Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

We hope that you have had a great year and that the next is even better.

Here at the Russell home, we have been very blessed this year.

In February, Sterling turned 5. He is our big boy and likes to be in charge.  He is also very creative and is always building something.

In March, Avalon turned 3.  It is amazing how much she has grown up this last year.  She mastered potty training shortly before her birthday.  In her defense, she was ready much earlier, but I was too lazy to potty train her.  She is my good helper and stays out of trouble (mostly).  She is really smart, like her brothers, and utterly fearless.

In June, we adopted a dog.  His name is Sparky and he has been a fun addition to our home.  He is a rescue dog and is a Bichon Frise.  The kids love him.  Truman feeds him from his plate at dinner.  Avalon is obsessed with dogs and pretends to be Sparky all of the time.  Sterling just enjoys having Sparky around.

In July, Truman turned 1.  He is a happy little guy and very smart.  It is amazing how close he watches everyone and how much he knows.  He has started talking a lot.  His favorite words right now are ball, candy (when you ask him what he wants to eat, he always tilts his head back and yells "Candy!"), Daddy, Mommy, Avalon, dog, yeah and bad dog.  He knows a lot of other words, but those seem to be the ones he uses the most.  He is one of those kids who quietly get into everything.  It is amazing what he can get into without making noise.

In August, Sterling started school.  He and I were both very nervous about it.  We put him in Franklin Northeast, which is a charter school with an accelerated curriculum.  He did really well.  He got good grades on everything and loved school.  His handwriting and reading has improved a lot.  He is a really smart kid and very creative.

A few weeks later, Avalon started a ballet class.  She loved it and was so cute about it.  She would tell everyone about her dance class.

In October,  Aaron interviewed with a company in Idaho Falls, Idaho called Sentient.  He flew up to do an additional interview the first weekend of November.  They made him a job offer on the spot and he took it on the spot.  I got a call telling me that we were moving the weekend after Thanksgiving.  To say the least, November was crazy and I don't remember much of it.  We sold a lot of our stuff.  Packed up everything else and put it in pods to be put in storage.  We found a furnished place in Idaho Falls and then put what we needed to live in our cars.

We had Thanksgiving with my sister and her kids and then the following Saturday, we got up at 3 in the morning and drove 17 hours to Idaho Falls.

All I can say about the move is that it has been blessed.  We managed to sell some of our rental properties and get the others rented.  We found a house that we liked the first Saturday we were here.  So, we will be moving to Jefferson County in a month or so.

Sterling is in a really good kindergarten class.  It is half day, which has been a change from full day in Arizona, but he really enjoys it.

As for Aaron and I, Aaron is getting the hang of work and really loves having a short commute.  I have been working on making contacts in order to start a little branch of my law firm.

Everything has fallen into place and we are very happy.  Plus, we live 20 minutes from my parents, which the kids love.

We love you all and wish you a very Merry Christmas.  May your holidays be blessed!

Love,
Aaron, Tallie, Sterling, Avalon and Truman