Dear Family & Friends,
We hope you all had a wonderful year. Ours was busy, hard, and full of blessings.
Todd started the year by enrolling in the Welding program at Mountainland Applied Technology College. He has received a few certifications from the American Welding Society and is close to finishing up. Although he already knows a lot about welding, he has enjoyed learning the technical aspects, new processes, and improving on his skills. In the Spring Todd was called to serve as Elder’s Quorum 2nd counselor. He really enjoyed the calling, serving the people in the ward, and really learned from and loved the men he served with. However, a few months later he was released from that and called to serve on the Stake High Council. It has been an amazing opportunity for both him and our family. He has brought a new spirit and joy to our home and we are grateful for the opportunity to associate with such wonderful men in the Stake. He always finds time to be a great father and husband and the boys adore him and the things he teaches them. It is fun to see them mimic the things they see him do.
I continue to work at home for a real estate management company, mostly reviewing properties for banks or investors. I finally finished my Real Estate Schooling and passed all my tests, so now I am a licensed agent in Utah. It feels good to finally have it over with. Our ward split near the beginning of the year and I was released from the Relief Society presidency and now teach Valiant 9 in primary. They are great kids and I have really enjoyed it. We are teaching from the Old Testament and it has been so fun to become more familiar with those stories I have forgotten over the years. In mid-September we were surprised with some exciting news. We were excited and shocked to find we are expecting baby #4. We have always had to plan our pregnancies and take medication to conceive and I don’t usually get sick with pregnancy, so I couldn’t figure out why I kept getting food poisoning and was so tired. We are expecting our 1st little girl April 13th. It is a little overwhelming, as we only know about boys here, but we are very excited.
It has been a year of growth and change for Jared. He has recently taken his 1st few steps and I’m sure running is not far behind. He can say a few words including, “Hey, Dada, Mama, Dido (Michael), Jake, and Thank you”. He loves to watch his big brothers, but is no longer content to just watch. He tries to be in the middle of everything they do (much to their dismay at times). He has a fun personality and we love having him in our home.
Michael started Kindergarten this year. He is already becoming a great reader and loves to point out words, letters, and figure out sounds as we drive around. They are already writing sentences and I am blown away at how quickly they move through information. He is full of drama and everything is a huge deal. This year he started wrestling and is kind of a natural. He loves it. He also played soccer again and even scored a goal. He is such a great helper and is so proud to be a big brother. He is constantly making us laugh with things he says. For example he though a mustache was called a hash and Lehi was Ei - “like Ei Ei O?”.
Jake loves to do everything Michael does, which often causes drama when we have only 1 of something. He loves to torment Michael to make him scream. I love him to bits, but he is definitely the one who is turning me gray. He started preschool this year and loves it. He is extremely active, but his teacher assures me it is pretty normal. He is excellent at puzzles, building things, and memorizing poems and articles of Faith. He has his sweet moments, loves to cuddle, and loves to make us laugh. He is definitely the clown of the family.
We are grateful for this time of year to focus on the blessings we have, the birth of our Savior, and love of family and friends. We love you all and hope you have a wonderful Holiday. Good luck in the New Year.
Love, Todd, Bridgette, Michael, Jake, Jared, & Baby
