I have LOVED this rainy June weather and had hoped it would last all month. Almost did. Beats the heat that's for sure. And we spent A LOT of time in our backyard during this great weather. Above is the last storm we had rolling in. At one point right above our house we were watching clouds come together from different directions and were hoping for a funnel. Didn't quite get there.
Here we are playing, watching, and waiting for the big storm. Sam loved it!!
And this was after the storm passed. Isn't it beautiful. This is a sneak peek of what we get to see from our backyard. There is a big alfalfa field behind us and we feel like we are in the country. It is wonderful. There are roads at two seperate entrances but hopefully nothing will go through there for many years. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my house?!!
Last minute one day, Leslie, Jolie, Maria, Teresa, Rob, Spencer, Kristi, and me and all the kids went to the fire station park. The kids played on the playground, played tennis, and we visited and had lunch. It was nice.
Happy Father's Day to the most wonderful husband and father anyone could ask for.
Emily and Thomas took a week of golf lessons and had a great time. Lil John luckily got to sign up a year early and is in the Jr. golf club. He golfs every Monday morning. Well up until he had his surgery. He had to take this week off but will hopefully be back on course next week.
John is also a member of the Utah Golf Connection and has played in two tournaments so far. He comes in at the end of the roster but it's been great practice for him and even better....he loves it!!
The kids noticed this bird asleep outside the window and made themselves a seat to watch until he woke up. It was cute.
Emily is in a sewing class and made the chill tie around her neck and this pillowcase. She also made a skirt, two bags, and is now working on an apron. She loves it and is doing great. I love that she is in this class and will be doing it for 3 more weeks.
Ever since Thomas was little he easily gets obsessed with things. Here he is sleeping with his bean plant from school. I love his obsessiveness.
One morning little John woke up and asked if we could walk to Wal-Mart. I thought it was a great idea because it would keep us busy for hours. Turns out Wal-Mart is 2-3 miles away. We stopped where we thought was half-way for a break then continued on. John bought himself two airsoft guns and pellets for them. We bought drinks and granola bars and as we were leaving, Jolie and her kids were walking in. We decided we would walk home as far as we could and when Jolie was done at the store, she would come see if we needed a ride. She got to us just as we got to our church and sat down to rest. Our church is one mile from home so we were happy to hop in and get a ride home. It was fun and the kids were real troopers.
Grandma H. sent Sam a birthday card in the mail. When Jack saw it, he said in the sweetest animated voice "That was so nice of the mail guy to give Sam a birthday card."
Sam was watching me make John's bed and when I got the quilt on and smoothed it out, he started clapping his hands and said over and over "Good job Mom, good job!!"
Thomas laid on his stomach on the floor in front of Max, put his hands under his chin, and said to Max, "What are you thinking about Max? Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
I'm just cleaning up my side bar and wanted to save this for the book that will eventually be made from this blog.
“May we . . . demonstrate kindness and love within our own families. Our homes are to be more than sanctuaries; they should also be places where God’s Spirit can dwell, where the storm stops at the door, where love reigns and peace dwells.”Thomas S. Monson
We can all use this advice. And if we will all sincerely incorporate it into our homes then our homes will truly be a little bit of "heaven on earth." Love you all. MOM H
This is the last x-ray taken in March.
Before surgery. Does it look familiar? Does to me!
After surgery. When I got into the recovery room, his entire body was shaking and he was layered in blankets. The rod and two screws removed are laying on him.
I took this picture because he kept telling me his leg was against the bar and he needed to move it so finally I uncovered his leg and this is where it was. He moved it about a quarter of an inch and was satisfied that it wasn't against the bar anymore. I told him it wasn't anywhere near the bar and he said "that's because I just moved it".
Right after I got in there I asked him if he was ready to go home. He said he was so the nurse said "okay, give me 10 minutes and you're good to go". I couldn't believe we were in and out of there so quick.
This is on the way out to the car. The bucket was just in case.
And here he is. The king of his domain. He has been looking forward to this day and asked beforehand if he could have control. That he did. You deserve it bud!! He's been a trooper and hasn't taken any medication. I gave him Lortab tonight so he would be able to sleep.
The rod and two screws in John's leg were removed this morning. It was an hour long surgery. We were at Primary Children's at 6:00 A.M. and we left at 9:30 A.M. Everything went really well and the rod was none other than BLUE. John was TRUE BLUE this last year. He is now soaking it up on the couch with the remote. Thank goodness cable was installed this week.
I have pictures but John needs to take his computer to work so I'll have to post later.
I was really surprised at the size of the rod and screws. He will be laid up for a few days and was told he'd probably only be able to golf a couple of holes on Monday. He signed him self up to golf but we are calling today to cancel until next week. I think his leg will need a little more rest before he can get back out on the course.
The first surgery was July 1, 2008. One year later and we think we're done. Hopefully. He goes in in a month to make sure everything healed correctly. We are very grateful that it has gone so well and think it has already been worth all the time, money, and pain.
There was another couple in the waiting room waiting for their little baby. The doctor came in and said "the tumor has grown back". It looked like he must have had a tumor on his eye, I'm guessing, and within 5 weeks it has grown back to almost the size it started at. So the baby has to come back in two more weeks to have the laser treatment done again. It was heartbreaking. The mom was taken back to be with the baby but the dad stayed in the waiting room with the grandparents. I was sitting right by them and had to hide the tears and control a complete burst of tears. I felt very blessed, again, that we were there for something minor in comparison.
Jack spends A LOT of time with me. He loves to help me in the kitchen, in the garden, with the laundry, and the cleaning and he does a great job at all of it. We weeded someones garden for them and it took over an hour. Jack was right by my side through it all and said he wants to be a "garden worker" when he grows up.
Here he is helping me make 8 batches of strawberry jam. The next picture says "Mom" "what" "You're IT" He made one for everyone in the family. It's a "game" the little kids LOVE to play and the older kids get sick of playing. If you say "what", you are it and you have to try to get someone else to say what. They even got grandma and grandpa H. to play along while we lived with them.
Sam can't wait!! He always tries to join the other kids in their church and school programs and pretty much in every day life. He's crazy!!!!
Jack went to Bright Beginnings preschool and his amazing teachers are Ms. Mary and Ms. Robyn. They were great. Thomas and Jack have both gone to this school and Ms. Mary is Jolie's neighbor.
This was at Jack's preschool program. It was great. They sang a lot of songs and Jack "read" his part. The kid has been reading for several months now and we are still in shock. He starts kindergarten this fall and was told he is at least on a 1st grade reading level. He is one smart cookie.
On the other hand, he was in preschool for the mere fact that the kid needs some help with his social skills. He is literally the sweetest kid but he has a fire in him that burns HOT 98% of the time. Anyone who spends any time with Jack, makes a comment about him. There really is something about him and we just can't put our finger on it. I sure love you Jack Ryan.
Thomas played machine pitch this year and did great. He is quite the batter. We just need to work on his throwing and catching but we still haven't figured out if he's a lefty or a righty. He was a D-Back and we sure had a great season. I loved baseball when Ryan use to play and my dad was always his coach. I was always the scorekeeper. Then I loved watching Ryan Bell play baseball :) Now more than anything I LOVE watching Thomas play baseball.
Leslie took some great pictures and I'll post some when I get them from her. Thanks Leslie.
"Knowledge speaks and wisdom listens"
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"Feelings are everywhere. Be gentle."
