Merry Christmas!

Dear Friends and Family,

It’s that wonderful time of year again. It has gotten colder outside and there is a craziness surrounding the holidays, but what a wonderful time for reflection and pondering. I am hoping to keep this Christmas Card/newsletter tradition without sounding mushy. This year has been an amazing year; packed with ups and downs. This year saw us moving twice, losing jobs, gaining jobs, enrolled in school, traveling often, learning from mistakes, spending lots of time with family and friends, and experiencing some of Heavenly Father’s greatest blessings.

Brian started this year out gainfully employed with SLC but had his contract terminated 30 days after we signed on our new house. Talk about an unwanted house warming gift. He spent nearly five months unemployed. Thank goodness for little blessings that helped us through this time. He was able to take advantage of this time by studying hard for his college classes and learning more about the field he would like to go into. We received a fantastic Christmas gift last week when Brian was offered a position at Juniper Systems. Juniper is the world’s second largest distributor of commercial grade routers; Brian will be doing customer support. He has a fun title, network engineer. We are absolutely delighted with this! This job just keeps getting better and he hasn’t officially started yet. The pay and benefits are amazing. We will have health benefits and paid time off again. Yeah!

Last year found me starting the New Year as a tutor for Davis County. I worked at this position until April, when my school year ended. Due to funding I was unable to return to this position in the fall. I began what was to be my experience as a stay at home mom only to find other plans in store for us as a family. When Brian lost his job, I quickly gained a part time job as a substitute at a local day care. It is the most ideal situation for any mom who doesn’t want a lot of time away from her children. Aidan is able to go with me and play with his friends while I am there. The best part is that I work and get paid; Aidan is allowed to come with me and he plays at the day care free of charge. Ideal!

Brian and I have both been attending more classes at Weber State. I just found out that I passed my last and final class. I will be graduating in the Spring. I am very happy! Finally! It has only taken me 12 years to finish my Bachelors. Brian is about 3 semesters from graduating with a BS in Networking. With his new job comes tuition reimbursement! What a joy!

Aidan is still an only child who brings much joy to all who come around. He is a very independent, adventurous, loving little boy. He has truly enjoyed Brian being home a lot. Aidan loves to encourage Brian to play video games and intently watches his daddy play them. Aidan loves spending time at the day care playing with his friends. We spend many Monday nights with his best friend Zoe Kay learning and exploring. Aidan is very diligent in doing his chores and reading his books. He is becoming a very good conversationalist.

We moved twice this year; once from our apartment into my Aunt Suzie’s home then into our new home. After much thought, prayer and searching we found the perfect starter house for us. This house was meant to be ours. Everything about this house is delightful. We were so lucky to find such a fantastic home in our budget.

We were also able to spend time in Idaho for an Armga Family Reunion in July and then in August we spent time in the Washington D.C. area. The latter trip was planned so that we as a family could go and be sealed for time and eternity. This was the most wonderful experience! Despite a crazy year filled with so much uncertainty, it was a wonderful ceremony that helped us put so much into perspective, but two things stand out, family and the gospel. What a wonderful gift the Lord has given us, the ability to remain bound together as a family even after death. I am in awe of the love that one can feel when we allow the Lord into our lives.

That has been our 2009. What a crazy year it has been. We are thankful to have you in our lives and have been able to grow with you. We hope that this holiday season finds you happy, in good health, and remembering the real reason for all the celebrations, the birth of our Savior. Keep in touch!