The Boyacheks

The Boyacheks

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Happy New Year!

And I guess Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas too! These last few months have gone by so fast. I keep thinking we forgot to celebrate Christmas even though I know we did. So, we went to Florida and had Thanksgiving with my(Jaime)family. It is a lot of fun celebrating the holidays with kids. The kids got to experience the Beach for the first time and loved it! Juliana turned 9 on the 11th of November and I can't believe it. She seems like she has grown up so much in the 8months we have had them. She is coming along well with her English and as her New Years resolution she said she wanted to learn Spanish! We are sad that she has lost so much of her Spanish, but we were told they would, so we practice what we can.

The month of December was a lot of fun teaching the kids Christmas songs and reading the story of Jesus Birth over and over. The day before Christmas I was going over the gifts for the kids and I saw the gift my mother in law had bought the kids about "What does God want for Christmas?" And I thought wouldn't it be neat to leave it under the tree and say it was a gift from Jesus. So everyone got in the car for Christmas eve service and I quickly laid it there on my way out. When we got back the kids noticed it and they were so surprised that Jesus would give them something. They opened it up and there was a story and 7 little boxes and each had a character of the manger scene, except for the last one. It was getting to the point about What God wanted for Christmas and when they opened the last box it was a mirror. God wanted them for Christmas! They were so excited and continued to talk about and tell everyone that Jesus gave them a gift and that what he wanted for Christmas was them. That had to be the highlight for Jim and I!
My parents came up after Christmas and stayed for the week and had a great time spoiling the kids. Between them, Santa, In-laws and other family the kids got a trampoline, train set, baby dolls, clothes and many other things. They had a great time celebrating their "first Christmas with their family."
We rang in the New Year with Fireworks of course, even though we didn't make it all the way to midnight. We are excited to see the new things that God is going to do with us this year. We are taking a group from our church down to Guatemala in April to work in an orphanage of about 400 kids for the week and are very excited. Juliana is looking forward to helping the kids and to learn Spanish again :) John is such a happy kid and so sweet. He is speaking English very well and continues to amaze us. Jaysa is still in the terrific twos and I am really struggling with the potty training thing. I didn't realize how difficult it can be. One week she does great then the next she refuses it. So I am starting something different that will hopefully help. She is growing up fast and through her sometimes gibberish she is speaking a lot now. One of the best days I have had with the kids so far was the day that it snowed and school was cancelled. There wasn't a lot of snow where we were but 10 minutes in town there was a lot. So I got the kids ready and we went to the park and played in the snow for about 2 hours. Juliana said "you must be the only cool mom around here" because there was nobody else out there having fun. I was so surprised there wasn't anybody else out, but after a couple hours of fun we went back home, cleaned up a bit, had lunch then snuggled on the couch with hot chocolate and watched a movie. It was the perfect day! No fighting or disobeying, just pure fun!!
We are continually challenged yet incredibly blessed raising our kids. We are just amazed looking back at how far they have come. Thank you all for your love and support!

Happy B-day Juliana!

John loved the Giant sandbox :)


My Perfect Day!





Merry Christmas!







7 comments:

Alison said...

I can't believe how much older John and Jaysa look!!

I'm glad you all had a good holiday season...I was thinking about you all and wondering what the kids thought of Christmas, so thanks for posting!

Hope to see you soon!

The Jensen Family said...

It was so great to get an update! We have been wondering how things are going for you all and have missed seeing new pictures, etc. What a great story behind "What does Jesus want for Christmas?" I have put that on my list to see if I can find one of those. The kids are looking so much older and I can't wait to see more pics in the future! Happy New Year~

Traci

Kimberly said...

I have been thinking of you lately, and thought to check your blog just on a whim to see if you updated. What a treat to see you guys and the pics of everyone!

How truly interesting about Juliana wanting to relearn spanish. As for the potty training...if we are there by 3 1/2 I will feel just fine. :) Hang in there.

Donna said...

Wow everyone is growing so fast. Was glad to read the update and you guys look great. When you figure out the potty training thing, let me know. Anji is now 3 1/2 and does the same thing. One week good the next week she's not. Thank goodness her preschool is very understanding. I am hoping before she is 4! Yikes!

Donna Krebs

The Smith's said...

Jaime,

I loved reading the update. It is hard to believe that you all have been together for 8 months. The kids have grown so much. It is amazing how fast time flies as on 2/18 we will celebrate our 1 year Gotcha Day with Noah.

Look forward to reading more updates.

Love & Miss you
Becky

Laura S said...

Can't believe how big they have gotten! Looks like you had a great holiday. Thanks for the update.

Anonymous said...

It is great to see the pictures of your forever family! God is faithful! The kids are beautiful! Congratulations!!!

We celebrated our 2 year Gotcha day with Elizabeth on 2/14!!! She will be 6 on 3/01.

I am glad to see your dreams have come true!

Take Care,
Rebecca

Colombia