Merry Christmas 2017

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! So many wonderful things have happened this year so let's just get right to it.



Our three biggest events were 1) welcoming Paige to our family on January 30, 2) Michele quitting her teaching job, and 3) building a house, in that order! Building our home was quite the process and we have decided we are NEVER moving again. Haha! This is our forever home. Thanks to many wonderful people, specifically our realtor and our lender, we were able to afford our new home even without Michele’s income.  Our new house is in South Provo, as south as you can get but farther west from Michele’s parents who are also in South Provo. The entire area is a new subdivision with so many wonderful families to interact and play with. We have really loved living here so far and have learned SO MUCH about the ins and outs of buying a brand new home, especially that it will cost a lot more than you think it will!



Kory is in his 3rd year of being a school counselor at Dixon Middle School in Provo. Last year he was just a few blocks from work and now is a lot farther, though thankfully still in Provo. He enjoys the faculty, staff, and students. Being outnumbered by girls in the family hasn’t phased him a bit and he still enjoys playing with his girls, especially wrestling and Legos. He also just recently (on Christmas Eve, in fact) got called to work with the young men, specifically the 12-13 year olds, in our church ward. He is excited to work with the students who also attend the middle school. Bless his soul!!



Michele quit her job in May, after teaching for 10 years in the Spanish Dual Immersion program.  It was an extremely hard choice to leave her Timpanogos family, but after much consideration and prayer she decided it was time, at least for a bit, to stay home and be full-time mom.  She substitutes about 3x a month on average, mostly for her Timpanogos friends. She enjoys having lots of time with the girls, especially Emma and Paige.  She has worked on several quilt projects this year and has kept busy with settling into a new home.



Claire (6 1/2) started 1^st grade this year in Spanish Immersion at Timpanogos and couldn’t be happier.  To say she loves school would be the understatement of the century. She adores school! She comes home and plays school and even asked for a toy school for Christmas. She also thinks it’s so awesome to eat lunch at school, whether it’s from her lunchbox or from the school cafeteria. Claire is starting to take off with her reading and always asks anyone who is listening how to spell or say words. She enjoys making pictures, cards, lists, treats, and whatever else you can think of for other people and is so thoughtful of others. She is always looking for a new friend wherever we go and even declares: “I’m going to try to find a new friend” when we’re at playgrounds and public places. She loves snacks and time with her family and her piano class, but her favorite thing is making her baby sister laugh!

Emma (4 1/2) is still our girly-girl and our artist, but also our hardest to raise. Being told "no" usually makes the world come crashing down on her, sometimes several times a day! She is fiercely independent and wants to help with EVERYTHING, including cooking and sewing with mommy. She loves dressing up and asking mommy for some make-up, going to dance class and piano class, painting, drawing, coloring, stamping, etc. She started her 2^nd year of preschool this year and is the old pro in her class. She also loves being a big sister and she and Paige are buddies.  One of Emma’s favorite things to do is to sing…about everything! She is constantly making up songs about whatever she may be doing or thinking and we love to hear her thoughts coming out in song form. She tries to do Claire’s 1^st grade homework and wants so badly to read like Claire. She was saddened this year by the death of Grandma and Grandpa’s kitty, who was her buddy. She is still a hardcore daddy’s girl and the very best big sister a little sister could ask for.



Paige (11 months) has not only brought so much joy to our family, but has redefined what it means to be busy.  That girl has an agenda with places to go and people to see, apparently. She has been scaling the stairs easily for a couple months now and cannot be contained.  She has learned to climb out of her bouncy chair and high chair and we’re just waiting for the moment she climbs out of her crib. We’re not sure if we’re looking forward to her walking or not! Paige absolutely adores her sisters and squeals the loudest when she’s around them.  They are the best at making her laugh.  She is constantly a happy baby and a momma’s girl.  She jabbers and babbles, sings and dances and we just adore her. She has been such a blessing to our whole family and makes us laugh many times a day.



We are thankful each day that we have each other and that we enjoy so many blessings. We hope this season finds you happy, healthy, and blessed.



With all our love,
Kory, Michele, Claire, Emma, and Paige Sekaquaptewa