Yikes! Has it really been this long?
2025 has been a busy year for our family, probably one of the busiest we've ever had, but so many good things have happened. Rob is now working from home. He is working for Southern Illinois Healthcare and he visits Carbondale, IL, once per quarter. I am also working from home. My business is going well; it is growing ever year. I finally hired a contractor this summer and it was an awesome decision. It took some stress off my plate; I'm disappointed, I didn't hire someone sooner. Rob is serving as the first counselor in the bishopric and I finally got my dream calling as primary chorister. I am loving every minute of teaching the primary kids!
Brooklen graduated from High School, did an HXP trip in Costa Rica, where he helped build a school and made lifelong friends. Then, he went and worked in Alaska for 6 weeks for Paul. Then, I took him to NYC for a few days where we did a whirlwind tour of the city. At the end of the summer, I flew out to Utah with him to drop him off at the MTC. After two weeks, he went to Mesa, AZ to serve for 2 years. I think the initial shock of going to a place he goes every year, was a little tough to swallow, but I know that this is where he should be and I believe that the Lord is blessing him and will work miracles in his life.
Hurley is a junior this year. This is definitely a super stressful year for her. She is trying to balance gymnastics and a tough schedule at school. I think she feels drained all of the time and I am hoping that by the end of the school year, she feels a little less stressed out. She is pouring it all into gymnastics, working on trying to get recruited for college. I hope she gets everything she has worked so hard for because she has had to give up so much of a "normal high school social life" for this sport. She loves it so much though; the gym isn't always the best place to be and there have some been some pretty big coaching changes this year, but she is so passionate about her gymnastics. I recently went with her to Arizona for an unofficial college visit with ASU. She is still dreaming of becoming a cosmetologist someday; she loves hair and makeup almost as much as gymnastics!
Zaya is a freshman in high school, which seems actually insane to say! I can't believe that she is that old. She is a level 9 gymnast, something that she has worked so hard for, and I can't wait to see her shine out there this year. One bittersweet thing that I realized this year is that Zaya can do her gymnastics hair better than I can do it. She has this absolutely amazing head of hair and I struggle with doing it because there is just so much of it. For her first meet this year, she put it up in a bun and it was so much better than I could have done. It's a bittersweet thing to see my kids grow up and not need me anymore. Zaya has some great friends at church, who also go to school with her and she got to go to her first homecoming dance this year! She looked BEAUTIFUL in her gorgeous red dress. She loves to read and is my child that goes "all in" watching a tv series. I finally have a little friend who watches "One Tree Hill" and can chat with me about it. She plays violin in the Dow High orchestra and she is so talented; it is so fun watch what a natural she is!
Kaiton is a social butterfly. He is competitive, smart, and his personality is contagious. I tell him all the time that he is going to be a leader. He's got a head of cute permed hair and he is growing up so fast that it hurts. I still try to take advantage of every second he wants to spend time with me: after school walks, games of basketball in the backyard, throwing a football, or talking about the latest trends or sports news. He has an exciting "take" or opinion on a lot of things and he's so fun to have conversations with.
