Better Late than Never

Remember over a year ago when Ali invited us to do updates? Well about that . . .

Inevitably at the start of a new year, as I look forward to the surprises to come, I find myself reflecting on the surprises and successes of the last twelve months or so. At the start of 2009 I had very few expectations, though I thought it might be nice to cut down on the number of doctor's visits in 2008 (something I accomplished quite easily).

Graduating in April. Parents are stoked they only have 2 left to go through college

I stayed busy through April, finishing off classes and an editorial internship until I graduated college. That's still a bit strange to say--makes me feel a bit old. Then I put that BA to work during the summer labeling bottles in a factory in Provo, or as I think of it "getting my proletariat on." Truth be told it was a fairly interesting and even fun job for a summer. August saw me take a cross-country, 10 state drive moving back East for graduate school and stopping in at Mt. Rushmore and Gettysburg before winding up to Rochester, New York. From there I made the big move to Boston that included a repaint (who knew brick was so difficult to cover over?) and taking on the city life--lots of walking and a 1 hour commute to church and school, at least on bad days. I'd never even been to New England before, but I made the move on faith; housing and a job fell into place quite quickly, so I guess I made the right decision.

At Little Roundtop on the Gettysburg Battlefield

Despite the sounds of it, my Masters program in Children's Literature (at Simmons College) has been quite challenging. Thankfully I've enjoyed most every minute. It's very difficult to take umbrage on the days when my homework entails reading picture books. It was my writing class, however, that I found I really enjoyed, so after much prayer and with some continued trepidation I applied to add an MFA in writing for children. Following the spirit worked quite well last time, so I figured I'd go with it again. I was also able to return home for Thanksgiving for the first time in many years. That's the perk of living relatively close to home. While in New York in November I met up with all seven nieces and nephews and we began a new tradition: launching water balloons. Families that play together stay together?

Books read: well over 50 (averages to at least 1 a week)
States traversed: 11
Graduate programs applied to: 5
Jobs held: 3
Major life decisions made: 2
Doctor's appointments: 0 (a far cry better than 2008 during the case of the disappearing and reappering Sister missionary)
Friends: too many to count!

Wishing you the best,

Lindsay Sorensen

Happy 2010 from my niece, nephew, and me!

This is sort of late in coming...

Hey guys! Tiffany here...It's about time that I posted - I'm WAY behind the times! (Thanks Lisa for motivating me to post!) Most of you know that I got married the summer after London, but since then a few more things have happened! I graduated last December with my BS in Secondary Education (in Psychology and Business/Marketing) and it's such a good feeling to be done with school for now! (Kudos to those of you who have kept going on to Masters and Doctorates - way cool - maybe someday I'll join in on the "fun".)

Also, Paul and I had a BABY GIRL on February 22, 2009. We named her Macie Anne Wilhelm and she is such a joy in our lives. She is almost 6 months old and such a happy, smiley baby. I am blessed to be able to stay home with her and I am loving being a mom. It's lots of work but worth it all. Sometimes it's really hard to imagine how life was before she joined us - not nearly as great, that's for sure! I am also working a little from home designing albums for my brother and sister who are wedding photographers. It's really fun for me and of course I have yet to do my OWN album.... :o)




And in most recent news: we are selling our house in Clinton and moving to the Riverton/Herriman area. Paul does software developing for the church and they are relocating their tech guys down there so we're off on a new adventure. Maybe this means I'll FINALLY be able to make it to a London reunion...now that everyone else has LEFT the Provo area and graduated!! ;)

Anyway, I hope that everyone is healthy and happy and enjoying whatever current adventure you're on. I think of you all and my experience in London often! Please keep in touch - you can find us at www.thewilhelmworld.blogspot.com.

London Love!!

baby lucy

for those who don't know, we had our baby on pioneer day, meaning she is ONE week old. we named her lucy jane bellisario, and we are smitten. i wouldn't trade changing her dirty diapers 20 times a day for anything in the world!


hope you guys are doing well!

London Reunion, for realz

Hi friends!

I've been waiting to post something on here that was important enough as a people's marriage/baby/mission/career news, but I had nothing to compete with....until now :)

I just accepted my company's offer to transfer to the London office for 2 years! I'll be heading over around April, and I am soooo excited!

If anyone visits the UK while I'm out there, give me a ring on my mobile (ok, really just email me; I wanted to say mobile).

Cheers!
Shannon

Brad and Katie

I think it is about time for Katie and I to contribute. To start, Ruth Elizabeth Laws was born on November 18, 2008. She is an easy going gal with lots of smiles. Babies are great. Katie finished school as an elementary education major in August. I will finish my degree in philosophy this April. After that is a little foggy. We have a few opportunities, including a Masters/P.H.D. in Theology and the philosophy of religion at the University of Durham in England. A Professor with whom I have worked closely here at BYU has a good friend there and has contacted him for me. This is not a cheap proposition, however, so we will probably take some time to earn some money. Right now we manage a small motel in south west Provo. We have had many interesting experiences here and have many stories to tell. To give you an idea, I have had 3 people arrested for drug distribution, one of which was deported. To say the least, the job keeps me on my toes. We will try to keep up. Our blogsite is http://www.bumpskyandbrad.blogspot.com/. Hope to here more from all of you.
By the way, I attended Brandon's wedding reception. His wife is wonderful.
Here are some photos of Ruth at 1 and 2 months:

guess what.

So, I already put this on my blog, but I can't pass up ANOTHER opportunity to spread the news...

ME!, immature little me, is having a baby. And, yes, Mark is just as weird as I am. This should be fun. Miss you guys!

Update

I thought I'd give a quick update on my latest goings on. The most exciting (for me) bit of news is that I got a job at the University of Southern California. I'm working in a molecular biology research lab doing work on genetic sequencing of drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) and analyzing their expression levels of various traits. The reason this is sooooo exciting is that as an employee, Paul gets half off his ridiculously priced tuition. I enjoyed my time at the dental office and I learned a lot about how an office is run, but this job is definitely more up my alley.
Paul and I have spent the last three weeks with our families and have loved every moment. Usually nearing the end of a vacation, I'm ready to be done. But not this time. We've had a blast spending Christmas in Boise, visiting friends and family in Utah, and now celebrating the new year with Paul's family in Palm Springs, California.
We've been married almost a year and a half now- time has flown by... and I can't believe it's been THREE YEARS since London! wow.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and got to spend it with those that you love.