Aden's Eight is Great!

The reason for our trip home in June was Aden's Baptism. I can't believe he is eight already. Jade and Jeff's boys are growing up so fast. They are all baptized now and soon the priesthood ordinations will begin. Wow. I am grateful for their family. Grateful that they are striving to go and do the things they need to in order to raise their kids with a desire to serve the Lord. That is no small task in any day and age, and especially not easy now. I love the men in white. Aden was so nervous and a little scared that everyone would be looking at him. (He is a little on the shy side) He did just fine and his Daddy was there to help him through it all.

The men that were in the circle to bless Aden with the Gift of the Holy Ghost. The priesthood is a powerful thing and I am further grateful we have such committed priesthood holders in our family. It is a comforting feeling to know they are there for us in our families. From the left is Jamie, Papa K. Grumpy, R.B., Papa H. Jeff, Heber (Jeff's Dad), and Nathan. In front are the brothers 3, Jaxon, Aden and Ryker. Handsome men, all of them.

Lunch at the Olive Garden (Aden's choice). He does love his Olive Garden. It was quite a group! We had two waitresses that did an amazing job taking care of this motley crew. Just keeping up with all the kids drinks was a job by itself! So glad so many could come and enjoy the day with the Jarvis'. These are the days we live for. (well, I do anyway) Below is Taylor and his crazy hair. He is such a great young man. Gotta love the crazy hair. (you should have seen the back to really appreciate it).

I hope Aden will remember this day always and know how much we love him. I am writing these things down so that someday if he reads this he will know what a special day it was for him. He truly has such a sweet spirit and I know he will grow into a fine young man.

We love you so much Aden.

Ryker's Big Day

Ryker was so excited about getting baptized. He is kind of a quiet kid, around us anyway, but he was wound up pretty good as he looked forward to his baptism. He and his Daddy looked so handsome in their white jumpsuits as they got ready for their turn. Ryker was 1 of 3 boys being baptized in his ward on their stake baptism day. I got to design their programs and had a lot of fun doing that. I am posting what the program looked like since I probably won't keep one around forever. I had a great time doing them, and am always happy to make one more part of their day personal and special when I can. Of course I think he was the best looking kid on the program.



These folded into a trifold with the Order of Services on the front. It's always nice to have the words to the songs as there aren't always hymnbooks out in the rooms where the service takes place.


Handsome boys, and all excited for their day.



Above are most of the men that went to be in the confirmation circle for Ryker. Such a great heritage for Ryker to remember these fine men that were part of his special day.

After the service, we tried to go to the Olive Mill out in Queen Creek to eat. That was not to be. The wind was blowing so bad and the sky was threatening rain any minute, we ended up going down the road to Costa Vida for lunch. I guess I need to tape notes to my forehead to remember to take a few pics, because I didn't. It was a fun group of people and everyone had a good time. I hope Ryker knows how much we love him and are proud of him. He is an official member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints now. He has wonderful parents that will continue to lead and guide him in his path, and a whole bunch of extended family that will watch, help, and love him too.

I hope you will wear your CTR ring for the rest of your life. I know you will outgrow the one you have now Ryker, but always make sure you have one on your finger to remind you that Heavenly Father is close and will help you make good choices. Grumpy and I love you so very much.

Handsome in White

I do love to see these handsome dudes in white. All ready to go into the font and be baptized into this wonderful Church. Rylan was doing just that on January 8th, 2011. It was a really nice program done by their Stake. Very well organized and the talks were excellent. He was baptized and confirmed by his Dad and that was wonderful to see. The Bishop in their ward made sure Rylan knew that after being confirmed it was appropriate to shake hands with those that had been in the circle, and then his first act should be to give his Mom a big hug. He told Rylan that same scenario would be expected for all his ordinations still to come. It was funny to see Rylan taking all this in and nice to see him take it to heart. He is a good boy and we love him so much.



We got Rylan a gift card to Deseret Book so he could go in and get the right size for this cool CTR spinner ring. The outside band spins around on the ring and is way cool! I hope he likes it, and as he wears it will remember to make good choices.



Afterward we all went to Golden Corral, but we were headed off in the parking lot by R.B. It seems the restaurant had a party of 100 and a party of 60 coming in, so we headed across the street to Soup and Salad Plantation (I think that's the name). We had the whole place to ourselves (almost), so we had a good time with all the family that could be there. I think Rylan and Carson had at least 4 ice cream cones each. They do love their ice cream.

Our next baptism is in February for Ryker. Can't wait. I love to see our boys in white.

Rylee's Baptism

Since Summer and Jamie have been in their current house, Summer got re-acquainted with some old friends from high school. They had lots in common. The whole ward area here is pretty out going and soon Rylee was taking the lessons from the Sister Missionaries assigned to this ward. She decided she wanted to be baptized, so the date was set. Granny is usually good for a white dress when the girls want one, so off I went shopping for just the right fabric. I found everything I needed for Rylee's pretty dress and set about making it. It took me longer than I thought (as most things do these days), so we ended up borrowing back the actual outfit to be baptized in from Faith. It was nice that it could be worn again, and Rylee looked really cute in it. We decided to put a few yoyos on her dress, so she made them and I sewed them on. It all turned out very nice. It was a wonderful baptism. Rylee asked Megan and Stacie to speak on baptism, Summer's friend Stephanie spoke about the Holy Ghost and Grumpy and Tawna sang a special song. The Sister Missionaries spoke and there was quite a roomful of people.

Grumpy did the baptism and there were lots of uncles, and grandpas to assist in her confirmation. Everyone went to Sweet Tomatoes for a lunch afterwards and that was quite the experience. The little kids love to go there because they can choose all their favorite stuff. Of course they all love the soft serve ice cream.

It was a beautiful day for a beautiful girl. I love you Rylee.

Jaxon's Big Day

The Big Eight for Jaxon was in December, but he was baptized in January. It was a really nice day and Jaxon was really excited to get baptized. It was a pretty short meeting as there was only one other boy being baptized that day.




Lots of cousins were there to help celebrate this important day.



Grumpy and I got him a CTR ring that is a band with another band that spins around on it. He thought it was really cool. I hope he can keep it a long time and let it remind him to make good choices.



We can't do anything without eating of course, so off we went to Macaroni Grill. We were really early for our reservation, so wait we did. A long time. All the kids decided to play in the grassy retention basin and being the boy that he is, Jaxon just had to climb the tree.



It was a memory to cherish.

Eight Is Great…again!

Madison is now a baptized member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She made the decision to take that step and we are so very proud of her. We are also happy her dad baptized her, what a special day it was for her. Taya and Kevin planned a lunch before her baptism so relatives could come and have some angel hair with alfredo sauce, salad, garlic bread and dessert. It was fun to see everyone and so fun to see Madison in her font outfit and then her dress afterward. She is too sweet. I hope she remembers all the love in that room for her, and the wonderful feeling I know she had coming out of the water with a clean slate. I really hope she always remembers to listen to the spirit that will guide her in her life and not forget to stay worthy to hear that still, small voice. We all struggle with that from time to time, and so attending a baptism is a perfect way to remember the covenants we made and renew our efforts to live them more fully.

Everyone helped make Madison's day special for her. Aunt Tawna brought a delicious salad, I made alfredo sauce (for the first time) with Jade's coaching. Kevin cooked a ton of angel hair pasta and Grumpy and Papa K. brought dessert from Sam's Club. Kaitlin buttered the garlic bread and so it all came together for a memorable meal. (or two).




Bob was on hand to help with Emersyn, she was such a good girl for it all. It was a great day, and I hope Madison writes about her feelings on her blog so she won't forget them. Madison had lots of family there to support her and show her how much they care about her. It was nice to see the room full of people there for her. She is loved by many.




We love you Madison, now your next special white dress will be for Time and Eternity if you stay the sweet girl you are.

Faith is Eight!

She is eight, she is great and she is now baptized. What a wonderful day we had with Faith at her Stake baptism and then at Sweet Tomatoes. Her Aunt Stephanie sang for her, and did it well. There was a talk on what it means to be baptized and then one on the Holy Ghost. I made her a cute bubble top she wore with white leggings so she could have a little memento of her ordinance in the font. She had a sweet white eyelet dress to put on after she was dry to be confirmed in. Her daddy confirmed her and gave her a thoughtful and heartfelt blessing that I hope she will remember from time to time. Her mommy worked very hard to insure she had a memorable, pleasant day. The Mower family came from California to be with her here, and it was so very nice to see them and spend a little time with them. (That includes the Morales' too).

Faith was long awaited by her parents. She was prayed here by the faith of her Mom and Dad as well as our entire extended family. Her name is appropriate for the faith that was demonstrated for her to come to us. The Lord blessed us with her sweet nature, laid back personality, and yes, even her drama once in a while. She loves her family and we are forever thankful for her. She was born in the morning without too much ado. A good baby and easy to take care of. I remember Tawna was doing medical transcription at the time, and Faith would watch T.V. for a couple of hours even when she was so little and let Tawna do her job. She loves to play, dress and imagine with her dolls. This makes me so happy. I loved my dolls when I was her age and would dress them, and pretend all sorts of scenarios with them. I was the oldest in my family too and was used to playing on my own. I still treasure those dolls and hope she will love hers for a while to come. She is a source of joy and happiness to her family and I hope she knows how much we all love her.






Lots of family came to be a part of Faith's special day. Friends came as well and it was a very nice program.



Off to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch with all those who wanted to come. It was quite a group. Thanks Faith, you chose a good place to eat! We all love you so very much. You will be eight and great all year!

Austin's Big Day!

It's the year to be accountable for Austin. Now that he is eight he knows the difference between right and wrong and is responsible for his choices. He made the choice to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is the first of many good choices I hope he makes in his life. He reads his scriptures and knows that by praying to his Heavenly Father he can obtain answers to life's questions. Austin is a boy with lots of faith in the principles he has been taught. We are so happy he has started up the path to maturity with the commitment to be true to the covenants he made with his baptism. 

It was a fun day with lots of family and friends to share the joy with - complete with homemade ice cream and peach cobbler at Austin's house after the baptism. Yes, it's true he had to be dunked 3 times, but then it's a family trait that once may not get the job done. His cousins made the best poster for him. I love candy posters, they make such good memories. I especially love the pic of Rylan's thumbs up. It was definitely a thumbs up day!