2011 has been a great year for our family. We made a few life changing decisions this year which have turned out to be major blessings. First of all we became homeowners! We closed on our house on January 7 and have loved having our own place. We have enjoyed decorating and landscaping and just doing our own thing because we can without worrying about landlords. The best part is, we are no longer just throwing our money away. We love our house and we love our neighborhood and ward. We also love living next door to my Grandma Morwood.
Second, we welcomed Colby into our family on March 4! Colby has been such a blessing in our home. He had a rough go at first but he is a healthy happy little boy now. We love having him and he is the sweetest most content kid I know. He is just happy to be here and watch everyone. He absolutely loves Emily and she loves him as well. Emily has gotten used to having another kid around really well. I was a little worried about that before Colby was born but Emily has been a really good helper and playmate with Colby.
In April, Russell applied for the St. George City Fire Academy. His dream has been to be a Fire Fighter Paramedic for quite a while. He earned his Paramedic license in 2010 and now decided it was time to go after the fire end of it. In April he participated in the Physical Test of the application process and passed with 2 or 3 minutes to spare. He was so happy. Then the waiting game started. The next step of the process was the Oral Board. Finally after almost 7 months of waiting, he got the letter from the city telling him when his Oral Board was scheduled for. For a few weeks, Russell studied and crammed and practised his interviewing skills with his friend from Paramedic school, Bill Winder. Bill was a great asset to have because he has sat in on Fire Oral Boards with St. George City and Clark County. He really helped Russell fine tune his answers. Finally just before Thanksgiving, Russell went in for his Oral Board. After the interview, Russell felt really good about the things he had said. Then the waiting began again. Right before Christmas, Russell received the letter in the mail stating that he had been accepted in to the St. George City Fire Academy!! He was so excited he was literally jumping for joy!!!! He read the letter at about 10 at night but that didn't stop him from calling every one he knew and telling them the great news. So Russell starts the Fire Academy on January 24 and will be a slave to them for 4 months. After which, he will be a volunteer fire fighter which has to potential of turning into a full-time position when one arises.
Another dream of Russell's was to work for an ambulance agency as a Paramedic. He currently works on the hospital's ambulance doing inter facility transports. He likes his job but wanted more 911 calls. After a whole bunch of political garbage, the DRMC transporters were finally allowed to work for Dixie Ambulance as well as the hospital ambulance. Russell jumped at that opportunity and applied at Dixie Ambulance. After another long waiting period, Russell was called in for an interview and on December 1, was hired on with Dixie Ambulance as a Paramedic. He is still in the probationary stage until he completes his orientation shifts and a practical exam but he loves it. Russell will still be working full-time at the hospital but can now also run as a medic on the side as a hobby.
As a hobby I started my own craft website/blog: Made In A Jiff by Tiff. It has been a lot more work than I thought it would be but it is fun to hear people talk about the things they see on the website. Eventually I would like to have the website make me some money but I am still trying to figure that out. So for all you that read this blog, check out my website too at madeinajiffbytiff.com and add it to your favorites and tell your friends. Hey maybe even click on a few ads so I can make some money!
Russell and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary together this year. I cannot believe how fast the time has flown by. I have enjoyed every minute of our 5 years together and can't wait for eternity.
In August we took a trip with my family up to Lagoon. It was so much fun. Emily loved every minute of it and is still talking about the fun trip to Lagoon. While up north we also checked out the sites at Temple Square as well as the Living Planet Aquarium. We also met up with my friend, Trista, and went to the Martin Harris Pageant in Clarkson. I loved being with the family and just relaxing and having fun.
This year was also big for my family because Jessica and Danny got married in September. Jess was such a beautiful bride and her wedding was so much fun. We had a blast dancing and singing and just having a good time. Emily loved the wedding and was so cute as a flower girl. She loved dancing with her cousins and her dad. She asks me all the time if Ca can get married again so she can go dance.
In October, my mom participated in the St. George Cotton Mission Wagon Train. She had a really good time. We joined her for the last day of the trek. We also had fun riding in the covered wagons dressed as the pioneers. Russell had fun because he actually got to ride one of the horses. He learned to ride a horse this year too when he took his Priests on three-day horse back riding camp out. Now he likes riding horses.
Finally we get to the holidays. As I look back at all of the things we have done this year, I realize how greatly blessed we have been. It seems that, for the most part, everything we have done has worked out for us. Don't get me wrong we do have our struggles but we have managed to get through them and it is not without the Lord's help. We are so grateful that we have the jobs we have, the home we live in, our health is good, we are happy, we have each other, and we have the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Come what may and love it because we are blessed. We have truly been blessed this year and are looking forward to this new year.
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