Tonight I'm Gonna Party like it's 1999:

A little flashback to that crazy man Prince.

Well another New Years Eve party spent very enjoyably. Emma, Shane, and I stayed home quietly watching Monk (season 2), Kung Fu Panda and packing for a quick trip to Utah that is coming up. Emma made it as far as 7:43pm, I made it to 11:04pm, and surprisingly Shane might have made it this year but had to be up for work by 5am.

I'll copy and paste our Families Annual News letter because I haven't printed and mailed them yet:

This year started with confusion, anxiety, and hope for Shane’s career. His next step was anticipated to bring change in location, big kid decisions like the investment of a house, and potentially a real salary. All of which came to pass a few months later. Shane continues to provide all his time, efforts, strength, and means to support and maintain this happy family.

Erin also started a new job requiring confidence in the dreaded electronic world (plus convincing her boss she can site optimize with no skill in grammar and spelling). She also maintains the humbling jobs of Homemaker and Mother which she enjoys greatly. Emma has grown beautifully this past year. Her current stats include: age 15months, weight 21.5 lbs and height 29 inches. She has discovered, maintained, and mastered many important skills for the beginnings of life. What a joy she is to our family.

As a whole, we are glad to see Emma learning so much. She has learned the word ‘No’ and learned how to ignore it. Emma currently uses a spoon and fork alongside Shane and Erin, and has been known to stab her eggs successfully with a spoon. Emma’s most recent tricks include running (just out of reach when you ask her to ‘Come Here Please’), singing while twirling in a circle, coloring with a pencil on ANYTHING, attempting to put her own shoes and socks on (sometimes in that order), and recognizing the meaning of more words. She has become very shy around some people and runs up to select strangers. It may be that stubborn streak she undoubtedly learned from Erin.

Shane and Erin continue to master the art of parenting one mistake at a time. We are both grateful for the support and encouragement from family and friends as we have celebrated our second year in marriage. We take all the help we can get, after all, we still consider ourselves newlyweds.

May this Christmas season bring you the blessings and joy needed to survive another year. Please know you are loved by us, thought of and prayed for often, and very much missed.

Loads of Love: Shane, Erin & Emma

upcoming goals

1. Teach emma to pick up toys
2. stop procrastinating on assignments
3. fulfill church callings but balance family needs
4. continue to conquer school debt one bill at a time
5. continue to gain health in body and spirit
6. Consider potty training...
7. Find new way to focus while working from home
8. finish painting inside of house

And just because Uncle Scott gives great gifts, here are a few pictures of Emma sporting her favorite football team: