Christmas 2016

Dear family and friends,

Here are the Holloway happenings in 2016!

We began the year in Youngstown, OH where Travis was finishing his podiatry residency program.  In June, he graduated and became licensed to practice in Texas.  He began working for his brother, Brandon, as an associate for Amarillo Foot Specialists in July.  That meant leaving our home, friends, and neighbors in Youngstown that we came to love so much.  We will cherish the many friends and fond memories we made in our time there.  We miss Ohio, but are enjoying Amarillo too, with its sunshine and wonderful people.

Travis is currently serving as the Scout Master in our ward, where his experience in scouts and understanding of the gospel will be a blessing to the young men he serves. A highlight of his year was running a 24 hour race in Kirtland, Ohio with his brothers (and dad as their crew) in April.  Their “Ninja Turtles” costumes were a big hit, and they all did well, even though it rained all night. Travis also enjoyed running a 50K in (now) nearby Palo Duro Canyon with his brother Jason in October. He also spearheaded our first gardening attempt this summer, and we were all excited to harvest some lettuce, spinach, and carrots in the fall. Travis also enjoys watching BYU sports, doing family history, and baking bread in his free time.

Jenny taught Zumba at the YMCA in Youngstown, and is now a coach with Beachbody. In addition to doing fitness programs, she also enjoys taking yoga classes and walking around our neighborhood.  Jenny has a passion for healthy living, and loves to share her passion with others. She is currently serving as a teacher for the CTR 5 class at Church.  Besides spending time with her family, Jenny loves getting together with friends, trying new recipes, playing the piano, and reading.

Grace is currently in 2^nd grade and enjoys being a City View Cardinal! She has a talent for writing, and also loves to draw and read (she is quickly working her way through the Book of Mormon and the Boxcar Children series). Grace says she wants to be a famous artist when she grows up. Her excitement for life is contagious, and she comes up with lots of fun new ideas for us every day.

Bethany is in preschool, where she is learning her letter sounds and sight words. She recently learned how to count to 100, which made her feel proud! Bethany loves to sing, draw, and play with her sisters and friends. She says she wants to be a ballerina when she grows up, and is looking forward to taking dance lessons. Bethany has a sweet and tender heart, and is often the comforter in our home.

Kaylee is 2 and is our ray of sunshine. Always smiling, laughing, and being silly, she brightens our days. She loves to dance, sing, read books, dress up, and to do whatever her big sisters are doing.

Cambree is also 2 and is our determined little sweetheart. She also loves to read books, color, sing, build with blocks, climb, and give hugs to others. Both she and Kaylee have creative imaginations, and we love to listen to them play pretend. They also love to be “reporters,” telling others what’s going on around them.

We met our angel baby Dawn on May 5^th. We were blessed to be with her sweet body for one day to cuddle and make memories before we had to say “goodbye.” We know that although her time on Earth was brief, she will always be a part of our family.  We look forward to a joyful reunion with her in heaven.

2015 has been a year full of ups and downs, and remarkable blessings for our family.
We hope your family has a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year!

With Love,

Travis, Jenny, Grace, Bethany, Kaylee, Cambree, and Dawn Holloway

Bethany's Preschool Field Trip and Picnic

On May 12th, I got to take Bethany on her last YMCA preschool field trip, to the Metroparks Farm. We started the field trip by playing in the playroom, where the kids enjoyed playing with all the farm-themed toys. Then we hopped on the wagon for a tour of the farm:

 

Bethany loved the tractor ride!

On our tour, we saw the farm's crops (wheat and soy), a tractor plowing, and some cows grazing.

Our first stop on the tour was the bird barn, where we saw ducks (the one thing Bethany was most excited about seeing and was SURE we'd see at the farm, lol), turkeys, peacocks, chickens, and guineas.

The next stop was the horse barn. Bethany loved seeing the horses, and said later that it was her favorite animal that she saw on the field trip.

Next, we visited the sheep, goats, pigs, and llama. Bethany enjoyed petting as many animals as she could reach.
The sheep were so soft!

Petting a pygmy goat:

Our last stop was to see the bunnies, chicks, and ducklings. It was neat to see how quickly they grow!

Bethany with Addison, one of her best friends at preschool.

On our way home, we stopped for a special treat at Dunkin Donuts (for her) and Panera (for me). She loved her strawberry sprinkle donut!

Then on May 19th, Bethany had her preschool picnic to celebrate her last day of school. My mom, Travis, Bethany, Kaylee, Cambree, and I were all able to go. We were blessed with beautiful weather, and the girls had a lot of fun playing on the school's playground, while I had fun chatting with the other moms and teachers, and we all enjoyed the yummy picnic lunch.

 

Bethany and Addison:

She was so excited to show me this playground toy:

Due to various circumstances, Bethany got all new teachers a few months before the end of the school year. All of her teachers this year were wonderful, and we feel so grateful to them for being so loving, patient, and encouraging to Bethany, and for helping her transition to preschool so well.

Bethany and Mrs. Corrata, who always welcomed her with a big hug each day.

Bethany and Mrs. Jill:

Bethany and Mrs. Alice:

 

Bethany had a great year at the Davis Family YMCA Preschool this year. All of her teachers commented on what a sweet and smart girl she is, and how they enjoyed having her in class. We will miss going to the Y preschool, but are excited for her new adventures at the PALS preschool this fall!

Another Baby is on the Way!

(February 16th, 2016) We're so excited that another sweet baby will be joining our family this September! We go in for our first prenatal appointment this Monday, and we can hardly wait to hear the baby's heartbeat and finally see them on the ultrasound! We should find out then when we'll be able to learn if they are a boy or a girl too. :) Grace and Bethany are so excited to be having another sibling and love seeing "pictures" of the baby and touching my tummy. They have also already decided what they want (Bethany, a brother, Grace, a sister, and both of them, triplets ;)).

And since it was so much fun to take weekly pictures to see my belly grow during my pregnancy with Kaylee and Cambree, I'd like to do that again with this baby too.

7 weeks:

8 weeks:

 

9 weeks (and so excited to see and hear our baby for the first time on ultrasound this week!)

 

10 weeks:

11 Weeks (and excited to see our baby again and hopefully find out the gender!):

 12 Weeks

 

13 Weeks

 

14 weeks (2nd Trimester!)

15 weeks

16 weeks

 

17 weeks

 

18 weeks

19 weeks

30 Day Challenge: Day 25

Question: What should I teach about in my lesson for singing time this week?

Answer: Alma 37:36-41

My Interpretation:
Verse 36-37: Interestingly talks about "let(ting) all thy doing be unto the Lord" and "counsel(ing) with the Lord in all they doings, and He will direct thee for good." (It was like a confirmation from Heavenly Father, that it was good for me to be seeking His will in this, as I strive to do each week for my lesson).
Verse 38: Speaks of the Liahona, or compass, that God prepared for Lehi and His family.
Verse 39: Says that the Liahona was "prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness."  At first I was like "Liahona?" Then I thought "What is OUR Liahona today?" And I realized it was the scriptures. Like with the Liahona, the scriptures have been prepared by Heavenly Father as a guide for us, so that we will be able to travel the path of life safely back home to Heavenly Father. As I pondered, the words of the song "The Iron Rod" came to my mind "the iron rod is the word of God (scriptures), will safely guide us thru."
Verse 40: Speaks of how the Liahona worked according to Lehi's family's faith in God. If they had faith that it would point them in the right direction (to the promised land), and diligently heeded it, they were guided aright.
This made me think about our reading in Book of Mormon Stories yesterday from Alma 32, which teaches that if we have the desire to believe the scriptures, and plant even just a seed of faith in our hearts, then experiment on the scriptures teachings, we will come to know that they are true, for they will lead to good works, feelings of joy and peace, and bring us closer to God.
It also made me think about the story we read from The Friend yesterday that talked about how we gain a testimony (or help that seed of faith grow into a tree).
After reading the scriptures, I turned to read the sharing time lesson for this week, and these words stood out to me: "tell the children that we can find Heavenly Father's plan for us in the scriptures."
So, I felt like I should make that my theme: that we can find Heavenly Father's plan for us in the scriptures. That to go with that, I should read the story from the friend, and talk about how the scriptures are our modern day Liahona, and discuss the things that the scriptures teach us about Heavenly Father's plan (those things we must do while on our mortal path).

Question #2: The other question that had been on my mind last night and this morning was "How can I forgive myself for my mistakes?" (as inspired by Tia's thoughts from her Daily Question #20 and the inspiration I was reminded of yesterday for how I can overcome my depression and be happy: (1) forgive myself (and not look back at past mistakes), (2) recognize my blessings, (3) trust in Christ and His Atoning power and grace, (4) remember that I am loved perfectly and have inherent divine worth).
Answer: This morning, as I was reading Book of Mormon stories to the kids, I read about how "Alma had suffered because of his guilt. Then he remembered his father's teachings about Jesus and he knew his sins could be forgiven. Alma prayed for forgiveness, and joy replaced the pain of his soul. He was forgiven because he had faith in Jesus Christ and had repented. Since then Alma has taught others the gospel so they could feel the same joy he had felt. God had blessed Alma because of his trust in God."
Then I read to the kids from the Friend about how Enos had prayed about what was worrying him (including for forgiveness, etc.).
As I read these stories, I realized that I haven't been fully trusting in God's ability and desire to forgive me. And that I need to have faith that he truly has forgiven me as I have repented of my mistakes, to trust in His unconditional love (that I am loved no matter what I do), and to allow His cleansing peace to wash away my guilt.

30 Day Challenge: Day 19 part 2

After I finished reflecting on my 30 day challenge question this morning, I turned and began reading for my daily scripture study. The first scripture that popped up in my LDS app was my ponderize scripture for the week. Normally I save my ponderize scripture for last, as a inspiring end note to my scripture study, but for some reason I felt that I should read it first today. Afterward I realized why.
My ponderize scripture this week is Alma 58:10-11, which says : "Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that He would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions, for the support of our people. Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that He would deliver us; yea, insomuch that He did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in Him."
I was struck as I read it that this ponderize scripture was an answer to my fervent prayer from the last two days that while I am pregnant, I will still be able to have the strength to fulfill my responsibilities, both at work and especially at home, to properly take care of my family. These scriptures then were like Heavenly Father's words of peace, comfort, and assurance that I WILL be delivered, or strengthened physically to continue to teach zumba and be an effective and loving mother, and that I can have faith and hope in this (as the end of verse 11 promises). What a tender mercy of answered prayer and comfort! I have been SO worried that I would need to take it very easy physically, and that I wouldn't be able to teach zumba (as I had received answer to prayer a few months ago that I should continue to do), or exercise (which I would love to be able to do for my current mental and physical health and for post-partum healing), or lift my children during pregnancy (and thus not be able to fulfill my responsibilities or care for my children the way I want and need to). But now I know that I can have comfort in His promise of health and strength. This had been another question on my heart this morning, and Heavenly Father was so good to answer it as well.
I realized after this that if I had left my ponderize scripture for last as I had planned, I probably wouldn't have paid close enough attention to be receptive to the promptings of the Spirit. I felt so grateful to Heavenly Father for answering both my specific daily question but also my "unofficial" prayers.
And my spiritual experience didn't end there! I then turned to 3 Nephi 14:7-8, which speaks of asking and seeking and consequently receiving and finding answers to our prayers. It struck me as I read these verses that this has truly been my experience this month as I have asked my 30 Day Challenge questions both officially in prayer and in my heart--that I have asked for answers and guidance and that I have in turn found and been given them.
Then in verses 9-11 it speaks of what a loving Heavenly Father we have. I had felt after receiving my answer to my second question this morning that God was so good--too good--to answer even my unspoken prayers, and here I was taught that of course Heavenly Father desires to answer our prayers and to bless us! He is our FATHER, and like any good parent, he desires to "give good things to those that ask Him (His children), and even more so because He is a perfect parent and perfectly loving. It was such a beautiful realization. And it made me think that we so often live below our privileges as God's children--that there is SO MUCH more that God is anxious and willing to bless us with if we will just seek to do His will and ASK.

30 Day Challenge: Day 19

Last night, I went to a friend's birthday party. I got back from it late, and Travis had already gone to bed, but he left me the sweetest note on the kitchen table, telling me that I make our house a home. I decided to make that my question for the day:
Question: How can I better make our house a home?
Answer: Ether 6:17, 30 and Ch.7: heading and verse 1

My interpretation:
I opened to the page and the first line I read was from the Ch. 7 heading which said: "reigns in righteousness." Then I read a little further and in verse one it says "execute judgment upon the land in righteousness" Then I looked over and saw that v.17 of Ch. 6 was highlighted, which says to "walk humbly before the Lord (footnote: walk with God)" and tells how the people were "taught from on high." Then in verse 30 (looking at just above where I had first felt prompted to read), it again speaks of walking humbly before the Lord and remembering what great things God had done for them. And in the footnotes for verse 17, it says "divine guidance, revelation", like a confirmation from God saying "What you have been reading is your revelation for this question", which was really cool. After pondering about these verses some more, I decided that:
*righteousness/walking with God = keeping the commandments and submitting to God's will.
*remembering = recognizing our blessings with gratitude (including noticing how God is blessing us and showing us His love through the kindness and service of others), and allowing the memory of them to build our faith in God and His love.
*righteous judgment = judge/discipline as a parent righteously, fairly, and calmly (including setting and enforcing boundaries with love and empathy)
*taught from on high = live worthy of and heed the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Also read the scriptures as a family more reverently.
*reign in righteousness = be a righteous example. Also be considerate of my family members needs and desires and give them choices (share the control and decision making).
*D&C 108:7--"Therefore, strengthen your brethren in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings." (Be uplifting in all these ways--in my conversations with my family members, in my prayers with and for them, in my teaching, and in my actions/example.)

Hoppy Easter 2016

This year we decided to do our "fun" Easter traditions on the Saturday before Easter so we could reserve Sunday to focus on the true meaning of Easter, so the kids woke up Saturday morning to find these Easter baskets waiting for them from the Easter Bunny. 

 

They were so excited! (Here Bethany is hugging her Ariel socks and exclaiming "It's just what I always wanted!" lol)

On Sunday morning, we made our traditional Resurrection rolls. I love this tradition, and the opportunity it gives us each year to teach our kids the story of the first Easter and to focus on Christ.

All of us girls in our pink Easter dresses, ready to worship at Church:

After Church, we had a scrumptious Easter dinner of vegan eggplant parmesan (which was divine!), pasta, salad with peach dressing, croissants, homemade pesto parmesan bread, and apple cider. It was a wonderful Easter feast!

 

 

 After dinner, we went on a walk around the neighborhood, enjoying the perfect Easter weather. Then we had an egg hunt (since we hadn't gotten to it on Saturday):

It was Kaylee and Cambree's first real egg hunt, and it was fun to help them learn the ropes.

Kaylee:

 

Bethany:

 

 Grace:

Cambree:

It was a wonderful Easter. I marvel at my Heavenly Father and my Savior's great love for me and all mankind. And I feel so grateful to our Savior for His Atoning sacrifice, death, and Resurrection, and to our Heavenly Father for sacrificing His Son. I'm so grateful for the knowledge that they live, and that my family and I will one day also.

Happy Easter!