Our First Christmas in Sorrento

I love my new house! I love my new neighborhood! I love the name of my new town! We thoroughly enjoyed our first Christmas here. In fact, Jared and I agree it is one of our most favorite Christmases we've had in awhile. I was a little nervous about hosting, but it went off splendidly. The food was great! The company was better! The children loved being with cousins and really were in the Christmas Spirit. Ethan made me proud when he asked if he could purchase gifts for his siblings with some leftover birthday money. He thoughtfully chose something for each of them.It was so sweet.

I was so busy cooking and hosting I didn't snap a single picture. Thankfully, Rachel got a few!

Enjoying Lyla's Karaoke Machine!

I love my nephews! 

Here's Logan putting up with as per usual. and Owen being the super cute baby he is.

More babies! Grayson, Baby Devin, and Uncle Brad

Happy First Christmas Weston!

Merry Christmas 2015

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! It is an especially exciting Christmas for us this year. First Christmas in our new house. First Christmas for baby Weston. We have had many blessings in the past year and are so grateful for our greatest blessing of all, our Savior, Jesus Christ. He brings us joy and heals our sorrows. He brings us peace and gives us strength. He brings us comfort and fills us with love.

Our second greatest blessing is our family! In early Fall, we were privileged with being photographed by Davina Fear (www.davinafear.com). Our good friends, the Dawson's, entered us into a contest and we WON! Davina came and spent two hours with us documenting "normal" life. Below are some of my favorite shots. I told Davina, after sobbing through my slide show, that I didn't have the words to thank her for this gift. I spent most of the last year feeling inadequate in my roles of mother and wife.   These photos showed me that I am doing better than I think I am! 

Enjoy a day in the life of Krause Haus!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I think 2016 is going to be fabulous!

Weston is 8 months

Weston turned 8 months! We love this guy! He is generally a smiley guy, but only if Mommy (or Gigi) is holding him. I purchased this beautiful wrap just so I could hold him and still get things done. He loves it and it helps me to carry him around longer. Although at 22 pounds he is still a heavy load.

One of my favorite things about Weston, are his eyes. My older four children have a version of Jared's dreamy blue eyes. I have a hazelish eye color and always feel so left out. The kids always assured me it was all good because the dog had brown eyes too. It really isn't the same. Weston's eyes are just like mine and it is just--Wow! I really have no words. It is like seeing into my own soul a little bit. I love that he is all Krause, but he shares my eyes. It is a beautiful combination.

Another favorite thing about Weston, is his cousin, Owen! Owen is exactly four weeks younger than Weston. Occasionally we can see each other on a "month-day" and get a photo. Here is a selfie of Owen (7 months) with Weston!

Special Night

We started a new thing back in September called "Special Night." Each child gets his/her own night to stay up a little late with Mom or Dad or both of us and do something of their choosing. I try to encourage non-media related activities, but they are allowed occasionally. I really enjoyed some of our most recent special nights.

Landon wanted to make a "lights" decoration, so we did. I think it turned out great and really jazzed up our stocking wall.

 Pretty much 3/4 of our decorations are paper crafts. Earlier in the month, Grayson drew Christmas-themed pictures for each of our bedroom doors. 

Miriam and I took turns polishing one another's toes on her very first special night. It's hard to see, but she definitely has a career as a nail tech in her future. :0

Book Worm

Ethan is growing up so much! On my upstairs to bed recently, I saw his light was still on. I slowly opened the door to encourage him to turn out the light and found this...

I shot a quick photo before taking his book and turning out the light. This just made me so happy. Ethan loves to read! He literally has four books in his backpack at all times and walks to the bus stop with his nose in a book. One of these days he is going to trip. He just can't put it down once he starts. I totally understand this problem and hope it is a problem he has for a long time. 

Rounding out November

November was an extremely busy month. We partied hard in November! Here's a quick photo update to round out the month.

Jared and I attended the wedding reception of Sabella and Michael.  Sabella was in my Sunday school class 10 years ago! She was only 12 and I was 25.  I'm so proud of the beautiful woman she has become. It was a very special day.

Weston was sick, so he and I got a marathon snuggle day while everyone else was at church and Grandma's house.  He discovered Phoebe for the first time and was petting her. It was very cute.

Look at that sweet face.

The week of Thanksgiving, the children were all home from school. They made a new clubhouse sign. Apparently "the boss" is Grayson.

My brother, Tony, had a birthday the day after Thanksgiving. It worked out that Stacey, Tony, and I could get together without kids or spouses. We played a game and talked. It was wonderful to be with my siblings. They really are my best friends.

Christmas came to Krause Haus. It is our first Christmas in our new house and I am so excited. Jared and the children made these snowflakes (they are hanging all around the downstairs). I love them.

Our elf, Kristoff, is back. He just moves around and doesn't make mischief like some of those other elves. He has been a little lazy and sometimes stays in the same place for two or three days.

This year, we went to Santa's Christmas Tree Farm and cut down our very own Florida-grown Christmas tree.  It is very pretty and we had a great time at the farm.

I love seeing all these stockings in a row. The first two were made by my BYU roomie, Nicole, as a wedding present. When I got pregnant with Ethan, I called her and requested a stocking for him. She kindly made his stocking. I realized I couldn't call her up for a stocking every time I had a baby, so I requested the pattern so I could make sure all future stockings matched. With Aunt Teresa's help, I made Grayson and Landon's stockings a few years ago. I made Miriam's on my own. I also made Weston's on my own just last week. I finally used YouTube to learn a basic embroidery stitch, so Weston's stocking looks much more polished than the other three I did. 

Jared took the week after Thanksgiving off. It was so fun having him home! He finished several projects around the house, including a major one in the garage. He also got a lot of fun time in with the children. I think he should do this every year!

Grayson is 6!

Grayson is such an amazing child! I love that he is in our family. He is so inquisitive and full of life. He had a pretty epic birthday week.  On Monday, he got to ride in a limo and eat frozen yogurt as a reward for his contribution to the school's read-a-thon fundraiser.

On Wednesday, his actual birthday, Landon, Miriam, Weston, and I met him at school for lunch adn brought him an Italian Ice.  Later, the Cottle's came for dinner and we enjoyed some of his favorites: roasted broccoli, roasted chicken, buttered noodles, and more Italian Ice.

And, finally, on Friday, he was awarded the Terrific Kid award for Respect at the monthly assembly.