Christmas tree tradition

At the beginning of December we drove up to Show Low to cut down our Christmas tree. Growing up we always had a real Christmas tree that we went out in the woods and cut down. I have many memories of going out and cutting down a tree. It was always exciting because when we got our tree it meant Christmas was almost here. I love this tradition and hope to do it for many years to come.

While hiking around Caleb found walking stick

and some pinecones to throw around

and to share with Kyson


Our happy hiker

Don't you love our hair-do's?


Of course when we got home we had to set up the tree so it would actually feel like Christmas. Here is Caleb hanging up his very own ornament Aunt Wendy gave to him the year he was born.


Christmas is almost here, can you believe it? One week from today is Christmas Eve and we are headed up to Show Low to spend the week with my family. I'm so excited! Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Nine Months

Kyson turned nine months old on Sunday. I have to admit that I can't believe it's only been nine months since he was born. With all that's happened it seems like time has gone by quite slow. It's been a long road for him, but I am so grateful to be able to say the last three months have been quite uneventful for him.

We do have some concerns about his development but slowly he is progressing. The biggest problem is I just can't get him to eat solid foods. I have tried every day since he was six months old and he just isn't willing to eat. He still nurses great (a HUGE blessing) but somehow we've got to get him eating solid food. His pediatrician mentioned that I might have to take him to a speech therapist (they deal with feeding problems in babies) to get some help. I'm going to keep trying every day and if we he doesn't make any progress in a few weeks I think we will look into it. If anyone has any suggestions for me, I would love to hear them. At this point I'm willing to try just about anything!

More than anything though, we are just so grateful to have Kyson in our lives. He is a special kid. He gives the best smiles ever and he is willing to share them with anyone who will talk to him and play with him. We just love him so much!

Something good...

As most of you know, we have had a lot of a frustrations with Jared's schooling at ASU lately. It seems like we have had some kind of problem every semester since he started ASU. Well, this last semester hasn't been any different. He is down to only needing 6 credits to graduate, but it has seemed as if these six credits have been a huge brick wall that he just couldn't get over.



With these last six credits Jared needed an internship and it seemed as if EVERYTHING he tried just kept falling through. When things didn't work out this last semester he decided to just drop his other class and take them together in the Spring because it would have been A LOT cheaper. He was assured this would be just fine. Well, about mid October we found out this was NOT ok and since he didn't fill out a form to say he was planning on taking this semester off they dropped him out of ASU. This caused three major problems:

1) It took three weeks for them to reinstate him to ASU and by that time the classes that he needed were full and the date to sign up for his internship was over.

2) All of his grant money was taken away.

3) Now that he is considered a new student, he has to pay the new student tuition which is about three hundred dollars more than a previous student.



The first problem was mostly solved when Jared found a lady who was willing to let Jared do his internship with her (yes, a big WAHOO would be good right here) and ASU allowed him to turn his information in a little late (BIG sigh of relief:)


When we discovered the last two of these three things last Monday, Jared was so frustrated. He started writing emails to everyone he could think of at ASU begging for someone to help him. It didn't seem like anything was going to change but Jared was persistant. He ended up finding one person who would listen to him and this person gave him a phone number to call.



The man he talked to was so helpful and just a huge answer to our prayers. He reinstated all of Jared's grant money and even applied it all to the Spring semester (usually it is divided between the two semesters fall and spring). We feel extremely blessed. We made a goal early on to get Jared through his undergraduate degree program without going into any debt and now we know we can do it (another WAHOO)!!!


So now... one more semester at ASU and we are outa there!!! (That is unless Jared decides to do a Master's Degree program through them!) It will feel good to put ASU in our past.

Six Words

On my sister-in-law, Heather's, blog she said:

"It was rumored that Hemingway was challenged to write a story in a single sentence, and has since become the standard to which micro-fiction should aspire. His story is as follows:

'For sale: baby shoes, never used.'

Amazing. Perfectly succinct and to the point."

She goes on to say that she was challenged to write her own six words and this is what she came up with:

"Eternity. It makes all the difference."

I love that!

Heather then asked us what our six words would be. It really got me thinking.

Last night as I was rocking Kyson to sleep I was trying to come up with my six words and a talk I have been thinking about a lot lately came to mind. Although these are not my own words, I love them and want to share them with you.

"Come What May, and Love It"

Do you recognize these six words? It comes from Elder Joseph B Wirthlin's final talk in this last conference. His mother said these words to him when he was young and they have stayed with him ever since. I have listened to this talk and read it many times and the message he shares is just beautiful. Here is one of my favorite parts where he is talking about what his mother meant by these words:

"I think she may have meant that every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result."

I have been faced with some difficult things this past year and I hope that I am "stronger, wiser, and happier as a result."

I also love this entire section of his talk. It is so funny!

"Learn to Laugh

The first thing we can do is learn to laugh. Have you ever seen an angry driver who, when someone else makes a mistake, reacts as though that person has insulted his honor, his family, his dog, and his ancestors all the way back to Adam? Or have you had an encounter with an overhanging cupboard door left open at the wrong place and the wrong time which has been cursed, condemned, and avenged by a sore-headed victim?

There is an antidote for times such as these: learn to laugh.

I remember loading up our children in a station wagon and driving to Los Angeles. There were at least nine of us in the car, and we would invariably get lost. Instead of getting angry, we laughed. Every time we made a wrong turn, we laughed harder.

Getting lost was not an unusual occurrence for us. Once while heading south to Cedar City, Utah, we took a wrong turn and didn’t realize it until two hours later when we saw the “Welcome to Nevada” signs. We didn’t get angry. We laughed, and as a result, anger and resentment rarely resulted. Our laughter created cherished memories for us.

I remember when one of our daughters went on a blind date. She was all dressed up and waiting for her date to arrive when the doorbell rang. In walked a man who seemed a little old, but she tried to be polite. She introduced him to me and my wife and the other children; then she put on her coat and went out the door. We watched as she got into the car, but the car didn’t move. Eventually our daughter got out of the car and, red faced, ran back into the house. The man that she thought was her blind date had actually come to pick up another of our daughters who had agreed to be a babysitter for him and his wife.

We all had a good laugh over that. In fact, we couldn’t stop laughing. Later, when our daughter’s real blind date showed up, I couldn’t come out to meet him because I was still in the kitchen laughing. Now I realize that our daughter could have felt humiliated and embarrassed. But she laughed with us, and as a result, we still laugh about it today.

The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable."

I laugh every time I read that section! If you are interested in reading the entire talk click HERE.

I love Elder Worthlin and I will miss his talks in Conference. I am grateful for this last message he shared with us. I am going to try to make this my motto,

"Come What May, and Love It!"

What about you, do you have six words you would like to share?

Full of smiles

With every milestone Kyson reaches no matter how small or how large I want shout "Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!" to every nurse and doctor who has helped save his life and then I want to fall on my knees and thank my Heavenly Father for every tender mercy he has given us with the blessing of having him in our lives. I am filled with graditude for my sweet boy.

It has been three months since we brought Kyson home from the hospital after his second surgery. He is continually learning and growing and it is wonderful to see. He is full of smiles and just a bundle of joy! Here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

Rolling over:
Caught in action!



A week or two before Thanksgiving Kyson starting teething. It was quite the process getting them to come through! Finally I felt both bottom teeth poking through the day after Thanksgiving. Happy day!!


Sitting up and full of smiles:

Breakfast

How to enjoy your breakfast...

Materials: spoon, bowl, cereal, milk

Step One: Mom pores a bowl of cereal and lets child eat as much he can.

Step Two: Ask Mom for help when there is only milk and crumbs left.

Step Three: Mom is busy so keep trying to get those last few bites.

Step Four: Ask Mom for help again but since she still seems to be busy, proceed to pick up bowl and try to slurp up the rest of the cereal.

Step Five: Say, "uh oh!" and "yucky!" As these are never good words coming from a two year old, Mom decides to see what happened and finds this:





Moral of the story: When your child asks for help, it might be smart to pay attention to them!



Second moral of the story: Why not make a mess if you can have as much fun as Caleb while doing it?