Football Champs

I know that I mentioned that Luke had decided to play football this year.  He had a tremendous experience with his team and his coaches.  It is amazing the difference good coaches can make.  Their team played in memory of teammate that died last year.  It was inspiring to watch these boys play and how humble they were.  This teammate's father was at every practice and every game and cheered these boys on to the championship game.

The team played in the final game at Weber State University.  Cold weather had set in but it didn't diminish the excitement that everyone felt.  It was a close game, but in the end, the Syracuse Storm pulled it off and won the championship.  It was great to watch these boys play and grow together throughout the season.  I know Luke considers his teammates his brothers and shares a special bond with them. It really was something special to be a part of.

Matthew is 6

I can't believe how fast time flies!!  Matthew had his 6th birthday already.  I kept telling him all year that he wasn't allowed to turn 6.  He was OK with that until he realized that meant he wouldn't get a birthday party.  One night, after stories, he asked me if it would be all right if he turned 6 years old.  I sadly relented.

He woke up to pancakes and a smoothie for breakfast in bed.  It seemed like his room was full of presents.  A lot were clothes because he needed new pants for school with the season changing.  He wasn't too interested in that.  He got books, legos, and a pillow pet.  All of his favorite things.

It's a good thing that we all love Halloween at our house because we have a few Halloween birthdays.  Although Savannah insisted she wasn't having a Halloween party this year, Matthew was all for it.  We painted pumpkins, decorated Halloween cookies and had a Halloween carnival.  Matthew invited friends from church and the neighborhood.  It was a great day for a great kid.

We are so lucky to have Matthew in our family.  He brings us a lot of laughter and joy.  He has a great sense of humor and is always coming up with something clever to say.   He is a deep thinker that loves to understand how everything works.  We sure love him.

Pictures from our family party

Savannah Turns 9

Savannah has been looking forward to her birthday for months.  She loves a good party and her birthday gives her the opportunity to have one.  We've been talking about what to do for her party for weeks and decided upon a cupcake party.  This will not come as a surprise to anyone who has seen Savannah's bedroom recently.  When she took over Lindsey's old room, we decorated it with a cupcake theme.  Savannah decided to carry that theme over to her party.  She had a "cupcake war" party.  The girls were separated onto teams where they were given prepared cupcake batter.  They got to add whatever they wanted to the batter and then we baked them. While the cupcakes were baking, the girls got to decorate aprons, open presents, and play games.  When the cupcakes were baked and cooled, the teams got to decorate.  They were very creative and had fun.  Thanks to Duncan Hines who makes various frosting flavor packs you can add to frosting-- it added to the fun and I didn't have to make various flavors.  Savannah had a great birthday.  She got a lot of nice things, including a new pair of high heels!

We are so grateful for Savannah.  She is definitely unique and all girl.  She loves being a mom to her younger siblings and also a teacher.  Her room is full of whiteboards and school books.  She is a joy to watch grow and she is so helpful.  Happy Birthday Savs!!

Ashlyn's Surgery

Ashlyn was born with a small cyst above her right eye.  I took her to a couple of doctors when she was two months old, they both concurred that it would have to be removed.  I was much more comfortable with one doctor and chose him to do the surgery.  He wanted to wait until she was between 9-12 months old, then she would be bigger for the anesthesia.  Meanwhile, the cyst was getting bigger.

In the middle of October, I felt like I should call and make an appointment.  They had an opening for that weekend so I took it.  This meant that Ashlyn had surgery while James and the girls were in Italy.  It was a little nerve racking for me as I worried about the risks of the anesthesia.  Our amazing home teachers came and gave her a blessing the night before.  Ashlyn and I headed down early the next morning.  She couldn't eat for six hours before surgery but she was happy.  When they took her in they told me it would be about 30 minutes.  As the time progressed to over an hour, I started to worry but remembered her blessing and knew she was fine.  They finally came and got me after an hour and twenty minutes.  The doctor asked if I had been worried that it was taking so long.  I admitted I had been.  He explained to me that they had had a problem getting the IV in, it took them 13 tries before they hit a vein.  He then showed me the cyst and talked about the surgery.  The cyst was much bigger than I thought it would be.  He told me she had a small indention in her skull because it was pushing into her head.  Other than the IV problem, everything went smoothly.

I went back to see her after she woke up and they let her cry for a bit to get the blood circulating.  She was not happy but I think it was more because she was starving and she had braces on her arms to prevent her elbows from bending.  The braces kept her from touching her eyes.  She had to wear the braces for a couple of days.  Other than frustration of not being able to get the binky to her mouth, she didn't seem to be bothered at all by the surgery.  She is back to her old self and happy as ever.

I have often thought about parents who go through much more difficult situations-- where the anesthesia is the least risky part of a surgery.  How grateful I am that we are blessed with healthy children.