The almost made it to the Christmas Letter Update

Well what about everyone else these last 5 months? April and James decided to stay in Ely for awhile and have found their own apartment (and a lot of work went with fixing it up). James is still looking for a permanent job and meanwhile they are subbing at the local schools. Everett is growing like crazy and is very inquisitive as most Toddlers are. We are enjoying having them close by.

Selina's job is going well. She is enjoying teaching middle school math in Arizona.  Bobby’s work has been a challenge as he works very long hours for low pay.  He decided to try his hand at a new job in Wyoming.  If it works out Selina and the kids will head there later.  Richie is doing great in kindergarten and learning very quickly.  Kamry keeps everyone in line as all little girls should.

Melanie and Nick are doing well and expecting their 4^th addition, another little boy in March.  The kids are really getting big.  Jayden is doing pretty well in Kindergarten, but wishes he could do what he wants all day and not necessarily what the teacher wants him to do.  He is very smart and can already read books only a few months into kindergarten.  Aaryn is making great strides with school and his physical therapist.  He is mellowing out some and has his own way of letting you know what he likes and doesn’t like.  His communication skills are really getting better all the time.  Bryton usually has a big smile and he has no trouble keeping up with his big brothers.

Chelsea and Zac are enjoying Denver and expecting their 2^nd boy in April.  Zac is doing great at his job and we expect he will make some great moves this next year as he seems to be very well liked and respected.  Chelsea of course has her hand in everything.  She became a Zumba instructor this past year as well as she is always baking and making the best stuff.  Gavin of course is a big ham and is lots of fun to have around.  He loves to talk and is going to be a great big brother.

Trevor had a pretty good soccer season even though his team struggled quite a bit.  He is currently playing basketball and working out in preparation for a great track season ahead.  He is doing well in school and just finished his Senior Presentation (a really huge thing they spend all semester preparing for.)  He is expecting to start his mission papers in March and receive a call by May – Oh my, what will I do another missionary will be leaving me before too long.

Spencer also played soccer this year and was an important part of the JV team.  He continues to improve his skills.  He is lying low this season as I try to convince him to finish a few merit badges and get his Eagle Project going.

Ken is doing well at work and keeping busy.  He was released as Young Men’s President and is now enjoying his favorite calling of Ward Financial Clerk.  And myself well, I stay very busy with subbing and working on my schooling.  I enjoy visiting my children and grandchildren and am looking forward to lots of great adventures over the course of 2012.

Well if you made it all the way through this – you deserve a gold Star!  Basically 2011 was a busy, wonderful, challenging and miraculous year.  We have been blessed in so many ways and know that our faith in Jesus Christ is what gets us through the ups and downs of life.

2011 Update

It is definitely time to update my blog. I am missing over 4 months of info and my blog book will be very lacking for 2011 if I don't remedy my slacking.

Last time I wrote we were preparing for the return of our missionary. Alex returned without any problems to a small group at the airport. We enjoyed a few days with him and then everyone arrived for his homecoming and family pictures. We enjoyed hearing him speak about the wonderful things he learned while in Texas, and we could see that he had grown into a man while he was gone. I love, love, love, having my missionary home. Sadly he was only home for about 10 days and then headed off to BYU for Fall semester. Fall semester brought highs and lows for him. He found he was no longer sure about majoring in Chemistry and is still seeking to find the right career for his future.

I'm sure his high was finding that he still enjoyed spending time with his best friend Katie and decided they should make it a permanent union sooner than later. By October he was engaged and the date was set for December 22nd in the Bountiful Temple. It was nice to be the mother of the groom for a change, and I didn't feel a lot of pressure until just before Thanksgiving when I realized I still needed to decorate and get all the stuff ready for the reception in Ely as Katie was not going to do that for me.

We pressed forward through the holidays and looking forward to meeting in Bountiful for the wedding just before Christmas. Everyone but Zac was able to attend. (We missed him.) The wedding ended up on a beautiful, sunny winter day. The skies were blue and the temperature was not too bad. This was all after days of inversion in Utah, so we were really blessed to have such great weather. Katie and Alex were sealed by her great Uncle Keith McMullin who is currently a member of the Presiding Bishopric. He did a wonderful job and we all enjoyed the ceremony.

Later we adjourned to the chapel for a Cafe Rio Catered Lunch (which was scrumptious) and then a reception later that evening that was wonderful. The day couldn't have been better. Everything was fabulous.

Then off to Ely on Friday as Christmas was only two days away. We were lucky to have everyone with us for Christmas except the Barrus' (sometimes we have to share) and we really enjoyed having the grandchildren for Christmas. Children always make the day more special. I felt guilty taking a day off from making pom pom's for the wedding, but thank goodness for everyone Christmas was on Sunday and I felt compelled to let everyone relax a little. It was a beautiful Christmas, made all the better by being with family.

This is what it looks like when the Jones' get together - games, games, games!

Monday we began the arduous task of decorating for the reception (at least we began the ceiling). I think I forgot how difficult ceilings are in these big buildings. With lots of wonderful help we survived and after two days of continuous work we were all ready on time.

The reception was small but enjoyed by family and those that attended. The new couple is now back and school and enjoying their new life together. We are grateful to have Katie as part of our family and know she will do a great job of keeping Alex in line and helping him figure out what to do with his life. Katie is currently doing her student teaching and we look forward to her graduation in April.