It’s crazy how fast time flies! So I won’t talk about that! But I want you to know how much I love this time of year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus! We do so many crazy things that stress us out this time of year. In a hope to simplify all of that, and place the importance where it should be, to feel gratitude for the gift of his birth and to instill in our family this perspective, this very busy grandmother writes a blog post to send to all my friends and family who so kindly remember us with cards and letters! I seriously don’t know how you find the time to be so thoughtful! Thank you for making us feel loved!

Amid time & health challenges, we managed to have a wonderful year of love, family and friends! The year began with Loretta getting to visit dear friends in Oklahoma. Ben & Dani Montoya have been our close friends for 25+ years! We had fun being together, shared some doTERRA and made more friends in the process! I loved getting to be there with all of them.

Then in July we got to go to Parker’s Missionary farewell! We are so proud of him and his choice to serve the Lord in Brazil! We loved his big, long hugs as we said good bye! We love him so much! It was even more thrilling when we got to talk with him at Thanksgiving time!! We enjoyed such a wonderful time with all the Smith family! It’s so nice they are now in Utah. (Brian & Staci are now teaching at BYU!) Geoff especially enjoyed playing guitar with his grandsons! This is a picture at a restaurant right before the food frenzy began… I couldn’t believe all the food those 5 grandsons put away! It was a great visit, and the highlights were getting to talk to Parker and Brian getting to meet Karen for the first time! We love that Karen is in our family now.

Karen’s family has been such a blessing to us since we found her through Ancestry DNA! We love them dearly! Brian got to meet her at Thanksgiving time… Of course, the first time they met HAD to be at Blue Bowl!

In September, it was such a blessing for Loretta to again attend Convention and enjoy seeing many friends she wouldn’t ordinarily get to spend time with. Julie Rose Prior has stuck by me through thick and thin! I’m so excited for the new year when we implement all the training she received in her last trip to Prague. We’re going to simplify and relaunch our doTERRA biz. It’s our hope to be able to help more people the way we have been helped with these amazing products!

Kristi’s so busy with her business lately that we only see her a couple times a week. We recently learned she’s been doing TV work, too! Check her out on the IMDb site here. She was randomly chosen to vote on the movies nominated for Academy Awards, so she has received all those movies to watch. We’ve seen some really good movies that we may not have gone to see otherwise. I am curious now who will win! We’ve also been enjoying Gavin & Alex growing up in our home! We’ve watched them grow and mature and are in awe of their intellect and ability to stand for what is right. Gavin has a wonderful sense of humor and ability to connect with friends & family. I may depend way too much on his dependability and organization! Alex has a brilliant ability to see the whole picture. He is like a sponge, constantly learning, but has the gift of being able to explain everything. Maybe he will be President some day! I’m just grateful they get themselves up and off to Seminary every morning without my help! This shot is of them at their first high school choir performance.

Geoff & I count our blessings every day. Those blessings include all of you! I’ve also been blessed to be able to reconnect with cousins and loved ones of yesteryear! Our hearts are full when we realize all that we have because of all of you, and because of our Savior whom we lean on each and every day. We hope and pray that you all are filled with love and happiness. Merry Christmas, and a very prosperous New Year! Oh and yes… that’s Buddy Blake. He loves us and deserved to be in our family shot! Ritchie & Melissa Blake often loans him to us for the unconditional love he shares with us!