Christmas Letter 2013

Christmas 2013

Dear Friends and Family,

I feel like I say this every year, but I think I can safely say that 2013 has been our most eventful year yet! The highlights from this year being: Travis graduating from Podiatry school, moving from Cleveland to Youngstown (Ohio), a cross-country trip to attend Travis' sister's wedding (all three of these events happening in May!), finding out that we were pregnant with identical twin girls, Travis starting his residency, Grace starting preschool, and my parents moving out here to Ohio. It's truly been a whirlwind year, but yet SO FULL of wonderful things!

Travis is now officially a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) and is working as a first year resident here at Northside Medical Center. He works with an amazing group of residents and doctors, and is enjoying his first "real" job in the field! Although Youngstown wasn't where we expected to be for this phase of his education, we truly feel SO blessed that Heavenly Father placed him in this program and us in this area. Travis is also serving as a counselor in the Elders Quorum presidency at Church, and enjoys serving with the other Elders there. And this has been Travis' biggest running year yet, as he's completed four ultra-marathons this year (three 50k (30 mile) races and one 24 hour race). He did a great job at all of them and we couldn't be more proud of his accomplishments!

Jenny (I) still work as a stay at home mom, and couldn't have a better job! I caught a little of the running bug from Travis and ran my second 5k in the spring, improving my time by over 5 minutes! I also spent some time at the start of the year working on my goal of becoming a Zumba instructor until...I found out I was pregnant with twins. :) Much of my time since has been spent preparing for our baby girls to join our family, and getting settled into and exploring our new home and town, but I love to read and spend time with family and friends whenever I get the chance. I also served as a primary teacher for the 6 year old class for several months in our new ward before recently taking "maternity leave." I'm excited (and nervous) for our little family to grow and know that Heavenly Father has blessed us with these two little baby girls for a reason; we can't wait to meet them!

Grace is four years old now and is our big preschooler! She loves to read (she can read the scriptures and Level 2 readers now), draw (bugs and people), play educational computer games, paint, play with Little People and blocks, watch movies, play with her grandparents, and write her name. She's in the Sunbeam class at Church and loves her teacher and learning the primary songs. Grace is ever curious and loves to learn about the world around her. We're so proud of our smart girl!

Bethany is two and is becoming such a big girl! She loves to look at books, play with her stuffed animals and baby things, blow bubbles, do puzzles, color, sing, play doctor, swing, have fun with her grandparents, be with her family (especially Grace), and cuddle. She's in the nursery at Church and loves her teachers and class. She's becoming a great talker, and we love to hear her say "awright" when we ask her to do something or explain a concept to her. :) We love our sweet toddler!

And now for our year in pictures...

Travis' Graduation

Our new (rental) house in Youngstown, Ohio

Chelsi's Wedding & Family Vacation

Pregnant with twins!

Grace's first day of preschool

My parents and their new home (that's just a mile away from ours)

One of Travis' 50K Races

Me at my 5K

Grace's 4th Birthday

 Bethany's 2nd Birthday

 We hope your year has also been full of wonderful new adventures and that this next year will bring even more joy and wonder into your lives!

Merry Christmas!
Love,
Travis, Jenny, Grace, Bethany, and Twins