One down, one to go...

I'm glad to say Jeremy's laser eye surgery went well. After the surgery the doctor tested his vision and he was at 20/13. Jeremy now has the vision of a pilot which he mentioned to me. At which time I mentioned to him that there is no way he was signing up to be a Flight Surgeon! I'm so happy for him that he'll be able to get rid of his glasses which he has worn for 12 years. He's so excited about the results. At the moment he's in pain from the surgery and requires medication every few hours to help with the healing. The doctor said this should last for another day or two. Today Jeremy was back at the hospital to have a cyst removed on his jaw, but due to a scheduling mix up he didn't have it done. It's been rescheduled for the 13th of December, just in time for Christmas.

Today is another day of celebration in our home. Our Jason is 12 years old today! I can't believe how fast the time has passed. And I can't believe I have a 12 year old! Jason is growing into a wonderful young man. We're so proud of him. The other night I pulled out one of the first scrapbooks I made for him. He has always been such a ray of sunshine in our lives and I got thinking of how blessed we have been to have him as our son. Some days I think of how truly blessed we are that we've been given the opportunity to be his parents. Of course I got to the second page of the scrapbook and my eyes were so teary that I couldn't get through the rest of the book. We're also so proud of him that he will be ordained a Deacon. He's really nervous about it because he realizes the great responsibility he will now have. I think I'll end up getting teary eyed the first time I see him pass the Sacrament his first Sunday.

We are also excited about Calvin's upcoming baptism. He's been so happy that he turned 8 years old this month. He's so excited about this. He's been waiting a long time for this- since Jason's baptism. Calvin's always wanting to be just like his big brother, and for a long time he couldn't understand why he couldn't be baptized the same time as Jason. He's has so many questions about baptism answered, he feels he's ready.

My birthday was also this month, it was nice. Jeremy and I took the day off from work and pulled the kids out of school that day. We spent the day Christmas shopping for all of the cousins (and we're looking for one more present). We drove to Kansas City and spent some time there, then headed to Topeka until the late evening.

Luckily the kids and I didn't have school the next day so we could prepare for Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving we decided that we would fry a turkey- IT WAS AMAZING!!! It took all 40 minutes to cook and Jeremy did it while I was in the kitchen making the sides. I don't think I've eaten a more delicious turkey than this one. The turkey was moist and juicy, the skin was crunchy and tasty- Jason and I were fighting over it. YUMMMMMMY! We also perfected the Draper family's traditional raviolis. The raviolis are a family tradition that we love. We make home-made raviolis from scratch- simmering meat for hours, rolling out dough, and sealing each ravioli with love. These raviolis are so good that Calvin only eats the raviolis for Thanksgiving, he doesn't even touch the turkey until the next day.

We're now looking forward to the Christmas season and it's going to be great! I love Christmas shopping for all of the kids on my list. It's so difficult staying on budget, but I know I have to. I've laid down the law with Jeremy about buying too much for the kids. I'm hoping I can follow my own advice. Other than a couple little things we're ready for Christmas. The trees have been up for a couple of weeks now, the lights are all hung on the porch and in the yard, the stockings are up, the Christmas music is always on, and the Christmas Spirit is just flowing in all of our hearts. I love the holidays!