2011 Recap

Happy Holidays!!!

We have had an amazing year at the Wochnick house. 2011 has been a great year, and I figured I could not finish the year without posting (for once in several months).
Brandon is doing wonderful. In July he decided that he needed a change of pace, so he left driving and took a position as a salesman with Coca-Cola. He loves it!!!!! It has been a good change for our family. The hours are better and Brandon gets to spend more time with the family. He also enjoys it because it is more suited to his personality. Other than the new job, Brandon is up to business as usual, continually working on some home improvement project. He did finish two rooms on the basement, so Kaitlyn and Ben could move to the basement.

I, Joanna, had a blast this year. On December 9, I finally graduated from Weber State University. After many years of work and stress, I can proudly say I have a Bachelors of Psychology. It is such a blessing to be finished with college and that I was able to get a degree. I am so thankful to have a wonderful husband who has encouraged me and pushed me to continue chugging along even when I ready to quit. I am also lucky that I am still able to stay home and take care of my kids.

Kaitlyn has had an eventful year. In August, she started Kindergarten. After a rough couple of weeks, she finally settled in and loves school. She has made some fun new friends. She is doing very well in school and impresses me daily with the new skills she is learning. She loves to spell things, she constantly asks me to spell things for her so she can write them down. too cute. Also. she has lost two baby teeth, with a few more that are loose. She continues to be a happy, optimistic, silly, and tons of fun. Kaitlyn is a great helper, she is my cute little side kick.

Ben is a handful. We sure love this crazy, energetic boy. In September, he started Joy School with three other rambunctious three year olds. He loves going to school like his big sister. I was surprised at how well he behaves during Joy School, especially when I am teaching. Ben is so cute singing the songs and telling me about the things he learned at school. He still has some speech problems, and continues to see a speech therapist weekly. We really like his speech therapist. Ben has been making great progress. Finally, Ben has been working on using the potty. He has earned many Cars toys and is almost ready to switch from pull-ups to underwear!!!!!

Paul is still as cute as ever. He is my little sunshine and brings such joy to my life. He is talking a lot more, but it still sounds like he is speaking Klingon most of the time. He loves to follow the other kids around and do whatever they are doing. Currently, he likes to yell "Watch this Mama" as he jumps from the arm of the couch onto the couch and then rolls onto the floor. (Thanks to Ben) When we moved Ben downstairs in August, Paul got his own room and his own twin bed. He transitioned to the big bed better than the other kids ever did, with only a few nights of him crawling into bed with us. I love watching my kids grow and develop. They each have such fun little personalities.

Finally, in September, Brandon and I became foster parents. We welcomed two amazing children into our home. Miss S. is ten and shares a room with Kaitlyn. They are pretty good together, with the occasional fight. Kaitlyn is glad to have a girl in the house who will play dolls with her. Mr. J. is seven and shares a room with Ben. He has a twin brother in another foster home, that he gets to see about once a week. He is an energetic and silly. He plays really well with the younger boys. We do not know how long we will have S. and J. in our care. Brandon and I love being foster parents, it can be hard some days, but we enjoy providing a safe and loving home for kids who really need it. This is just a brief recap of some of the happenings of 2011. Here's to another amazing year.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

It has been a crazy couple of months. Lots of exciting things have happened. We have had many joys and some sorrow. To start, we found out we are expecting out third child in February. Kaitlyn is super excited and prayed for a little sister for months and was thrilled when she got to see her little sister on the TV at the doctors office. I am grateful that her sweet little prayers were answered and am excited for another girl. Brandon wanted another boy, bit I really wanted another girl. Girls are tons of fun. The baby is doing very well and after a tough couple of months I am feeling great. In anticipation of the new addition, Brandon insisted we get a minivan. It is nice to have the extra space in the vehicle, my car was getting a little tight anyway.

In July, we were saddened by the loss of a great friend. After a difficult battle with cancer, our beloved friend Paul passed away. It was very hard for Brandon, Paul was like a second father to him and really helped him after the loss of his father. I will forever be indebted to Paul because he patiently worked with Brandon and was instrumental in teaching Brandon the gospel. Paul was also always there to help us or offer us advice. I will miss his great knowledge and wisdom. It is comforting to know we will be able to see him again someday.

In September, I lost my maternal grandfather Heber Robertson. He too passed away after a long battle with cancer. I will miss my Grandpa a ton. He was the pillar of my mothers family. He taught me about faith, unconditional love, and the importance of family. He was an amazing man that will always hold a tender place in my heart. My Grandpa Rob (as we all called him my entire life) was a sealer in the temple for many years. Brandon and I were lucky to have him come to the Ogden Temple to marry us and seal us together forever. On our wedding day, he gave us some wonderful advice and it was nice to have a loving face perform the ceremony. The thing that I will miss most is that my grandpa was always there to talk to me and guide me. By profession, he was a counselor and always knew how to help me with my problems. It is wonderful to know that I am sealed to this great man for eternity. I look forward to being in his loving embrace again someday.

In August, I started school again. I am going to school full-time this semester and don't know how I will do it all. I feel like most of my free time is spent studying and doing homework. Brandon has helped a lot by picking up some of the slack around the house and taking the kids off of my hands. I try to do most of my homework while Ben is napping. Kaitlyn is adorable. She loves to sit at the table with me and do her homework. Her homework consits of coloring in some new coloring books and work books, playing with play dough, and painting beautiful pictures. It has been quite the adjustment, but we are slowly getting into a new routine. I am excited because after this semester I will be almost done with my Bachelors degree. I will only have 5 more classes to complete. There is finally a light at the end of the long college tunnel.

Kaitlyn started preschool in September. It is called Joy School and is not the typical preschool. I am doing it with three other mothers in the neighborhood. The kids, 2 boys and 2 girls, meet at alternating houses on every Thursday. The mothers take turns teaching the class. So about every 4 weeks it is my turn to teach. The curriculum focuses on teaching children to enjoy learning. So far the children have learned about the joys of obedience and decisions, the joy of spontaneous delight (having fun and being silly), and now we have started the section on the joy of the earth. I have really enjoyed the school and Kaitlyn loves it. She has made two new friends, we already knew one of the kids. There are also tons of cute songs that go along with the lessons and Kaitlyn loves to sing them and dance around the house. It has been a great learning experience and we look forward to the rest of the year.