The Year 2012 in Review

 

I say this every year, I know, but I really would like to get better at updating this blog. So, I'm going back through 2012 and it was pretty uneventful, other than the fact that Liam grew from a little baby into a walking/talking cutie pants. I will do my best at covering the big events from 2012.

The year started off with a very important event, the birth of Liam's cousin, Hannah Pauline Rich. This is significant because just a few weeks later, Liam and I would begin babysitting her Monday through Friday from 7a-3p while my sister taught school.


In February, I came to my breaking point with Liam not sleeping through the night. He was still waking up every 2-3 hours and I couldn't handle not sleeping anymore. I went to the doctor basically in tears and she recommend the book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Weissbluth. This book completely changed my mind about letting my baby "cry it out" and even gave tips on how to ease into it. After about a week to ten days, Liam was only waking up ONCE a night and I felt like a new woman! Two months after that, when I weaned him, he began to sleep the whole night. 12 HOURS. One of the things the book teaches is that if you put a baby to bed earlier, they will sleep later. I used to put Liam to bed around 8, but once I started putting him to bed closer to 6 he slept 12 hours through the night. I could seriously go ON about how incredible this book is, but you should probably just go read it.

We started babysitting Hannah in March which kept me nice and busy with two babies on my hands. Liam was SUPER jealous of Hannah right away, but after awhile the three of us settled into a good routine.

In April, Jason got put on a permanent contract with UNLV for his job, which meant we could breathe a sigh of relief about his job security for the next few years. Woohoo! Liam also started standing up, but wasn't interested in crawling, walking, or being mobile in any other way. He was pretty content with an array of toys around him and a Baby Einstein video on the TV.


When the summer began, I had the opportunity to go to Girls Camp with my church again as the Camp Director. We stayed at a cabin in Duck Creek, sang songs, learned about God, played games, made crafts, acted silly, and had a great time. I missed my baby boy something fierce, though, and was glad he was in good hands being taken care of by his Daddy and my sister (Hannah's mom). 



Liam began to scoot in the summer. I call it his "monkey scoot" because he literally looked like a little monkey using his arms and legs to scoot along on his butt. He spent most of the summer absolutely filthy because of this. He also loved to go swimming in the neighborhood pool and in his baby pool in the backyard. 

In July, we finally got our backyard landscaped with grass, trees, honeysuckle, and flowers. What a difference it made! Liam loves playing in the backyard, now, and Jason and I spent a few summer evenings out there sipping lemonade and talking about our day.

Also in July we went to the Elton Family Reunion at Zion Ponderosa Resort near Zion National Park in Utah. We camped, swam, hiked, cooked, ate, talked, laughed, played, read, and had an awesome time with our family. It also rained a lot while we were there, so we were a bit damp a lot of the time. Luckily our tent stayed warm and dry. Liam was not used to sleeping in a portable crib or having Mama and Daddy in the same space as him while he slept. So, around 2 in the morning each morning he would wake up, see us lying there and insist on curling up in our sleeping bags with us. He would then lay there in between us, talk and talk and talk and talk and then LAUGH and talk and talk and talk some more. It was possibly the cutest thing I have ever experienced, albeit very tiring. He would eventually fall asleep and somehow simultaneously kick me out of my sleeping bag in the process. Needless to say, we have not been camping or on any other kind of trip since. 

After the reunion, ANOTHER cousin was born, Charlie McGregor Elton and we were so excited! It was also time to celebrate Liam's first birthday! On his actual birthday, Jason took the day off work and we took a day trip to the nearby Spring Mountain Ranch. It was about 20 degrees cooler and we picknicked, played in the grass, and took the tour of the Ranch House. About ten minutes away is Bonnie Springs, so we took Liam to the petting zoo there. While he seemed to enjoy it, it was unbearably hot and we didn't last long. We then took our birthday boy home to open his presents. It was a fun family day.

That Saturday I threw a birthday party for Liam so that all the family and friends that wanted to celebrate with us, could. We rented out our neighborhood clubhouse so that our house would not be destroyed. I made some super cute monkey cupcakes, decorated with monkey decorations, and provided a banana split "bar" for the kids. I blew up balloons which Liam and the other kids loved playing with and then he opened all of the presents that were so generously given to him. It was a fun party for a sweet little boy. 

In August, Jason started getting some really bad headaches that didn't seem to go away, so we decided to forego our yearly trip to San Diego and instead get an MRI done. It was then revealed that Jason had a "brain tumor" Jason went to the doctor alone and came back with this diagnosis. (I should have gone with him.) After some swift googling, the "tumor" which appeared on his Pituitary gland, didn't seem to be somethng we should worry about. While I was googling, Jason was telling his entire family and some close friends that he had a brain tumor. I had not told anyone as we had a follow up appointment with Jason's ENT in a week, and I wanted to wait until we had further answers. So, unfortunately, the information spread like wildfire, and soon we had too many people concerned about this "tumor" and I was frustrated that Jason had told so many people and Jason regretted saying anything. Long story short, we go to the follow up appointment (together this time) and it turns out it is a cyst, not cancerous, and is probably not an issue. By this time Jason's headaches were long gone and we had to go back and do damage control. Jason will now have bloodwork done to be certain there is no concern, but we are pretty sure there is nothing to be concerned about.

In September, we started babysitting Hannah again and they had to get used to each other all over again. Hannah was crawling by this time and insisted on following her big boy cousin EVERYWHERE which Liam found exasperating. However, they have since gotten used to each other and sometimes even play together! 

In October, we did all the normal Halloween activities. We carved a pumpkin, which Liam was too grumpy to care much about. Liam had a super cute Batman costume, which were actually jammies from Walmart and a homemade cape by Yours Truly. He looked uber cute in it! We took him to our church's Trunk or Treat where he ate copious amounts of candy corn and stayed up way too late. On Halloween, we took him Trick or Treating to about 5 houses, which he was fascinated by. He wanted to hold all of the candy in his hands and not put it in the bag! He got to eat a piece of candy before bed and then Jason and I stayed up to watch Clue.

Liam (on left) and his friend, Will

In November, Jason's sister Karalyn was able to adopt her first child! Italia has been with our family since birth, but she officially became Liam's cousin and it was a very joyous day for everyone! Italia and Liam are close in age, so it is fun for them to now be able to grow up together.

This year we bought four season tickets to the UNLV Rebel basketball games. Two for us, one for my dad, and one for Jason's brother. It has been a blast going to the games and Liam loves going to watch "Ball!" It is also fun to be able to see my dad so much.

My sister, Maggie, and her family came to stay with us for Thanksgiving weekend. The whole family was here (aside from my brother, Pete's family, who camps for Thanksgiving each year). We were all spread out at three different houses so we split up the cousins based on age/friendship rather than who they belonged to. The cousins loved it and we were able to get our cooking done without whining about wanting to be with "such and such" cousin. We then convened at a church for the whole dinner. I think the head count was around 30. We held dinner in the gym where Liam found a basketball and would not THINK of doing anything but play ball (and not eat one thing). After dinner, several games of basketball were played and the cousins put on a play for us. We ended the night by going to Jason's mom's house for some (more) dessert and more family time. 

December was, unfortunately, a month of sickness for our family. It began with me getting the Stomach Flu which was TORTURE for me to be away from my sweet little boy for a day, but I didn't want to get him sick. Jason began studying for the GMAT which we decided he should take this year instead of next year. We managed to keep him somewhat healthy until after the test, which was a great blessing, except he did have a cold. After the test, Jason then got the stomach flu. On Christmas Eve, poor little Liam got the stomach flu! On Christmas day, we had Jason's mom and stepdad and his brother, Jared over for breakfast and we all opened presents together. This turned out to be pretty overwhelming for Liam, who was pretty over it after just a couple gifts. Later we went over to Jason's mom's for dinner and then spent the rest of the evening at home. 

Liam and Hannah both started walking towards the end of the year and it is so cute to watch them waddle around my house together. Jason has been applying for PHd programs for this coming Fall and I have simply been trying to keep my sanity (ha!). We are grateful for all the new friendships we have forged this year and for all the friends who have been there for us through it all! We hope you all have a wonderful new year!

"Hey"

"One of the great discoveries of parenthood is that we learn far more about what really matters from our children than we ever did from our parents." -Boyd K. Packer

It is easy as a parent to forget what really matters as we go throughout our day just trying to keep our head above water. We look forward to nap time, when we'll be able to get things done, except we instead fall onto the couch in an exhausted heap and look at the mess around us. It's easy to lose sight of what's important as we carefully draw out a budget and plan a grocery list. We try our best to keep dirty dishes in the dishwasher and messy hands out of clean hair. It's easy to forget what matters when we worry about folding laundry and mopping the floor.

It's times when we forget that our children teach us.

Today while I was doing the dishes, I stopped for a moment to go check on Liam who was quietly sitting on the back patio. I look out and see him fold his arms, bow his head, and say, "Hey."

Love filled my heart as I was reminded of the love of God, the love He has for us, and the time we need to spend each day bowing our heads to speak to our Father in Heaven. To thank him for what we have, thank him for our children, and put all of our trust into His hands. My son may throw multiple tantrums each day, he may not be able to walk, he may not be able to talk, but my son knows how to pray. Today he reminded me what is really important. My son taught me what really matters.

The Best Advice I've Received as a New Mother

When you become a mom, everyone has advice for you. Whether they are a man or a woman, whether they have children or just know children, and whether it is solicited or not. You become quite adept at smiling politely while thinking in your head, "Oh, please shut up." Because the truth is NOTHING can prepare you for how your life will change. How you wake up
one day and discover that you no longer do anything for yourself, that you are suddenly thrust into a world that completely revolves around this new 6lb bundle in your arms. A bundle who somehow dictates how you will spend every waking minute of the rest of your life.

I am a young, confident, and independent woman. Well, I was an independent woman. And I was proud of that! I was proud of the fact that I had a job and I was well educated and I had a few talents. I have been an Aunt since I was 7 years old and by the time I found out I was pregnant my siblings had blessed me with 23 nieces and nephews! "A child?" I thought, "piece of cake." The child I got has completely disarmed me. He has brought me to tears, he has made me feel incompetent, and has brought me to my knees in prayer almost daily. He also has warmed my heart, made me smile and laugh, and brought me closer to God. In saying that, the best advice I have received may surprise you.

Liam was only a couple weeks old when I read in a magazine advice that a woman had written in suggesting that no matter what, every day you need to get ready for the day. That means, no being lazy in your pajamas all day long. But, to actually shower, brush your hair and get dressed! Why, you may ask, is this so important?

You may not leave your house all day long, so why would you need to be dressed? Because, it is something you do for YOU! Remember YOU? That young, confident, and independent woman that you used to know? That woman that used to go anywhere and do anything with no boundaries? In order to feel like YOU again, you need to get dressed.

It makes you feel good, it makes you feel clean, and sometimes it can even make you feel awake! Reiterate... sometimes. You might not be able to sit down to dinner without one arm wrapped tightly around that cute baby; you might not be able to jump in the car and go without first changing a diaper, packing a bag, and wrestling a child into an inconceivably heavy car seat; and you may not be able to chat with your girlfriends on the phone without shouting over a baby's wailing. But, you CAN get ready for the day. And in getting ready for the day, you will feel a little bit normal again. Notwithstanding, spending ten minutes of your baby's nap time slowly curling your hair can be very therapeutic.

Feeling normal will help you remember to smile back when your baby squeals at you, it will help you remember that this baby will not always be a mewling infant, and it will help you remember that you can DO this! So, moms, get off the computer, go pull on some jeans, find your hairbrush, and swipe on some mascara, because I promise, you will feel 110% better and if you do nothing else today, you will feel like you did something productive.

Liam's First Christmas

On Christmas Eve, Liam turned 5 months old!!! We could hardly believe it. Unlike most parents who are "so sad to see how fast their children grow", J and I are ECSTATIC that Liam is getting bigger, interacting with us more, and obtaining his own little personality. It's much more fun than the colicky infant we brought home from the hospital. While the colic is over, the teething has begun. Ugh. So, we get what sleep we can before our poor baby wakes up screaming and arching his back in pain. We were hoping for his two front teeth for Christmas, but did not get them, so we continue to wait patiently. Anyway, back to Christmas.

Christmas Eve was spent with my parents, my Uncle Mike, my sister Amy, her husband and 3 girls, and my brother Pete, his wife, and their 8 kids. Liam was bombarded by cousinly love. However, when I tried to take a picture of my sweet nephew Oliver playing with Liam, he immediately played dead so you're going to have to take my word for it. Liam loved the attention (for the most part) and a good time was had by all. We spent the evening at my sister's house where her girls told the Christmas story and Emma sang a ROUSING rendition of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Then we took our overly exhausted baby boy home.

Liam woke bright and early Christmas morning to open his presents. Can you just see the excitement in his face???

The truly exciting part was eating the wrapping paper. After opening our stockings, we went to church where I took part in singing in the choir for the Christmas program. It was a lot of fun and Grandma and Grandpa Bello came to hold Liam for me. Afterwards, we loaded up all of our gifts and went to J's sister's house for a brunch of cheese on toast which is Owen family tradition. We opened presents while the babies took naps (sort of took naps, I should say). We had to take Liam home for a real nap before heading over to J's parents for a BIG Christmas dinner with loads of family members to boot. It was a wonderful way to spend Christmas and I think we wore Liam to the bone, tired. As a disclaimer: this did not mean he slept through the night... Ah, well.

Hoping your Christmas was filled with just as much family and love!

The Owens 2010-2011: Two Years in Pictures

A lot has happened in the past two years, so in order to catch everyone up. I think I will SHOW everyone what has happened rather than bore you with my ramblings. So here is the past two years of the Owen family in pictures!

In January of 2010, I turned 22 and celebrated with a trip to Skyzone with my work family, Memphis Barbecue with ALL my friends, and then Sweet J got me FRONT ROW tickets to the Lion King! Which was amazing. What an amazing hubby.

Also, Jason changed his major from Econ to Sports Administration. I was still studying Sports Management, but we were in two completely different colleges.

In February, we continued our tradition of going to San Diego for the San Diego State vs UNLV basketball game. We stayed at Lowe's on Coronado island and had a great time!

March consisted of work, work, work! Which I enjoyed immensely. I was working as the Aquatics Graduate Assistant at UNLV's rec center, so I supervised 20-25 lifeguards, organized swim lessons, and oversaw the maintenance of the pool. Jason continued to work at the US Attorney's office, but envied my job SO much that he decided to apply for a GA position at the rec center as well.

In April I went to my first NIRSA (National Intramural and Recreational Sport Association) conference in Anaheim California! It was a BLAST and I got to hang out with all of my awesome coworkers!

In May, I returned to the city of my heart: Alicante, Espana! (To hear more about my previous adventures there, please visit dianejelton.blogspot.com).

Oh, and Jason came too!!! Looking back, he says he has never been to a prettier beach. The Mediterranean is beyond compare and I recommend EVERYONE visit it someday.

Then, we proceeded to travel around Europe with Jason's dad. We visited Italy, Austria, and Germany, but in the end, decided Espana is still EL MEJOR!!!

The summer consisted of everything a summer should consist of: Baseball with my adorable nephew, Girls Camp with my ward,...

Disneyland with good friends

Quilting

Elton family reunion

And canoeing with my (and Jason's) work family! (Yes, Jason started working at the rec center with me, and no it did not destroy our marriage, haha!)

So, the last year of schooling for both us began in August of 2010 and our obsession with the Rebel basketball team continued...

Jason and I both went to Recreation conferences in the Fall of 2010. Mine was in San Francisco and I went with my Campus Rec Other Half, Whitnie Kimball. Jason went to Memphis. I would post a picture of his trip, but he only took pictures of the barbecue which was the only thing he was really impressed with anyway.

Thanksgiving dinner was with the Elton clan in 2010 and as you can see it was a HUGE affair. We had to take it over to the chapel in order to have enough room! But in the end, everyone fit and everyone was STUFFED (With 3 turkeys, 30lbs of mashed potatoes, and much more). The morning of Thanksgiving, I got some very exciting news that I wasn't able to share with Jason until that evening:

That's RIGHT!!! I found out a baby was coming!!! (Disclaimer: This "picture" is quite a few weeks later when the little peanut had developed.)

Christmas was super exciting as we shared our news with everyone in our family!!! What a hard secret to keep, right?

As I continued to grow, J and I were very busy! We not only went to San Diego for our annual basketball trip, but we also went up to Provo to see my sister and her family as well as to go to a BYU vs UNLV basketball game as BYU would be leaving the Mountain West conference in 2011. We both continued to work hard at the rec center, but school proved difficult as well as I finished up my professional paper and Jason worked on his research. I'm grateful that I was not very sick during the pregnancy and somehow was able to muster enough energy to do everything that was required of me!

And then... WE DID IT!!! We graduated with our Master's degrees (with Liam in tow). Jason graduated with a Master degree in Sport Administration and I received my Master of Science in Sport and Leisure Services Management! Jason began a full time job at UNLV's rec center overseeing the University's Physical Exercise classes as well as the rec center's marketing. I took a part time job teaching swim lessons in Boulder City while I finished my assistantship and my pregnancy.

Then, Sweet J and I became parents and our lives have never been the same ever since! Liam was born July 24, 2011, 5lbs 10oz and 17in long.

The first couple months were difficult. Liam had a tongue tie that needed to be clipped, then became extremely fussy, crying for four to five hours every night.

But we slowly learned that Heavenly Father had sent us this gift to teach us love, and most of all, patience. And that He would not have sent us Liam if he did not think we would be the best parents for Liam. So we continued to love him with all our hearts!

And Liam continues to grow and grow everyday and we continue to have WAY too much fun being his parents.

We are SO excited for Liam's first Christmas and to begin a new year together as a little Owen family!!!

The Year of the Owen - 2009

I realize that many people have now jumped on the blogger bandwagon, so I feel that now is a good time to update everyone on what has been going on with myself and my darling husband, Jason, for the past year.

Spring 2009 was mine and Jason's last semester of our Bachelor's degree programs. It was one of the hardest semesters for both of us, but the one where we learned the most as well. I took 5 English classes to finish up, including a British literature class with a professor who had studied with a scholar at Oxford who had studied under J.R.R. Tolkien himself and a Jane Austen class where we devoted our time to planning a ball for our final exam. I would tell you a little bit about Jason's last semester, except he is downstairs playing Call of Duty. We also traveled to San Diego in the Spring to watch the Runnin' Rebels be defeated by San Diego State, but we enjoyed having that time to spend with each other. Here is a picture of my Jane Austen class at our ball:

Jason and I graduated on May 9, 2009. I graduated in the morning and sat through my 3 hour ceremony where the President would not shake our hands for fear of contracting swine flu, then I gave Jason the graduation robe we were sharing and we sat through his 3 hour ceremony where the President of the university would not shake their hands for fear of contracting swine flu. We then got together with family for a nice dinner at Memphis Championship Barbecue.

After we got married in 2008, Jason and I had moved across the street from Valley High School into a 600 sq foot apartment. Although we loved the ward we were in, the apartment proved to be too small and the police were in our neighborhood much too frequently. So, in March of this year, we called upon our step-brother-in-law, Eric, to help us find one of those wonderful foreclosures that were popping up around town. In April, we began to make offers on homes and our second offer was accepted! In May, we moved into our two-story, 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 1600 sq foot home. AND, our parents happily came over and dropped off all the junk Jason and I had stored at THEIR houses for the past 8 months of our marriage. AND, my sister Amy decided to drop off Emma's crib and changing table for us to put in one of the rooms. No, this is not an announcement, but a wonderful way to scare family and friends when giving them tours of our home. Anyway, the house just needed a little bit of cleaning up, and while there are still light bulbs missing in some places and scuffs on the wall, we are still paying less than we would have been paying in rent. Not to mention, the president offered us money this year if we bought a home! So, we look forward to that extra "income" in our tax return.

Also, notice the little red car in the driveway? Jason bought himself a graduation present, a RED 2009 Honda Fit. I was getting sick of the double exhaust on his Nissan and we were also trying to do our part in boosting the economy ;)

So then the summer of 2009 began. Jason continued to work his IT job with the U.S. Attorney's office and I continued my student job with UNLV's Student Recreation Center while I submitted many applications elsewhere. I filled out about 25-30 applications and finally received ONE response back. The company was a home inspection company and they offered me a part time job as a secretary with a promise of going full time later on. Without any other options, I accepted the job and began my first ever "desk job" that didn't involve running around a recreation center. In the meantime, Jason was preparing for Graduate School at UNLV and was taking a Calculus class in the evenings to fulfill the requirements for the Master's in Economics program. The class was difficult and the teacher was hard to understand and Jason came home grumpy many nights that summer. I loved my new job, at first, but then I realized the true meaning of micro-management. I began to butt heads with the Boss's wife who was also an owner of the business and I came home grumpy many nights as well. Back the recreation center, a lot of things began to change in the professional staff and I found myself having to step up and take initiative with some of the things going on, including a couple large basketball tournaments. At one point, I ran into the Director of Recreation and he asked me what I was doing with my life. I admitted I wasn't sure. He asked if I wanted to go to Graduate School, I admitted I wasn't sure. AS I walked away it dawned on me that he may have been alluding to something more so I went home and sent him an email about how unhappy I was with my new job and if there was anything he could suggest for me to do. He immediately set up a meeting with me and offered me the position of Aquatics Graduate Assistant, on the condition that I could get into Graduate School and become certified as a lifeguard all by early August. I remember leaving his office in a daze. I talked with Jason and he was SO excited about it, so I contacted the English program and began to call around to find a lifeguard certification class. That's when I got the bad news that it was too late to apply to the Master's in English program and that I hadn't taken the correct entrance exams for the program. Graduate Assistants, however, are required to be admitted to a program and not just the Graduate College. After moping for a couple days, Jason told me I needed to try and look at other programs. What was I good at? The only thing I could think of was my background in recreation. I contacted the Director of the Recreation Management program and within two days I was admitted. I put in my two weeks notice with my other job (very happily and much to their surprise). I also began to swim at the pool and the lifeguards taught me what I needed to know to pass the requirements for my certification class. Within two months I had completely changed the direction of my life. Jason completed his Calculus class and had to take a proficiency exam. He was able to pass the exam and be admitted to the Economics program and before we knew it, we were both on our way to school to begin Master's degrees.

On August 8, 2009, we celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary. Our brother-in-law, Craig, was able to get us a room at Loew's in Lake Las Vegas. We first went to dinner at Texas De Brazil, a Brazilian steakhouse, and then spent a relaxing evening at the hotel. In the morning we spent a couple hours by the pool sipping on lemon water, and then checked out of the hotel to go get some lunch off the dollar menu at Wendy's. Afterwards, we went to Lowe's (the hardware store) and picked out a tree to plant together in the backyard. It was nice to be able to spend that time together after our busy summer that we had had.

Also in August, Jason underwent surgery to clear his sinus passages. He has suffered from sinus infections for years and his ENT recommended this surgery to not only straighten his deviated septum, but to clear out what he described to be the most clogged sinuses he had ever seen. The surgery went well, but Jason found the recovery to be more difficult than expected. However, we had him back on his feet again by the time school started.

Our Fall semester proved to be difficult beyond measure. Halfway through the semester, Jason began to suffer from severe anxiety that led to breathing problems, IBS, and an overall inability to focus. I found my Rec Management classes to be more challenging than I had thought and also had to deal with many new situations in my new position at the Rec Center. In October I certified to become an LGI, which allows me to teach lifeguard classes as well as first aid and CPR. Observing the instructors for my LGI class, I realized how much they loved their jobs and how passionate they were about what they did. It gave me a newfound energy and love for recreation, which sounds really corny, but I was able to understand that this is what I love to do and it's something that works in many diverse settings. In November, I had the opportunity to travel to UCLA and attend a NIRSA conference for students who plan to pursue careers in recreation. Again, I realized how much the professionals in the field enjoy their jobs. I began to encourage Jason to look into a field that involved sport and exercise because I know that is where his true passion lies. Jason ended up not enjoying his Econ classes as much as he had hoped and is now deciding whether or not to continue on the path to a Master's in Econ, or to look into something he may enjoy a little bit more.

Our Winter Break has been a bittersweet one as we have many decisions to make for our future. Also, a couple weeks ago, my sweet Aunt Joyce passed away after an 11 year battle with Alzheimer's. My dad named me after Joyce (it is my middle name) and I have always felt of her dear spirit. I decided to attend the funeral with my parents and my sister, Maggie, and I was able to learn even more about Aunt Joyce through the stories that her family shared. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent visiting family after family. I have 3 siblings and my parents here in Vegas, and Jason has 2 siblings, 5 step-siblings, and his parents here in Vegas. So, it was a very eventful Christmas weekend even though poor Jason is sick once again. I am glad to have him, though. I know he loves me so much and would do anything for me.

I look forward to many more years ahead in our life together and we wish all of you a happy new year!

Abraham

The newest edition to our family: 

His name is Abraham and he has been such a joy to have in our lives!