First of all, we thought our Christmas was going to be slim pickings due to our financial stress, but we were very blessed by ward members, anonymous cards in the mail and family members alike showering us with gifts, money and gift cards. We are so grateful to have the wonderful family & friends that we have. We love you all!!! Hopefully 2011 will be a much more prosperous year for our family.
Speaking of prosperity, we have recently and will again this Summer add to our family. Our neighbor found 4 abandoned puppies and brought them home. We had been wanting another dog so ours would have a friend, so we are now the proud owners of a cute female black lab-mix puppy (approx. 3 months old) that we named Shelby. She is already growing fast & we know she’ll be bigger than our other dog (Addie) soon, just simply by looking at the size of her paws. She’s going to be a big girl!
Near the end of June we will welcome our newest little family member. The ultrasound at 13 weeks looked like a GIRL!!! We are still being cautious about the sex because it was early, but I saw what I saw, and saw no signs of a boy. We have another ultrasound scheduled next week and should be able to confirm. I am now almost 19 weeks and am feeling great! Hopefully this will be the little girl we’ve hoped & prayed for.
It looks like we’re finally turning the corner into some success with Rhett’s job. He is the recruiting manager at his agency, and his boss has had nothing but the best things to say about him. He’s had better luck with making sales lately and also has about 8 agents under him now. That means when they make sales, he makes money also. He will have been with the company for a year as of March 1st, which also means he’ll start making residual income from the policy renewals. Can’t wait for that! Rhett celebrated his 38th birthday on January 24th. He doesn’t look or feel a day older however…
As for me, I’ve officially been Primary President for over a year now. It has been a great year and I have a wonderful presidency that helps & teaches me all the time. I feel so grateful for them and all they do. I am getting used to some changes (with the new handbook), but overall things are going great, and I can’t complain. I have a great calling! We now have 90+ kids in our Primary (including 14 new Sunbeams) with 90-95% attending regularly, which basically means we have a lot of fun with a lot of kids! I was surprised this past Sunday however, when we had Stake Conference and they told me they were taking my Secretary! Mindy has been my right hand, and tends to keep my mind on track more than not. I will definitely miss her and all the help she has given us (especially me!). Good luck Min on your new Stake Primary Secretary calling!
Austin and Logan started off the year with a bout of Bronchitis. Austin got to the point that we were fearing pneumonia, but with a couple of weeks of antibiotics and breathing treatments in them, they are both doing much better. They continue to get good grades in school (all A’s as of the last report cards) and enjoy learning. Austin is still a basketball fanatic and Logan loves to build things and draw.
Carson is a big helper around the house, wanting to help with dishes, laundry, cleaning bathrooms and especially mopping the floor. He keeps me on my toes with his energy. Both him and Jackson are involved in 2 different playgroup swaps, which leaves me childless for approximately 6 hours each week…much needed time that I use for errands, grocery shopping, and relaxing in a quiet house.
Something fun that we were able to do (one of Rhett’s birthday gifts) was attend “Monster Jam” for the 2nd year in a row. We again had so much fun, and it was something to remember. It was definitely a wet night however, as we were dodging raindrops, jumping puddles and small rivers while walking to and from the Alamodome. All in all it was a memorable night!
SNOW in San Antonio??? Yes! We have lived here nearly 6 years and the boys finally saw their first Texas snow! On Friday, February 4th we woke up to a sheet of ice covered with a thin layer of snow. Of course the boys had to go straight outside and touch it first (to make sure it was real), then proceeded to play in it off and on all day long. No snowmen were built, but there were some snow angels made in the driveway. The schools were closed (along with most of the freeways) and we just enjoyed a fun SNOW DAY!!!
Well, I guess that’s all for this time. We hope you all have a prosperous year, and that we can see more of you this year. We love you all!
Love – Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson, Jackson and Baby Zimmerman
