2015 brought a lot of good. So much good.

-Missionary returned. He worked and started school again. He’s also got himself a cute girlfriend and we’ll see how that goes.
-We have TWO kids in college, now. Both of them are about halfway through their sophomore year. Megan will need to decide where she wants to apply to go next year, as Snow College is for getting your associates. I’m so glad she has good roommates this year (all of them) and that she is having fun.
-Natalie started teaching piano lesson AND got herself a part time job at CVS. She’s doing well at school, has lots of friends, enjoys debating, and is even out there dating.
-9th grade is good for Jenna. She is creative, always drawing, or playing video games. I think she may be a game artist someday.
-John is dyed his hair for halloween, and we are finally used to it being brown. Although he got a haircut today and it’s a bit blonder. Scouts is great for him. He enjoys school, too, which is great. He got a pogo stick for Christmas, too.
-Ryan continues to work at Control4. At home, he tinkers, fixes things, uses his 3-d printer, takes long bike rides, and works on all kinds of projects. He tolerates the cat, likes the chickens, now. He had too many days off that he didn’t take, so he’s ended up with every Thursday and Friday off for the past 6 weeks. He’s loved having the time to work on some things. Today, in fact, he installed speakers in the basement. I’m hoping I can talk him into painting the entry way this year.
-A big change for me this year was being called to be the Relief Society President in April. It was totally unexpected, and not something I thought I could do. But I did receive an answer that I would be blessed for accepting this calling, even with my time consuming bells calling. Playing bells is kind of like my part time job that I go to once a week and for three weeks a year. And I love it. I can honestly say the RS gig is not as bad as I thought it was going to be (at least not this year). We have such a wonderful ward. I love that my ability to care for people has increased. I don’t know if I can help them as much as I would want to, but I do my best. I love my counselors and really love the sisters we serve. I didn’t do a play this summer because of that calling, but we’ll see what 2016 brings.
-We did also host quite a few people this year. For a month in the winter we had those two Brazillian boys. That was really not a great experience, but we’re trying to put that behind us. We took a risk and hosted again, with Rika from Japan, who stayed for 2 1/2 weeks in the summer, and then Nozomu, who came from Japan to and stayed with us a week in October. Robin and Ron also came to stay with us twice. We are even considering hosting a full year exchange student again. Thinking about it.

Our chicken count is up to 14 right now. I was disappointed that the three chicks I got in the spring all turned out to be roosters, so I got three more chicks. I’m pretty sure one of them is a rooster, but if the other two are girls, I’ll be happy with that. 14 is a lot to keep through the winter, but I hate to get rid of them. I really enjoy the chickens, even if they aren’t pulling their weight right now in egg production.

For 2016, I’m sure we will see more changes. I’m hoping to get my teen chime choir going. Cole will maybe decide that she’s the one. Or she will break his heart. Megan will finish up at Snow College. John and Jenna will both move up to middle school and high school. So, even though I hope that not much will change, I do anticipate changes this year. Good ones.

May 2016 be a great year for you, too.