Merritt Memories

We celebrated Christmas in our brand new house!! Our first time having a fireplace. We actually hung our stockings on the mantel. We really tries to scale down Christmas this year. We say we are going to every year, but I feel we did well this year. We really want our children to know and understand that Christmas is more than presents. Each kid received 3 presents this year. One from parents, one form siblings, and one from Santa. Even with less, they still enjoyed the holiday! our family Christmas card picture Ryan  Aaron Grace Kate Becca Britten

I was cleaning my little girls' room the other morning. Becca was in there. She was writing in her new journal that she had bought herself- she, and I, was pretty proud of the purchase. She asked me if I would like to see what was inside. I said, "Of course!" She pulled the key from her pillow case, the perfect hiding spot!   She opened to the first page. She had made a list. A to-do list. It read:   Becca's to do list   1. watch baby 2. help Kate 3. draw cakes   I got a chuckle out of her cute, little list. I knew she had done everything on it. She always watches the baby and helps Kate. The next three pages were drawings of her beautiful cakes. I was a little jealous of her list. How nice would it be for my list to resemble hers?   I think sometimes as adults we complicate our lives to the extreme. We fill our time with things that need to be done, but often find things that aren't quite so pressing are eating up the remainde...

Aaron is a good kid! He has his moments, but they really are very few. He is the greatest helper a parent could ask for! He does anything you ask without complaining. That is, except shave in the month of November! I was late in getting birthday pics because of the move. It pushed his pictures back in November. When I asked him to shave he said, "Mom, it's no-shave November. I'm not shaving."   It drives me crazy that my 14 year-old has a mustache in his pictures, but it will make for a great memory!   I love you, Aaron. you and I butt heads because we are both stubborn, but you are awesome! I'm glad that you know who you are and that you're not willing to budge on that for anyone. You look out for the underdog. that is a great quality. You are a hard worker. You are clean, neat, and organized. I never have to ask you to clean your room. you do it when you get up! Keep being you and you will go far in this world!           ...

I can't believe how big my kids are getting. It makes me sad, but happy. I'm not sure if that makes any sense. I'm sad because time has gone by so quickly, but it makes me happy to see them turning into such great young people.     Grace is in Young Women's. She's a Beehive. She's in 6th grade. She's getting way too big! Grace has always been a kind hearted person and it's great seeing that in her everyday. She always makes sure the lonely has a friend and is being treated the way the Savior would treat them. Good grades come naturally, along with being organized and on time- two things she inherited from her father!   We love you Grace and the beautiful young lady you are becoming. I hope you always choose to be you and never forget who you are!           Birthday Interview:   favorite color: turquoise favorite food: donuts favorite animal: penguin favorite subject in school: math favorite candy bar...

Because we have been living in the Land of Crazy for the last little bit, I never posted about my September babies. I'm going to start with Becca.   Becca is 8!! She was so excited to turn because that meant she would be getting baptized. She had her interview with our bishop and came out of his office to inform us that "[she] had passed!" It was so cute. it was also the first time I had ever had a child interviewed alone, so I was a little nervous about what she was going to say- not about what she knows about the gospel, but what might come right out of her mouth!   She is loving being 8. She told me on her birthday that when she came out of the bathroom she could just tell she had gotten bigger. She's right! She is getting bigger. It's exciting and a little sad for me.   She is turning into quite the young lady!           Birthday Interview:   favorite color: pink favorite food: pizza favorite anima...

It is 9 am and Britten just went down for his morning nap, so I should be working out right now- I'm trying to get my body back. I just can't though, work-out that is. My heart is so full of joy and gratitude for the life I have on this earth. I have a great husband who works hard for us and I have 6 amazing kids!   My thoughts have been circling in my head all morning about these kids I have. Can I just let you know how great they are? Well, I'm going to.     Ryan-   Ryan is my first. It is with him I first experienced pregnancy, first experienced birth, first experienced that my body doesn't snap right back to that size 5. It was also with him that I first experienced that overflowing love that fills a mother's heart when she holds her tiny baby for the first time, the excitement of the first words and first steps. What an amazing experience!!   With Ryan, we are learning everything new, even now. He tried out for the High school basket ba...

We did it! We moved into our house on September 28, 2013. What a huge job. I can honestly say that I never intend on moving again! I thought we had gotten rid of a majority of the things we wouldn't need, but I still feel we have so much to do. It's coming along though. I think everything is turning out! Here's a few pics of what it looked like when we moved in. We definitely have plenty of elbow room now. We went from 1800 sq ft. to 3300 sq ft!! It feels wonderful. All the kids have their own room, but Kate and Becca. With three bathrooms, we never see each other now!! The only thing left unfinished was the family room in the basement. We plan on finishing it, but not right now. It will be huge!!!   The outside   Entry   Fireplace   Grace's Bedroom in basement   Kate and Becca's bedroom   Kitchen/ dining area   Living room   Upstairs main bath   Master bedroom   Master b...