Another year has come and gone, and along with it, a little
of my weight (it’s come but not gone), my eyesight (continually going), and my
sanity (according to some members of my family, “completely gone.”) But this year has been one full of events,
and I for one am grateful for it.
Janika started high school this year and is completely enthralled in the social aspect of it. She is in the Honor’s program and is involved with Madrigals. She is also the sophomore drama club representative, a Hands in Harmony Caroler and is in several clubs. Because of her busy schedule she has yet to take Drivers Ed. (I’m not weeping at that.) She just turned 16 and is excited to start dating all those boys who have been eying her (and there are plenty of them)! Luckily she has a dad who works at her High School and can scare away some of those eyes….heh heh. Janika loves to sing and has a beautiful voice. Here is a link to the song "Modesty" she sang at EFY last summer. 
Jase is full of energy and fun. He started Middle School this year and is in
the Honor’s program. He continues to get
straight A’s in every class. He is involved
in scouting and is working towards his Eagle Scout. He even went to his first dance! To make it even more exciting, some of the
girls WANTED to dance with him! He just
turned 14 and is now the only teacher in our Deaf branch (It’s a move up from
being the only Deacon). He is a Hands in
Harmony Caroler and is also involved in piano lessons along with Jared,
Janelle, and Jaiden.
Jared has also had a change in schools. He began intermediate school this year and
with that change came a whole lot of others.
He now cares what his hair looks like and even tells his dear old dad
how he wants it cut. Needless to say, his dad does an outstanding
job with his hair and many have taken notice (including himself each time he
walks past a mirror.) He also was part
of the Geckathon (a triathlon for the intermediate school) and took 13th
place out of the boys. He has been
teaching himself to do flips on the ground and has recently been perfecting his
back flip (view it here). Now maybe when he sees his
mom and dad kiss, he will give their relationship the full accolades it
deserves! Jared didn't want to be a caroler this year but his mom was okay with that since he has been such a tremendous help with the younger kids while we have rehearsed and performed. 
Janelle is in the third grade and is the oldest of our elementary
school children. She has shown an example
of how wonderful a person can become when they perfect their talents, and the
whole family has picked up on the hint!
Janelle’s piano skills have increased dramatically and I love to hear
her practicing on the piano. She also
sings in her school choir, continues to excel in school, and loves to
read. She is currently halfway through
the “Harry Potter” series. This year she
even learned how to do the dishes! That
is a talent that will be put to use often in our home! She was SO excited to join the Hands in
Harmony Carolers this year and has every line in the group memorized! 
Jaiden is in the second grade and has also been developing
her talents as well. She is heavily
involved with dance and performed in the Nutcracker this month. She is always leaping and prancing through
the house and doing cartwheels into the splits.
I’m sure that comes as no
surprise to many of you, seeing how often she and I dance in the kitchen while
cleaning it. This way she can say that
she has certainly “danced with the best of them!” She also won first place in the science fair
for her grade and was a winner in the reflections contest for her art work. Jaiden had an accident on the 24th of July where she accidentally cut off the tips of two fingers in a weight machine. She went in for surgery a couple of weeks of later and after several weeks of bandages and trips to the wound clinic, her fingers healed completely and she was able to start piano lessons. Jaiden was recently chosen to co-star in a National Commercial so you may see her on TV some time after Christmas! 
Jenna recently turned three years old. She is not in school yet
and definitely misses the other kids while they are gone. She is
a Momma’s girl and lets me know it frequently.
She certainly enjoys the attention and sociality that comes with being
the youngest of 7 children. Her biggest
accomplishment this year was getting potty trained! Finally -- after 16 years we now join the ranks
of those who are out of the diapers stage! Yeah! Jenna is quite the chatter box and can be
very mischievous, but her cute little demeanor allows her to get away with
it! Here she is singing the theme song to Wonder Pets!
Wendy has been extremely busy but tends to handle the stress
very well. However, I have noticed an
increase of fatigue that seems to send her to bed for 30 minutes every
afternoon (just like me, but my nap is closer to one or two hours -- at least on weekends anyway!) Afterwards, she wakes up feeling quite
refreshed and ready to handle what is left of the day. She is still interpreting and teaching ASL at
the college. By doing this, she helps to
build a stronger foundation for the Deaf community, allowing them to
communicate with a greater number of people (they love her for it too!). She’s continually driving from place to place
to help our children progress in their various endeavors and is often helping
them with their various projects and homework.
The children and I all feel lucky to have her as the “neck of our home!”
As for me, I’m still the Branch President of the Deaf Branch
here and our kids are improving with their sign language skills. Wendy and I had the opportunity to teach together at BYU-Idaho Education Week last summer and enjoyed the time together. We were also session directors over the week of EFY that Janika attended. This fall we decided to add one more thing to our plates... After much begging from
our kids and from past Carolers, Wendy and I decided to start the Hands in
Harmony Carolers again after a 3 year absence.
I must admit I was quite nervous about the undertaking because it takes
so much time, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it again. We had many siblings from former groups
audition and three of our children (Janika, Jase, Janelle) are in it this
year. It has provided a very busy
Christmas season, but I can already see in my own children how the sacrifice was
well worth it. Click here to see a couple of their songs:
Santa Claus is Coming
I’m also still teaching
seminary, but have had the wonderful privilege this year to return back to the
classroom at Snow Canyon as a teacher - - and that’s it! No more administrative duties, no more
traveling to and from different schools, and swapping between teaching
languages. Now I teach in one language,
at one school, and one lesson….ALL DAY LONG!
It’s great!
Santa Claus is Coming
This year, after General Conference, my family and I have
decided that we should start studying the Book of Mormon again. So, even though I’m teaching Old Testament,
our family is reading both the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon together. The Book of Mormon contains my favorite
scripture: Alma 37:46, “…the way is
prepared, and if we look, we may live forever.”
For me, there is no better time than Christmastime, to look around and
see what our Heavenly Father has given us.
He has given us so much. He has
provided an opportunity to thrive and grow in our mortal probation, an
opportunity to enjoy the sociality of friends and family, and the opportunity
to take advantage of His Son’s Atonement.
We have been blessed beyond measure when we “look” toward Him. I love Christmas for that very reason. And I love Him because He makes it possible
to maintain loving relationships with people like you forever! We hope you have a wonderful Christmas Season
this year!
We hope you all have a wonderful year in 2012!!
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