Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Merry Christmas




Dear Family and Friends,

It’s been quite a year! One filled with events and memories, but one that seemed to go by much too quickly!

Wow...what a beautiful girl our little Kamryn is turning out to be. She turned 7 this year and started 2nd grade in the fall and is doing great. She is in a group of 5 kids in her class that are being pushed and challenged with additional reading, math and spelling assignments. Her teacher is very pleased with how easy and quickly she learns. She is anticipating being baptized this new year, especially since watching her cousins being baptized. She loves to read and spend time with her friends. In the spring will mark her 3rd year with a performance group called Tavaci. She loves to perform and sing. We are proud of the wonderful kid she is and the great influence she is on others.

London, what a sweetheart! London is now 5 and started Kindergarten 2 days before her 5th birthday. Honestly, I was tired of paying for pre-school so we decided to put her in kindergarten since her birthday was right before the cutoff. At first I thought we might have put her in kindergarten a bit prematurely, but after a few months, our little London has come out of her shell (somewhat) and is really doing well in school. She has learned all of the letters in the alphabet and numbers and now she is very excited about learning how to read. She loves her class and teacher and really enjoys riding the bus with her sister. London loves to sing with her sister in Tavaci and can be heard singing around the house constantly. She is quite the little crafty/artist type as well and I've learned to keep tape and envelopes out of her reach (two of her craft staples).

Sullivan turned a year old last month. That went fast. He loves anything boy-related, from cars and tools to sports and everything in between. He loves his big sisters and puts up with more than he probably should. Currently, he loves to climb and I catch him standing on top of tables and places he shouldn't be. He signs milk, more and all done and says the word "ya" a lot, but other than that he just grunts and smiles as he tries to learn how to communicate. The boy can run, seriously! He's pretty fast and keeps me on my toes.

One of our biggest events this year was the special sealing and baby blessing of Sullivan in June. We are grateful for the family and friends that were with us, and know that those that weren’t were with us in thought. It really was a special weekend. To have our little family in the temple, dressed in white, is an image that won’t soon leave my memory.

We had the opportunity to go to upstate New York together this summer. Jeff had to go for business and I was able to accompany him. Jeff has been able to go quite a few times the past few years, but it was fun for me to go for the first time. We had a great time and enjoyed seeing all the church history sites and the chance to spend time together without the kids, thanks to Aunt Ashley.


Our other big event was that we started (and finished!) construction on our new home. After months of planning, designing, and working with banks for finances, we were able to break ground on our home in August. They finished the beginning of December and we were able to move in on December 4th. We absolutely love our home and hope it can be a long-term home for us. We now have plenty of space and hope to see visitors in the coming months and years. We have room for you.


This Christmas season we find ourselves very fortunate for the blessings that we have. We know they are centered around our faith and understanding that we have a Savior, one who was born long ago in humble circumstances, one who lived an exemplary life and one whose death allows us to grow closer to him and our Heavenly Father. May you all find peace this time of year, may your season be filled with happiness as you surround yourselves with those you love.

With love,

Jeff, Jennifer,
Kamryn, London and Sullivan
*pictures by emilymerrittphotography.blogspot.com

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Gingerbread houses, um...I mean Graham cracker houses. We had a great time together. Kids ate way too much candy. Sullivan didn't get to put candy on his house because I was worried he'd choke on them. He loved eating the frosting though. Kammi was very detailed about her house. London just wanted to finish so she could eat it.








And, check out the new hair!! Woo hoo...no more combing out all those tangles!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

New home

Friday December 4 was our move it date. We had a few of Jeff's co-workers come over in the afternoon to move our most important things (mattresses etc.,). When we got to the house, we discovered that it had not yet been cleaned. We had to leave everything in the trailor so that we could move it in the next day after the cleaners cleaned everything. Friday night was spent watching SpiderMan 3 on blu ray. Luckily, we had 2 couches in our family room that we used to sleep on for the night.


Saturday...It started snowing the second everyone arrived to help us move in and it didn't quit snowing until the second they left. Around 15 people came to help us, I felt so bad that it was so cold! But, they moved 2 storage units and our temporary house in 2 1/2 hrs. They were amazing! We had them move everything into our garage since the house was being cleaned. It took forever.

The rest of Saturday was spent organizing, moving and decorating. Jeff had to assemble some things and Sullivan was right beside him the whole time. Anything boy related, Sullivan LOVES it. He even grabbed the screw driver and would poke at the screws.



Here is our progress so far. We haven't unpacked everything yet (our garage is still out of control). And, the angles were a little weird so the pictures aren't that great.
Living Room


Family Room

Sullivan's room



Girls room




My messy laundry room. For some reason this room has been a gathering place for junk without a home. I'll get it organized soon!

I'll post the rest of the house later.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Tavaci Christmas Performance


The Tavaci Christmas concert has became somewhat of a tradition for us. I just love going to hear the girls sing Christmas related song (though most are silly songs). This year Jeff's parents, sister and his younger brother and his family came to witness how stinkin cute my kids are up on stage belting out some tunes.
I coaxed London into a haircut by letting her watch The Grinch while eating a sugar cookie. It worked, she was absorbed by the movie and even wanted more than just her bangs trimmed up. The picture was before all the layers were put in. She looks so adorable and the bangs actually work really well...I'm actually liking them on her.

Van's first haircut

Why is it that a simple first haircut changes my baby boy into a full grown little boy?

My friend Lauren gave Sullivan his first haircut. He handled it really well. If anything he was mearly curious with what was being used on his head. He mostly just sat there and played with the shaver attachments.

I didn't realize how much hair he actually had. Wow! White puffs of cotton were everywhere!





He looks quite adorable!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Mini Mullet

Looks like it might be time for his first haircut!
It was A LOT of work to pack up and move from the Leavitt's house before they got home. But, we did it with only a few hours to spare. To celebrate two years of our temporary living situation, we rented a suite for the night and did some Christmas shopping.

Van checking out the view.

Nothing was sweeter than seeing this duo fall asleep together. I love my boys!


The two years that we lived in the Leavitt's home actually flew by and we were so grateful for that opportunity. We've had many blessings come because of those 2 years.
We pitched in as a family to help where was needed to get the house ready for the Leavitt's return. I think that the kids had the most fun working outside.


Friday, December 11, 2009

Hallelujah!


I'm back...FINALLY! Oh how I've missed the internet! I guess this post will be a little teaser because I don't have time to update everything just yet. We have family coming for the weekend and I need to unpack more.