Christmas Letter 2015

Merry Christmas from the Behlings!

It's been a VERY busy and eventful year!

Heather (22) married Robert Ratcliffe on May 20th in Huntsville, Utah.  It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony at her in-law's home.  She currently works at a call center and recently was promoted to a trainer.

Jeremiah (19) graduated from high school, Marine Boot Camp, and Marine Combat Training in 2015.  He currently is stationed in Virginia for his Military Occupation Specialty School (MOS) and will graduate from that about March 31st.  Fortunately for us, he was able to come home for Christmas and New Year's Day.  He looks forward to starting a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints during 2016.

Matthew (15) just passed his Eagle Board of Review.  We are currently working on planning his Court of Honor for January 2nd so that Jeremiah can give him the Eagle Charge.  So thrilled that Matthew worked hard to earn this advancement.  Matthew is currently in the 9th grade and enjoys scouts, soccer, and playing the tuba in band.  He's also learning to play the guitar.

Jacob (12) is in 7th grade and has joined the middle school ranks.  He plays percussion in the band and hopes to start learning mallets.  He's also starting to learn the piano, but his mom isn't very consistent at giving him lessons.  He also enjoys playing soccer and going to scouts.

Samuel (9) is in 3rd grade this year.  He loves school, soccer, and scouts.  He recently earned his Wolf rank in cub scouts and is working hard towards the rank of Bear now.

Hope (5) started kindergarten as a home schooler this year.  She's worked hard at overcoming some difficulties she had which prevented her from attending a traditional school and is ready to join Samuel at his school after the Christmas break.  She played soccer this summer, and Holly was her coach.  Probably the most exciting event in her life this year, though, was going to San Diego to "see Jeremiah and the beach!"

Joe and Holly are just pleased parents that are exhausted due to all the kids' activities.  It feels like a constant round of soccer, band concerts, scouting events, and graduations.  Although it's a busy schedule, it's so rewarding to see the children growing up and becoming successful.

We are so grateful for family and the knowledge that it's eternal.  We've been pleased to see our boys (and Joe) advance in the priesthood.  It's nice to know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that He loves us all very much.  We're so grateful for this season where we remember His birth and His life.  

We hope everyone has an enjoyable Christmas, filled with joy, peace, and love.  

Merry Christmas!

Love, The Behlings

Family Day (1 Oct 2015) at MCRD San Diego.
Matthew, Jacob, Samuel, Joseph,, Hope, Heather, Robert (Ratcliffe), Jeremiah, Holly

Busy 2015

I think the last thing I wrote was in December 2014. Probably the Christmas letter.  So much has happened since then.

Unfortunately, the first thing that happened was very sad.  Joe's father, Rex Behling, died on February 15th. Rex was 85 and such a good man.  Heather was blessed to go down and help out before he passed away.  The family was so appreciative of her help and skills as a CNA.  Joe was able to spend a few days with him before he passed.  Having been with my own father when he left this world for the next, I know how important that was for Joe.

We were crazy busy from April to June. Obviously tax season kept me plenty busy in April and it was followed by Matthew's birthday on the 24th. He's 15 now.

Jeremiah's Eagle Court of Honor was the next day (April 25). We had it in my uncle's pasture. It was a wonderful event.  Some of the Poolees that are going into the Marine Corps with Jeremiah were in attendance which was
really cool.  He wore my father's neckerchief and the slide was made by my uncle. Now there are four generations of Eagles in my family.  :-)

Right after that was Hope's birthday which happened to be on Mother's Day this year. Hope turned 5.

Heather got married on May 20th to Robert Ratcliffe. She was a beautiful bride and Hope and Sam were the adorable flower girl and ring bearer. Matthew and Jacob were in the line-up for the wedding. Jeremiah would have been as well, but he stayed home with bronchitis.  Good thing he did so he was well for finals week.






Jacob turned 12 (May 23) and was ordained a Deacon (May 24).

Jeremiah graduated from Technical Careers High School on June 1st.  His recruiter, SSgt. Jonathan Graves even came.  The fact that Jeremiah enlisted made him that much more determined to graduate.

After Jeremiah's graduation, we took a family vacation to Moab and went to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Matthew sprained his ankle the very first day hiking down from Delicate Arch. Joe and Jeremiah started doing a chair carry for him, but that was too difficult. Matthew hobbled a bit, then Jeremiah backpack carried him the rest of the way down the mountain. He must have carried his brother over a mile down the slick rock. He'll make a good Marine. He's tough!

Jeremiah left for boot camp on July 5th. We took him to the recruiting station here in Idaho Falls.  He had to be there at noon, so we hurried home from church to get him there on time. Because we were hurrying, he forgot his diploma at home. I quickly went home and grabbed it along with his military set of scriptures that he'd also forgotten.  I gave the recruiter the diploma and Jeremiah his scriptures. SSgt Graves went over some information for the parents and then we said our goodbyes.  WELL...kind of.  Joe took Hope and Sam to Utah for the week and Matthew, Jacob and I were home when I get a phone call around 6:00 pm that night. Jeremiah had forgotten his glasses at the house.  Where was he? Boise...four hours away.  So, Matt, Jake, and I packed a couple of duffles and drove Jeremiah's glasses to him in Boise.  We still didn't get to see him, which was a bummer deal.  He flew out of Boise to San Diego July 6th and is now at MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) San Diego.

We were expecting a call that night, probably late, letting us know he'd gotten there. The call didn't come.  A form letter finally arrived on the 16th, which was from the company commander.  All Jeremiah did was address the envelope.  But, it gave us his address and let us know he was there.  On Saturday, we received two letters.  The first he wrote on the second day there to let us know he had accidentally called his own cell phone rather than mine. So we listened to the voice mail that he had left 10 days earlier letting us know he'd made it.  He says he's having a hard time, which doesn't surprise me.  Marine boot camp is supposed to be hard.  I'm wondering now if he'd had his wisdom teeth removed which could account for a big part of his difficulties. I guess I'll have to wait for the next letter to know for sure.


In the meantime, I've been taking the other kids to the pool and getting things cleaned up.  Heather came up for Joe's 45th birthday that was yesterday.  She's doing well.  The kids keep me busy.  Matthew just went on a "high adventure" trip with the teacher's quorum at church.  He and Jacob head to scout camp next week.

I've made some count-down jars with Hope and Sam so they can see how much longer before they get to see Jeremiah again.  I also started a blog for him so he can remember what he did at boot camp.  They don't have much time to write, so I'm doing some journaling for him.  It's good for me since I know what types of activities they are doing.  It has helped me learn a bit more about what the Marines do since I search for pictures and videos about the training.  It will be nice for him to be able to share those experiences later with his future wife, children and grandchildren.

Christmas Letter 2014

I can't believe it's been over a year since I last did a post.   Then again...maybe I can.  There's lots of things that I've dealt with over the past couple of years that I just didn't feel comfortable putting out on a blog.  But, now I want to post my Christmas letter.  Granted, it is just a snapshot of this past year, but it covers the highlights for each child.

Merry Christmas from the Behlings!

2014 has just flown by!  We have had quite a year.

Heather (21) got engaged to Robert Ratcliffe.  They are planning to be married on May 20^th.  She lives in Ogden and is still working as a CNA.

Jeremiah (18) is a senior this year, graduating in June.  He swore in with the Marine Corps on September 12^th and leaves for boot camp on July 6^th.  Although he’s excited, he’s kind of disappointed to not be able to work at the scout camp again this summer.  He has finished his Eagle project and should receive his eagle award in the near future.

Matthew (14) was ordained a Teacher this year.  He also grew to be taller than his mom, which thrills him but not necessarily his mother.  He plays the tuba in the advanced band and the trombone in the jazz band at his middle school.  In June he was able to travel to Costa Rica with his Gran Summers and visit his aunt and uncle.  He had lots of fun…especially playing in the ocean.  This summer he was also able to be a counselor in training at one of the local scout camps.  He looks forward to doing that again in 2015.

Jacob (11) enjoys playing airsoft and going on bike rides with his friends.  He really enjoys being part of the scouting program after earning Arrow of Light in the cub scouts.  He is looking forward to going to scout camp this summer.

Samuel (8) was baptized on his birthday by his brother, Jeremiah.  Both had a very wonderful and spiritual day.  He’s started going to cub scouts and really enjoys it.  He’s doing well in the 2^nd grade and is getting to be quite the reader!

Hope (4) is a happy, energetic, little girl.  She is well loved by her older siblings.  She loves to give them all hugs and ride on her older brothers’ shoulders.  It makes her feel TALL!  She gets to start kindergarten in September and is very excited about that. 

We stay busy as usual.  Holly sings with the Idaho Falls Choralaires when she’s not chauffeuring children to soccer games or practice.  Joe goes shooting with the boys whenever he gets the chance.  We both are working from home, Holly doing taxes, bookkeeping, and property management.  Joe still works for EMC from his office in our basement.

The best thing in our lives, though, is the knowledge that we are an eternal family thanks to the blessings of the gospel.  We love this season where we remember what our Savior has done for us, and that our Heavenly Father was so willing to send his son to be our Savior.  May we all remember that during this season.  We love you all.  Merry Christmas and have a wonderful New Year.

Therapeutic

I was watching a movie called Now is Good that stars Dakota Fanning.  She plays the role of a teenager that is dying of leukemia and gives a wonderful performance.  It's a tear jerker, so if you're not in the mood for a good cry, don't watch it.  As for me, I don't think I'd realized how in need of a good cry I was...nor how therapeutic that can be.

I've been wanting to write things down lately, but keep putting of hand writing in my journal because I print out pages from this blog and put them as journal entries.  So, it's been sitting there and I keep putting of writing even though I know that this is a good way for me to express my feelings and get them out so they aren't bottled up.

It occurred to me this morning that I've been monumentally depressed.  I kept telling myself I wouldn't let my grief over a family situation affect my daily life, but it did.  It doesn't matter how you try to bury some things and try to forget they ever happened, but the truth of the matter is, they come back at inopportune times sometimes and you just have to deal with them.

One particular situation deals with my oldest, Heather.  I won't go into all the details here, as it's not appropriate on a blog.  However, Heather has made several decisions in the past couple of years that her father and I do not support.  We love her, but not her life choices at the moment.  I can't speak for Joe, but I know that I feel that in some ways she's walked away from her family and all that she was taught as a child.  I've felt that she made a 180 degree turn and is making life choices that are the complete opposite of the values she was raised with.  It deeply saddens me to think of the life Joe and I had envisioned for her and see it not just slipping away from her, but being pushed away from her as hard and fast as possible.  I spoke with her yesterday regarding looking at college, but I think she thought I was trying to pressure her when in actuality I was just trying to figure out her plans since they seem to constantly change.  I thought she'd been planning on looking at a tech school, but then I hear her saying more about picking up another part-time job.

You know, every time I talk to my teenagers it's like things go in one ear and out the other.  I tell Jeremiah that he needs to get caught up on his communications class, and he ignores me.  Same issue with chores many times.  "(Boy's name), please do the dishes (empty the garbage, sweep the floor, etc.)..."  Response...coming back to a full kitchen sink, incomplete homework, overflowing garbage cans, etc.  There are days that I'd just like to break out a willow branch and smack them one, but you just don't dare do that anymore since you'd have the kid or a neighbor calling child services on you.  Taking privileges away doesn't make much difference with some of my kids since not much seems that important to them.

Hope is another challenge.  She's an escape artist.  A few weeks ago Jacob was home from school with a bad cough.  I thought Hope had followed him downstairs, and I was doing the dishes.  Then I went to check on them and realized Hope wasn't in the house.  She'd unlocked the door and slipped through the opening (even with the chain done), and left.  I totally freaked out, but I figured she'd gone to "her" park.  Yep, that's where I found her.  She called, "Mommy!" when I came to get her like nothing was wrong.  I didn't dare spank her since there were other parents around and it probably looked like I was kidnapping a child off the playground, but she knew by the time we got home how mad I was at her.  Because Joe and I were both upset with her and voiced our disapproval to her, she actually has stayed in the yard since then.  Doesn't mean she doesn't slip out of the house on occasion, she has.  She just hasn't left our property on her own since then.  Thank goodness!

Wow!  Just writing some of my thoughts has definitely helped.  I guess this is why God has asked us to keep journals.  I need to be better about it.  I used to be pretty consistent about writing. Now to print this out and add it to the journal so that when the urge to write hits, I will actually do it without any excuses as to why I can't.  :-)

A Very Taxing Day

Yesterday was interesting to say the least.  I feel like I've got to write what happened down so that I can just forget about it and move on with my life.  After all...I did nothing wrong.

A client called me on Saturday with some questions about his tax return that I'd prepared.  Since he is now retired, he hoped to learn a bit about taxes so he could do his own taxes in the future.  OK.  I have no problem helping people help themselves.  It's what I do.  

I don't know if it's fortunate or unfortunate that he inherited a rental property that he decided to sell in 2012.  This gentleman's former accountant had been contacted before the sale of the property supposedly to verify that he would have no capital gains on the property and that he wouldn't be taxed on inherited property.  Now most people know that in the past people have been (and some still are) heavily taxed on inheritances.  Right now, that isn't the case.  You can inherit property and not pay tax on the value of the property you inherit.  That value is the value on the date of the person's death, or six months later (unless sold within that six months) if the alternate valuation date is chosen for that person's estate.  If, however, you sell that property after the six month period is up and it has increased or decreased in value, you may have a capital gain or loss.

In this case, the inherited property was a rental property.  It was treated as a rental on his 2011 tax return and I treated the sale as such.  This client wasn't happy at all.  He insisted that his property was NOT business property because it couldn't be rented in 2012 due to water issues. (This comes up AFTER I had done the return.)  He also argued that he shouldn't have capital gains because the property was worth more than the county's tax assessment value (which could be, but I had no other number...like an appraisal...to go by).  So, since the gentleman kept interrupting me as I tried to explain how I came about the number on his tax return, I finally just took out my checkbook and wrote him a check for the amount he'd paid me and took back the tax return.  He looked at me and told me that he felt the return was wrong and that he hadn't been certain that he'd get his money back.  That felt like such an attack on my integrity.  I pride myself in being honest and fair with all my clients.  I try so hard to do my best for them.  It hurt.  It really did.  I called his prior accountant to let her know that this gentleman may be heading back her way and what to expect.  It's no surprise to me that she was agreeing with how I'd prepared the tax return.  It will be a surprise to this gentleman.

It's so frustrating when a client will not listen to you...much like a child won't listen to their parents' advice.  I've been doing taxes for 17 years now and this man acted like he knew more...even after he came to me asking for me to teach him.  He asked if I felt I never made a mistake.  Of course I have.  I'm not afraid to admit it.  Do I know all the tax code?  No.  But I do know how to look it up if I'm uncertain about something.  Would I ever do a tax form that wasn't required like he accused me of?  Absolutely not! 

After such an encounter as this was, I'm so very grateful for the clients I have that have stuck by me all these years.  Some for nearly my whole tax preparer career.  I still have some clients that I got that first tax season I was in business for myself 16 years ago.  That fact alone humbles me.  I'm so grateful for them, that I know I will be able to shrug off the cruel accusations that were hurled at me yesterday.  For those of you that have stuck by me through all my moves and children, let me tell you Thank You so very, very much.

Lessons Learned

I learned the wisdom of not posting too quickly on Facebook today.  It was the day the bookfair was being set up and I found out the people over it were short volunteers.  So, since I know people that don't return phone calls or read their emails but do check their social media, I hurried and posted something for the school group on Facebook.  Big mistake.  I offended some people.  Only about 20 people saw the post, but still.  *sigh* I really am so much better with numbers.  Guess I'd better read through things to see how they sound before I post them.  I tried to delete it, but couldn't.  :-(

On the upside, we did get the bookfair all set up.  It looks great.  I've been really impressed with the PTO leaders.  They're incredible and do such a great job. 

Joe came home tonight since he has a doctor's appointment tomorrow.  He brought a new "friend" for Samuel from Heather.  It's a Build-a-Bear that is brown with a Harley-Davidson jacket.  Heather recorded, "Sam, I love you mostest mostest mostest!" So now the bear says that.  Cute, really, since that's what Samuel tells everybody in the family.  If you say you love him "mostest mostest," he'll add one or two "mostest" to whatever you said so he can "win."  He's such a cute kid.

I also found that I've made some headway on the appeal for United Healthcare to pay for Sam's speech therapy.  They'd paid July and August, then denied the claims for September and October.  I sent in an appeal, because by the time I found out, I'd already had Sam in speech through November.  When I discovered they paid November's claim, I thought the process was done and they'd be paying, but was told that UHC could actually go back and say they'd over paid the prior months which would have left me paying nearly $4,000 in speech therapy bills.  Money we don't have.  Fortunately it appears that my appeal was granted, and UHC has gone back and paid the September and October bills.  What a relief! 

So, today's been a mixed bag.  Just one of those days, I guess.  But, as Scarlett always said, "Tomorrow is another day."  (or something like that...)

Interesting Day

I had an interesting and somewhat stressful afternoon yesterday.  Jacob brought a friend and new ward member home with him after school yesterday.  Our scout master had made arrangements with the family for this boy to come to my house before he and Jacob head to cub scouts.  So, I was expecting him.  I wasn't expecting to get a call from the school, though, asking about the boy's eight-year-old sister that ended up being left at the school by herself.  This boy couldn't remember his phone number, the school had been calling the mother's cell phone rather than the father's.  I offered to take the girl home with her brother after scouts since she couldn't just stay at the school.  The secretary offered to bring her by my house rather than me walking the short distance to the school.  Well...the girl never showed up.  I took the boy and Jacob and we drove by his apartment to see if she'd gotten home.  I'd been trying to call the parents using numbers in the church directory, but none of them worked.  Nobody was there when we drove by.  There wasn't much I could do, so I took the boys to scouts and kept trying to see if the numbers would finally get answered.  Nope.  After scouts I picked up Jacob and his friend and went to the apartment.  This time there was a light on inside, although he didn't see his car.  Turns out his dad was just getting in the car to go find his son.  The school had left messages on the mom's cell phone (about five of them), but she'd been at work and unable to use her phone.  When we'd gone by earlier, the dad had gone to pick up the mom, and had already picked up the sister from the school.  I really wish the secretary had let me know that.  The dad and I exchanged numbers so that this will never happen to me again.  Too bad the parents hadn't checked their emails to get the message I'd sent as to where their son was...my address and phone numbers included.

I guess yesterday was just a bit of a stressor since I am fighting an insurance company about paying for Samuel's speech therapy.  They paid some, denied other claims.  Turns out that they're telling me now that they may determine all the claims were over paid since I sent in an appeal.  I'm hoping for a note after Samuel's next EEG that will help us recode the speech so it's something other than developmental delay.  If we can recode it, the insurance won't have an issue paying it...I hope.

Today's looking up, though.  We got about 5-6" of snow last night.  I kind of groaned at the thought of digging my way out of my driveway so that I could get Sam to school.  Imagine my relief when a couple offered to scrape my driveway with the blade they had on their truck.  They'd just been driving by and saw me shoveling my driveway.  What would've taken me at least 30 minutes, this guy did in under five. 

I must say that this area has some remarkable people.  This guy was generous to offer his time.  I really do like the people of Idaho.  Hopefully living here will help my boys grow into awesome men!