New Years Eve

I didn't take a single picture this New Year Eve. Eden took some crazy photos, but I didn't get one. I was too busy trying to just enjoy the moment and I loved it. Derek has been on such a crazy schedule so we  haven't seen much of him. It has been hard. I finally realized if I don't just plan and do something I could be waiting around for a very long time. So I did! I planned my own New Years Eve party and we had several people from church come over to play with us to ring in the new year. We had a fun balloon drop, sparklers, pop its, games, and lots of playing and chatting and drinking sparkling cider. I'm so grateful to live in an area with other military families who get it. They know what it's like for a spouse to either be completely gone, or just not available. We have been so blessed on this journey!

The kids had a great New Years Eve and so did I. Poor Derek got the short end of the stick, but it all worked out. Our family is doing great things with many more to come. 2015 was a difficult but great year and we have a great outlook for 2016 with new goals and resolutions to work on! 

Here is our Christmas Card. 

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas! I love being able to say that on time. This year has definitely been a challenging year, but the one word that comes to our mind when we look back at 2015 is BLESSED.

We were blessed with Connor Everett Bradley on April 29^th. Connor was born at 34 weeks due to premature rupture of membranes. He was healthy and strong at 5 pounds 2 ounces and 17.5 inches. He was in the NICU for 3 weeks 4 days before we were able to bring him home. He is the sweetest little boy and sure completes our little family. He is almost 8 months and has been playing catch up just great. He loves to roll over and eat sweet potatoes and applesauce.

We are blessed with our 3 year old Elara. She loves staying home with Mom and helping with her new baby brother. She helps to change his diaper and gives him lots of kisses. She is going to be a great Mommy someday. She loves playing with friends and doing open gym gymnastics.

We are blessed with Eden who is 5 and started kindergarten this year full day. She loves to write stories of all kinds and is becoming a great author and illustrator. Eden loves going to gymnastics and is getting really good at it. She is a social butterfly and is a friend to all.

We are blessed with Kael who is 7 and is in 2^nd grade. We switched schools to the military base and have made so many wonderful friends. Kael loves to read chapter books, build with legos, play video games, and play sports. Kael is taking karate and piano lessons and recently started playing on a basketball team.

Derek was blessed to finish his surgical internship and has his official doctor’s license this year. He started the anesthesiology portion of residency finally in July and it is exciting finally getting to learn what he is passionate about. The hours have been better, but there are always good and bad rotations times wise. He is always really busy, but we enjoy the moments we get to have as a family.

Sharice is blessed to stay home and take care of these wonderful people we call family. Having Connor was pretty difficult, but we have been truly blessed by all the help we received and that Connor is such a sweet baby. I was recently called to serve with the young women at church and have enjoyed being with teenagers and seeing their personalities. I feel blessed to not have a teenager yet!

We were blessed to be able to travel to California and visit Derek’s family there at the end of September. We were able to go to the beach, Disneyland, and visit with family.

We were blessed in November to visit Sharice’s family in Southern Utah for Thanksgiving while Derek had to work.

There are many challenges in life, and while they are difficult we can let each one bring us closer to the people we love and care about. While there have been many trials this last year what we have really seen were all of our many blessings.

We are so blessed to call each of you friends and family. Thank you for your love and support!

Merry Christmas!

Love,

The Bradley’s

Much love 2015! Until next year!

Bowling

One of the days we took the kids bowling and they get better each time we go. It is such a great way for us to bond as a family. More trips in the future!

Christmas Day

The kids woke up and we made yummy cinnamon rolls while they all dug through their stockings and Santa presents. We got hot chocolate and they could eat their cereal Santa brought.

Doesn't that hot chocolate look yummy?!

The Santa presents and stockings.

The kids all got what they asked for so they must have been good. Eden wrote and asked for roller skates, Kael asked for roller blades, Elara asked for a baby La La Loopsy doll, and Connor just wanted something he could chew on and he got a giraffe. Santa even brought a new log for Merlin and a new bed for Odin.

I made out pretty amazing with some butterbeer from the leaky cauldron and a date night to go see Brian Regan!

It was a wonderful Christmas. As the kids get older they are starting to ask more questions about the baby Jesus and I'm so excited to start our new traditions next year. We want to start implementing a service activity as a family each year. We have made some great goals for traditions to teach and learn more about Christ and his gospel. We are so grateful to have Christ in our lives and feel so blessed.

Christmas Eve

We celebrated Christmas Eve on December 21st. Derek had worked the night before and slept while the kids and I were busy. When he woke up we got yummy Mexican food and then went and saw Christmas lights. The kids opened their jammies before we left and wore them after dinner. We went to a neighborhood called Windcrest and it was the most lights we have ever seen. It put Utah to shame!

Before bed we did our yearly tradition of putting the presents under the tree from Mom and Dad and other family. Needless to say we were all a little spoiled this year as always.

The kids left some cookies out for Santa and off to bed.

Kael earns his yellow belt in Karate

We are so proud of Kael and how hard to works for everything he does. He has practiced at home and it shows because he was able to skip white belt yellow stripe and go straight to a yellow belt. He was so excited! 

December Random

Connor officially rolls all over the place and usually he somehow ends up partially under the couches. Now he just needs to learn to sit, and crawl. He can learn to sit, but I'm still not ready for him crawling!

Our garden finally grew something! A watermelon! There is a small pumpkin growing now too, but I'm not sure if it will survive the winter. The kids ate the watermelon with their dinner and they loved it! I love enjoying the fruits of their labor. Really I did nothing but water it once or twice in the summer. We've had so much rain I kind of just gave up and nothing was actually growing. The kids loved it though and that's what matters.

Kael got legos from Grandma and Grandpa to take home and he has had a great time putting them together. This helicopter was awesome!

Eden had a Kinder Karols activity at school. She learned some of the funniest songs. Texas Jingle Bells is my favorite. Just ask her to sing it for you it's worth it.

Kael started playing basketball this month and has LOVED every second. He is the youngest and shortest on his team, but he is keeping up with them.

We did our yearly tradition of gingerbread houses. Derek put icing to hold Kael's house together and this year Kael did the rest of his house all by himself.

The girls and I had a great time doing our house together.

 Two weeks before Christmas Elfie the Elf used some of his magic and came back to play jokes and watch the kids this year. He left them several notes.

 The kids are officially obsessed with holding Connor now that I am not as stressed he will break if they drop him.

 Eden has done some amazing artwork at school this year! I'm so impressed with the things she comes up with. They were drawing a snowman as the only thing they were told to do were the main white snow parts, and she came up with the rest on her own.

 Aunt Shannon snapped this cute photo of Connor in Utah.

 Eden LOVES dressing up.

 Derek watched the girls while I took Kael to piano and the girls love dressing up Derek just as much as they love dressing up themselves.

 The girls LOVE getting curlers in their hair. Elara's hair was finally long enough for curlers.