Our Christmas Card

Every Second Counts!  This is not only the theme for our family reunion this year, it has always been Paul's personal theme for his life!  To him, it means to make the most of your opportunities...& we have been blessed with many opportunities!

In business - Paul's hard work gave him the opportunity to rub elbows with some of the top agents across the country this year.  He was invited to several study groups, special meetings & awards dinners & trips all over the USA & then some; Maui, San Francisco, Marina Del Rey, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Hollywood, Del Mar/San Diego, Seattle...in addition to a Mediterranean Cruise (Spain, France, Monaco, & Italy), AND a cruise from Shanghai to Tokyo (China, Korea, & Japan).  It has been difficult to meet his business goals when they keep sending him out of the office for a "pat on the back."  Through his business, we have both had the opportunity to learn & explore/appreciate the world around us!

In service - We have certainly felt the blessings of our Heavenly Father as Paul has had the opportunity to serve as the Bishop of the Rescue Ward.  It is comforting to see the Lord's hand in the lives of those who strive to do what's right & exercise their faith.  Paul had an opportunity to attend a wonderful Bishop's training with Elder Dallin H. Oaks, one of our apostles.  He learned a lot & came away with a strengthened testimony of the Gospel.  Jenny's calling with the Young Women changed mid-year from 1st Counselor (responsible for mid-week activities) to Mia Maid Advisor (responsible for teaching the 14 & 15 year old girls each Sunday).  She loves the new "Come Follow Me" curriculum & still gets to help with mid-week activities.  She also loves the girls - they are so warm & nice to her.

In family - we try to take every opportunity we can to be with family.  This is often a challenge because of our schedule, our numbers, & being spread out all over the western states.  We try to visit our out-of-towners when we can & we take the opportunity to "swing by" for a quick visit if we are traveling near any of the kids.  We have had opportunities to spend time with our parents; we met in Maui for a little Middleton reunion with Paul's parents, his sister, & her husband & we met Jenny's brothers in Bakersfield to celebrate her mom's 80th birthday.  We try to take the opportunity to attend the local kids sporting events because they are all so busy with their activities as well...but with family, we feel it is important to make the opportunity to get together.  One of our favorite family events is our annual family reunion.  We were fortunate to have 45/46 family members join us this year.

In life - we are given opportunities everyday & if we don't take advantage of those moments, we will lose them & never get them back.  So we will continue to pack it in & seize every opportunity we've been given because life is good & Every Second Counts!

I try to keep up with "every second" on the blog @ theparentals.blogspot.com, click on over to see the latest!

Where are they now?

ROCHELLE, Brent, & da Boyz live in Folsom, CA. Trevor 13, Ethan 11, Cade 8, & Carson 5.  In theory, Rochelle gets to be a stay at home mom while in reality, she is a taxi driver for her very busy athletes, getting them from one sporting event to the next! Brent keeps them all in sneakers as a State Farm Agent.

GINA, Christian, & family live in Valencia, CA.  Luke 11, Alana 8, Donovan 4, & Cassandra 18 mo.  Gina stays hopping with her three school age kids at three different schools while Christian oversees a lot of projects in his construction business.

BEN & Dara (aka BENARA) live in San Jose, CA.  Ben is currently training with a mentor learning how to hard wire networking systems for major corporations like Cisco & Dara is a supervisor at Family EyeCare Center.

KYLE, Amy, & family have moved to Folsom, CA.  Adia almost 15, Avery 10, Kenyon almost 9, Adison 7, & Kaden 5.  Kyle stays busy at his State Farm Agency while Amy home schools all the kids & teaches in their Classical Education Coop group.

JILL, Kiff, & family are in Port Orchard, WA.  Macy 7, Penelope 5, Roman 3, & Jack 18 mo.  Jill enjoys being a stay at home mom & dabbles in photography.  Dr Kiff stays busy at their Bremerton Physical Therapy Clinic.

CINDI & the Midgets are in Mesa, AZ.  Cori 9, Jake 7, Jason 6, Lucie 5.  Cindi is adjusting to being a single mom.  She works part time at a property management company & keeps her clients looking great as their hair stylist.

LEAH, Rick, & family live in Lehi, UT.  Keira 5, Lexi 4, & Cooper 1.  Leah is balancing home & work, teaching part time at the girls' school.  Rick is a sales manager at Vivint Home Security Systems.

NICOLE lives in Sacramento, CA & works at Paul Mitchell the School.  She uses her enthusiasm & creativity to motivate her students for the different promotional projects she's responsible for.

TERRI, Ben, & family live in Saratoga Springs, UT.  Olivia 5, Jude 2, & our newest grandson, Memphis Jeffrey Horner almost 3 months.  Terri is adjusting to a new baby & enjoys doing hair for her regular clients.  Ben works for ADP Advanced Medical in their software sales & will be finished with school in January.

TY & Christi have moved to Boise, ID.  Ty graduated from BYU-I & took a job as the Media & PR Coordinator for the Idaho Stampede, a D league basketball team that feeds into the Portland Trailblazers.  Christi works at a Montessori preschool.