a Sun-BEAM!

 JESUS want me for a "SUNBEAM"!

January if here, and the New Year is off to a good start!  Brightlie advanced in church now that she is 

3!  She is now a "sunbeam", and now has her own class, instead of being in the nursery. She was so brave, and went and sat on her row in primary with her fellow friends, and didn't even cry! And she really likes her teacher, who seems very nice.

Sometimes I can't believe she is already 3!  And yet, 

she is very advanced/independent for her age in many ways.

She is a kind hearted girly-girl, who loves to paint her nails with mommy,

 play soccer with daddy, and build blocks with Peyton.  She

is very smart, and likes to explore,  and loves to play with her friends. 

 Brightlie is awesome at helping clean, 

and loves to help with anything she can- especially making food, she

loves to stir. She is a good big sister, and loves to 

play with Peyton. She is also very good at 

helping with laundry, vacuuming, picking up, choosing her own clothes to wear,

buckling herself in the car, etc.

She's also silly, loves to laugh, and is a goof!

We sure love this cutie!  I love her strong personality, 

and the fact that though she will always be my baby,

she has never really acted "babyish", and i'm proud of her 

desire and love of learning and being her own confident self!

And we can't forget our sweet little Peyton!

This is how i find her almost every morning! Happy girl.

 I love seeing her standing up in her crib!  :)  She is getting so big, even though 

she is 9 months old and 17lbs., which seems small to me (but i guess she is

actually pretty average for her age). 

"Peyter" has become her nick-name, and we are continuing

to fall in love with this sweetie.  She is all about standing up

on furniture right now, which is fun and leads to lots of falling, but that's ok. 

Peyton's personality is starting to grow and develop, 

which is fun to see.  {She is very different from B.}

  Peyton is pretty needy.  She is clingy, but not cuddly.  She is happiest when we

are out and about, or if she is being held.  She is very picky on her bottles/sippy cups.  

She giggles a lot, and loves to army crawl around the house.

She has her two bottom teeth, and this week her top one started to come in,

so lots of tears, but that's to be excpected.

We sure do love her, and are excited to see her personality grow

It's.....2013!!!!

10, 9 , 8...... 3, 2, 1. . . 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

I can't believe that 2012 is over!  What a wonderful year it has been, and boy did it fly by fast!!!!   Here are some highlights of the joys and blessings we enjoyed this past year:

{Jan}1st New Years resolution was to potty train Brightlie, and we/she did it! 

{Spring} Started really becoming good friends with Elisha Anderson!

{April} Peyton was born! 4/19/2012, 6lbs., two pushes, a sweet little addition to our family.

{May} Paul graduated from ASU! 

{June} Paul got a job offer (after 6 months of prayers, worry, and applying nationwide) with Aerotek placement agency, at AGI in Chandler. It all occurred in less than 4 days- what a major blessing, we knew this was the company the Lord was having us wait for.

{June} Updated to Smart-phones.... it changed our lives!  :)  

{July} Bought our 1st "family" car- a small SUV/"cross-over".

{Nov} Brightlie turned 3!!!!  She is officially a big girl now!

{Nov} For Thanksgiving we went to Disneyland, Sea World, and the beach, spending 3 days in CA and having a blast sharing it with Jenny & Clay Greenland, and also were able to see my sis Stephanie.

{Nov} Paul got officially offered a salary position at AGI!  He was so excited and loves the company and the work he does! Good pay, benefits, great company- we are so blessed!

{Dec} Celebrated our first Christmas together as a family of 4!  It was so fun to have 2 girls to share the Christmas season with!  

We truly felt so blessed!  It seems like there were two main themes for the year... Paul coming into "his own", and our family life adjusting and embracing the word "children".  It's funny, but going for having a "child" to having "children" really makes a difference (in a good way). It just means that we are expanding our family and living the dream.... being happily married, having kids, enjoying our life as a family, and sharing in Paul's success as a provider and leader. 

We truly have seen the Lord's hand in our lives, and are so grateful for the opportunities and blessings He has given to us.  We look forward to this upcoming year, and the exciting new adventures that await us in 2013!!!  Here are a few of our Goals/ exciting events we anticipate for this new year:

1. A healthier Lifestyle:  clean eating, more exercise, happier selves!  
2. Budgeting/ getting out of credit card debt by Spring.
3. Putting B in pre-school in the fall.
4. Going on a Cruise to celebrate our 5th Anniversary.
5. Thanksgiving in Disneyland again with our friends, the Greenland's!
6. Deciding if our family is complete or not  : )

Hurray for a New Year, new adventures, and exciting moments to come!