Thursday, December 25, 2008

My brother, Jimmy

Words cannot express the sadness that I feel in my heart knowing that I will never be able to hug you again, laugh with you again, or just talk to you again. Sometimes it's hard to realize what you have until it is gone.
I miss you so. Until we meet again!Jimmy, Connor, and Braden Jimmy and Halle
Ice blocking




I am so grateful for the murals Jimmy painted on my walls. They have always made me think of him and will continue to do so.


Jimmy with Jackie and Jayden.

Jimmy and Misty
Jimmy and Cindi




My brother, Jimmy, had a kind heart. He loved his son, Jayden, more than words can express. He was always looking out for the one who was left behind. Time and distance may have gotten in the way of our relationship, but it never got in the way of my love for him.

If I learn one thing from this whole thing, I hope that I learn to cherish all my relationships. Life is too short. Cherish every moment!

MeRRy CHRiSTMaS FRoM ouR HouSe To YouRS!

We just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. It has been an extremely sad week, but in spite of it all, Christmas was a lot of fun for the kids.Christmas Sunday. Where are Connor and Wes? Still combing their hair!The Gingerbread House FestivalThe first presents. I wonder what they are.....PAJAMAS!!!Cookies and milk for Santa. Carrots for the reindeer, of course!Time to open the stockings!!!

Wesley got a coat and ski pants. Braden got a remote control car.
Connor got a video game.
Parker got Lightening McQueen!
Halle got a pink DS.
Rod got a whole-lot-of "not much"!I got a trailer! I was shocked. I am excited to go to the beach. It is so roomy inside, but enormous on the outside. I don't know where we will keep it.
Rod always cooks a yummy Christmas breakfast.
Thanks Rod for making our Christmas great!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Our Trips to the Hospitals!

As if the whole choking episode wasn't enough this month, we had to include two trips to the hospital just to keep life entertaining. We scheduled Halle's tonsillectomy months ago because she had HUGE tonsils and was having a very difficult time breathing. So the day after her last dance performance, we headed to the hospital to have them removed.
Here she is before surgery as happy as can be. The staff gave her the doll, which I thought was pretty cool. Of course, she had already brought some "friends" along so when it came time to go into surgery, she had to pick just one to accompany her. (It was one of the bears. Thanks Grandma!)
She wanted to get a shot of the cool socks that they gave her!She had a great nurse. Her only hope for the whole adventure was to ride out in a wheelchair like Braden did. Her dreams came true. Unfortunately, she had a bad reactions to her pain meds, so here she is drugged up on both pain meds and benadryl. I am not sure if she remembers much of the ride.Just as I remember coming home to LOTS of presents when I was four and had my tonsils out, she was lucky enough to score big in the present department!! She had an amazing recovery. She slept the first day, but after that, she was climbing the walls. She colored and played her new yahtzee game and watched movies, and colored some more. She played Barbies and on the computer and colored some more. I had a hard time getting her to take it easy. She attended a birthday party 4 days later and went to church the next day! She is doing really well less than 2 weeks later. She will sometimes say that her throat hurts, but other than that she feels good. Just wait til you hear her talk, she sounds VERY different! So that was hospital trip #1. Tonight we had hospital trip #2. While Rod and I were getting ready for his company party, Halle and Parker were eating dinner. They were sitting up to our counter on barstools. I heard Halle screaming for me and so I walked out to the living room to find Parker walking to find me and crying. His back and head were covered in blood! Head wounds are always so scary, so needless to say, Rod and I skipped our Christmas Party and headed to the hospital. The bleeding finally stopped, but the injury was hard to see. They ordered a CT scan, so we did a lot of waiting. During our 2+ hours stay at the hospital, Parker received 2 staples to his head and a normal CT report. We were very relieved it wasn't worse.
I just had to show you the back of his shirt. It really was a lot of bleeding. I wonder why head wounds bleed so much?!? Poor Wesley at home was going to pass out when we asked him to clean it up off the floor and counters etc.!
So this is the after shot following his bath. It looks much better. Hopefully, that will be our last trip to the hospital for a while. All things considered, they both handled it all really well. Parker had a melt down when they numbed the wound and right when they first started the CT scan, but it only took him a little while to calm down. It really is hard to watch our children go through painful events. I am extremely thankful, at this time of year especially, to one Father in particular who watched His Son suffer for us!! I can only imagine how hard that must have been!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

First Snow!

After shoveling the walks twice today, I took some time out to build two snowmen with Halle and Parker. Then we headed next door to try out some sledding. Parker likes the snow this year so much better than last. He even loved the sledding and was acting so silly. The sled only tipped over once, but both kids thought it was funny! Whew! We are soooooo glad it finally snowed!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

More family time.

Gingerbread Houses!I was impressed by some of the creativity. Jackson and Wes did a penguin.Who would have thought it could actually look like a penguin?Connor did a nativity scene. I wonder if the baby Jesus has ever been a gummy bear before?Suprisingly, Grandpa really got into the project. It must be the artist in him shining through.Halle did a great job. She has named her masterpiece the "Princess House"!Cindi and ParkerRob had a little help from Halle. This one was named the "Hotel"!Next it was off to the backyard for a little football. Although I had to force some of the participants outside, it seemed like everyone had a good time.Later that day we headed off to see the lights on Temple Square. The weather was not too cold, and suprisingly the crowds were not bad either! We had a great time.Sherri and Danielle We loved having my brother James here. We don't get to see him a lot.Five out of eight siblings. (WE MISSED YOU Heidi, Kristi, and Michael!)There is nothing like a chicken fight to bring the spirit to an activity!Family! One of the most important parts of the season.Of course, Jesus Christ is THE reason for the season! What a great way to kick off the Christmas season! Just posting this has helped me to feel a little more excitement for Christmas. It was wonderful having so much family around. We are truly blessed to have such a great family!!!