Welcome Back, JayCee. . . 'A Merry Christmas Newsletter' and A MOVE!

I know, I know. . . I haven't posted in forever. And most of my life (relationship included) has changed so VERY drastically. I'm not ready to talk about it on this blog. . . in fact, let's just drop that bomb now (if there's anyone still reading the bombs!):

I'M MOVING.

I'm going to be moving this blog. . . and I'm NOT going to link from this page to that.

If you WANT the new blog address, please email me (from the "about me" / "contact" page) and I'll give you the new address.

So, for your reading please while you're deciding if you want to email me for the new address, here's the Christmas letter I wrote about the year that Carrot and I have had!

"Happy Holidays from our Family to Yours!"

Happy 2009! Carrot and I would like to welcome you into our lives (although, if you’re reading this, I’d like to think you’re already a very, VERY important part of our lives on a very regular basis!).
I skipped the 2008 update because Carrot and I had SOOOO much going on. I’ll start by recapping the year, briefly, but I’ll definitely go into Carrot’s accomplishments in 2009 in MUCH more detail.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy. . .

"2008"

We moved back to Kansas from California at the end of the summer of 2008. I immediately started Carrot at a home daycare because I already had a job as a CSR / Executive Assistant at a office supply company. We moved back in with my Mom on what we hoped would be a very temporary basis! Close to my birthday, my company had to downsize, causing me to have to look for a job. And also postponing the possibility of a move into our own place.
And I found HT, Inc. WHAT a company!! I am still working for HT, a software (and accompanying hardware) company which services Rent-to-Own and Payday Loan companies. We just celebrated our twenty-fifth anniversary as a company!! We service companies all over the country and in Guam, the Virgin Islands, etc. At HT I do billing reports for all our clients, edit the call tickets that our CS technicians write, and answer the phones when necessary—although I avoid that last task whenever possible! :-)
About the same time, Carrot’s daycare provider’s family had several health emergencies and I decided that I should get her enrolled in a daycare CENTER.
And I started searching. . .

"______ Child Care Center"

I had looked at ______ Child Care Center during a brief stay in Wichita before. And I’m glad I did, because I absolutely LOVE Carrot’s school!! Miss K and Miss E are Carrot’s teachers, and Miss D is the Director. As we’re all “friends” on Facebook (whoo hoo!) and have each other’s email addresses programmed, we keep in touch and send pictures throughout the day! :-)
Carrot is in the Blue Room and learns three things each week: a letter, a number, and a theme (a “God theme” that also translates to a “community theme”).
Her school’s Christmas Pageant is coming up—December 10th—and I can’t wait to see her sing WITH her classmates! We’ll be attending that at the Zoo.
She learns a new song EVERY DAY, and my favorite is (repeating each line twice): “I am special / Look and see / I am very special / God made me!” She also LOVES spirit chants—yay spirit week!

"Our Greatest Accomplishments"

The fall of 2009 I restarted college! And I’ll pause for applause. . . tee hee. . . I am currently enrolled in the Bachelor’s of Social Work program. I was just accepted (it’s not a rigorous acceptance, but it’s also not EASY). I LOVE being back in school. . . pretty much every minute in class and doing homework has been gratifying. Mostly, it’s fabulous being BACK in school after being out for “so long.”

Carrot is learning to write / recognize letters. So far, her best two are ‘C for Carrot’ and ‘M for Mommy’ -- can’t lie; I LOVE that! She’s also becoming adept with B, C, E, F, G and O. She’s learning more each and every day.

Other things Carrot loves: nail polish; coloring; writing the letter ‘A;’ baths (as long as you don’t try to wash her hair!); the TV show ‘Yo Gabba Gabba;’ and hugs, kisses, and ‘loves.’ She’s a VERY loving toddler.

Carrot rides a bike! She has several bikes with training wheels (one for each “house of grandmas”), and I can barely keep her OFF of it!

"2010--More to Come!"

In late December or early January Anna and I will be moving to a new place—an apartment here in northwest Wichita. I can’t wait to share that address (and pictures) with you all!
Anna will be moving up at school—and it’ll be interesting to see what THAT brings with it.
I just received a promotion of sorts—there will be more responsibility, greater pay, and a lot of learning.
Can’t WAIT to see what 2010 brings!!!!

Shoot me email addresses and I'll shoot you my blog's new address. . . can't wait to get reaccquainted with you!!