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!!!