Jared Turned 8 & Gets Baptized

Jared turned 8 this last year!  It is strange to see him change from being my little boy.  There are times when I have to check myself before being overly affectionate or teasing him and ask myself if I would have liked that at his age.  Most of the time I answer probably not.

When Jared was about 6 he really wanted a pocket knife. We told Jared he could have one after he was baptized at 8.  (You know, way in the future, a date to look forward to but one that would never really come.)  Anyways, it came and he has a knife.  Granted we keep it for him and he only uses it with supervision.

 We were actually really excited about giving it to him because we had it engraved to say, "With love on your Baptism, December 1st, 2012."  

Right before his baptism.

 I'm not sure who taught them to hold their dresses like this but it's way cute!

 They are way cute!

The whole crew.

 What fun would a baptism be without a silly face picture? ;)

 I only just love each of these little ones,  A LOT!

I'm so proud of Jared for choosing to get baptized.  He knows way more about the church, about his own personal testimony and how much Heavenly Father loves him than I did at his age or even for years to follow.  I'm so grateful for his special prayers and strong testimony.  He is a reminder everyday how precious children are and their sweet innocence and desire to do good.  Probably everyday I notice something Jared did that was selfless or said something that was just pure truth and I can't help but pause and think I want to be more like that.

Here's Jared's reaction when we told him we were going to keep his presents for ourselves.

I guess they were a hit!

Happy Birthday Jared!  Thank you for being my first and thank you for challenging me and changing my life in so many ways for the better. 

Christmas Tree

Wow!  I'm seriously behind on blogging.  I have a inkling that being behind in most things will probably just be more and more common for me.

We went to Ryzn Tree Farm again this year to get our Christmas tree.  We've gone there every year since we've been married.

This year the guy that lives and works there kept staring at us as we were unloading our car.  I kept glancing over at him only to realize he was still looking at us.

Well, when we finally got our Christmas tree and started loading back up he said, "You guys always have one more when you come here."  (As in children).  Haha!  Then he asked, "You guys trying for more?"  Haha!

I'm pretty sure we did the awkward chuckle the Crockett's are so good at and then turned the subject.

We will see, maybe next Christmas we will have one more to unload.  :)

 Here we are at the farm with our two most recent additions to the family. :)

 We kind of laugh a little every year about finding the "perfect" tree because they are all pretty much cookie cutter trees and yet we still search for what seems like a good amount of time for the "perfect" one.  (It actually is just Wes and me that look.  The oldest two usually disappear to play with the farmers little girl after suggesting impossibly small starter trees.)

 This year Sadie couldn't be convinced that anything else would be better than a little Sadie for Christmas and spent a decent amount of time climbing under it. 

Our family!  

 Each year the kids get one new ornament that they get to open on Christmas eve that represents either an interest or an activity they were involved in during the year.  Because of that, I just love our theme-less Christmas tree.  I love walking around it and looking at the ornaments and remembering when they came to be part of our "Perfect" tree. 

 Doesn't Kinsley look big here?  I hate that time flies.

 Novalee lately has become quite a ham. Which I kind of like. :)

And just because everyone wants to gag a little and because its's tradition.  :)

 This one hopefully doesn't cause stomach convulsions.  :)

Christmas Stocking Countdown

I saw this cute idea for a Christmas countdown from Deseretbook.com  and really, REALLY wanted one.

But the colors were muted traditional Christmas colors and I'm not sure what the price was but I'm sure any price would have been beyond my budget.  So I decided to make something similar using bright traditional reds and whites to match our style a little better.  (I think it's kind of cool that some of the stockings are made from the fabric I used to make our tree skirt so they match).  :)

It's not exactly the same style as the Zion Mercantile ones but it works and the kids loved

 getting to pick candy out of the stockings each day.

 (We might need to get some new Christmas decorations for the mantle...)

Next year I want to add little metal numbers to them...we will see if it ever happens. :)

Our New Found Love and Cutting Down the Bush

Not super exciting but part of what we've been doing since we bought our home.

As soon as we saw this home, we loved it.  People ask us often if we love owning a home or if we love our home.  And I think Wes and I both struggle a little with how to answer that.  Because if we weren't limited by social norms I think we would probably respond similar to Tom Cruise declaring his love for Katie Holmes.

For those that somehow were able to block that out of their minds and yet are still vaguely curious about what that looks like....click here:  "Wes and Brandy are "In love" with their new home!  Haha!

Anyways, we really do love our home.  Sometimes I think we hesitate on expressing how much we really like it because it's not like it's a mansion (or even close), it doesn't have the newest styles (hardwood floors, granite counter tops or stainless steel appliances etc) and yet it's perfect for us.  It covers all our needs and even most of things we would consider luxuries.  And so if you are wondering how we really feel about our new house,
"WE'RE IN LOVE!" :)

Now onto cutting down the bush...totally not exciting.  :)

When we viewed the house we loved it and wanted to put an offer on it but we knew we were going to be making some changes to it right away...if we got it.  One of which was going to be cutting down one of a grand total of four bushes on the property.  Four bushes and one tree, pretty sparce.

But this one was so UGLY.  It just had to go.

So I wasted no time in cutting it down with Novalee.  

 Ta Da!  We're tough girlies!

Someday the tree is going down too but the kids kind of like getting stuck in it climbing it and so for now it stays.  :)