MINDY AND CHRIS ROSQVIST

For some reason, I always have a hard time thinking of things to share when it comes to the newsletter, but as I get going, I manage to think of a few things!! We enjoyed the holiday season, spending time with family and friends. There is always a million things going on during the holidays that keep us busy. Chris had a birthday in December, which he hates because it is on the 27th. Two days after Christmas! But he still managed to enjoy it. We had a party with some friends which is always a good time. The newest thing in our lives is that Chris started school again the beginning of January. He has decided to change careers completely and go get a nursing degree and after a year or two of work experiece become a nurse anesthetist. He is much happier at the prospects of doing something different and something he has always be interested in and enjoyed learning about. It just took him about 12 years to figure that out!!:) I am excited for him and excited that it is something that I can help him with and be a big support for him. Even though it will be a long road, it will be a great adventure!! Other than that, work is the same and we are greatful for the jobs we have!Love Chris and Mindy

Jen & Jason

Well, as usual, we've had an eventful few months. I think we set a record for doctor visits in one month for December (and that's saying something for us). We're having a tough time keeping everyone healthy which is strange because of how paranoid we've become about germs in the last year. Kelsey had her tonsils and adenoids removed a couple weeks ago too. As of today everyone is feeling well so we're going to enjoy that while it lasts.

In the midst of all the health issues in December, our house flooded too. The washer overflowed and since it is on the second floor it did some major damage. So we spent Christmas in a hotel complete with a KFC dinner on Christmas Eve while the house was drying out. A couple weeks later we had to leave again while they performed all the repairs. I built and installed a little water sensor under the washer. It works like a smoke alarm but with water instead of smoke. That should at least inform us sooner next time the washer decides to overflow. We're so thankful to everyone for their help and support this last couple months. We hope to be able to return the favor some day.

Amid all the problems, we still have much to be thankful for. We decided to turn a disaster into an opportunity by painting the kitchen and living room while the house was already torn apart. It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint will do. The house looks great now. As any homeowner knows, the to do list never goes away but we are blessed to have a comfortable place to live.

I was finally released from the Sunday School Presidency (I've been in Sunday School since 2002). I was released so I could take a new calling as a counselor in the Elder's Quorum presidency. It's a lot more work than Sunday School but I'm happy to serve wherever I'm needed.

Parker is doing great. He's walking now and when he's feeling well, he can go off the oxygen during the daytime. Now that he's strong enough to carry the IV backpack he has a lot more freedom. Now we have to watch him like a hawk to keep him from getting into everything. He's doing so well that his doctor wants to do another heart catheterization to see what progress we're making internally. Obviously this makes us incredibly nervous given how it went last time. So we're asking lots of questions and trying to get as much information as we can. We really want to make sure that the potential benefits of doing this justify the risk. Next time we hope to be more prepared. We'll try to schedule it during some down time at work, possibly in the summer, and see if we can have someone here to look after the kids in case we end up staying at the hospital again. Jen's Mom said she'd might be able to come out here when we do it. So we'll see how it goes. We're waiting for his doctor to get some feedback from some larger hospitals to see if there's any other advice they can offer before we make the decision.

We went to a PH support group meeting the other night. Parker's doctor was speaking at the event so we decided to go. We didn't really hear anything from him that we haven't heard before but we were able to meet some other parents and patients in the area. If nothing else, it was nice to meet some people who understand. The meeting was a a local seafood place and the Accredo company who supplies all of Parker's special medications paid for dinner. So we all had fun eating fried fish, shrimp, clams, etc.

Work is kind of crazy. With the bad economy, no one is buying anything and that means no sales tax revenue for the state. So North Carolina is broke which makes working for a state-funded entity a little precarious. I think everything will work out fine but it certainly makes for a stressful work environment. I'm grateful to have a job, though, so I'll gladly deal with the stress.

I think that's everything for us. Despite all the trials we're happy and doing well. Thanks again for all the phone calls and support! Now that Mom and Dad have a Wii, we're looking forward to more MarioKart races!

Jason

JOE AND AMY FAIL

A lot has changed for Joe and I in the last couple of months. We've been trying to get settled in our new home. We enjoy it a lot and enjoy the space and how quiet it is. We haven't decorated much yet. I've enclosed what we have done. I'm nervous to make holes in the walls for some reason. :) Eventually we hope to paint our bedroom and decorate it as well as some painting in the front room/kitchen area. It's amazing though how much you need when you own a house! We are hoping to invest in a snow blower by next winter as well as a 4 wheel drive vehicle. We live on the mountain side, so when it snows we have to be on top of shoveling. If it is bad enough, they always close the main rode to our subdivision and the only way to get up there is if you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Crazy!! Oh well, I guess its a fun excuse to get an SUV. :)

We enjoy being in Salt Lake now. Joe is very busy with his job, with Price Waterhouse Coopers, since it is busy season. He works from 8:30 a.m. to about 11:00 p.m. every day including Saturdays. Therefore, we haven't seen much of each other lately. But we knew this going into it. Hopefully after April things will slow down a bit.
I have started my job at Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem. It's definetely different in how it runs than I'm used to, but I'm becoming more comfortable. It is still an ER, therefore I see the same type of illnesses and injuries. I still miss Logan a lot and the friends we had there. I think this transition has been a lot easier for Joe. I really appreciate all of the support you have all given to us. It has been so nice to see all of you more often. I've enjoyed having lunch with Mom each week.
I am game to hang out whenever or go shopping! When I'm not working I have a lot of free time. I think I'm going to look into going back to school more seriously.

Also, Congratulations to Joe! He graduated with his Masters in Accounting this last December!! What a great accomplishment!!
We love you all and hope all is going well.
Love, Joe and Amy

CARRIE ROMNEY

Well in just the past month, things have changed a lot in my life. I moved out of Mindy and Chris's house. They were in tears when I left:) I moved into a townhouse in South Bountiful. I just have one roomate. The girl owns the house and I am just paying her rent. She does have a cat, and although I don't really like cats, I have realized that they are not as needy as dogs. I rarely know it is there. I also have accepted a new job which I start next week. It is a banker position with Wells Fargo. It was kind of funny, because I had been looking for a job for so long and then had two offers at the same time. The other one was with a small dietary supplement company. The position seemed to me more like the other marketing positions I have had in the past. The pay was about the same, so I decided to try something different and go with Wells Fargo. Hopefully it will work out well. I continue to teach private Spanish lessons. I just started with a new couple this week. I really enjoy teaching but it continues to be more difficult then I suspect. It is hard to keep them motivated so they will study on their own and also really be able to help them to learn to speak. So as they are learning Spanish, I am learning how to teach them Spanish. I also am working at Primary Children's Hospital as a volunteer interpreter. It is also more challenging then I anticipated, but I am slowing learning the "tricks of the trade" and expanding my medical vocabulary. Mindy and Amy, I may want to borrow some of your anatomy books because I don't even know what the doctor's are talking about in English, let alone interpret it into Spanish. I had a funny experience the other night. I was going around with another volunteer interpreter. She is from Mexico but grew up here. She works in an administrative role for IHC and is going to nursing school, so here medical terminology in both languages is a lot stronger than mine. But the other night we were asked to interpret for a Chaplin who offered to pray with the parent's of a very sick baby. The interpreter from Mexico started to interpret the prayer but was struggling because she didn't know religious terms in Spanish. So for the first time, I was telling her words to say instead of her telling me words to say. It was really funny, because I finally found a situation in which my religious terminology comes in handy. Afterwards, we were talking about it and both laughing and saying that I should have just interpreted the prayer. I told her that the first thing I learned how to do in Spanish was to pray. Carrie

GRANDPA & GRANDMA ROMNEY

We are really out of the habit of doing this now. I don’t have a clue where to start so I’m just going to start with Christmas.

It was really a strange year for us since Mindy and Amy both went to their in-laws. If we hadn’t gone to North Carolina in September we would have gone there for Christmas. But we needed to be home for Nanny and Carrie anyway. Carrie had come on Christmas Eve. We had planned on entertaining Carrie’s Venezuelan friends but they cancelled the last minute so we took Carrie and Nanny out to Olive Garden on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning we woke up to a terrible blizzard that didn’t stop until late afternoon. Craig had to dig out the truck in order to pick up Nanny—he didn’t dare try without 4-wheel drive. We didn’t have a big dinner or open presents on Christmas since we were going to do all of that as a family a few days later. We just lounged around and watched movies. I worked on a jigsaw puzzle. After the weather cleared, we all went to see the Marley movie. When we came out the blizzard had returned with a vengeance. Driving home was pretty scary.

The following Monday evening we all gathered for a traditional Christmas dinner and exchanged gifts. I really appreciate the beautiful pictures from all of you. Check out the attached photo of my wall arrangement. Also, Craig has included a picture of our newly decorated kitchen for Jen and Jason’s benefit. One of the highlights of the holidays was hearing from our former exchange students—I hope we never lose touch.

Bill and Joanne invited us to spend a weekend in January with them at their big cabin just outside Zion’s National Park. It is a beautiful place they have built which they rent out as a vacation home. Nanny went with us and we were joined by Deidre and Joanne’s sister, Linda. We enjoyed a relaxing couple of days there. It would be a great place for a family reunion if we ever have that opportunity.

I took a day off work today to take Nanny in for surgery on her legs. She’s had problems with them for a long time so she has decided to have vein surgery done. It’s an out-patient procedure which I hope will go smoothly, but at Nanny’s age I worry. She will be 88 in March and is in amazingly good health both mentally and physically for which we are very grateful.

Other than that, we are just grateful to have our jobs and our health. The two dogs are good company and we look forward to any opportunity to spend time with family. We love you all!

Chris & Mindy Rosqvist

Sorry everyone that we have apparently missed adding to the newsletter the last few months. We have been a little distracted. This is my favorite time of the year! I love fall! Probably because my birthday is in October and so is our favorite holiday- HALLOWEEN!! I definitely did not go light with the decorations this year either. I, with Carrie's help, decorated my entry and front room like a spooky castle or dungeon. I must say that it turned out great! Next year I need to add to the outside decor. We were able to go to California the first part of October to help with and experience Chris's friends haunted house. It was amazing for his first year going that big!! We had a great time! And for my birthday, we went to a haunted house here in Salt Lake. We just can't get enough!I turned 30 this year so a few friends and I from highschool who all turn thirty in the next few months went to Vegas for a weekend and had a blast!! We went kayaking and to the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur. It was great to have a girls weekend. Other than all of the fun, we have just been busy with work. Chris has had to deal with all the people calling freaking out about their accounts and money due to the economy so he hasn't liked it too much lately. But he is just lucky to have a job and great benefits! We both are actually. I have recently had the opportunity of becoming a charge nurse on my floor. It has really made work different for me. Im not sure what I think about it yet, but Im just glad that I don't have to be in charge every shift!! I can still be a regular nurse and be back in my comfort zone! But it will be a good learning experience for me. Here are some pics of our awsome Halloween house!

Carrie Romney

Living with Mindy and Chris definitely livened up Halloween for me this year. Towards the beginning of October, I helped Mindy decorate her front room to look like a castle. It looks really cool, but it was a little bit of a project. On Mindy's birthday we went to a haunted house. I couldn't remember the last time I had gone to a haunted house. Probably sometime in high school. It was pretty fun. On Halloween night, I went to a party with some friends at a cabin in Millcreek Canyon. I went to the same party last year and had a lot more fun then. I think because I knew more people there last year. But the night before I went, I asked Chris and Mindy if they had any costume ideas, and they proceeded to list about 6-8 costumes that they had. That sure made it easy on me. Towards the end of September and the beginning of October, I went on some hikes in the canyons to see the leaves. Here are some pictures. The last time I went was right before the first snow fall and the leaves were beautiful, but for some reason those pictures didn't save to my camera:( I have recently started a couple new projects. I have started teaching private Spanish lessons. I first started with a friend of mine and I haven't been charging her. At first she seemed really excited to learn but she hasn't been very studious so she is not progressing very quickly. Starting next week, I have my first paying students. They seem pretty excited to learn. They were in my class at the language academy and after class one night they asked me if I would be interested in teaching them privately. Since I have been teaching at the school, I have come up with some ideas for more effective ways to teach a foreign language; so I am excited to test my ideas out and see if they really work. I also have been trying to teach myself to transpose music on the piano. I took a class in college where I first learned about transposing music. But haven't done much with it since then. During the past few years, I have done a little composing on the piano. My new goal is to put a key change in the next piece I arrange. Transposing seems to be more mental than anything. When I get done practicing, my brain hurts.