Abundant Blessings and a Turn of Events

Before I get into our pictures and memories of the holidays, I want to tell you about today, Thursday, January 8th. Taylor cut her long gorgeous hair off - about 4 inches on each side. I couldn't take a picture because my camera battery is dead and the charger is at my mom's house. So, I evened it up, and she has adjusted to it over the past couple hours. Better now than when she's 12 and her self esteem rides on her long blonde locks.
A few hours after that incident, Nick came home early because Quadrant Homes let him go in their 3rd round of layoffs. Luckily, they have a good severence package and insurance for the next 6 months. So, I'm planning to start Leupron at the beginning of February (to kill off the rest of the endometriosis).
In Nick's words, "I enjoyed my time at Quadrant and appreciate all that I learned in my position. They took a gamble on hiring me 3 years ago, as I had no construction knowledge or supervisory experience. I'm still not sure how my degree in Education applied to the position, but hopefully it will serve me well in the future. The position was a wonderful opportunity, and I will treasure what I learned and those people that I was able to associate with. Please know that I feel we will be taken care of. I've had that reassuring feeling from the moment I left my job site. I'll continue to put my faith in God, and work towards starting the next chapter of my professional career (let me know if you hear of anything)."

THE GOOD STUFF:
The holidays started off great with a Wheiler family date organized by my brother, Preston. My dad is always saying he wants gifts of our time ("because I have money, but no time" - he has been mercilessly mocked with that phrase). So, Preston planned and executed a SUPER FUN family date (adults only).

We went to the Rock for dinner and played a shopping game of buying gifts for another couple with a limited cash budget. Preston and his girlfriend, Anna, bought us Kung Fu Panda! We are huge fans of that movie!!!!! "There is no charge for awesomeness,... or attractiveness."

And this is just a funny picture that Nathan, Lindsay's boyfriend, suggested. You take a deep breath and blow out your flapping lips while someone takes a picture of the action. It's funnier up close.

The weather didn't exactly give us many opportunities for outdoor family pictures, so we did our best inside by the Christmas tree. This is one of the half-serious shots. I just love Preston's face in it.

Taylor must have really been inspired by the experience, because the next day, I found some pictures like this on my camera. When I asked her about it, she said her princess toys were having a family picture taken.

Dad really came through this year with some studly Harley Davidson helmets for the men.

One of my favorite gifts were these Access bars from Heidi. She buys them from Melaleuca and had to quit eating them because she was losing too much weight. Pretty much, they boost your energy and help your body burn more fat while you exercise. So, THAT paired with our free gym memberships are definitely a perk to all this free time Nick has at home now. In fact, the first thing he wanted to do when he came home with the news of his job loss was go to the gym. Ultimately, I hope he finds a job he loves in a field he can be passionate about.

Looks like he was not quite ready for the picture, but don't be fooled - he's pumped about these bars too :) He tried to have one as a snack the other day and I said, "Don't waste them! You are only supposed to have them on an empty stomach 15 minutes before you work out!" Thanks again, Heidi - especially for giving me the mint chocolate ones.

Nick and Mom tied the prize for most creative Taylor-gift this year. Mom gave her a new bed spread and Nick gave her an MP3 player so we don't have to listen to disney, barbie, and veggie tales anymore. It was a big hit with this musically inclined 4 year old, but she still sings out loud. :)

Preston spent hours compiling 12 years of Christmas home videos onto 2 DVDs for Dad. Now THAT is a true gift of TIME.

My pictures at the Simon's didn't turn out very well. In fact, most of these pictures here are from my brother's camera. We had a wonderful time over there, too. We played games (like the candy bar game and Scattegories and Phase 10) and ate good food - and AMAZING home made chocolate sauce on ice cream. We had a surprise baby shower for Lindsay (Travis and her are having a girl in March). Keith and Barb gave us 2 huge bags full of medical supplies, medicines, and first aid kits! We got the hook-up!!!! I feel like we are gradually more "Emergency Prepared."

Our good friends in Yakima (Clayton and Shantay) were planning to come celebrate New Year's Eve in Seattle - and invited us to join them at the Space Needle. Unfortunately, poor road conditions kept them at home, so we followed the plans with Travis and Lindsay. We went to Gas Works park, then got hot chocolate from 7-Eleven, then romped around Seattle and enjoyed the fireworks.

This one's for my dad, who graduated in 76 :)

All in all, life is good. We are fortunate and blessed and happy. We enjoyed the holidays SO MUCH that we don't know how we'll ever surpass it in fun and fulfillment. Maybe the more children we add to the family, the more joy and excitement there will be on Christmas morning :) We are so grateful to have been healthy and safe through the holidays, and for our awesome CR-V that made it possible for us to enjoy the time with so many beloved family members despite the crazy snow.