Happy Holidays! Sorry I've been so bad at updating this. A few big things have transpired since I last wrote. Shortly after Halloween, Rob found out that he was layed off from work. Which meant we were jobless. It was a really stressful time for us. But Heavenly Father helped us make it through, and December 1st we both started jobs. Rob is working a seasonal job as package/mail sorter at the MSP airport with the post office, and I am working as a contractor for Target Headquarters in their Marketing Dept. Grammy is taking care of Ryan for us, which has been a huge blessing. We're VERY grateful for her and our jobs. We're looking forward to this opportunity to get our debts paid off and be more financially secure.

Thanksgiving was fun for us, we had the opportunity to go to Utah and spend the holiday with Rob's family. His brother Royce wanted the family to be together so he was generous enough to pay for us to come out there. Rob's father has been having some major health issues, so it was a wonderful blessing to be together. It was quite the event, with all of Rob's siblings (9 in all), all the grandkids (24 in all), and spouses and Rob's parents together. I believe all but 3 of the grandkids are under the age of 10, so it was pure chaos most of the time, but still fun.


Below are a few pictures showing off how cute Ryan is getting and other exciting events...

This is a picture of the snowstorm Minnesota just experienced. Due to snow plows, the snow drifts and mounds were above my head. We received nearly 2 feet of snow in a matter of 24 hours. It was incredible.

Ryan just getting better and better at sitting up. Today he sat up all on his own without any support for nearly a minute. He loves sampling whatever we're willing to feed him. His favorite "real food" is mashed pototoes. Don't tell his pediatrician I feed it to him. He's sucking on a cracker in this picture.

I recently turned 25 (nov. 3rd)! Still so young...

This is Ryan in his church clothes. He's not to happy at this moment. I sure love him!

We hope your holiday preparations go well and you all have time to remember the joy and true meaning of this season. I have been reflecting lately about how Mary must have felt when she was told she would be the mother of the Savior of the world. And then the moment when she first held Him in her arms. It was an overwhelming experience for me when I first held Ryan, and I can only imagine what she went through. I am so grateful that I have been given a child of our Father in Heaven to raise, and that He had entrusted such a sweet, wonderful boy to me. We are all His children, and He loves us dearly. As parents, He entrusts us with His children and relies upon us to raise them up unto Him. What a responsibility. Yet such great joy comes from doing this. I am truly grateful for my little family.