Being an Aunt

When I met my husband, his first neice had just been born the month before. His computer desktop at school was covered in pictures of a round-faced, blonde cutie with the most scrumptious cheeks you ever saw! :D I didn't get to be an aunt to my own siblings' kids until I was already a Mom, but there is just something about being an Aunt! It's way more than having someone else to hand them off to when they have a stinky diaper. :D I just love building those relationships and working on the forgetfulness that happens when I don't get to see them very often.

It's never easy for any relationship to be apart from each other. Things get lost... forgotten... have to built up every time you do get to reconnect. For me, It's important to me that when my neices and nephews think of "Aunt Diana" they think of someone who is REALLY happy to see them and they know that I love them. I LOVE talking on the phone to them even if all they can say is repetition of the sibling of mine in the background. :D I love nothing more than a tiny voice saying "Hi, Aunt Di-nana" or "I-dana" or "Ji-tana." :D

Part of the joy I get from being an Aunt surely stems from the joy I get from being a sister. It's so fun to hear about their accomplishments from my sisters and brother (though hers is more of a blind commentary at the mo) :D and sisters-in-law and yes, even brothers-in-law. It is fun to comiserate and compare notes and just share the joy of raising children together. I love guessing which cousins will be the closest friends... by age, by personality, by name... how do their names sound together when you're looking for the two of them? :D We don't get to see all of our cousins all of the time, but we talk about them and to them and say their names often enough that they are not strangers.

There is something wonderful about being an Aunt! :D

Happy New Year! (I promise, I tried to come up with a more interesting title!)

This is for all of you who read blogs instead of your email. :D (And also so I have a record of it for future reference.) If you don't get this in your email, it means I don't have your email address, PLEASE get in touch with me if you don't want to miss other equally stimulating reading experiences as the following. :D

Hi, Everyone!

My plan was always to save this letter until after the holidays. I simply chose not to stress about it. :) These days, I better choose or it gets chosen for me! We have just been so blessed this past year and you, receiving this letter, are so much a part of that! When I was a kid, we made a couple of really big moves and it always felt, to me, like I was leaving this huge chunk of my heart wherever I left. I tried so hard to keep in touch with people with quite a great degree of success, in some cases! ;) This year Facebook has brought me so many familiar faces right to my computer! I get such an incredible thrill every time I find someone I was friends with when I was younger! I just love being connected! I guess I’m just as cheesy as I ever was… I don’t know how to be any other way! :D

Our move from Tooele was very emotional. We had planned on retiring there! :) We miss our family and friends dearly and try to get out there whenever we can. If you sent us a Christmas card and it came back to you, I am infinitely sorry! We moved here to American Fork in the spring and you didn’t know my address… it’s okay! I’m a guilt-free zone! I would so love a copy of your Christmas letter anyway! ;) No stress, no guilt! That’s just the kind of friend I am… my gift to you! ;)

Geoff was driving about 3 hours every day to get to and from work. You thought YOUR blood pressure rose with the gas prices! He can now ride his bike when it’s not cold and gas prices went so far down that we might actually get some of that pesky debt paid off! He loves his job as a Web Programmer for an awesome company that was just bought out by HP. They used to be called LogoWorks, but they just changed their name to Market Splash. He also does a lot of freelance work on the side and between his programming skillz and his buddy’s graphic design skillz, they’ve put together some really awesome stuff. :) We are loving our new house and Geoff especially loves that the projects he has done so far were his own idea and not because something broke or wasn’t done right, etc. Of course, being us, most of our first projects had to do with a lot of overgrown, unruly plants in the yard! :D

I have felt such a rise in my spirits since being here. Having my husband back during waking hours is awesome!! Our kids are thriving and growing and with self-sufficiency comes time for me to do things I love, too. If you can’t find me, check the sewing room! I have my own room, now and I put it to great use. I have started sewing my wheelchair coats again and it is hard to describe the joy I feel at knowing that something I made is snuggling a child in a wheelchair somewhere. I still sew a ton for my family and for gifts and everything, too. It’s just my “thing.” :D We are active in our Church and I am slowly making friends here, too. We have had more opportunity to visit with family and we love having people over! If you’re nearby and the lights are on, come on in! :D

Rebecca is about to turn 9, which is a miracle all its own. We are so glad to have such a precious child in our midst and we love taking care of her and basking in her glow. :D We have struggled a lot with increased seizures as the school year started, but we have finally settled on a medication combination that seems to work for us. Hallelujah for that! :D Becca’s new school is excellent and with 4 nurses on staff, my heart has been much more at ease while she is away from me during the school day. :) She LOVES school! She’s a very happy and content little girl.

Emily is 6 and loves First Grade more than almost anything! She told me a little while ago that she wishes she could go to school on Saturdays too and just have Sundays off! I should have recorded that for her and played it back when she’s older. :D Emily is a voracious reader and literally reads anything she can get her hands on. We finally started letting her read with a reading light at night in bed because she just couldn’t put anything down! :D She’s her mother’s daughter, for certain.

Gracie is 4 and I get nervous if I don’t know where she is… you know what I mean. I have this little itch in the back of my mind whenever it has been too quiet and it doesn’t stop until I’ve found her. :D She is creative, like her sister and quite sneaky. We told her the other day that she will get to go to school when the leaves start falling off the trees this year and she asked, “Will the leaves start falling off tomorrow?” :D Gracie is very strong willed and I believe she will never leave the straight and narrow path once she decides it’s HER idea to stay upon it! :D

Landon is the first brave boy to join our family. He just passed the 18 month mark and is the spitting image of his Daddy. We call him “mini-Geoff” and are suckers for his adorable grin and the way he laughs when he gets excited. He is not nearly the talker that his sisters were, and we’re enjoying that, too! :D He calls both of his parents “Mama” even though he undoubtedly knows the difference. :) He also has a career in mountaineering… add that to his insatiable appetite and you can usually find him sitting on the kitchen table investigating whatever was left there from the last meal. His favorites are his sisters’ forgotten cups of half drunk kool aid! :D

We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends… even if you are our family, we are so grateful to count you among our friends. Words cannot express the gratitude we feel towards you, our support network, for getting us through the really rough times. Thanks for loving us the way we are! We love you right back!! And now that you know where we are, please don’t hesitate to write us back! Following is a list of every possible way to get a hold of us since we know your address books will need updating and we look forward to hearing from you so that we can update ours, too! May the light of Christ be in your heart always and may He always watch over you and bless you!

Your friends always,

The Sagers