Merry Christmas!

Knapp Family: 2013

            This year has been a monumental year for our family. We are grateful for our health and happiness as we’ve embraced so many changes in our lives. Here are a few highlights from the year:

§  Of course, first off, the biggest ‘event’ of the year was welcoming William Blair Knapp into the world in March. That little boy has stolen our hearts. He is such a bright and happy boy. He is an observer. He likes to see how things work, and watch things being done. Jumping is one of his loves, along with cuddling, watching cars drive by, being outside for any reason, waving and feeding himself. He is a Mama’s Boy, which his mama loves. Daddy enjoys involving his little man with work outside.

§  I (Tressia) enjoyed working as an aide to a Speech-Language Pathologist for a few months. Since having Will, I have enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom. I still work from home a little bit as a teaching assistant for online SLP classes at Utah State. I love taking care of Will and making our home a happy place to be.

§  Hiram successfully completed 2 more semesters of school, and will graduate in May! Yay for Hiram! Then it is on to grad school.

§  Hiram continues to work as an engineering assistant for the Space Dynamics Lab, a research facility at Utah State. He enjoys his work and the experience he is gaining there.

§  June took us to sunny California for a visit with grandparents in San Diego. Will did well on the flight and he loved all of the attention. Hiram’s mom came with us and we learned that traveling with a grandma is the best. We went on multiple dates and even slept in.

§  I (Tressia) ran in the Top of Utah Half Marathon in August. I’ve never been much of a runner before now, so this was new territory and I loved it. There will be more races in my future.

§  Hiram was called to be the Scoutmaster in our ward. This means lots of camping trips, which happens to be the perfect activity for a busy engineering student who spends a lot of his time studying. He loves spending time with the boys, and I love that camping gear is a really easy gift to give for all holidays.

§  For the majority of the year we had 3 siblings on missions! Celine just got back from Korea, Jill left for Norway and Royal is now in Ukraine. We have felt direct blessings of having full-time missionaries in our family.

We love being a family. We are so happy to be together. We know that “happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” One of our favorite times of each day is when we put Will to bed. One of us rocks him, and we sing to him. “Come Thou Fount”, “Silent Night”, and “Nearer, My God, to Thee” are some of our favorites, and they always bring a peaceful Spirit into our home. At this time of year especially, we are so grateful for peace, made possible by the Prince of Peace. We hope you all feel that same peace, and wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Love,

The Knapp Family: Hiram, Tressia and Will

Headed out to shovel snow.

And this is how Hiram does the dishes. Very efficient.

Opening our box of books from Mom and Dad! Will had a blast. And we got some great books!

Thanks for my new favorite toy Uncle Brandon and Aunt Brittany! 

My bright-eyed boy.