Merry Christmas

         What a crazy, yet fun, year it has been. The greatest blessing this year was the birth of our daughter, Molly Lynn Adams on June 28^th. She was 7 lbs 10 oz & 21” long. Because she didn’t come on her due date, I was induced. So, now we have 3 birthdays a week apart, starting with TJ, then Raiden and then Molly. June is a crazy fun month for us.

          In March, the kids and I headed over to Oregon with Grammy & Grandpa. It was Grandpa Bray’s 90^th Birthday party. We made a fun weekend of the trip and went to see Grandma & Grandpa Adams in McMinnville first and even spent a day in Lincoln City on the beach. We went back over to Oregon right after Molly was born to spend a few days with TJ’s family.

          A few weeks before Molly was born, I rear-ended a small pickup and totaled our Toyota Corolla. Thankfully nobody was hurt and only did minimal damage to the pickup.  So for the rest of the summer we were a one car family again.  We did so well for the first 5 years of our marriage with just one car, but it was much harder this time.  Once school started, we knew we had to get another car for TJ.  We had gotten a nice settlement from Nationwide which helped us get a 2007 Hyundai Sonata I found over in Nampa.  It’s been wonderful.

Another challenge was Cohen breaking his right elbow this summer.  He slipped off the bunk bed ladder and when his feet hit the floor, he slipped and snapped his arm as he caught himself. He had to have surgery and be in a cast for 2 months. It was hard on all of us.

My niece is attending Idaho State University.  It was fun to see my brother & sister-in-law when they dropped her off in August.  We even got a surprise visit by my Dad on his way up to Washington in August.  In October, TJ had a conference in Pocatello, so we all tagged along to visit with Aly and explore Pocatello. Then the kids and I went back the next weekend with Grammy for ISU Family Weekend.  What fun times. 

It has been an adjustment having 3 kiddos, especially with our two active boys who constantly want to be entertained. We love the nice weather so they can play outside in our big backyard. Of course, they find playing in the dirt and mud the best. We had a great harvest from our garden again this year. It’s fun being able to make and share our salsa with others.

          I’m still serving on the Twin Falls Parks & Recreation Commission and in Cub Scouts with the 9 year old Bears.  It’s good training for when our boys start Cub Scouts. TJ and I still love working on family history. Right now we are helping a cousin preserve family pictures from her grandparents. We have even found pictures of my dad as a baby in the albums.

          TJ is in his 6^th year of teaching. He’s still teaching 6^th Grade Science. He is also coaching an FLL Lego Robotic team which has taken up a lot of time. They made the qualifiers and will be competing at the end of January to see if they can go to the World Competition in St. Louis (TJ went as a chaperone with the High School teams in March). He is also serving on the Tesla Robotics Board of Directors. He continues to apply for and receive many grants to help get the technology and resources he needs in his classroom & school.

          We wish you a Merry Christmas and may the Lord bless you in the New Year!

~TJ, Tennille, Cohen, Raiden & Molly Adams~