Christmas 2019

Merry Christmas from the Utah Cottings! We have had another good year of God’s blessings in our family.

Wendy is still working for Intermountain Health Care Kidscare doing pediatric urgentcare. She has been witnessing first hand how the face of healthcare is changing in our country, both good and bad. We are blessed that she has a job that provides for our family and allows her to do what she wants, which is care for sick children. Wendy has also been enjoying her role as a mother. Since she works mostly in the evenings, she makes intentional effort to spend time with the kids during the time she’s not working. Wendy has also joined a fitness class to encourage more regular exercise. She is enjoying it now and is seeing the benefits of staying more active. Wendy is also active in our church where she is the Sunday school teacher for the 1st graders. She enjoys the opportunity to teach young kids about Jesus and the Bible.

Jason still does stay-at-home dad duties. He gets a lot of time with the kids especially while Wendy is at work in the evenings. Jason is also still working part time for our church, Risen Life Church. His role there changes as needs arise. He mostly helps with computers and technology for the church. He also volunteers by managing the safety team. Jason keeps very active with our church. He still rides his bicycle during the warmer months of the year and finds projects to do around the house.

Mia started first grade at Intermountain Christian School this year. Her academic skills were clearly inherited from her mother as she is a great student, is doing well in school, and enjoys going to school. Her reading abilities have really taken off this year. She reads all the books we can get her. Her favorites lately have been Sophie Mouse, Amelia Bedelia, Nancy Drew, kids magazines, and her Bible. Mia has been playing soccer and really enjoys it. She loves to ride her bicycle, gymnastics, and play with her Paw Patrol pups.

Cody entered into Pre-K at Intermountain Christian School this year. He goes for half days three days a week. Now that he knows his letters and numbers, his teacher has been working with him this year on his writing. He’s also been participating in a computer based learning program called Upstart. He has shown great progress with it and has started recognizing some words. Cody played soccer for the first time this fall and wants to play more. He enjoys riding his bicycle, playing with his Paw Patrol pups, playing with his cars, gymnastics, and playing with his sister.

Our dogs, Panzer and Daisy, try to keep up with our coming and going. They spend time trying to be a part of what we are doing at home. They remind Jason that they want to be played with, which is never enough. The kids are responsible for keeping them fed.

We got do some more car camping this year. The whole family enjoys time away enjoying the simple life. We also took a vacation to the mountains of Southern Utah which was beautiful. During the summer, we took Jason’s parents on a trip for their 50th anniversary to Island Park, ID. Jason’s brother, Chris, and his family joined us there. We rented a large cabin for everyone to stay in. My parents got the chance to enjoy being with the whole family, Yellowstone National Park, as well as the beautiful scenery that was up there.

This fall Jason and Wendy finally got to realize a dream they had both been wanting for a long time. We were able to purchase 10 acres of mountain property. It is in a place known as Argyle Canyon in rural Utah about 2 hours from home. The person we bought it from had built a 200 sq ft unfinished cabin on the property as well as cleared some area for roads. It sits between 9000 and 10,000 ft in elevation with aspens and fir trees. There’s no utilities up there, but it is remote, peaceful, and beautiful. There is also a community of friendly land owners up there who we look forward to getting to know better. We plan to make it our place to get away from the city. We hope to make many fond family memories there. Jason has already started making plans to make improvements to the property. Wendy dreams of it being her pioneer homestead. The kids enjoy getting to run around and play. The dogs enjoy the freedom of exploring the land.

We hope this finds you all doing well and enjoying the Christmas season. Have a blessed Christmas and a great new year!

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2 Comments

    1. Before we know it time will be here for the 2020 update. Hope all is well in this crazy year.

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