No Empty Chairs

Tulips

2012-02-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

I know I have written and taken a lot of pictures of flowers...especially of tulips but it truly is something I LOVE and enjoy. They brighten my day. My sweetheart gave me some tulips last weekend and I have enjoyed them so much this week. I have some in my kitchen and some on my nightstand. It truly amazes me how much happiness these simple flowers can give to me on a daily basis but they do and I'm so grateful for them. They get me so excited for spring and the up coming months. If I could afford it I would always have some fresh flowers in my home. I love having a nice clean kitchen with some fresh flowers by the sink. Can't get much better than that! So grateful for the beauties of this earth that we get to enjoy if we take the time to do it. Thank you sweetheart for bringing such loveliness into our home. I feel so blessed! Walmart is a great place to get some cheap flowers...that is where these tulips came from. I think they are $5 for a bunch of them. So worth it to me.

They just make me smile seeing them on my nightstand. Next to book I'm reading "The Happiness Project". (great book by the way)

The simple joys of life.

Valentine Mailboxes

2012-02-02T16:08:00.000-07:00

Our mailboxes are out and the love notes have begun. Love this tradition. I especially love that we have one for Wyatt. It does my heart good to be able to write my thoughts and love to my youngest child. I have no doubt he gets the messages we write to him.

Good Morning

2012-02-01T23:57:00.000-07:00

This is what we woke up to this morning. Love this time of year and the beautiful sunrises we get to enjoy!

Wyatt's Tree 2011

2011-12-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

I received this beautiful butterfly in the mail for Wyatt's tree yesterday. I love it! It's perfect! Thank you Michelle. So grateful to everyone that has contributed to his tree. It truly is a tree of love. It's always an emotional event each year as we place each ornament lovingly on the tree and think of the amazing people in our lives. We just feel so beyond blessed for all the kindnesses people have shown to us the past 3 1/2 years. Thank you to everyone! We love each and every ornament!

The doll my uncle gave us and the sweet quilt we received from Kamber's grandmother.

The hat Wyatt wore his first and only Christmas with us. It always will be a top his tree.

Happy Birthday Ty

2011-11-30T21:55:00.000-07:00

Can't believe our boy is 15 years old. Happy Birthday Ty. We are so grateful for him and so grateful he is part of our family. What an incredible kid he is. So proud of him! For his birthday all he wanted to do was go get his learners permit. After school I took him to get it but they wouldn't take the small birth certificate. He was so disappointed but was able to go back and get it the next day. He has been driving ever since as much as we let him. Still can't believe he is old enough to do that.

His day started out with opening some presents. We had breakfast cake before he had to leave for a service project he was involved in at school. "Drive by Raking". They had a pizza party for lunch so he didn't want to go out to lunch like we usually do. Instead we took him to Outback Steak House for dinner. His favorite! We came home and had cake and played games. It was a fun day. We love our Ty. Happy Birthday Bud!!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T23:41:00.000-07:00

We had a great Thanksgiving. We spent it with my sister and her family at their cabin in Pine Valley. It was a fun day spent together. A new traditions that I did this year was getting some butcher paper and putting it on our table a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. Each night or anytime during the day when we were grateful for something specific we would write it on the paper. Loved this activity...think it will be something we do again. Gratitude is something I've learned to be extremely important. Someday I will do a post on it and how it's helped me the past 3 years. It was fun as a family to write things down and then talk about them at the dinner table each night. So very grateful for all of my many blessings.

Our table after a week of writing on it.

Front porch. I made these Pilgrims so long ago but still love them.

Thanksgiving dinner.

And a great surprise to all was Santa making a visit that night with gifts for the little kids. Hay was so excited!!! Definitely something we will all remember.

A big hug and thank you to Santa.

Happy Birthday Hay!

2011-11-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to our sweet little sunshine! What a joy she is to our family. We are so grateful she is in our lives. She had a great 7th birthday. Started out with opening some presents and having breakfast cake. She went to school for a few hours and then was so excited to be checked out. D and I took her to her favorite restaurant Brick Oven for lunch. She's different than our other kids and wants to have them sing Happy Birthday to her. She enjoyed that! After lunch she went and spent some of her birthday money on a toy she has been wanting for a long time. When Em got home from school we took Hay to the mall to get her ears pierced. She flinched when they did her first ear and wasn't sure she wanted to get the second one done but she was brave and did it. We came home and made her favorite dinner...noodles and gravy. We had cake and played some games she wanted to play. All in all it was a great day. Hopefully a very memorable day for her. We love our Hay bug!

Her pillow pet!

She was excited to finally get her ears pierced.

I love these polka dot balloons.

She wanted her birthday colors to be orange, yellow and green. Her favorite colors.

Showing off her ears.

Halloween

2011-10-31T23:13:00.000-06:00

This year we had a cheerleader, basketball player and Miss America.. I can't help but always put a picture of Wyatt with the Halloween post I do each year. It was the one and only Halloween we had with him. Every year I wonder what he would be...this year I think he would have been Thomas the Train since we already have that costume from Ty. He is always missed on these holidays. Does it get any easier? In some ways yes but in others no. I will never forget the Halloween of 2007...it will be ingrained into my mind forever. Miss you Wyatt!!!

We had our annual neighborhood party which was fun and then the girls went trick or treating and Ty went and did stuff with friends. All in all it was a good day.

Our sweet little peacock that most people thought was a girl. :) Poor kid!

Ty...go Warriors!

Em in my Cheerleading outfit.

Miss America

Of course Macie Mae was dressed up as a pumpkin and LOVED all the trick or treaters.

I went that day and helped with Hay's halloween party. She had a lot of fun.

Halloween Decorations

2011-10-29T21:58:00.000-06:00

I thought it would be fun to take some pictures of our Halloween decorations. Each year we get invited to a fun couples Halloween party and usually come home with a new decoration to add to the mix. Some of these decorations on the other hand have been around for many years. Halloween I will admit is not one of my favorite holiday's but I do enjoy the cute things about it. And decorating can be fun.

This picture will never be replaced. The one Halloween with all "Our Little Goblins"

Random pictures

2011-10-21T20:56:00.000-06:00

I went on facebook and looked through some of the pictures that people had posted. I thought these pictures might be fun to have in our blog book. They are very random and are from various years.

Halloween

Girls weekend to see Phantom of the Opera in Vegas. Fun and memorable trip!

Disneyland with family.

Dinner with my brothers family.

Fall

2011-10-16T21:12:00.000-06:00

I decided that I wanted to take a few pictures around our yard to capture some of the beautiful fall leaves. The girls were outside playing and wanted their pictures taken. I can never resisit taking pictures of my kids.

Some of the beautiful fall colors.

The "weeping cherry" tree in Wyatt's garden. Love the mixture of colors.

Wyatt's rose bush...love that there was still a single flower on the bush. So beautiful. I love white!

Hay enjoying the leaves.

Fall 2011

2011-10-15T22:00:00.000-06:00

For Fall break this year we stayed home. One of the things we did was set a tent up in the backyard and pretend we were camping. The girls had a lot of fun. We watched movies at night as a family in the tent. We also roasted marshmallows and made smores, Ty didn't see the fun of sleeping in the tent probably because he has been on too many scout camp outs so he slept inside but the girls thought it was fun. They slept in it 2 nights. Once with me and one with Derek. Not the best nights sleep but hopefully the girls will remember it. They especially loved having Macie sleep with them in the tent.

Another thing we did this fall was go up to Pine Valley to enjoy the pretty leaves. What a beautiful time of year. I love seeing all the pretty colors.

Pine Valley Chapel. Love this building. So pretty. I love white and I love white picket fences!

This branch was a tender mercy for me. One thing I really wanted was some fall leaves to put in our entry way and for some reason I didn't get any when we went to Pine Valley. One morning I was looking outside in our front yard and there was one branch on the tree that had changed colors. I knew at that moment it was a tender mercy meant for me to enjoy inside our house. Which I did!

Wyatt's Bench

2011-10-12T09:29:00.002-06:00

It's finally in and absolutely perfect! Our hearts are full of deep amounts of gratitude to everyone that made this possible for us. Words truly can not describe our feelings right now. When we look at his bench we think of all those that sacrificed and donated all they did so we could have the perfect memorial for our little boy. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
When I first saw this quote I knew I wanted it on his bench. It summed up our complete feelings and I wanted my children and future family to know of the testimony we have that yes we can be an eternal family and through our Savior Jesus Christ he has made that possible. I wanted this as a reminder of the hope we truly have that one day we will be together again.
Our 4 kids.
Forever ours...until we meet again. I added this because the song "God be with you until we meet again" has been a great tender mercy for me on countless occasions. I know Wyatt has been able to communicate his feelings to me through this song. It has been played at moments I've needed including a miracle day 1 year after he had died when miraculously Hay turned on the CD player and this song came on. It wasn't even number 1 on the cd but 11. Truly a miracle in my eyes and it was definitely something I needed to hear at that moment on that day. It was a message of hope from my youngest child.
These are his cute little foot imprints. I had stamped his foot at age 2 months to put into his scrapbook. They were able to copy them and engraven them on his headstone. I would have never thought that when I was stamping his feet that day that instead of them going into a scrap book they would be going on his headstone. Simply unbelievable!
The back again sums up our greatest goal. These are the words from his obituary. I hope that our posterity will look at this and realize what is important in this life and strive with all their might and strength to do those things that will qualify them for eternal life so that we will not have any empty chairs in heaven. Wyatt has filled his and it's our goal to fill ours as a family as well.

Wyatt's 4th birthday

2011-10-12T08:41:00.001-06:00

Wyatt's 4th birthday...we ate breakfast at his grave and watched the sunrise. It was a perfect and beautiful morning. Couldn't ask for any better. After school we released balloons and went to dinner together. When we got home my sweet friend had dropped off some cupcakes so we did our "No Empty Chairs" box and ate cupcakes after singing happy birthday to Wyatt. It was a difficult day for reasons other than Wyatt's birthday but we survived and enjoyed some good family time. We know whats most important in this life and we are grateful to have each other. We truly look forward to the day when we get to see Wyatt blow out 4 candles and open up presents. It will be a wonderful day.

Picnic breakfast with breakfast cake.

The sunrise...simply beautiful!

Ty's message....I miss you!

A sweet friend brought by this vinyl for our wall... Forever a family. Love it!
We feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family in our lives. Thank you to all that remembered our little boy on his birthday.

Oh so amazing!

2011-10-12T08:40:00.001-06:00

I received this in the mail for Wyatt's birthday. It's a drawing my niece drew. I had no idea she was such an artist. Truly amazing! What a tender mercy it was for me to open this package up and see this amazing butterfly. This is the exact type of butterfly the flew around in our backyard the day before Wyatt's birthday. This will be something we will always cherish. Thank you Sarah! Along with the drawing she shared the words to a song that reminded her of Wyatt. That is one of the greatest gifts I can receive is knowing that our little boy is still thought of and not forgotten. Another great gift is to hear that someone has become a better person because of Wyatt's influence on them or that their testimony has grown from Wyatt's story. Those are some of the greatest blessings I can receive.

Em's 12th birthday

2011-10-12T08:40:00.000-06:00

Em had a great birthday. Started out with a few presents, breakfast cake and lunch at Kneaders. That evening I made her favorite dinner...cafe rio. She wanted to have orange and turquoise colors so that is what we did. She then went to a friends house and enjoyed the evening with them.
A sign Hay had made. She had saved up all her violin treats to put on the sign. She loves her Em!
Em has wanted to wear make up forever it seems like. She was given the permission to start wearing it. Needless to say she was waaaay excited!

Lunch at Kneaders.

She is now old enough to be in beehives. This is how we welcomed her in. I'm so excited that I get to be one of her leaders.

Strings of Dixie

2011-10-12T08:37:00.001-06:00

We made a decision this summer. We decided we were going to have the girls do violin and nothing else. We were able to join an amazing group called the Strings of Dixie. We love the instructor and think she will teach the girls more than anyone else. We dropped everything including dance. I just felt like this was more a of virtuous and lovely activity for our girls to do. I also felt like this was something they could use all their lives. It has been hard and they have had to work really hard to learn all the songs they needed to for their performances this fall. But they have done great!

Their first performance was at Swiss days in Midway, UT. It was so much fun. Since then they have performed other places and will continue to have opportunities to perform. Another reason I wanted them to join this group was they do lots of performing which I believe will help them share this talent more in their lives. They have learned a lot of fun fiddling songs and continue to learn the Suzuki method. So proud of these girls and all the hard work they have put into it.

My parents amazing backyard. We had so much fun enjoying their new Gazebo along with all the fruits and vegetables they grew.

Swiss Days Midway, Ut

Playing each others violins...not easy!

Joy in the Journey

2011-10-12T08:36:00.000-06:00

Butterfly Jar

2011-10-12T07:53:00.000-06:00

A sweet fellow angel mom sent me this in the mail. I absolutely LOVE it! Though it's not a real butterfly it acts and looks just like one. You tap the top of the jar and it starts to fly around. The amazing thing is there have been times when I've gone into Wyatt's room and it has started to fly on it's own. Truly a Wyatt moment. Thank you Teresa for giving me such a thoughtful gift. Now I can have Wyatt moments year round. Love it!!

The Little Mermaid

2011-10-12T07:28:00.000-06:00

Love, love, love the little mermaid!! We had a girls cousin night where we went and saw The Little Mermaid. So much fun. One of the best plays we have seen at Tuacahn.
My cousin's daughter got to be Little Mermaid at Costco one Saturday.

4th of July 2011

2011-10-11T08:15:00.001-06:00

I just love the 4th of July. I especially love the flag and the colors red, white and blue. It's tradition to get a picture of the kids on this holiday. This is the one we took this year.

And of course the girls begged to take one with Macie Mae.

We had dinner with some friends and then went swimming at the condos.

After swimming we went and watched the fireworks then came home and did our own sparklers and fireworks. It was a fun day. Love the 4th! So grateful for the amazing country we get to live in and enjoy. We truly are blessed!

24th of July parade

2011-10-11T07:21:00.000-06:00

Every year for the 24th of July our ward participates with a float in our local town's parade. Here are the girls in the parade. Em's last year since she will be in YW's next year. They squirted the parade route with squirt guns. It was a lot of fun.

Tahiti Village July 2011-Happy 12th Birthday Em

2011-10-10T07:22:00.001-06:00

For years now Em and her friend have wanted to do a girls trip. We told them maybe for their 12th birthday we would do that. Well this summer even though both of their birthdays are in the fall we decided to take them on a little trip. We found a great deal at the Tahiti Village in Vegas. It was amazing! We pretended we were in Tahiti not Vegas and had the time of our lives. Hay got to join us for the first part of the week. This place had a sand beach area, lazy river and awesome cabanas to relax and read under. We did lots of shopping, swimming, relaxing, reading and just enjoying each others company. One of the days D and Ty came to pick Hay up and enjoyed the resort with us. I hope it will be a memory Em will never forget. Can't believe she is now 12 years old. Such a sweet and remarkable young lady that we feel so blessed to have in our life. Here are many of the pictures I took. Fun, fun memories!

Hay was so worn out from all the fun she fell asleep sitting up.

Our favorite restaurant

Hatch 2011

2011-10-09T09:00:00.003-06:00

Em and Macie in the back of the truck.

We spent a couple of weekends in Hatch this summer. I enjoy taking pictures of the area. Such a beautiful place.

After reading posts on Pioneer women I've always wanted to take some pictures of some cows. Got my opportunity this summer.:)

Macie especially loves Hatch. It wears her right out.

Dirty face=fun!

Staycation/ Summer fun

2011-10-09T07:27:00.000-06:00

Each summer we get to stay in my parents condos and have a "staycation." Such a fun thing for our family to do each year. We have some wonderful memories as a family there. This year we had some cousins come to swim and some other cousins came while their parents went to Vegas for a day. It was fun to swim, play the wii, relax and enjoy being away from home. We went to Antigravity one morning which is a trampoline place. So much fun!

Nail time.

Catch up

2011-10-08T08:46:00.003-06:00

I'm going to attempt to catch up here so I can make our years blog book. I have all of the summer to blog about plus birthdays etc. So there will be much activity here this week unlike the past few months. :)
Wyatt's bench was suppose to be put in on Thursday but we had a week of rain everyday including Thursday so they have to wait until it dries out...hopefully next week will be the week. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Wyatt's garden 2011

2011-10-08T08:17:00.001-06:00

Here are some pictures of Wyatt's garden this year. Though it doesn't look like this now it did have a time of great beauty. I was so excited to have my Hollyhocks come up this year. I planted seeds last year but they didn't produce. This year we had a lot of pink and white ones. Definitely one of my favorite flowers.

Macie's Birthday

2011-10-08T07:12:00.001-06:00

The girls were so excited to celebrate Macie's birthday. They even went online to find a dog friendly recipe for a cake. Didn't take a picture of it but it looked like meat loaf.:) They wrapped up some of her toys for presents. It was cute to watch them plan and execute a fun birthday for their dog.

Girls Camp June 2011

2011-10-08T06:24:00.001-06:00

I get to work with the youth in our church which I truly enjoy. This year for girls camp we were able to go to SLC and tour all the church sites. We did baptisms at the Salt Lake temple and served at the Humanitarian Center. We hiked to the top of Ensign peak and enjoyed the beautiful grounds at temple square. We got to hear from Elder Snow a general authority and enjoyed an evening at This is the Place State Park. It was a great girls camp...one of the best I've been on. Since I don't have permission to put pictures of the girls on here I did take some pictures of the beautiful flowers and some of the temple. This is my favorite temple. This is where D and I were married for time and for all eternity sealing our family together forever. Something I'm beyond grateful for.

On top of Ensign Peak.

On top of the Church Office Building

Our state flower...first time I've ever seen one. They were everywhere on our hike up Ensign Peak.

Geraniums are one of my most favorite flowers. Just couldn't resist not taking some pictures of this red one.

Love this amazing flower. Oh so beautiful!

I miss you!

2011-09-21T22:53:00.006-06:00

That sums up our day today....we miss him and love him!

Happy Birthday Wyatt!

2011-09-21T00:01:00.002-06:00

4 years ago today I looked into those cute little eyes and instantly fell in love with one of my everythings. Little did I know I would have to give him back 5 1/2 short months later. My arms continue to ache wanting so badly to hold him again. It's hard to even describe the feeling.

Today we will be celebrating those amazing 5 1/2 months we had with our little boy. We will celebrate his life and the life we look forward to having with him someday. We have no regrets with the time we had with him. He was spoiled rotten and loved more than anything in this world. Because of that our loss was that much more intense and hard. We miss him and love him. We know we will have him again. I'm sure sometime today or this week we will watch this and remember those months with him. So grateful we have this to remember him by.

Yesterday a huge yellow butterfly flew around our backyard. Haven't seen one of those in months. I know Wyatt was letting me know how much he loves me and that he is very aware of these hard days. So grateful for the tender mercies that I continue to receive.

I know I probably post these same pictures each year but we cherish them like we do all the pictures we have of him. It brings back that wonderful day 4 years ago. One of the happiest days of our life's.

Happy Birthday Wyatt!! We love you and we miss you. Look forward to watching you blow out 4 candles someday. Until then we will continue to devote our lives to those things we know are most important so we can be a forever family.

The proudest big brother in the world!

I look at these pictures and marvel at how much the kids have grown. This WAS one of the happiest days of our families life.

Wyatt's 2nd mom. And she was a great one too!

Big sister...so excited to have someone to play with and show off to.

Birthdays

2011-09-19T23:54:00.004-06:00

Can't believe our little girl is now 12 years old. She is such a delight and we feel so grateful that she is in our life. She had a fun day which I will hopefully post about soon. I actually have a whole summer worth of posting to do...sigh. Anyway, I have much to catch up on and not sure when I will do it. Still can't believe she is 12. Where has the time gone?

Wyatt's birthday is approaching too fast and it's been more emotional for me than I was expecting. Miss him sooooo much. The hole in my heart is gaping open right now and the raw emotions are at the surface. I really wish I was planning a 4 year olds birthday party right now instead of trying to figure out what we are going to do without him here. Not easy! I'm sure like in years past that his actual birthday will be a peaceful and good day. It's just these days before that are extra hard.

We were hoping that his bench would be done so we could surprise the kids. Unfortunately, the bench came with the wrong top so they have had to order in a new one, so we get to wait some more. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks we will have it. I get emotional thinking about it and all the people that helped us get it. It will be good to finally have it here. Can't believe he would be 4 years old in 2 days. Oh, how he is missed in our family. We love and miss you buddy!

First Day of School

2011-08-23T20:18:00.002-06:00

Here are the pictures I took on the first day of school last week. I've been hoping to get my photoshop working so I could do a few edits to these pictures but have not been successful. So I decided to post them anyway.

The kids have done well with their first week and are enjoying their schools. Ty has been very busy with golf after school every day and the girls are getting ready for a few fiddling performances coming up in the next month. We are back to the grind and it's good.
Em was the most excited about not having to wear a uniform. She is my fashion girl and was sick of wearing the same thing for the past 2 years. She earned a lot of her school clothes by babysitting this summer. She did a great job at being frugal with her money.

Our 1st grader....she loves it!
Can't believe he is in 9th grade....where has the time gone?

Em wanted a picture with her Roxy backpack that she had bought herself with babysitting money.

Since Em wanted a picture with her backpack so did Hay.

That time of year...

2011-08-15T13:11:00.000-06:00

In our household it's that time of year...we started school today. I took pics of the kids this morning but haven't gotten around to posting them. I did take some pics of Hay's school supplies. I love school supplies....silly huh? But I do and I have all my life. It's one of the most exciting things about kids going back to school. So, it's always fun for me when I get to take my kids out to get their supplies.

Can't believe our summer is over already. This one was the fastest by far. It makes me sad but on the other hand I'm excited for another year of learning and having a constant schedule. My kids are at 3 different schools this year so that will make things exciting. I can't help to think that Wyatt would be old enough to start a preschool. It's hard to come home to a quiet house and not think of how it should be. I should have a 3 almost 4 year old running around with me. Someday, oh someday that will happened. I dream of that day often and how wonderful it will be to raise our little boy.

Golf team/ Piano solo

2011-08-06T09:41:00.001-06:00

Ty made the golf team this week. :) Soooo very proud of him! He has worked so hard this summer playing almost everyday and mostly going to play by himself. He truly has learned about hard work and we are beyond proud of him. Making the team as a freshman is such an accomplishment! Way to go Ty!!! You are amazing!

He also played a very hard piano solo in church last week. Yet another thing he has worked so hard on by himself. He taught himself how to play the piano with just a years worth of lessons at the beginning. Since then he has practiced on his own and taught himself some really hard songs. The song he played in church was "Onward Christian Soldiers" arranged by Jon Schmidt. Ty had listened to this song from one of my CD's. He liked it so much that he decided to go online and he bought the sheet music. He as been learning this song for a long time now and we are so proud of his perseverance and dedication. It was not an easy song at all. He spent hours learning the very challenging end part of the song and when he played it in church he did it perfect. As I would take him to the church to practice the week before playing it in sacrament meeting I couldn't hold back the tears as I would listen to him play. This kid has triumphed in adversity. He has overcome disappointment and has become an amazing young man that I'm so very proud of. His work ethnic when he wants to accomplish something is amazing. Way to go Ty! You make your parents proud!

Dance review

2011-08-05T10:42:00.000-06:00

At the end of each dance year the girls have a dance review where they perform everything they have learned throughout the year. At the first of the review they have their dads escort them out onto the floor and they dance to butterfly kisses. This is always a highlight of the girls dance experience to be able to dance with their dad. This year D got to dance with both girls. So cute!

Dancing with Dad.

Ballet

2011-08-03T10:24:00.000-06:00

This year at Em's school she had a ballet class instead of PE which she LOVED! At the end of the year they had a performance called "Rattaballet." Here are a few pictures from one of her many performances. She did a wonderful job.

Spring 2011

2011-08-01T10:18:00.000-06:00

The girls wanted a photo shoot this past spring so one evening we went and took a few pictures.

Favorite quote

2011-07-29T11:13:00.000-06:00

The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.
-Mulan

Kindergarten graduation

2011-07-28T10:48:00.000-06:00

Can't believe our little girl has graduated from kindergarten and is soon to start 1st grade. She had the best teacher ever and learned soooo much. She really enjoys school and looks forward to being able to stay at school all day long like her big sister and brother. I on the other hand am not sure I want her to go. I really shouldn't be at this stage yet...I should have a 3 year old at home with me. I try not to think about it and look forward to when the kids will get home each day. I will be able to get a lot of things done while they are gone which I'm looking forward to. Here are a few pictures of her graduation.

Hay with her awesome and amazing teacher...love Mrs. Anderson!

Hay with her best friend.

Dancing to one of the many songs they learned.

Saying goodbye to kindergarten and hello to 1st grade. I held back the tears.

Backyard

2011-07-27T07:25:00.001-06:00

I decided to buy a table cloth that I fell in love with as soon as I saw it at Target. I decided to make some pillows out of it for our outside furniture. I love how bright they are. I also bought a pot at DI and spray painted it to match. I then bought a flower and planted in it. I also painted our wicker chair with white spray paint and put it under our arch way in the back yard. This is now one of my favorite places to sit and look at the beautiful red mountains. I've enjoyed many breakfasts in this spot. It's also a great place to sit and watch the kids jump on the trampoline. Love the simple joys in my life.

Easter 2011

2011-07-26T16:40:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Easter. We had Derek's sisters family down for the weekend and had lots of fun with them hiking, playing games and just enjoying spending time together. Then my niece came for one night and we got to color eggs and have the Easter bunny come for a fun hunt.

We usually go to Wyatt's grave Easter morning and talk about the significance of Christ's resurrection and how important that is to us but it rained that morning so we went that evening and talked about the wonderful day when we will have our little boy again. Here are a bunch of pictures I took.

Easter egg hunt.

Tyler got his braces off. He was beyond thrilled!!

American Doll Store

2011-07-25T17:19:00.001-06:00

Since this trip was the girls trip they got to choose a couple of the things that we did. American Doll store was definitely the highlight of the trip for the girls. When we were first planning the trip we mentioned American Doll store. That became the main thing they wanted to do. It is every girls dream and the girls could hardly wait. The wait finally was over and we drove to Los Angeles and had lunch at the American Doll Cafe. Such a fun atmosphere. It's something I think the girls and I will never forget. They had chairs for their dolls to sit in that hooked to the table. The food was ok but the atmosphere and how everything was presented was perfect!

Since this was Grandma and Grandpa's trip for the girls they gave us money so that we could let the girls each get a doll. We let them know the big surprise when we got there. Oh, how excited there were! Such a fun surprise for them. It was awesome shopping and looking through all the darling clothes and dolls. Such fun stuff! It took them a long time to decide which doll they wanted. They ended up getting Julie and Kanani. Before we left we took them to the Doll salon and they got to get their dolls ears pierced. It was such a fun day. One the girls will always cherish. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa!

Hay having lunch with her doll Kit. Kit we got through e-bay many years ago and her legs are very loose. The lady saw that when we put her in the chair so she had the "Dr." come to check on Kit. They wanted us to leave her at the hospital to get fixed for a "fee" but we decided that we would try and fix her when we got home. It was cute to have the "Dr" come all dressed up to check on Kit. I wish I would have taken a picture.

Em with her "Just like me" doll Grace having lunch.

Dessert....everything was presented so cute and fun. They had some conversation cards at the table that we asked questions to each other. That was fun to hear the different responses from the girls.

The girls with their new dolls....oh so fun!

The Mormon Battalion

2011-07-24T17:23:00.000-06:00

After releasing butterflies at the San Diego Temple we went and toured the Mormon Battalion. It was such a great tour and VERY entertaining. Derek had 2 relatives that were in the Mormon Battalion so before we went in, while we ate our picnic lunch he told us the amazing story about Meltier and Orin Hatch...brothers that were in the Mormon Battalion. Orin got sick while on the trial and the leader told Meltier to just leave Orin behind because he couldn't keep up. Meltier would not leave his brother to die so every night with the help of a friend he would march back to where Orin was and carry him to camp and then he would march with the battalion all day and do that over and over again. Finally the commander in charge had pity on him and gave Orin a horse to ride until he got better. It was fun at the end of the tour to look up their names and see pictures of these amazing relatives. After the tour they had some fun little activities for the kids. Panning for gold was so much fun. It was a great and memorable day spent learning about the early pioneers.

Panning for gold.

Sea World

2011-07-24T16:49:00.000-06:00

We went to Sea World for 2 days and had a great time. The girls especially loved the pets show and enjoyed seeing a dog that looked just like Macie Mae. It made us miss her.
Pet show

I love Hay's face here....sure terror. I don't think she knew that big drop was coming. She actually went on it again which I was surprised.
Em with the dolphins. The dophin show was the best show there. We saw it twice.

My Wyatt moment that came at the perfect time. We had just sat through the dolphins show and sat right behind a little boy that was about the same age as Wyatt before he died. I sat and held back the tears as I looked at his cute and precious hands. Oh, how I miss Wyatt's hands. As we were walking out of the show the flower garden was right in front of us. I went over to it and this butterfly was there. I know Wyatt was letting me know that he is aware of my feelings for him and that he loves and misses us.Such a cool flower I just had to take a picture of it.
Feeding the seals was probably one of the funnest things the girls did at Sea World.

Ty was such a good sport and went on all the kiddie rides.

Lawrence Welk resort

2011-07-24T16:22:00.000-06:00

This is the awesome place that we got to stay while on our San Diego trip. We spent most of our days by the pool while the boys golfed. There was 5 different pool complexes with water slides and splash pads. It was so much fun. Along with the pools there were rec rooms with pool, ping pong, chess, wii's, movies, fire pits and lots of games. We spent a lot of days and evenings enjoying the amenities. It was so much fun!

One of the many fire pits.

One of the 2 slides.

Splash pad

Wyatt's bench

2011-07-22T00:46:00.004-06:00

Since I've decided to start blogging again I thought I would give a quick update on Wyatt's bench. It's suppose to arrival today and then we can start getting it engraved and the pictures made. It takes quite a few weeks for the pictures to be made and installed and the engraving to be done. So, we are hoping it will be done by his birthday in September. Here is our preliminary sketch of what we want. The front and top are pretty much how we want it. The back on the other hand is totally different than what we have drawn here. It will be great. We continue to feel deep amounts of gratitude to everyone that has made this possible for us. Again....THANK YOU!
They are going to be able to copy the foot prints I made of Wyatt's feet when he was 3 months old and put on the front. Also, there will be a picture of Wyatt on the front and then our family picture on the back. The total cost was the exact amount we received. What a great blessing to us!

San Diego Trip March 2011

2011-07-21T16:53:00.002-06:00

I'm going to attempt to start catching up on the last 5 months. I've taken a break from blogging and it's been good but I really want to print up the book each year so I'm going to start again. It's kind of overwhelming but I know I will be glad when I have it all done. I've decided that I love to take pictures but I really do not enjoy writing so having a break from that has been a good thing for me. I have spent the past 5 months just enjoying my kids and living. It's been good. I've done a lot of reading which has fulfilled one of my goals this year. It's been great! We have had a very busy summer and continue to have many things planned before school starts again.

We continue to miss Wyatt and there isn't a day that goes by that we don't think about him and wish he was physically with us. We have been blessed with many, many Wyatt moments and are grateful each time for those tender mercies. We are also learning to live again and enjoy those wonderful things in our lives. Which for me is a miracle. I never thought that would ever happen. There are still moments of grief and the ache of wanting to hold him again will NEVER leave but we do have a hope of that glorious day when he is in our arms again. His bench will be coming in tomorrow so we can now start the process of getting it engraven on and get the pictures done to put on it. I'm hoping it will be done before his birthday.

Here is the start of many posts from our spring break trip where we went to San Diego....the trip my parents gave to the girls that I explained about here. Here are a collection of random pictures I took on different days while on our trip.

We had lunch one day on the pier at "Ruby's." It was delish and fun to eat by the ocean. Building a sand castle at the beach.

Running from the waves on one of our days at the beach.
I can't even describe how much I love the beach and the ocean. I need it in my life. So glad we have had so many opportunites to enjoy it. I love it!

Seal beach where their were lots of mom's with their newborn pups. Fun to see!

What an awesome tree! I just had to take a picture of it!

Flowers by the ocean...2 of my most favorite things. Love it!

Tyler showing off his jumping skills.

Coming out of Sea World he tried this with a different pole and it didn't work out as good. We are just glad he didn't get hurt too bad. Just a couple of scrapes and bruises. We now laugh about it.

I just couldn't resist not taking pictures of some of the beautiful flowers there.

" Are you kidding me? Another picture?"....those were Hay's exact words.

Such different and amazing trees there.

We spent some time at Old Town looking at the shops and then had an ice cream...delish!

Swinging on the beach...can it get any better? Hay thinks not!

Happy 4th

2011-07-04T15:42:00.004-06:00

I have so much to catch up on it's overwhelming but I wanted to wish everyone out there a happy 4th of July. This is one of my most favorite holidays. So grateful for the freedoms we enjoy and for all those that have sacrificed so much so we can have all that we do. Here is our table all set for a fun BBQ dinner with some friends. I love the colors red, white and blue. I especially love the flag. Happy 4th!!!

Quote

2011-05-19T09:35:00.000-06:00

My kindred spirit gave me this block for my birthday a few weeks ago. I LOVE it! So true...oh, so true. Can't wait for those blessings to come. Though it seems like an eternity until I get to hold my little boy again it will come and it will be the most wonderful moment of my existence.

Butterflies

2011-04-15T23:46:00.004-06:00

I have been so busy with so many things which has made blogging at the bottom of the list. It also doesn't help that I'm having a time where I just don't feel like blogging either. Do any of you feel like that at times? I guess I kind of go in cycles. I'm sure soon I will have a "wanting to blog" cycle so I can catch up on all the things I want to have in our book. In the past couple of weeks I've got to spend time with some dear friends and with an angel mom that is in the thick of grief. It's always a blessing when I get to visit with dear friends. I've also been enjoying spring and very busy with this to name a few things. But I wanted to quickly write down a couple of things my girls have said about butterflies the past week before I forget about them.

First one is from Em. Last Sunday for sharing time our amazing primary president did a sharing time about reverence and butterflies. She told a story about how to catch a butterfly. To catch a butterfly you have to be quiet and still. You also have let it come to you. Just like reverence. At dinner that night I was asking the kids about what they had learned. Em said that they had talked about butterflies and how to catch a butterfly. She then said..."I don't have to be quiet or still to catch a butterfly because butterflies just come to me and land on me." She really has had many Wyatt moments where they will come and land on her while she is walking. She says it happens all the time...and she knows it's her little brother saying hi.

The second Wyatt moment that I want to record is from Hay. In her class at school the past few weeks they have been learning about the cycle of butterflies. They ordered the same caterpillars we do each year for Wyatt's angel day and watch as they progress to a butterfly. Hay was excited to tell the teacher about how we do that every year for Wyatt's angel day and that we get to have Wyatt moments with butterflies. This past week they got to release a couple of the butterflies as a class. I asked Hay what the butterflies did..I figured they would just fly away quickly but she said they didn't. Instead they came and landed on her. I asked her if they went to anyone else and she said no...just me. She let everyone know she was having a "Wyatt moment." What a tender mercy. There have been so many butterflies around lately and I love it. So grateful for each and every "Wyatt moment" we get to experience. Wyatt sure likes to let us know he is aware of us and loves us.

As far as Wyatt's bench goes we have gotten it approved with the cemetery. The next step is to order the bench. Which we plan on doing next week. They said it could take up to 2 months to get the bench here and then they have to engraven on it. So, I'm thinking we will have it in June or July sometime.

Thank you

2011-03-29T08:56:00.005-06:00

I wanted all those family, friends and neighbors that helped raise the money for Wyatt's bench to read this comment I got.

" Andrea, What a miracle. I am so thankful that you will finally be able to order a headstone. Molly and Vic are truly amazing. As soon as I read the part of you only needing $1000 from the Good Grief (instead of $2000), and that the extra money will be able to help somebody else, I just broke down... Molly is sending the check to our monument company THIS WEEK to help with Lincoln's headstone (it has been ready for a very long time, but we just never had the funds for it). I feel SO much gratitude for your wonderful friends and family(!), who helped with Wyatt's headstone, and enabled the Good Grief to help even more families. I definitely think IT IS BECAUSE OF THEIR EFFORT Molly and Vic were able to help us so much sooner. The bench looks beautiful! I'm so glad it finally happened! "

Isn't that awesome? Thank you again everyone. Words truly can not express the feelings in our hearts. We are price checking right now to find the cheapest bench for Wyatt's grave. We are still not sure what we are going to end up doing on the back of the bench but it will come. The front and top are all figured out. It will be so nice to have it done and in place. Thank you again!!! We will be forever grateful to everyone that made this possible for us.

Wyatt's angel day 2011

2011-03-28T00:12:00.000-06:00

This year we went out of town for Wyatt's angel day. This year like most it ends up being during our kids spring break. Spring break is now a tender thing for us because 3 years ago our spring break turned into one we will never forget and one we wished never would have happened. We had to say goodbye to our sweet boy that week instead of enjoying the fun little vacation we had planned.

The last 2 years we have stayed home for spring break but this year we were blessed to have the chance to go to San Diego. My parents have taken all their grand kids except Em and Hay on a trip. Ty got to go to Williamsburg a couple of years ago for his trip. Well, my parents decided that they would give us the money they would have used on a trip for the girls and we could go on a trip as a family. It was officially called "the girls trip". We found a place during spring break that we wanted to try out in San Diego so we decided this would be their trip. It truly was on of the funnest trips we have been on. Having some extra money helped us in being able to do some things we never would have done. The girls got to plan the things we did and we had a very enjoyable and fun time together. I hope it will be something they will never forget. We reminded them often that what we were doing was because of their grandparents and if it wasn't for them we wouldn't be doing it. Thank you Mom and Dad!

So, when we decided to go to San Diego I knew instantly what I wanted to do for Wyatt's angel day. His angel day was on a Sunday this year so I wanted to release butterflies at the San Diego temple. It was perfect! Such an incredibly beautiful temple. One of my favorites! It was neat to release these butterflies at such a meaningful place for our family. At a temple. Because of the temple we have the hope of being together forever. While driving to the temple we listened to the talk D gave at Wyatt's funeral. Something I think only I had listened to since that day. D did such a great job and it was a great reminder of the times we had with Wyatt. There we some tears shed as we listened. Oh, how we miss our Chubbers.

After releasing the butterflies we talked about the spiritual moments we had on Wyatt's last week along with the last moments D and I had with him. Since we didn't know how long Wyatt would struggle after taking out the breathing tube we decided not to have the kids there. Both D and I wished we could change that decision because of the amazing spiritual experience it was but we didn't know. He didn't struggle at all and I believe it was because of the prayer his older brother gave that morning. We were able to talk to the kids about that moment and let them talk about their feelings from that week. It was good and the spirit was very strong. Hopefully the kids were able to feel the spirit and if anything I hope they know what both D and I believe and how important those things are to us. It was a wonderful time as a family. A very peaceful and spiritual time together.

We then went to the Mormon Battalion and toured that AMAZING newly remodeled visitor center. Awesome place! I'm sure I will do a post just of that. All in all it was a very peaceful and wonderful day spent together as a family reflecting on those things that are most important. But mostly remembering our sweet little boy who we continue to ache for and long for. Wyatt you will never be forgotten. We love you and miss you! Here are some pictures of the butterfly release.

What a beautiful temple...it reminds me of a castle. We let each kid release a butterfly. Em went first. With some help from Hay. Hay was next. The black dot at the top of the picture is a butterfly flying away. Then Ty. What a tender mercy for me that I was able to get pictures of each butterfly the kids released.

A miracle and a HUGE Thank you!

2011-03-22T00:01:00.004-06:00

Wyatt's angel day 2011

I've been waiting to post about Wyatt's angel day until we got home...yes, we went away for our spring break this year and it was wonderful but I'm not going to post about that right now. I have something more amazing and wonderful to post about. We had one of the most unbelievable thing happen to us today and I'm struggling at how to express the feelings and gratitude that is in my heart....in our entire families heart. Sometimes thank you just doesn't seem enough. This is one of those times. This is what a couple of friends brought to us today....
WOW! I cried as I read it. You have NO idea how much this means to us. How much we have wanted to get the perfect headstone for our son but haven't been able to afford it and now we are going to get what we want. I'm just speechless and BEYOND grateful. How can I possibly express the DEEP gratitude that is in our hearts at this time?

Here is the story of the miracle that happened. My amazing friend contacted Molly and Vic from A Good Grief some friends of mine that have started a website to help people with grief and also a foundation to help people get headstones for their kids. They started this foundation in memory of their sweet Lucy that died just a couple of months after Wyatt. You can click here to hear their story and what they do for others and click here to go to their website if you would like to make a donation. They had generously pledged $2,000(double the amount they usually pledge) to go towards a bench for Wyatt. Wow! The generosity of so many people is beyond overwhelming!

Well, my sweet friends decided that they would try and earn $500 to help towards the bench for Wyatt. Which is not an easy task at all! One of Em's wonderful friends came up with the idea of doing a bake sale for Wyatt while we were out of town to see if they could come up with the extra money needed. Also, my cousin contacted some of my family (weren't able to figure out how to contact my husbands family) and asked for donations. Well, instead of $500 dollars they were able to raise(which truly is a miracle) $1,500 to go towards the bench for Wyatt. Instead of A Good Grief donating $2,000 now they were able to donate a $1,000 and can now use the extra money to help another family. Amazing!

Lets just say there have been MANY tears of gratitude shed today. As we opened the envelope full of money and checks that people gave us both Derek and I cried. What a humbling experience. One we will NEVER forget. So many people we love and appreciate that have already done so much for us now have done even more for us..how could we possibly accept anything more? Wow, I just can't even describe the feelings in my heart. So, to ALL of you out there that donated, helped in anyway so that we can finally get the bench we have dreamed of THANK YOU! Those words just don't seem enough but I hope you will accept our heart felt thanks.

You have no idea what a huge weight that has now been lifted off our shoulders. I'm not going to go into any detail but since Wyatt's death like so many other people out there we have struggled financially and have had one thing after another happen to us. Just trying to pay off Wyatt's medical bills has been hard. Life and things continued to happen and money for his bench needed to be used for more pressing matters. I finally gave up hope that his bench would actually be something we could afford in the near future and we would just patiently wait. Both Derek and I decided that if we had to wait 10, 20 or more years we would. We both felt like if we were going to get him a headstone we wanted to wait for the one we wanted. The one that would honor our son and in some small measure show the love we have for him. We wanted a bench that we could use as a family when we visited his grave and now we can do that. We will be forever grateful to EVERYONE that has made this miracle possible. We will think of each and everyone of you as we sit on his bench. Words just can't describe fully how grateful we are to all of you. THANK YOU!!

The flier that they sent around our neighborhood while we were out of town for the bake sale. "Buy it for Wyatt"

A book we will cherish the rest of our lives. They had this book at the bake sale for people to write notes to us. They also listed all those that donated to Wyatt's bench. Many of my beehives helped with this amazing day and I will be forever grateful to them!

Our sweet 11 year old wrote this on our Celebration board tonight...oh, thank you to everyone that has made this possible. Definitely something we will celebrate!

Here is the sketches I drew up 2 years ago...now we will be able to make them a reality. I never thought this day would come. Miracles do happen and this is one of the greatest ones we have received. I prayed for a long time that something would happen so we could afford the bench for Wyatt...now my prayers are being answered. Thank you to everyone for making this possible!
Thank you for your generosity and for being an instrument in Heavenly Fathers hands. I never thought in a million years that I would have to draw up what I would want on my sons headstone...not something anyone wants to do but at least now we can have the memorial we have painstakingly thought of.
I'm sure we will make some changes but this is a good start. I hope it will be something that will honor our sweet son and be a testimony to those who visit it that we truly believe in Eternal families and that Wyatt will be ours forever. Because of our Savior Jesus Christ we have the sure knowledge that this can happen.

"Our eyes may be moist with tears, but our hearts burn with the knowledge that the bands of death have been broken and that we will one day be reunited to share the blessings of eternal life." Pres. Thomas S. Monson

Wyatt's grave

2011-03-14T23:42:00.001-06:00

One of my sweet young women went to Wyatt's grave on his angel day and took this picture of a HUGE balloon, butterfly and note my brother and his family put on his grave. So very thoughtful of both of them. She added one of my favorite quotes to the picture. Thank you Lauryn and for her sweet mom for always remembering Wyatt.:)

Words can't even describe the gratitude in my heart for all the thoughtful comments, e-mails, phone calls and facebook comments that people have sent to our family. I'm amazed at how many people still remember us on this day. It means soooo much to us.... so thank you!!. Also, thanks to the family members that went and visited Wyatt's grave and put flowers, balloons, butterflies on his grave. Words just can't describe the feelings in my heart. We are truly blessed with such amazing family and friends. Thank you to all!! I will post more about his angel day in the near future. It was a very special and peaceful day for our family and one I hope my kids will never forget.

Memories

2011-03-11T01:06:00.004-07:00

Every morning this week I've woken up to memories of 3 years ago. Such vivid, vivid memories. Heart wrenching memories that I wished never would have happened. Every detail is etched in my mind. The way the sun was, the birds chirping, the hint of spring in the air, the smell in the air...every thing to the last real night I had with him, the 3am bath, to the hospital and all the rooms we were in, the phone calls that were made and received, the ambulance ride, prayers and more prayers, airplane flight, taxi ride, temples, the PICU, nurses, Drs. etc. etc....so many other details I won't even share here...all of it. Memories that are hard to even comprehend. Oh, how I wish that the everyday details would have been etched in my mind more than the awful things I saw that week. But there is another side to those memories and what I learned from this week is, that is what I want to focus on. We experienced some of the most amazing and some of the most spiritual moments of our lives that week and I hope we will never forget them. I'm hoping that this weekend as we think of the last days we had with our little boy that as a family we will remember those spiritual moments that testified to us that Wyatt is where he is suppose to be and that there truly is life after this one and we were blessed to feel a glimpse of what that will be like. That he misses us too and didn't want to leave us. And that we were blessed beyond measure with such great support from family and friends that we will be eternally grateful for.

I'm so proud of our family and where we have come and where we are today. Though we ache and will continue to ache for him the rest of our lives we have learned to live again and enjoy life again. We know that Wyatt is still a big part of our family and we are grateful for that. Though we will continue to have our hard days we can get through them. We have done it for 3 years now and we can continue to do it in the future. We will continue to press forward with a brightness of hope.

So my goal this weekend is to remember those amazing spiritual moments we had and to remember the joy he brought into our life. To be grateful for all the amazing friends and family that have blessed our lives. We will look forward with much anticipation to the day when we will get to see his smiling face again and we will love him, hug him and do all those things our arms and hearts ache to do now.

We miss you Wyatt, we love you! You will never be forgotten and you will always be in our hearts. We will never forget your contagious smile.:)

"Forever ours"

Butterflies

2011-03-06T13:11:00.006-07:00

Chrysalis'...soon to be butterflies

It's that time of year again in our household where we start to prepare for Wyatt's angel day. It's tradition that we release butterflies on that day so we are in the process of watching them go from tiny little caterpillars to large caterpillars then into their chrysalis' and finally into beautiful butterflies. This will be our third year. I hate even saying 3 years because it can't possibly be that long since I held our little boy. Though I've learned to live again there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of or ache for my son. I would do anything in this world if I could change what happened but I can't. I miss him and will all of my life. I do have hope of a glorious and most wonderful day in the future where I will get to hold and love him again and I look forward to that day more than anything.

I love some of the pictures I got from last years release. They stayed around for such a long time so I could take many pictures. That first year it was windy and 4 of the 5 flew away really quick. It was a tender mercy though to have one stay for us to enjoy. Hopefully, we will have at least that this year. If you are new to this blog and wonder why butterflies click here.

I had two "Wyatt moments" a couple of days ago. 2 butterflies flew through our backyard. Hayley and I both got so excited...this means we have made it through another winter and that Wyatt is sending his love and will be able to send more butterflies into our daily lives. I will never forget that first summer without our sweet boy and how I was literally surrounded by butterflies...everywhere I went I had a butterfly by me. They were everywhere. Now, not so much but I don't need them as much now as I did that first summer.

So grateful for the tender mercies in my life. I truly believe that if we seek out those tender mercies in our lives and become aware of them, that they will become a great source of strength and a blessing to us. I do believe it does take effort though, in doing this and noticing them in our daily live. I hope to continue to put forth that effort so I can enjoy them more fully. I love this talk by Elder Bednar if you haven't read it before or if it's been awhile I would highly recommend it. This is a great quote from it... "I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are available to all of us and that the Redeemer of Israel is eager to bestow such gifts upon us." I do believe this. That they are available to all that seek them. So grateful for each and every tender mercy that has come to me. I'm especially grateful for the tender mercy of butterflies!

Angel day 2009

Angel day 2010

One of my "Wyatt moments"

The Treasure Hunt Book

2011-03-02T13:01:00.002-07:00

I thought I would share one of my favorite activity books. It's called "The Treasure Hunt Book" by Klutz. You can click here to buy your own. Inside this book are 110 Ready-to Hide clues so it makes this activity a really easy and simple one that the kids LOVE. I laminated some of the treasure hunt cards that we used the most so that the cards would last. I'm so glad I did because we have used them so much.

I got this book back when Ty and Em where little and we have used it so many times for Family Home Evenings, birthdays, when friends have been over and mostly just something fun to do on an ordinary day. When I had more than one child doing the hunt we would trade off with each clue so each child would get a turn finding them. I would make that clear before we started so there would be no drama during the hunt. Didn't always work but most times it did.

One summer we tried to do one hunt a week and the kids loved it. We haven't used it for a while until Hay brought it to me the other day. At that time I was busy doing something else so I put it off a couple of days. Today I surprised her with a hunt when she got home from Kindergarten. The only thing I didn't realized was that she would be putting her shoes away where the ending treasure was. She saw it and quickly closed the drawer and said "I forget stuff really fast in fact I've already forgot what was in there" ha ha :) Needless to say she was extremely excited to do the treasure hunt and end up with her surprise. It really only took me a minute to hide the clues. So simple but so fun.

For the "treasures" I usually just get something at the dollar store or just some little treat that is around the house. I use to have a treasure hunt basket that I kept treasures in so when the kids asked for a hunt I had something on hand. I was looking through the book and realized we haven't done some of the more challenging ones. Now that I have some older kids I think we will do them. So, for you out there that have little kids or big kids and want an easy but very fun activity for your kids to enjoy I would highly recommend this book. I'm hoping that my kids will have fond memories of the treasure hunts we did at our house.

There is a pocket in the front of the book and the back of the book to hold the clues once you tear them out.
The picture hunt is probably the one we have used the most because all they have to do is look at the picture and that is the clue. Great for little ones that can't read. On the back of each card it tells you where to hide it which makes it sooooo easy and simple.
A few of the easier hunts. The color one is a great one for teaching kids colors. The scramble one is a challenging one for when they get a little older. There are 11 hunts total but each time you do a hunt it can be totally different from the last one just depending on which location you decide to hide the clues.
Hay after her hunt today.

Flowers

2011-02-25T21:50:00.004-07:00

My sweet heart gave me some tulips for our anniversary along with 2 dozen roses. I LOVE them!!! He truly knows how to melt my heart. There is just something about a flower that brings peace and calm into my life. I love having them in our house. I especially enjoy taking pictures of them if you haven't already figured that out. :) This has been a good week of enjoying some beautiful white tulips and red roses. I'm so grateful for flowers. I always think of this quote when I think of flowers.

"Parents who have surrendered the sweetest and smallest flowers from the family's garden need to remember our Heavenly Father. He has promised a special reward to those who now suffer in silence, who spend long days and longer nights through their trying times of bereavement. Our Creator has promised glory. He said, "For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but nigh at hand." (D&C 58:4) That promised glory includes the blessing of reunion with each child who has left the family circle to help surviving members of the family to draw nearer to God. Those children still live and are a heritage to the Lord."
Russell M. Nelson

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15 years...

2011-02-23T22:22:00.002-07:00

Today we celebrated our 15th anniversary. Can't believe it's been 15 years....15 wonderful years. I didn't think my love for him could grow anymore than on that day 15 years ago but it has and it continues to grow. I look forward to many more years and most importantly eternity with this man. I'm the luckiest person in the world to have such an amazing husband. Today we spent the day together just the 2 of us and it was great. Thanks mom and dad for taking the kids so we could spend time together reminiscing on the past 15 years and dreaming of the next 15 and so forth. I feel so blessed to have such a loving and supportive husband. He truly is the greatest! We look forward to the day when we both get to raise and watch Wyatt grow up. It will be marvelous. And the best part is we will never have to say goodbye to him ever again because he will be ours forever.

Roses

2011-02-17T23:04:00.001-07:00

My sweet husband gave me a dozen roses for Valentines day. I LOVE them! They are so beautiful and delicate. I have been taking many pictures of them this week. It has been fun having them to enjoy.

After a couple of days they really blossomed outward. So pretty!

Can you tell I love taking pictures of flowers? That is really one way I truly enjoy them. Taking pictures of them and noticing the little things about them that make them so beautiful. I also tried a bunch of different settings on my camera. It's been kind of a learning experience for me as well. Love learning new things!
A couple of random pictures I took on Valentines day. Our table all set for our candlelight dinner and then another Valentines tradition...sugar cookies. Yum!

Dance

2011-02-17T22:52:00.004-07:00

We have been busy the last couple of months with many dance perfomances with the girls. This is Hay's first year and she is LOVING it! I think what she loves the most is that she finally gets to do what her sister has been doing for a couple of years now. They have had fun and have gotten to perform at many half-times. Today they got to perform at the college girls basketball half time. They did great!

Before the performance.
Hay dances to "Single Ladies" and gets to put this big ring on during the dance. She loves it!

Em is improving more and more each year. She really enjoys dancing and performing.

Valentines 2011

2011-02-14T09:48:00.002-07:00

Each year for Valentines day we have a tradition of having a heart waffle breakfast. We received a heart waffle iron many years ago for our wedding. It's been a fun little tradition each year.

I'm finding that these red and white flower plates I bought at Walmart on clearance last summer are coming in handy for many holiday celebrations. I love white and red together.
I bought these heart glasses a few years ago. They have been fun to use at our breakfast and candle light dinners each year.
I kept up the festive lights from Christmas and we have enjoyed many dinners this winter under them. This morning we enjoyed them as we ate breakfast. I'm taking them down after today.

Gave my sweetheart some hugs and kisses.

I saw these darling heart marshmallows and had to get them. We had hot chocolate last week using them.
An after school snack Hay and I made for Ty and Em. Saw this idea on my amazing friends blog. She is so creative and it's been fun to try some of her ideas.

The mailboxes have been so fun. Hay was asking this morning if we were going to keep the mailboxes out. I told her that they were only for valentines and that after today they would be put up until next year. She was so sad to hear that. She wants to keep them out all year around. Needless to say it's been a big success and truly brought some LOVE into our home. It will definitely be something we will continue to do each year.

Violin Recital

2011-02-14T09:25:00.001-07:00

Last week the girls had another performance at school for violin. This time it was a recital where they got to play individual songs while being accompanied by the piano. Hayley played Twinkle, little star and Emily played a Fiddle song. They both did a great job as always. This time they got to wear Sunday dress clothes instead of the school uniforms. They didn't plan their outfits but they ended up matching each other. Of course I had to take a picture of them together all matchy.:)

2011-02-14T08:48:00.001-07:00

This experience is one of those times I wished I would have taken my camera but I didn't. Dang it!

Last month in our city we had a new airport open. We decided to go to the dedication. So, we checked the kids out of school, picked up my parents and drove to the new airport. Well, everyone else in the world decided to go to it as well and we got stuck in traffic and missed the whole ceremony. One of the apostle of our church was there and we were hoping to see him but missed the whole thing. After the dedication they all flew away in a plane. What we didn't know was that they would return later to the airport.

We finally got to the airport and enjoyed touring it. Such a nice little airport. They did such a great job with it. The kids enjoyed the brownies and cookies that they were serving to the public. It was a fun experience. They had TVs throughout the airport broadcasting the different things that were happening. We were about to leave when we noticed that all the people from the dedication were on the TV again. We thought it might be a rerun but decided to go and see if maybe they had returned from their plane ride. They had and we miraculously came to the exact spot that President Dieter F. Uchtdorf was coming through. He came to us and gave Hay a high 5, shook my hand and then reached around to shake Em's hand because she was hiding behind me. He then shook Ty's hand. . It was such a neat experience to be in the presence of a living apostle. We just stayed and watched as he interacted with everyone. Such an amazing man. It was a fun experience and one I think my kids will always remember.

So grateful for the gospel and for living apostles that teach and give us pure doctrine to follow by. I don't know what I would do without the knowledge I have of eternal life and the blessings we will receive. I love all the comforting quotes I have on my sidebar many from apostles and prophets.

Heaven in our home

2011-02-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

Because someone we love is in Heaven, we have some Heaven in our Home.

A sweet friend gave this to me and I LOVE it! So, TRUE! Love you Wyatt!

Macie Mae

2011-02-10T10:19:00.001-07:00

Isn't she cute? I just had to add this picture my niece took of Macie Mae. I still love her sad puppy dog eyes. I'm totally surprised at what she has added to our family. I never in a million years thought we would have a dog. My sweet husband told the primary kids when we got her "that a complete miracle had happened at our house that week"...it truly was a miracle. I have to say I felt like our little family needed a dog for a long time but I resisted the thoughts and impressions. I started having dreams about puppies...seriously??? It took a good year for me to finally cave and now I can see why we needed her in our life. Ty hated her at first...was not happy about it but now I would say he loves her and enjoys having her to pal around with. I had no idea...but grateful for the inspiration and miracle she has brought to our family.

Volume 2 "No Empty Chairs"

2011-02-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

For Christmas I got my 2nd volume of "No Empty Chairs". I was surprised to see that it had so many pages. I didn't think I had posted that much. I've debated for a while now if I should continue to blog about our family and the things we are doing. I've established some traditions that will most likely not change with regards to Wyatt and I will continue to take pictures and write about those occasions. Some things will not change. My feelings that I continue to feel over him will not change. I will continue to ache for him. I will continue to think about him every single day for the rest of my life and I will continue to want to talk about him here on the blog. So, I've decided I will continue on. I love having this book each year that documents what the kids are doing, some of my "Wyatt moments" the tender mercies in my life and the different things I'm leaning to enjoy and do since Wyatt's death. In a way it's our little family history book and I enjoy looking at it and seeing the progress I've made, how the kids are growing up and the things they are doing. I will often refer to it to remind me of the traditions we have established for each holiday that includes and remembers Wyatt in some way. I guess what it has shown me the most is that I've learned to live again. I've learned to enjoy the simple things in my life and will continue to enjoy those things and so much more.

For those of you that may want to know which company I use to print up my blog it's called "Blog2Print." It's easy...that is why I chose it. Not the cutest but the quality is great!

Genius

2011-02-10T10:07:00.001-07:00

I wish so badly I would have thought to take pictures of this but I didn't. Since I get this blog printed each year I want to try a little better this year of recording some of the things that happen around here to help us remember them later on.

About a month ago our 14 year old decided he would fix our laptop that had died many months prior to this time. He had spent time online trying to figure out what was wrong with it. He decided ne day to take the thing apart. I had no idea how many little screws and little parts were in a laptop. He had the office full of parts here and there. I wondered if he would be able to put it back together because I know there is no way I could do that. He worked on it an entire weekend researching and figuring out what might be the problem. He tried a bunch of things but they didn't work. He then found a you tube video that gave the instructions of putting the mother board in the oven...seriously???? At that point I'll be honest I figured our laptop was going to be the girls play toy. How could putting a part in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes fix it? Tyler had researched and figured out that some how it would melt something that would then stabilize it and fix it...something like that. So, he did it...put the mother board in the oven for 10 minutes and then he put the laptop back together...which was not an easy thing. It took him hours to do but he persevered and guess what it WORKED! A total miracle in my eyes. Then I realized once again that our son has some extra ordinary abilities and is pretty stinking smart. Way to go Tyler...it's been so nice to have that laptop working again.

Goals for 2011

2011-02-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

Goals for 2011

Yes, this post should have been done last month but I seem to be about a month behind. Better late than never is my new motto. This post really is just for me to record a few thoughts about what I want to accomplish this year...you do not need to bore yourself and read it. I've included some great quotes that you may want to check out at the bottom if you would like. You can just skip this first long paragraph.

I have many different goals that I want to try and implement into my life this year. One of my main goals though is to find balance in my life. So, some of the things that I think will help me find that balance is to continue to plan out my day and try to accomplish those things that I need to do each day. I've come up with my own little planner system that has worked really good the past year so I want to continue to use that to help me be organized. I want to make sure the important things get done each day. Scriptures, prayer, exercise, family scriptures, prayer and gratitude journal. I want to do something each day that is creative. I want to create. I feel that that will bring balance to my life. I want to show daily gratitude for the many wonderful blessings in my life. I want to better my self as a wife and mother. I want to try and have more patience with my kids and not raise my voice to them. I want to seek out the positive things they do instead of noticing the bad. I want to enjoy life more and celebrate the accomplishments that I do achieve. I want to become closer to my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I want to continue to notice the tender mercies in my life each day. I want to continue to keep Wyatt's memory alive. I want to continue to feel and express my emotions in a way that helps me cope with them. I want to provide the needed emotional, physical and mental support my kids and husband need. I want to learn how to cook better and try some different meals each month...at least 2 new ones a month. I want to continue with the traditions we have established and bring in any new ones that I feel are important. I want to continue to serve and help others. I want to continue to enjoy the blessing of the temple each week and how it balances and puts my life into perspective. I want to learn more about photography and enjoy taking pictures of the beauty around me. I want to continue to make physically activity and priority in my life. I want to work on getting more sleep. I want to continue to enjoy making our house into a home by doing little fun projects around the house. I want to enjoy reading again. I want to read as many fun books as I can this year....I want, I want, I want. But these things really are things I'm hoping I can incorporate into my life more fully. Some are not hard to do. I already to them but some are more challenging. So, I'm hoping this year I can learn to do those more challenging things and make them a bigger part of my life and continue to try and do the easier ones. It's going to be a good year. I'm excited to see the things I'm going to accomplish and do. Hopefully many of these things will bring added joy to my life.

I listened to this awesome talk by Elder Christensen click here if you want to listen to it. Thanks Jennifer for the link. I love this quote about making goals.

"Thoughtful planning and preparation are key to a rewarding future but we do
not live in the future we live in the present...it is day by day that we achieve
our goals, it's one day at a time that we raise and nurture our families. We
endure in faith to the end one day at a time." Elder D. Todd Christopherson

I love that quote! So much wisdom in it. One day at a time...that is my goal.

Here is another great one by N. Eldon Tanner:

"As we reflex on resolving to do better let us determine to discipline
ourselves to carefully select the resolutions we make and consider the purpose
for making them and finally make commitments for keeping them and not letting any obstacle stop us. Let us remind ourselves at the beginning of each day that we
can keep a resolution just for that day as we do this it gets easier and easier
until it becomes a habit."

And then finally a great quote by Delbert L. Stapley:

“Good habits are not acquired simply by making good resolves, though the thought
must precede the action. Good habits are developed in the workshop of our daily
lives. It is not in the great moments of test and trial that character is built.
That is only when it is displayed. The habits that direct our lives and form our
character are fashioned in the often uneventful, commonplace routine of life.
They are acquired by practice.”

So this is my resolve to do a little better one day at a time. I know some days will not be how I hoped or planned and I will continue to struggle with different things but at least I'm trying and I will celebrate the little accomplishments I make each day. The fact that I've learned to live again since Wyatt's death is a miracle in my eyes. I'm learning to find joy in those simple things that surround me and I'm so grateful for this.

2011-02-08T22:17:00.000-07:00

This gets me excited.....

because before long we will get to enjoy this....

can hardly wait!

Create

2011-02-04T10:00:00.002-07:00

I had a little extra time this week because a couple of my kids were sick at home. Therefore, I cancelled a few things and stayed home as well. With this extra time I've been able to get all the squares put together on my quilt. I'm liking how it's turning out. It's kind of wild, crazy and bright but I'm liking it. It will be a fun quilt to take on picnics.

I'm finding that I need to do something creative each day. That is one of my goals this year. I want to try and create something new each day. I feel it will bring balance into my life. If you haven't seen this video about creating I would highly recommend it. It's wonderful! We as a family got to meet this amazing apostle last month...still can't believe I haven't posted about that yet...coming soon. :)

Figuring out where to put each square. It's not going to be a huge quilt but big enough for at least 2 people to enjoy. :)

Wyatt's mailbox

2011-02-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

I was able to find a mailbox for Wyatt this week. They had gotten in a few more and I was so glad. It just didn't seem right that I was writing love notes to my kids but was leaving one of them out. It now seems right. It's been good for me to be able to write notes to each and EVERYONE of my kids. Hayley was the first to put one in Wyatt's mailbox. I big I LOVE U! For me it's been good to be able to write down my feelings to my youngest child. So, at least for me I'm glad I decided to get one for Wyatt. I've learned to include him in anyway I can...that just seems to be the right thing to do. He is still a big part of our family. We love you Wyatt!

It's been a fun week with the mailboxes. Lots of love and thank yous going around. It's been a good thing! I think this will be something we will continue as a tradition each year. Love it!

See the Good in The Jacksons

2011-02-01T23:01:00.002-07:00

BYUtv - BYUtv Shorts: See the Good in The Jacksons

Just wanted to share this beautiful video. Hope you will check it out. Molly and Vic you are amazing! I'm sure Lucy is so very proud of you.

Valentine boxes

2011-02-01T05:18:00.001-07:00

Last night I introduced the kids to something new we are going to do this month to celebrate valentines. I saw this idea from one of my friends last year and loved it. I had kind of forgotten about it until I saw these cute little mailboxes at Target in their $1 section. I bought us each a box. We are going to start sending love mail to each other for the next couple of weeks. What I'm hoping is there will be lots of kind and nice things written and sent in each mailbox. Hopefully lots of "love" will be expressed. I think this will be a fun new tradition at our household.

At the time I debated if I should get a mailbox for Wyatt. I ended up not getting one and now I'm kicking myself. I went back to Target to buy one and they were all out. I'm hoping they will get more in. The thought occurred to me that it might be a good thing to have a box for him so the kids can express how they are feeling with regards to missing Wyatt along with expressing their love. I do believe he will get those messages. The kids even asked where Wyatt's box was...so, hopefully in the next few days they will get some more mailboxes in so we can have one for him.

I love the color red.

The simple things

2011-01-31T09:23:00.002-07:00

One of my many goals this year is to continue to notice and enjoy the simple things in my life and then be grateful for them. This is something that does take effort and I'm continuing day by day to learn this principle in my life. The past few months we have been able to enjoying the beauty of a simple sunrise. Each morning as we have had breakfast we have gotten to enjoy the different sunrises. Some pink, some orange, some yellow but each so different but breathtakingly beautiful. I feel so grateful to a loving Heavenly Father that gives me these to enjoy each morning. It starts my day off good. Here are a few pictures I took that past couple of mornings. I hope this year I can continue to be grateful for the simple and wonderful things in my life. I feel so blessed.

I love the sliver of the moon....making the sunrise that much more beautiful.

"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." -G.K. Chesterton

Music

2011-01-30T07:15:00.002-07:00

The girls are continuing to learn how to play the violin. I'm so proud of them and how hard they have worked. Hayley got moved up to the older class because she was progressing so well. She was excited to be with the older kids and it's been a great motivator for her to learn even faster. They had a performance at their school last weekend and Hayley got to perform with all the other kids. Something she has been looking forward to since Emily's first performance. They both did an awesome job.

Tyler is continuing to teach himself the piano and is doing an amazing job at learning new Hymns and songs. He is also involved in band at school and does a great job with the drums and percussion instruments. I'm hoping all the time, money and effort that we are putting into theses activities will pay off someday. But what I hope most is that they learn to love music because for me music is one of the greatest blessings in my life.

At the performance...not the greatest pictures. It's hard to take a good picture when it's so dark inside. I bumped up the ISO to a high number but that makes it kind of grainy and it's hard to not have it blurry. These are the best pictures I got of the night. So, I'm glad I took the ones before we left.

Quilt

2011-01-28T10:10:00.001-07:00

I'm excited to start something new...quilting. I've wanted to learn this skill for a while now. I've done some quilting in the past but not completely by machine which is what I'm hoping to learn. I've spent time on the internet trying to learn as much as I can. I know this quilt will not be perfect but I'm excited to try. I've been wanting to make a fun little quilt to take on picnics. I found these fabrics awhile ago and thought they would work perfectly. This week I've decided to begin. My goal is to complete it before spring so we can start using it on our picnics and when we go to Wyatt's grave. Don't these colors make you excited for spring and summer? They do me...perfect for the winter months. Wish me luck...I will need it. :)

The Month of Organization

2011-01-28T09:00:00.001-07:00

This month has been the month for organization. I LOVE organizing things and making "homes" for items. It's been a while since a few areas in our home has been gone through and organized. So, I've spent a lot of time this month doing just that and I love how it feels at the end when something is organized in such a way that helps our household function more smoothly. I'm really trying to simply things and get rid of anything we really don't need. It's been great. Now I wish I would have taken before and after pictures of some of the closets areas I've cleaned out.

I started with the garage at the first of the month. Went through all the shoes and unused items that had piled up. Sent things to DI like jackets, shoes, coats and things the kids have grown out of. A good power wash of the floor in the garage always makes me excited. Yes, I can get excited over some different things. :) I then cleaned out our 1/2 bathroom and made places or "homes" for my daughters shoes. We were having a problem with backpacks being put wherever in the house and cluttering things up so I moved a few things and made a cubby for each kid in the closet by the garage. It has worked wonders. I haven't been nagging the kids to put away their backpacks and jackets since they got the cubbies. They do it right when they get home. It's been great. What I had for them before to hang backpacks up was just not working so we tried this and so far it's been good.

I cleaned out our game closet/blanket closet and love how it looks now. Moved the blankets so it's now just a game closet where things are so much more organized. I wish I had a before picture for this closet because it was a disaster before. Here is the after..

Last weekend I worked on the closet in Wyatt's room. Wyatt's room functions for many things. After he died I wasn't sure what to do with his room but eventually decided to make it into a reading/music room. It's also partly Hayley's bedroom. So the closet in this room needed to have many functions and I just didn't have enough shelves to have it accomplish all I needed it to. So, for our date night last Friday we went and bought some shelving for this closet and my sweet husband cut them up to fit. I love how it turned out. This closet functions as a library to house all our magazines and books, along with our music room where the girls have their violins and violin notebooks along with it being Hayley's clothes closet. I added some of the craft items the kids use and now it's functioning how I dreamed. It just feels so good to me to have a organized and clean closet. Now the challenge is to keep it that way. I did think to take before and after pictures of Wyatt's closet. I love how now the girls have their own shelf just for their violins. Easy access hopefully will make for more practicing. The books are all in order and I even made a shelf just for library books so that they now have a home which I hope will make things more simple and easy when it comes to returning books. Does organizing make you happy? It does me.

Wyatt's closet before.....
Wyatt's closet after...

Just Dance

2011-01-28T08:40:00.001-07:00

For Christmas we got the Wii game "Just Dance" from my husbands sisters family. The girls have played it multiple times since Christmas but the rest of us hadn't tried it until Monday night. It was soooo much fun. Definitely my kind of game and I was very surprised at how good my husband was. Thanks Hansen's we have had a blast and laughed as we watched each other dance. :)

Ironing Board

2011-01-18T10:15:00.002-07:00

I've struggled for years now on where to put my ironing board. I've had it in my closet and it has been such a pain. Always falling down and getting in the way. I've tried to think up a solution for years now and never came up with anything until I saw this idea of hanging it from hooks and putting it behind the door. Perfect! Of course I had to put my personal touch on it...bead board. One of my most favorite things is bead board...it's everywhere in my house. My sweet husband used a scrap of bead board, framed it with some flat pieces of wood and put the hooks on. Needless to say I LOVE IT! It just goes so well with the rest of my laundry room and I love how convenient it is for me now. So beyond thrilled to have a home for my ironing board.

Got the hooks at Home Depot. The perfect place...behind the laundry room door.

Road of grief

2011-01-11T08:30:00.005-07:00

Yesterday me and a friend had the opportunity to meet with a girl that had just lost her little boy to SIDS. My heart completely aches and breaks for her and for what she has been through and what she will have to go through. I just hate to see someone having to start on the journey that I started almost 3 years ago. I wish I could just take it all away for her.

My friend that went with me is 15 years down the road of grief and is amazing. She has such great insight and knowledge so I sat and marveled as she talked with this girl. I hope in some way since we have both been down that road that we were able to help her. If anything I hope she knows she is not alone. Grief is hard, hard work. I hope some of the information I gave her will help. I was able to see yesterday how much I have progressed along that hard and difficult road of grief and it gave me hope. It just breaks my heart to see that she is just beginning. Oh, it's so beyond hard.

There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of my Wyatt many, many times throughout the day. I don't every see that changing. He will always be in my heart and will always be in my mind. Miss that boy!! Here are a few random pictures. I will never get sick of any of the pictures I have of him. Just wish I had more.

I love this one because it was a picture of our everyday life back then. He had just woken up that morning and I decided to take a couple of quick pictures of him. I love that it's showing his diaper and how his gowns would always creep up. I love that the blanket my mom made for him and the blanket I bought him are in the picture. I love to see the cradle that Grandpa L. made for us that we used with each of our kids. Sometimes it seems like just a dream that he was in our life but when I see pictures like this one it brings it all back...the everyday life with our sweet little boy. I'm so glad we enjoyed every second with him.

We especially miss his cute smile. What joy he brought into our life.

Paper towel free

2011-01-07T01:06:00.001-07:00

I saw this idea on another blog and decided I would try it. I love any ideas that will help me save some money. I've replaced our paper towels with this jar filled with cloth towels. We have tried this new idea for about 3 weeks now and I feel it has been a great success. We are paper towel free. Yippy!

I was getting sick of spending money each month on paper towels. We were going through them way too fast so when I saw this idea I decided to try it. I was already doing a laundry load of towels each week so adding a few more didn't make much of a difference. The one draw back is I have more folding to do but it hasn't been too bad with these little towels.

I bought the towels from Target. They were $3.99 for six of them. I bought 3 packs to start with and since then have added a couple more so we can make it through a whole week without having to do laundry. They are the RE target brand and they said mop towel or mop rag on them. They are about the size of a washcloth. I just placed them in a jar where the paper towel dispenser use to be. I informed the kids of our new paper towels and that they can use them whenever they needed to.

I put the paper towel dispenser in my pantry for those moments when I need a paper towel. Which I've only needed to use once in the past 3 weeks when I cooked bacon. Anyway, it's been a good thing and I'm looking forward to saving some money by not having to buy paper towels anymore. Just thought I would share in case someone else wants to try going paper towel free.

Christmas day

2011-01-06T23:58:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. We feel so blessed to have each other, to have a home to live in and to enjoy all that we enjoy. Words can't describe how much we miss Wyatt and how difficult it can be not having him physically with us. His stocking remains hanging each Christmas and that is hard. We do look forward to the day when it will be filled with all the wonderful goodies Santa brings and will be placed next to his presents. We especially look forward to the day when we can watch him enjoy the magic of Christmas. Until then we are enjoying the moments we have together and are grateful for each and every one of them.

I always get a gift that is from Wyatt that we can enjoy as a family. This year it was Toy Story 3. We have laughed much from watching this movie together.

Waiting to come upstairs. This year they sent the dog up at 5am...needless to say it was an early morning for us.

Sooooo excited!!

I decided to set the table the night before for our Christmas morning breakfast. I used my 4th of July plates and thought they brought some fun color to the table. I love red, white and blue. I worried that my new blue walls might clash with my Christmas decorations this year but I LOVED them and thought they fit perfectly with everything.

Chrstmas eve

2011-01-06T23:57:00.004-07:00

It's tradition now...we always set a place for Wyatt at our families Christmas eve dinner. Like I've said before it does my heart good to be able to set a place for him. We talk about "No Empty Chairs" and how Wyatt doesn't have a chair at our table but that he has already filled his chair in heaven and is waiting for us to do the same. That our goal is to have our Eternal table full with "No Empty Chairs." We had a wonderful little dinner as a family.

After dinner we acted out the nativity. I'm not sure why I didn't take any pictures other than Hay being Mary but we all had multiple parts. Wyatt had the part of the star. We used the star my mom sent us two years ago when they retired and dedicated the star part to Wyatt.

We then went to Wyatt's grave and put a little bear on it that my visiting teacher gave me. We always sing Silent night at his grave and light a candle. This year Em had learned how to play Silent Night on the violin so we had her do that while we sang. It was neat. Such a peaceful place. We stood for a while after thinking about our Savior and the hope he gives us so that we can have Wyatt again. I always shed some tears at this point. Tears of gratitude and tears of sorrow. Gratitude for my Savior and sorrow in missing my little boy. It's especially hard at Christmas time...I just miss him sooooo much! But I'm grateful for the hope that Jesus Christ gives me that I will have him again and I will get to see him open presents and watch as his eyes light up with joy.

We then went home and listened to a CD of prophets and apostles testifying of Christ. Hay then bore a sweet testimony and we talked about Christ a little more. After that we did our traditional ice cream activity with the nuts. Both D and I got a nut along with Ty. Something new we did this year for Christmas was, we drew names and we made a homemade gift for that person. We called it the"gifts from the heart." We decided that we would open those gifts on Christmas eve. After opening our "gifts from the heart" the kids opened their traditional PJ's and then they went to bed and had their "Christmas Eve Party" together.

It was a very sweet and enjoyable evening spent together as a family. I have no doubt Wyatt was with us watching as we cried, laughed and enjoyed each other. He is not gone..he is still a big part of our family. We love him!

The Nativity
Gifts from the heart

I had made a tutu for Hay's doll.

I love this picture of Hay. She was so excited to give the gift she had made for her Dad.

Hay gave her dad a Reese's peanut butter cup she got at school and saved for him along with some coupons of service.

D made some frames for Em to go in her room.
Em made a pillow case with pictures of Wyatt and Ty on it with the words.."Brothers Forever."
Ty put all of our home videos on DVD for me including all the video we have of Wyatt. I cried many times over this wonderful gift.

Hay made a bell necklace for Macie.

Wyatt's grave

The bear we took and put on his grave.

PJ's

Grandma's Christmas cactus

2011-01-06T23:35:00.001-07:00

While we were up north for Christmas my mom showed me this. My grandma's Christmas cactus was starting to bloom. The first bloom to come out was the one by Wyatt's picture. This was a tender mercy for me to see. I don't feel like it was a coincidence. I feel like it was a love note from a couple of people I love and miss.