Updates

Tanner played his guts out this saturday in a double header which ended in two defeats. Playing in the 7-8th grade league it is amazing how some players are still boys and others.....men. Tanner had two great games and always gives it his all until the last second. He is a great leader on the court and as pointguard shows his natural ability and talent. It was so much fun to watch. Ben loved watching the games and yelled "THIS" "BALL" reaching to try and get some of the action on the court.

Now to explain the glasses. Ever since Grace was young she has loved the story about my imaginary friend DEEDEE. As a kid, I supposedly, had an imaginary friend named DEEDEE who would always be around and was described as looking exactly like me, but with glasses. So every once in a while Grace decides to go out as DEEDEE and wears clear frame glasses. During our time at the basketball game she put them on Ben and he loved it. In fact, he wore them for a good 10 minutes while the girls laughed and Ben played along. Eva thought it was hilarious and kept putting them on him.

GRACE UPDATE- Grace had a checkup the beginning of this month and is doing well. Her numbers were high due to the fact that she is fighting an illness. Since this can mask her Platelet disorder, we will have to wait a few more months before doctors are confident that her ITP disorder is gone. That having been said, her surgery to remove her port is delayed as well until we are sure her blood levels are normal and her platelet disorder is gone. She has been really trying to get to school, but many days she just does not feel well. She has spent a lot of time on her bed or in ours reading or resting because she is so wiped out.

NEED A PHOTOGRAPHER?

I wanted to let everyone know that I am trying to get back into the photography biz. This is just a part time thing on the side, but if you know anyone in the area who is looking to hire a photographer I have a website that is not fully complete, but you can send them there for more information or to contact me.


https://sites.google.com/site/clearnightphoto/

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It has been a while since we have posted and much has happened. We hope you had a great holiday season. We loved every minute of it and here is a quick peak at the last couple of weeks.



Zoo lights on the coldest day ever. The kids loved it and warmed up with a sugary elephant ear.

CHRISTMAS WAS AWESOME!!!!!!

New Years Eve- Tanner is too cool for school and went to a junior high party, Ben fell asleep and the girls were wearing down early so we decided to do fireworks, bang pots and pans, and count down to the new year....at 10pm.

One day Ben started circling his toes when he woke up from his nap. From that moment on anytime we say "toe circles" he moves his toes in a circle. He is starting to cruise from place to place standing up and talk so much.

Ever since we recieved this fabulous white elephant singing ornament (not) Eva has been carrying it around singing Oh Holy Night. This video was on about the fifth day. She gets so excited that as she is singin it she acccidently pushes the button restarting the whole song.

Quick Trip to SLC

Last weekend, Tanner and I had an amazing time experiencing my new brother's adoption. It was an honor to be with my parents, siblings, and Tanner as we welcomed this brave young man into our family. I am so proud of each one of them. They have been gracious, selfless, and have opened up their home and hearts. There is not enough I can say about each one of them and the example they have set to us and many others. Thank you for sharing this great experience with Tanner and I. We wish you the best. I know Kim, Grace, Eva, and Ben were sad to miss it, but they feel the same way and are just as excited to have a new family member.

For an added bonus, besides all the fun we had, we ran into Vince Carter and Dwight Howard before they played the Jazz that night.

Updates....

Tanner...pre-teen guy. Either he won't let us take his picture, or he'll just act really, really tough. Tanner is currently really into clothes, music, LOVES going to Young Men's, and not only uses axe body spray-but now cologne as well. Wow, what are we in for?

Ahhh...Christmas! My favorite holiday without a doubt. We are trying to live up every day this month owns because it always slips by too quickly.

We had fun decorating our tree last night. It's funny to note that the bottom half is quite barren when it comes to lights and ornaments. We have two reasons for this: Ben and the dog, Annabelle. Today we heard an enormous crash and Belles had decided to drink out of the tree water-leading to one toppled tree, water saturating the carpet, and many shattered ornaments. I am sure we will laugh about it...someday.

Eva, the designated tree topper of the year. Hello, my name is Ben. Poor kid has to deal with all of our antics we throw on him.

What a good sport! Ben has really bad asthma and when he gets even a tiny cold, he ends up unable to breathe. He still is a happy kid through it.

Tanner and Grace love Annabelle.

Here is a picture of Grace with her favorite nurse, Katie. Lenz Financial was kind enough to, again, make a donation to Doernbecher in Grace's name. Linda Smith, a dear friend and the kids' piano teacher started this idea and it has made a huge difference for the kids at Doernbecher. She is such a good woman and Grace was thrilled to take in the check and tons of dollars for "shot" bucks. Every time she had one poke from a needle she would get a dollar. Every time she had a poke and a spinal tap poke she got two. So, now the kids at the Oncology/Hematology department will have many more dollars as a reward for their bravery. Thank you SO much Lenz Financial and especially Linda!

Ben is in love with his monkey. Aunt KK and family gave it to him for his birthday and he never separates from it at nap or bedtime.

Eva is a die hard Grace fan. She will do ANYTHING Grace tells her to do, so when Grace said that Eva was her patient and had the swine flu and Cancer-Eva went right along with it. Oh, and she evidently had a broken arm, too. Tough break.