We're Still Here!

 I know I've been a total slacker when it comes to blogging. And it's not that we haven't had things to blog about...it's just that I've allowed other things to take priority, and neglected this form of record-keeping.

Just a brief update (no pictures yet) on the past year:

• I've finished basic chemistry, anatomy and physiology (two semesters worth), microbiology, and genetics! I still need abnormal psychology, statistics, three more chemistry classes and a biochemistry class as pre-reqs, but I'm trying to find the best place to take them online (it's not easy to find decent online chemistry classes...). I will be doing both the abnormal psych and the statistics this fall.
  
• I felt prompted to switch my educational goals from nursing to Physician's Assistant. It has fewer pre-reqs, and I can go straight for a Master's Degree instead of having to get a second Bachelor's Degree first (saving lots of time and money). Now I just have to finish pre-reqs and get accepted into the incredibly competitive program... (Prayers welcome!)
• We have had a big battle with Ryan's disability insurance company. They cancelled his insurance because they felt he should be able to work. Sadly, the only things they considered in their assessment were his physical abilities (he can sit in an office chair for 8 hours a day)... They blatantly ignored his mental and emotional abilities. He had to undergo more testing and his psychologist wrote up a huge report and I wrote up a 6-page letter to submit to the insurance company, and they finally granted our appeal. Thank goodness! But it has taken a huge toll on Ryan's mental state. :(
• We have welcomed a new member into our family! It's a difficult situation to describe, because it's not traditional in any sense -- Julia (pronounced the Spanish way /hoo/lee/uh/) is a dual citizen of Mexico and the United States. She is attending high school here in American Falls, but she is not a foreign exchange student. We have not legally adopted her, nor are we fostering her. But we feel that she is definitely a part of our family, and we are so happy she will be living with us for the next 2+ years. 💜 She was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in February. We had her mother over to visit for a week in June, and we absolutely adore Julia's whole family. Julia has been with us since December, and she really enjoyed her first winter in Idaho with lots of snow! :)
• Nicole will be a Senior this year!!! How did that happen?! She is working really hard on her senior project this summer as a volunteer at the zoo. :)
• Becca finished a year of tumbling and is excited to start the next one -- she's looking forward to being able to do back handsprings.
• Our whole family was called to be in the Spanish Ward in our church community, so we are all working diligently to learn Spanish. :) I've already been asked to substitute teach two lessons (Relief Society and Adult Sunday School), for which I have to pre-write all of my comments and questions in Spanish so that I can read them to the class (I'm not fluent enough yet to just speak what I want to say).
  

Hopefully I'll get a little better at posting updates, but I can't guarantee anything. :) 

Drop a comment if you're interested in our updates. ;) It may motivate me to write more frequently. ;)