Trevor's Special Year

This was an exciting birthday for Trevor. He had been looking forward to it for quite a while. This was the year that he would be baptized and also become a cub scout.

We started the celebrations off with a birthday party at home with the family. We had a nice dinner and then Trevor opened his presents. He was very excited when he opened his cub scout shirt and book. He can't wait to go to his first cub scout meeting!

Trevor's baptism happened later that week. Unfortunately, none of our extended family were able to attend the baptism, but we had the next best thing. Our good friends, the Hancocks (who our kids refer to as their cousins) were able to come for the day to celebrate with Trevor!

It was a really nice day. Everything, for the most part, ran smoothly. The only snafu we ran into we literally ran into! When we were getting ready to pull out of the garage the garage door button was pressed instead of the back car door button. The car door caught on the garage door and dislodged it. We quickly reversed what we had done and assessed the damage. Chad and Mark got out of the car and assessed the damage. They worked on it for a little while, but we had to leave, so they just pulled the door down and we left.

Luckily everything else went off without a hitch. The baptism was really nice. Trevor personally asked all the people on the program if they would be a part of his special day. Two of the people are two brothers in our ward that Trevor really looks up to. They did a great job and they were quick. It was kind of funny that the whole baptism and program took less than half an hour. It was short, but sweet!

Trevor was baptized by Chad. It was very neat. What a blessing that Chad has been able to baptize Trevor, Kaden and Tanner.

Even though our family couldn't be with us, our ward family was with us. Many people came to support Trevor. We felt very blessed and loved.

After the baptism we went back to our house and had a really nice dinner with the Hancocks. Before dinner they gave Trevor a cool candy bar poster for his baptism. He was very excited!

Then of course, we had to have cake. An "It's Great to be Eight" cake!

We are very thankful for Trevor and the choice he made to be baptized. He is growing into a wonderful young man. He is kind and helpful and is always looking out for others. We love you Trevor!

Decking the Halls

Shortly after Grandma and Grandpa left the boys started asking to decorate the christmas trees. Many of you know that for the past several years we have had three christmas trees. This has been a topic of conversation for the past several months. I love having three trees in the house. Chad likes the trees, but does not like the upkeep or the time it takes to put them up and take them down. He has been trying to convince me that we should downsize (even to the point of looking for furniture to put in the spots where the trees would go!). Don't worry though, I stood my ground and once again we had three beautiful christmas trees (plus a couple more fake trees)!

Chad put the trees up in each room and then the boys and I decorated the trees. Decorating the trees is always a little stressful. Mostly because I want to control things a little too much. I like for certain ornaments to go on certain trees and with five anxious boys the ornaments come out pretty quick. This year I tried to be a little better. I stepped back and let the boys have a little more room to be creative (at least on one tree - baby steps!). We all had fun decorating the trees to christmas music.

We followed it up with watching a christmas movie that evening. I think it was Elf (a family favorite)! One of the best parts for me is watching the boys (Chad especially) laugh at all the funny parts. That movie never gets old!!

Throughout the next week I finished decorating the house. I love our house at christmas. It is so warm and cozy and I just makes me feel happy. I love the Christmas season!

Grandma and Grandpa visit for Thanksgiving

We love to have Grandma and Grandpa visit! We don't get to see them as often as we would like. This visit was especially nice because we got to celebrate Thanksgiving with them.

They always come baring gifts for the boys. The boys, of course, look forward to it and love it (almost as much as Grandma and Grandpa love to give them!). Grandma is an awesome bargin hunter and she loves to garage sale. Before she came to visit she found a great deal at a garage sale on vintage model cars. She knew the boys would love them! She was not disappointed, the boys did love them. It was fun to watch the boys and the grandparents as the cars were unveiled! Each boy got to pick their own car. Oddly enough they all wanted a different car. There was no fighting or haggling. Score!!

Another gift they gave was a special gift for Trevor. Trevor's eighth birthday is a couple of days after Thanksgiving and he is going to be baptized. Unfortunately, Grandma and Grandpa aren't going to be come. They gave Trevor a special statue that exemplifies who Trevor is (this is a tradition). The statue says "purposefulness". It is a good representation of Trevor. He is always very helpful and giving and he usually is because he sees a need and he wants to fill it! What a great kid!!

They also always bring Sees candy!

The boys were still in school when Grandma and Grandpa arrived. This allowed Chad, Austin and me time to take them to some of their favorite places. They always want to visit the antique shops. This year we went to the mall to find a special Cardinal's hat for Grandpa. We walked in at the food court, where the big carousel sits. Grandpa couldn't resist - he had to take Austin for a ride. Austin was in heaven!

Grandpa has to go to Steak and Shake at least once! We all enjoy going with him and most of us enjoy the food!

The last day of school before the holiday Devon's class had a Thanksgiving feast. I was able to go to school to help and have lunch with Devon. It was a lot of fun. There was plenty of food for kids and parents alike. Devon has had a hard time with me coming in to help in his classroom (he cries when I leave), so I was a little worried about coming. I was pleasantly surprised that this time he did not cry! We had a nice lunch and then he gave me a hug and kiss and went to recess. Success!

Devon and his best friend

We had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving. Everyone helped with the food preparations.

We were glad to have Grandma and Grandpa's help, especially with the apple pie. Chad's favorite pie is his mom's apple pie, so it was fun to have her make it this year. It was delicious. We also had pecan and pumpkin pie - YUMMY!!

Chad was in charge of the turkey and stuffing again this year. He does such a great job that I am more than happy to let him have it all to himself!

Everything was so delicious! We had such an enjoyable time eating and talking through the feast. In fact, we stayed at the table long after the meal was finished. I love it when everyone hangs out at the table. As I think back over the years, some of our happiest moments have come when we sitting at the dining room table laughing and talking together. So much to be thankful for!

Grandma and Grandpa had to leave shortly after Thanksgiving. They were able to accompany us on our traditional christmas tree hunt. The past couple of years we have gone to Home Depot to get our tree (since they are a good deal and we get three of them). This year we got two of our trees there and the other larger tree we got from Lowes. It always takes us a little while to decide on a tree, but when we do the boys are right there to help us take it to the car. All the boys pitched in this year! As always, many people stopped to watch our cute boys working together!

It was a quick trip, but we are so glad Grandma and Grandpa were able to come. Having only seen my grandparents every so many years growing up, I am so thankful that my boys get to see their grandparents at least once a year!