Merry Christmas

Dear Family and Friends,

With the end of the year approaching, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all of the love and friendship you have shown to us. It was a busy year for our family, but we are healthy, happy, and look forward for more of the same next year!

Late last year, our family was joined by Parker Theron Young. What a blessing he has been in our home! He has an extremely cute smile and very large bright blue eyes. He has a sweet spirit that is perfect for our family. We look forward to him continuing to develop and grow this upcoming year.

Parker is lucky to have the best big brother a little kid could ask for. Hayden and Parker were obviously meant to be brothers. Their “good night hugs” before bed melt my heart. I secretly love it when I hear the two of them “talking” to each other late at night after they should be asleep.

Hayden has developed into an independent smarty-pants kid, and he is a joy to be around. He still loves sports, and is hoping for a football helmet from Santa Claus this year. If you are ever feeling a little down, strike up a conversation with this little fella and you’ll be smiling in no time.

Both Hayden and Parker have a special bond, I believe, with their brother Scott, who was stillborn two years ago. We visit Scott often at the Riverton Cemetery and do a lot of activities throughout the year to remember him. There is nothing sweeter than hearing Hayden talk about his angel brother.

My wife Jessica continues to amaze me all of the time. She is extremely smart and knows exactly what she is doing all of the time. Halfway through the year we determined that Jessica needed to go back to teaching for this school year. Even in this struggling job economy, she had two job offers with seemingly no effort at all. She is teaching third grade at South Jordan Elementary School, and has already made some changes for the better in the classroom. Even though I can tell she loves being in the classroom, it is apparent that her calling in life is to be a mother, and she does a wonderful job raising her boys. I am amazed at how well she can influence their behavior, and I have no doubt that our children will grow up to be good men some day because of her.

And then there’s me, the dad. This year I graduated with an MBA from the University of Utah (in case you were wondering, my November allegiances remain unchanged). I am still looking for a new and improved job, so if you know of any job opportunities, please keep me in mind! In the meantime, I go to work and then come home and do the best that I can at being a good dad.

More than anything else in the world, I love playing with my boys. I am thrilled that Hayden has started to learn how to play hide and seek, and that Parker has learned to walk so that we can soon play tackle football. I love being with my wife, even if the only alone time we spend together is right before bed when we can squeeze in a crossword puzzle before falling asleep. I have a lot of improvement to make as a father and husband, but I am grateful that my family loves me, and that’s all that I care about.

Mostly at this time of year, we would like to bear our testimony that God lives. I have seen His hand in my life so much, and I have felt the Spirit of God work in my heart so many times, that it is undeniable to me. Though we have trials, somehow we always get through them and afterwards we can look back and proclaim that Heavenly Father had been directing our path all along. I really believe that to be true. We are grateful for a living Christ, that we can repent and improve ourselves. Because He lives, he has the ability to play an active living role in our lives. We know that through Him we can all be return to live with Him for eternity, and be reunited with our families forever.

We hope that we can all take a few moments during the busy season to ponder His majesty, and to take a few moments in humble prayer to thank our Heavenly Father for the gift of His Son.

Love,
The Youngs