Eight is Great

A lot of preparation goes into a person getting baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. First, they have to be age appropriate (at least 8 years old), their life needs to be in line with the standards of the church and the person needs to understand and be ready to make and keep very important covenants with the Lord.

You can imagine then, my excitement when Jaxton was ready and chose to be baptized. It even worked out that he would be baptized on his 8th birthday.

And since such a great occasion should be documented well, I pulled out the ole' camera to take a few shots of my sweet guy at this tender age.

The big day arrived and Jaxton was thrilled.  Afterwards he wrote in his journal about the experience and said, "I had my baptism and it was awesome.  I was nervous at first, but then I got the hang of it.  All my bad choices were washed away."

Jaxton's baptism and confirmation were followed up with a luncheon for all the extended family at Grandma Elaine's.  We had a salad bar, pizza and desserts -- all of Jaxton's favorites.

Directly after the luncheon, we had Jaxton's birthday party where some friends from school and all his cousins were invited.  We had cake and ice cream, opened presents and then headed to a trampoline park to get out some energy.

My heart is full knowing that another one of my children has chosen to be baptized a member of the church.  What a great blessing it is to our family to have the gospel in our lives.

I love you Jaxton James!  I can't wait to see you continue to grow into the wonderful person you are meant to be.

Counting My Blessings

An absolute positive of living in Utah, is the opportunity we have to be surrounded by family during holidays. This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with Nate's family -- it was wonderful!
Hailey did a wonderful job with the adult table and I had the privilege of decorating the kids table. I made individual ships for each kid, filled with M&M's and complete with sour patch kids for the pilgrims.

It was a day filled with food, family and shopping -- now is that a winning combo or what?

For Family Home Evening that week, we sat down and wrote out what we were thankful for.  Here's what we came up with:
T: Thomas S. Monson, tithing, Thomas' truck, trees, time, temple
H: Heaven, home, house, heat, health, Heavenly Father, horses
A: apples, apostles, angels
N: name, neighbors, Nate
K: Kevin Durrant, kisses, kindness, Kim, kids, kittens
F: food, feet, friends, fasting, family, farm, fruit
U: Utah, USU, UNO game
L: love, life, lollipop, listening, light
We also watched a short movie about a man who in the world's eyes didn't have a whole lot, but he always felt blessed with everything he needed.  I loved when he said, "I don't know what else to be other than GRATEFUL."  What a great reminder of how truly blessed we are!

Fresh Prince, James Taylor and a Big Move

I'm feeling a bit like the Fresh Prince of Belair,
 "This is the story all about how, my life got flipped turned upside down."
You see, Nate was offered a job with IHC in Murray, UT, which is something we have been hoping for ever since he decided to go out into hospital administration. The only problem was, we had fallen head-over-heels in love with North Carolina and the life we had built there for the last eight years (almost) and now we had to say goodbye to it all -- not an easy task and certainly not easy to do in three and a half weeks.

How I was going to miss the trees of NC and the way they lined the freeway.

I was going to miss my WalMart where the checkers knew who my children were and would ask about them each time.

I was going to miss our church buildings (and even the 25 minute drive each way), where my ward became my family and where so much spiritual growth was made.  Where I was given the opportunity to be the YW's president and associate with some of the choicest young women E.V.E.R.

I was going to miss my neighborhood, the walks, the park and all the good people within.

I was going to miss my street and where my house stood --  it became a meeting place for dozens of neighborhood kids and for moms just needing to chat.

I would miss the Dollar Tree, where we frequented so  much that the clerks knew when my boys had had haircuts or when we went out of town.

I would miss the gym, where I ran hundreds of miles on the treadmill and met some awesome people!

I was going to miss Efland Cheeks Elementary, where we were known as the family "with all those kids."

I would miss MUM's preschool, where Ms. Andrews had an answer for every ailment I or my children ever had and where my children learned to love school.

I was going to miss my home, our first home.  It was ours and we loved it.  Where I brought my fourth child home from the hospital and the only home that any of my children really remember living in.

But most of all, I was going to miss the people.

I would miss Jaxton's teachers who loved on him and teased him and made him the sweetest going away movie and his friends who would come over or call just to say "hi."

I was going to miss Jillian's flurry of friends and their little giggles, her school and church teachers and ballet class.

I would miss friends from church and from the neighborhood who made it easier to live 36 hours away from home.

I would miss my YW, who became some of my best friends and people who taught me greater lessons than I could have ever expected.

I would miss friends who taught me how to care more, think deeper and be better and who would throw a killer Goodbye Party for us.

I would miss Beckam's friends and his teachers that nurtured his great potential.

I would miss play dates for the kids and Friday park days, which always turned out so therapeutic for me.

I would miss Mac's many teachers, coaches and friends who loved him and praised him and accepted his competitive spirit.

And I would miss "My Girls," my go-to people, my confidants, my builders, my advice-givers, my sisters away from my real sisters.

There was so much I was going to miss about NC. And while there's no telling what this next chapter of our lives will bring, I'm so thankful for the memories I have of such a wonderful place.
Utah will bring closeness to family once again and more job opportunities for Nate, but I'm sure there will be days that I will crave the humidity, the trees, the places and the people of NC.
On those days I'll feel like ole' James Taylor,
"In my mind I'm going to Carolina . . ."

Fall Soccer

It seems my months and seasons are marked by which sport my fellas are playing -- this fall brought soccer again.
All three boys played awesome and found big success on their teams.
Beckam realized after a few games that while everyone else on the field was running around in a herd to kick the ball, he would stand in front of the goal and just call for the ball when they all came closer and then when it was passed to him, he'd kick just it in.  He's a thinker, that Beckam of mine! Outsmart, out play.

Mac still remains the "go-getter" on the team and could be counted on to do well both offensively and defensively.   I love the fierce competitor in him and love seeing him work hard and find a sense of accomplishment in what he does.  Nate coached the team and did a great job with the boys as they took 2nd in the tournament.

Jaxton maintained his toughness again on the field this year. He ran fast, kicked hard, dribbled well, scored lots and defended with the best of 'em. His coach was especially sad to see Jaxton move at the end of the season and made us promise to keep him posted on all that Jaxton accomplishes on and off the field.

On to winter, or as it's known more in our home, basketball season!

HaLlOwEeN

I'm about 14 bloggable moments behind since our move across the country, so without further explanation, here's our Halloween.

Maybe next year we won't move right before the busiest time of the year and I'll have a moment or two to share all the wonderful things that made Halloween great.

Fall Family Pictures

We usually always get family pics done in Utah, so that we can bring a piece of "home" back to NC with us. 
This year was different.
Since we are moving in less than a week back to Utah, I thought it only right to have a photo shoot here in NC so we could bring a part of this wonderful state and these last 7.5 years with us on our move.
Oh how I'm gonna miss it here!