It's Christmas Time again!!

Yet another year has come and gone. We've enjoyed this year and have had lots of fun together. We've all gone through some changes, but are looking forward to what the future holds.

Brett: Is still working for Carolina Restoration Services and is one of the top Water Technicians at the company and he's hoping for a promotion within the next year. He has been working a lot of hours lately, but looks forward to the overtime pay and what we can use it for (dental work, Christmas gifts, other expenses).  He was able to spend quite a bit of time over the summer working on the yard and was able to get a fountain working and was able to finish the privacy fence.  He was recently called as the Young Men's Secretary in our ward and is looking forward to working with the youth.  He knows it will be challenging at times to balance work, church, and family but he knows the Lord will bless him with finding that balance.

Melinda:  Has been continuing to work on de-cluttering the house over the past few months and things are getting better and better. There is still work to be done, but overall we're about 50% there.  She has also been working with Natalie on continuing her progress with her speech and has been starting on some preschool work with her and hopes to get potty training going soon.

 

Morgan: Is loving 1st grade and is thriving in school.  She wasn't able to continue with dance this year, but she loves to dance around the house and try to teach her younger sisters what she learned in past years.  She has also been a big help to her mother with taking care of things around the house and her younger sisters.  She can be quite the little mother hen at times.

 

Natalie:  Is doing very well with her speech and is actually no longer in speech therapy as they felt she was making enough progress that she would be fine on her own now.  She is now talking as good as other children her age.  She also recently started showing interest in going potty, so we're hoping that she'll be potty trained within the not too distant future.

 


Lucy:  Is into everything.  She is climbing on everything and running all over the place.  She has a love of life and doesn't like to be slowed down by anything.  She even didn't let a concussion she endured slow her down for very long.  She is also starting to talk more and we are amazed at some of the things she is able to do at such a young age.  She is learning a lot from her 2 older sisters.

 


As a family this year:
We were able to go to our Nation's capital for Thanksgiving with Melinda's parents, grandmothers, sister and brother-in-law.  We had a wonderful time and learned a lot at the museums and Arlington National Cemetery.
We are looking forward to Christmas and getting to talk to Brett's brother Bradley who is still on his mission.  We are also looking forward to spending a lot of time as a family and with our families and friends.  Melinda and the girls wil1 be spending the week of New Years in Edisto, SC with some of her family.