Xerox 2016

You made it to our blog! Oh I'm so happy! I now hope your make it through our xerox Christmas letter! If you like what you read feel free to share it. (Please also be patient with me as I put pictures in over time.)

2016 in one word: oiy. 

What a year! 

After finishing up a wonderful Christmas and New Year's, we kicked off January with Grace's FIRST BIRTHDAY! Oh. My. Gosh. The first year of her life zipped by, so fast, at warp speed (just like her!) We celebrated with presents and the traditional cake smashing, which was very satisfying; Starlet did NOT want to touch her sticky cake at all when she turned one. As soon as we got to know Grace's spunky personality, we knew that she would definitely smash the cake and eagerly looked forward to her first birthday. She did not let us down!! Following her birthday the doctor confirmed what we'd known all along: she's healthy, happy, and perfect! Grace has been such a delightful addition to our family, adding such energy, zeal, and love to Team Vaterlaus. 

January kicked-off another adventure: potty training Starlet! Potty training is the ONE THING I dreaded most about parenting. I HATE POOP so this was HUGE in my growth as a parent, not just in Starlet's growth. When Starlet left nursery and started Sunbeams at church, I felt such a urgency to potty train because I was embarrassed that my little girl was one of the only sunbeams NOT potty trained. Everyone told me to wait until she was ready, just wait, wait wait wait, and after two unsuccessful attempts in 2015 I decided we'd waited long enough. Starlet is one of those "kick out of the nest" children - you have to give a little push every now and then - and I knew she could mentally handle it and physically handle it, so I kicked the little birdie out of the diaper nest. My biggest help was the Holy Ghost who coached me on what to do and helped me handle accidents and such. (My mother was a huge help too! "MOM! This is hard!!") Within a few weeks, Starlet was a professional at #1! Success! 

January easily flowed into February with the usual cereal-on-the-floor messes: thank you, Grace. I ROCKED Valentine's day this February. ROCKED IT. Cool Apa LOVES Star Wars and after another inspiring Nerdy Nummies, I finally ordered some awesome Star Wars chocolate molds! All of Valentine's week I made chocolates and they turned out AMAZING! I surprised Cool Apa with a custom-made box of chocolates which he took to work to show off. I think I got some wives in trouble, oops. 

Valentine's weekend also brought a visit from my brother!! He came up, despite having just started dating his future wife, which was wonderful! Cool Apa and I took him on a tour of Micron, I made homemade pizza (which he loved), and he came to church with us; Uncle Oaoa even came to my Sunday School class to talk about preparing for a mission. (He used the analogy of preparing for the zombie apocalypse - a very hot topic amongst 12 and 13 year olds!) It was a great weekend and a last chance to be with just my brother before he got married! 

February ended with a wonderful dance date with Cool Apa. *Insert little pink heart bubbles here* Our stake put on an adult dance - so nice. I LOVE dances (even though I'm not a good dancer) and was so excited to go with Cool Apa. I got all dolled up, we got a baby sitter, and had the time of our lives! Every couple needs to date! We hadn't had a good date in a long time and it was so nice to get out of "mom mode" and remember why I love Cool Apa so much. We are such good friends! I love him so much. 

March passed with warm weather, projects, and cooking adventures - my most serious cooking endeavor: baking. I started this year wanting to hone the skill of cake making and decorating, again inspired by Nerdy Nummies. I managed to make a Death Star cake while my in laws were visiting during their spring break! It took me three tries, but I did it!! 
March turned into April with a delightful Easter. 

April came and went with a lot of "normal life:" drawing with chalk in the backyard, toddler messes, bedtime challenges, therapy for Cool Mamma (since fall 2015), and long, tough hours for Cool Apa. In August 2015, Cool Apa moved to a different department at Micron: difficult change for him and us. April zoomed in and out, as it usually does. 

May came with a perfect Mother's Day! Cool Apa's present to me: he made my FAVORITE dish from Olive Garden!! Oh! It was SOOOOOOO GOOD and I couldn't believe how spoiled I was! I wish the pictures could convey how delicious my Mother's Day meal was - so good. The other gift I loved was Starlet singing with the Primary during church!! Oh! I cried seeing her up there because the moment captured my fulfilled dreams: all my life I wanted to be a mom! And there was my little 3 year old, making a grumpy face, and glaring at the congregation with the rest of the Primary for Mother's Day! (She was so grumpy at singing and did not sing; Grace cried and yelled after her because she wanted to be with her older sister!!) Oh it was perfect! 

The weekend after Mother's Day came Vaterlarteger I: family reunion of which I was in charge! Being in charge was not as painful as it could've been thanks to a lot of delegation, yet I'm thankful that I don't have to do it again for several years! My father made all the food, my father and Uncle Oaoa took the family pictures, Aunt and Uncle Astute made the Vaterlarteger shirts, (Vaterlarteger is a combination of all the last names of the family members), Uncle Oaoa brought is girlfriend (gasp!), and I ran all the games: complete success! It was also a good opportunity to get to know Uncle Oaoa's girlfriend, now wife. ;) We all knew they were getting married so I had the interesting experience of saying, "I have no idea who you are but you're marrying my brother and you're gonna be family!" I can't believe my family accepted Cool Apa so quickly without really knowing him! Oh but you have never met someone who serves more than my sister-in-law. Oh and so good with children! Perfect woman for my brother. 

After some sickies (including chest cold for Cool Mamma that lasted forever) we enjoyed watching Cool Apa's youngest brother graduate from Westwood High in Mesa, AZ. The best part: we got to watch and virtually be there with out traveling the 16 hours! Graduation was broadcasted on the school's website! How stinkin' convenient! 

June kicked off with a birthday trip to Pocatello for funeral. We all zoomed to Poky on my birthday so I could attend a funeral the next day. One of the most influential people in my life, Skip Garvin, passed away on June 2nd. Mr. Garvin taught me astronomy in high school and it's because of his class that I studied physics. And little does he know how far reaching that influence was! His death hit me hard, harder than I expected. I loved that man and am so grateful for his influence. I need to finish my memorial letter/video to him. 

Somewhere in the midst of June/July, thoroughly tired of cleaning poop out of Starlet's pants, we knuckled down and tackled #2 with full-throttle bribery, thank you dollar store!! I'm happy to say she is completely potty-trained! Holy cow that's convenient! Having done it once, I can do it again. 

The rest of June passed and as Independence day approached, Micron announced a plan to reduce their workforce by 5-7% worldwide. Cool Apa and I began thinking of what we'd do if he got layed off, (we're STILL thinking) but made no definitive plans. 

This Independence day I felt SO GRATEFUL for my country especially the men and women who sacrifice so much to serve and protect our country and freedom. I've made it my personal mission to thank as many veterans as possible which has been incredibly rewarding! Every vet I thank deeply appreciates my gratitude and my gratitude for them increased in turn. 

Then July 13th came. A day that will live in infamy making the rest of 2016 a, difficult, adventure. 

Cool Apa got laid off. 

Oiy. Wrench in our cogs, no joke. Just when we were getting comfortable too! We were playing with the idea of moving closer to Micron, enjoying friendships in our ward, and things were starting to look up for me emotionally. Then, huge change. 

Well, as most of you know, we felt very strongly that we should move down to Arizona and live with Cool Apa's parents. So we gave our landlord our 30-days notice and started packing. The impression to go down was SO STRONG that we just had to obey. 

In the midst of packing we traveled across Idaho and into Utah for a couple weddings! My cousin and my little brother!! Uncle Oaoa and Aunt Matilda. Beautiful wedding! Beautiful bride! Oh and what a delightful family! I'm a little saddened that we don't live closer to any of them. We spent the night at my cousin's house and little Starlet made best friends with her 2nd cousin; Starlet cried so much when she had to say goodbye! They are only 2 months apart and she is the closest cousin Starlet has. (No first cousins yet.....) An exhausting but beautiful week/weekend.

August finished with painful goodbyes, doubts but firm convictions about our move, and packing that never ended, but did eventually. Grandpa Gnarly and Uncle Grits flew up to help pack and drive the moving truck. Our goal: get out Friday morning; we drove away Friday night, at midnight thirty. (Yes you read that right, 12:30 AM) Car troubles, long drives, tears, and a icky hotel stay finally saw us to Mesa, AZ. Hurray! We received such a warm welcome from everyone! 

And the real adventure began. (I shouldn't be the one to talk about this part of the year; I just didn't know what to blog during this time either.) As I've told many people within one week my stress skyrocketed and my depression nose-dived. After settling in, looking for jobs, and dealing with the heat (95, ninety blasted five!! in mid October!!) my conviction that things would be better and brighter dwindled. After a while, I was just surviving, barely at that. One day, Cool Apa snapped and said, "We're going to Idaho!" and we did. 

So, we're back in Idaho! *Embarrassed laugh.* We came up Halloween weekend and have been up here since. I can't tell you how healing it's been being here, in Idaho (in the cold!!), with my family! Soothing balm. It's amazing how shattering unemployment and uprooting your life is! It's also stressfully puzzling as to why things didn't work out the way I thought or hoped they would in Arizona, especially with our super strong impression to go there, but that is for another blog post. 

We enjoyed a fun Halloween! Cool Apa and I had a blast making Starlet and Grace's costumes! My personal goal every Halloween is to make the cheapest, fun, and recognizable costumes possible: they have to be recogizeable or it's not worth it, in my opinion. This year I think we got 2/3. As soon as Starlet saw trick-or-treaters she could not wait to get her costume on and go get candy!! After about three doors, Grace understood the system and loved it. We had a traditional Idaho trick-or-treating in the cold, and Mr. Arizonan, Cool Apa forgot to wear a hat and got sick the next week. 

November brought colder weather (*deep happy inhale*) and a share of sadness amongst holiday cheer. Uncle Lima, Cool Apa's youngest brother, left for the Peru MTC on the 15th. I didn't feel up to the journey so just Cool Apa drove down to hear his talk and see him off. From what I hear, he did an excellent job on his talk and says he's fine in the MTC! 

During the month of November, my grandmother took a turn for the worst. She'd been living in the home for 14 months and rapidly deteriorated. My uncle predicted that she would be gone before the end of November and he was right. I had the privilege of saying my own goodbye to her during a visit earlier in November. I wept at her sad condition: in bed all day with bedsores and recovering hip surgery, tired, and trapped in her frail body; I could not wait for her release. It's been hard on my mother, losing her own mother, which is to be expected. When she finally passed, I felt immense peace and joy. Not only was she released from her frail body, she is also reunited with her father, mother, and brother! I ache for my mother, but I am so happy for my grandmother. Her funeral was beautiful and it was really wonderful to see family I haven't seen for a long time. 

Thanksgiving proceeded my grandmother's funeral and it was a wonderful Thanksgiving. I ate so much food, including the prime rib my father made and the traditional shrimp salad that side of the family makes, and enjoyed wonderful conversations with my siblings, aunts, and cousins. Having looked for blessings all week, my heart was full of gratitude. I am especially grateful for the job interview Cool Apa got last week!! Pray that he gets it!! (Update: it was a no-go, but from what my uncle said about the company, that might be a blessing in disguise. Still looking!!) 

And now we are to December. Wow. 2016 is almost over! We decided to have Christmas up here, in Idaho, with my folks. The girls are getting some pretty cool presents for which I'm excited. Christmas is way funner when you have children. 

As we enter this Christmas time, I feel the Holy Ghost testifying of the reality of Jesus Christ to a deeper extent than years previous. He was born, He lived, He died, and He lived again and lives today. I'm studying His love and mercy with the intent to accept it and allow it to penetrate my heart. The miracle and reality of Jesus Christ is that He has done everything for us. He paid the impossible price for us to return to our Heavenly Father and He did it out of love. All He asks is that we have faith, come to Him, keep His commandments, and keep trying! And He's not out to punish us, He's out to bless us! And He loves everybody. Including me. Wow. And we celebrate this magnificent Being's birth this time of year! I love my Savior and I know He exists. 

Thank you for slogging through our Xerox Christmas post! We are grateful for the relationships we have with you. May God bless you and yours! 

-Cool Mamma and Team Vaterlaus 

P.S. For those of you who enjoyed the coloring Christmas card, here are the other four that we sent out for your printing and coloring pleasure!