Christmas Letter

Has it been a year already? So much has been going on at the Mecham house that we don't know if we can fit it all in one letter.

Dallin turned 5 and started kindergarten in August and is doing really well. While his classmates are busy learning the alphabet, he is reading! He amazes us every day by what he can comprehend. Forget Dr. Seuss. He likes reading the more challenging stuff, like cereal boxes, billboards, and warning labels. Dallin loves Batman (he was Batman for Halloween). He also has been showing more of an interest in music. We love it! He asked Cheryl to teach him the "Monsters vs. Aliens president song" (Axel F). He learned it in one day and plays it over and over now. He has also been singing more as well.

Alyssa will turn 4 in February and is still our little girly girl. She was Belle for Halloween and made a point to twirl for anyone that would look her way. She constantly asks if she can wear makeup and she's only truly happy when she is wearing a dress. She started preschool in September and has loved it. She is also really smart. She has been writing her name with ease for some time now and has better handwriting than Dallin. She is very artistic and loves to color and draw all the time. She's really into Barbies and Polly Pockets and princess movies.

Brian has had an interesting year. He lost his job in July but ended up getting it back in September with the condition that he be willing to take on the assignment to oversee a job in Fillmore (2 ½ hours away). He is now out of town weekly from Monday to Thursday until next August. Working in Fillmore is better than no job at all and it's guaranteed employment until August, so we can't complain too much. But needless to say, it's very hard on him and we miss him terribly. At church, he was called earlier this year as the executive secretary to the Bishop. It's been really hard for him to keep it up from Fillmore, but he's determined to make it work.

Cheryl started a job in August as an editorial assistant for the Deseret News and Church News downtown. This is the first job she has had in 5 years and it's a huge adjustment from her stay-at-home mom life. We thought it would take a while for Brian to get a job in his field, so we thought Cheryl better get a job to cover things until he did. His work called him to come back one week after Cheryl started her job. Talk about terrible timing. Cheryl promised 6 months to her new employers so they would feel they weren't wasting their time on her, so she's stuck for a while. She is still the pianist in Relief Society and the unofficial advertising specialist for the enrichment committee.

So, what's happening with the kids while we are both working, you ask? Cheryl's sister Julie and her family moved in with us in August. They sold their house in Tooele and were planning on staying with us for a few weeks while they found a new house. As luck would have it, they couldn't find anything they liked right away, so they have stuck around and Julie has become the most wonderful second mother to the kids. It's still really difficult for everyone involved, but we are trying to make the most of it. And it's only temporary. We feel so blessed that Cheryl can quit around February and doesn't have to continue to work, especially since she is pregnant with our third child. Surprise! We are so excited. We have waited a long time for this newest member of our family to join us and we can hardly wait to meet HER in May. (We had the ultrasound this morning and we are having a girl!)

If you made it through this whole novel, you are a real trooper. We wanted to let everyone know that through all our trials this past year, we truly feel blessed. We have been protected and cared for in ways that can only be attributed to Heavenly Father's hand in our lives. This season, we hope we can all focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Have a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year!

Love, Brian, Cheryl, Dallin, Alyssa, and Baby Mecham