catch up photos

I missed a few birthdays, so I thought I'd just throw in the pics. Alyssa turned the big 5 on the 18th. All ready for kindergarten. I got her a Doodle Girl. Landon has a Doodle Monster that he loves, so we had to get her one too. For those of you that are clueless on the Doodle toys, they are cloth covered stuffed dolls. They give you markers to "doodle" all over them and then you can just toss them in the washing machine and clean them off and they get to doodle all over them again.

This is cousin Hailey. Mackenzee just loves her. Dont' know what it is about it either, but it works out great. Hailey is a baby freak. In fact, when Jaysen and I got married she came up to me and said, "so, you'll have a baby in nine months, right?" It took a bit longer than that thankfully, but she's been impatiently waiting for Mackenzee for a long time and just loves it when she sees her. Mackenzee loves it too.

This is Jesse. He turned six on the 8th. He had a pirate birthday party we went to. Landon picked out some Superman collecting cards to give him. Landon has really gotten into those "trading" cards with cartoon characters on them. Hopefully Jesse likes them. Superman does come out to theatres today.

My sister gets married tomorrow so I should have tons of photos to post from that by Monday or so.

HELD

TWO MONTHS IS TOO LITTLE
THEY LET HIM GO
THEY HAD NO SUDDEN HEALING
TO THINK THAT PROVIDENCE
WOULD TAKE A CHILD FROM HIS MOTHER
WHILE SHE PRAYS, IS APPALLING

WHO TOLD US WE'D BE RESCUED
WHAT HAS CHANGED AND
WHY SHOULD WE BE SAVED FROM NIGHTMARES
WE'RE ASKING WHY THIS HAPPENS TO US
WHO HAVE DIED TO LIVE, IT'S UNFAIR

THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HELD
HOW IT FEELS, WHEN THE SACRED IS TORN FROM YOUR LIFE
AND YOU SURVIVE
THIS IS WHAT IT IS TO BE LOVED AND TO KNOW
THAT THE PROMISE WAS THAT WHEN EVERYTHING FELL
WE'D BE HELD

THIS HAND IS BITTERNESS
WE WANT TO TASTE IT AND
LET THE HATRED NUMB OUR SORROWS
THE WISE HAND OPENS SLOWLY
TO LILIES OF THE VALLEY AND TOMORROW

IF HOPE IS BORN OF SUFFERING
IF THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
CAN WE NOT WAIT, FOR ONE HOUR
WATCHING FOR OUR SAVIOR

THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HELD
HOW IT FEELS, WHEN THE SACRED IS TORN FROM YOUR LIFE
AND YOU SURVIVE
THIS IS WHAT IT IS TO BE LOVED AND TO KNOW
THAT THE PROMISE WAS THAT WHEN EVERYTHING FELL
WE'D BE HELD.

This is just to remind you how cute she is.


Look at that form.....it's another Tiger Woods in the making



Landon finished up with golf camp this last week and he had so much fun. THe last night they had a little mini "tournament" that everyone got to play in. It wasn't real, there were no winners, it was merely to show them how to play on a course. Landon loved it! It was a best ball scramble and there were five kids to a team. Each kid hit the ball off the tee box and whichever ball was best placed, was where they would hit from next. Landon wouldn't go first on the first hole, but once he saw that everyone played just like him he was literally pushing the other kids out of the way to hit his ball. I had to pull him back and remind him that he wasn't the only one playing. Sigh. Anyway....they used his ball quite often, which was really exciting for him. He does a pretty good job for a six year old. Of course, putting is a whole other story, but that's okay. Something to work on, right????

Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words To Each Other

The decisions we make and the way we behave are what ultimately shape our character. Charles A. Hall aptly described that process in these lines: “We sow our thoughts, and we reap our actions; we sow our actions, and we reap our habits; we sow our habits, and we reap our characters; we sow our characters, and we reap our destiny” (quoted in The Home Book of Quotations, sel. Burton Stevenson [1934], 845). It is within the family that our behavior is most significant. It is the place where our actions have the greatest impact, for good or ill. Sometimes we are so “comfortable” that we no longer guard our words. We forget simple civility. If we are not on guard, we can fall into the habit of criticizing one another, losing our tempers, or behaving selfishly. Because they love us, our family may be quick to forgive, but they often carry away in silence unseen injuries and unspoken heartache.
Negative criticism is intended to hurt and often to defame and to destroy. This caustic communication is cruel, and it tends to crush the character of all of those about whom it is directed. King Benjamin urged his people to “not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably.” (Mosiah 4:13.) We should surely follow this counsel and defend those who are defamed by these denouncements.
“The ‘do your own thing’ trend has interfered with people developing close and trusting family relationships. It tells people that they are neurotic if they feel a sense of responsibility for the feelings of other family members. People are also told to "let all their feelings out", even if it is very hurtful to someone else.” (Special Section Families, U.S. News and World Report, Inc., 16 June 1980, p. 60.) As Dr. Salk states, this is, of course, patently wrong. Without discipline and obedience, the unity of the family collapses.
The dictionary defines the word loyal as being “constant and faithful in any relation implying trust or confidence; bearing true allegiance to the constituted authority.” (Britannica World Language Dictionary, s.v. “loyalty.”) If family members are not loyal to each other, they cannot be loyal to themselves.

For those of you that actually read this...I am interested in your thoughts. Please comment.

Kenzee update

We returned today from Mackenzee's doctor appointment in Boise. The doctor there was wonderful and we really appreciated his insight into her condition. He basically said that we ALL have reflux. It's a common misconception that reflux itself is a disease. Apparently not so. Anyway....What we normally have is GER......Mackenzee has GERD. The 'D' stands for disease. Her reflux is just more severe than most peoples'. So.....yeah.......he said that she was taking twice the amount of medication that her body size would normally need. That the medicine doesn't actually prevent the acid from causing her pain, it just keeps her esophagus from eroding due to the acid. So, basically the medicine probably healed her up inside, but the problem is still persisting and it shouldn't be. By this point, babies are usually getting better, and we should be weaning her of the medicine, not increasing dosages to help her feel better. And, honestly, even with the adjustment (which has helped some, but minorly this last time we upped it), she is still not the happy baby I know.
So, we explained her symptoms....the problems sleeping, the fact that she doesn't eat hardly anything, the silent reflux, the constant bowel problems, etc....and he thinks she might have an abnormal growth inside of her esophagus. That or that the muscle inside of your esophagus that helps you to swallow by contracting, is constantly tightened. Either problem would be cause for the eating problems. The food doesn't go down her esophagus properly, may get blocked up in there, etc. OR....as an extreme case...She has an internal hernia within her stomach. We're hoping it's not that one. He has ruled out Colitis and Crohns, which we are grateful for. Now, we just get to do a whole bunch of tests on her through the next couple of weeks to pinpoint the exact problem. We have her going in for an upper GI here in Twin Falls on Friday morning, which is basically X-rays. If that doesn't show anything then we have to take her back up to St. Luke's in Boise, where they will put a scope down her throat and hopefully locate the problem that way.
So, there is the update. Please....everyone say a prayer for my baby. Sure, she is the world's most adorable baby on the outside, but she hurts on the inside. And she's been such a trooper for so many months now....pretty much her whole life she's been in pain. Your prayers will help. They always do.

When we petition Heavenly Father in prayer, there are times in which He answers us with the distinct impression that we have not identified the proper course. The answer will come not as one of peace but as a feeling of darkness. He has counseled that when you ask about something, “If it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong” (D&C 9:9).

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.
He said, "Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you."

We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.
But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,
"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.
Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."

By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
"Wake up, little one, wake up," I said.

"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"
He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.
I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."

I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."
He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway."

I said, "Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."

Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

I received this in an email earlier today and it hits close to home doesn't it? I don't work anymore, buy still find that I lose my patience with Landon over the silliest things. Why do we do that? Is what we're doing so much more important than the few moments that our kids want from us? I forwarded this email to those that it already wasn't forwarded to by my Grams, so I know it's a repeat....but it's something to think about.

Mackenzee

did I mention how cute she is?????

Greta

This is the usual look you get from Greta. It combines sadness and anger all in one....she can even make this face when she is happy.....it's truly amazing..... :O)

brainiac

Yes...she reads already...... :O)

Talon's Birthday

for Talon's birthday I got him a wallet with $8 in it because he turned eight.


Happy Birthday!!!!

parade pics

Genea, Shelby and Landon


Jon, Austin and Talon

Here you are Holly!!! Greta wouldn't let me take her picture, but here's Alina Mae....isn't she adorable??? She even sucks her thumb....Almost as cute as mine....almost.


See???? Way cuter!!!

photos later

Okay...my server is making me angry. It keeps freezing up on me. So....the whole picture thing is just not working for me. Anyway....

It's been a few days...but it's been a busy week. The weekend was quite a whirlwind, with plenty of new pictures for my scrapbook....I just have to find some time to actually do that. Sigh. One day. I keep saying that.. I just need to force myself to find the time. The only problem is that I sit down to do it, but my brain is so fried from everything else that I have no creativity left in me for my photos. Argh!!!!

So, back to the weekend. Saturday morning started off with the Western Days parade here in town. It was soooo long. But the kids got a lot of candy...and unfortunately a lot of sunburn. Even poor Kenzee ended up with red cheeks where we were unable to get the sunscreen on. She has these little red patches under her eyes. After the parade we went to my brothers house for my nephews birthday. He turned 8 this last week. Which is a big deal. Eight means getting baptized...so we had his baptism Saturday night. Kudos to him!!! He's getting so big. He used to be so little...I remember when he was my nephew Riley's age (1 1/2). Sigh. I know...nostalgic...but I am getting older this month too. Not too excited about that, but we'll move on. Sunday we went to Paul for a friend's baby blessing. Their third little boy. We are so excited for them. And now...we're back to another week. Starting with baseball practice tonight, and then the first baseball game tomorrow morning, golf camp tomorrow night, and then we do it all over again on Thursday. How do mom's with multiple sports players do it? I already feel the stress just knowing how much running around I will be doing the next several weeks. Somehow I ended up being Landon's assistant coach for baseball too...so that's thrown in there as well.

Anyway.....it was a fun filled.....family filled weekend. And I'm exhausted. Although Kenzee did grace us with a full night's sleep. No waking up the whole night!!! It was miraculous...although she did end up waking up screaming from teething pain. Poor little girl. If it's not one thing it's another.