Family Newsletter

Happy New Year!

We are a little late getting this newsletter out, but we hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! As we look back on the year 2008, we have seen the hand of the Lord in our lives and we are truly blessed. We have the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are all healthy, and we have a home of our own and transportation to get us where we’re going.
We bought our first home the middle of July. It was a foreclosure so the process was slow and difficult but we finally closed and are pleased with some changes we have made to make it our own. We made a trip to Salt Lake in the attempt to save Matt’s job from the downfall in the economy, but Matt was laid off around the end of Aug. so we came back to St. George. He has yet to find another job. There were many interviews and prospects that led nowhere. Luckily, he was able to qualify for Unemployment and we have had a lot of help from other resources as well.
We made two trips to Salt Lake towards the end of the year, one for Thanksgiving and the other for Christmas. During both trips we were able to see all of our family members and some friends too. The kids enjoyed the snow during our trip in Dec. Matt took them sledding at Hunter Park and they were able to play at my parents place where we stayed. It was all new to Wesley. He had never seen snow before in such abundance. After we returned home, Grandma Woodruff came to stay with us in St. George through New Years. We played many games and watched many movies. We even went to the movie theater to see “The Tale of Desperaux,” which wasn’t very good in our opinion. We ate lots of junk food and had tons of fun! We stayed up New Years Eve, but the children all fell asleep long before the ball dropped. Now we are ringing in the New Year with some personal and family resolutions. I have a feeling this year holds a lot for our family. Here’s to 2009!




Spencer just turned 6 on December 20th. He had a party with some friends over and I made him a Spiderman cake. He is in Kindergarten at Washington Elementary and his teachers name is Mrs. Brown. Spencer is learning how to write and read and loves school overall. He is a talented artist who loves to use his imagination and be creative. He gets that from his Daddy!.
Something cool happened to Spencer during Christmastime at school. One day I went to pick him up and was waiting for his teacher to call his name to release him to me, but instead she walked over with him. Usually, that is a bad thing. When she met up with me she had a piece of paper in her hand that she proceeded to tell me was from Principal Staheli. She revealed to me that she was given 3 vouchers worth $30 each from Quarters for Christmas, which provides shoes for children, and that she had chosen Spencer as a recipient. We went that very day to Wal-Mart and Spencer picked out a pair of Ironman shoes. Spencer really needed new shoes and we feel blessed that Mrs. Brown was inspired to choose him for this gift.






Kia celebrated her birthday this month on the 17th. She turned 4. Most days we have to remind ourselves she is still only 4. She can be very mature and is taller than most girls her age. I think she’ll be a basketball or other sports star! Kia loves being a sister. She is very loving and caring and conscious of others feelings. She shares with her brothers. She is a good helper to me. She loves to cook no matter what is being made. Kia loves to play dress-up and anything to do with princesses. She is smart and ready to start Pre-school, which starts in August. If she could go with Spencer to his Kindergarten, she would! Also, Kia just moved from Nursery to the Sunbeam class at church. She was a little nervous at first, but then got warmed up to her new teachers.






Welsey also had a birthday on January 26th which was his 2nd birthday! Need we say more? He is gaining attitude, has learned how to say “no” and blows at me when he is angry. Recently, he stamped one foot and blew his lips together like a horse, when he got angry with me. He has figured out that he can move a kitchen chair up to the counter top and get into cabinets to find treats. He is very independent as are all our children. Wesley loves “choo choos.” Some days he doesn’t enjoy being changed out of his jammas because they have Thomas the Train on them. He needs some play clothes with Thomas so he’ll want to change in the mornings. He is now the only one of our children in Nursery at church and seems to be ok with that. The leaders told us he is a great helper and shares well with others. Are they talking about our Wesley?! No really, he’s a good kid. We just took down the crib and replaced it with a cute little red toddler bed. We are working hard with him to make this new transition. He likes his bed, but also likes his freedom from the crib.




Matt is going back to school. He just started at DSC (Dixie State College) in January. He is taking some art classes which he loves. One class is taught by Del Parson. Some of you may know him as the artist who painted the portrait of Christ in the red robe. It has been many years that he spent any time using his artistic ability. Matt is very excited to be headed in this direction and feels good about his decision to go back to school.
Matt has spent much of his “time off” working on projects around the house. He rearranged our laundry/utility room, fully fenced in our yard, carpeted two bedrooms, painted a room for Kia (that she won’t use cause she loves sharing with the boys), and replaced the vinyl floor in our master bath with a nicely done tile job. He has made himself useful and has been a big help to me with the kids. I am already feeling the effects of his absence. I knew it would be difficult when he started working or in this case, going back to school. He is still around but with classes and homework, I plan my days expecting him to be busy.






These are the paintings Matt is working on.

As for me, Mandy, I am an all around busy mom. I am the maid, cook, chauffer, “gopher,” tutor, errand girl, playground monitor, judge and jury, storyteller and babysitter. I keep myself busy with our own children as well as tending another for income. Katelyn is a 6 month old that is privileged to be in our home 3 days a week. She also has a sister, Emily, whom we take to school with Spencer.
I am working hard to become a healthier individual and am encouraging the rest of the family to participate. My weakness is sugar as has been passed on to everyone else. By minimizing sugar and increasing the amount of fruits and veggies along with exercise, I have a goal to lose 70lbs. Whew, that’s a lot. I can do it! I am hoping my workouts will be more productive and less boring now that I have an iPod.I have a friend who has been a big inspiration to me and that is what keeps me going along with my faith in Jesus Christ. I know if I put everything in Him, I will be able to accomplish anything!



Our home was built in 1978 and many of the amenities are outdated. We have carpeted many of the rooms in the house and completely remodeled the master bath and front room. Next on the list are the kitchen and a garage. That should complete the upstairs portion of the house.





Matt did the tile job in the bathroom and painted. I bought all the accessories. I found this leather furniture set on Craig’s list and actually wasn’t impressed until I saw them in person. The picture doesn’t do any justice. We replaced the carpet in the front room and painted it the same color as the bathroom. It looks a different color in each picture. I think it’s because of the lighting.


Well, we hope you have enjoyed hearing about the likes of our family. We are pleased to keep everyone informed of the goings on as we live our lives away from our friends and family. We’d also like to remind everyone about our blog which can be viewed at woodrufffamily2008.blogspot.com. It is not a private blog so anyone can view it.

We love and miss you all!
The Woodruff Family,
Matt, Mandy, Spencer, Kia,Wesley