Lucky One...

...I was lucky to get to go hang out at PCMC with Nelson last night and take some presurgery pictures.  Every picture we take after tomorrow he will have a scar on his chest...to show his strength!  He tried so hard throughout the shoot to open his eyes, but he was just too tired.  They do not have him sedated, and he still does not have any oxygen.

he got mad at me for just a second-I took that silly foot blanket out from under his head

baby yawns get me every time!

the Nelson toe...fitting that Nelson would have it!

with love!

sure do love this kid, and his parents and his big sis and bro!

Papa, The Chicken Farmer...

...not sure I would have believed you if you had told me 20 years ago, that one day my dad would be a chicken farmer...but sure enough he is!  It is kind of ironic that my parents had 7 children, one month ago they had an empty nest.  Then Landon came home and they bought 6 chicks and their nest is full again.  These chickens all have names, and nope they are not Chad, Monica, Amy Crystal, Kirsten and Carrie (although we are all assigned to a chick-the first one to fly the coop will be Chad, the one that sneaks out the most will be Carrie, the sweet-innocent-never gets in trouble-lays the best eggs-perfect one will of course be Amy)

the kids met the first three-Nellie, Cocoa, and Silkie I didn't get pics of the older ones-sorry-but you can see them on my dad's blog!

and then they got to help papa pick out the 3 new ones (lily and chi where there with us too) 

Ausie

Penny-she is FAST!

Squirt

Silkie and Squirt-they are the same breed (silkies) Silkie wasn't a fan of the new little chicks-she was a bit of a bully-so we took her out and let her hang out with her own kind for a bit...

and look how sweet! 

after the kids went to bed the big kids got the chicks out to play...they had a better time than all of the kids put together...we were belly laughing!  They stuck Ausie and Squirt in the toy airplane...silly kids!  Dad finally had to take the plane away from them :)

digging for worms...no not for the chicks, although...hmmm

Welcom To The World...

...my sis Kirst had her little baby today...it's a BOY!  I got the call at about 9:30 this morning saying she was headed to the hospital.  Plans to head north were changed and we headed south to be there when she had him.  She had him at 7:21 pm he was 6 lbs 5 oz and 20 inches long.  They named him Nelson James (after my mom's family and his dad).  I had a feeling it was a boy, but had to be prepared just in case it was a girl so while we were waiting for the kids to get home from school we made this...

so now that it is a HE I need someone to have a tiny GIRL!

Nelson was born with HLHS (hypoplastic left heart syndrome) a condition in which the left side of his heart did not completely develop. (you can follow his story, and surgeries HERE) Because of this Kirst delivered at the University hospital and they took Nelson over to PCMC to start his treatments and prepare for his first surgery.  My mom, dad and I made a late night/early morning run because they have NEVER not seen a grand on the day they were delivered-I went to take some pictures.  He is so SWEET, and definitely has that "I have a loving Heavenly Father" presence.  We got there just in time for them to start his echo (a 2 hour test) so we visited for just a little bit, took a few pictures and went home.  (It was 1:30 am, long past bedtime and Kirst needed some sleep!)  He looked amazing!  To be completely honest, I was not sure what I would see.  Because of the way the blood is flowing I assumed he would look quite blue.  Not true he was nice and pink!

Nelson with his AMAZING parents!

baby Nelson...sweet, strong, and LOVED!

He will have a rough road, but through prayers and faith we know he is in good hands.  His first surgery will be 3/18/13 at about 7:30 am. 

Welcome Home Elder...

...yes, he has been home for a week now, and yes, the last time I blogged was a week ago.  We caught the dreaded flu bug that wiped us OUT!  Colt started us off Wednesday morning, the Skye and Dax caught it Thursday.  It hit Mom and Dad's house too so we figured we wouldn't share anything they didn't already have so we went to the Homecoming.  I caught it a little bit Sunday, yesterday I stayed in bed as much as Colt would let me, but am feeling much better today.  Colt is back to playing, Skye and Dax missed school again today just to give them a chance to catch some energy.  So while they lounge around I am attempting to play catch up.

First up: all the pictures from the airport

so happy to see our cousins, so glad they made it here safely

my nana and papa (and logan)

notice the kids on the left...they thought watching the elevator go up and down was the best thing ever!

someone got a hold of my camera...this is for you Jenny Welch :)

april, skye, brett, and rhedders

we had minute by minute flight tracking

chi aka mac

we got word the flight landed, people started getting off (notice kid with backpack...don't know him) soooo excited! 

about 20 minutes later...still no Elder...makes me laugh!

still waiting!

after what seemed FOREVER!  He finally came down the stairs, 3 at a time.  The best part was all the "he is coming" or "he was about 20 feet behind me" or "he sat next to me" comments we got. 

those are some HAPPY kids!

and sisters! (and parents)

Lily waited so patiently! 

can you believe this awesome family!  Add 7 more for the Guymon Family and one more for Grant who couldn't make it.

talking to Brookie!

bring it on! 

I knew I didn't need to be scared...your aim was a little off :)

It was a wonderful day.  We had to bust out of there a little too early to beat the snow storm that hit Tuesday night.  And headed down a little early on Friday to beat yet another storm rolling in.  It was a wonderful weekend!  Landon gave a wonderful report on his mission and how we need to firm up our foundations.  He inspired me to be a better mom, wife, and member! 

I will have to do another "Random" post with the other random pictures I have taken in the last week or so...later!