2016 Family Newsletter

Dearly Beloved,

This was supposed to be a Christmas newsletter, but late is better than never.

We split 2016 between Alaska and Utah, leaving The Last Frontier for The Beehive State in mid-August. After over two years, we were sad to leave the dramatic beauty of the Palmer Valley, but grateful for the new opportunities in Provo. From January through May Tim was teaching his final semester of Spanish at Wasilla High. The summer was spent enjoying a few last months in the Alaskan outdoors, as well as a wonderful Hall family reunion in Bear Lake, Utah. In August, Tim drove down the Alaska Highway with his dad and with D. Irene flew down a week later with little M. Tim started his Linguistics MA program at the end of August, and we all adjusted to living in a new place.

Hawaii Temple

After Fiddler on the Roof performance

In addition to teaching school (Tim) and growing a baby (Irene), January and February were spent busily rehearsing and performing Fiddler on the Roof. Tim played Perchik and Irene played Hodel. It was great to take our real-life love to the stage! Tim worked on hitting the high notes, and Irene worked on not standing sideways and avoiding resting her hands on her pregnant belly. The plot would certainly have taken a twist if Hodel had looked pregnant. D learned every song all the way through, and even sang along from the audience when he came to see the dress rehearsal. In the thick of rehearsals, we decided one Tuesday night that we wanted a break from the Alaska cold, so we left the next day for Hawaii. It was a beautiful trip, and a much-needed respite from the freeze.

Tim: I wrapped up my second year of teaching Spanish at Wasilla High School, and was sad to leave the students I’d come to love so much. I stayed home over the summer rather than working for Delta, and helped Dad F (Irene’s father) build a chicken coop bigger than many people’s homes. I was so glad my father joined me for the three-day beautiful drive down the Al-Can highway. I’ve dived into linguistics and Chinese courses at BYU and am loving grad school. My research and thesis focus on how university students learn new languages while studying abroad.

Irene has been busy. Apart from continuing her progress toward her dietetics degree (taking biology last winter, and biochemistry now), her main feat has been adjusting to begin a mother of two children. An active three-year-old and a sensitive infant have kept her very busy, and she’s grateful things are finally settling into a routine (naps happen predictably, etc). We gratefully accepted Grandma C’s (Tim’s grandmother) hospitality for September and October while we looked for an apartment closer to campus, during which time Irene started a small business selling her homemade breads. The first week she sold about 30 loaves! People have loved it, and Irene has gotten very good at doing extensive baking on top of mothering and loads of homework. She is the heart of our home, and holds it all together.

D turned 3-years old in 2016, and we have to remind ourselves that it wasn’t 13. He loves to talk, tell stories, sing, and play with his train sets. He talks to everyone everywhere we go, always surprising them with his clear articulation and careful syntax. He wants to do everything Mom and Dad do, so he’s always talking about ‘going to school’, and what his ‘TA’ did in class the other day. The transition to Utah was not easy for him – for the first couple of months he kept saying, “I just miss Alaska – I want to go back to live with Oma and Opa!” It was hard to go from roaming free over the 7-acre Fry homestead to only being able to go out when we were with him, and having kind neighbors always fretting about him getting near the street. Things are better now, and D loves coming “up to campus” to visit Papa. We began reading chapter books, and have finished Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web, and the complete Winnie the Pooh stories.

M began her earthly life in May, and had a bit of difficult time adjusting. She often had a hard time sleeping, and wanted to be held constantly, much more so than D at that age. We think she just had a hard time leaving her beautiful heavenly home. She has grown up so much, and is now crawling. She is delightful and loves to laugh and wave to everyone. One of our favorite things about M is that she is a world-class foodie. Just before she was five months old, we began giving her real food, because she would get so upset at mealtimes when she couldn’t have any. Right away she took to zuppa toscana, chili, oatmeal, toast, and literally everything else we eat, including raw onion. She brings so much light and laughter to our days.

M's first Sunday going to church

Thank you all for blessing our lives over the past year. We have visited many of you, and wish we could have visited more. Special thanks to those who have befriended us and loved us here in our new Utah home. We are humbled and grateful to be so happy as a family, and recognize the how much our God has given us. The experience of this past year have deepened our conviction that He is in and through all things, and that peace comes to us by humbly bending our will to his.

The Lord bless and keep you all,

Tim, Irene, D, and M