7 days until Christmas

Only 7 days until Christmas and I am so excited! I heard a really neat thing today at work that I wanted to share, it's about Christmas. A friend says that she does it every year for her neighbors and it helps them(herself included) remember the true meaning of Christmas. She buys a nativity set and delivers one peice a day leaving the baby Jesus until the day after Christmas, on the baby Jesus gift she leaves she asks the question, "Did you remember the true meaning of Christmas this year?". This helps her family and the families she is delivering it to remember the true meaning of Christmas. It's neat!

Christmas time is so fun and I love the feeling of it! It's neat to have so much time with your family, give things to people you love and even people you don't know, bake yummy things, smell the smells of Christmas time, enjoy laughter and remember our savior. This year I am definately able to remember our savior more because I am teaching it to the little ones in my primary class. It is an awesome reminder of why we even have Christmas!

We are leaving to California in 5 short days and I can't wait! It will be fun to see the California family and get to know them a little more. This is a special year as well because Kip's mom and dad are leaving for the mission. I am excited to be able to go and see them give there farewell talk and spend some time with them since they will be gone for a while.

15 days until Christmas

Only 15 more days until Christmas and 13 days until California. I'm so excited to be going to California for Christmas and I am loving this Christmas season. Working at Focus helps me remember that not all people are as fortunate as I am. I am grateful for the opportunities that come to me and for the smiles it brings to others faces when I am able to help!

Monday night we got to see Cache perform at his choir concert and he did so good! He looked very handsome and sang every song. I am grateful for him inviting us to come watch him.

Last night I got to go see my Grandpa and Grandma Barker with Cassie and Noah. We got to visit and enjoy the time spent together. They were so cute to go and get us all of this yummy food just for the visit we had with them.

Thanksgiving

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and it was a really fun day. We got to sleep in until 9 which is a rare treat, it felt really good! We visited my dad at my Grandma Jones' and then we had dinner at my Grandma Barker's with the rest of my family. It was really fun and we ate a lot of really yummy food! I got to hold Noah and Asher, both of which are getting so big already. Noah seems so much more alert and like he wants to smile already. Asher is talking and actually likes me to hold him and play with him now instead of always wanting his mom.

I got to talk with mostly all of my brothers and sisters and that is always nice. Caleb had a football tournament this weekend and won his first game in the tournament yesterday. I got to help Cache pass off some scout stuff and that was a lot of fun! Crystal and I planned a sleepover at my house next weekend. Jordan is busy dating new girls and has decided to move in with my dad instead of staying with his freinds which is a very good choice. :) Everyone else seems really good!

Kip went duck hunting this morning at 4:00 AM and I missed him tons! He came home with 3 nice ducks but said it was the coldest hunt he's been on in awhile and thinks it will be his last this season. We ate the duck for dinner tonight but it wasn't very good, I guess I'm not much of a duck person.

Duck hunting and Baby Noah

Kip went duck hunting with his cousin James awhile ago but we hadn't seen the pictures from the hunt. Kip just got them and wanted to post them. There is a picture of Kip and one of his cousin James' dog, Sadie. Kip thinks that she was one of the most amazing dogs and very beautiful!

As you know little Noah was born last Friday early in the morning so I am posting a picture of him while at the hospital visitng. He is so freakin cute!

It's finally baby time.....

I got a call from an excited Cassie today at around 4:30 saying she was going to be induced tonight at 5:30. So I rushed to call Cassie and rushed home to fix Kip dinner then rushed to the hospital. Here we are at 11:30 Pm and she is has just gotten her epidural and is hopefully going to have him soon. It's hard to see her in so much pain but is so exciting because a new little one will be here soon! While Cassie was getting her epidural I walked down to the nursery and saw cute little baby twin girls, just born one with blond hair and one with dark hair. They were so cute!!

Basketball and horses

Here are some pictures of Kip playing basketball and playing with the horses. We bought a basketball a couple of weeks ago and now Kip is able to play anytime, he loves it! The horses are Burke's horses but they live in our backyard so we go visit them once in awhile. It's really fun having them in our backyard since we get to see more of Burke's family!

November here we come

I can't believe it's already November but I am so excited! I swear I never thought it would come since Cassie and Kevin (my sister and her husband) told me they were due in November. I have been waiting and waiting to see their new little one but he still isn't here yet, his due date is November 6, 2008. Maybe I'm a little anxious but I just can't wait. Hopefully he'll come tomorrow because I am so excited to meet him!

Halloween was last weekend and it was a really nice night. Kip and I picked up Cassie and we all went to dinner since her husband was working he couldn't come. (: While driving to dinner we saw my little brother Jordan and stopped to talk to him which was good because it's a rare occasion to see him. After dinner we went to the grand parent's and my mom's to visit everyone. Aidan and Asher were so cute in their costumes and I loved getting to hang out with them for awhile( I think their mom liked it too since their dad had been working and she was tired).

Christmas is just around the corner and I have to admit October, November, December and January are some of my most favorite months of the year. I love the meaning and feeling Christmas brings and especially the family parties! I love shopping and with Christmas comes shopping so it makes me really happy! I admit I've already started but will hopefully finish in the coming weeks. Happy shopping everyone!

The big buck

Here is a picture of Kip's first buck and he is a nice one!

Sunny Sunday...My favorite

On Sunday we had the funnest day! Kip and I had the opportunity to watch Aidan and Cache in the primary programs at church. They did so good and it was so much fun to watch them say their parts! After church we went to my mom's house for dinner, it was so loud cuz all of us kids were there but so much fun at the same time. We went to Grandma Jones' after dinner to visit her and we all sat around and talked which was really nice. After Grandma's we got to go to family home evening at Tami and Tim's which was another crazy experiance but one that I loved! We all got together to plan Cassie's baby shower and Brooke's bridal shower and it was a lot of fun. We missed Megan and Amy but it was still good to visit with everyone. I love Sunday's and all that they bring church, soft Sunday sounds, family, relaxing and visiting. Some of my favorite things!

Fall is here

Fall is finally here and I love it! I love this time of year and all that comes with it! Football, school, hunting, Halloween and so much more! I love the fall leaves and the beautiful weather that usually accompanies it! This year Cassie will be having her baby and that is something that will be so much fun!

Life is great!

Life is going so well! This weekend we found out Kip's brother Aaron and his wife Krisi are expecting a new little one; we are so excited for them! I have heard of some many close friends and family expecting babies and it makes me so happy for them! His parents also got their mission call to Mexico City Temple, Mexico. That is so exciting for them! His parents leave January 12th and seem very excited for the opportunity to serve the lord. Hope all is well with everyone else!

My friends at Focus

Yesterday I received a call from Sam Foster who is my boss at work telling me the news that our friends who were traveling to Guatamala had been in a plane crash. We had 5 Focus employee's traveling to Guatamala to do a yearly Humanitarian project for a village down there. They had arrived in Guatamala City Saturday evening and on Sunday morning boarded a small airplane that would take them to the village where they would give service. The pilots reported engine trouble and went in to make an emergency landing in a field but they weren't able to. Four out of the five Focus people died and the survivor is in critical condition in a hospital in Guatamala. It really made me stop and think about how precious life really is. You never know when your time will be and every second of your life is so very precious. I think it will be something that helps me remember the important things in life and that we should take advantage of every single moment we have with the ones we love.

Blog update

Today I got busy building my blog and it was a lot of work! I love doing it and have a ton of fun learning how it works! I can't wait to continue to improve it each day and I love hearing about other people's blogs as well!

Our latest adventures

Hi all,

I thought I'd post our most recent pictures from our camping trip. These pictures are of our latest adventure to the Uinta's. We went camping with my sister and her husband; it was beautiful! The misquitos were crazy, I got bit a million times (they didn't even bite Kip) and it rained a lot of the time but it was worth it to get away for awhile. Kip was disappointed because there weren't a lot of fourwheeling trails around us but still had an enjoyable time.

These pictures might be a surprise for some of you because you haven't seen Kip with hair or a beard but this is what he's looking like right now.

Jessica

Our new blog

Hi all,

Today I decided to start a blogspot for Kip and myself. I have been getting really bored once I get everything I need to at the house done so this will help occupy my time. Last Saturday I decided to create a picture book from our wedding at www.blurb.com and it has been so much fun! I didn't think I would have very much fun with it but surprisingly I did. I worked on it Saturday evening, a little on Sunday after church and finished tonight. I am really pleased with how it turned out and can't wait for our copy to arrive. Feel free to check it out as it is published for the public to veiw at www.blurb.com/bookstore/new because we just published it.

On Sunday my dad's side of the family had a big family home evening and I was so excited to go. Last week when I had Mikey up from Salt Lake he showed me a text from Joni (my cousin) and it said that she was going to have a baby. To say the least I was shocked because I hadn't heard anything. So I text her and asked her about it, she didn't confirm or deny so I decided maybe she wasn't ready to tell anyone. Then I got the call that we would be having family home evening on Sunday at her parents house and I thought for sure her and Dave would make the announcement then. But Joni and Dave never showed up to family home evening however her mom did announce the preganancy and told us that Joni was to sick to come to the party. Poor thing but I am so excited for them!

Jessica