The gifts of 2014

We are reminded this holiday season, that He Is the gift. (Please check out the video in the link!) Our savior Jesus Christ is the ultimate gift every year and we are grateful for Him and His continued influence in our lives. We have seen His hand in our lives and know that we have been blessed as we have put our trust in Him. The peace and joy that comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ is one of our many gifts.

Gift of Family Vacation
We went on a week long family vacation to Disneyland and San Diego California. We had a lot of fun riding rides, meeting characters and watching shows. This was a Kieffer family reunion and we had so much fun together. The retro beach house in San Diego was an adventure, but we had fun walking to the beach, to Oscar's for tacos and getting family pictures taken.

Gift of Travel
The girls, Mary Lue and Margaret took two road trips this summer. They drove to Georgia in June and Utah in August. They had a nice time driving and seeing the country! They loved seeing friends and family in both places that they visited.

Gift of Music
Margaret made her way around the United States this year going to concerts with Vanessa. It is a lengthy list...so just check previous blog posts for updates.

Gift of Employment
Ben continues to work for Bart's Electric. He has been working on various projects all year long. He has spent the last few months of the year in Tennessee/Kentucky working onsite at one of his projects. Margaret continues to teach preschool twice a week and enjoys coming up with crafts and silly activities for the kids.

Gift of Early Mornings
Margaret started teaching early morning Seminary for youth from our church ages 14-18. Seminary starts at 6 AM and this year we are learning about the history of our church. Studying the scriptures and learning from these youth this year has been a blessing.

Gift of Swimming
We bought a swimming pool from our neighbors this year and we had fun swimming in their backyard all summer long. Lydia is also taking swim lessons and she loves them! She can swim around and dive under the water for things.

Gift of a 2 year old
Avery turned two this year! She loves to talk and sing, play with her baby doll and run around screaming. She has the cutest personality...she loves to tease her sister and make funny faces and sounds. She has started to tell people that she will turn 3 on her birthday. She is obsessed with gum and points out everyone who has gum.

Gift of a 5 year old
Lydia turned 5 this year! She was so excited to turn 5. She started planning her birthday party in May. She had a pajama makeover birthday party. She is learning new things everyday and she is working on her negotiating skills. She got her ears pierced for her birthday and loves having earrings.

Gift of Family Reunions and togetherness
We went camping at the Bailey family reunion in June. We had a great turn out (45 people or so??) and really great weather. Ben's aunt Cheryl and uncle Dave moved from Colorado to Kansas City and we have had numerous family parties at their new home. It is great to spend time together and watch the cousins play and run around. There were over 40 people at Thanksgiving dinner!

Bailey Thanksgiving 2014

A few random gifts: the gift of potty training, the gift of Smoothie King, the gift of airplanes, the gift of Google Hangouts...video chat, gift of laughter, gift of service.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,

The Bailey Family