A resounding MERRY CHRISTMAS!! As promised in our Christmas greeting, here are the answers to this year's puzzle (along with some supporting details).

Faith in Christ

Family Time

Cross Country Runners

Track and Field Girl

Basketball Players

High School Freshman

Sixth Grader

Early Morning Seminary

Excellent Students

Airsoft Boy

Texting Girl

Piano Players

Boy Scouts

Bahamas Cruise

Scientific Discoveries

Middle School Techie

Personal Progress Leader

Ward Mission Leader

We Are Blessed

Now, to explain a little...

Faith in Christ: We have been strengthened and comforted this past year as we lost several very dear friends, my aunt, and Marc's nephew's baby. We have also had to rely on our faith as I've dealt with some health challenges. It is an indescribable blessing to have an eternal perspective, and to be able to feel our Savior's love through all of life's ups and downs. At this Christmas time, we especially recognize just how very much we have been carried through our trials.

Family Time: Nothing we have done this year has been more satisfying then simply spending time together. This year, we all discovered Dr. Who; we've been through about 5 seasons! We also enjoy playing games, watching the kids' sporting events, attending concerts, family meals, outdoor adventures, etc.

Cross Country Runners: M ran cross country for her high school this year, and J joined a cross country club at his middle school.

Track and Field Girl: When cross country season came to an end, M realized just how much she loved to run and stay in shape. So, she joined the indoor track and field team. This keeps her busy and happy.

Basketball Players: Both kids enjoy playing basketball on their church teams, but (truth be known) J is our greatest fan of this particular sport.

High School Freshman: Yes, M is now a Freshman and 15 years old. She is already anxiously awaiting her 16th birthday. Hmmmm, I wonder why?

Sixth Grader: J is in the sixth grade, and has made a smooth transition into middle school.

Early Morning Seminary: 6:15 rolls around pretty early, and M begins the process of awakening and preparing for the day at around 5:15. That is supreme dedication. But, the blessings of starting the day immersed in the New Testament are definitely worth it! In her own words, "It's awesome and you learn a lot and Sister Kiyota is really nice."

Excellent Students: Can't help but brag just a little here because both M and J are maintaining straight A's this school year.

Airsoft Boy: The latest hobby for J involves shooting little plastic pellets at a target, and preferably at his friends.

Texting Girl: The cell phone that's been collecting dust for nearly a year is now seeing some real action as friends are becoming more and more important to our teenager.

Piano Players: Our home is still continuously filled with beautiful music, thanks to our budding musicians. Even Marc is learning how to play. He gets lots of points for being the one family pianist who chooses to play Christmas music just because he knows how much I love it!

Boy Scouts: J is loving the Boy Scout program, and doesn't want to miss a single meeting or camp out.

Bahamas Cruise: In April we went on a 7-day Bahamas cruise. None of us had ever experienced such an adventure, and we all agreed that it was a great one.

Scientific Discoveries: Marc continues to publish and do incredible science. He is developing label-free functional imaging for cells, and also making discoveries about how molecules behave collectively in liquids and supercooled liquids.

Middle School Techie: My job at the middle school keeps me busy and is sometimes exhausting, but the reward of watching the students grow up (and having a small influence on their lives) is well worth it. It's a special treat to be there with Jacob and his friends.

Personal Progress Leader: I was released as the Stake Relief Society Secretary and now serve as the Ward Young Women's Personal Progress Leader. I feel at home back with the youth after many other volunteer jobs.

Ward Mission Leader: Marc was released from the Stake High Council and now enjoys working with the Missionaries assigned to our ward.

We Are Blessed: This about sums it up! Through all of the joys and even the difficulties, we feel so very blessed and thankful for our Savior, each other and many wonderful extended family and friends. Thank you for being among our greatest blessings :)

Fall Update

We had a fabulous Fall and beginning to the school year. Some of the highlights include M's Cross Country, early morning seminary, school spirit days and Homecoming, as well as J's many Boy Scout Campouts, Airsoft adventures and trips to the park to play basketball. A road trip to Atlanta to see Farmor and Farfar, a Thanksgiving celebration with four other families, and three birthday celebrations were icing on the cake. Here are a few memories that we happened to capture:

First day of middle school

Early morning seminary

BYU vs. Georgia Tech

Crazy Day

Cross County

Thanksgiving dinner with friends

RAD

Homecoming

Somebody turns 12!

It is November, and my thoughts have turned to the many blessings for which I am grateful. At the top of the list are my incredible family and a loving Heavenly Father. But, today, I am also reminded of the amazing country in which I live and of the freedoms that I so often take for granted. I reflected on these freedoms as I took the opportunity to vote this morning, and I smiled at those around me knowing quite well that many would be voting differently than me. This has been a very polarized and hateful election. But, in the end, we are all children of God. I hope very much that our actions towards each other will be motivated more by love than by politics. I hope we can see how much we have been blessed with. Lets not compare our blessings, but rather share them. Even as we differ in political opinions, I hope we can always be united in love for country and each other. Ultimately, its the character of each individual American that makes our country great, regardless of upcoming election results.

That is my political rant for this election season. I hope to soon move on to the business of posting some wonderful pictures and updates about our family :)

What a wonderfully busy summer! As it winds down, my heart is full of gratitude for all of the family time we've enjoyed. Having had our big vacation in April, we stayed close to home all summer. It was mostly productive with projects and getting caught up around the home front, but we sprinkled in just the right amount of recreation. 

Our summer began with a Mom run "cooking camp" for the kids and some friends. We made homemade spaghetti sauce and french bread.

Lady M attended a five-day church young women's camp while J attended a five-day STEM camp where he was actually paid a $50 stipend for his work in science, technology, engineering and math.

The next big project was a room makeover for our new high school girl. She'd grown out of the lilac walls and white daises, so for one of her personal progress projects she studied interior design and started sketching. M did all of the planning and selected all of the colors and accessories, and her room turned out spectacularly!

One of M's favorite summer experiences was a three-day pioneer trek, where all participants lived very much like the early pioneers, pushing handcarts and sleeping under the stars. They pushed those handcarts for some 18 miles through heavy rain, and it was such an awesome experience that at the end of it all M wasn't sure that she wanted to come home!

To cap off our summer break, we spent a morning on the lake, had a family lunch date, and went to the movies.

 This was our last hurrah before M left for a four-day cross country camp. She is excited to join high school athletics this fall, and has been running hard in preparation. She's learning about team work, dedication, persistence and working towards a common goal. It is giving her a chance to forge relationships that will carry her through her high school years. We are very proud of her for taking this on and we welcome the challenges in store! We are all feeling refreshed and ready for the upcoming school year.

Our family made it through another school year! Lady M had her final days in the 8th grade and Master J graduated from elementary school. This ushers in a new era for our family. M will be in high school this coming year, and J will be joining me at the middle school.

As the year winded down, we had some noteworthy events:

"United We Stand" class play

Elementary School Graduation

Piano Recital

8th Grade Formal Dance

Not pictures, but an amazing feat all the same, was M's academic award for achieving A's in every class all year long. In fact, in all three years of middle school, she only had one B. She is an extremely hard working and responsible young lady! Also, M began piano lessons with a new teacher and is now doing more music theory and is focusing on her compositions.

Spring Break

Have you ever had a really big dream? Our family has dreamt of going on a cruise together for a very long time. We saved our pennies, planned, prepared, and finally took a long-awaited cruise to the Bahamas. We spent 7 days and nights together. Destinations included Port Canaveral Florida where we went on a dolphin and manatee watching expedition, Nassau Bahamas where we explored the city and did some shopping, and CocoCay Bahamas where we spent a day on the most beautiful beach we'd ever seen. The weather was amazing, mostly low 80's with low humidity and plenty of sunshine and gentle breezes. The people were amazing too, friendly and helpful. On the ship, we ate wonderful meals, walked around the top deck where the vistas were breathtaking, ate some more, took in a few shows, ate some more, listened to live music, ate some more, played shuffleboard, and slept. The kids did rock climbing, bungie trampoline jumping, swam in the ship's pool, and did plenty of sleeping in, reading, and playing on their electronic devices. It was interesting getting used to the rocking of the ship, and also interesting that we continued to feel the land rock for the first couple of days back home. We all agree that our favorite part of the trip was the beach at CocoCay, snorkeling and floating around on top of the water.