A Merry Christmas to All!!

Because of snazzy technology I can write this post today (the 20th) and have it post on the 25th.

I just wanted to write and tell all of you how thankful I am for your love, support, and friendship. I love being able to stay in touch with friends and family who live far away. Many of you I haven't seen in years and years, yet I feel like connected and close to you through blogging, facebook and emails. It's so nice to be able to comment to each other and empathize when we go through hardships, successes, and just everyday life. We relate with, laugh, and cry with each other.

I am especially thankful for this time of year to remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I am thankful for His life, His example, and giving us the greatest gift we will ever recieve: the atonement and the chance to live with Him, our Heavenly Father and our families forever.

I am looking forward to 2012 for several reason. The biggest being the addition of a sweet little boy to our family. We are looking forward to having a newborn in our home again. Although I am sure we are in for a few surprises too. Three years may not seem like a long time, but now that Brooke is so independent, potty trained, etc... having a newborn around will be a huge change for us. But we are ready!

I also look forward to see what Brooke learns in 2012. She has such unlimted potential that I know she will grow and develop in ways I didn't see coming. I hope 2012 will bring great things for Blake and I as well. We set some goals for ourselves for 2011 and are happy to say we accomplished most, if not all, of them. Blake is amazing. He always has the best interest of our family in mind. Whether it's coming up with ways to get our house paid off faster or building our food storage supply he is always good to remind me that small sacrifices now will have huge payoffs in the long term. And I need reminded of that a lot! One of the best things I saw happen this year was the relationship between Brooke and Blake grow. She loves her daddy! They wrestle and play and go fishing and four wheeling. It always warms my heart when Blake chooses a day with Brooke over a day with his buddies or peace and quiet fishing

We love you all and wish the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of New Years!

And if you made it this far...for your listening enjoyment are two short videos of Brooke singing some Christmas songs:

I took these videos using my new Christmas present (that I may or may not have bought for myself) It was such a great deal I couldn't resist and I wanted to get the hang of using it before Christmas morning. I can't believe how much better the picture and sound quality is than our old camera!