Dear Friends and Family,

We hope all of you are enjoying this holiday season. We are so sorry that you will not be receiving a Christmas card in the mail from us this year. Life has just been to busy for us these past few months and so we hope you will forgive us and enjoy the yearly update of our lives on our family blog instead. This past year has been very challenging for our family but also very rewarding. We have been very blessed and we are grateful for all the things Heavenly Father has blessed us with.

Zack has been steadily working this year, which is the biggest blessing of all. Right now with the economy, which I am sure many of you are feeling the effects of, its not necessarily the best time to be in construction. However, thanks to the hard worker that he is, he has stayed working full time out to Micron doing what he does best (plumbing/pipefitting). Besides work he is currently playing on a city basketball team and helping me raise three beautiful little girls. Yes, for those of you who don't know, his church calling for the past year has been the WARD LIBRARIAN. This is a good calling for him because it forces him to TALK TO PEOPLE, something that is a little out of his comfort zone. He has spent much of this last year folding LOADS, LOADS, and more LOADS of laundry and I even have him cooking in the kitchen when necessary. "What can I say, desperate times call for desperate measures." Other than that he still has a passion for fly fishing and his new hobby GOLD PANNING. I am hoping that one of these days he will strike it rich or strike enough to at least pay for the hobby!

I (Raquel) have been so busy this past year that I hardly have time to sleep :) I wouldn't trade my life for anything though. This is my 5th year of teaching preschool and I still love it! I have a class of 13 kids this year and that's enough to keep me on my toes. When I am not tending to the children's needs or the housework, I am studying for school. Yes, for those of you that don't know, I am finishing my elementary education degree. Being a full time student has brought about many challenges and has really taught me how to balance my time, but I enjoy the learning and through much prayer I know I am doing what I am supposed to be doing. Right now my graduation date will be in December of 2011! Thankfully, I am not starting from the beginning and I only have two years left. I haven't had much time for hobbies lately but I do enjoy volunteering often at Mackee's school, and I am still currently serving as a primary teacher for our ward. This year I have learned that I HAVE THE BEST HUSBAND IN THE WORLD. I could never accomplish all the things that I do in a day without him. Although it can be challenging at times, he is right there supporting me every step of the way.

Mackee is in first grade this year and she is doing awesome! She gets a 100% on almost all her spelling tests, she is grasping the concept of reading, and she is even learning how to do math this year. Her teacher brags to me about how wonderful she is at school, so now I am just hoping that will transfer to the home sometime soon :) Lately she has taken an interest in wanting to play music and she is signed up to play soccer for the first time this spring. She is wonderful at helping me around the house and almost everyday she tells me she wants to grow up and become a mommy.

Keely is in preschool with me this year. It's been fun to teach her and watch her grow. She has been starting to make her own new little friends and it's so cute to watch her play with them. She is still the girly girl that she has always been. You can often find her all dressed up, carrying a purse, and wearing high heels. This past summer was the first time we could actually get her to touch a fish without freaking out.

Izzie is as busy as ever. She follows her sisters around the house all day and her favorite thing to do is eat. Don't let that little girl fool you though, she can almost out eat her mom and dad. Her new thing lately is to pack around a baby. She loves wrapping them up in blankets while pretending to feed them. She has brought a lot of joy into our lives, but we will be so happy when she is old enough to be potty trained :)

We hope all of you are doing well and we hope the Lord blesses each one of you. We love you all and we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


Love,

Zack, Raquel, Mackee, Keely, & Izzie