Happy New Year

Hi Girls,

Can you believe we are into another new year.... again? We had a great Christmas in Casa Grande with Sean's family. We got to be there for an entire week, which was heavenly. I actually got to see my husband a little bit. He has been so busy at work the past couple of months. He usually leaves by 6 AM, and it is a real treat if he is home before 6 PM. With the slow market they are trying to hire as few people as possible, which leaves him with lots to do. It will get better eventually, but for now he is definitely putting in his hours. We like it here in Kingman quite a bit. Our ward is great. There are lots of young families with kids, which is fun. Sean got called to be the Priest Quorum advisor, and I am the MiaMaid advisor. We love it, but sometimes it gets a little tricky on Sundays when we both teach during the same hour (so far we have had willing volunteers to help watch Megan while we teach). I just love working with the youth.
I definitely keep busy with the three little ones. Caelan has preschool twice a week for 3 hours. She loves it. She is becoming quite the speller, and she has always had a knack for math skills. She also goes to a dance class once a week. A couple of YW from our ward teach several dance classes to young girls. She had a Christmas concert - what a riot! You know how our parents used to get so excited about watching us perform or receiving homemade noodle necklace gifts? As I got a little older, I remember thinking that parents sure put on a good show pretending to love those things, but now that I am in that position it is very clear how genuine that excitement and love is. As I was watching her do her simple dance moves, I was just beaming inside, and her homemade calendar was maybe my favorite Christmas present. I love it! Ben is Caelan's little playmate. Megan is almost old enough to join in on the fun, but for now she often seems to "mess" up their playing. I keep attempting to potty train Ben. I heard that boys were harder than girls, but Man, I wasn't ready for this. He is so stubborn, which is weird because he doesn't have a stubborn personality usually. One day we will actually make some progress. Megan is walking all over the place and exploring anything she can (cupboards, drawers, dirt, etc). She is a real social bug - she loves any and all attention, which makes walking through the stores pretty fun (she attracts smiles from everyone).Life is good. I have been especially busy with getting all the things in order to buy our house. Sean has been working so much that it has been totally ME - from the researching and looking at different homes to calling about info to getting a lender in place and then switching lenders and making the offers, etc, etc. What a learning experience, but it has actually been pretty fun. Our closing date is February 15th. We have a month and a half with our rental and our new house, so we are going to do a couple projects (paint, replace the carpet for hard floor in the dining room), and then move in slowly. The house was lived in by a widow woman for 16 years or so, so it is in great condition (some features are a little dated, but still in good condition). It sits on .86 acres with trees and landscaping and grass. Lots of room for kids to run wild.
Well, that's the news here. I miss you girls. It's fun to hear all the things going on in your life. We should make 2008 a reunion year for the Uppers. I can host it if you want, or we can go somewhere fun, but we should definitely plan something. It's been too long. Well, I love you all.
Tera