Happy 2009

Happy 2009 everyone! We have had such a busy and exciting year in 2008, we are excited to just relax and settle in this year.

We flew out of our beloved Germany on June 2nd and moved our family to Brooklet, GA. We are loving being back in the states, and I do believe life is easier here. We miss so much about our life in Germany though, and no one should be surprised if we decided to go back if the opportunity arose. We would learn the language first though. :-)

As far as each of our lives....

Steve started his new job in Georgia in July and is enjoying it for the most part. He is a trainer for the soldiers (not a personal trainer of course, haha) and he really enjoys teaching, but doesn't always have someone to teach. In which case work can get pretty boring. He does get to travel a lot, and he has always enjoyed that. He will be leaving on Jan. 4 for the whole month. This will be his longest business trip, and I think we will both be ready for February to get here. He continues to be a fabulous cook, a helpful handyman, and a loving father and husband.

I have been staying busy this year with keeping the boys in line and getting this house in order. We have two boys in school now and two at home. Jacob has become quite the little home maker as I use him for a gopher boy. I have made more trips to Walmart in the six months I have lived here than anyone could count. I swear that place gets half our paycheck. I have also been trying very hard to decorate our house and it is coming together nicely. At least we have some pictures on the wall. My hobby is going garage saling on Saturday mornings. I love to see what treasures people are getting rid of, especially as I am decorating. I also love that time to myself. Steve stays with the boys and I am usually gone for about 4 hours BY MYSELF. It is great rejuvenating time.

Steven (7) is in second grade this year. He absolutely LOVES his teacher and school. He gets excellent grades and even got to go to Applebee's with his teacher and 6 other kids for having the highest grade in science. He seems to have a lot of friends at school, even though we haven't had any over to our house yet. His teacher was concerned at the parent teacher conference because he never plays with the other boys at recess. When we asked Steven about that, he said he doesn't like to chase and tease the girls with the boys in his class, and that is why he stays to himself. He also loves xbox and any other game system and he has become quite a good reader. Sadly he seems to have forgotten all German and I am not sure what to do about that. Steven is a great boy and a perfect oldest brother.

Nathan is 5 and has matured so much this year. He started Kindergarten at Brooklet Elementary and is loving it. He and his teacher had some problems at first with his behavior, but she has coached him on how he should behave at school and he is doing so much better now. He also LOVES his teacher and has even told me during this Christmas break that he misses her and wants to see her again. She is a great teacher with a nice southern accent. So far Nathan has not been speaking with a southern accent, but if we live her much longer I have been told that he will be able to speak with a perfect accent. He is a good brother and he and Jacob play make believe very nicely together.

Jacob is 4 and as I said is my little gopher boy at home this year. He can unload a dishwasher, put grocery's away and sort laundry better than anyone else in the family. He is a big helper as long as he knows there is a reward of TV or computer when the work is done. He will start kindergarten next year and it will be a great thing for him. This year we are doing a preschool one day a week at the church which he and I both really enjoy. I have also decided that he needs some craftiness in his day, so we read books and do a craft most days of the week. Our crafts have consisted of painting and gluing a birdhouse, printing and cutting our chore cart, putting stars on his ceiling, coloring, and many more fun preschooly things. Jacob has developed a little attitude this year, and we are dealing with it the same as we did with the other 4 year old attitudes. He is a good boy and I love to have him at home with me.

Brandon turned 1 in August, and has been such a different baby than the other three boys. He was finally forced to sleep through the night in Nov. which has worked most nights. He still occasionally wakes up and wants to be held for a minute. Not something I love doing in the middle of the night. He started walking just before Thanksgiving and is a pro now of course. I was telling my sister-in-law, you know it is your 4th or later child when you don't even make a blog post about his new walking ability. Oh the woes of being the 4th. He is a very mischievous boy and loves to take things apart, dump things out, get in to the trash cans, and tear up scripture pages just to name a few. And Steve thinks that we should get a puppy. Brandon is such a smart little boy and it is a joy watching him learn. It is amazing how much he can understand and do. We love having him in our home.

Our lives have been so full of joy and learning and I can only hope for another year just as good. We have tried to center our lives on the gospel of Jesus Christ and have a greater love of the scriptures this year through making a commitment to read them daily. Our goal this year is to set the Family Home Evening habit in stone. We have so much to be grateful for and so many people to love. I hope each of your years will be rich and fulfilling.

Love,

The Hughes Family