Christmas 2009 letter to family and friends

Dear Family and Friends,

Can I just say WOW! I love this time of the year! I love that we have a time of year that is specfically set aside for a time to remember how special family and friends are. A time to remember Christ and to give gifts of love to those we hold dear and to neighbors we appreciate. A time to catch up with those we may have lost contact with thru the year. Wether in good times or bad times I really enjoy this time of the year. As the years pass and I find myself older (approuching 40in January) and as I see my family spread out, I truly look forward to and enjoy getting together with my family. Although most of my family is still in the state of Utah we have spread out over the Salt Lake Valley and we have to travel farther to get together which does not make it easy sometimes.

2009 as usual found changes for our family. When is life not filled with its challenges? In October of 2008 we lost Star's Dad adn it made celebrating the holidays a little different for us. It was a happy time for us when he past as he had been in declining health for some time and he had no quality of life. None the less it was weird not to have him around and I still miss my weekly visits to him. Every now and then again I pause like I have forgotten to do something ans realize that I no longer need to make those visits. I love Star's parents and miss them both. We also lost my Aunt Sue this past year and I miss her as well!

2009 started out alright. I had finished nail school in mid December and took a breather before taking my state exams. That breather turned into fear and it was May before I took my exams. Which I passed with flying colors much to my surprise but not my instructor. I do enjoy doing nails! By May we found out what had been giving Star so many problems for months. He had a bad gall bladder. Since it took months to come to this diagnosis it had eaten up all his health benefits so we had some scrambling and a lot of out of pocket expenses to bring about his surgery. With his diabetes it took a little longer for him to recover and so by September he has exhausted all his medical leave and was left with no option but to leave employment until his health was in a better place. Now continues the search for employment.

Scott started second grade this past September. This alone was a challenge for us. For some unknown reason fear took over Scott's life and he spent the first two weeks of school either home sick or coming home sick. After a trip to the doctor's office for his annual exam and after sage advice we headed back to school. That sage advice was a little tough love. After that it only took three days to get him to go to class by himself. We started walking him to his class and handing him off to the teacher, then we waked him as far as the front office, and then as if by magic, drop him off at the curb.

This past week brought an unusual experience for Scott. He was involved in a fight at school with which he ended up with bloody nose. I guess having a boy I should have expected this to happen on day but still it was a bit of a shock when I got the call. Apparently had been trying to break up a fight he turned to the boy who threw the punch and asked him why he did it and then gave him a bit of a shove. Now, for those of you who have not seen Scott in a while he stands nearly five feet tall and over a hundredd pounds. He is our little linebacker and he does not know his own strength. So I am sure what Scott considered a little shove was most likely out and out a good hearty push. Well the boy retaliated by punching Scott. So all three were hauled into the school and calls home made. then began the lectures on where the situation went from being good to bad. Oh well. Some lessons are just learned the hard way. Being an only child does have its disadvantages. No other sibling to put you in your place or beat up on you, however you see it. Scott continues to grow like a weed. We just had him into the doctor for an eye infection and he grew two inches in th past two months. He is taking after his dad, uncles, grandfathers, and his cousins for the height.

Star's sister was married in May and this prompted a move for us. I spent the summer taking care of Star and stressfully looking for a place to live. I have never had such a hard time trying to find a place to live. On the first day chool we looked at a twin home on the east side of State street and found where we wanted to live! What a relief! Thanks to our good friends the Wilkerson's we were able to get moved. We left with a lot more than we moved in with as Star had inherited a few things from his father. Thank heavens for having a garage. As it has been a few months now that we have moved in we are finally feeling more settled. Unless we miraculously can qualify for a house this summer I believe we will be here for some duration. We enjoy our neighbors and our church ward. It is small but ever so nice. We have had sme choice experiences in the few months we have been here!

I truly wish that this beautiful season finds you in good health, good spirits, and good company! May the light of Christ shine in your lives this season.

Love to All,

Star, Jenn and Scott

ps: please forgive the typo's :)