Seasons Greetings: 2008 Forstrom Family Update

Oh, where to start? I mean we could we could rattle off a list of our favorite things, we could wax poetic and break into song (maybe elf ourselves), but we'll spare you all that. The reality is that 2008 has been an eventful year--extremely fun in one sense and bittersweet in another--one full of changes.

We began the year business as usual and then in April our lives went from 0-60 in no time--we mean complete comfort zone jerk. Dave made a huge career change and left the benefits of partnership in his PR firm to uproot the family and move 2700 miles away--right coast to left coast--and begin a new journey doing PR for Microsoft.

And it happened so fast. One day, Dave received a call from Microsoft, a couple weeks later he was interviewing across the country, less than a month later he had moved in advance of our family, and less than two months later, we had turned our backs on everything we had grown to love and know for the past five years to begin a new chapter in our lives.

Has it been easy...leaving friends, school, sports, friends, Church callings, the normal routine, our home and neighbors, friends (you get the picture)? No. Will it be worth it? You bet. We've been here before, minus a couple kids, and it takes time...but soon enough, we'll find that sweet spot, that comfort zone.

So let's recap 2008, starting with our blessings. We now live closer to our families (first time in a long time). The kids got to spend a lot of time with the Smarts this past summer in Boise (okay, to be honest, we basically left Dave on his own for a couple months) and they've already seen the Forstroms. Yes, we're looking forward to more extended family time in the coming years.

We were able to purchase a great home just 10 minutes away from Dave's work (which in this traffic out here, less commute not only means happier husband, but also happier wife). And to complement that, in this crazy down economy, we were actually able to get a buyer for our home in VA in less than 4 weeks. We've also made some really wonderful friends (as have the kids) that have made the transition much easier--that's no discount to our VA friends (we'll always miss you guys).

And Dave has a great job, with a great company, and great colleagues that he works with--so it's a real stable opportunity with a lot of potential.

How about 2008 highlights? After a couple months without a ward home, Caleb was baptized (a defining moment for him, and a sweet experience for all of us). All three older boys played Little League this summer and Dave managed Gavin's team and helped coach Caleb's and Breckin's (that will never happen again). But baseball was fun as always--hot summer days, Breckin getting his first hit, Caleb crushing the ball, and Gavin throwing his no-hitters.

Trenton started to walk and talk earlier this year, and has moved to full on sprint. He and Keaton get the award for being the best troopers, having to put up with getting drug around from game to game, home to school, school to home, store to store. Talk about two easy kids to manage though.

All three of the older boys managed a not so easy transition into school here, and they're all doing so well (very high praises in last month's parent-teacher conferences). Gavin and Breckin just started basketball; Caleb decided to take a break. It's really great to see how much Gavin has improved from his first season of ball last Spring--he's running the point now. And Breckin...well, let's just say there's a reason why we decide not to play T-ball.

Sierra made it back to VA earlier this month for her annual girl's weekend (they did NYC again).

Oh, and get this...as punishment for not sticking it out in Scouts when he was younger, Dave is now running Varsity Scouts for our ward here (talk about getting jerked out of your comfort zone).

Anyways, this is enough for a post (just scroll down more for more posts on what's happened this past year). You'll see it's definitely been eventful, and it looks like 2009 is already shaping up to be more eventful (stay tuned for more on that in upcoming posts).

Happy Holidays!

Dave and Sierra