A Christmas Dinner With Our Dear Friend, Shirleen

You will probably notice that I do not have very many pictures (or posts for that matter) for December last year. This is due largely to the fact that I was busy with our business, and also because when I did document occasions with my obsessive picture taking, it was with my phone. So enjoy these next few posts for December, and gear up for many more pictures of our December last year in my mobile pictures post for July to December 2012, that I will be posting right after the next few.

 

Now, with that small disclaimer taken care of, onto the post at hand! When we lived in Murray, we quickly befriended Shirleen (one of our neighbors), and ever since we left, the hardest part was not being able to see her as often. So, to remedy the situation, we get together for a reunion dinner every now and again. At the beginning of last December, we had her over for a special candle-lit dinner to welcome in the holiday spirit. It was a wonderful night as we enjoyed the yummy food, dessert (Jayden’s favorite part), and of course, one another’s company, while being surrounded by Christmas lights and decorations. If you ask me, you just can’t beat good times, and good food, with good people, especially during the holidays!

Mmmm…chocolate truffle pie!!!

Okay, so based upon Jayden’s smile in the picture above, maybe the family walk at the end of the night was his favorite part. It sure was the perfect way to welcome December and Christmas time!

Jayden’s First Haircut!

Jayden had his first haircut last November. Yup…I cried. Not only because my baby did not look like a baby anymore, but because Jayden hated it and I felt like we were torturing him. It was not one of my favorite moments with our little guy. The good news? He loved looking at himself in the mirror afterwards, and although I did not enjoy my baby looking like a little boy, I must say he looked pretty handsome! It did not take long until he was playing and having fun again, and forgot all about that dreaded experience.

 

He has had two more haircuts since and still does NOT like them one bit! We usually bribe him with a banana (he is OBSESSED with them) to get him to sit still. Maybe one day it will get easier, but for now I am just glad I have a talented and patient Mom to cut his hair, so I don’t have to.

Poor guy had no idea what was coming…

I made the very first cut, so I could keep a little bit of hair for his scrapbook to document his first haircut (I felt like I was cutting off his fingers the way he screamed), then I turned it over the the professional. He got a little bit better after a little while.

I don’t think he knew what to think about it all.

Good thing Daddy was there to snuggle with!

I just love our handsome, little baby boy!

Grandma and Grandpa Durfee’s 50th Wedding Anniversary

Last November, my cute Grandparents celebrated their 50th Anniversary with family. It was a special treat, since even those families from out of state were able to come for the celebration. They all enjoyed two days of partying and spending time as a family. Ben and I were only able to make it one day, due to work. The good news? It was the day of the family pictures, lunch at Maddox, the family program at my parent’s for the guests of honor, and bowling, so we were happy. The next day, they all met at my Aunt’s house for breakfast and games. It was such a wonderful day for us, and a wonderful couple of days for my grandparents and family, I am sure.

Two of my best friends!

We all sure love our little guy!

My Uncle Curtis and his family. Aren’t they a riot?

Sorry, the next few pictures are a bit blurry. My camera died, and I had to resort to my phone. My cute Grandma was the one who requested we all go bowling, so she could enjoy watching all the grandkids play.

Even Jayden bowled for the first time, and knocked down a good solid eight pins his first turn! Way to go Jayden!!!

We all had so much fun celebrating family, love, and life together!

Thanksgiving and Decking the Halls in 2012!

Thanksgiving last year was such a wonderful day. Even after all the hard that Ben and I went through last year, we still found ourselves to be so very grateful, for so very much! We celebrated Thanksgiving once again at my Aunt Kayleen’s house, and it was delicious and wonderful as always I was too busy stuffing my face and visiting to take many pictures, but I stole the first few pictures from the ones my Uncle Richard tagged me in on Facebook (because let’s face it, his camera is much better than mine, and he got some good ones), and snapped a few more myself. It was a fabulous Thanksgiving feast with our amazing family!

You just gotta love those wiggly, blurry, baby feet!

After stuffing ourselves with turkey, mashed potatoes, and pie, Grandma came home with us, and we set up Christmas in our first home for the first time. It was magical, and we loved sharing it with her. She helped me so much with figuring out where to put everything in our new place. It was the perfect end to a perfect Thanksgiving Day! And hey, I waited until Thanksgiving this year.

My Grandma helped me come up with the idea of putting my Christmas village above the cupboards, since we cut up the entertainment center. I LOVED it! It was so fun decorating for Christmas for the first time in OUR first home!

I have said it once, and I will say it again…I absolutely LOVE the enchanting charm the holidays bring to life and the world!

Our First Primerica Event!

Not only was this our first event with Primerica, but it was also our first time getting recognized for all of our hard work, and it.felt.good. This is the day we officially became District Leaders! This is such an AMAZING business and we feel so grateful to be a part of it! We feel good about where our efforts have gotten us thus far, and can’t wait for our future here with some of the best people, in the best business that I know! So here is to bettering lives, bettering people, and bettering ourselves! I apologize in advance for the blurry pictures. Our camera is temperamental and you have to push the button halfway to focus and then all the way to take the picture, which is hard to explain to other people I randomly get to take pictures of us. It was a two day event, with the formal event on Friday night, and then the awesome training meeting on Saturday.

The District Leaders and our Leaders

The new RVPs on our team! Way to go guys!!!

After the late night event and early morning training with an hour commute, we were a bit tired. Good thing the sacrifice was SO worth it!

Awards for being in the top for recruiting and production!

Our AMAZING team!

You may notice that I have very few posts and pictures of the month of November. This would be due to the fact that I was so busy building our business. It was time well spent.

Halloween 2012!

Last Halloween, Jayden and I joined my family in Perry for trick-or-treating, since Ben (unfortunately) was busy with work and school. It was so hard not being able to have Ben there for Jayden’s first time trick-or-treating, but I was glad we were at least able to be surrounded by my family for his first Halloween adventure.
 

Once again, I dressed Jayden in the pumpkin costume my Mom made for me when I was a baby. He was SO cute in it last year, but it fit even better than his first Halloween. It was also fun (and a little sad), to see just how much he had grown and changed in a year’s time. I had not planned a costume, as it was a little last minute that we were planning on going trick-or-treating at all. Lucky for me, with all the kids in my family and all those Halloweens over the years, my Mom had quite the collection of costumes. Most were quite small, however, and I ended up sticking to Jayden’s pumpkin theme, by going as a pumpkin myself (even if the costume was a little less than a perfect fit). Jayden and I had SO much fun! He was so cute and picked up pretty fast on the fact that at every door he got candy. He was pretty happy about it, and I even let him cheat and eat some as we strolled from house to house in Perry.

He is such a cute little punkin!

All ready to go trick-or-treating!

Jayden scored BIG time with BIG candy bars at our very first house. We picked out Daddy’s favorite to take home to him. :)

Once all the trick-or-treating fun was over, Jayden and I drove home while Ben finished up his last little bit of school. When we got home, we all drove to the store for some goodies to throw a little Halloween party at home just Ben, Caleb, Jayden and I. You know what? That was the best part of the night for Jayden and I ( if you can’t tell by the BIG smiles he kept delivering all throughout the store, that continued once we got home) and he LOVED cuddling up with Daddy, Mommy, and Caleb, while we all enjoyed a Halloween movie party as a family.

Can you tell someone was glad to have his Daddy back? Biggest smiles of the night-by far!

Happy Halloween 2012!