This past summer, I (Joe) got an
internship with Chief Judge Winmill, a federal district court judge in Boise,
Idaho. That means we spent our summer in beautiful Boise, the City of Trees. We
loved it there—the greenbelt, the parks, the weather, the culture, the
proximity to family…we fell in love with the city. As of this writing, we don’t
know where I will be working next summer, but we have our fingers crossed for a
prosecuting internship in Boise, even though it would mean another grueling
cross-country move.
We are back in charming
Charlottesville for my second year of law school. But this year we moved into a
house! We picked up a generous
renting arrangement on a three-bedroom house in a quiet neighborhood just five
minutes’ drive from the school. We’re having a blast with all the space, and AJ
even has a (small) backyard to play in. We have a regal oak tree in the front
and plenty of room to park both our car and my new motorcycle (which I drive
very, very slowly!). It’s a wonderful setting for this chapter of our lives.
Emily has officially kicked off
her little cupcake business, “CuppieCakes.” She makes the same scrumptious,
healthy (yeah right), eye-catching cupcakes, but there’s a new twist: this
year, all profits go toward her mother’s Multiple Sclerosis fund. The support
in our community has been heartwarming. Ward members and my classmates alike
have made orders big and small, largely in support of the charity effort—though
the taste might have something to do with it! Emily loves baking for others, and
people LOVE her cupcakes.
By Christmas AJ will be 20
months old. In the last year, he learned to crawl, climb, walk, and run. He has
a burgeoning vocabulary and an impressive arsenal of animal sounds, as well as
a growing repertoire of songs. We’re especially proud of this last accomplishment.
AJ is always singing to the radio in the car, he improvises remixes composed of
his favorite parts of all the songs he knows, and when he finds sheet music, he
picks it up, holds it out in front of him and sings (just like in Mommy’s ward choir)!
He’s such a blessing, and we hope the next one turns out just as agreeable.
Yes, you read that right. If you didn't already guess from our clever photo, Emily is pregnant! We are expecting
#2 in mid-May, and we are absolutely thrilled. AJ loves babies (holding them,
touching them, sitting on their heads), so he’ll be an excellent big brother.
And Unnamed Baby’s grandparents are extra excited—this makes 5 for 5 grand babies on Emily’s side of the family this year, and two in one year for my
side, too.
This is an exciting, transitive
stage in our lives, and I’m sure you are all having your own adventures. But we
count it a special blessing to slow down at Christmastime and focus on the
really important things, especially our Savior and His life, atonement, and gospel
here on Earth. May we all seek Him this holiday season.
Merry
Christmas,
Joe, Emily,
and AJ Fairbank…plus one.
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