Christmas 2011

As each year passes and my faith grows deeper and I become more in love with my Savior, Christmas seems to become simpler by every passing year. Besides all of the splendor of the holidays, Christmas brings me to a place of amazement... God sending His Son to this wretched place to save a horrible sinner like me? I do not deserve this kind of love... but my Savior draws me to a place of thankfulness for this exact love I so desperately need.


December was met with special family time...


In 2010 my parents started a new tradition... Christmas at the Crocker's! So every year my brothers family and my family spend the weekend before Christmas at my parents house. We have a family dinner on Friday night and the granddaughters decorate Christmas cookies with grandma. Then we wake up to breakfast and presents on Saturday morning. And we can't forget family pictures! I love being able to "get away" from all the busyness and celebrate Christmas with my family. I wish we would have started this tradition many years ago! 


Another special treat... Jeff's brother, Jason, his wife, Debbi and their 2 boys, Ryan and Kyle, flew in from Virginia on the 17th to spend Christmas in California. We had a wonderful time with the entire family together for 2 weeks. Lots of shopping, bowling, playing games, baking, sitting around talking, and the sound of cousins laughing together. We were really sad to see them leave. Kailee really misses playing with her cousin Kyle.


We also have spent my whole life since I can remember at my grandparents house for Christmas Eve. There is something about traditions that make up those wonderful memories you have as a child.


This year I decided we were going to do a couple things we haven't done before... I printed out passages of Scripture and taped them to the gifts we opened on Christmas morning so that before we opened our gift we could focus on the reason we really celebrate Christmas. Also this year Kailee and I decided to try and make a gingerbread house out of graham crackers, icing and candy. Let's just say it was really fun irregardless of the way it looked!


December came and went really quickly... but it was truly a memorable time.

Crocker Family Christmas

Bowling with the Price Family

Christmas Eve at Grandpa Jim and Grandma Claire's house

Christmas Morning

And the gingerbread house...

Halloween 2011

Oh how sad... it's the end of January 2012 and I am writing to catch up from October. I guess the holidays got the best of me. But oh were they fun! 


Jeff and I dressed up for Halloween this year, I was a cheerleader and Jeff, well.... He needed a little variety. He was a basketball player and a nerd. My husband cracks me up! Oh yeah, the kids dressed up too! ;) Kailee wore my niece's old cheer outfit and Jake wore his grandfather's (Jeff's dad) old army uniform from Vietnam. We decided to join the Snow family in Harveston on the 31st and trick or treat in their neighborhood.

Joy

Since October 1st Kailee has been asking if we can go to the pumpkin patch (the one with the rides). Finally we decided it was time to go spend our life savings on a couple of rides and a petting zoo! ;) This girl was so excited I thought she was going to burst. She didn't stop smiling and laughing and yelling and jumping around until we left and then told me she was sad because she should have taken her time doing everything because it went by too fast. Wise words from a 9 year old! Kailee had us all laughing from her expressions of excitement. I don't think I stopped smiling and laughing until we left too! There is nothing like seeing joy on someone's face! I was thinking about her joy and was left wanting that same joy in Jesus, my Savior just like Kailee enjoyed that pumpkin patch... with joy and excitement words cannot express, with love and thankfulness for what I have been given. May we jump and laugh and sing and run with joy for what we have been given in Christ!

 Every time she went around I would get a new face and pose! 

Kailee's 9th Birthday

Kailee turned 9 on August 15, 2011! We celebrated with a party and all her friends new and old were there. They swam most of the time but also had fun playing hot potato, hide and seek and also had a dance competition! Even Jeff enjoyed some of the dancing (I didn't get a picture of that one)! I am still trying to figure out how that angelic blue eyed baby girl has become a beautiful 9 year old in the blink of an eye! ;) 

Picking Peaches

Back in July we went to visit my cousin in Chowchilla, Ca. On our way home having already spent 8 hours in the car that day, I saw a sign off of the freeway that said "You Pick Peaches". So at the last minute I decided the four of us needed to do something spontaneous and so we were on our way to pick some peaches. It felt like it was 100 degrees that day, the kids thought I was crazy I am sure of it. When we got there, they had a little petting zoo where we fed the animals and then took our wheelbarrow down the rows of peach trees. The owner told us to go ahead and pick a peach and taste it to make sure we liked it so we all started pulling peaches off of the trees and eating them right there, they were some of the best peaches I have ever tasted! We brought home around 60 peaches that day.