April 11th

This April 11, 2009 the sun was shining, though there was a cold wind gusting from the ocean. Brian, myself, Ethan & AJ had Easter festivities all day...but in the back of my mind my sweet father-in-law's memory burned bright. One year ago today the door between earth and heaven opened and welcomed a righteous son, husband, father, and grandfather back home. I was reading a talk this morning by David B Haight. Though this quote is from his talk "Be a Strong Link" I can hear Dad echoing these very words to us.

"I know that God lives. I know that He loves us. He loves us just as we love our children and our posterity. We now have 65 great-grandchildren, and of course we’ll have more on their way. We love them all, and we hope that the chains and the links in our family will be strong, and that our children will be blessed. We’re proud of all of them and pray that they will grow up with the strong knowledge and the feeling that I have regarding God, that He lives, that He’s our Father, and that all of this work is under His direction and that of His Son, who is our Savior, Jesus the Christ. This is the Church of Jesus Christ restored to the earth in these latter days. I know it is true."

Thank you Dad for wonderful, wonderful memories. We love you, miss you, and promise you we'll be a strong link in the family.

Family photo taken October 2007

Welcome to April's showers of events

If I don't keep myself up with this, I find that there are TOO many things to write about. April so far has been a busy, busy month. Not just with our family, but everyone near and not so near us as well. To start off the month with a bang (really...on April Fool's day), my wonderful dad underwent surgery for Prostate Cancer. To be complete in details I cannot do; my pre-pregnancy brain is gone (for good, says Laura) But it was a radical prostatectomy, chosen by his surgeon (and 2nd opinion) as the best option because he is so young. Completely removing the prostate will eliminate the cancer for ...10-15 years? This news of cancer was hard to bear due to AJ's impending birth and the fact that Brian's father passed away 1 year ago on April 11th. But the Lord is merciful, always giving his children the righteous desires of their hearts when aligned with His will. We are so grateful for the successful surgery and though Dad is feeling 'confined' with his limitations as he recovers, I am grateful everyday for the advancement of medicine. It is not perfect yet (one day it will be) but I am constantly amazed at the plagues that fill this world, and the treatments discovered that eliminate them. Most of all, I am grateful that AJ and Ethan have their 'papa', and I have my dad. We love you dad! Keep resting!

General Conference followed that weekend, and was truly wonderful. It seems that the tough questions are always answered, hope is always restored, and a renewal of commitment to 'try a little harder to be a little better' burns inside. It is a 'perfect weekend that happens twice a year' as I've heard it referenced. And it was. (Nap and talks :) Brian attended what we hope will be a long standing tradition that follows the priesthood session. All elders gather to eat BBQ pulled-pork sandwiches after the session. Super yummy since the pork has been in the crock-pot for 6+ hours! Funny...there's never been enough to bring home to let me eat (this was the 3rd roast we've cooked since living here) But it's good guy time and Brian really enjoys it, EQ Pres or not.

I took AJ for her 2 month Dr. appointment. She weighs 10lbs, 1 oz. The doctor and I discussed a couple of hemangiomas that we've spotted and I just need to keep an eye on them, alerting her doctor if I notice an increase in size. Ethan was with us, and I was nervous about her getting shots and him reacting. I should have just paid all attention to AJ. She cried harder than she ever has (Ethan didn't make a peep) but quickly recovered when she discovered she wasn't going to die. (the happiest feeling in the world, I'm sure.) I've resumed drinking milk, and though she has become a 'bib baby' because of her constant hiccups, and spitups she doesn't cry in agony anymore. I hope she'll continue to improve as she gets older. Ethan did...though it took me a little longer to discover it was probably the lactose in the milk that was causing his discomfort. Most babies just can't handle it when they're first born. The NP AJ's been seeing said that most babies live their first 6 months of life in pain because of what they're digesting. Welcome to earth little one!

Ethan and Annabella playing 'tornado'

Ethan is counting how much money he has for college...just about enough!

a full 1/2 hour of play:
28:58 minutes to build
5 minutes of play (that overlapped the 'building time')
1 minute to take a picture
2 seconds to destroy (after the picture was taken)
I love this kid! And we did have fun..just me and him