easter weekend 2011.....

When Daddy came home from work Friday, he told Brenna that he saw the Easter Bunny hopping away from our house, and that he left her a treat. So we went to look for it in the backyard.

Found it. That silly Easter Bunny.

On Saturday we had Easter with my mom. Luckily the rain held off and we had our Easter egg hunt outside.
Here are the kids before the hunt...

I LOVE this picture. It just sums up their relationships. Hallie is the leader, Coley is following close behind and Brenna is trying to catch up to Coley.

Then we headed up to my dad's grave. We even had balloons for Noah, Tommy and Eliza. We sure missed them this year.

Then on Sunday, we headed to the Wentworth's for Easter dinner...and an egg hunt....for kids and adults :) It's a free for all over there and they don't care if you're pregnant or not. They will run you over :) HA!
But we had a blast! I only came out with $7, but Ross got over $75.

He doesn't mess around.

We missed Lessey this year who's in Chile working and living it up :)

And here's Brenna and Lily in their Easter dresses.

Happy Easter!

easter pics.....

I had my sister in law, Lorena, take Brenna's Easter pics.

I think they turned out perfect.

Geez, she looks so big!!

Easter is just a couple of days away, and it's a bittersweet one. We'll celebrate Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, have a couple of Easter egg hunts, be with our families and eat good food. Then the next day we'll celebrate the 2 year anniversary of my dad's passing. I say celebrate, because we will. We'll celebrate his life, and who he was. And I'm sure there will be balloons :)
It's hard to imagine that it's been 2 years already, when it seems like yesterday I got the terrifying phone call from Annie....

I remember everything about that day.

Everything.

And some nights I lie in bed and replay that day, because sometimes it's all I think about.

It's pretty coincidental that my dad's passing day would fall so closely to Easter. Maybe not coincidental, but pre-destined. This Easter will have so much more meaning to our little family. And I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful for the Resurrection and for my Savior. And I'm grateful to know that I will see my dad again :)

Happy Easter.

update on Noah...

Noah is doing great! They thought he was going to be able to come home on Monday- we all got really excited for him!- but NO. The Dr's are waiting for one more test to come back and they want to keep him there until they get it. Linds thinks it'll be Wednesday....I pray {for her sake} it'll be today :)


So that's the latest. Thank you all for your love, concern and especially your prayers on her family's behalf.

noah.....

Most of you by now have heard about or read my sister's blog about my nephew Noah. My blog is the only one that is not private so I thought I'd update you on his condition....

Here is an email from Jason that I got this morning:

{We spoke with the Neurologist who said the neurologists have consensus that he has encephalitis (although it's impossible to say that is it with 100% accuracy, that is what they all believe it is after further study of all the tests), which means he has some type of infection.  They've been giving him medicine for an infection since last night, just in case he had one, but depending on what type of infection it is, the medicine may or may not be effective.  They may never know what type of infection it is, as the reports from the lumbar puncture/spinal tap obviously don't include everything under the sun, but they can treat it regardless on a trial/error basis.  We're not sure how long it will take him to get better, but he's clearly making strides.  I'm also not sure how long they'll keep him in the intensive care unit, but I don't think they are used to a child this active here (I like to think it's somewhat refreshing to them). 

The other good news is that after looking at his MRI the neurologists do not think there is any irreversible damage done to his brain (based solely on the MRI).  This was very refreshing to hear.  Nobody knows all the side-effects of seizures, but from what they can see on the MRI the impact to his brain is reversible...I have no idea if it will reverse by itself with time, or how that all works out...I'll be busy on the internet until the neurologist comes by.

Right now he's still doing good, no seizures since the one early this morning. Lots of good news today, I'm hoping that trend continues through the night.  I'm certain the day wouldn't have gone so well without the prayers and fasting of so many, we're very grateful. It's a humbling experience to be on the receiving end of so many prayers.  I know that Noah's improvement today, the doctors' ability to diagnose and treat him, and the comfort we have finally felt are all related to everyone's fasting today and our collective faith in the Savior and constant pleading to the Father.  For that we are eternally grateful and we thank you!}

It has been a long, terrifying and emotional week in our family. Noah, we love you!! Linds and Jase, you two are amazing and I'm glad things are looking good :) Love you.

weekend.....

We had a nice, relaxing weekend. We listened to General Conference Saturday morning, then went and watched our cousin, Lily, play soccer.

I took my camera and wanted to post some pics of my little family.....love them so much.

This little girl:
She is still cracking us up with the things she says or comes up with. She wants to name baby sister Sunshine....or ball ball...or Coley. It changes everyday.
Still struggling going poop on the toilet. But, yesterday during Elder Scott's talk (which was my favorite!), she went into the bathroom by herself and pooped on the toilet. We were all so happy and excited!! I just hope she keeps it up, because it has been so frustrating!
I finally ordered some sheets for her big girl bed, so we can start on making her room a 'big girl room'

These two:
They are still the best of friends. Brenna wants daddy to do everything! Poor guy doesn't get much of a break when he walks in the door. She follows him everywhere and constantly asks, 'Where's daddy?' when she doesn't see him.
She wakes up every morning and yells for daddy to come get her. Then I have to yell back that he's at work, and then she cries. I know B, I wish daddy was here too.
They have such a fun time together making up stories, or singing silly songs. It makes me happy.

This guy:
What to even say about him? He is so patient with me and even more so with Brenna. He is always so calm and collected, I wonder how we ever found each other...:)
He is the best daddy and even better husband. I'm blessed to have him with me, because I don't know where I'd be if he hadn't walked into my life.
And believe me, he walked in at the perfect time.

We have 11 weeks left before our lives will change forever. I'm excited, but also really nervous. We have a good rhythm going around here...sleeping through the nights, almost potty trained. We must be crazy to mess it all up :)

But I know that it will be ok, and that it will be worth it.