Merry Christmas 2014

This has been a wonderful and joyous year for our family with some really big changes. As we reflect on all that we have done and been blessed with this year we are truly in awe.

Jake finished his Bachelor's degree at Western Govenor's University in Business with an emphasis in Information Technology. After over 6 long years of travelling this road we were beyond excited and relieved to have it come to an end. Many people have since asked us if Jake will be going onto a graduate program. The answer is - we aren't sure, but probably not. We got through school through the generosity of Pell Grants and we would seriously have to weigh the cost-to-benefit ratio for him to ever consider going back.

Jake also left his job working for the LDS Church in Distribution to work for a company called Towers Watson Extend Health as a Quality Assurance Specialist. Although we are very grateful for his job in Distribution and how far it was able to bring us, it was time to move on. Jake is absolutely loving his new job and it appears to be the perfect fit for him and for his education. We are eternally grateful to our friends, Zac and Ashley Cook, for providing us with this opportunity.

I was also blessed to finish my Associate's degree in Fitness Technology this year. I worked for a short time after finishing school for a company called Exercise is Medicine. I worked with patients in a clinical setting to help them with lifestyle intervention and regaining their health. The week before Valerie was born I turned my patients over to another therapist and bowed out with the intention of returning after my maternity leave period. Things didn't quite work out that way and although I may return some day, that day is not at this time.

Life with three kids is more busy than I ever imagined it would be. I still teach piano 5 days of the week although I have severely reduced my schedule. I use my personal training certification by training family members throughout the week and I love that it also gives me the opportunity to get my exercise in. I am still the Gospel Doctrine teacher in our ward and I hope to never be released.

Abrielle had a big year this year as she said a fond farewell to preschool and started Kindergarten. Her reading continues to improve every day and she reads things everywhere we go. Her current favorite book is a compilation of several books from the Pinkalicious series. We keep it in the car and she reads to us on our drives. She started a Tumbling class in August that she greatly enjoys. Abrielle is also really into Pokemon with her daddy and still loves animals. She asks me weekly when my allergies are going to go away so she can get a pet.

Nathan tried out T-Ball this year and we enjoyed watching him at his games. He is just about as extroverted as they come and will have full on conversations with any stranger we encounter. He is the classic middle child and will talk louder and louder if he doesn't think you are paying attention, and then lecture you about not paying attention. We finally convinced him that potty training was a good idea - after several failed attempts over the year and resorting to bribery through toys and treats. He has been accident free for over a week now, even at night, and we are very hopeful that we will no longer have two in diapers!

The best thing that happened to us this year was the birth of our beautiful Valerie Kim. What a sweetie she is! She was born  exactly one week early on October 1st after a very fast and easy labor. She weighed 6 lbs. 12 oz. at birth but quickly turned that around and is now sitting at 12 lbs at just under 3 months old. She is a daddy's girl through and through and saves all of her best smiles for Jake. She has just started trying to talk A LOT and will make sweet cooing noises for a long time if you pay attention to her and coo back. Her brother and sister absolutely adore her and despite conversations about not poking her in the head, blowing on her face, or... licking her... they handle her pretty well.

What a wonderful year we have had! We look forward with hope and anticipation to what 2015 will bring to our family. We are so grateful for you, our family and friends, and we hope you can feel of the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ, every day throughout your lives.

Love Always, Shayla (And Jake, Abrielle, Nathan, and Valerie)