Manda...

Each week I hope to do a little update on each member of the family as their little time to shine! Hopefully you will enjoy reading about their life! Amanda has had a very tough year and yet manages to get through each day with a smile! Brayden and Michael keep her on her toes each day, and with work and school, she is very tired, but manages to keep the house put together and the boys functioning. When dad went in for the quadruple heart bypass surgery, she called stephanie right away, packed up her things as well as the boys, and they were all headed to California in less than 30 minutes! She has always tried to put the family first, both her boys as well as her brothers and sisters. We often laugh because she is known as Mrs. Space Cadet but in the end, things tend to come together for her! Brayden and Michael LOVE school and they LOVE talking about what they have learned. They are at the age where they realized playing together is so much more fun than fighting and its a huge relief for Manda to have children that life each other again. Each summer the boys get to come to California to visit the family out here and this year was complete with Disneyland, San Fransico, and some fun little day trips with all the nephews and niece in California. They usually stay with Mamau and Papa for 2 weeks and while we enjoy having them around, by the time their plane is leaving back to Idaho, we are all ready for a break! We miss this family so much during the year, especially around the holidays. They havent been home for a Christmas in 3 years and one day, we hope they will make it back out! Manda has had some pretty difficult times lately, and we ask that everyone keep her in your prayers. Some personal family issues are going on which are dragging her down and keeping her spirits low, so when are kneeling by your bedside, just say a little prayer her way...we would all appreciate it!!!

Family Time

Stephanie enjoying the company of little friends

Emily and Anthony at their wedding

Garrett and his girlfriend Stacey

Manda and her boys

Chuck and his growing family...soon to be three kids!

Beth and Todd with their beautiful kids on Easter 2009

Troy and Barbara enjoying a vacation at Disneyland

Troy/Barbara--Barbara has been nothing short of miracle in Troys life lately. Troy had a quadruple heart bypass in the middle of October and with a hard, slow recovery, Barbara has remained a rock in his life. Troy has recently been able to come home from the hospital and they are enjoying the simple things in life now.

Beth/Todd--Beth and Todd have 2 beautiful boys, Max and Milo. Todd continues to work with retirement plans which allows Beth to stay home with the kids. Beth has recently found a new joy, business owner. She loves being able to work out of her home with, The Skinny. Max started preschool this year and only recently decided he will like school. Having Milo around reminds us all of the simple joys in life as he continues to learn new things each year.

Chuck/Aly-- Chuck and Aly recently found out their brood is going to be expanding next summer! Bailey and Peyton will be big siblings once again. Chuck has taken over the family business which has been very helpful with Troy's recent health issues. Aly continues to work at a medical billing office and enjoys being out of the house and contributing to their finances. Bailey is also in preschool and loves meeting new friends all the time. Peyton enjoys when she is at school and spends the days at Mamau and Papas.

Manda--Manda continues to work full time, go to school, and take care of her two boys, Brayden and Michael. Brayden is in full day kindergarten even though it seems like just the other day he was a brand new baby! Micahel enjoys preschool while Brayden is at school, and they love to talk about what they have learned about at school. We miss the family everyday as they are the only ones who dont live in Modesto. Manda has made their home in Rigby, Idaho. We can only hope after she graduates next December they will make a new home in California.

Garrett--Garrett is also in school and working full time. He recently moved back home and has been a great help with the new health issues in the family. He is hoping to be able to transfer from the local JC in the next year or so. For now, he enjoys having his foot in the door with school systems as he works with the after school program for local jr high kids

Emily/Anthony--Our newly married couple! They were married in January and their wedding was a wonderful event in every aspect. Anthony continues to work for a local family fun park while Emily is a teller at a Bank. They recently added a new addition to the family...their precious little dog, Sally. For now, we will take the dog but we hope they too will add kids to their family in the next couple years!

Stephanie--Steph is counting down the days till her college graduation. Constant reminders are sent to the family daily for when we will be arriving in good ol Idaho. She will be moving home to get a California teaching license while going to night school to obtain a Masters in Special Education. She continues to make us smile and laugh and be Miss Organized...we are pretty sure she has the next 30 years of her life planned out in full detail! We are all stunned our little girl is going to be a college graduate in the next month! My oh my how time flies!!!

*The family continues to get by day by day. This year has brought joy, sorrow, laughter, and tears, but perhaps the best thing of all, is how close the family has become in the past year.*