jared's eagle court of honor

We finally had a court of honor for Jared to receive his Eagle Scout award!! We held it at the church on New Year's Day. We thought we'd try to get the new year off to a good start. The court of honor also awarded merit badges and rank advancements to other scouts. Ryan received several merit badges and a rank advancement to Star Scout.
Jared received a bunch of awards, including his Varsity letter (being presented by Bro. Yardley)...
an On My Honor scouting award (this is a pin with ribbons attached)...
and a Duty to God award from the Bishopric (this is also a ribbon with a pin). Wow! We didn't realize he was receiving all these awards too! Definitely a nice surprise.
We decided as a family that we would like to present the Eagle Charge to Jared. Mark, Ryan, Jacob & I all took a part and presented an item to Jared to help him remember what is expected of him now that he's an Eagle. The first charge is to have honor. We presented a white shirt to help him remember to have integrity and honor his priesthood.
The next charge was to be loyal. Ryan presented Jared with a BYU tie to help him remember to be loyal to his standards and values.
The next charge was courage. The color of courage is red, so we gave him a red fleece blanket to help him remember to have courage to stand for the right. The blanket is embroidered with his name and the date that he became an eagle scout.
The fourth charge was to be of service to others. We presented him with a pair of gloves to be used in serving others.
The final charge is vision. He received a pair of binoculars to remind him that he is now a leader and that others look to him for guidance.
The Eagle Pledge was presented by one of his scout leaders, Bro. Nield.
Following that, we proceeded to do all the pinning! First, the eagle pin...
then the "scarfing"...
then the mother's pin...
and finally, the father's pin.
Matthew slept through the whole thing, resting his head on Aunt GayLynn's lap!
Here's a fabulous picture of Jared with his proud grandparents.
We had a really nice evening and everything went really well. Several extended family members were able to join us for the occasion, which made it extra special. We are grateful to Bro. Yardley for helping us pull everything together. We are very blessed to have such awesome scout leaders in this ward. I'm proud of Jared and his accomplishment. He truly represents everything I expect of an Eagle Scout. I am blessed to be his mother. Congratulations, Jared!