I can't believe we only have 15 days left in 2008. It sure seems that the older I get the faster time slips by.
I want to take a moment and highlight the events in our life during the past year.
The good and bad of 2008:
I started the year off by joining a new company, Aculis. This company has definitely been a good step for me in my career and I have made some good friends in the process. UPDATE - I was laid off 6 days before Christmas. :-(
We lost my grandma (my dad’s mom) early in the year and we continue to mourn the loss of Grandpa Pauline. Although grandma was ill and her passing was not a surprise, we weren’t ready to say goodbye. We love and miss her deeply.
We were able to take a family vacation in March and we headed to California. We went to Disneyland, SeaWorld, Universal Studios, Ripleys Believe it or not, The Pirate Show and dinner theater and spent time at the beach. We all had a fabulous time and can't wait for our next family vacation.
We sold our house and moved in with my parents this year. That has been a little stressful on all of us. Not because we are living with my parents but because their house has been in construction mode for months. We were living out of boxes in the living room (all 5 of us) until we could finish remodeling the basement. Now we are remodeling the main bathroom and finishing the basement bathroom at the same time. We have been without a shower for 4 weeks. Needless to say, we have become frequent members at Magna Rec (ugh…public showers…not a fan). I can’t thank my parents enough for allowing us to burden them. I am also grateful for Terry and his family for helping us with the construction…they are wonderful.
We recently learned that my sister was diagnosed with heart failure at age 35 and now my brother has been experiencing heart pains along with an extremely low heart beat and we are waiting for his test results. We continue to keep them both in our thoughts and prayers and hope for the best.
TERRY has had a busy year…He got a promotion at Kennecott and has moved up the chain rather quickly. He has worked very hard and has proven his dedication over the last 3 years. I’m glad Kennecott has been a good venture for him. Terry is one of the hardest working people I know. When he is not at Kennecott or training on the ERT then he is working for his dad, helping his siblings, my parents, his friends and neighbors. He is always dedicating his time to help people and he continues to amaze me with everything he can do. Terry has tried to take a break once a month or so and hit the dirt/sand/hills /mountains with the guys. He loves his toys! Oh, and I have a surprise for all of you….Terry just purchased a new truck. LOL Are you surprised? He still can’t kick the habit of buying vehicles. He has owned more vehicles then anyone I know. He even talked me into buying a camp trailer this summer (not that I complained…(grin)).
TREVOR finished 7th grade and moved on to 8th grade. He lacks the motivation to do his homework but with a little push from mom and dad (mainly dad) he has kept his grades up and has a 3.4 GPA. Trevor had a rough football season this year with too many scares. He injured his neck in the 3rd game of the season. We were told so many different things such as he had a fractured disk (3 weeks later they determined that was not the case and told us he was fine to play football again. He was finally released for the last two games of the season. The last game of the season he tackled a kid and ended up on the bottom of the pile and reinjured his neck. The EMT’s recommended he go to the hospital via ambulance. The ER doctor told us he tore several ligaments in his neck and that he needs to be seen by a Nero-surgeon and an Orthopedic Specialist. After appointments with them, they determined he didn’t have any torn ligaments and that he just has really weak neck muscles and is having muscle spasms and recommended physical therapy. Unfortunately this problem has extended into wrestling season and he has been unable to wrestle. On a good note, Trevor has continued to be our family traveler this year. He has traveled to California, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho and Mexico this year.
ALYX continues to excel in school and remains a straight “A” student. She is only in 3rd grade but she continually has 100% on her spelling tests, she reads at a 5th grade level and she has nearly mastered multiplication. Alyx is in her 4th year as a member on TipToe’s dance competition team. She competes in Jazz and hip-hop. We have also signed her up for ballet for the first time (it’s not a competition team) but she isn’t sure if she likes it or not. She complains about standing up tall and straight and sucking in her tummy. LOL Alyx continues to spend half of her time with us and the other half with her dad. She really has adapted well to the juggling routine. She is very active and always on the go. She has had a good year and loves life. This is the first year that she has really shown interests in her “friends” and it seems she wants to have sleep over’s most weekends.
THATCHER is growing up so fast. I can’t believe he turned 4 this summer. He attended an in-home day-care for 3/4ths of the year and started pre-school this fall…he absolutely loves it. Partly because he has joined the “big kid” world like his older siblings. Thatcher has talked about sports all year long. He only wants to play the “big” sports like baseball, soccer, & football. He cracks us up all the time. We signed him up for soccer for the first time and he was the happiest kid on the field. He would just run up and down the field following the other kids and he had a permanent smile on his face the whole time. After the season was over we signed him up again but there were not enough kids his age so they didn’t have any teams for his age group. He is excited to learn baseball this spring.
Last but not least....We are grateful for all of our family and friends and we wish all of you a Merry Christmas. Cheers to 2009!
New Addition - Graysen James Jackson
13 years ago
