Another year has come and gone and once again I am overcome with how blessed our family has been! When we entered 2010, we had no idea all of the changes our little family faced. Leighton was 7 months old and we were enjoying the Christmas break, but Jack was beginning the BYU-Idaho nursing program and we were excited and stressed and nervous for what this chapter in our life would hold.
Jack began the Nursing Program in January and amazed me with balancing school, working 25-30 hours a week and never getting home from work before 3am on the weekends, only to get back up and do the same thing again. He flew through his first 2 semesters with flying colors and then in August we went to South Carolina to visit my family there and made the ultimate decision that when we got back, Jack would return to school unemployed. Between confusion and stress, leaving his job opened a new door for him to be a lab tutor in the nursing lab on campus (a job his teachers highly recommended him for) and where he is able to practice his skills and study with other students. This was such a blessing as we have needed the extra income. So he completed his 3rd semester with all A's once again (my brilliant hubby :] ) and is taking a New Testament class over Christmas break so he can graduate in April with his RN. In April, we will be leaving Idaho for Jack to work a minimum of 1 year in an Intensive Care Unit, which is a requirement for a graduate degree in Nurse Anesthesia. We are not sure where we will be moving or where he will attend graduate school, but we enjoying the light at the end of this tunnel...and freezing a little in the process!! Ha!
Last winter, we also had been praying about a few other things, not the least of which being my hopes to reapply to BYU-Idaho (I had a lot of credits there but no degree yet). The more we talked and prayed, the more we came to terms that: while a lot of BYU-I credits will not transfer to another school, an Associate's degree would. So with confirmation, I reapplied and was accepted to finish school in April with Jack. This has been such a blessing for me to continue learning and growing at the Lord's University. I am so thankful for the friends I've made and the Spirit I've felt being back in school. I want to set a good example for Leighton that education is important and you should learn whenever you have the opportunity, in the classroom and otherwise. I am continuing to work at Horkley's and I'm very grateful to have had this job the last 4 or so years. I will be working Saturdays for my last semester and will probably miss it when we leave, but hope to be an official "Stay at home Mommy" after my Horkley's era ends.
Leighton is 19 months now! I just can't believe how fast she is growing! She is constantly moving and changing. She can count to 13 .. sometimes 15 right now and loves to fill in the letters I stop at in the ABC's. She loves to read, we read anywhere from 10 to 20 books a day together, even when I am in school. She is completely obsessed with Toy Story and can name every character of almost every Pixar movie (Yes, we have a DVD player in the car). She loves coloring and watching her Mickey Mouse Club and PBS. She loves dancing and ANY kind of MUSIC! If she can strum it or tap the keys, she's in heaven. Leighton loves her bedtime, she likes routine and often brings us her book and her toothbrush when 7pm rolls around. She is learning to pray and always says "Heavly Fader, thank you" when we have our arms folded. It is adorable!
She asked Santa for a talking Jessie doll and a play kitchen for Christmas, so we'll see what's here Christmas morning... she has been a very good girl, you know. She can say any word we ask her to, her vocabulary is growing daily. She is beautiful inside and out. I am sad to say that she has had a few diva tantrums this past 2 weeks. But she understands time-out and counting to ten, then saying that she is sorry(which is the saddest thing I've ever seen, but she is learning). She is a lot like her dad, in the way that she is careful and humble and very sincere in all of her words and actions. She is a lot like her mom in the way that she laughs a lot and likes to be a busy-girl. Some say she has my blue eyes and her daddy's eyelashes. She certainly is a daddy's girl. We feel so lucky that the Lord found us fit to take care of his beautiful daughter Leighton and we can't imagine life without her now. We are so blessed to have our "Little L!"
We are very 'braggy' parents :] We hope this Christmas finds y'all all safe and warm! We are very blessed to have such great friends and family, near and far! Hope you are enjoying the holidays and may we all remember the "Reason for the Season!" We appreciate you all and love you! Merry Christmas and God Bless!
