Life is good

Here are a few pictures of my big little brother Brice. Can't believe he's a junior already! He is such a stud :)

Braden, Brice, Dayton, and Brooke after the game.

Solo tackle!! Woot Woot!

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I can't believe how quick the kids are developing and growing.

Brooke is way beyond her 2 years. Her favorite thing to do is sing. The other day she came to me after

our friend left and said she wrote a song about her. She proceeded to sing this friend's name, over and over, in a cute tone. She likes to write songs for people...and usually just repeats their name, but it is so cute!

She is also very feisty. I hear "me" in her all the time-which isn't always good :)

She also drew her first smiley face with eyes and all and a rainbow.

Love that little kid!

Braden has changed so much in the last week or two! He can repeat almost anything now and has a pretty big vocabulary. He is also starting to entertain people now instead of just playing by himself. He tries to get people to laugh constantly. He is also the friendliest kid around. I have had a number of people stop me in the store to say he made their day because he waved at them, said hello, blew a kiss, or something like that.

It is nice that they play together now. Most of the time, if there is any screaming or yelling it is Braden picking on Brooke!

Here are a few pictures from the last 2 months...

Trying on Dad's shoes

Watching the hot air balloons

Picking on big sister

Teamwork

Family Pics

Yesterday we headed up to Mt Graham to attempt a family picture. I wondered how I could take a picture of the family without having to use self timer! So I got the camera all set up on a tripod then our wonderful cousin Amy started snapping away! Thanks to my mom for snapping the shot of my little family too :)

movin up

I finally got a photography site put together!

It's still a little "in the works" but now I have something to show

when people ask to see my photos...

You can click HERE to see it...enjoy!  :)

Concert Tomorrow!

Just a reminder that the Benefit Concert for Kameron Haban is

Tomorrow at 7:30...

Hope to see you there!!

So does that mean MY temple is almost done?

On this day in 1827, "the Prophet Joseph recieved the Golden Plates from the Angel Moroni on the hilltop where they were buried."

Today, in 2009, they put the spire and Angel Moroni on the temple. How cool is that?

We drove down at 8:00 and saw them finishing the spire. Brooke had a dentist appointment at 9, so I was bummed that we would probably miss Moroni going up.

At 9:30 after her appointment we drove that way again and saw as the statue was being lifted in the air. We hurried to park and walk a little closer.

It's crazy how big it is! It was interesting to see how they secure it to the spire. Notice the big long pole thingy that they insert into the top. I'm assuming it gets bolted/welded/super glued from inside the spire.

Brooke has been waiting for the sa-chew as she calls it to go up since we started talking about it a couple of weeks ago.

Brooke helping them hold it :)

When she saw it at the top she asked,

"Does this mean that MY TEMPLE IS ALMOST DONE?!!"

My favorite part about things like this is catching other people's excitement.

Backing down...
Ahhhh!
CAN'T WAIT for the day it is open. I hope all my friends who aren't members of the church will go through when it is time for the open house and see it's beauty. My favorite part of the day was when we drove home and Brooke started singing "I love to see the Temple."

Doesn't get much better than that...

Benefit Concert!

For those of you who haven't heard, there is going to be a benefit concert for Kameron Haban. This is a great way to help Jami and Kason. Please tell all your friends/family and help spread the word...

First senior session

My cousin Deserai asked me to do her senior pictures. I had a blast and learned A LOT! Thanks for being troopers Dezzy and Michelle. I took so many pictures I set up a blog just for hers! haha... enjoy...

http://www.deserai2010.blogspot.com/

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

I remember this morning 8 years ago today. I had just turned 16 and was getting ready for High School. I was walking from the bathroom to my bedroom while putting my hair in a ponytail. As I crossed the living room my eye caught the movie playing on TV. It looked pretty real so I started watching it. It took me a minute but then I realized that it was, in fact, REAL. I stood there, frozen, still holding my hair up, and when my arms started going numb I snapped back into reality. I went into my parents' room and we watched together.

As I got to school there was a buzz going around. Most knew, some didn't, there were rumors, all were silent. We watched the events unfold on tv that morning in Mrs. Jones Homeroom class. She talked to us about it, and we shared our feelings. Mrs. Hughes had us write our feelings in our journal.

The rest is history, but those few hours of the morning of September 11, 2001 will be forever in my mind.

I wish we "remembered" more often. It is so amazing to see the community and country come together.

To the men and women who suffered that day, to their families,
Thank you.

To those who are still serving or who have lost their life serving since that day,
Thank you.

Thanks to our dear friend Brandon. Those words will never come close to paying justice for the ultimate sacrifice you made for our country, and for me.

I hope we all can...

ALWAYS REMEMBER

NEVER FORGET

9-11-01

Happy 1st Bday Braden!

That's me just before delivering my triplets...haha...

It's hard to believe a year has passed since Braden's birth.

The delivery was so great compared to my first one! I thought we were gonna spend the next day there then head home with no problems....

Boy was I wrong! The next two pictures were taken only a little while before the little guy was put on an IV and flown out of my arms to TMC.

I only got to hold the little guy for maybe 30 minutes before He was hooked up and I couldn't pick him up. Without going into details (because I don't feel like crying this morning) it was the hardest thing I've had to deal with to date.

Jarom took off in his truck to meet him at the hospital. He stayed by his bedside the entire time. I went once but felt sick and came home, only to end up back in the hospital twice. They wouldn't let Jarom hold Braden for the first few days, yet he stayed in the chair next to his crib.

Eventually he got to hold him, and I even got to nurse him while I was there. The poor guy had so many bruises from all the pokes: IV's, spinal taps, etc. He was fed through a tube, his belly button...things no mom should see happen to her days old baby. He was born 8 lbs so he looked like a giant next to some of those preemies in the NICU.

This is him in his crib with the "Will work for food" sign the nurse had me make. It worked and I got to breast feed! lol

I was so unsure about everything. It was one of those, hope for the best, prepare for the worst times. He seemed to be doing better, but all I was getting was reports from Jarom on the phone. (I knew he was hiding any negative information from me.) I don't know how he held up. I think things would have been different if Braden didn't have his daddy talking to him and comforting him.

We were told different things by the doctors, so when he came home we were kind of paranoid. We didn't know when we could take him out. 2 months? 6 months? We put a sign on our door that said "no visitors." I felt so bad turning people away but didn't want to chance anything.

Now, one year later, I can't believe any of that even happened. He has been so healthy. Hardly a cold or flu! And not to mention-he looks like a beast! He is now saying words, walking, laughing, playing like the healthiest kid around!

Oh, I forgot about the time he was put in the hospital for dehydration. But he was a trooper! Handled it like a pro. If you can't tell from this picture, he's sayin, "Mom, I'm bored! This is nothin!"

For Brooke's 1 year bday I made this detailed Dora cake. It took a couple hours. The electricity went off and the frosting started melting half way through...I knew I wasn't going to attempt such a hard cake for Braden, so I scratched my head a while and came up with the most simple cake ever! I smeared some brown frosting on the cake and pan, found some of my brother's old tractors, crushed up some graham crackers and called it good. Less than 5 minutes!

(Thanks to my mom for making the cake and frosting the night before)

Apparently it took too long to frost! We were all having a good laugh at Braden while he was snoozin right before we were going to sing! Priceless!

It took him a while to dig in...

Sister showed him what she knew...

And the rest is history!

Guess he was a little excited for this present!!!!

His first photo shoot-He was kinda tired and grumpy, so I didn't get as much as I wanted to. I'll have to take him out again, but I did get some keepers!

I love this boy's guts! We are so blessed to have him in our family. What a test of faith the first few months. But we endured and for that I am eternally grateful. I can't wait to watch him this next year as he learns to talk and sing. I love my little man!

Happy Birthday Braden Jarom!