Christmas Day & Adventure 2013

Christmas Morning

We were lucky to have Grandpa Randy and Grandma Teresa stay with us for Christmas this year. 

By far, the most popular gift was the kid car that Santa brought.

  Opening presents....

Little People roller coaster from mommy and daddy.

Little People play house from mommy and daddy.

 Touch n' Feel book from Auntie Jenn and Uncle JJ

 Tangled doll from Jenn & JJ

 Stocking candy eater. :)

 Picnic toy from mommy and daddy.

 New boots from Grandma & Grandpa!

 And she seriously loves them!

 Target gift card toys from Grandma and Grandpa (Tent and Princess Cupcake Game)

 The feet kill me...lol.

 So grateful for the time we got to spend with Grandma!

The giant magnetic board Kory made me!!! I asked if he could do it and he pulled it off PERFECTLY. :) It measures 4 1/2 ft x 2 ft.

Gift from Auntie Hallie and Uncle Matt!

 Ainsley loves it too. :) At least 3 times a day she puts all the fairy stuff on. ;)

 More stocking digging that night.

Christmas Evening Adventure

About 7 o'clock that evening, we had quite the unexpected surprise.  I had just sat down from cleaning the kitchen and doing a load of laundry and we thought we would relax the rest of the evening (by watching a movie or something). Mom felt the need to go downstairs to use the bathroom first (we have no bathroom on the main floor).  As she proceeded to do so, we hear from the basement, "Randy! Kory! Hurry! And turn off the dishwasher!" 
We all briskly make our way downstairs to find not a simple leak- which is what we thought - but our window well full of water leaking into our basement.  The water was coming in as fast as a tub faucet if you cranked it all the way up and let it run!  Mom grabbed the first thing she could find to collect water, which were three empty totes Kory recently purchased.  The boys ran outside to figure out where the water was coming from while mom and I emptied totes after tote into the bathtub in hopes to keep the water from spreading all over the carpet. 
Well, it seemed like forever and the water wasn't letting up (in actuality it was probably about 20 minutes).  Kory and Dad could not figure out the source of the problem. The most they could do in the moment was sweep the water away from the window well. It helped calm the flow of the water a little bit but there was still a waterfall coming into our basement. Being Christmas DAY, Kory could not just go to Home Depot and buy a pump, but that still would've been a temporary solution. As a last resort, Kory posts on the Silverlake Community Facebook page asking if there was anyone with a pump we could borrow immediately.  Surprisingly, the previous home owner of our home saw it and texted our neighbor asking, "What's going on at the Dopp's?"  Our neighbor sent her husband over to find out.  From that, he went to inspect his own house and lo and behold, he finds the problem!  Our neighbor's sprinklers had burst and the water was flowing into our yard because of the natural slope. He immediately turned off his water (which should've been done if he winterized their sprinklers) and the water flow finally stopped.  Even though, the water was no longer pouring into the window well, we still have a quarter of water sitting in there draining into our basement.   It took about half hour or so for it to stop completely.  

Luckily, nothing was destroyed in the basement. The only thing we have to replace is the carpet padding, which we ripped out the same night, and the window that was flooded. All the toys were not harmed or touched by the water because they were surrounding the window instead of being in front of it. And the couch was not touched either. We were very fortunate as this accident could've been a disaster...

The kids obviously didn't understand the severity of the problem as they continued to play with their toys around us.

I think they realized that all the adults were so occupied with the flood that they took advantage of eating all their candy for dinner.  Needless to say, they did get away with it but I think Ainsley went to bed with a tummy ache because of it. :)  There were wrappers everywhere as evidence of this theory.  

We recognize 4 little miracles that happened that night:

1) Mom's urge to go to the bathroom.  Mom claims that she didn't HAVE to use the bathroom that instant, but for some reason she still felt like she needed to go downstairs and go anyway.  That's when we first discovered the problem.

2) The random totes.  If you know Kory, you know that he doesn't purchase any household item without consulting with me first. But for some random reason, while he was at home depot a couple days before, he felt the need to buy one anyway. Not one, but actually three! That's abnormal for that man. ;) But I'm very grateful he went with his instincts.

3) The previous owner being on Facebook.  Facebook literally saved the day!  I never thought I would say that, but it's true.  We are still new to the area and don't know a lot of people, so the only person we called that night was the Elder's Quorum President who lives down the street (and Kory is currently EQ Secretary so he was the most acquainted with him).  If the previous owner had not been on Facebook Christmas night and texted our neighbor, who knows how long we would've found the source of the problem.

4) Lastly, the miracle that Mom and Dad were staying with us for Christmas.  They didn't plan on coming out here for Christmas but we made them come anyway. ;)  If they were not here, we most likely would've been at my parent's house for the evening, had probably come home late and gone to bed, and may not have discovered the problem til the next day.  Truly, small tender mercies of the Lord are actually grand miracles in our eyes. :)

Christmas Card 2012

December 25^th, 2012

Dearest Friends and Family,

Kory

Kory continues to be successful at American Biotech Labs.  Despite the national recession, his company continues to be successful as they grew more than 20% in last year alone.  Kory was also able to go on his fun hunting trips. He caught his first “big game”, bringing home our first antelope!  His company also took everyone pheasant hunting and brought home 98 pheasants.  Come to find out, pheasant makes pretty good jerky. 

 
Shaylin

Shay’s accomplishments this year are surviving 9 months of pregnancy and successfully giving birth to our second baby girl without any medication. Her goal was to have a natural childbearing experience without an epidural and she felt the Savior’s love in helping her accomplish it.  The baby was born completely healthy and Shay has enjoyed a smoother recovery.  

As a couple, we splurged in our annual getaway this year where we spent it at The Anniversary Inn in Salt Lake City. We stayed in the “Swiss Family Robinson” room and got to experience sleeping in a tree house (with a flat screen TV). We also go to explore the skies of Park City, UT when Kory spoiled Shay with a Hot Air Balloon ride and then breakfast at The Eating Establishment.  We also broke down and finally bought a second car, since our callings and life in general kept pushing us different directions at the same time.    We are now the proud owners of a 2009 Honda Pilot and would recommend a Pilot to anyone.

We also got to enjoy California twice this year: once for our niece’s baptism and again for our traditional Thanksgiving trip. Both times we got to see Kory’s beloved family whom we don't get to enjoy as often as we would like.  We are blessed again to spend Christmas with them this year!

Sydney

Sydney T has been quite the active one. She turned 2 this September and has continued to learn new things almost daily.  She is a very bright 2-year old and talks extremely well for her age.  She loves being an older sister. She has so much love for her baby sister that she can’t contain it all.  Therefore, when she expresses her love it is usually the “rough and tough” kind of love.  She will learn to be soft hopefully next year.  She absolutely going to Nursery at church where she can play with friends. We love her and love every stage she goes through.
 

Ainsley

This year we have been very blessed with a new addition to our family, Ainsley Shay! Sometimes she is called “Baby A” because for the longest time we had a list of “A” names but no definite name, until after she was born.  She just happened to settle on A names with this baby. Ainsley has been such a joy to us. She will smile at anyone that walks in the door.  She has been an easier baby than Sydney and will even fall asleep on her own. She is such a blessing to us in many ways. We love having two little girls close together.    

We always look back at the end of each year and realize how deeply blessed we are.  We have felt extra close to the Lord especially after the birth of our baby; there is a heaven-sent happiness that is hard to find on earth sometimes. Our Heavenly Father has been merciful to us in giving us so much that we don’t even deserve.  We love our Savior and look forward to celebrating his birth every Christmas.  We know Jesus Christ is our Savior and was born and died for this purpose. 

We hope and pray you have a wonderful Christmas season and a Happy New Year!  May the Lord bless your life with peace, forgiveness, and lots of joy!

"This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it again." 

-Howard W. Hunter

We love you,

Kory, Shay, Sydney, & Ainsley Dopp