To our
Family and Friends, Aloha from New Jersey!
Eve has flowered into an amazing
young lady this year! She turned five in November and was excited to have
cupcakes at school with all her friends. She is incredibly service oriented.
She helps her sisters get dressed in the morning. She has taught her sister the
ABC’s. She loves to read stories. Even chapter books holds her attention. We
are currently reading Harry Potter. She also demonstrated great courage in
giving a talk at church and loves daddy daughter dates. She enjoys puzzles and
Lego’s and she even completed a 100 piece puzzle on her own.
Esther is as talkative
and vivacious as ever. This year she has gone from diapers to panties and has
also started preschool, which she absolutely loves. The principal of the school
told Juanita that Esther is like the mayor of the school. She is very loud and
very opinionated but in a very sweet and kind way. She still loves to sing and
is a quick study in picking up new songs and shows a real talent for all things
musical. She comes home from school and
shares the songs that she has learned. Musical ability is definitely one of her
gifts from God. She is incredibly positive and confident. She loves her high
heels and the color pink and if we would let her she would wear three different
dresses every day.
Make no mistake.
Asenath(pronounced uh-SEN-eth) rules the house.
This two year old, she bosses her sisters around and usually ends up
getting what she wants. Her sisters are good sports, even when she claims
everything as her own. Well established property rights and clearly defined
usage rules for toys mean nothing to her. Her sisters are usually quick to
accommodate her because, “she’s just a baby”. She is frequently spotted putting
on her sister’s backpacks and shoes and trying to go to school. Asenath is also
a terrific dancer. Whenever she hears music she starts moving and shaking her
chunky two year old body. She is also following in her older sisters shoes of
being very service oriented. Also her vocabulary has increased exponentially
the past few months and she makes her wants and wishes known without shrieking
like a velociraptor. She also is a huge cuddle bug.
Juanita gave birth to Zion Israel Denninghoff on the
10th of November of this year and had her quickest delivery yet. 10
minutes after checking into the hospital our little boy was born. The nurses
weren’t quite ready. They called us a “drive by” delivery. Both Juanita and the baby are doing fine.
Zion is eating and sleeping great. After
several attempts Juanita graduated with her Master’s in Education Magna Cum
Laude from Arizona State in December. We are so proud of her!
Mark
loves teaching high school English and only has his life threatened
occasionally by his rambunctious 10th graders. He enjoys his commute
on the train. It has given him an excuse to do some guilt free pleasure
reading. He also finished his master’s in political science from the University
of Utah. At the beginning of the year Juanita was teaching and Mark was the
stay at home dad and at the end of the year Mark is teaching and Juanita is the
stay at home mom. Pretty crazy.
The
Lord has watched over and protected our family so much this year. He kept us
safe as we moved from Hawaii to Utah to New Jersey. Making our car start when
it broke down. Miraculously taking away our children fevers after we prayed for
them. The Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon have been our family study
materials this year and God has given us personalized answers to our specific
questions through the Holy Ghost. We love the Savior and we strive to be His
disciples. Life is hard at times but we enjoy it because we are together and God
gives us hope. We miss you all and hope to cross paths with you in the near
future. God Bless and Happy New Year!
|
