Monday, April 23, 2007

With Love from the Coombs Family



Heather, Sarah, Aaron, and Jon in Newport Beach in January '07.
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Playing Catch-Up!


Could it be any longer since my last post? Maybe I shouldn't answer that too soon, or it might be over a year next time.

So much has happened since I last wrote, I can hardly catch up. Since coming back from Colorado last year, things have been busy. In August, I was called to be the Primary President of my ward. While this might be a large calling anywhere, my ward had over 200+ kids, not including the 5 nurseries. Luckily, our ward has since split--now we only have 130+ kids and 3 nurseries! Primary has certainly kept me busy, but luckily I have a great presidency to help me out, including two of my great friends from California--Rebekah Rose and Hilari Howard. Okay, maybe that was a little bit of favoritism in calling them to my presidency, but when you've got good people, you've got good people.

In addition to my church calling, it recently became necessary for me to help out with the finances a little while Jon begins his transition from high school Spanish teacher to elementary teacher and eventually to an elementary school administer. He's currently working on his Masters degree in Counseling in Education (the same Masters program I want to eventually do!), and will soon start his Administrative Credential, as well. Hopefully that will mean in another 3-4 years, Jon will be an Elementary School Principal somewhere making twice what he's making now as a teacher. In the meantime, we have been redefining the word "poor". So, being the problem-solver that I am, I decided to do something to help out our financial woes.

First I decided to try my hand at becoming a Pampered Chef consultant. That was a lot of fun, but I was spending more time and money on marketing than I was on doing shows--not very profitable, although I got some great products out of it. So in January I started substitute teaching in a local school district, which is much more up my alley. I really love it and it's been fun being back in education again. Cary watches my kids for me while I sub, which is the only way I would be able to do it. My kids love their Aunt Cary and their cousins, so I never have to feel too guilty leaving them with her. And then in March, I got a call from the local YMCA asking me to come in for an interview to work their front desk. Well, it caught me so off guard and before I knew it, I was working a third job, this time every evening, Tues through Friday, 3:30 to 9:oopm, and some Saturday mornings. Yes, this schedule is crazy (especially on the days that I both substitute teach AND work the YMCA), but at least I love what I do. But, unfortunately, I miss my family way too much, so now I'm in the process of applying for ONE full-time job in education, possibly a school secretary or attendance clerk and hopefully at the same elementary school that Jon will be working in next year. At least I'll be home in the evenings with my kids and my sweet husband. We all need that. I'll keep you posted on what happens!

As for the kids, they are SUPER adorable. Sarah turns 1 tomorrow (April 24th), and isn't quite walking yet, but loves to cruise around as long as she has something to hold on to. She is so sweet and is exactly the type of baby that makes you want to have more babies. Trust me, when you see how cute she is, you'll be wanting to take her home. Aaron is getting SO big. He's already almost as tall as his cousin Emma who is over a year older than he is. While Aaron luckily isn't the daredevil type, he is my runner and takes every opportunity he can get to run off and explore. You can't take your eyes off him for a minute--just ask any of my extended family who was with me at Corona Del Mar in January! (That was a heart-stopping scary few minutes!) Aaron is the sweetest little boy who loves everyone, gives great hugs, loves trains, baths, parks, movies and juice, and is just silly and fun. We have Aaron working with a speech therapist right now because he is severly speech delayed, but his comprehension level is well beyond his age, so I think that once he gets the hang of speaking, we won't ever be able to turn him off!

As for fun happenings, we took a small family reunion down to California last October and had fun visiting tons of people and just basking in the fun that is So Cal. We still miss it. Then in January, we got to go back again, this time for the Coombs Family Reunion. We stayed at the beautiful Newport Coast Marriott Grand Vacation Resort right overlooking the ocean and loved every minute we got to spend with the family, especially Mom and Dad Coombs who left on their second couples mission at the end of January to England. Unfortunately, Jon only got to spend one weekend at the reunion because of work, leaving me a single mom for the rest of the week. That part wasn't much fun at all, but it was still nice to be there with the rest of the family. Our final journey was just this past March to St. George. Just a time to relax and visit with that part of the family in southern Utah.

So, that at least catches you up on the big stuff. We've been busy, but it's been fun. We're hoping for life to settle down a little in the fall, but who are we tryin' to kid, right? We sure do love you all!

Love, Jon and Heather Coombs