Tyler's Baptism

My, my,  I cannot believe this day has come and gone.  It is hard to believe that this kid is already 8 years old and baptized!  Oh how I love this boy!

Look how cute he is!

Well Tyler had a wonderful baptism day.  He was so happy all day.  Just glowing.  I love it when he smiles -- I usually don't see it often enough.  But I tell you what -- he was smiling all day long.  

We loved having lots of family there to show Tyler their love.  We love you, Tyler! 

I am so proud of this boy!

Fun Visitors!

LOVED having family visit from out of town.  My sister, her husband and 6 kids, my mom, and even my brother (for just a day).  Thanks for coming, guys.  We had a blast!

Mesa temple grounds and visitor's center.

There were some brave hearts among us -- I was not one of them.  Water still a little too freezing for me.  

What a great brother!  Totally shocked me when he just strolled on into my kitchen.

We love you, Grandma!

Even More Birthday Fun...

Well nobody was going to let me live this one down.  Family and friends gathered to make it quite an event.  

 I've known these gals since high school!  So the good thing is, I know they're all the same age as me.

My whole family was in town to help me celebrate -- my brother even flew in for just the day.  All five brothers and sisters, together with my mom, went to my dad's favorite Mexican food restaurant for lunch.  You guys are the best!  Thanks for the best birthday ever.  Loved making new memories while laughing at lots of old ones.

And to top it all off, Bobby surprised me with a trip to Vegas.  No kids.  Heaven.

Thanks, honey!  I had a blast!

Happy #8 Tyler!

Yes, Tyler, you are growing up so big and strong!  I can hardly believe that this is number 8 for you!

 And you really are so cool.

Oh, I love this boy!  He is so much fun.  He is a good boy with a good heart.  He loves video games and Mario, but he is also getting to be a great little reader and bike rider.  He has a great smile and I love to see it when he is truly happy.  We love you, Tyler!

Happy Birthday, Lindsey!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Lindsey!  Seriously you cannot find a better girl than this.  We all love Lindsey because she is so good.  She is the best sister to her brothers.  She is a great helper and a sweetheart for her parents.  She loves her friends and all her sports, but I most often find her tucked away behind a good book. 

We love you, Lindsey!  Happy 10th birthday!

We had lots of help celebrating!  Cousins, aunts, uncles, and even Grandma came to town.

Progress

One of the things we love about where we live is the fact that the LDS church is building a temple less than two miles from our house.  So nearly every day we get to drive past and see the progress.  It really is exciting. 

It's fun to see the kids making progress, too.  Lindsey made great progress playing basketball this season.  Benjamin is just starting out a soccer season.  Tomorrow night is Seth's Kindergarten round-up and he cannot wait to progress to Kindergarten next year.  And Tyler is getting ready to be baptized in 3 weeks! 

A lot to be grateful for...

A little while ago, this little buddy ended up in the hospital.  He liked telling everybody it was because of his "purple dots".  He really did have these weird purple dots all over his body (from blood vessels bursting under his skin) and bruises popping up like crazy.  Turned out he had ITP -- a rare blood disorder, caused by a virus that triggered his antibodies to attack his healthy platelets.  Fortunately it was treatable.  Doesn't he make a cute patient, though?  He loved his very own flat screen TV, by the way.  And his brothers and sister were eating their heart out.  (If they only knew what he had to go through to get it.)

 The doctors said this could take up to six months to recover from.  Well, this is Seth four weeks later, learning how to ride without training wheels.  In fact, he took off all by himself when my back was turned.  All I hear is -- "Mom!  Mom!  Look at me!  I'm doing it!"  And this is what I see.  I couldn't believe it!

Add this to our growing list of miracles our family has been blessed with.  We have a lot to be grateful for.