Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Flake Family Christmas Letter 2016

We decided to send out Christmas letters this year. Since moving, we've distanced ourselves from a lot of family and good friends and have been homesick off and on. It's sometimes surreal that this is our family. The Jayze and Sarah Flake family. We established a home in Idaho, but since Jayze graduated, we've established homes in Michigan and Kansas as well. I guess home really is where your family is, and our family includes Alma, Aidan, and Kimball. So I guess a part of our home is still in Arizona. It always will since Alma's there.

Anyway, since I'm sure I missed a few people here and there in the Christmas hustle and bustle, here's our 2016 Christmas card/letter. 2016 was a good year for us - full of up and downs, lots of growth and change, and many beautiful memories sealed away to make room for more in 2017.


Dear Family and Friends,

This year has been a wild ride! We have completed another bachelor's degree, added another sweet baby to our family, survived two moves, been hired on to a new job, and celebrated four years of marriage. We are so thankful for the many, many friends and family members who helped us in all of those events (and more). We are also so thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. Our faith and trust in Them have grown; They have truly led us step-by-step to where we are now.

Jayze: In April, Jayze graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho with his bachelor's degree in Healthcare Administration and a minor in Accounting. A couple of months later, he officially got hired on as an Operations Lead at a company called Accretive Health. We put most of our things in storage and moved with just the essentials to Detroit, Michigan for a 10-week training program. There, we lived in a hotel until we got the word at the end of training that we would be relocated to Wichita, KS. Jayze now helps a hospital, Via Christi, with their revenue cycle. It's been a big learning curve, but he enjoys his job and is getting more familiar with his responsibilities.

He was also recently called as the Youth Sunday School teacher. Since there aren't very many youth in our ward, he teaches all of the youth, 12-18 years old. It's definitely different than what he's used to, but he loves teaching and learning from them. 

Sarah: Since graduating in April 2015, Sarah has had the wonderful opportunity to stay at home, first with just Aidan and now with him and Kimball. She learns from them every day, and each evening she loves telling stories of the cute things they did during the day to Jayze when he gets home from work. She also enjoys updating family and friends about our life through her blog.

She was recently called as the 1st Counselor in the Young Women Presidency. She is getting to know the girls better, and loves both serving them and serving with them. 

Alma: We finally put in Alma's headstone on January 1, 2016. It was a great way to start the new year. On August 29, we celebrated his third birthday. He teaches us every day to keep an eternal perspective and to serve others. We are so grateful for him. 

Aidan: Aidan turned two years old (!) on September 25. It was so cute watching him blow out his two birthday candles. He is constantly learning new words, and we're able to understand him better every day. He is obsessed with cars and trucks; is always ecstatic to go to the zoo, play outside, and attend nursery; and loves watching the trains when we drive by them (“choo-choo!”). He helps his mom out so much during the day and is a fun big brother to Kimball. 

Kimball: Kimball was born on May 10. He has already brought so much joy and love to our family. At seven months old, Kimball has already been to 10 states, lived in three of them, and has been on so many adventures with his family. He loves watching Aidan play, chewing on anything he can get his hands on (can you believe it? Eight teeth!), and is such a smiley, cuddly baby.  He has been a wonderful addition to our family.

We hope this letter finds all of you happy and well and that you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love, 

Jayze, Sarah, and the boys



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