O Christmas Tree

Each year on Christmas Eve we take a photo or at least have one in front of the tree......here's from my very first Christmas up to last year!

1995

1996

1997

Kadens first Christmas!

1998

1999

Something happened to 2000.....oh ya my mom was super preggers with mace!

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Oh hello self timer...

2009

The year we lived with gma

2010

Very first Christmas in our new house!

2011

2012

Kaden fell asleep before we took the photos!

2013

2014

As you can see we've grown a lot....changed my hair...our teeth grew in....we bought a fake tree instead of real...we got a cute puppy....and always had some pretty cute jammies!

back to blogging

my poor blog has been neglected for too long.

so since it's christmas why not start again right?

hopefully the  next few days my blog will be filled with christmassy goodness...no promises...but i'll try.

i started playing christmas music and decorating as soon as december first hit. november was a crazy month. emotionally. spiritually. physically. so i was more than excited when december and the snow came along. i started to feel happy again. i got a new job and decided that i was going to make december the best month of this year. the christmas season makes me more happy than anything else. except for maybe summer. it's a close second though. but lately there hasn't been snow and while that's been nice it just doesn't feel like christmas without SNOW! crazy i'm even saying that because i'm definetly not a winter person...but like i said...christmas needs snow!

but i have been listening to my favorite christmas playlist every day to and from work and while i get ready in the morning to put me more in the christmas spirit! so if you'd like to listen to my favorite christmas songs the link to my spotify playlist is here
      https://open.spotify.com/user/jaelynnkai/playlist/5HU2JT3wZHvzUYJgC6S06v


also i'll link some of my other favorites below :) happy listening!

my not so little brother

this month has been a big one for my sweet little brother! he turned 18 and graduated from both seminary and high school! and i am  oh so proud of him for making it this far! 

kaden was probably my first best friend. i guess the first few years of his life i didn't really like him...and we've had our arguments over the years...and i may be the reason he broke his collarbone, got stitches a few times and had to almost be flown off of the mountain for stitches one summer holiday...BUT trust me we share great memories too! From sleepovers at grammas, playing polly pockets, and watching chuck wagon races to playing play station games, camping and playing farm set. we were always playing something! our teenager lives haven't always been smooth sailing and we don't really do as much together even though we try! but he stuck by me through the hardest trial of my life and that was a pretty great brotherly thing to do. now he's a big grownup guy who gets to come to YSA things with me! 

so congrats kaden and the rest of the class of 2015 on such a big accomplishment! 

and i know i don't say it often enough but i really do love my brother and i hope that his next adventure is amazing! xo

         

                       

                       

                       

                  

                       

                                  

all lead me here to this...

it's crazy to think that one tiny thing could change a lifetime of events.

when i graduated i regretted not trying harder in my classes i needed to become a pharmacy tech. but because i didn't get the grades i wanted i got to move in with my cousin and upgrade at a different school and found my new passion and met amazing people. and if that never happened i wouldn't have found out i wanted to do hair and i would have never applied for the hair school i'm at now AND i would never have met some of the greatest friends ever. and if all of that never happened i could not even imagine where my life would be now.

one of my best friends is currently serving in the tokyo japan mission. often in her letters she tells me "everything happens for a reason". for a long time i never wanted to believe that. but i think that there's a plan for everyone and sometimes what you think you're supposed to do isn't what you're really supposed to do. sometimes you miss out on things or have regrets BUT each of those things has brought you to where your life is at RIGHT NOW all you can do is put all your trust into knowing it'll all work out and i could not be more grateful for every tiny moment that has brought me to where i am.

Oh sweet the joy this sentence gives...

easter is one of my favorite times of year. i probably love it more than Christmas. easter was my gramma's favorite holiday and i have soooo many great memories because of her. easter egg throws, picnics and bunny lapins...and the colours are beautiful and there's baby animals! and while all of that is so wonderful it's easy to lose sight of why easter truly is remarkable.

christmas is great because we celebrate jesus christ's birth. but easter is even more great because we celebrate his life and death and atoning sacrifice for each and every one of us. i wish i could put all of my thoughts and feelings about christ onto one blog post but it would take wayyy to much time so instead i'll leave you with this...

I know Jesus Christ lives. because he lives i am never alone. he is there in my moments of joy and happiness and also there through my heartache because he is the only one who knows EXACTLY how i feel. he knows me better than i know myself. because he died and was resurrected so can i. i can live with him and those i love forever. because he lives i can overcome satan's daily influence on me. he is there if you let him in. never ever ever forget how much he loves you <3