December, where have you gone?

I don't have an excuse: 
Don't worry...I'm annoyed with myself for not blogging in such a long time too...I feel your pain! :)  Has Christmas really come and gone???  During this holiday season we have witnessed some blessings in our lives and I'm thankful that I've been able to appreciate them and ponder them even more than I did when they first happened.  This will be a catch up post for me and maybe this time if you read through all of it I will add toppings to the ice cream I promised in the last post!


Thanksgiving at the Shaver Home: 
We went to S.V. to spend it with my family and we had a great time!  We treasured the moments we had together because it was the last time I will see my Justin Bieber look-a-like  brother Jarom for 2 years, he left to the MTC on Dec 1 and will be preparing to serve his mission in Malaga Spain. And next year there is a good chance that my sister Amber will be deployed. :(

It's tradition for my Mom and Dad to eat at this one Mexican Restaurant called Ricardo's every Friday so we all wanted to go there one last time with Jarom. 

Nicki (my brother's girlfriend) and my sisters Tara & Amber

Jarom's farewell talk ended up being on the same day as his 20th birthday.  The zero did not sink into the cake...I actually had to push it down cause my Mom had no zero...I think it was an 8!  Ha! 

Jarom's Farewell Talk: 
I was a tad bit worried for my bro cause he had to wait a bit to go on his mission, but seeing the growth he experienced while he did have to wait turned out to be a blessing. I'm thankful for you Jarom and for your undeniable testimony of the gospel that you so willingly shared in your talk.  I'm thankful for the courage you possess to go and serve the Lord for 2 years and to do it with a happy and positive attitude.  After you left I realized that you and Jocelyn are angels in my life that are here to support and help me sustain that foundation of the church for the rest of our family...hopefully this will help them find their way back one day.


Thank you for bringing up the topic of eternal families in your talk and what that meant to you, it made me realize what a valuable blessing this can be to all of us.  You are an example to me and because of your faith I know we will be blessed as a family.  I love you dearly and hope that you will always live up to what Heavenly Father knows that you can be. :)

Misc Pics: 
My Mom's cute dog Rocky then my sisters again.  Do you love that my sisters are models and so beautiful!?!?  Ugh, they make me feel so old fashioned!! 

My Mom and I had matching pea coats so of course I had to take a pic!! :)

Hanging out at the Mall at Sierra Vista which is really the Hallway of Sierra Vista!  So many random stores go in and out of this place, there was a Western Store this time that we stopped by in. 

We did a Shaver first this year and went bowling...I know there are no actual pics of us bowling, but here are some of us on the sidelines!  My poor Mom kept getting gutter balls, but towards the end finally started to get some pins down! 

Guess who got to play Santa this year?!?!? 

Jeffrey DID!!!   A lady from our ward called last minute asking him if he could cause I guess a couple of people backed out and they need someone desperately!  Jeff accepted the calling and when he hung up with her said, "She only asked me cause I'm a chubby kid!"  I think that has to be one of his most favorite things to say!!  And honey, you are not the chubby kid!  You couldn't even fill out the Santa suit, it was so big on you!! 

I pretended to help him get dressed and didn't actually end up doing much cause I DIED laughing at him...I couldn't help it!!  It was one of those laughs that feels sooooooo good to let it all out, and at the same time you are crying and about to pee your pants laughing!  We had no mirror so Jeff kept putting his wig on wrong and the poor thing was sweating so much in the costume.

This is Bentley one of our Primary kids, he is the MOST reverent little kid I have ever met.  He is so darn sweet and so CUTE, we love that he is so quiet and good in class!!!!  The other boys always try to rile him up and he still won't act up!

Is it bad to have favorites??!?!  Well we do, this cute girl is named Elodie and we love her to pieces!  She has the most precious voice, I could listen to her talk all day long.

This is one of our other primary kids, Hyrum.  He is so SMART...I think it's cause he was prob named after Hyrum Smith!!!  I think he knows the scriptures better than I do!!

I was the last one to get a pic with Santa but it was well worth the wait!  He said if this ever happens again he will find a way for me to be Miss Clause! :)

Happy 3rd Year Anni to us!!! 

Dec 14th was our 3rd year anni!!  We have learned to be very frugal since I'm the only one working right now so we tried to keep it simple.  I usually have to leave to work at 6:15 so Jeffrey was so sweet and woke up and made me breakie! :)  I wasn't supposed to spend any money but I thought of an idea that was pretty cheap so I had to go through with it.  Jeffy pretends not to eat sweets...but if you know him well you know that it's his weakness and he will eventually give in to all of them!!  I left this all on the table for him before I left to work that day. 

Sign explaining what the treats were for: 

  

I thought it worked out pretty well and Jeff liked that for a whole week he had a dessert for after every meal!  There were a total of 7 treats, I got them all at AJ's Fine Foods at their tasty little bakery, they have a display full of naughty stuff and it's hard to resist!!  It worked out well cause each dessert came in its own container that fit it perfectly too!  I can't wait for all the future adventures we get to share with one another! :) Love you Jeff! 

Recently: 

I have been soooooooooooo sick, it's horrible!  It's been the worst cough ever and lately I have been walking around with a box of kleenix and a pocket full of cough drops...poor Jeff can't sleep at night cause I cough so much.  I feel much better today and finally had the energy to finish this post!  I think Jeffy might be getting sick now so it's my turn to take care of him. 

Jeff finished this semester with taking a total of 21 credits and did an amazing job and ended up with very high grades in all his classes.  I know I don't express it much Jeff, but I am so thankful for your hard work and determination to finish school, you did a remarkable job and I'm always inspired by your knowledge.   The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and he only has 3 classes left in the Spring and is hoping to find an engineering internship soon too. 

I thankfully was not part of the lay offs at U of P but that doesn't say much since we keep hearing that there will be more to come! :(  They are going through a lot of changes and finally making some right decisions, but along the way the employees are affected. 

Hopefully there will be more updating to come soon...leave me a comment with what topping you want on that ice cream! :)