Merry Christmas! Dec. 2014

One of our favorite things about this time of year is hearing from friends near and far, and reflecting on all of the good memories we’ve had over the years. Tyler and I celebrated 15 years of marriage last week, and can’t believe we aren’t that newly wed couple anymore. Time sure flies!

A lot of you already know how we ended up living in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, but for those of you who don’t, here is the story. When Tyler and I were newly married he did an internship at the U.S. Embassy in Chile. We loved our time there, and he got acquainted with many foreign service officers working for the Department of State and Commerce. We talked about what a great experience it would be to live abroad, and discussed it as a career option. But the application process took a few years and we were fresh out of college, so Tyler got a job and life led us in a different direction. We have talked about it on and off through the years, and 2 years ago we decided to apply and see what happened. Long story short, Tyler was given a job offer after a long process, and we felt good about accepting it. He is now a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, which means we will live abroad near different embassies around the world, and he will work with U.S. businesses looking to export their products and services. Our first assignment had to be state-side, so we will be living here in Ft. Lauderdale until summer 2016, and then will go abroad. Right now it looks like we will be in Lima, Peru or Mexico City for our first assignment, but we won’t find out for sure until Feb. 

This is our first non-white Christmas, and it is a bit hard to get in the Christmas spirit when it is 80 degrees outside, but I love the warm weather and the palm trees. I took the kids swimming a few days ago and couldn’t believe we really live here. 

We had a fun summer visiting family out in the D.C. area and exploring the many sites. We had many adventures, some good some bad, but were so glad we were able to spend the time out there, especially being able to spend time with family.

Ty is 13 and has adjusted well to life in Florida. He was having withdrawals from not playing sports for 6 months while we were in transition, but happily he is back playing lacrosse now and is thrilled about it. He is doing great at school and at church and sets a great example for the younger kids to follow. He is a Life scout and looking forward to earning his eagle before we leave Florida.

Shayla is almost 12 and counting down the days to her birthday. She is loving gymnastics and is very glad we were able to move our trampoline down with us. She has adjusted great to middle school and the move, and since she doesn’t have her own phone I let her use my phone to text. Bad idea, now she thinks my phone is hers, and I get texts with lots of emogies non-stop all day. She is so helpful with her younger siblings and is full of energy and laughs.

Garrett is 9 and a budding entrepreneur. His latest business is a foot-massage company, and he has targeted his dad as his prime customer. He loves to earn money and is very generous with what he has. He is doing great in school and loves to learn. We went to a book swap and he picked out an Algebra textbook just for fun and has been teaching himself Algebra in his spare time. Since we missed the soccer season he is looking forward to Lacrosse in January.

Grant is 7 and looking forward to getting baptized in August. He loves to learn and his favorite is math. He loves to memorize fact books and then quiz me to make me feel really smart when I can’t answer any of the questions :) He is also starting lacrosse in January and has been practicing with his brothers.

Miya just turned 5 and is our sunshine. She is always giggling and cheering everyone up, and saying funny things. She has become a great swimmer with all of the extra practice she has had here. She is in a co-op preschool and loves to learn. Her favorite words to write are “cat” and “pop” and I find scraps of paper all over the house with those words on them.

Kalia is 2 and is everyone’s favorite. She is Miya’s shadow, and copies every word that comes out of her mouth. She loved her birthday in September, and for weeks after she would say, “My birfday’s coming up!” dozens of times everyday. She loves playing with babies, and her stuffed animals, and sleeps with a dozen of her babies every night.

Some of my favorite memories of living here in Florida have been listening to the kids after we tuck them in bed at night. We hear the girls chattering and laughing, and we hear the boys wrestling and tackling each other and who knows what else. Since we are in a smaller home we have a boys room, and a girls room and they have really bonded with the extra time they spend together. I’m proud of how they have adjusted to all of the changes in our lives, as we have many more to come.

Life has been so good to us, and we are so grateful for all of the blessings the Lord has given us. We celebrate the birth and life and great gift of the atonement of our Savior at this time of year, and hope that we can remember Him always, and better follow in his footsteps. We are grateful for each one of you and feel blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

Love,

Tyler, Lani, Ty, Shayla, Garrett, Grant, Miya and Kalia

2909 Stockholm Ave.

Hollywood, FL 33026