Alright, my friends... Christmas cards are hitting the post office in the morning. A full 4 days before Christmas. If I'm not good at procrastinating, then what am I good at? This year I've included a little line on them, telling everyone to check out our blog for the yearly update. So I suppose I should write a yearly update, lest I leave you all checking my blog and only finding the depressing post about how hard it is to be a stay-at-home mom... that I wrote 6 months ago. So here we are! Time to wrap up 2011! Here's the scoop, starting with...
Gracee Girl! It has been both fun and heart-breaking to watch Gracee grow up this year. After being slightly worried about her major motor skills since she was only a few months old, I finally broke down and enrolled her in Early Intervention for physical therapy. Gracee is so in love with her physical therapist, Shawna, who has been stopping by the house every couple weeks to work with her. Shawna brings fun toys and cheers her on for nearly every move she makes. What's not to love? This makes life fun for the rest of us, as Gracee expects applause and cheers every time she stands up, takes a few steps, puts a block away, says a word... you get the idea. We hear a lot of "Yay!!" and clapping at our house. It's very exciting. She's adorable in it's purest form, but also has quite the attitude. Don't cross this girl or she will lash out at you with her vicious baby nails and stare you down. I'm tellin' ya, her scowl would be poisonous if it wasn't so stinkin' cute. Gracee finally started walking the week of Thanksgiving. We're all very proud.
Nathaniel has had a productive year. Over the summer, after many failed attempts, we finally got this little stinker potty-trained. The deal maker? Superhero underpants. Who knew? I should have thought of that a year ago. Oh, well. I decided to put his diaper money to good use and enroll him in preschool. Best money ever spent. He loves school and loves his teacher "Mister Shelf" (translation: Miss Michelle. Took me about 2 weeks to figure out who he was talking about. I kept thinking Michelle must have named a special shelf in the room...). Nathaniel keeps us in stitches daily with all his crazy phrases and his silly sense of humor. He also nearly sends me into fits of hysteria every day with his persistant whining to get whatever he wants. Right when I'm ready to pack up a little knapsack for him and drop him off in the woods somewhere, he always comes around with big squeezes and lots of "I love you, Mommy", and just like that, he's forgiven.
Oh, Mathew... What can I say about this kid? I hardly know he's around. This boy can take care of himself! Half the time, he makes his own breakfast, his own lunch, and if he doesn't like what I made for dinner (85% of the time), he's got it covered! He will disappear for hours, engrossed in his legos most of the time, and be completely content. We've been worried to the point of asking his teacher if he interacts with other kids at school well, and were shocked to learn that she frequently has to ask him to stop talking with his friends during class. Never thought I'd be happy to hear a teacher tell me that. I shouldn't have been too surprised, because when he does come around, he will talk my ear off about the craziest things. Almost like he stores up a certain amount of conversation topics in his head until his brain becomes so full, it all just spews out in pure randomness. Mathew's year hasn't held a whole lot of exciting changes, but he doesn't need lots of change and attention to be happy... and I love him for it!
If you were to ask McKenna what the highlight of her year was, she would tell you, hands down "Seeing Taylor Swift in concert!" McKenna can obsess about things like nobody's business! I've truly never seen anything like it. Over the last year or 2, her biggest obsession has been Taylor Swift. So when my brother, Lynn, and his wife, Vicki, suggested buying concert tickets for McKenna and Megan (McKenna's favorite cousin, and fellow obsessed Taylor Swift fan), I couldn't refuse. Even when the cost of the tickets nearly sent me into cardiac arrest. The concert fell only a couple short weeks after McKenna turned 10 and was the perfect excuse for a really, really cool birthday present. The tickets were a fortune, but the expressions on those girls' faces, and their over-the-top excitement was priceless. Worth every penny. Back at home, McKenna is darn near perfect. She's doing great in school, has evolved into an amazing babysitter, is the truest of peacemakers, volunteers to say family prayer every night, and still thinks Brandon and I are superheroes. She's fantastic, and I honestly don't know what I'd do without her.
Brandon is still a nurse at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center, and he works hard. Honestly, this guy works his guts out. I bring this up because other people have also started to notice. Brandon received a big promotion at work this year (not to mention a decent pay raise), and I got to listen to at least a dozen people gush about how wonderful he is at his work Christmas party a couple weeks ago. I love seeing other people acknowledge what I see all the time at home. He works long hours, then comes home and helps me out with all things domestic (since I was somehow born without all these domestic qualities every other woman I know seems to possess). When he's too tired to face life responsibly, he loves to wind down with his amazingly talented basketball or football teams on the PlayStation. Can you believe his teams are nearly always undefeated?? He was also called to be an Elders Quorum teacher for our church, and is starting to regret all those times he didn't contribute to the lessons now that he's the one up front, listening to crickets chirp after he asks a question... or so he says. I have no doubts he's just as great a teacher at church as he is at home. I've said this before, but Brandon is seriously the glue that holds this family together. I would go completely insane without his support, his help, and his encouragement.
Me? I've learned a lot this year. I've learned that I'm capable of waking up at 4:45 in the morning to run 4 miles on a regular basis. I've learned I can do things I never thought I'd could do when I have the right support. I've learned how important friends and family can be in helping you overcome your insecurities, your fears, your failures, your shame, and every other pain imaginable. I've learned that if you train for a half marathon on asphalt, you shouldn't run a half marathon on a rocky dirt trail, (I still don't think my knees have fully forgiven me). I've learned that even if I run 11 miles in one day, I won't lose an ounce unless I stop shoveling down large servings of deep-fried foods and multiple glasses of Coke. I've learned that working with 12-14 year-old girls in the Young Women's program can awaken a whole new kind of affection inside of me. I've learned the true tenderness that comes from the love of a family. I've learned so many things, I don't even know when to stop rambling on about it! It's been a wonderful, emotional, motivating, spiritual, exhausting, heart-breaking, strengthening year for me. One of the only years in recent memory that I can honestly say did not pass quickly. I'm ready for 2012, but I'm grateful for everything I'm taking from 2011.
I don't like to get too spiritual. I'm ashamed to admit that it's not really who I am and it makes me uncomfortable to lay my heart out for others to see. But, this year I feel exceptionally grateful to my Father in Heaven, and to my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am blessed with too many things to even begin counting. It overwhelms me to even try. But more than that, I am blessed with knowing that I am loved for all my shortcomings, my mistakes, and my countless weaknesses. I hope you're able to feel that same unconditional love, and that you also feel how it can pick you up when you don't have the strength to continue on your own. Of all the things I've learned this year, it's this that helps me make it through the days I don't want to face.
Merry Christmas to you all, and the very best wishes for an amazing New Year!
With love,
Brandon, Sheri, McKenna, Mathew, Nathaniel, and Gracee Staten
Gracee Girl! It has been both fun and heart-breaking to watch Gracee grow up this year. After being slightly worried about her major motor skills since she was only a few months old, I finally broke down and enrolled her in Early Intervention for physical therapy. Gracee is so in love with her physical therapist, Shawna, who has been stopping by the house every couple weeks to work with her. Shawna brings fun toys and cheers her on for nearly every move she makes. What's not to love? This makes life fun for the rest of us, as Gracee expects applause and cheers every time she stands up, takes a few steps, puts a block away, says a word... you get the idea. We hear a lot of "Yay!!" and clapping at our house. It's very exciting. She's adorable in it's purest form, but also has quite the attitude. Don't cross this girl or she will lash out at you with her vicious baby nails and stare you down. I'm tellin' ya, her scowl would be poisonous if it wasn't so stinkin' cute. Gracee finally started walking the week of Thanksgiving. We're all very proud.
Nathaniel has had a productive year. Over the summer, after many failed attempts, we finally got this little stinker potty-trained. The deal maker? Superhero underpants. Who knew? I should have thought of that a year ago. Oh, well. I decided to put his diaper money to good use and enroll him in preschool. Best money ever spent. He loves school and loves his teacher "Mister Shelf" (translation: Miss Michelle. Took me about 2 weeks to figure out who he was talking about. I kept thinking Michelle must have named a special shelf in the room...). Nathaniel keeps us in stitches daily with all his crazy phrases and his silly sense of humor. He also nearly sends me into fits of hysteria every day with his persistant whining to get whatever he wants. Right when I'm ready to pack up a little knapsack for him and drop him off in the woods somewhere, he always comes around with big squeezes and lots of "I love you, Mommy", and just like that, he's forgiven.
Oh, Mathew... What can I say about this kid? I hardly know he's around. This boy can take care of himself! Half the time, he makes his own breakfast, his own lunch, and if he doesn't like what I made for dinner (85% of the time), he's got it covered! He will disappear for hours, engrossed in his legos most of the time, and be completely content. We've been worried to the point of asking his teacher if he interacts with other kids at school well, and were shocked to learn that she frequently has to ask him to stop talking with his friends during class. Never thought I'd be happy to hear a teacher tell me that. I shouldn't have been too surprised, because when he does come around, he will talk my ear off about the craziest things. Almost like he stores up a certain amount of conversation topics in his head until his brain becomes so full, it all just spews out in pure randomness. Mathew's year hasn't held a whole lot of exciting changes, but he doesn't need lots of change and attention to be happy... and I love him for it!
If you were to ask McKenna what the highlight of her year was, she would tell you, hands down "Seeing Taylor Swift in concert!" McKenna can obsess about things like nobody's business! I've truly never seen anything like it. Over the last year or 2, her biggest obsession has been Taylor Swift. So when my brother, Lynn, and his wife, Vicki, suggested buying concert tickets for McKenna and Megan (McKenna's favorite cousin, and fellow obsessed Taylor Swift fan), I couldn't refuse. Even when the cost of the tickets nearly sent me into cardiac arrest. The concert fell only a couple short weeks after McKenna turned 10 and was the perfect excuse for a really, really cool birthday present. The tickets were a fortune, but the expressions on those girls' faces, and their over-the-top excitement was priceless. Worth every penny. Back at home, McKenna is darn near perfect. She's doing great in school, has evolved into an amazing babysitter, is the truest of peacemakers, volunteers to say family prayer every night, and still thinks Brandon and I are superheroes. She's fantastic, and I honestly don't know what I'd do without her.
Brandon is still a nurse at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center, and he works hard. Honestly, this guy works his guts out. I bring this up because other people have also started to notice. Brandon received a big promotion at work this year (not to mention a decent pay raise), and I got to listen to at least a dozen people gush about how wonderful he is at his work Christmas party a couple weeks ago. I love seeing other people acknowledge what I see all the time at home. He works long hours, then comes home and helps me out with all things domestic (since I was somehow born without all these domestic qualities every other woman I know seems to possess). When he's too tired to face life responsibly, he loves to wind down with his amazingly talented basketball or football teams on the PlayStation. Can you believe his teams are nearly always undefeated?? He was also called to be an Elders Quorum teacher for our church, and is starting to regret all those times he didn't contribute to the lessons now that he's the one up front, listening to crickets chirp after he asks a question... or so he says. I have no doubts he's just as great a teacher at church as he is at home. I've said this before, but Brandon is seriously the glue that holds this family together. I would go completely insane without his support, his help, and his encouragement.
Me? I've learned a lot this year. I've learned that I'm capable of waking up at 4:45 in the morning to run 4 miles on a regular basis. I've learned I can do things I never thought I'd could do when I have the right support. I've learned how important friends and family can be in helping you overcome your insecurities, your fears, your failures, your shame, and every other pain imaginable. I've learned that if you train for a half marathon on asphalt, you shouldn't run a half marathon on a rocky dirt trail, (I still don't think my knees have fully forgiven me). I've learned that even if I run 11 miles in one day, I won't lose an ounce unless I stop shoveling down large servings of deep-fried foods and multiple glasses of Coke. I've learned that working with 12-14 year-old girls in the Young Women's program can awaken a whole new kind of affection inside of me. I've learned the true tenderness that comes from the love of a family. I've learned so many things, I don't even know when to stop rambling on about it! It's been a wonderful, emotional, motivating, spiritual, exhausting, heart-breaking, strengthening year for me. One of the only years in recent memory that I can honestly say did not pass quickly. I'm ready for 2012, but I'm grateful for everything I'm taking from 2011.
I don't like to get too spiritual. I'm ashamed to admit that it's not really who I am and it makes me uncomfortable to lay my heart out for others to see. But, this year I feel exceptionally grateful to my Father in Heaven, and to my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am blessed with too many things to even begin counting. It overwhelms me to even try. But more than that, I am blessed with knowing that I am loved for all my shortcomings, my mistakes, and my countless weaknesses. I hope you're able to feel that same unconditional love, and that you also feel how it can pick you up when you don't have the strength to continue on your own. Of all the things I've learned this year, it's this that helps me make it through the days I don't want to face.
Merry Christmas to you all, and the very best wishes for an amazing New Year!
With love,
Brandon, Sheri, McKenna, Mathew, Nathaniel, and Gracee Staten
