As a family we've had a good year. We had the opportunity to travel to Virginia for Jennifer's brother's mission farewell in June. It was great to visit with old friends, and for Jennifer to go back "home" for a week. The plane trip was uneventful, and Amelia slept most of the four hours each way. We were relieved! We are now expecting baby number two the beginning of March. We didn't find out the sex, but Jennifer thinks it is a girl. We are really excited to add to our family.

We took our first "official family vacation just because" this year. We went to Bear Lake on the Utah/Idaho border for a few days. It was fun to get away and do absolutely nothing. We rented a two-person surry (like a golf cart that you pedal) and put Amelia in the front basket and pedaled around for an hour. It was a blast. We also did a bit of hiking, looking for shells, and playing in the sand. Amelia went swimming for the first time and loved it!

Brigham has been very busy this year. He is still serving as first counselor in the bishopric in a college ward, and is enjoying his service there. Financial Fusion had numerous rounds of lay-offs this past year, and after dodging the bullet a few times, the round in July included Brigham. Fortunately, we had felt impressed to submit his resume to a company a few weeks before the lay-offs were announced. When he found out he was being laid off, he contacted this company to see where they were in the hiring process, had a couple of interviews, and began with them almost immediately. We had no lapse in employment, and actually received a substantial salary increase. The Lord has truly blessed us. Brigham is now working for Certiport (formerly Nivo), which develops Microsoft Office User Specialist certification products.

Brigham has two years left of his city council term. He has been serving as the council liaison to the planning commission, so he keeps very busy with his assignment. Our recent election brought in a new mayor and three new council members, so Brigham and one other member are all that remain of the old crew. It will be a big change in January after they are sworn in!

Once again, Brigham was the lead in our community's musical this year. He played Abner in "Li'l Abner." It was a huge success, and everybody loved him!

Jennifer

Jennifer has been busy this year as well. In addition to being a stay-at-home-mom to Amelia, she's taken on some big projects. At church she was serving as the assistant achievement days leader. It's similar to cub scouts, but for the girls. She was over the ten- to eleven-year-olds. She has since been released and is now the Young Women's Music Specialist. She's really looking forward to working with them.

Jennifer volunteered to direct the orchestra for the musical "Li'l Abner," and was thrilled when she was selected. This was the first time our community musical had live music. We had a small ensemble and very difficult music, but Jennifer worked with them a few times a week, and the result was amazing. They received numerous compliments from the audience and cast members. She's looking forward to doing it again next year!

Jennifer has entered her final trimester this pregnancy, and is really looking forward to meeting this new baby! She's also become involved in a weekly play-group. Amelia loves interacting with the other kids, and Jennifer loves interacting with other adults. :)

Amelia is so grown up, I can't believe it! She's been talking in sentences for a long time, but she just started adding prepositions regularly. Her comprehension and vocal skills continually impress me. A few weeks ago, out of the blue she said, "We listen baby yesterday!" I couldn't believe what she was saying, so I said, "At mommy's doctor?" And she said, "Listen baby yesterday at mommy's doctor." She even understands the concept of yesterday! She's had many conversations with Brigham and Jennifer on various subjects, and understands virtually everything we say.

She's able to jump off the ground now! She runs everywhere and loves to play "hide and seek." She knows almost all shapes, including non-standard ones, such as oval, star, half-circle, and moon. She can almost count--she usually says, "One, two, five, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen!!!!" She can re-tell stories to us. She can identify animals by their name and sound they make. She knows all the standard colors, including white, brown, pink, and purple. We are so proud of her!