Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We have high hopes for this Schultz letter. We’ve written others before, but didn’t email or mail them out because LaShawn is a perfectionist in all the wrong ways. So, throwing caution to the wind, we will start 2010 off with a Schultz newsletter. We know it will fill a void so many of you didn’t even know you had in your lives! And it will be one resolution to check off of our list.

What have we been up to since tying the knot in December 2006? Lots, that’s for sure. We’ll start with the head of the household – 2nd Lieutenant Michael Schultz.

Michael joined the Army National Guard one week before we were engaged and spent the months leading up to our marriage in basic training. Between training and his jobs, we haven’t seen much of him since then! He stayed with Miller Motorsports Park (2007) after completing basic training and has had one training after another. Officer’s Candidate School (Jan-March 08), a new job with parks & recreation led to the Police Academy (July-Oct 08) and most recently Basic Officer’s Leadership Courses 2 & 3 (Aug ‘09 – Jan ’10). Each training has been successfully completed with Michael receiving high honors each time. From Honor Cadet to Student Speaker, his talent and dedication have continued to shine brightly. His next graduation is January 20, 2010 and he will be promoted to 1st Lieutenant in the 116th Engineering Unit of the Utah Army National Guard. We will use 2010 to prepare for his unit’s mobilization to Afghanistan by year’s end or early 2011.

And now, the neck of the household. LaShawn has transitioned nicely into her role as Army wife amidst Michael’s various trainings and is his biggest supporter and cheerleader. During our first pregnancy, LaShawn was employed at Salt Lake Community College in the Student Life & Leadership Office for almost three years. She worked part time as an instructor in the Social Work Department as well, teaching African American Culture and Introduction to Social Work. As the birth of our son got closer, she applied for a full time position with Utah State University as a clinical assistant professor in the Social Work Program – specifically the brand new Masters in Social Work Program. She began working for Utah State in July 2008, teaching from the Regional Campus just ten minutes from home. This has allowed her to spend much more time with our son than most mothers who work outside the home! It has been a blessing that words cannot describe. She is currently working on her Doctorate in Education with an emphasis in health professions and is on track to complete it by December 2010.

Now, the exciting stuff! Our babies! The lights of our lives. Well, we only have one right now (and a little girl on the way!) and we should probably stop calling him our baby, but we can’t help it. Becton Moroni Schultz is our firstborn. He has been the best present from the Easter bunny that we have ever received. Born in March 2008, he has made parenthood everything we ever thought it could be and more. He is the sweetest little boy and has such an adventurous and playful personality. He is the spitting image of Michael as a baby & toddler and they are best buddies! He loves to laugh and, at 21 months, is a pretty smart kid in our eyes! He knows his numbers and letters and can recite them with help from mommy or daddy. He also loves animals and can identify a bunch of them and tell you what sound they make (thank you, Baby Einstein!). He loves music and will make a drum out of anything. He sings, dances, and enjoys making videos of himself on our cell phones so that he can watch them later. He will be a big brother in February 2010 and we anxiously await her arrival and our family’s transition to a double stroller and a minivan.

We’re enjoying our time in Utah and have plans to build a home on 11 acres of land we purchased in 2007 once Michael is home from Afghanistan in 2011/2012. We will open our home that year for bunches of parties and get-togethers in our HUGE backyard with customized dirtbike track. We miss each of you and send our love with a prayer in our hearts for all of you as family and dear loved ones.

Until next year, lots of love from Michael, LaShawn, Becton & Princess Schultz 2010