Happy 8th Birthday Scottie

I really can't believe Scott is 8 years old. I love sweet Scottie with all my heart. Looking back at pictures today I realized how far he has come and how much he has accomplished, and I am so thankful. He is a beautiful child inside and out and brings so much joy to anyone who allows themselves to get close enough to him to experience his special love. A hug from Scott is like touching a piece of Heaven. Caring for Scott nourishes my soul and lifts my spirit. The honor of being his mom is one of my lives greatest blessings.

Happy Birthday Sweet, Sweet Boy!

Slug bug, very dirty BLUE

Our "new date car"--or at least it will be in a few years. It is a '56 VW bug. Lance's dad has owned it since at least 1963, according to the paperwork in the tiny glove box. Lance just towed it home from Utah today. Lance's dad had always thought he would one day restore it himself, but his health issues has made that impossible. Now Lance can restore it and his dad can watch the progress through pictures and visits and give advice over the phone. It will be almost as good as them restoring it together.

I am really grateful that Lance's dad let him have the car I think it it is awesome to own a piece of family history, plus I have always felt bad that Lance had to sell his little Porsche back when Zac was first born. Once the engine caught fire at my grandma's she didn't want him storing it at her house anymore. We lived on a block with street cleaning at the time and pushing it back and forth across the street twice a week was not really an option.

Brycen wanted to get right to work with the restoration project, before the car even made it off the trailer. All we could say was "gently"!

Tonight the task was just to get it off the trailer and into the garage. Lance called our good friend Aaron who helps on all of our manual labor projects and Ryan, an awesome young man from our ward. Luckily Ryan brought re-enforcements so we had a total of 5 guys. Our driveway never seemed very steep until I watched the guys try to push a bug with two flat tires up it! I'm just very glad it didn't roll back over any of them. They finally hooked the jeep to the front and drove the jeep all the way into the garage. Lance managed to wiggle the jeep back out with just a two point turn. From there it was just a matter of getting the bug lined up and pushing it in. One of the guys was even manually adjusting the tires to get it lined up right. I guess tomorrow I will baking lots of thank you cookies.

My Ford Windstar is now feeling very out of place with it's two VW garage mates. I guess I'll just have to go out and buy myself one of the new VW minivans! :)

Statement of disclosure: No friends were hurt in the making of these pictures!

A word to the wise: Do not bend down in front of a car that is being pushed down a ramp!

"Okay, we got it down, NOW what do we do with it?"

Keep pushin' ! You guys are doing great.

Safely in the garage at last, but perhaps we should have washed it while it was still outside.

Scott's Birthday Party

We celebrated Scott's 8Th birthday today, his real birthday is next Sunday. But since our summer weather is quickly fading away we decided to have his party while the pool is still usable. What a party it was! The 8Th birthday is a big one for children in our church because that is the age when you can first get baptized. Scott does not need to get baptized because he will be innocent and pure. We decided to make Scott's 8Th Birthday special by sharing it when some of the individuals who have gone out of their way to make Scottie feel loved. Scott doesn't like having a lot of people or noise around so the guest list was well thought out. I really tried to invite kids Scott's own age who have taken a special interest in Scott like Izzie who before Scott could hold his own sippy cup, sat next to him for years in primary so she could hold his cup for him and of course the two girls who are his friends at school, Stephanie and Taylor. There are also the three little boys from church who go out of their way to be kind to Scott, some of his friends with special needs also joined us today.

Scott has always been my spiritual beacon. I learn so much from just basking in his sweet spirit. That sweet spirit filled our home today. I am just so honored to have Scott as my son. I think this is the first party we have ever had that everyone who was invited came. They all came because in one way or another their lives have been touched by our little angel boy! I watched today as strangers became fast friends because of Scottie. Two of my closest friends Tricia and Karen met for the first time today. Tricia is an incredible mom who with her wonderful husband is raising four tender-hearted, remarkable, and bright children. Karen is the mom of Ian who has lots and lots of disabilities and the most amazing smile, she is also Gavin's mom. Gavin's adoption into Karen and Pat's family will be finalized in November; Ian was also adopted. I watched as Tricia held Ian and song primary songs to him in English and Spanish too. I watched Karen, who is not a member of our church, enjoy so profoundly having Tricia sing "I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" (Zac picked the song). Ian just lit up with his beautiful smile as she sung. Words can't even describe with tenderness of the moment, but perhaps this picture might help.
Because Scott doesn't really play with toys we asked that people not bring gifts, but if they wanted to they could donate money so we could buy Scottie a light box, which helps visually impaired people see objects. Scott just loves the one the visual therapist brings to his class once a month. One of the families at the party gave Scottie $250! I was just astonished by this incredible act of love and giving. I think now we can buy a light box for Scott to have at home and one for him and his classmates to use at school.

Another friend stayed after the party was finished to swim with Brycen a Zac while Lance cleaned up and I took a nap; she knew that I only got about 2 hours of sleep last night--I'll explain in a later post. She also made a coupon as a gift for Scott that said she would be his companion the next time our family goes to do something that Scott doesn't want to do.

I just feel so truly blessed to have these incredible people in my life. Again, Heavenly Father knows exactly what he is doing he has filled our life with just the right people to keep us going strong.


Scott liked the water slide once the water was turned off.


The water slide was a splashing success.

Just like Junior High, there was a guys' table...

And a girls' table.

Scott gets by with a little help from his brothers. (The cake was shaped like a dinosaur).

Happy Birthday Mr. Sweet!! I love you.

Brycen's 9/11 Tribute

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Okay so I usually don't like to do two post about the same child in a row, but I just have to share this video. Brycen's class learned about the tragedy of 9/11last week. This video is Brycen retelling the events of that horrible day to my mom. I am glad he understands some of what happened that day even though it happened two years before he was born. When he came home from school that day and told me the story he finished by telling me that just because bad things sometimes happen doesn't mean everyone is bad; and sometimes bad things happen to good people.By the way I think the many jealous interruptions by Zachary add to the cutest of the video. Also I think my ability to cover Zac's mouth while almost holding the camera steady is rather impressive!

Soccer Boy

Brycen has started playing soccer. It is actually just a four week soccer clinic, but he is just thrilled. Now that he loves it so much, I am trying to find an real team he can join to play indoor soccer this Fall. He even wants to create a soccer field in our backyard. We do need to work on his soccer lango though; when he and I were playing soccer in the kitchen he explained that the person who stands in front of the goal is the BULLY. I love watching my children learn and love new things.

A Camping We Went

We took advantage of the long Labor Day Weekend and went camping, up by Donner Lake. We all had a great time--even though we froze during the night. I love the fact that we were able to spend the whole weekend together just having fun. It was also nice to be able to put the boys to bed and stay up playing games and talking with our friends. We even got to take the bos canoeing. I can't wait to go camping again; I think next time we will head to the ocean.

Brycen loved getting dirty and having lots of root beer on hand.

Zac finding lots of cool bugs.

Lance cooking up a tasty breakfast.

It just wouldn't be camping without SMORES.

This monument is to remember members of the Donner Party. I think the name I am pointing to is one of my relatives.

Zac did a great job keeping our friend's baby happy. Just look at her stare at him.

Brycen spent a lot of time ride the scooter and his bike.

Zac just trying to stay warm.

Zac pretending to be a worn out pioneer. I think we need to sign him up for drama lessons!

We went on a hike and found lots of boulders to climb.

Scottie stayed home with Nana and Papa. He has a hard time being in cold places. I am very grateful that my parents are around to watch Scottie so we can do things like go camping. I know Scott loves being with them so I don't have to feel like we are leaving him out of the fun. Scott and my dad are very close; he really loves his Pappa.