The waiting game

For those who didn't hear already Kyson's surgery got postponed again!

New surgery date:

THURSDAY APRIL 7TH!!!

Don't mark your calendars in pen this time.

Maybe I should also stop counting down. It's depressing when it's not going down but up.

Oh well...12 days left!

Spring Break

Originally for Jared's spring break we were going to have Kyson's surgery but when that got postponed I started planning some fun things to do as a family. Honestly I didn't care too much what we did as long as we were happy and doing it together! Here's what we came up with...

~spent time hanging out with friends.
~took Kyson in for his 3D echo. Really cool technology!
~went on a date to eat at Texas Roadhouse with some friends. (Thanks Velika for volunteering to watch our boys...your the best!)
~got a new camera. Whooohooo!!!!!!
~went to the Children's Museum of Phoenix
There are seriously so many fun things to do at this place. My boys love it!



~went to the train park in Scottsdale with Jared's brother and their family.
We all rode the train and our boys loved it of course!


They also loved playing at the park.

~just enjoyed the nice weather by playing with the boys outside our house.

~practiced with my camera a few times...

~Kyson learned how to pedal a big boy bike and he loved it!

~drove up to Show Low to visit with my family.
~Jared went fishing a couple of times. I went with him once because he wanted me to take a picture if he caught a fish. (Don't you know, it's all about the picture so you can show off:) Of course my allergies went crazy and I was miserable out there so we didn't stay long. Plus it was windy. Have I ever mentioned that I HATE wind? Well...I do! Springtime in Show Low should be called Windytime...

Wow! Isn't that an awesome fish? I think that's a pretty awesome picture of that fish:)

~celebrated my Mom's 50th birthday. We wanted it to be a special day so we got together as close to 50 people as we could to either drop off a flower with a note or email a note so I could attach it to a flower. She definitely ended up with a lot of flowers! My goal was to let her know how much she is loved by so many people!
This picture only contains one of vases of flowers...there were two more:)

~had a huge family birthday party for all of the March birthdays. That included Kyson.

~took a family picture. My brother Jason had his eagle court of honor and it just so happened that all of my family would be there. We decided to attempt a family picture. I have to say I'm impressed with how it turned out. Seeing as how I put the camera on a tripod, got every posed, set the timer, and ran and got in the picture I can't believe everyone is looking. Even all four grandkids are looking at the camera. Kyson doesn't look too thrilled but he at least he is standing still looking at the camera!

~attended Jason's eagle court of honor.

Of course spring break ended and we are back in the thick of things with school and everything else. The countdown in on (10 days) until surgery. I won't try to explain the rollercoaster of emotions I have been having about this. Lets just say I'll be happy in about eight weeks when it's over and he's feeling better! I do want to say thank you to everyone who is prepared to help us in any way possible. So many are taking work off and rearranging their schedules to be there with us and do whatever they can for us. It is appreciated more then words can say.

Kyson turns THREE!

Happy Happy Birthday to my Kyson!!!

Yesterday morning I walked downstairs just as Kyson was coming out of his bedroom. As he walked around the corner I said, "Kyson it's your birthday!" and gave him a big hug. He proceeded to run around yelling, "It's my Happy Birthday...Daddy, it's my Happy Birthday!" over and over again. He's been anticipating it for a while:)

I asked Kyson what he would like for his birthday breakfast and he decided he wanted pancakes. He helped me shape the pancakes for everyone. A happy face and a heart for him, a car and a heart for Caleb and hearts and circles for Mom and Dad. When they were all done we sat down to eat and put some candles in Kyson's pancakes to sing him Happy Birthday.


After breakfast the boys played for a while and then we got ready to go to the "barn park" (aka Tumbleweed park) with some friends. All of the kids had a great time riding scooters, bikes, and running around on the playground. Kyson loves the park. His favorite part is definitely the playground. He will play for hours all by himself just climbing around and going down the slides.

He seems to love going head first, because he flies like a rocket and shouts, "to infinity and beyond!" (Yes he is still in love with Buzz!)


I let the boys play for as long as possible before we needed to get home for visits from grandparents. Kyson was so worn out he fell asleep on the way home. I was glad because he needed a nap but I didn't want to force him on his birthday.

After some visits from grandparents we went to dinner at Red Robin. I wanted to take him somewhere they would sing to him because he just LOVES all the attention! He also thought the ice cream sundae they brought him was so awesome!


Every time throughout the day when someone would sing happy birthday to Kyson he would join in and sing too until the very end when they would say, "Happy Birthday to Kyson..." and he would just get the biggest smile on his face! He would then say, "You sing happy birthday to ME?" He loved it!

Once dinner was over I had to go to softball so Jared took the boys to Crispy Cream Donuts to get Kyson's free dozen and then to Great Grandpa Gunnell's house for a quick visit. It was a day full of fun and I hope Kyson enjoyed every minute of it! When I got home from playing softball Jared already had the boys in bed asleep so I snuck in there to say good night to them. I sat down by Kyson's bed and just held his hand as he slept and my mind just kept racing and thinking. I'm so grateful for each and every day I get to spend with him. He makes me a better Mother. He is definitely a challenge for me in so many ways but I love him for it. I also couldn't help but cry as I thought about what he has to endure in just 17 short days. I try not to think about it too much but as I sat there and held his little hand I couldn't help it. I'm just grateful that on his birthday he was able to smile and laugh and just be a little boy turning three years old! He is a very special little boy and he definitely holds a piece of my heart!