Merry Christmas! (finally!

Here is our awesome Christmas card for the year. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time to print and mail them so I'm going to e-card it for most everyone this year. Mikey I think did a pretty kick-butt job on his design, though.

So, let me tell you about our year.

We spent January living with my parents and four siblings, who I'm sure were DONE with that by the time we left. We closed on our current home in February and now live right smack in the middle of Idaho Falls. We love our ward and our wonderful, big, warm home with no renters. Truman also learned to walk (at 18 months!) as soon as we moved in.

Spring was spent catching up it seems. I think the first half of the year kind of got away from us a bit with all the changes and stuff. I spent a lot of time at the YMCA working as a personal trainer to two sweet women- Lizzy and Bonnie- but I mostly quit working after Sam was born.

Living close to family (but in our own house :) ) has been really nice. The kids have had several sleepovers at Grandma Andrews' (THANKS!), which has given Michael and I some nice time off alone. In May we went to Bear Lake for a couple nights and relaxed together, visited the Logan temple, and just enjoyed some down time before we added one more kid to the picture. Then in August, we got to take a "business" trip to up the Salmon River with Roger Ball and a company called JD Premium, filming a retreat for their top sellers. It was AMAZING! I had my first day of almost complete solitude in almost six years!

The rest of the summer was spent jumping on the trampoline (one of Truman's favorite things), potty training Truman- who is 100% potty trained and did it in record time!, and .... looking for our sidewalk chalk... :) Honestly we had kind of a boring summer I think mostly just trying to adjust to four kids. I will tell those who are wondering though that the adjustment to four was much like the adjustment to three, except I knew what to expect so it went by a little faster and less painfully. We did attend some family reunions, of course, and it was good to see everyone.

We have made some really good friends in the ward, which has saved my sanity. Michael still gets together with the guys on Tuesday nights, so I have been going out on Thursday nights to get my fill of adult conversation with other women. It has been really nice.

In August we took a family vacation to the Wolf Creek resort (we had bought one of those trial versions of the timeshare thing done by Windham. We spent a week with just the family and no distractions, despite chaos at home (our car broke down right before we left, and while we were gone a tree fell over in our front yard!). It was so great to relax and focus on each other for a while. I just wish we'd taken some pictures!

Andrew started Kindergarten this year at Edgemont Elementary. He's loving it and making lots of friends, but he does hate the homework he's already getting. He has also lost three teeth! He and his dad have developed a new hobby of trying to catch the Tooth Fairy, with a few reservations because Andrew wants to be a "gentleman" and feels a little guilty. We've told him fairies are mischievous and don't mind the tricks.

Evie is learning to read and write almost as quickly as Andrew, just by teaching herself mostly. She loves to learn and she's so smart! She also brings a little girlyness to my life, which I'm thankful for.

Truman has really gone from a baby to a kid this year- learned to walk, talks and sings all the time, and is really playing with his brother and sister just like one of the group. He is such a wild little two, but we love him and his silliness!

Sam was born on the first of June. He is fat and smiley and rolling all over. I think he may actually crawl and walk somewhat on schedule (but I'm still not sure if that's exciting...). "Samabama," "Sammy," "Baby Sam," "Sweet Chub" is still a novelty to the kids, who just want to hold and kiss that little guy as often as they can.

Michael and I were called this fall to teach the 9 year old primary class. We love it! Our kids are so funny and it's really cool to have a calling together. We're really going to miss those kids come January.

We have been so blessed this year! I am really thankful to be in Eastern Idaho, to live in our own house, to have enough money to pay all our bills, to have so many good friends around, and especially for the attached garage to keep us from scraping windows! Merry Christmas! We are thinking of all our friends and family, and even though we are lame and didn't actually mail this out, we do love you all and hope you're doing well.

Love,

Michael, Jamie, Andrew, Evelyn, Truman, and Samuel Borup