Happy New Year!!
My new year’s resolution is to get and stay more connected with friends and family.
I guess my first step is to update my blog. The best way to do this might be to write my Christmas letter, even if it is a week late.
What a busy year 2009 was. The biggest adventure came early in the year as Eric was transferred from corporate headquarters, to a mill. We had to sell our home just as the market was taking its biggest hit in our area. Thanks to IP the move was a lot easier than it could have been. We are finally feeling settled in our new home. Our new ward is making us feel loved and accepted.
Aiden is in first grade! He is becoming the best reader. His school has an accelerated readers program that gives points and prizes for books read. Aiden thrives on competing with his classmates for the most points. My favorite part is when he reads stories to Max and Jenna-grace. Aiden also started Pee-wee football this year. He had a ton of fun, but I think he is really looking forward to baseball in the spring.
Jenna-grace just turned 4. She loves bossing her older and younger brother around. I don’t think that will ever change. She loves her new dance class, and her pre-school class. Her new favorite thing to do is tell everyone that she is smarter than they are. Jenna-grace gave us our biggest scare this year. Around September she started having serious dizzy spells. I took her to the ENT thinking it was her ears, because all my kids have their dad’s bad ears. He sent us in for an MRI where they discovered a cyst on her brain. Several months of being shuffled between doctors (including a pediatric neurosurgeon) and tests we are finally starting to get some answers. She does have a cyst, but it is definately not a tumor. It seems at this point, that a bad sinus infection could be the cause of her dizzy spells. The cyst could be something she has always had and is something we just need to keep an eye on. Needless to say it has been a long few months full of stress and prayer and we really hope that it is just the sinus infection.
Max is quite a mess! He turned 3 in October. Max knows how to keep me busy! He loves to get into any and everything. He is mastering the idea that forgiveness is easier to get than permission. He scours the kitchen and pantry for snacks and treats that I might be hiding from him. When he finds something, he goes back looking for the scissors to open his treat with. There are only so many places that I can hide things. Everything sharp or full of sugar has to be locked up. He starts baseball in the spring too! I can’t wait, and neither can he!!
Eric is doing great. I think he really likes his job, for the most part. He has kind of a long commute, but he gets to read (listen to) a lot of books during that time. He is the seminary teacher now, and really enjoys it. He has about 10 students who love him. Every time I run into one of the parents either at church or around town, they tell me how much their son or daughter is enjoying seminary and how glad they are that Eric is their teacher.
I am also doing well. I had a tough adjustment with the move. I simply did not want to uproot my life. But I feel now that it was the best thing for our little family. I love my new ward. I am in the primary again, but am finally figuring it out. My cake business is keeping me a little too busy, but I can’t complain. I am on a new intense gym schedule to make up for all the cake in the house and to get ready for my sister’s wedding in April and my sister-in-law’s wedding in May! My goals for the new year include getting to the gym at least 4 times a week and updating the pictures on my blog at least once a month.
We hope you and all those you love have a happy and healthy new year!! Thank you to those who have been praying for our family. We felt every single one.
The Jonkman’s
