Christmas Tag!

OK here is the deal, I am in a Christmas Funk, I think that there and many reasons for that but this is my favorite Holiday. We put up the tree today and that helped. This year we are doing Lighting and Princesses theme tree. Which by the way the kids loved.

So Jed called today and said that he wanted to go and see lights and the Zoo tonight because he knew that I have been struggling with this. He said that might help me. That made me cry because it was so thoughtful. When i hung up Lillie said Mama I miss Papa too. (Every time i cry she says that,,,aw so cute:) but I told her that I was talking to Dada. She then went to the phone a picked it up as if he was still on the phone (which he wasn't) and said Dada you be sweet to Mama and don't make her cry! How cute is that.

So I found this tonight (While blog stocking, Thanks Adree) and thought this might help me as well!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping, not saving the plant here!
2. Real tree or artificial? REAL (everyone that has gone fake has tried this year to change my mind) However I love the tradition of going and cutting them down! Dad I will stay strong
3. When do you put up the tree? Usually we cut them Thanksgiving weekend, how ever this is Today.
4. When do you take the tree down? After New Years
5. Do you like Eggnog? Love it but you have to mix in milk to make it not as strong
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I remember the year we got Cabbage Patch dolls and thought that was so great.
7. Hardest person to buy for? My parents
8. Easiest person to buy for? Jed---He always has a list LOL (lets see if he really reads our blog)
9. Do you have a nativity scene? I wish that I did, I am going to get one!
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail and scrapbook them!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Not the worst but my fave is Dad and Mom always get Superwash tokens!
12. Favorite Christmas movie? Elf
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually start in Oct but then get most of it on Black Friday
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No I am to much of a pack rat.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Coconut Cream Pie :( so now I will have to say the Prime rib mom makes Christmas Eve!
16. Lights on the tree? The more the better
17. Favorite Christmas song? Not sure I love a lot of them, I will have to think about that one
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Jed someday I think would like to go to GA but as for now I win and we stay in Heber
20. Angel on the tree top or Star? Lets me honest there is never really a normal top the way we cut trees. More Pic to come later
21. Open presents Christmas Eve or morning? PJ
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? figuring out what the kids would like the very most.
23. Favorite ornament? Lillie changed this one today, We bought a Princess Castle when I took it out of the bag she squealed and jumped she was so excited, I then told her we had to be very careful so we don't break it and she said, "Mama put it up high so i don't hurt it."
24. Favorite Christmas dinner? The wonderful dinner we have on Christmas Eve
25. Favorite Christmas cocktail? Diet Coke and Dr Pepper
26. What do you want for Christmas this year? My kids and husband to be happy!
27. What don't you want for Christmas this year? Stuff I don't need, I am trying to get back to basics which is hard for a pack rat!!!
28. What is something you have never done that you want to do for Christmas? Work in a Soup Kitchen of a Homeless shelter.

I am Tagging...
Lindsie, Angie, Audery, Chelsey, Rachel, Cammile, Sandra, Gramdma Girl, Deb, Mindy Probst (Mariessa, Katy, Emily & Shauna - if you had a blog:() and who ever else wants a little Christmas Spirit from memory lane.

You Are Mulan!

Strong and spirited. You're no one's girly girl; actually you are very determined person with a strong sense of self. Never let go of that! The only thing that equals your sense of self is your family, but the traditions of society can always be bent to protect something or someone you love.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Tobey "4" Really

Tobey had 3 Birthday parties.
1- We did lunch on the day of his Birthday with present and food from Dairy Keen. What more could he ask for then lunch from DK.
2- That night we went to Dad and Mom's and had dinner, cake and ice cream and a movie in there Theater room.
3- This last weekend in St George we went to Jumping Jacks with the whole family. The kids had a great time. Then we went to the park and had pizza and cake again.

I think that he was a great success. I Love you Tobey and here is to many more Birthday and many more memories!!!!

Thanksgiving

So many things to talk about and update you on, however we will start with Thanksgiving. We decided to go to St George with the family. Over all we made it through the whole weekend. The dinner was so nicely put together by my sisters and mom. We got there late Wed night so most everything was done. They did an outstanding job and I even got some G F stuff. It was nice to all be together under one roof and the day that we were thinking of things that we are grateful for. When I woke up on Thursday morning it gave me peace to know that under one roof were so many people that I Truly care about. That was reason to be very thankful. Of course it was VERY hard not to have Dad there with us. We all dealt with that in our own ways but it was nice to all be together!

As for my husband I am Thankful for....
1-He is a great Dad and Husband
2-He works hard to take care of us
3-He continues to trust and stand by me through this life adventure

As for Tobey I am Thankful for....
1-He is learning and growing so much
2- How mild mannerd and easy going he is
3- How he never gives up and just keep trying

As for Lillie I am Thankful for....
1- How she wanted to be so very independent
2- How she says and does the funniest thing, she can always make me laugh
3- She is very helpful with many things through out the day, which i always appreciate.

I love my Family and the Lord with all my heart.....I wouldn't have it any other way......because as we have all learned that is all that we have in the end!

Guess who's in charge....

Well I am not sure what it is about Lillie lately but she thinks that she is running the show. I have had a few rough days with her. However, we had a talk tonight and I pray that she will start to get better tomorrow. If not..... We will keep working at it. She got a new bed yesterday. Nana came over today to watch the kids for a min. While she was here she took Lillie crib apart. So tonight Lillie fell asleep in the Van on the way home for Nana and Papa house (side note...it feels so good to call there home Nana and Papa because that is what it will always be, however whenever i say it that way to the kids they correct me and tell me that Papa is with Heavenly Father....which always makes me cry...so I have had to call things just Nana's....Mom you need to know that I know it will always be the two of you,) OK back to the story...so I brought her into the house and she sleep through me getting her in her PJ. I then laid her in her new bed. She look at me with the most concerned look on her face and said "Nana broke my bed today." It was so funny!



Today was Tobey's IEP and it went well. He is making great progress. We talked about his goals from last year and for the most part he has meet most of them. I am so proud of him!!! His 1st IEP I cried my flippin eyes out. No tears were shed over that today. I was also so proud of him today he put on his shoes for the 1st time all by himself. The past 6 months he has really taken off.



Well Dad got another Friend today. Dakota past away today. He hasn't been doing very well, but today was his day to go and play with Dad and Jack . The Family has always told me that I don't like him (I don't really care for dogs all that much) but I can say that I have shed a tear for him today. I am sure that Dad is glad to have him though.



Anyway, here is to a Better Tomorrow.

Tagged.....

OK have been tagged twice now with this and it was a long time ago. I am so sorry!!!!! Anyway have fun learning more about me.

4 things I love about my husband: His Patience with me, How much he trusts me, How he loves me, and how much I love him and how we have grown in that Love!

4 movies I could watch over and over: Not really and Over and Over again kinda girl...however with kids that list would look like I Love Cars, Nemo, Shark Tales, Enchanted, Surf Up, the list could go for hours. Especially on Insp week.

4 TV shows that I watch: Terminator (with Jed) ,Gray's, Private Practice, Eli Stone

4 place I have been: New York, Alaska, Lake Powell, Jackson Hole

4 places I'd love to go: Lake Powell, New York, Paris, Washington DC

4 things I look forward to in the next year: Working through all the 1st with Dad, going on a vacation with my family, Lillie starting Pre-School, Planting another Garden

4 people I tag: Freak I sucked at this so anyone that wants to! LOL

Hard Telling.....

All Right here we go...it's hard telling how this one will turn out! I have been avoiding this for over a month now. That is why I haven't blogged in a long time. I think that I haven't been ready to put my feelings down in black and white about my Father's passing. However, for some reason, now is the time. . .so get this. . .it's 11:34 pm and I have had a long day with Mom and Angie in SLC listening to a bunch a lawyers fight a legal battle that my parents have been involved in for about 3 years. ... the point of bringing that up is that MY MOM IS THE STRONGEST PERSON THAT I KNOW!!!!! Throughout my life, with what ever my parents have been up against, they have handled it with grace, integrity, love, selflessness, honesty, foresight, and an amazing ability to see the good in every one and thing. My mother has shown every one of those characteristics through this whole ordeal. I would hope that if I were in Mom's situation I could have the strength that she has, but I don't think that I could. Mom, I have more respect for you today then I have ever had in my life and you truly are my Hero and I Love You!

This has rocked our whole family to its core and as we all have said so many times the world is a different place without Dad! We have learned alot about each other as a family that we haven't maybe known before. I can tell you this and that is that I couldn't have made it thought this without my loving husband, my kids, my mom and my sisters. Over the years time has changed so many things in our relationship as a family. However, this has forever changed our bond and our understanding of what is important. When the Duke family came to the viewing we connected in a way that I never thought that we would . They have also lost there Father with in the the past year. We are part of a new crappy club we have decided. There is strength in numbers and we will all make it though this I am sure.

So, in church we talk about how if you do what you are suppose to then all will be OK. Pay your tithing, go to church, meetings, temple, VT, HT you know the list. But what is OK? I am not OK with this and to be honest it totally sucks and sometimes I am down right pissed off. This is the hardest thing that I have ever been through. However, in the middle of all these emotions that I have been feeling in the past month, my heart is aching yet my mind tells me that I need to wrap my arms around the fact that this is God's plan, that it was Dad's time to go and that it will all be OK!

My Dad was the most amazing man that I have ever known, the void that I feel can never be filled. I am honered to call him Dad and a Friend!!! His funeral service was a true tribute to the man that he is and the life that he lead. In the Wasatch Wave a family friend wrote a letter about dad and he said "Mark's sermons weren't taught by the Book of Mormon's that he gave out, but by the life that he lead." What a true statement that is.

So here are some things that I wanted to get down on paper so that when i have a low spot in this journey I can reflect on some of the memories that we are left with at this time.

5 things that I want my kids to know about my Dad

-how much he loved Grandma and his Family
-what an honest man he is
-what a hard worker he is
-how he could fix anything
-what a soft heart he has and how he loves everyone

5 things that I have learned from my Dad

-when you get knocked down just keep trying
-to keep your mouth shut and let people talk
-always look at the positive side of things
-to be honest in all your dealing
-give life all that you have got even when you don't think that you have anymore to give.

5 things that my parents relationship has taught me

-what the word Love means
-don't sweat the little stuff
-it's not worth fighting about it (I have NEVER heard my parents raise there voice at each other)
-how to respect your partner
- what I want my relationship to be

5 funny thing that dad would say

-2 rules of plumbing 1-shit never runs uphill 2-don't lick your fingers
-finish work should be done with a chain saw
-when asked why he is always so good he would reply, "low expectations!"
-there is a deal everyday
-not really what he would say, but the look that he would give you that would tell you that he wasn't pleased

5 thing that I will miss the most about him

-his wisdom
-his ability to always know what to say and how to handle a situation
-his interest in my life and my family
-his ability to fix anything
-cuddling with him on the couch and talking about whatever comes to mind

Alright Sister's...Tag your it..

Dad, I want you to know that I miss you more then I could ever put into words. I can't wait to be with you agian, but until then I hope to continue to feel your love and influence on this earth. My last request is the ---May "God be with (all of) us tell we meet again."--- I Love You Dad!

Well, tommorw it's been two weeks!

It's amazing to me that its been that long...sometimes it seams like time is flying and other time so slow. When we started this adventure they said they we needed to measure the progress by weeks not days. So two weeks into this we have come a long way. They are working to get him off sedation now, the way that they do this is to take it off for as long as they can and then put it back on when he can't tolerate it anymore. They did it yesterday for about 2.5 hours. It was hard to watch. He moves a little more each time, he doesn't really open his eyes it not like he is all the sudden awake. The sedation meds store in your body so it will take a while for it all to wear off. The reason that they needed to put it back on was because of his blood pressure, which has been a issue for him since he was 19. The thing that is really good it that the reason isn't because of his icp (brain pressure). That tells me that the brain is doing better. Anyway, I have said that dad has always tried to teach us Patience.....now its ulitment patience. I know that the road will be long, however, I know for a fact with the Lords help its Possible. Someone reminded me the other day how the Lord gives you straight to be able challenges. I can feel that daily!

An Amazing Man!!!!!!!!!!!

Dad...I Love You, Keep Fighting!!! Thanks for Always being so Good to me and my family!!! Kourtnie (I took this pic about 2 weeks before his accident.)

How Papa situation has affected the Kids

Well we pray for him all the time or they are aware what is going on with him. If you ask them what is wrong with Papa the kids will say that he "hurt his head". When you ask who is helping him they will say....Well the first couple times Lillie said Heavenly Father and the Doctors. Now they say that the Doctors are helping him. The other morning after I had a hard night at the hosptial. When I got home Lillie and I were cuddling in bed and we said a prayer for Papa. Later I was sleeping and she was playing on the bed about four times in a row she said. Heavenly Father...Bless Papa...Amen. It was so cute. It reminded me of the Faith of a child and just and simple it has to be. Later that day (about 4 hours) I was in the Kitchen and she came upstairs and said, Mama, Papa be OK. and then went on her way. I love how she keep it in perspective for me. Her child like faith is amazing and powerful.

Sitting Next to the Shittier....

Well you might think that I have lose my mind and I am here to tell you that I think maybe I have. No not really this recovery of Dad has been a roller coaster......one thing that I have to say very first....it that Jed has been a trooper. He really doesn't do these sort of things very well and I was a little worried about him the first night that we got here. However he has stepped up to the plate and put his game face on. I don't have to worry about coming here he is always ready to take care of the kids. Jed has given me so much moral support. As you can imagine my emotions have been strate crazy sometimes and he is always there with a shoulder to cry on and ear to listen. Thanks you Sweetheart...this whole experience have made me realize even more why I Love You. You are my Man and I will always love you!!!

OK so you are probably wounder why I say sitting next to the Shittier....well it because in Dad's ICU room there is a toilet and the chair that we sit in are right around it. Yes that is what we do all day is sit here watch numbers and sit next to the shittier. Dad is doing well. It has been a roller coaster. We have good hour and bad hours. Its all about icp---ccp and blood pressure! We watch those numbers and hope for the best. Shoot we don't hope for the best we know that he will be coming home it is all a matter of time. They say that after 7 days the swelling should start to go down and that is today. So we are waiting to see from here where we go. He is still in a drug induced comma and is on the vent. He is showing great signs of improvement and we are very hopeful. Wait I said those same words in my last blog, but its true!!!! We are very hopeful.

They are going to but a track and g tube in probably on Wed I think... they want him to be stable for 24 hours before we do that. We we will wait and see. When you are here at the hospital its like you are in another world. Its a good thing but the waiting room for this floor is all Crital patients families we have become friends with most of them don't know there name just about there loved ones. Mom is doing so great. i want to be a wife like her...she is so uptight that she wont even read she just watches numbers.

Lessons from a wise Man!

The body and mind are an amazing thing. I know that for me what has happened is not reality. Yes I have spent many hours by my dad's bedside, but it truly hasn't sunk in yet. I think that is how you are able to keep going in a time of concern. This morning, when I woke up, I felt like I had finally got an OK night sleep, however I also felt a heavy weight all over my body. I think that it's becoming more of a reality now.
I remember as a child when Craftsman caved in with weight of the winter snow. (Craftsman was the lumber yard that Dad and Mom had worked to build for 10 years at that point) I went over early in the morning to find my dad and mom standing in the snow. My father was crying and as a child this is the one of the first time's that I remember see him crying. I remember that he held me and told me something that he would tell me time and time again in my life and that was that"it's going to be alright". I remember him saying that and trying to feel that way.

Now my father raised 4 girls and as you know with 5 women in the house our home was always filled with emotion. ....and oh how many emotions there were..... One thing that he has always been great at, his coping mechanism, was that he has always been very grounded in reality. He could always help us see the light of day with any situation that we were facing.

So as I sit here and think of these two very valuable childhood lessons that he tought me...it's my turn to truly apply them.....

1-Its going to be alright
2- Stay grounded...don't go to worst-case senario

Thank you for you thought and prayer. I have turly never felt the Lord's Love and Strength more.

A Loving ward Family!

This is a email that We sent to Mom and Dad's ward....

I just wanted to take a moment and Thank all of you for you thoughts, prayers, tears and love at this time. I know that your Bishop has kept you updated with my dad's condition. I wanted to Thank you personally. I have never felt the Lord's love more in my life than now. I know that the qoute that my sister gave us for Christmas is true - "Today's Test is Tomorrow's Testiomy". For those of you the know my father, you know he is a fighter and he hasn't stopped fighting. He shows great signs of hope and improvement. My Mother is doing well and she is a very strong women. She has amazed me with her strength and her abilty to comfort others in her time a great concern. She appreciates all that you have done for her. Now is one of those rare yet precious times when you are forced to realize just how delicate and sacred life is. I know in my heart and mind that through this difficult time, with your thoughts and prayers, my father will recover. This is what ward families are really all about. As a closing thought, if you would like to send a note or message to my mother or father, please feel free to e-mail your thoughts to me at Matthewkourtnie5@msn.com and I will be sure to pass them on to my mother. I know your thoughts and well wishes will be more than appreciated. Thankyou again for everything that you have done for my father and family. Sincerely, Jed and Kourtnie Powell

Another day on the Trail....

OK so another day on the insp trail as Lindsie would say. You would think from all the driving that I do I am on the trail of something great, but no just people who don't pay there bills. They are quiet a few of them now-a-days.

Anyway, two funny things that the kids said today.

1-We had stopped at a store for a break and we were getting back in the van. I was working with Lillie and Tobey was in the cart behind me. When I heard he say MAMA--TOBEY--MAMA--TOBEY--MAMA--TOBEY, so I turned to see that he was getting carried away from me with the slat of the parking lot. He was about 25-30 feet away from the Van and about 15 feet from hitting a parked car. He thought that it was so funny. I ran a caught him before we wreaked which I sure he would have thought was AWESOME!

2- I needed to pee really bad so I found a new subdivision that has asphalt road and no house. So I went far away for the road and sat on Lillie side of the van door and peed. We have been working on patty training and when I stud up Lillie said "YA Mama go to Dairy Keen and wear my Princesses. " I Couldn't stop laughing! Freak I am still laughing about it.

Jackson Hole

Well we went on the last vacation of the summer. It was real short and the only redeeming fact about the vacation outside of the great company...was this AWESOME photo that we got of the Kids. We were going to take a family photo but after waiting as long as we had to we thought that this would be best. We also went and say Old Faithful. Over all it was a great short trip.

"Good Job Mama"

If I could only see the world though my kids eye's for a day....would it change the way that I live my life? The other day I was dumping a 25 lbs bag a sugar into a 5 gallon bucket and Lillie was watching me. When I was done she said to me "Good job Mama." I have thought that was so cute I was simply trying to find the floor in the food storage room and she saw something that I did and said Good job. Kids marvel and love the simple thing in life. I know that we all know that, but when I saw these photos from Disneyland it remind me that the simple things of life are what mean the most to our kids. Also how much they pay attention to what is going on around them.

We had a great time at Disneyland we went with The Prince's, The Turner's and Nana and Papa. We were at Disneyland for 2 days but saw so many awesome things that 3 months later we are still talking about how much fun we had. Lillie fell in love with Princesses even more. Tobey was so sad when we got off of the first ride he just cried. Then he realized that there was more ride to come he was OK. We had a great time. Thanks for taking us Nana and Papa, We Love You.

Holly Crap, Jed knew the pass word...

we are back in business...maybe I should have asked him....ah say.... the day after Easter...any way we are back in action. All of you that have been givin' me crap will have to come up with some thing else to give me a hard time about.

Where do you start with the past 3 months....

>Tobey went to summer school and got to ride the bus. He got to ride the bus and loved it more than school I am sure. He would wait on the rock in the front yard and then scream 'BUS' when he would see it. Pre-school was on T,W, TH and was 1 hour and 15 min. Really short in my opinion but it kept the kids in the groove of things. Someone asked me the other day why he didnt talk alot...my answer opened my eye's to learn more about Tob's and this is that I think he is a quiet kid and is really easy going. But I really feel that he is to the point that he can express his needs.

>Lillie, well, she has discovered that she can sing and dance. She loves to sing songs. We will be riding in the car and if you pay attention to what she is saying she will be singing some of the words that are in the song on the radio. One that she is really good at is "Shift work" by Kenny Chesney. She has also come up with a dance where she rolles her arm as fast as she can and then will knock her knuckles together. Don't worry, Lil has had another black eye and always has a wound of some sort. Lillie has also discovered that Sami is the big Sister that she will always want to have.

>We have been working on our yard. Every other year that we have lived here we have struggled to keep the back yard alive and this year we have a graden. We have come a long ways. We also got a large wooden play set like at Costco. We got a heck of a deal on it at KSL.com and couldn't pass it up.

>Jed works here in town at Ackerson eyecare. It is so nice to have him close. He started part time but after a month they took him on full time. We loved having him around more when he was part time. However we now love that he can be home by 5:05 and most days he comes home for lunch.

>Well and as for me.....not much to say....wait....what, I can no longer eat wheat, barley, rye. oats, malt. . . No big deal right? Well it has been a life style change for sure. What really sucks is that I was lossing weight and now that my intestines are healing I am gaining.

>Oh yeah, one more bit of info for the update that I will share for now. The kids got to go and spend a week at Nana and Papa's house while Jed and I ran away to New York. We had a great time and we would love to go back again. We also got to see Jed's parents and sister for a short while on a lay over and that was nice. Oh yeah and we went to Disneyland. I will write more about that later.

So there you have it..... 3 month in a nut shell.....

EASTER 2008

Well, this is a smile that I know that a Grandma in Georgia will love! We had a great day on Easter. We had gone to a egg hunt the day before the kids had a great time finding candy with there cousins. We had Easter dinner at our home with Nana and Papa Kohler. Lillie look great in her Lime Green Dress!

The Kids really got into dying eggs this year. So much so it was easyer to lose the cloths and dye eggs in diapers. Tobey in the past month has really learned his Colors so he had a great time mixing the color with each other. Lillie color is Blue that is what she calls all Colors. I figure that Tobey was stuck on Yellow for about a year and a half and then figured it out. So we will give Lillie sometime.

Luke's have a New Addition

Welcome to the Family Kylie Lucile Luke........We are so excited to have you..........not only because you are absolutely adorable......not only because the girls are a bigger number again......not only becaue you are going to have the time of your life playing Thomas the Train with your brother Paden............not only because of your arrivel, Nana and Papa are home for a while.......not only becaue you have made us all a little baby hungry.......but because you have chosen the best set of parents to help raise you in this world!!!!! We are so excited to have you. We hope that school doesn't take you too far away. Love The Powells

Lillie is 2

I can't believe that Lillie is 2 now. The time has gone so fast. We had a great day on her Birthday. With Tobey just out of the Hospital not that long ago. We keep it low key playing here at the house. She got her own Kitchen, cloths and dress ups. She loves to make things for us to eat. We had a great day as a Family. We will have her party and cake and ice cream when everyone is feeling better. You will have to cheak out Lillie black eye. It is almost gone, she has been finding her inner dare devil. She loves to stand on things and then says "2, 3 " and then she jumps. I know sounds cute but the day after she got her black eye she was in the Kitchen, I was in the other room and I heard her saying 2 3 .... 2 3 ...... 2 3.... because she keep saying it so I went running in. She was standing on the table and was ready to Jump to the floor. Oh what a sweet dare devil.

Tobey back at Primary's

Well, here we are again at Primary Chrildrens hospital with Tobey. He is doing better this time then last and it is a fight to keep him in his bed. Last time he was mad if we even moved him. The doc's here want to try to get to the bottom of why he keeps getting sick. So we will be visiting with some speciliest this time. A kid with out ashma to have pueumonia twice in 6 week and need to be Hospitalized both time isn't usual. As for ususal when we were here last time Doctor Moloni told me something that was so funny. I was asking him if something that Tobs did medicalaly was noraml and he said "that he didn't read that book."

So yesterday when I took Tobs to see Docter Dave and even though he had seen him the day before and said that we should watch the cough and that he had an ear infection. So less then 24 hours later he was back with full blown pneumonia and needed to come to Primary's. When Dave was taking his pluse ox and he was at 82 he said "I don't even think that he saw the book, he probely ran right by it."I thought that was so funny. I guess that this point I only have two choices and that is to laugh or to cry. So as for me I am chosing to laugh.

I went to church today here at the Hospital. I really like going here not only because I went in my PJ and it was only a half an hour. I like it because of the spirit that is here! I know that Hevenly Father watchs over all his Children, but I think that he keeps a close eye on those in need in the Hospital. So there was a real strong spirit in the meeting. The speaker for the high council talked about how Hevenly Father faught for us and how that is the same thing that we are doing for our chrilden. I know that Tobs is a much stronger fighter then I am. However as a family we all carry each other at times and we will make it though this. I know that this fighter that I have for a son could have given up may time, but he knows that he has a mission on this earth and he wasnt to accomplish it.

The fear of what at the test they are running on Tobs weights heavy on my mind. What could all of this mean and what does this mean for him. When Tobs was born and I realized that we had so issuse that we would be dealing with. I knew that he was sent to our family for a reason and that we were going to learn a lot about life from him. I know that someday I will be able to look back on this whole experience and have a greater understanding. However, as for now I am greatful for the ride.

Oh what a Day!!! We had a great day at chruch and with a little bribery that Kids got to go on a Jeep ride....

Well there was the ride it was really longer then that. They had a good time out side but it was so cold. It is the warmest that it has been in a long time that is why we thought that we could use it for a brib. Lillie had to stay to all of nursery with out me....and Tobey he had to stay in the Chapel for Sacerment meeting. It was a sucess!!! Nana and Papa Kohler gave it to the Kids for Christmas they got to ride it around there house for a while. However with Tobey being sick this is the first time that we used it out side. We hope that you also had awesome Sunday.

A day of insp and Visiting the Luke's

Jed went to work today and the kids and I went to Utah Co. and SLC to do insp. The good thing about the days when we only have a few houses to see is that we can go and do something fun after them. Today we went and visited the Luke's. We went shopping and took our naps at there house. Paden had a Thomas village, so many tracks and so many trains. Our kids loved it!!!!! Lillie currently Loves Thomas and wants to watch it all the time. So she really got a kick out of seeing all of her Thomas friends friends and Paden house. We went to Old Navy they are having a big sale I stocked up for the kids for summer. I usually get most of there cloths at garage sales but this will get them going this summer until I can find so great $1 cloths at garage sales.

Tobey had a Friend over from school

Today has been a great day. Tobey had a freind over from school for the first time. Mrs Tera Tobey's teacher told me that there was a boy that missed him while he was out of school for a month being sick. Anyway his name is Sam and he actually lives 3 blocks away from us. Sam, his sister Elly and there Mom came over and played for about 2 hours. Tobey really didn't really even care that he was here playing but i think that it is good for him. Dada is at work today we are missing him he is closing tonight so he wont be home until 10. We are going to get a storm tonight so i hope that the roads arent to bad for the drive home.

getting started

lets get this stated so i will play around from here make this the way that i wasnt it. If any one has sugestions please let me know.