Good Morning America

Its 4:30 am and what am I doing in front of the computer? Very unlike me, yes? Since most of my kids have blogspots now, I want to be cool too.

Next week I'm going to Baltimore to meet little Parker!! Finally, and I can't wait! Joel and I will both go to Utah next month for Parker's blessing. We feel so blessed to know Chad and Em are so happy with this beautiful new son of theirs. Check out their blogspot for pictures!

Little Kenna, our newest grandaughter, is so beautiful with her amazing smiles and she is getting her first tooth! Ryan and Julie keep us wonderfully entertained--we can't get enough of the 3 of them! And their parents are such a joy in our lives. Andy is doing incredibly well with his practice in Murietta, and Shawna is such an amazing mother, and wonderful friend. Katey and Keegan are working hard and are so happy together--we are excited to see them in Utah in March, too. Check our their blogspot.

Josh is home for a few more weeks and is anxious to get back to his mission. He studies hard each day, takes classes at the Institute, and plays alot of pingpong. He is also teaching himself to play the guitar. All the "guitar hero" is finally paying off! We are awaiting word from SLC to see when his return date will be. His bags are packed and he couldn't be more prepared. We are loving every minute with him, and he is such a joy to be with. It will be hard to let him go, but we are all excited to see him move on with his adventure in Florida.

Joel's new office is coming along. Walls have been textured and ready to paint, and we are making decisions regarding carpet and flooring. Estimated time of completion...March 15. Training on the new equipment will begin, and he will open for business officially, hopefully, April 1.
Teri's Toys is moving forward slowly but steadily . My upstairs looks like Santa's workshop with toys everywhere. Needless to say, Julie and Ryan love to visit. They have open and tested most every toy...their my best marketing consultants. I've decided to make another attempt at studying Italian and have a language CD running in my car instead of music... preparing to perhaps tackle Italian II at the community college in the spring. Then if Joel can brush up on his high school German, we might end up in Switzerland on a mission someday!! That is worth working toward!

Joel is working with Sarah Lindsey on his new nutrition and fitness plan, which I am following too. He's doing awesome, looking great, and has much more energy, which he needs with all he is taking on at the moment! No Pepsis for 2 weeks---Go Sarah! We are both back to the gym and I have decided to make an attempt at becoming a better cook (stop laughing ) to try to make this experience more palatable for us both. We both plan to be in shape for mega water-skiing this summer. Our Lakehouse at Mead continues to be our refuge from the world, and Joel starts "murmuring" when we go a few weeks without being there. We are loving our time there especially with the Webb's and the Wallace's as neighbors, and hey...the lake is finally on the rise!

Our close friends John and Deby Wallace got sealed in the Newport Beach temple last week and we joyously celebrate their happiness together. John could not have found a more perfect eternal partner! They bought 2 Portugese Water Dogs last year, but decided it was too hectic having 2 dogs, so they convinced us to adopt Murphy. Now Sadie has reverted back to puppyhood, we have 2 crazy dogs ripping around our house chasing our 2 cats (one of which Katey has conveniently never come back to reclaim), and yes, John and Deby have a calm, well-behaved dog and a very peaceful home. But we love the Murph, and at least I don't have to worry about exercising Sadie anymore. And the PWDS's are very entertaining when we're together at the lake

We are overwhelmed with all of our blessings, and have such gratitude to the Lord for the amazing answers to so many of our prayers over this past year. We have truly witnessed His overwhelming love and patience as he continues to teach us to trust His timing and His perfect plan for our lives.