May is Here!

I can't believe May is here, but I'm so happy it is.  I'm glad the weather is getting warmer, and Summer is just around the corner.  Here are some updates.

April 28.  Shortly after baby Ayden was born, they realized they needed to perform surgery on his esophagus.  They didn't have the technology in Twin Falls, so they life-flighted him up to Boise.  A couple days later, they did the operation.  The surgery went well.  His esophagus was developed, but wrongly attached.  After it was repaired though, there wasn't enough of it left to attach to his stomach.  So, they'll let him grow and then go back in a few months to attach it to his stomach.  Anna is doing better also, just slow.  She said it will take 4 months for her body to build her blood supply back up.

Baby Ayden just before surgery

My mom w/ Ayden

Nyles has been having fun playing.  He's learning so much and saying new words everyday.  We're amazed by how much he's growing and developing.  He definitely has his "toddler moments" but we love having him in our family.  He's such a joy!

Grandma Joann made some ducks for Nyles to practice his shooting skills.

Steve and Nyles at a fishing pond in Draper

April 30.  Steve went down to the Dinosaur Museum in Lehi w/ Carrie, Stacie, Kim and their kids.  Steve said it was better than he thought :)  The kids had a lot of fun playing together.  

Steve and Nyles w/ their stamps to get into the museum.
Nyles thought it was pretty awesome!

Conor, Lynsie, London, Nyles, Cameron and Alexa

Playing

Finding Dinosaurs 

Conor, London, Cameron, Alexa, Nyles and Lynsie.
A little better picture this time.

May 1.  Steve picked me up after work on Friday.  We decided to go up to the cabin overnight.  The snow is pretty much melted, except in higher places.  It was nice being able to drive right up to the cabin again.  It was 59 degrees in the cabin, but we decided we should make a fire anyway since it would get colder in the evening.  As we went to start the fire we could hear a bird inside.  Steve went and got a net and gloves, then caught the bird and released it outside.  We then heard another bird, so we tried to do the same thing, but this one got out in the cabin.  Luckily Steve was able to catch it and release it as well.  As we got the fire going, feathers were coming out of the chimney for quite a while.  We think they must have been there a little while, or had a nest up top.  We watched the "Planes" movie, then put Nyles to bed.  We went over some "questions to ask your spouse," then we went to bed shortly after.  We've done this the past couple weekends.  It's been fun getting to know each other even better ;)

The next morning, we had breakfast, then took a walk down to the Lake.  Steve wanted to see how fishing was, and Nyles wanted to play w/ a truck.   Steve caught 2 fish in about 20 minutes, so he was pretty happy about that.  Nyles was content just picking up rocks and putting them in the truck or throwing them down the hill.  It was a beautiful day up at Strawberry!  There were plenty of boats out on the Lake as well.  We then went back to the cabin, packed and cleaned, then went home.  It was fun just to get away for a little while and relax.

Taking a walk down to the Lake

Now fishing

Nyles playing w/ a truck

Steve catching a fish. 

Nyles loading up rocks in his truck.

We finished "tax season" at work, but now we're starting a campaign this week.  I've been really busy w/ my book, and it's not going to slow down until after the Summer.  Things are going pretty well though.

Steve has his finals this week as well.  He'll have about a week off, then start Summer school, yeah!  Yeah for longer daylight hours and warmer days.  We're excited for Summer!

A sister shared her testimony today for which I was really appreciative for.  She explained how she had a day that everything just seemed to go wrong, no matter what she did.  Then she talked about how it's easy to compare ourselves to others and it's hard to be happy for others when things aren’t going well for you.  She then testified of the love Heavenly Father has for us.  We aren't here to compete w/ one another, but rather to uplift one another.  Ironically we had a talk about this the week before in sacrament meeting, from Elder Holland's talk called "The Other Prodigal Son."  In it he said," I testify that no one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that He loves each of us—insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all. He doesn’t measure our talents or our looks; He doesn’t measure our professions or our possessions. He cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other.” 

I’m sure we all feel this way at one time or another.  It’s something I know I have to constantly be reminded of what’s really important in life.  This life is too short to take for granted.  This reminds me of another quote from Gordon B. Hinckley.  He said, “You will come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment that you will ever make." One of those sacrifices I believe is our families, and another is the Gospel.  We need to constantly keep them in focus.  I know the Lord loves us and has prepared a way for us to return to Him.  Families are Forever!