All New

We've lived in our new house (Taylorsville, UT) for one week now. We love it more and more every day.

Today was our first day in our new ward. We loved it. After Sacrament Meeting Andrew helped Laurie and Peter find primary. Ammon and I went out to the foyer to figure out where his Sunday School class might be. We were approached by the Young Men's President, the Deacon's Quorum President, and one other boy in the ward who gave Ammon a warm welcome and went to class with him. Andrew said that when he went to the opening exercises for priesthood he found Andrew sitting with a group of boys. I asked Ammon if he made any friends today. He doesn't usually pick up on people's names but he at least new that one of the boys had a name that started with the letter B. That may sound funny, but it actually seemed like a huge step for Ammon and as a mom I feel really excited that he was given such a warm welcome at church.

Peter also seemed to enjoy his first day in primary. He knew that we were going to Michael and Sophia's Aunt's ward, but I guess he didn't realize that he would also get to meet some of their other cousins. He was pretty excited about that!

Laurie did not have such a good transition. Doubling up on a switch both in a new ward AND into primary instead of nursery was overwhelming for the poor girl. Especially because primary was from 12:15-2:00 so we were in prime time napping hours the day after New Years Eve! I peeked into the primary room after getting Ammon settled and found that Laurie had latched herself onto Andrew and wouldn't let him leave. I went in and switched him places so he could go to Sunday School. I don't know if she has ever been as clingy as she was today. The primary did a great job and were absolutely phenomenal in doing the right sorts of things to help her relax. But she didn't. I really think she was just too tired. After sharing time, I just went ahead and took her to Relief Society with me. Her teacher gave her all the handouts and treats she would have gotten in class, and today at home she has already been talking more positively about primary. Hopefully next week will go better. She did fall asleep in RS.

After church we had family scripture study. Somehow it turned into a discussion about the spirit of Elijah and before I knew it Andrew was in tears sharing his testimony to our family about the nature and importance of eternal families. It was so unexpected and extremely moving. What a great way to start the year!

Tomorrow is the last day of our Christmas break. It's been good, although hectic with moving, Christmas, two birthdays, Andrew wrapping up his semester, and New Year festivities. There is a part of me that is looking forward to getting back to the routine. Actually, we'll be starting a new routine with a longer commute to school. Hopefully the drive won't be too much for me. I'll get to ease into the new schedule because Andrew has a few days off work this week. I'm looking forward to having some bonus time with him.

2016 was a great year for our family. Not easy, but great. We miss Alaska, but I really do think it was the best move for us to come back to Utah. We're looking forward to putting the transition behind us and jumping into our new life with both feet.