The Year in Review

In place of a Christmas letter, I am going to post this on our blog, and cover what has happened this year with each of us. Hopefully this will be an easy and convenient way for people to See what we have been up to. Overall, it has been an eventful year, to put things mildly. A lot has happened with our little family, but it has all been a lot of positive growth for us.
Eliza has grown up from our little baby girl to our little toddler girl. I can't believe how much has happened with her. She received her hearing aids in January, and still wears them. She has gotten to the point that if she sees them, she will bring them over to us and want us to put them in. She is just doing what little toddlers do. She is walking all over the place, and becoming more and more independent. She has also started to develop an interest in everything traditionally girl. She loves little dolls, and phones and shoes and clothes. She is also coming along in the communication department. It seems that everyday she is learning a new sign. She also repeats a lot of sounds she hears, including her favorite, "Uh-oh". Johnny is her hero, and she follows him around nonstop and wants to do whatever he is doing. She is my favorite girl, and nothing makes my day more than when I come home and she comes running over to me to give me a hug and a kiss.
Johnny has been through quite a lot this year. Those of you who follow this blog know that already. He received his hearing aids in January, and they did little to help his hearing. However, he continued to pick up signing like crazy. It's been hard for mom and dad to keep up. In June, he went in for surgery for his cochlear implant. He was so brave! The surgery went well, and he received his processor a month later. His mapping was a struggle. Not because our audiologist isn't very good, but mostly because he did not want to just sit there and get mapped, and we had issues with our processor from the start. These things have been worked out, and he can now hear at around 25-30 dbs with his processor on. Now, whether he likes hearing is another question. Most of the time he doesn't seem to mind, but from time to time, he just does not want to hear, so he won't keep his processor on. We try to get him to keep it on, but he is two almost three, so it doesn't always work out. His main mode of communication remains signing, which we think is great. It is definitely a challenge to try to keep up with him on his signing, but we are doing pretty good, I think. In January, he will be starting pre-school at JMS, which is the ASL preschool in our area. We are very excited about this. We think he will learn a lot of very important social skills, and he will appreciate associating with kids who are deaf and sign just like him. He is my little hero, and it has been amazing to watch how he has coped and adapted to all of this through this year. He always has a smile on his face, and it's the kind that lights up the room.
Erica just keeps trucking along. She is pretty much the most amazing person in the world (even more amazing than Barack Obama). She has taken everything this last year in stride. I have just been amazed to sit back and watch as she has patiently gone to battle to get done what is right for her kids. She currently is staying home each day with the kids, and I am so thankful for that blessing right now. She makes it a point to find different activities and crafts to do with the kids each day. I've been amazed to watch how she has made choice after choice to benefit our kids, while sacrificing herself. Like when we decided to start attending the deaf ward in our area. It was out of her comfort zone, but she knew it would be best for our kids. That being said, everyone in our new ward has gone out of their way to make us feel welcome.
I continue to stay busy at work and at school. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for school, and can't wait to reach it. This last semester I also started the Seminary teacher preservice classes at the institute. I love the class, and I really hope it works out. I can't picture myself really doing anything else.
The Lord has blessed us in abundance this year. Through all of our challenges, we have grown and have seen the Lord's hand at work. I am grateful to Him for my family that makes this life worth living.

Merry Christmas!

Well, it was Christmas today, and I got everything I really wanted. The thing I wanted most was seeing my kids happy on Christmas morning, and they were. We had a nice evening at home for Christmas Eve. We ate a nice little family dinner at our little table. It was very sweet. Then we opened our Christmas Eve gifts, which are always pajamas. The kids also each got a blanket with their PJ's. Johnny got a firefighter blanket, and Eliza got a Cookie Monster blanket. They both loved them. Johnny wouldn't let anyone touch his. After we opened the gifts, the kids got a Christmas bath (which is the same as a normal bath, just at Christmas time). After their bath, we put them in their new pajamas, and we all snuggled down and watched a movie about Jesus, to help the kids realize what Christmas is all about. After the movie and some stories, it was time to put some milk and cookies out for Santa, then off to bed. It was a Christmas miracle, both kids were in bed and asleep before 8:00. It was awesome, and probably the last year it will happen.
We all got up at 6:30 this morning, and saw that Santa had come. Johnny was very excited as he opened his gifts. He loved his new fire engine and fire helicopter. However, the gift that got him the most excited was his Batcave. He started opening it, and when he saw what it was, he couldn't get that paper off fast enough. He wanted it out of the box right away, and has played with it almost nonstop since. Lesson learned for next year: have Johnny open things like clothes and backpacks before the toys, otherwise he loses all interest.
Eliza was excited about her baby doll stroller and her little baby doll, but she got really excited when she saw the Elmo in her stocking. She saw that and started pointing up at her her stocking and signing want. It was pretty cute. Her other favorite part was all the candy in her stocking. She kept bringing different candies to us and signing candy and open. However, like responsible parents we did regulate how much she could have.
After we opened gifts, we began the marathon of family visits that occurs every major holiday. We started this time and my dad's house, so Johnny could see his cousin Joseph before he went to his dad's. The two were kind of funny. Once Johnny showed up with his helicopter, Joseph only wanted to play with that, which was fine because Johnny only wanted to play with Joseph's Buzz. Kids are funny that way.
After we went to my dad's, we went to my mom's to see her. They always have snacks out on Christmas, and they just wait for people to come over, so it is really laid back and relaxed. Josh and I played a little Beatles Rock Band, which may be the greatest game ever made. Johnny took the opportunity to take a nap, which was probably good, but left him confused when he woke and we were ready to leave. He didn't understand, because to him we just got there.
After that, it was back to my dad's for Christmas dinner. We had the traditional turkey, potatoes and such. We stayed and visitid for a bit, and then it was off to Erica's parents, where we spent a couple of hours visiting there. Johnny was excited because he got another dinosaur movie there, which always makes him happy.
Then it was time to come home, and just crash. Johnny went straight to playing with his batcave, and has not stopped. Eliza is asleep, and I think their parents wish they were too. It was a busy day, but it was a great day.
To those of you who read this, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and may the Lord bless you with all you need this season and the upcoming year.