In Lieu of a Christmas Card

Wow! 2013 was a big year full of milestones. It was also another year, where I didn't get Christmas cards sent out. Since I love getting cards from friends and hearing about how their lives went over the last year, I thought I'd go ahead and update the blog. Hopefully, I'll be more on top of it next year and actually send out a card.

News on Rob.  Rob got a promotion this year. He is now an instructional designer at the School of Science and Math, here in North Carolina. The promotion really came out of the blue--at least it felt that way to us. He is doing a lot more managing of projects and people and a lot less time with video or film. He is also the Cub Scout committee chairman and has been helping out the Cub Scouts as the program has been through quite a few transitions in the last few months. Rob continues to love boardgames, and gaming. As he mentioned several times over the holidays. "I really am a gamer." He really is.

News on Mim. I've been plugging away. I feel so blessed to be able to work from home, and I've also been blessed by having plenty of work to keep me busy. It has left me a bit frazzled at times, and I'm not always on top of everything housework wise, but I do love the flexibility it offers and the fact that I'm here when the kids need to be home.

News on Beth. Wow! Elisabeth has quite a few big milestones this year. She finished up elementary school and started middle school at Martin Middle School. We had to choose and apply for schools and as she was looking, we were praying about the right school and we both had a really strong spiritual impression while at Martin. So far's it's been a great school. Beth's pulled off her first 4.0 and looks on track to do it again next quarter. She also moved up to Young Women's this month. (So grown up and old) and she is heading on her first temple trip next week. It's so neat to watch her grow up! (She also squeaked in and earned her Faith in God award just in time.)

News on Caleb. Caleb chose to be baptized this year. He was baptized in February and it was a great experiences. My parents and Matt came out and Matt got to be a witness for the baptism, which was really nice. Caleb also started going to Scouts. He went to Cub Scout day camp over the summer during the rainiest week of the year. He is having a good third grade and is managing to get his school work done and he is learning and growing every day.

News on Jacob. Jacob loved his year of kindergarten and he is simply thriving in first grade. Jacob is constantly smiling and happy. He also loves video games, board games and anything to do with imagination. Currently he is on a kick of getting up early to squeeze in a few episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender each morning before school. He then acts out all of the fight sequences throughout the day. Jacob also learned to ride a bike last week. He decided he wanted the training wheels off and was riding without falling off in just minutes.

The kids discovered Minecraft this year, and that is honestly how a good portion of their time is spent. This summer they designed worlds and played games and got along great along with our trips to the pools. They can find and set up servers and do all kinds of other stuff.

The kids, Beth especially, also adore Dr. Who. I mean adore. Some huge fans that watch multiple episodes in a sitting, that have gone back to pre Matt Smith Dr. Who episodes, who are eagerly awaiting the next season. Personally, I'm super excited for the next season of Sherlock which comes out on Wednesday.

Other highlights this year--We loved our trip out to Utah to see the family. It was super fun, and a great time for all. The kids adored Lagoon--since they all got to ride the roller coasters. They also loved spending times with aunts and uncles and Grandpa and Nana. It was a great experience and Rob ran into someone that he taught on his mission who just happened to be in Utah visiting from Australia.

We had some great times with the Caldwell side of the family too. A fun trip to the beach over Spring Break, a week there over the summer and a fun time visiting Busch Gardens during their Halloween thing. It was also a great week over Christmas.

 Here's to a great new year in 2014! (And hopefully a regularly updated blog.)