Boy, Did We Have Fun!

What a wonderful holiday it was! So good to have Carl, Steph, Ben, Chrissy, Jon, and Mark's brother Scott in Boise for a few days. And of course, we are so blessed to have Aubrey and Co. right around the corner. We visited, played pinochle, had yummy food, visited, Shopped, shot fake birds, had Christmas early, visited, kissed kissy cheeks, watched BSU lose, watched Shrek I...and II (that's a guttural "sh" says Ben), watched BYU win, had Carl's birthday early, and just gennnnerally enjoyed each other immensely! We missed you, Bousquets and Llewellyns and can't wait to see you in December! And of course, Rick - he is always in our prayers. Love to all of you! Mom

Christmas Portrait Preview

Hi Everyone! We had family portraits taken yesterday at Sears, and we got some great pictures of the kids. These pictures aren't even the cutest ones (I'm saving those for Christmas cards). It was the best picture taking experience we've had with kids, we were very happy. Things here are going pretty well. We think we have our Cincinnati trip mostly figured out. We'll be in Cincinnati from January 5th-February 26th. Grace will join us in Cincinnati on January 16th. If BethAnne is doing well after her big surgery, we're probably going to go to Maryland and Virginia during the 2nd week of February to visit Mark's family and Suzie's family. Then we'll be back in Cincinnati for a minor surgery on February 18th. If all goes well, we'll head back to Boise on the 26th of February. Mark's bosses have been very supportive so he will be able to telecommute during those two months. We're looking forward to the holidays, it will be great to see everyone who's coming for Thanksgiving. Hope you are all doing well.
Love, Aubrey

Halloween and other scary things!

Hi Everyone,
I assume you got my email about our Cincinnati trip. We're a little stressed about the upcoming surgery and the follow-up visit (which will be an additional 10 days in Cincinnati at the end of February). But, as Mom says, "this too shall pass." If you know of anyone with a bunch of extra airline miles sitting around, let us know :) We're grateful for the love and support of family and friends. We are blessed with so much. I hope you enjoy the pictures of our pretty witch and our "scary" messy Grace. We've included an after-bath picture of Grace too which is very cute. Hope you are all well.
Love,
Aubrey

A Boise Halloween!

Hi Everybodee! Boy - Chrissy's well written reprimand got results! So "tongue in cheek," Chrissy - I loved it. So - here's our Boise halloween! Bethanne looked particularly fetching in her "good witch" costume. And of course, we had to categorize and count the treats when we were done! The neighbors were so kind - and generous. Dad and I are well - got our flu shots, you know - and we are SO excited about the holiday season, and anticipate seeing all of you (or talking to in Rick's case) somehow or other in the next two months! We have our tickets to go see the Bousqet family on Dec 27th through Dec 31st - Hurray!
I've had a busy Relief Society season - Broadcast dinner, leadership meeting, and now Thanksgiving dinner for 250 (regional single adults) on the 17th. My schooling is going fine - I'm even settling down to some C's and B's on tests (hurray Mom). With Dad's $100 on the table for every "B" I get, I'm motivated! My sister Di was here last weekend - SO fun. It was temple, food, shopping, and movies.
The autumn has been beautiful and thank goodness for "fall back" daylight savings so I have time to write this and figure out the picture thing (OK, it was easy). Thanks to all of you for your wonderful support of Rick. I love his saying, "This may not be the best two years of my life, but it will be the best two years for my life" and and sounds like he is understanding more what that means! Our prayers are continually with him. Happy Sunday everybody. I love you SO much!