Brief Update

For all those who got a holiday card with nothing but a message directing you to this blog, last year . . .

Emma quit her job, officially. After 18 weeks of paid maternity leave, 3 weeks of vacation, and a few more months of unpaid leave, she figured it was time to hand back her blackberry. She cleaned out her office September 10. Five days later, John's employer (Lehman Brothers) went bankrupt.

As of this writing, John still works for Lehman Brothers. His funds are in the process of being auctioned, and we hope to have a better idea of (1) who will be taking over the funds and (2) John's place under the new owner sometime in the next few months. John really enjoys the people he works with and hopes to continue working with his team. It's been a long road since September 15, but we are all grateful to still have health insurance. Especially since Evelyn had an acute wheezing episode over the holidays that led to our purchase of a home breathing machine as well as three different prescription medications. (She's fine now.)

Outside of work, John settled into new responsiblities at church after he was called to be the stake clerk earlier this year. This may not seem like a big changes from his prior calling as "assistant stake clerk: special projects," but it has been an adjustment. Example: 5:30 a.m. stake presidency meetings most Sundays. We have settled into the new routine a bit, and we all enjoy the friendships we've made with members in other wards due to his stake responsibilities.

Evelyn's exploits in 2008 have been well documented on this blog. She continues to amaze us with new words, new skills, and new (surprisingly strong) opinions. Evelyn spent time at various points over the holidays in the adoring company of all four grandparents and eight different aunts and uncles. She turns 15 months old today. Her favorite toy is her new pink glitter-filled bounce ball. Her favorite food is cheese.

We hope this update finds all of you in good spirits as we start the new year. May it be filled with the joys of good health, good food, and good family just like 2008. Now, off to play our new Wii.