Hi,
I hope your holiday season is going great, merry even. I thought when I realized I was quitting my job that this would be my first Christmas-card year, but with everything going on, I've given myself a pass this year and re-set the goal for 2008. I did type a letter, though, and here it is. I've even attached pictures, fancy, right.
This family started out the year as a grad student and his kindergarten-teacher wife, living in Provo with their toothless, bald baby who could do nothing but roll. We now end the year as a legislative analyst and his full-time-mom/chef/maid wife, living in Stansbury Park with our full-set-of-teeth, reasonable-showing-of-hair toddler who hasn't met the obstacle he can't climb (We hope this continues metaphorically throughout his life. :) ) We've been through a ton of changes!
Gary graduted with his MPA (Master of Public Administration) at the end of April, and started a job in June with the Legislative Fiscal Analyst office of the state of Utah. He applied all over the place, and we expected to end up far away, but this ended up to be the right job for him. He really loves it so far, although they say it's a ton of pressure and long, long hours once the legislative session hits in January. He analyzes state budgets and the fiscal impact of potential legislation, among other things. He is assigned to work with the departments of courts and corrections, and my family enjoys pointing out that the number of escapees from prison has dramatically increased here in Utah since June.
I taught kindergarten until the end of June (I snuck summer school in there), and then packed away my curriculum and crazy scissors for a while so I can be Josh's mom full-time. I really enjoy getting to spend the time with him and watch him grow (he is the cutest child ever, of course), but it is an odd transition for me to not be working after so long having deadlines and perfectly-scheduled days. I miss the automatic lots of people to talk to at school, but it'll be good for me to get out in the neighborhood and get to know people. Probably in order to do so I'll have to end our current routine of turning on music at breakfast and dancing in our pajamas until noon or so . . .
Josh is 19 months old and thinks life is hilarious. He's always laughing, running, jumping, climbing, throwing balls (and other things), using the broom to hit the light fixture like a pinata, putting mascara in his hair, coloring on the table, pouring tomato soup on his chair . . . yeah, he's a busy boy. He loves to play and is a lot of fun. He's had 2 surgeries this year - ear tubes and his adenoids out, and both have made him a happier boy. I worry that he doesn't really talk much, so I asked the pediatrician if he was okay. He asked me if he attempted to put words together, and I had to say, "The only words he's ever put together are 'No, mom!' ". The doctor said Josh is on track. Not too charming, but I guess not a phrase I taught him.
We had a long townhouse-selling situation - our first sale fell through after we already moved out and stored our stuff, so we spent 11 weeks only seeing Gary on the weekends because we had nowhere close to his work to live as a family. But, it worked out great in the end and we are so happy to now live in Stansbury Park. It's in Tooele county, 25 mintues from Gary's office. It's peaceful, pretty, and houses are a lot cheaper, so it's a winning situation for us. In addition to all of the changes we've been going through, we also got to go to Maine as a family for a work conference of Gary's, sneak a weekend in Bear Lake for our anniversary (first time without Josh), attend the weddings of Gary's sister Allison in March and my sister Sarah in August, and have fun with Gary's sister Holly and brother Eric that got back from missions in October. And to top off all of the changes - we will be having a new baby join our family near the end of May, so 2008 is shaping up to be just as exciting.
We hope all is well with you and that I get to hear about more things you're up to next year - my goal for when we are settled is to keep in contact with all of the great people I know, and since I've been keeping in contact with exactly zero non immediate-family members, progress shouldn't be difficult.
Have a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year!!
Love,
Emily,Gary, and Joshua
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