Baby Bananna!

My little baby bananna!

Day 2

With Lizzy

Great to be Eight!!!

Lizzy is 8 years old.

Its hard to believe that Dave and I have been married for 10 years,

we have an 8 year old,

and we are in our mid-thirties (ughhhh).

Although I don't really like the fact that we are old enough to have an 8 year old-

I am so glad the 8 year old we have is such a sweetheart.

Lizzy has been so excited to turn 8 so that she could be baptized. We had a really great turn out for her baptism, including my parents from Utah, Dave's parents and some of his siblings from San Antonio. She sang "When I am Baptized" with many of her friends, and got to wear a vintage looking white dress that she picked out herself from Stausberg Children's. I think the pics say it all, but I wanted to add 8 things I love about Lizzy:

She is kind to others.

She has great faith.

She's a great big sister.

She wants to be just like her mom.

She absolutely loves her dad!!!

She is obedient (mostly).

She is ambitious and always wants to be involved.

She's not afraid to do what is right.

A New Post

I havent posted much in the past few months. During the summer it was mostly due to being busy and out of the house more, but these past couple months have been extremely difficult. I have a hard time letting time pass as each day I wake up and the loss of Melindas husband becomes more real. I know he is my brother-in-law, and that doesnt seem like such a close relationship, but my little sister is the sweet one in our family and has been my best friend many times in my life. I loved her husband as much as I would my own brother - and my parents loved him like a son. While the loss for us is not near as painful as it is for Meilnda, I have had a lot of heartache and a hard time letting time march on. I explain this in order to explain the inability to make a new post. I dont want time to move on. I dont want him to become a memory, and I want what happened to stay recent- so that he isnt part of some past that we remember.

I dont know a lot about grieving and death, but I do know that the saying, "Time heals all wounds" is simply not true. Im not saying that wounds cant be healed- because I am certain that through faith in the Lord we are healed- but time in this case has seemed to make it harder.

This post may sound a bit desperate, but I do want to note that I have had many precious moments of sweetness through this experience. The tender mercies of the Lord have been many, and have had a lasting impression on me and have strengthened my faith. I am grateful for these things.

There, Ive done it. A new post is written.

We Love You Clay!

Clay with his kids
Melinda and Clay
Clay and his Ah64 Apache
Melinda and Clay
Clay and Cale
Melinda and Clay during R&R from Afghanistan

My sister Melinda recently lost her husband, Clayton, in a helicopter accident. We will remember Clay as one of those guys that everybody loved. He had a love for life and lived it to its fullest. This past Spring his family celebrated his 30th birthday. He accomplished much in those 30 years of his life: including marrying Melinda, the love of his life, in the temple, serving an LDS mission in the Philippines, serving his country by flying AH64 Apache helicopters in Afghanistan, graduating from BYU and getting accepted into dental school, and supporting and loving his wife and 3 kids. It is no wonder why he is so dearly missed. We are heartbroken to lose such a wonderful person, but grateful for the time that we had him with us.

GO Diego GO!!!

Dave and Josh scored some last minute tickets to see Go Diego GO LIVE!!! OOOOOH Babay! Just what Dave has always wanted to see. They got there a little late, and Josh actually fell asleep on the way there, but when he came home- He was as happy as could be. He brought home a little baby Jaguar mask and showed off to his sister and her friends- who were having a "girl" party that night.

Lizzy and Her Twin

Lizzy's cousin Brielle came out to see Texas! They had a blast- and even met one of their heroes "Wonder Woman"! They visited San Antonio and went to Fiesta Texas, then met up in Salado at their other cousins house. Lizzy had been looking forward to the visit for 17 days- i know the number because she did a "count down". On the final day- she waited by the window counting down the hours and minutes- it was pretty exhausting being held to my exact phrases such as ; "They'll be here in a few minutes." I better be sure next time or Ill get crossed-examined by my 6-year-old. Their final night was a sleep over where they watched "High School Musical", put on make up, played rock music, colored little love notes, and giggled like 6-year-old girls! I let them stay up as late as they wanted to- I think they finally quieted down about 1 AM. What a week!

So What if Your Kid Isn't Potty-Trained!!!

Why do people find it to be their buisness if your kids isn't potty-trained in what they perceive to be the appropriate time? My 3 1/2 year old isn't potty trained- big deal! Yet for some reason "seasoned" moms feel that they are experts at such a topic when pediatricians and child psychologists support letting the child be trained when he is ready. "Ready" would mean that he can acctually relax on the toilet to "let it out" and that he has the desire to be toilet-trained. So yes, when I took him to his 3-year-old check-up, I was concerned as any mother would be, but reassured (by a doctor who not only raised 4 kids- but sees hundreds of kids per month) that potty-training should not be forced or rushed. Why? I suppose that a traumatic potty-training experience is not worth the setback it may have or the "guilty" feelings it would create in a child who is faced with this major task prematurely (from a 3-year-olds- veiwpoint) just to get him into underwear a few months earlier. So for all those moms who have their own "theories"- potty-train your own, and don't worry about mine!