Valentine's Day Letter

February 2013

Family & Friends,

                Happy Valentine’s Day! Another year has come and gone and it’s time for my colorful, festive, Valentine’s Day Letter.  It has certainly been an incredible year in our home.

Ryan is still working at the local library in the town over in the Children Story Time and Craft department as well as the Reference Desk. The kids absolutely love him and look up to him a lot. He has improved the program and has increased the interest of reading books to the children. In April, Ryan was released from the Bishopric in one of the SVU student’s wards. It was great to come back to the family ward, and once we came back we were put to use. Ryan is now serving as the Young Men’s President. He enjoys the challenge and improving the young men in our ward. But the most rewarding job he has is being a Dad. He loves to come home and know that his girls are waiting to play and explore. He recently got a Kindle Fire for his birthday and has been spending time with Zoie on it, helping her learn her alphabet and improving her fine motor skills.

I have been keeping myself busy. I spent half of last year pregnant. Crazy, isn’t it? Once the baby arrived, life got extremely busy. I am still the Head Volleyball Coach at the High School and I still teach fitness classes at Gold’s Gym. The girls come with me to practice. Zoie loves to get on the court and play; she has the best defensive position. Charlotte spent most of her time in the ball cart “handing” mom volleyballs. J They also come to the gym and spend a couple hours at Kids Play. Zoie loves it and spending time with her friends there. It took Charlotte a while to enjoy it and be away from mom, but she eventually got over it and has a blast.  I am currently serving in our wards Relief Society Presidency. I have loved every minute of the craziness.  I also started a little hobby of collecting old furniture that no one wants and turning it into something new or just fixing it up a bit. I refurnished a dresser for the girls’ room and a mirror for the living room. My favorite part of the craziness though is being a mom to two beautiful girls, Zoie and Charlotte. These two are quite a handful, and bring a lot of personality to the home. I love to help Zoie learn new things and teach Charlotte the basics of life.

Zoie became a big sister in June and then turned two in September. She did a lot of growing up in a couple of months. We couldn’t believe how much she grew up. She started to talk in complete sentences, annunciate words better, and doing things on her own. She has always been an independent girl, but man she became even more so then. Zoie loves to explore and learn new things. Her excitement for something so small is what keeps her going. She enjoys to be outside and being active, playing with her friends, playing with stickers, playing in her kitchen, helping mom cook, being a “mom” to her pony, playing with daddy, and spending time with her little sister. She loves being a big sister and having someone else around to play with, even if Charlotte can’t do much now. We love her energy and unique personality she brings into our lives.

Charlotte Leigh is our newest addition to the family. She was born on June 28^th. She weighted 6lbs 9oz.  She is such a sweet little girl. Charlotte has the most delicate features. She hasn’t been around long, so she is figuring out how her little body works and this new world she is living in. She loves to eat, sleep, talk, get attention, rolling over, being with her big sister, and smile! Her biggest accomplishment this last year was rolling over. At first she only rolled over in front of Zoie, but once she got the hang of it, she rolled over for mom and dad. Charlotte’s favorite thing to do is playing with her big sister. Her face lights up with excitement and worry. J God definitely knew what he was doing when he created second children. Charlotte is very very tolerant of Zoie. We are very grateful to have added little Miss Charlotte to our family and love the peace and joy she brings into our lives.

This has been a wonderful year for us, filled with lots of exciting new things. We have had our trials as well but these experiences have brought us closer to one another and closer to the Lord. We hope that as this next year passes our lives and yours will be filled with love and the spirit of our Heavenly Father and his beloved son, Jesus Christ.