Still Going On

October 27^th, 2013

Our Dearest Brother,

SHAYLA: Well, mom and Kayden leave tomorrow for Budapest. I am trying not to think too much about it because if I do I feel sad. I am really happy for Kayden to have this opportunity and that mom can go with him but a whole month away just makes my heart hurt. Can you believe that when they get back it will just be 3 weeks before you get home? I hope that the time will pass by quickly and I really hope that Kayden earns his final GM norm at one of these tournaments. All of us kids have been pretty clingy to mom this week. I wonder if she is feeling claustrophobic yet? Lol.

JAKE: I think I have a harder time understanding why everyone is going to miss mom and Kayden so bad because of the fact that I went on a mission. Personally, the only person that I would miss would be Shayla and the kids if we had to be apart more than a day. But my parents or my siblings – that wouldn’t bother me one bit. Not that I blame them, I mean – none of them have been away from her for longer than a month because of chess – so I understand how that can be a challenge. So I guess what I really mean is that the person I really feel for is dad.

SHAYLA: I think that, even after 6 years of marriage, Jake still doesn’t quite understand how close our family is. J We got a new nephew this week. Jake’s older brother Robert and his wife Bridget welcomed their third child to the world. Little Aiden is very adorable and looks very loved by his family. Unfortunately, they live in Texas so we won’t be able to meet him for some time but I hope that our kids will know them and get to spend time with them sometime.

JAKE: Shayla has been acting pretty baby crazy lately. I guess that is a good thing since we are planning on having another baby next year. My sister Beth is expecting in January and we were over there tonight and she was talking about how the baby likes to kick her. It is always an adventure going through a pregnancy and the first few months of a baby’s life but, in all honesty, I am thoroughly looking forward to having another baby in the house. I was a major nighttime caretaker of Nathan, you know? When Shayla needed sleep I would take him downstairs and we would sleep on the futon together. Now I’m getting nostalgic.

SHAYLA: I guess I’m not the only one who is baby crazy! We are certainly looking forward to expanding our family. I am looking forward to being finished with school. Now that I am certified as a personal trainer and my classes are so… simple… I just don’t feel a lot of the same fire anymore. I will be very glad to have accomplished this technical degree and to have it all completed next May, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to a new stage of my life. I have been playing this part for a while. Great opportunity – but I am ready to be done.

JAKE: I think my last two classes that I took were too easy because now I need to write a paper that is worth 2 credit hours and I’m having a really hard time doing it. I’m going to have to work late on Monday and Tuesday in order to get this thing done by the end of the month I think. The goal is to finish my Bachelor’s degree by the end of this term. (That is February.) But what would be really awesome would be to finish before you got here – but I may have mentioned that in a previous letter. Honestly, I don’t think that that is possible but setting goals makes you stretch and stretching makes you grow, right?

SHAYLA: Alyssa very kindly took our family pictures this week. Not the whole family, just our individual family. From what I have seen so far there are a lot of really cute pictures. Alyssa does such a great job. Abrielle was an absolute angel during pictures and smiled for the camera without complaint. Nathan, on the other hand, was much more interested in running around and looking at cars than holding still for pictures. I guess it is hard to blame a 2-year-old boy for doing anything else. When all is said and done, however, it was a relatively painless process for us. Probably the easiest time we have ever had doing pictures. And I am glad that I don’t have to worry about it anymore.

JAKE: Ummmmm…. Well I hope your next week goes well. I remember the last several weeks of my mission seemed very precious to me because I realized that I would probably never have the opportunity to serve the Lord in that capacity again. I doubt I need to tell you to make the most of it.

SHAYLA: Oh! Speaking of school (a few paragraphs ago) we need to get you registered for spring semester at SLCC. Do you know what classes you want to take? When do you want to take them? How many credit hours? Let me know and I will work with mom to get you set up and ready.

Still SHAYLA: Alyssa and I presented Grandma Traci with her ticket to Disneyland tonight. She was so happy to receive it and thanked us over and over again. I am very grateful to Melissa for contributing the remainder of the money for the ticket. After our last plasma donation and the bruise that I had on my arm for 2 weeks I wasn’t too anxious to go back again but we had already earned a good portion of the money. I am very grateful for loving and generous family. They make me very happy!

We both love you very much and we hope that you are doing well. Stay strong. Keep working. Be faithful and remember how much you are loved!

Love, Jake & Shayla

P.S. I guess I should add something about my health since that was a big issue last week... This week has been variable. Some days I feel better and some days I don't. I have been struggling with nausea off and on and the right side of my face feels like it is still trying to rid itself of a bit of infection although the left side of my face (where the sinus infection was full blown) has been alright. I have a few more days of the antibiotics and then we'll see where I am at with everything. My energy has been low and it has been hard to get back into the swing of things but I am trying to, slowly.