Here We Go Again...

So, the other night I sat down to write the annual Christmas letter. Who would have known that just a few days later it would completely change? That one more huge, significant moment of 2010 would need to be added? So you'll get a Christmas card from us this year... but no letter. There is so much that I would need to include as we prepare to leave Borger it wouldn't all fit, and pictures tell the story better.

Yes, you heard me right. We are leaving Borger. We've only lived here 14 months and we are already preparing ourselves for yet another move. Jared has accepted a job in Salt Lake City, UT, and starts just after the new year. So as we celebrate Christmas, and as we unwrap presents... we'll be wrapping up our lives here in Borger.

Here is the thing... though it has only been 14 months, I don't want it to be just a blip on the radar of our lives. So much has happened, so much has changed, and so many wonderful people have entered our lives.

Within a month of moving here I successfully knocked myself out falling off a chair, broke my foot during aerobics and then figured out why I was always losing my balance: a baby growing inside me and now a blessing that is getting bigger every day: Claire. She was born in Borger so this humble town will always be her "home."

Those people I write about: the Mosleys who opened their home and hearts to us as we learned we were more than just friends but actual family. They made coming to this new place easier knowing we already had someone to count on. The Gunns, and the delicious muffins Heather brought over one of the first days in our new home when we had no fridge and no food. And again Heather, who took care of my two kids when a stomach bug made me useless. The Dixons, especially Lynn who raced to our home when I knocked myself out falling off that chair... and raced to my home again when I couldn't crawl out of bed to feed my kids when that stomach bug first showed up. Misty Hankinson who showed up at my door after hearing about my broken foot. She barely knew me at the time, but has grown to be one of my dearest friends. She has pure Christ-like love that I've found in so few people, and has been there to just chat, make me exercise, given my kids life-long friends, and helped pull me out of the darkness of post-partum depression. The Hankinsons are one of those families that no matter where we all end up... they will always be close in our hearts. Tanya Clements who reignited my hobby of scrap booking, and a wonderful mother I could relate to when sometimes being an involved mom is harder than it looks. and Darla Keller... the world's best kindergarten teacher that Ella comes home every day loving more and more.

We have a few more days left in Borger, but if you see me try not to make me cry. I want this change because I'm excited to live closer to family. But the sadness of leaving all of these people that have become my family will make moving day a heartache.

Now, prepare yourself for lots of photos as I try to sum up just a bit of all the wonderful things we are leaving behind.


When we moved to Texas we expected sun and warm weather... who knew they would have one of the worst winters in Borger they've had in years? I loved it, and cuddling up with my girls, watching TV, and drinking cocoa.

These 14 months were significant for Ella and Abbigail. Abby grew in to a little girl and the two became friends that played (and fought) together.

Miley (a boy cat named after Miley Cyrus) that we rescued from a carton of kittens at Walmart.

Abbigail and her adorable friend Ellie... they could be twins with those pigtails!


Abbigail surprising us all and potty training in just two days.



Ella's hours and hours of dance practice and the recital she braved in front of hundreds of people including all of her grandparents who drove in for the big event.



Abbigail always surprising us with her artistic abilities....

Ella spending every Tuesday and Thursday at Wee School, afraid those first few days... but saying to me as she walked up the stairs to her class with tears rolling down her face, "I'm a big kid and this is what big kids do." She loved every minute of it and found a terrific friend in the process, Melanie Irwin, she also had the same dance class with.

Ella turning 5 in June and getting spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa with a Wii. You should see this kid bowl! And when we put in "Just Dance", Abby has some amazing moves.



Celebrating the 4th of July with our dear friends the Hankinsons and laughing until we cried when Mike set off a firecracker and it took off, took a bad turn... and hit Mike smack in the butt.



July 9th, when our lives were blessed when Claire was delivered by the best doctor I've ever known. Thank-you Dr. (Bishop, Brother) Weber for being patient with my girls and listening to me when I thought "sad" was all I would ever know.





Watching every day as these girls grow more and more to be friends. When we first got here all they had was each other. It was amazing to see how they relied on each other and how they loved each other.

These two faces say it all. Ella's best friend Bethany... and every day Ella asks me, "Can I play with Bethany today?" This was their first day of kindergarten. I'm so glad they are in the same class because without each other I think those first few days would have been long and tear-filled.

The confidence we saw grow in Ella as she made new friends at school and showed us just how smart she really is: reading, writing and doing math.



Watching Abbigail's unique personality develop as she learned to be an individual while Ella was off at school. Our days are filled with her quirky sense of humor and games of wild imagination.

Grateful to be a stay-at-home mom this time around and seeing every change. Yes... some days I complain. Yes... I lose my patience. No... I wouldn't change it because she changes every day and I get to be a part of it.

Again, watching Abbigail develop her artistic skills. (Just a small dose of her sense of humor.)

Spending the hot Texas days at the splash park.

Riding our bikes around our HUGE driveway. Not likely to have one like that in Utah.

Again.... more of Claire, in this picture working as hard as she can to get her knees underneath her to reach a toy across the room.

Begging Ella to be something from Toy Story for Halloween or even a princess or fairy. Nope. She wanted to be a vampire.


Easily convincing Abbigail that she would make the cutest Jessie ever!

Relieved that Claire is now big enough to fit in her excer-saucer and entertain herself (at least for a few minutes) so mommy can get some cleaning done.

Abbigail helping herself to some ice cream when I'm pretty sure mom and dad said no.



And wrapping up our year with a family picture, not knowing while taking this photo that in just a couple of months we'll be making more memories in the new year... just in a different place. Wherever that place is, it will be home, because this is my family. Lots of things will change over the years... but that never will.