It's Great to Be 8!

First-I added the pictures to the Quinceanera post, so you have to check those out too!

Emalyn had a birthday, shout hurray!

It was a great day.  First, we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  Then we went to church.  She gave a talk in primary (I think giving a talk in primary was the best gift she got all day...she loves giving talks) about choosing the right by living gospel principles.  She wrote the talk, with only a little bit of help from her mother, and got the picture she needed all by herself at the library, and then did a great job of delivering it.
Then we came home, and had hot dogs, another favorite meal.  Then everybody had a nap.  At least everyone who wanted one, including the tired daddy who got home from Scout camp the day before.  Then we began the party by opening presents.

I love the look on this face!

This was actually a few days earlier, when Emalyn's friend Hannah came over for a movie birthday party

Back to Sunday, Emalyn's birthday.  Having a little fun posing for the camera.  She loves to be upside down lately.  All the time I look over and she's upside down.

Showing her presents

Then for dinner we had Oodles of Noodles, and then we made donuts and decorated them, in lieu of cake.  This is to prove you can get eight candles on a single donut.

She gobbled hers up before we got the picture.

Tyler wouldn't stop eating his long enough for a picture.

So, as you can see, it was a great day.  I can't believe my Emalyn is EIGHT years old.  She's getting baptized on Saturday.  She is such a sweet girl, full of compassion and love for those around her.  She's very creative, and loves art-really really loves art.  She's very good at making things beautiful.  And she is beautiful, inside and out.  We are so proud of our sweet Emalyn!!!  Love you.

Quinceanera!!! (with pictures now!!)

My cousin's daughter, McKenZ, had her quinceanera last Saturday.  We went, and Tyler and Emalyn learned a dance to perform for it, and we took TONS of pictures, and for about a week, I couldn't find any of them on my computer.  I imported them onto my computer, but then it was as if they had disappeared.  My handsome resident-computer-go-to guy was at Scout Camp all week, so I had to wait until he got back and could search the computer for me to find them.  And he did! Such a miracle worker.  So now you get to enjoy the pics!

This was my first  quinceanera to attend.  I didn't even know they existed until this one.  It's a party for a girl on her 15th birthday to commemorate her becoming a woman (at least that's my understanding of the little spanish I caught that day :) )
They had a nice luncheon in the afternoon, and the food was all authentic south american food.  It was REALLY good.  We got to try our first tamales, and oh boy were they good.
That night was the dance.  McKenZ was soo beautiful, in a huge fuschia and white gown with a skirt that poofed out just like a wedding/princess dress. 

First, she received high heels from her dad where he made a show of putting them on her feet. This was to symbolize her transitioning from girlhood to womanhood, kind of like a rite of passage. 

Then she had her first dance, which was with her dad.

Then they had the big choreographed dance.  There were 15 couples, including McKenZ and her partner, ranging in age from 15 all the way down to 4 years old.  Tyler and Emalyn were one couple.  They've been practicing for a couple of months, and they did such a good job!  It was a beautiful dance, choreographed by my cousin's wife and her family.

Here are Tyler and Emalyn, their names were announced as they enter the dance floor

 After that, they turned the dance floor over to everyone and anyone who wanted to dance.

You can spot Emalyn if you look for the pink bow in her hair (thanks for the bow Grandma Nancy!)

Tyler, "gettin' down" on the dance floor.

Russell enjoyed the balloons

Krysta's happy face

Krysta and Emalyn dancing with eachother

I know this is blurry, but I love the look on Krysta's face as she dances with her sister

McKenZ danced with each of my girls, in her "princess" gown, which melted my heart.

Emalyn and McKenZ

Krysta and McKenZ

It was such a culture educational experience for us, and I'm so glad we got to be a part of it. What a fun night!

Separating...

I've decide to start a new blog, Our Journey through Progressive Infantile Scoliosis, to continue our scoliosis journey.  So from now on, this blog will be a chronicle of our family, and the other blog is where I will discuss all things scoliosis-related.  I'm doing this for a couple of reasons.  First, it's getting too confusing for me, second, so that the other blog can be more public and this one can be more private.   It just feels right to do this. 

Please check out my other blog! I have loved your comments and support, so please continue with them.

Best FHE Game Ever!

I have to share Emalyn's FHE lesson she gave on Monday.

She told me she neede the white board, and some dry erase markers.  Then she told me she needed some time to finish putting her lesson together.  What you see here, took her about 15 min to put together. 

She was too busy explaining the game to smile at the camera. :)

But I kept trying anyway.

And I had to try again.  Isn't she beautiful?

And here is the game.  We each had one of those papers in the upper left corner with our name on it as our game piece.  Then we were asked a question (a moral question, i.e. what would you do if...) and if we answered right, then we moved 3 spaces.  If we answered incorrectly, we moved one.

We had a lot of fun.  Thanks for a great FHE Emalyn!

We're getting back into our "new" normal groove

I think Russell's dreams while he's sleeping must be better than real life right now.

Every time he wakes up he is SO SAD/MAD.  So I wonder if he's waking up, and realizing the cast is on AGAIN, and it makes him think, "Oh no. Not Again!"  Or if he forgets that he has it on while he's asleep, and so when he wakes up he's panicking about not being able to move his torso. What an awful realization to have everytime you wake up.

Who knows.  I just hope he gets used to it soon. 

He's getting to be happier inbetween these times though.  I had him outright giggling today.  Nice to see my sweet little guy again.

Tyler and Emalyn started their week at "Summer Science Camp".  They are both taking a course called, "chemistry in the dark", which is all about black light, UV rays, glow-in-the-dark, luminescence, etc.  They had a great time there this morning.  They both made t-shirts with glow-in-the-dark puff paint, and were talking about luminescence the whole way home.  I'm glad they take such an interest in how things work and science.

Over one of the humps

Now "Alice the camel has eight humps" is running through my head.

Anyway, a few days ago, I posted about Russell not eating.  We've cleared that hump!  He started eating yesterday, and is eating a lot still today.  He's making up for lost calories, I hope.  I got some good advice about letting it go, not worrying so much about it (thanks Meg!) and while I don't think that made him start eating, it sure helped me to be more at peace anyway.  I think he must have had a really bad sore throat from the intubating during the surgery.

He's still more sad than he was without the cast.  But that's to be expected.  He's more steady on his feet, and seems to have better balance.  So at least we're over one hurdle.  I'm very happy about that.

The ABC's of the Abundant Life

I read an article in an old Ensign yesterday and today.  It's by President Monson, the prophet today, and it's called, "Living the Abundant Life".  I think it's what I really needed right now.  You can read it here.  It's about changing your life in a "quest for the abundant life."  He says you need three things to have an abundant life, a positive Attitude, to Believe in yourself, and Courage.

Some exerpts I'd like to remember:

About having a positive attitude:

Charles Swindoll—author, educator, and Christian pastor—said: “Attitude, to me, is more important than … the past, … than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.”²

We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. For maximum happiness, peace, and contentment, may we choose a positive attitude.

I really like that phrase, "We can't direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails." Recognizing what we do and don't have control over, is very empowering.  I'd like to start the day with "What can I do today to make it a happy day?"  Because we really DO have that power to change our attitude, and our attitude makes all the difference.

About believing in yourself:

Thomas Fuller, an English churchman and historian who lived in the 17th century, penned this truth: “He does not believe that does not live according to his belief.”⁴

Don’t limit yourself and don’t let others convince you that you are limited in what you can do. Believe in yourself and then live so as to reach your possibilities.

You can achieve what you believe you can. Trust and believe and have faith.

So it's more than just believing in your self, it's staying true to yourself.  Believe that you are full of potential, that you CAN surmount the obstacles place in your life.  And have faith in God that He will help you.

About having Courage:

Courage is required to make an initial thrust toward one’s coveted goal, but even greater courage is called for when one stumbles and must make a second effort to achieve.

Have the determination to make the effort, the single-mindedness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a second effort, should such be required. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, “I’ll try again tomorrow.”

"Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, "I'll try again tomorrow". "  That really does take courage some days.  Sometimes my head is so full of all the ways I did not succeed today, that I forget about the atonement, and that I can start anew tomorrow.  Life is full of mistakes, it takes courage to rise above them and "try again".

Fun in the sun!

This is Russell, after our bike ride to the church yesterday.  He's wearing an ice pack vest over his cast (to help him be cool in the 90* weather).  I still haven't taken a picture of him where you can see his cast yet!  But  love this smile on this guy.

Tyler, the amazing biker

Krysta, loving the drink of water

I told her to smile, and this is what I got

Emalyn, in her pink dress, on her pink bike, with her pink shoes, pink helmet and pink bag.  This girl knows how to even bike stylish!

Then, today we went on a bike ride to a park near us. 

Krysta, just after she told me not to take her picture because she's "too tired for pictures"

Russell, after climbing up 3 levels of stairs to get to the big slide.  Made me nervous.  Scott said "he's fine!" 

And Scott was right.  Russell never got brave enough to go all the way down by himself.  *sigh of relief*.  He just pretended like he was going to go, over and over.

Emalyn is the monkey bar champion.  "Why are you standing on the ceiling?", is what she asks everyone when hanging there.

Krysta, hanging out on the climbing chains.

T yler, at the top of the climbing chains

Russell, finally getting down the big slide, with Dad's help.  And Emalyn proving again that she's a monkey.