Getting back into the swing of things...

I have received a lot of promptings lately to continue our family history. It always seems that life gets so busy, and there are MANY things (good and bad) to fill our time. I however don't want to forget this sweet time of life, and these wonderful moments that fill our lives every day!!!

Since I last blogged (a year and a half ago)... a LOT of things about our family have changed.

*Sterling got accepted into Pharmacy school (Dec. 2012)
*Sterling's Mom and Dad received their mission call to Madrid Spain (Jan. 2013)
*We found out that we were pregnant with a sweet little boy (Feb. 2013)
*I took 5 National Boards for Dental Hygiene & by prayers, fasting & hard work, passed them all. (Jan-March 2013)
*We announced our exciting baby news to our families Mothers Day (May 2013)
*I graduated from Dixie State with my AAS in Dental Hygiene, and became a RDH (May 2013)
*Sterling's sister Carly and her 5 kids moved to St. George (June 2013)
*Sterling's parent's postponed their mission to help Carly (June 2013)
*We moved from St. George to Downtown Salt Lake City (July 2013)
*Sterling started his first year of Pharmacy School & had his White Coat Ceremony (Aug. 2013)
*Sterling got a wonderful job working at Smiths Pharmacy, as a Pharmacy Intern (Aug. 2013)
*Sterling turned 25 (Aug. 2013)
*I turned 26 (Sept. 2013)
*Sterling was called to be the Sunday School President in our ward
*I got called to be the 2nd Counselor in the Relief Society Presidency
*WE ADDED THE GREATEST BLESSING TO OUR LIFE... (he was born a month early) and named him Ryan Sterling Coons (Oct. 2013)
*We had our first Halloween with a child (Oct. 2013)
*So many family members and friends came to help and visit us after Ryan was born (Nov. 2013)
*Thanksgiving was spent in St. George with Family (Nov. 2013)
*Ryan was given a name and beautiful blessing by Sterling, the first Sunday in Dec. (Dec. 2013)
*My Sister McKenzie got her mission call (Philadelphia PA)
*We were blessed enough to go back to St. George for Christmas, and spend the Holiday with our family! (Dec. 2013)
*THAT PRETTY MUCH SUMS UP OUR INCREDIBLE 2013 YEAR... IN A NUTSHELL!

2014 was great to us too!!! It has been a year filled with continuing changes, blessings, hardships, and adjustments to our lives... but we can honestly say, we've never been happier. Each stage of our life seems to get crazier, harder, yet all together... SO MUCH BETTER! Some key moments from our 2014 thus far include:

*Adjusting to our new life as parents... less sleep, more worry, WAY more excitement, learning more what unconditional love is, being so proud at little accomplishments and milestones... (Jan-Feb 2014)
*I went to St. George for McKenzie's temple endowment (Feb. 2014)
*McKenzie left on her mission (April 2014)
*We celebrated our first Easter with Ryan in St. George, and spend time with family (April 2014)
*Ryan had a traumatic suffocation incident & rushed to Primary Children's Hospital (May 2014)
*Sterling FINISHED HIS FIRST YEAR OF PHARMACY SCHOOL (May 2014)
*Sterling started a 6 week Pharmacy Rotation in St. George (at Stapley's, and Dixie Regional MC) (June 2014)
*We moved to St. George for the Summer (living with Sterling's parents) (June-July 2014)
*We found out that we were PREGNANT with our second little miracle. (June 2014)
*Moved back to SLC (July 2014)
*Spent almost the ENTIRE month of August as a family, and went on outings almost daily!!! We soaked up every minute of dad's "free time" off of school... the month of August. (Aug. 2014)
*Sterling turned 26 (Aug. 2014)
*I turned 27 (Sept. 2014)
*Sterling got called to be the Stake Young Men's President (Sept. 2014)
*We announced "THE NEWS" of our expanding little family to our families (Oct. 2014)
*Ryan Celebrated his 1st Birthday (Oct. 2014)
*Halloween was celebrated by a Dr. Suess theme (Cat in the Hat, Thing 1, Thing 2) (Oct. 2014)
*We can't wait for Thanksgiving, to be able to spend time with our family in St. George (Nov. 2014)



In a short but sweet recap... this has been "our life" for the past year and a half! We have been blessed to have MANY visitors come up and see us while we've been here in SLC (especially Grandma and Grandpa Jolley) and love the time we get to spend with family and friends. One of our favorite "get-aways" is to go to St. George, and see our sweet family! 300 miles seems far at times... but then we take a step back and realize how blessed we are to be within driving distance of the people we love most. We are alive, healthy, well, and are smitten with our hectic, and happy life. Our family is growing, and I'm absolutely LOVING being outnumbered by these handsome, sweet, and energetic boys. We hope to be more consistent with updating this blog, so we have a history and memories to look back on!