The year 2022 has been filled with so many challenges, yet so much joy at the same time.
We have truly been blessed and watched over during a very difficult year for our business and one filled with many extra expenses related to Sunshine's residential placements in Tennessee and Virginia.
All of us are very excited to start the new year and make it a great one!
(Photo Courtesy of Discovery Cove)
Our big highlight of the year was a trip to Florida in May. Though it was cut short, because we caught COVID-19, it was still worth it.
We spent one week at Jensen Beach, Florida enjoying the ocean, pool and Shuckers.
(Photo Courtesy of Discovery Cove)
Discovery Cove was our next stop.
(Photo Courtesy of Discovery Cove)
Swimming with sharks, dolphins, and a bunch of other sea life was incredible.
(Photo Courtesy of Discovery Cove)
Our third stop was Sea World where we enjoyed roller coasters and more! It was definitely a vacation to remember.
Jason and Renae have spent the year working on themselves, improving their mental and physical health, and being the best spouse and parents they can be.
They continue to work together at Every Star Is Different and also serve as Stake Disability Specialists for the Buena Vista Stake for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The highlights of Renae's year were homecoming weekend at Southern Virginia University where she was able to spend the weekend with wonderful friends and music professors from the past.
She also enjoyed all of the time spent watching football games as a family in person and on TV supporting everyone's favorite teams.
Jason's favorite moments from the year were swimming with dolphins and the meeting we found out that Sunshine was in fact coming home.
Dinomite, who turns 16 in January, is enjoying early morning seminary with his friends, following his favorite NFL team, the San Francisco 49ers, collecting football cards, and studying German.
He volunteered for the Southern Virginia University football team, as a team manager, under the direction of a retired NFL Raven's player and Superbowl winner.
His responsibilities included:
- Filming team practices
- Taking snaps for the offensive and defensive lines
- Rubbing down game balls
- Loading and shooting the jugs for players
- Filling water bottles during games
- Fulfilling the role of pullback coach during games
Can you find Dinomite in the photo above?
Dinomite LOVED this life changing experience, making friends with coaches and players, and can't wait to return next year.
Bulldozer, age 14, enjoys following his favorite NFL football team, the Minnesota Vikings. He also enjoys collecting football cards like his brother.
In school he really enjoys developing his language skills through vocabulary and creative writing. His study skills and test scores are the best among siblings.
This year Bulldozer has expanded his passion for movies beyond composers and movie scores to researching and memorizing every award ever given for best film, best actor, etc. The only person who compares in trivia knowledge is his father.
Bulldozer continues to love Star Wars and has really enjoyed the new Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, and Andor series on Disney+.
Princess, age 13, continues to read as many books as she can get her hands on and writes her own stories, pursuing her dream of being an author. At times she's even incorporating her passion and knowledge of Spanish.
She has also developed her art skills this year, creating beautiful drawings of characters to go along with her writing.
Princess' other passion is music. She has such a talent for singing and playing the piano. In her spare time she loves to compose music with the knowledge she's gaining of music theory through her studies.
On November 11, Sunshine, now age 11, returned home, after almost 3 years of residential treatment in 4 different placements. She LOVES being home with her family. We are still early in the transition, but are hopeful things will continue to go well.
Sunshine loves unicorns and other magical creatures. She enjoys learning about mythology. Her favorite times of day are play time with Daddy and learning time with Mommy.
Sunshine is doing a fabulous job learning to read, write, and spell using sign language and other hands on manipulatives. She is also working hard to learn her math facts, loving her skip counting songs to help with multiplication.
In her spare time, Sunshine loves to sing, put together puzzles, play with dolls, barbies, her kitchen set, LEGO, and stuffed animals.
The highlight of Sunshine's year was finally being baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the fall.
Our goals for 2023 are to see growth in our business, debts paid off, and peace and calm at home, with all of our children under one roof. Here's hoping the new year is a great one!
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