Bye 2010!

Here was the letter attached to our Christmas cards, if you missed it.

What a year 2010 turned out to be! We learned a lot this year. How to be thankful for what we have, diligence, how to accept help, and how to be humble. February 27, 2010 we closed on our first home here in Richland.
Now, in these past 10 months that we have been living here, though things have calmed down quite a bit, we still seem to be busy all of the time! Thankfully so! Kevin is still working for Rent-A-Center, however he has plans to go begin college at Washington State University soon. He works long hours, and we are all excited to see him be home more with us. I keep being reminded that with him starting school, he will likely be gone MORE, but I am grateful that there will be an end in sight, and he will be getting an education. Education is very important to me, and I am so happy that my husband will be receiving one!
I have decided to change my major. I was going to school to become an Elementary School teacher, however life guides us in directions we don’t predict sometimes, and I have decided that my passion for babies shouldn’t go to the wayside, so I am going to become a Lactation Consultant. I will help teach mothers the ins, outs, and benefits of breastfeeding. I am completely excited about this, though it will be a long road!
Kailyn began Kindergarten this year. I couldn’t be more proud of this girl if I tried! She is excelling at school, making friends, and doing great. She is already ahead of the class in reading, and we are having a lot of fun reading books together. She is doing excellent!
Abigale is our little monkey-child! She is 2 years old now, and so petite! She is an amazing climber, and can get into just about anything she wants. She is learning how to talk more, and we are beginning speech classes to help give her a hand with that.
We also cannot forget our newest additions: two dogs. Daisy is our little Chihuahua mix, and Jessie is a Labradoodle that is the daughter of my parents dog. We have been having a lot of fun with them. Even more so once they get out of their puppy stages.
With 2010 almost completely gone, we have come quite a ways with our little family. Being in the Tri-Cities has helped us be closer to family and friends who have supported us in times of need, and done more for us than words can describe. Also, this time of year always brings out the commercialized reasons people want to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Not only do we here in our home hope to center this Christmas around celebrating Christ’s birth, but also to encourage others to be mindful of what this season should really and truly be about.
We wish you a wonderful and very Merry Christmas, and God bless. Our hearts and prayers be with you always.

Love,
The Walleys


We have some awesome updates even from when this was written 3 weeks ago!

-- Kevin got accepted to Washington State University Tri-Cities.
    He starts Jan. 10th, and will be majoring in Mechanical Engineering.
-- Kevin put in his 2 week notice for working at Rent-A-Center. His last day is Jan 3rd.
-- In the short amount of time Abby has been in her speech classes, we have already seen a great improvement in her ability to communicate through sign language. She can now sign more words the speak, and we are totally amazed at what a quick learner she is! We are still waiting on testing to figure out how much her hearing impairment will effect her long term.
-- We are totally excited and happy for the wonderful changes we are seeing in our lives!