Merry Christmas from the Garlands! 

Thanks for stopping by to catch up on our 2012! It has been a year of many challenges with the girls, but as we end the year, we are feeling very blessed and seeing lots of positives develop recently.

In May, Eliana turned 1! She has been an amazing little girl! Watching her grow up has been so different from our experience with Cayla. Ana loves to figure things out. She likes puzzles, books, putting objects into other objects, pulling things apart, etc. Pretty much anything that looks challenging will keep her busy for a while. She loves to draw and sometimes needs to be reminded that the wall is not her canvas. She also loves singing, and her daycare provider has told us that she has never heard a child sing so much at such a young age! She’s also often able to match your note and clap with the beat, so we’re hoping she’ll be following in Daddy’s (and many other family members’) footsteps:)

In September, Cayla Joy turned 4! We are reminded all the time what an incredible little girl we have! She has the ability to make people smile and has been known to leave people with tears in their eyes after she snuggles with them a bit. She tends to be quite ornery, and her little “spanks” definitely catch the older people at church by surprise - definitely hoping she doesn’t cause a heart attack one day! We love the way that she is so carefree and happy in her skin, and she is learning about how “special” things are and loves it that we call her our “special angel.” Although she’s definitely our strong-willed child, we’re hoping this strong determination will bring her far in life! Cayla also loves music, and she takes every chance she can get to sing “Neighbor” from Miss Amy’s class or raising her hand and singing to Jesus (very precious)! She is taking dance lessons and loves to “practice” in front of the mirror. Just don’t get in her way! And get this--she just started taking violin lessons! 

Jerod had his teaching schedule shifted a bit this year and he is loving it. He is now teaching two different subjects per semester, which is much easier to manage than the four subjects of previous years! He continues doing great as coach of both girls varsity basketball and freshman baseball, and we love attending the games as a family! He does an amazing job of balancing out being a dad, husband, teacher, coach, etc - although the girls definitely miss not seeing him as much during basketball, they certainly LOVE anytime they can get with him (and me, too)! 

I have been loving my continued work at Bethany, and it has been incredible to see God’s hand in our ministry over the past year! I feel so blessed to get paid to do a job that I love so much and feel so passionately about!!! I also love being a mom to our beautiful girls, and it’s quite fun being the coach’s wife!

Thanks again to all of you who have played a part in our lives over this past year, as we know that God has certainly been there for us, and He has definitely been answering our many prayers!!!

We love you all, and may you each have a VERY Merry Christmas!

the garlands:)