seemed daunting at first, but my boss has been great in getting me the help I need. I am having fun at work.

I did stop going to school. Now is not the right time for me to finish my degree. I'll go back eventually, but for now I need to spend my time off work with my children. I love them so much. I keep asking if they can just stay little forever, but Parker tells me he doesn't want to be a skeleton so he has to grow up.

I've been working on fixing up the house, right now I'm in the planning stages, but eventually we will have to move out of this place...John keeps accumulating more and more stuff and we're running out of space!!! I love him. It doesn't matter how much stuff he accumulates, he is my love. He has been such a great support for me and always makes me smile. I think after 8 years of marriage, we have been so blessed with the trials we've had, the blessings we've received and the family and friends we've got.

Thank you to all of our family and friends. We learn so much from you and have much love and appreciation for you.