Doman Family Christmas Letter 2008

Caryn told me to put this on the blog in December. I forgot but never the less decided to post it anyway.

Doman Family Christmas Letter 2008



Greetings to all! The Doman family sure hopes this letter arrives with all the holiday cheer you can handle. What a year 2008 has been and there are still a few weeks left….YIKES!

With all the discouraging news that we hear about everyday on the radio and TV it would be very easy for me to focus on the negative but our Father in Heaven has blessed the Doman family immensely this year and we are very grateful.

My car dealership unfortunately has suffered its demise and was closed this year. One of the hardest things to do is close down a business you put so much effort into. I was hoping for some federal bailout money but the White House never returned my phone calls. J I have worked very hard at keeping my chin up and taking it in stride and feel like I have handled it the best I can. These types of life events can take a large toll on someone and I am grateful for the Lords blessings. I now work for Logitech and am the territory manager for California. I enjoy the job and look forward to 2009. I am also going to school full time finishing my accounting degree. I was dreading going back but have actually found it to be really fun. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I enjoy the classes and the intellectual exercise.

Caryn has been right there by my side through the good and the bad and I love her for it. It is very hard for me to write about her because she is truly a gift to me. She can accomplish more in 1 week than most people can accomplish in a year. In fact just the other day I came home from work and asked her what she did that day and was just expecting the usual answers. To my amazement she rattled out so much stuff I was just waiting for her to end by saying to me “oh and I also found a cure for cancer” She is the most amazing person I have ever met. Caryn started her own business this year and now runs a Pre-school/Daycare out of our home. Our basement was almost finished and only had one room left to complete when we bought the home. It was a really big room and so we split it in half and made one side the Pre-school room and the other side is a craft room for her. It has been a huge challenge getting the business started but now that it is open and running she is having a lot of success. It definitely is not an easy job but she has taken it by the horns and has earned the respect of many parents who trust her to care for their children. Oh and not to leave one small detail out Caryn also gave birth to our lovely and beautiful 3rd child, Kynleigh.

Tyler has turned 12 this year and is now a deacon. He is such a cool, handsome young man it amazes me to think how quick time has passed by. He is in the 6th grade and is absolutely loved by his teacher. He is a natural leader and always attracts the other kids to him. He is always heading over to someone’s house to hang out that he just met at school. He loves to skateboard and play soccer. Tyler gets up every morning at 4:30 and does a paper route, 2 actually. I am very impressed with his work ethic. It is not easy to get up that early everyday of the week. He is once again on a competitive club soccer team and they are having an incredible season. They play indoor soccer now and Tyler is the goalie for the most part. He does a great job and in fact at a recent game only gave up a few goals to the #1 team in the league. (They ended up tying the team which I guess can be a moral victory) If he is not in goal he is playing as the mid fielder and also excels there. He can score with both is feet and his head which is so fun to watch. Of course Tyler loves to do well and will always look up to me and his mom whenever he does something well. He knows we are always proud of him and he likes to please us. I couldn't ask for a better young man to be in charge of raising. So far he has made it pretty easy.

Brieanna is now 10 and is a huge help around the house. She is a knock out just like her mom. I better start getting the gun cleaned so I can chase the boys off. So far she hasn’t discovered them yet (That much) I think that is around the corner soon. Brieanna also does the paper route but not everyday. Sleep to her is a valuable commodity and so she can only give up so much in a given week. Plus I personally like it when she gets all the sleep she needs. Her disposition seems to be a lot brighter. J Brieanna started soccer this year and did very well. In fact at her first game she scored a goal with her left foot. It was awesome to see her smile and have her team mates congratulate her. Both her and Tyler took advantage of their season passes to Lagoon (an amusement park near by) quite a bit this summer. Caryn also had one but since she was with child she couldn’t ride a lot of rides but did go to the water park there and work on her gorgeous tan! They love the park and I am glad they got to go a lot this year. OH and not to forget she got her braces off this year and is very happy about that. Brieanna is a wonderful child and we are so blessed to have her in our family. She is the peacemaker and has the most tender heart.

Kynleigh is our new addition! She was born on September 4th. She has come to our family 10 years after Brieanna and was a very big surprise to us all. Sometimes I am still in shock when I walk down the hall and go past her room. I see the crib and the piles of diapers and feel a cool chill go up my spine. I thought I was moving into the parenting years where I now need to find prom dresses and tuxedos. I thought wrong, I now need to find prom dresses and tuxedos and while I’m out I should pick up a crate of diapers J I am very grateful for my new little daughter though. Our whole family has been so blessed to have her in our home. She provides a spiritual light that illuminates our home during some of the most trying times our family has faced. We couldn’t ask for a better baby. She is very calm and seems to just take everything in stride. I am sure that will change but so far we have been pleased with that, probably Caryn more than anyone.

We have a roamer!

I hope this is not an indication of how Kynleigh will sleep when she is older. If it is, I hope the days that she is ever in our bed are very few. I put her to sleep horizontally in her crib all bundled up in this blanket you see in a ball. When I went in to check on her the next morning, this is where I found her. I am not so sure how she got there, but that is a lot of squirming. I say squirming because I have not actually seen her roll over yet, but that is not to say she doesn’t, we are working with her on the floor everyday trying to teach her that necessary skill.

Fiesta Biscuit Bake Dinner

I am always looking for great EASY new recipes to cook for my family. I was on our cousin’s blog one night (If you haven’t already, check out Cally’s link on my blog) and she was having this Fiesta Biscuit bake. It sounded tastier than what I was having that night and so she shared the recipe for me. (also on her blog)

I had to wait an agonizing week to try it out (I am on this great meal planning program for daycare and so I only shop once a week now, LOVE that. I am not running into Wal-Mart every other day for this or that item. If I don’t have it, it must wait till the next week. So far it has worked out great) Okay so I had to wait till the next week to try this fabulous dinner. I ended up having to drive to tumbling this week so I mixed it all up right before I left so that when I got home, I would just throw it in the oven (We were on a tight time schedule as it was the first night of American Idol, Time was of the essence)

So as I was leaving tumbling, I called Tyler to pre heat the oven for me.

My plan was working.

Little did I know, until I pulled out my new creation after the 40 minutes baking to check it and found the biscuits still doughy that I decided to turn UP the temperature on the oven and discovered that my sweet son (who I must have failed to teach him anything in the kitchen) only set the oven to 250 instead of 350.

So we had to WAIT... and wait... and wait... (another 30 minutes) to eat.

At this point American Idol has already started, Tyler was falling asleep in front of the fireplace, Brieanna was extremely tired, and grouchy ALWAYS comes with tired when it comes to Brieanna. (if you haven't gathered it yet, my plan was failing at this point)

During dinner we had everything from “this is delicious”, “fantastic” to “uh its okay” with a shrug of the shoulder. So I guess since we are talking about my family, that is not too bad. I thought it was beyond great and is a definite do-over; I am hoping that if the kids are slightly more coherent, they may enjoy it more and join the “other side”.

THANKS CALLY!!!

Snowboarding with Tyler and Chandler

This year for our Christmas party all the cousins draw names and it seems like Tyler and Chandler ALWAYS get each other's name. It is always a challenge to find the perfect gift, one that is not a toy and won't be discarded in a week or so after Christmas. As these boys get older their wants tend to get more and more expensive. So this year we came up with the idea to have Chandler over for a sleepover (they are always begging for these) and then take them snowboarding at Wolf Mountain. Tyler bought himself a season pass with his paper route money and has loved going up there. The boys had a blast from Thursday to Sunday playing non stop.

Saturday Troy drove the boys to Wolf Mountain with a backpack of soup, hot coca, and lots of snacks ready for a day full of noting but snow. I think they used all their energy as they could not even sit up to sleep on the ride home and when I saw them that evening they looked like a train had run them over. They had a blast and was sad when the weekend came to an end.

Kynleigh is 4 Months

It seems like yesterday that we brought Kynleigh home from the hospital. It is hard to imagine that it has been 4 months. She has changed so much and grown so much during this time. She is now just over 12 pounds. She loves to smile at anyone who will play with her. She will even get to laughing which makes every one around her goo and gah. She loves to look at her mobile in her crib and will lay there and just talk to herself forever. She loves to sit and tell you stories it is just too bad we can't understand her. Brieanna says that she rolled over in my bed the other day, of course I missed it and she hasn't done it since but I expect it will be soon that she is rolling over and showing off for everyone. She still gets the hick-ups ALL the time. She is such a pleasant little girl, hardly cries except when she is hungry or sleepy, but don't we all when when we are hungry??? I can proudly say that she has been sleeping through the nigh since she was 3 months old however the last week she has started waking up a couple of times. My thought is that she is going through a growth spurt and will go back to sleeping ALL night PLEASE!!!

We are having problems with her spitting up and we just changed her formula this week to a more sensitive kind and so far no change, so we hope she grows out of it soon.

So many people say that she looks like me and then so many people say she looks like Troy so I thought it would be fun to pull out some photos of when we were little and you can be the judge. (yes I had a TON of hair) These are probably us at about 6 months but close.

New Years 2009

This year we went to the Unsicker’s home for a New Years Eve party. Normally this party if for their kids and their friends. Last year Tyler and I went and there were easy 50-75 teenagers there. This year, 2 of their kids are on missions so it was very low key, mainly just some families in the neighborhood. This is a great family who really knows how to throw a party and have fun. They have a home that is amazingly fun for all ages. We started out playing bunko (a dice game for those who have never played it before like me) and then we went downstairs where they have a full size basket ball hoop and a full size wrestling mat. Instead of wrestling, in the circles we play 4 squares. There was a long line including several children and we had a blast. I even made it to be the “Queen” for a few rounds (that dream never lasts too long). We then went upstairs where they have 2 ping pong tables and some video games. We played around the world, or attempted with the kids.

After we rang in the New Year, Sundee made breakfast, waffles, hash browns and omelets with all the fixings. Soon after breakfast Tyler found a little spot upstairs and fell asleep and Brieanna looked like she was going to enter the spirit world. It was rough for them I think knowing that they had to get up in a couple of hours to do the paper route. Brad Unsicker offered to help (actually insisted) so at 2:30 he and Tyler went and did half the route and Troy and Brieanna did the other half. They breezed through it really fast. Now the kids want him to help everyday.

New Years Day we drove down to Wendy’s house to watch football. During this visit, Wendy did an Indian Ceremony to ward out all the bad spirits from 2008 and invite good luck for 2009. I think she was a little disappointed with her grand kids for not participating in this sacred ceremony. It was just too much fun to watch. The pipe you see is a piece of drift wood from Canada. That is a popular thing to do with the Doman's is to smoke drift wood.

Chief Indian Wendy

Chief with her Indian warriors

Video of ceremony

In the car driving to West Jordan we had a little lesson about goals and the importance of them. We each set a personal, spiritual, educational and family goal for 2009. I hope the kids will learn the importance of goal setting and learn to enjoy working toward goals in life and experience the felling of accomplishment when they reach their goals.

I hope that the New Year of 209 brings you much happiness and lots of great memories.