easter

The bunny rabbit (as Wade calls him) came to our house last week.  He left eggs all over our yard, which Sam was concerned about, until he realized they had candy in them...then he was on a mission.  Wade was just thrilled that he got a new car in his basket.  That boy and cars...geesh!

Family Night at the Capitol

A month or so ago, Phil managed to get himself elected to be a delegate for our district at our local caucus.  Since then we have since been bombarded with information about each of the nominees.  Last week we were invited by one of the state legislators who was up for re-election to attend a special family night touring the capitol building.  I think the main thing we learned is that the Utah capitol is often filmed in movies in place of our nation's capitol (which I have also toured).  It was fun to do something different for family night, and the boys thoroughly enjoyed driving their cars all over the walls, floors, benches and desks inside.  

Needless to say, I think the legislator won Phil's vote (and not just because she is Lavell Edwards daughter-in-law....yep, he was there too).

grandma

My mom called last week early in the morning to inform me that my Grandma had finally passed away.  She had gone in her sleep, and my Grandpa had not woken anybody up because he didn't want to trouble anyone.  It was expected; she had been experiencing the ravaging effects of alzheimer's disease and dimentia for many months.

Sadly, I had not had much interaction with her since the disease had started to take its toll.  I remember her attending my wedding at the Salt Lake Temple.  I remember the hug she gave me; the same bear hug she always gave me over the years.  

I once heard a volunteer fireman tell of how he frequently rushed to the scene so that he could have the 'good' assignments (as they usually give the important assignments to the career firefighters, unless they've not arrived yet).  He arrived at one house second.  The first was assigned to go up and bring down the homeowner's dog (all people had already been evacuated).  He remarked at how jealous he was of that assignment, because he would return the real hero, having rescued the dog.  He was asked to go retrieve a pair of shoes, so the homeowner wouldn't have to stand outside in bare feet.  

Weeks later, the firehouse received a note of thanks, remarking that everyone was so helpful, and someone even brought down a pair of shoes for her.  The firefighter said that it was then that he realized that 'not every day is going to offer a chance to save somebody's life, but every day offers an opportunity to affect one'.

Grandma was one who affected everyone's life every day.  Whether it was through her hugs, her smiles, her rolls, her letters, her love, or her complete devotion to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  No one who met Grandma can say their life wasn't better for it.  From squeezing me when I was a little boy, to packing us a bag of presents to open each day of our trip across the country, to sending me a book to read when I had sent her a letter one summer telling her I was bored, to being there for my wedding, she made my life better.  

mischief

Did those pesky leprechauns visit your house last night? 

 They certainly made a mess at ours!  When we came downstairs this morning, the house was covered in little green footprints.  The furniture was all mixed up and turned over.  Our box of lucky charms was spilled all over the floor (which of course, Sam plopped himself right down and started eating them up).  And our milk was even turned green!  While our trap to catch the leprechaun didn't work, we still managed to track down the pot of chocolate gold that he had hidden behind the curtains.  Hopefully the rest of our day will be just as lucky! 

date night

So, I completely forgot that about a month ago I had purchased tickets to see Toy Story 3 on ice.  When I opened my calendar yesterday, I was excited to see that the show was that night.  After everything we've been going through lately, it was so nice to have a fun night out with my boy.  

Wade was so excited to see all of his favorite characters.  The giant tub of popcorn and a new Buzz Lightyear toy may have contributed to his excitement as well.  

Wired

Life has been a little crazy here the last few weeks.  We are still trying to figure everything out with Wade.  On Friday we took him in to Primary Children's to have an MRI of his back.  The results....he has an osteoid osteoma, a benign growth on his backbone.  He's going to need surgery to remove it and we meet with an orthopedic surgeon tomorrow to discuss our options.  But it has been causing him quite a bit of pain, so we will all feel better when it comes out.  

We still don't know for certain if this is connected with his seizure.  Currently, he is undergoing an EEG test to measure his brain waves for any more seizure activity.  It is quite the process.  It took nearly 2 hours to get him hooked up, and it was not comfortable.  Wade was so good through the process and only teared up once.  This is what he looks like.

Pretty sad, huh.  

Luckily, he gets to wear this super cool pirate hat so mom doesn't have to cry every time she looks at him.  

I just have to say that I feel so, so blessed to have this beautiful boy.  I love him so dearly and love watching how mellow and calm he has stayed through all of this.  He is so brave, much braver than his mom.  I also have to say that I have managed to stay much calmer through this than I thought was possible.  I know our Father in Heaven is watching over us and helping me through this.  And I am so thankful for all the support and encouragement we have received from all our friends and family.  It is very comforting to know there are so many people willing to help and so many prayers being offered in our behalf.  So a very big thank you to all  of you.  

We will continue to keep you updated.  But for now, know that we have a very happy little boy who is not letting this slow him down in the slightest.  

scare

Tonight I am hugging this boy a little tighter.  He gave me a good scare today.

I dropped him off at preschool and got a call from his teacher about 45 minutes later saying I needed to come get Wade right away and that something was wrong with him.  When I picked him up, she told me she was almost certain he had just had a seizure. 

Long story short....after a lengthy afternoon of doctor and hospital visits, it appears he did have a seizure, but at this point we are not sure why.  He had a CT scan at the hospital (he was a champ!) that thankfully came back clear.  He'll have an EEG done in the next few days and a follow up appointment with a neurologist.  

Tonight I am so thankful for the many little miracles that happened today to help me make it through.  And I am so thankful this brave little boy is in my life.  I love him to pieces.  

a sunny day

It felt like Spring yesterday so the boys and I went outside to play.  They were beyond thrilled to get out of the house and run around.  We drew pictures on the driveway, played hopscotch, ran, jumped, climbed and just loved being in the sunshine.

Sam's newest obsession is airplanes.  We have a small airport near our home and we often hear small airplanes flying over head.  Sam will stop dead in his tracks when he hears them and focus on the sky until he finds said airplane.  It's much easier to find them when you are outside.

trains

My boys love playing trains.  They play every morning while I am getting ready.  And as long as I am nearby supervising, they play very well together.  (I wish I could say the same for when I step out of the room).  

I can't believe Sam has already figured this out.  I guess that's what happens when you watch your big brother.  

Now, if we only had a bigger house where we could set up a train table....someday.

comedy

For Christmas, I got Phil tickets to see Brian Regan and he was cute enough to invite me to go with him.  Last night was the night and we laughed our faces off.  Seriously, my cheeks hurt.  

(subpar picture taken with my ipod)

I think the funniest part of the night though, was getting back to our car and realizing we had not only left the keys in the ignition, but oh yes, left the car running....for 3 hours!  Can you believe we even had a car to go back to??  Only in Utah, right.  

ski day

Phil had the day off yesterday and really wanted to go ski.  We decided to take Wade and two of our nephews up with us to give them the experience.  

Aren't they pretty darn cute?  

Despite freezing our buns off, everyone had a good time.  Wade didn't quite figure out how to ski on his own, but had a great time going down the hill in between mommy's legs, which to me equals success.

Books

In the past few weeks Sam has developed a new love.... books.  If I ever leave him alone for more than a few seconds, I find him in his room among a pile of his favorite books.

He can find them no matter where they are on the bookshelf.  And when he sees me, he will proudly hold one up and say "gook." 

Now if only we could expand his repertoire.  I am going a little insane reading the same 5 books over and over and over and over.

Four

My little buddy turned 4 today.  We had a fun Mickey Mouse party for him at his request.  

There were decorations

and games

and presents.

He blew out all of his candles on the first try.

Oh, and in case you were all worried that Sam didn't like cake, he devoured his cupcake.

Wade is learning and changing so much right now.  He knows most of the letter sounds already and is constantly drilling us on what letter words start with.  His favorite question is "why"...I'm answering questions all day long.  He still loves cars and often asks to sleep with one of his favorites.  And without fail, whenever I give him a cookie, he will ask for a glass of milk to go with it.  

Happy Birthday Wade!

snow day

It finally snowed here in Utah.  Wade was beyond thrilled.  I'm pretty sure he would have stayed outside all day if I had let him.  

He helped daddy shovel the sidewalks

and he made snow angels.

Daddy had some fun, too.

Sam wanted so bad to get in on the action.

Oh, and Phil and Wade made a gigantic snowman.  His name is Smiley. 

(I don't think Phil ever got to build snowmen as a boy, so he's pretty much in heaven playing with his boy).

The New Year

As we start a new year, we put together a list of things we would like to try and accomplish throughout the months.   So here's to starting fresh and trying to make ourselves better people.

Christmas

We were lucky enough to spend Christmas in Houston this year with the Broadbent side of the family.  We had so much fun and spent lots of time playing with Grandpa & Grandma, aunts, uncles and cousins.

The boys were spoiled...

as were Phil & I.

We hope you all had a very happy Christmas and are enjoying the New Year!