Merry Christmas Everyone!
(this picture was taken at our Trunk or Treat on Halloween)
We hope this finds you all happy and healthy and thankful to be alive. We sure are! Life has been busy. But it's been good for us. We couldn't have a better family, better kids, better spouse. We just feel incredibly blessed. Here's a little update of our happenings this year.
Dan and I just celebrated our 7th anniversary this year! And we feel more in love than ever before! And we feel so lucky to have the kids we have. And we're adding one more to our clan sometime next summer. Baby #5 should be arriving the end of June.
Dan stays busy between scouts and elder's quorum at church. He's enjoying his job, especially when he gets to be out in nature or talking to some neat land-owners. He's like a rock star every night when he comes home from work. The crowds go crazy and at times he could use a body guard. Liberty is his biggest fan. She's a daddy's girl for sure! He just got a new/used pickup this year and is excited to start being able to use it. He got his buck this year too which was fun. He is a great provider, an awesome father, and a wonderful husband.
Rosie is staying busy being a mom at home. She's homeschooling the kids which has been challenging and rewarding. She enjoys being in primary and is also the provident living specialist/emergency preparedness coordinator for our branch and the rest of the community. She had a lot of firsts this year. She was charged by a moose in the back yard (saved by her husband), butchered her first chickens, and shot her first deer, her first anything actually. And now has a sweet battle scar to show for it. (Yes, I got scoped). She is madly in love with the most incredible man in the universe and is the luckiest mom alive to have the four most amazing kids ever born!
Aleah is technically in kindergarten this year but is doing mostly first grade work. She loves reading and is rocking it at math, often getting 100% on her worksheets. She's our girly girl. Although the sound of that seems offensive to her. She's a romantic at heart and often thinks about her "boy" that she will one day marry. She loves princesses, make-up, dolls, talking on the phone, painting nails, doing hair, dressing up. But she sure enjoyed helping gut our deer with us, so we think she's pretty well rounded. She's got a strong testimony and loves to share it. She makes a great oldest child and we're sure thankful for all her help. 
Kanyon is ALL BOY! And a country boy at that! He loves animals and wants a whole slew of them. We couldn't get him to save his money as he likes to see the immediate gratification. But when Dad explained that he could buy 2 chicks or a baby turkey with $5 his eyes got wide and he got excited… He loves riding his “horse,” “killing the bears,” and helping his dad. He has a tender heart too though. He likes holding Liberty and is not above playing dolls with his sisters. He even plays “boyfriend and girlfriend” with his sisters (at their request). But his idea of a date is going out to his barn and looking at his animals. He also started shaving this year, thanks to a sweet birthday present with a plastic razor. Where I used to fight him to get him to bathe, I can’t hardly keep him out of the bathtub now. He’s a great kid and sure adds a lot to our family!
Brynlee is… well… Brynlee. There’s nobody quite like her. She keeps us on our toes. She says random things that make no sense but sure make us laugh. She loves life and discovering things. She loves being a big sister and does a good job at it too! She loves snuggling in bed at night and likes her back tickled. She loves to “drolor,” unfortunately not just on paper. She’s had the “opportunity” to scrub her artwork off walls, dressers, mattresses, clothes, mirrors, etc. And she’s usually pretty happy about doing chores when she’s gotten in trouble. She LOVES chapstick and will ask constantly to use some—even to complete strangers. She loves to help out when she’s needed. We sure love that little girl and can’t picture life without her!
Liberty has been a fun little addition to our family. She is full of energy. She learned to walk this year and loves being mobile. She runs and climbs and gets into just about anything and everything. If she can’t reach it, she’ll go get a stool, take it where she needs it, and climb up to access whatever it is she wants. Her favorite place to play is the toilet no matter what’s been left in it. And she loves to throw things in it, from mom’s hair brush to her siblings toys. She has the BEST grin with darling little dimples but also has quite the little attitude when she doesn't get her way. She LOVES babies and will be an awesome big sister!
As a family this year we got to spend time with lots of our extended families at family reunions and weddings. Two of Dan’s siblings were married this year and we LOVE their spouses who fit right in! We even hosted the first annual family reunion for Rosie’s parents and siblings here at our place in Deer Lodge and had a blast! We plan on hosting one next year with Dan’s parents and siblings. We spent our family vacation time in Utah (in between a big family reunion and a wedding there). We got to “swim” in the great Salt Lake and went to the Children’s museum and spent time with family. Rosie and the three oldest all entered things in the fair this year and all won several ribbons and money to boot! The kids enjoyed cashing their first checks at the bank. We have also enjoyed the company of Cookie, our dog, who has been a good and loyal friend. We love our life together! And we look forward to making more memories together as we watch our family grow. At the end of 2012, we just want to take a minute to wish you all a Merry Christmas! We are thankful for Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate at this time of the year. We are thankful for his presence in our lives and know that it's because of him that we enjoy all that we do. May you each feel his presence in your lives as well. And know of our love for each of you!
