True Meaning of the Season

I have been struggling to get into the Christmas spirit this season. I seem to struggle more and more every year. This year I tend to blame the warm weather and school, but honestly those are superficial and have nothing to do with the true meaning of Christmas. Today Janet and I took cards and a treat to people we visit and home teach as well as some neighbors. We plan on delivering more tomorrow for FHE. It is a small thing but it has helped me to set my priorities straight. This is a video that seems to say everything I want to say. Christ is the biggest gift we have been given. If we learn to trust him and lean on him we will find more joy than through any other means.

He is the Gift – Christmas Video – #ShareTheGift:

Recent News

No, don't worry, we don't have anything exciting to announce. I just wanted to do a brief update on our lives:

Jon- is now the Primary Chorister, finished his 4th semester of grad school and is halfway to his Masters! Jon fixes computers at work, teaches full time, tutors part-time (a temporary gig), and is in grad school part-time. He is busy but always balances his time well and finds time to spend with Jackson and I. He still loves all things fly fishing and spends his free time looking at fishing blogs and videos. He even has his own fishing blog: www.talesofacrappyfisherman.blogspot.com

Janet- I'm loving being at home full-time with Jackson but I do miss working and having things to do aside from baby and the house. I get bored and lonely some days, but I wouldn't trade motherhood for anything! I am trying to get more involved now that I finally have some energy again! I am in the process of being hired part-time by the YMCA and I can bring Jackson with me and I get a free membership! My old job also called yesterday and wants me back part-time so Jon and I are in the process of figuring out if that is even something we want to pursue. I doubt I will go back because it will be too complicated, but we will see. I am also planning to start volunteering again.  Oh, and I recently went to a baby story time with Jackson and I plan on doing that regularly. It will be a great way to meet people with babies.

Jackson- you get plenty of updates on him already. He is almost 11 months and we are so excited to spend this first Christmas with him.

We are going to Memphis, Louisville, and Little Rock for Christmas so stay tuned for pictures from that!

First Haircut

I have been wanting to trim Jackson's hair for a while now. The back was so thick that it would often look matted and really crazy. But then I started seeing curls and was unsure about cutting them off. Well on Saturday Jon said he was going to cut his hair and then cut Jacksons. Of course then I had a change of mind and felt sad and unsure about it. I let Jackson watch Jon so he could see and get used to the sound of the clippers. Jackson did really well and laughed at the clippers. He was a moving target which made it difficult but he never cried. I did cry though. Seriously I had a little moment when I saw his hair piled up on the bathroom floor. I even took a picture of the hair and we saved some. Yes, I am officially one of those moms. I miss Jackson's soft crazy hair, but I LOVE his new cut. He looks so grown up and now I feel like I have a glimpse of him as a toddler. It feels weird to kiss the back and sides of his head because it is buzzed on the sides and back so it isn't soft like it was before. But we left the top long because we love it so much. Take a look:

The day before:

it was extra crazy from his bath and the static from the swing

right before the cut

posing right before the cut

see how long the back is?

the new cut from the back

after...so grown up!

side view

We Give Thanks

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! First, we headed up to see Jon's brother Brian and his family. We love going to visit them, their home is fun, peaceful, and happy. It had been too long since we last saw them. We headed there on Tuesday and stayed until Friday afternoon. Went spent most of our time playing with the kids and the kids were so sweet and loving to Jackson. I went out one night with Mandy and Hali to Charming Charlies and Bath and Body Works and that was fun to have a girls night. Jon stayed home with Brian and the boys and did manly things like prepping the turkey. Our last day there Jon and I went on a quick date back to Charming Charlies to return something and to Bath and Body Works. Jon had snagged a coupon in our mail before we left and surprised me by getting my favorite Vanilla Bean Noel lotion and Body Spray. Then we headed to do our traditional Black Friday Target run, but we didn't find anything good this year. Jon's niece Milaya babysat Jackson for us. It is always good to have time away but we always miss that little guy. When we got back, we all went to get Frozen Yogurt which has become sort of a tradition when we visit. Jackson gobble mine up, especially the strawberries. Then, it was time to say goodbye. We had a wonderful visit and great food for Thanksgiving.

On Friday afternoon we headed for a quick stay with my cousins Jeff and Nicole who live about an hour from Brian and Mandy. My parents were there along with Uncle Otto, Aunt Susy, Uncle Jackie, Aunt, Cindy, Uncle Mark, Jeff, Nicole, Natalie, and Jack. We were there less than 24 hours but in that time I made a Thanksgiving wreath and a Christmas pot holder. All of the ladies waited on me to craft. Even though I am so terribly NOT artsy, it was fun and I did decently well on the crafts. I really enjoyed it a lot!

We got back home Saturday evening and had a nice busy Sunday and then were able to relax after church.

Hayden hijacked my phone and left me with a ton of awesome selfies

Oh Brock!

the drive to my cousins was gorgeous!

playing with Grandma

when chewing on the cup holder didn't work, it was time for a nap

reading his favorite book in the car, Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See?

with Hali

I'm so grateful to have family close and to have my wonderful husband and son. This year has been full of changes and we have been so blessed!

Sorry for all of the posts. I'm trying to catch up on the past few busy weeks before the end of the year hits. Every year, at the end of the year, I order a blog book so we can have it as a journal, so I want to make sure I catch everything. 

A few weeks ago I planned to meet up with my mom at the mall that is half way between us. It is about an hour and a half  drive so not too bad. When I got there, my mom pulled over to park by us and my dad was driving. He took the day off to come shop with us! It was a fun surprise! My parents ended up wanting to shop for Jon and I, which I so didn't know was the plan. But I got some really cute stuff at Charming Charlies,  which is now my new favorite place. It was a fun day and I was worn out afterwards.

Our selfie, or as mom says, our usie.

Jackson was too small for the ride and there were no straps so my mom held him in. I'm shocked he didn't puke, that thing was crazy and bucked like a wild bull.

A Day Off

The day before we went to the temple, Jon had a Friday off and it was Free Friday at a local museum so of course we had to go. We also headed to an awesome park where the geese bit my knees and tried to assault us. We loved the park but the geese were crazy and really wanted food I guess. I tried to feed them at first but decided I wanted to get away from them after they attacked us. The last picture is from our home date that night, Jon dying my hair. Hopefully he doesn't see that I posted that.  :)

I LOVE these two so much!!

A Day Trip

A few weeks ago Jon and I went to the Columbia, S.C. Temple. It had been a while since we had been able to go, since it is a long drive and Jackson is still nursing. We decided to go with Jackson and rotate doing initatories, I went in first while Jon headed to the bookstore and to walk around with Jackson and then we switched. It was sad not going in together but it was nice to be able to go as a family and let Jackson see and touch the temple. He has been to the Raleigh Temple once when he was about 5 weeks old. I loved having a family day together!