Seasons greetings to all! We are very pleased you took the time to check out our online holiday newsletter. As usual, we have been busy this year and are glad we can share our experiences and blessings with you.
Our family did so many different things in 2008! Well, maybe not... It was the family project this year to get the basement finished. So this meant that we all had to put in a lot of time and sacrifice our social lives to help get it done. We finally finished at the end of this summer and it's a beauty. All the hours sacrificed turned out to be worth it! Unfortunately this also means there is not much to report on family events besides that. BUT each member of the family did have their plates full in 2008.
Lacie (20) had an eventful year. After going to Weber State the year before, she transferred to UVU this fall semester and loved it! Though the love will continue at UVU this spring, she is hoping to transfer to BYU next fall to finish her music schooling. Hopefully her school hopping will end there. :) She is working at VitalSmarts (a communication training company) doing data entry and loves it. She has recovered almost completely from her back injury and more. In fact, she has started to take her health pretty seriously and has lost some weight and feels wonderful. Keep it up Lace! She feels this is not only good for her, but all her missionary friends that are getting home this year...;) Mostly though, she has grown in her testimony and though losing pounds physically, she is gainging pounds spiritually.
Justine (18) is sure to be the next High School Musical star. She knows every move and word to "Bop to the Top" and constantly mentions HSM4. Since there is no word on a continuance of the series, we are pretty sure she mentions this because she wants to be the star. Which she should be. Last year was pretty tough with Justine. She had that "teenage attitude" and made everything difficult. However, this year she has made a Karl Malone 360 and is such a joy. She is basically the entertainment whether she means to be or not. (ex. her choir stretches, burping peoples names, catch phrases like "nophing!?", and singing duets from different floor levels.) We love her spirit and her unusually high waist line and will keep everyone updated on her HSM debut.
Mariah (15) is in high school and ironically she hates it. (Isn't that supposed to be the BEST time of life?). She has been focused on voice lessons this past year and is doing quite well. Her life long dream came true recently when she attained her first cell phone. OMG! The texting never stops and she has evn hlpd mom lrn the txting lingo. This phone has actually come in handy with her being the miamaids president, so mom and dad are fine with her having it. She said the most eventful thing this past year was when she almost died on the river at Youth Confrence. Mariah lost the only wisdom she ever had, by getting her wisdom teeth taken out. Unfortunatly we haven't really noticed a difference in her intelligence since then. So did she have wisdom in the first place? Though she is still Mariah, and provides us with limitless material for teasing her, she has actually grown up a lot this year. In fact, her own cousin did not recognize her at the mall (love ya Maren!). But in all seriousness she has grown up physically and spiritually and is a good big sister (depending on her mood and how much we tease her).
Kali (12) had a lot of firsts this year, since turning 12 is sort of a right of passage in the community. She is now in young womens and served as a councelor in the beehive class. Going into young womens also meant that she was able to head to girls camp this summer with her 2 big sisters. She said that was one of the best parts of her summer! This is also her first year of jr high. Its definitley taking some adjusting, but she has fun participating in orchestra and other school activities. Kali also finds time to play with friends, play computer and wii, and play violin and piano. She enjoys her new violin teacher and is hoping to really excel this year. It's strange to see Kali grow up. Now we can tease her about the same things she teased her sisters while going through teenage years. We let her off easy though because she is really turning into a beautiful young women.
Brock(9) has had a fun year playing tackle football, with Craig helping and giving pointers as the assistant coach. He still enjoys "playing the field", if you will, and participates in many different sports. And as usual, excels at all of them. He is still the teachers pet, learning very well from Lacie about that. Brock is a big help around the house and is always willing to lend a hand to anyone. It was actually a fun game this year to see how many things we could get him to do before he said no. Brock is big enough now that our dog is at a disadvantage while wrestling with him. However, Brock and the dog are still contstant companions. Though sometimes Brock gets teased for having a tender heart, we all know that it is helping him be a good person and commend him for the good brother, son, and friend he has been this year.
Craig and Diane recently celebrated their 24th anniversary this month (who gets married in December). My, how the time flies by. It has been so great to spend time together this year working on the basement (a little frustrating at times) and working in the ACN business. We loved the 10-hour drive to California to just talk, and we did. Still best friends!!!
Diane (29) has been busy being a mom and working this year. Still doing medical transcriptions, and getting tired of it, so she is now looking at a new career (see previous post). She really enjoys the prospects and hope that everything pans out this next year. Also she has spent a lot of time finishing the basement and actually really enjoyed it. Crazy? Maybe so, but she is grateful for the extra time she got to spend working with Craig on their house.
Craig (29 as well) has basically been Mr. Fix it all year. Or Mr. Build it, if you want to get technical. He really focused and put all of his time into working downstairs and making improvements about the house. He stayed very determined when the task seemed hopeless and the family gives him a big "high 5" for that. We would'nt have gotten it done without him. Of course, he still had a bit of fun with the basement as well. Craig researched and made sure we had the ultimate sound system, high tech t.v., and various technologicaly advanced equipment. Perhaps that is the real reason he wanted the basement finished so badly...
Overall our family has so much to be thankful for this year. We may have fun new gadgets in the basement, but we also have the gospel, each other, and our Savior. May everyone realize our love for you and for Jesus Christ at this time of year.
Love,
The Jones Family
