Ethan and Bishop Woodward

So on Tuesday Matt and I, along with the two little ones went to see the Bishop to get our tickets for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple dedication. I would have to say that we consider the Bishop a most dear friend and he said, "Come in for a minute and let's chat." So we did. Ethan was thrilled because our Bishop has treats and let's Ethan take freely from the jar. Meanwhile we were talking just about anything and everything really, when we started talking about employment and how things have changed so much in the last twenty years with education and work. The Bishop was telling us how he doesn't have his degree, but when he will retire the one replacing him, is required to have a Master's degree. He then said, "I was so stupid to not finish my degree." Well now you know where this is going..."our" in-house sensor immediately made his way to daddy to report the infringement. He said (whispering), "Daddy will you please tell the Bishop that we don't say stupid." Well Matt trying to be polite just smiled at Ethan and kept chatting, but Ethan in his innocence could not let it go until he was acknowledged and things were made right again in his universe. So Matt, gave him a hug and thanked him for telling him and said he would take care of it. Well that really is the end of the story, but I have to say what I am most grateful for is that Ethan didn't yell out, "Bishop we don't say stupid." or insist that Matt say something until we were embarrassed. So in teaching Ethan at least we have made it clear that it isn't polite to correct people while they are talking and he can trust that when daddy says he will take care of it, he can let it go...thank goodness for that!

Now a little more about my Bishop. I just have to say that we love our Bishop! He has been our Bishop since we got married. We have been married 6 years and he has been the bishop of our ward for 7 1/2 years. His name is Mark Woodward and he is easily the most Christlike, genuine servant of the Lord I have ever known. We have loved him from our very first meeting and our love for him has grown to respect and admiration. He has taught us service, mercy, compassion, understanding, and love to all you serve. He is kind and down to earth. He loves his fishing and hunting and could easily be your child's grandpa. He is easy to talk to and approachable. While serving as Young Women's president, I couldn't believe his trust in me and my abilities and his love for the youth. The youth are always first! He loves them so much and he is as close to the Savior as anyone I have ever known. We love our Bishop! We wish he could be the Bishop forever, but knowing that someone will replace him someday we just wanted to say publicly that we are better people because of Bishop Woodward. He has taught us so much and our gratitude is overflowing for his self-less service and his dedication to our ward family. Thanks Bishop! We love you!!

Lunch time moments

So I just had to make this quick entry about our typical lunch time. We turn on music (yesterday...a little Michael Jackson, today the soundtrack from Wicked) and dance for the first few minutes and then Ethan takes his seat. Sarah watches wide eyed from her seat. Ethan tells me to dance and sing the whole time and then always needs the full wipe down before going back to play time. Well today he said, "Mommy, can you wipe my hands and my muscles?" I just thought it was priceless, the things that kids say. You just never know...muscles?? Since when did we wipe down the muscles. Isn't it great being a mom! I love it!!!

We're back...

Well after 6 years of marriage, I have finally given in and we are no longer using the free 10 hour internet service from netzero, we have an actual dsl connection. So with that purchase, I will hopefully have no more excuses for long pauses between postings and never getting on the internet to check my blog or others. Hopefully within the week I will start posting again...here's to quick internet service!!

Footprints everywhere...

We woke up this morning to a bunch of tiny green footprints all over the house. Apparently last night when we went to bed a little leprechaun left his tracks and his rainbow behind. To Ethan's excitement he also left some gifts for the family. Ethan couldn't have been more excited! He kept saying, "where do you thinks these prints came from...we must follow them." We would do that over and over again. Then for breakfast we had green pancakes. We have painted today and are getting ready to make sugar cookies after naps, so fun having kids. Happy St. Patricks Day!

Here is Ethan following the prints and wearing his glasses and hat for the day!

Here is my darling Sarah in her kiss me, I'm Irish shirt! That open mouth smile kills me.

This is Sarah in her more serious state. She always crosses her feet like that, I love it!Close ups on that adorable face! I can't believe that she is already seven months, where does the time go?This is Sarah getting the giggles...Now for my big man...Ethan doesn't get the smile thing so here are the four pictures with a cute smile. He is so handsome!Now these are just some of the pictures that I was begging a pleading for one smile, check out the body movement and all the different facial expressions...I love this boy!And so it begins...best friends for life! Here are my two greatest blessings, they make everyday filled with laughter, joy, and love. I am so blessed.Ethan started tickling Sarah and they were both laughing so hard, if only you could capture that sound for a lifetime...it would make all your troubles melt away.Cuddled up close and Sarah just wanted to touch Ethan's face, he didn't think that was so great. He kept telling her, "Sarah, we don't touch Ethan's mouth or face, okay." Well this is a little update since it has been so long! Happy St. Patricks Day everyone!!

Twelve O'clock and All Is Well

The surgery was a success! About 12:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning we were finally allowed to go in to see my dad following his surgery. What a long day, but how grateful we were that everything went so well. He was supposed to go in for surgery at 4:00 p.m. but because of other complications with the procedures prior to his, he was delayed until 6:45 p.m.. So off my dad went to surgery after wonderful doctors and nurses prepped him for what was to come and off my Mom, Lisa, Cassie, my sweet Sarah, and I went to the waiting room. We were well equipped with domino's, old movies, and snacks to wait out the next what turned out to be 5 hours. We had a great time chatting and playing games and around 8:00 p.m. Brian, Hillary, and Michael came to join in the fun. I must say for one minute that my Sarah was an absolute angel and just cuddled, slept, and smiled for all around. It was so much fun being with all the siblings except our Julie (whom we greatly missed) but we laughed and really enjoyed one another, while trying not to worry about our Dad. Well around 10:20 p.m. the Doctor came out to report that the surgery was finished and we would probably be able to go and see him in the recovery in about an hour to an hour and a half. Recovery took nearly two hours and even then Dad wasn't doing as well as we all hoped. (With my Father's permission I give the account of the rest of our experience)Without giving to much personal information my dad was having a bad reaction to the anesthesia and morphine and was re-living his horrible experience in Vietnam. I have to say in all my life I have never felt so much hurt for someone and the emotional pain for what they had gone through in their life. Hearing what he was saying and the emotional hurt it was causing him made all of my siblings very upset. When you grow up knowing that your dad was in the war and he must have seen things and experienced things that you can't even begin to imagine, well it's just almost unreal. Although my father fought in the war he never spoke of the war or his personal experiences. He would always say that war is a terrible thing and that he didn't discuss it. So I guess that made it all the more emotional for all of us when we he started mumbling about the most horrible events of his life. My appreciation for him and his sacrifice on my behalf on all those who live in this country has grown expedentially. He is a hero in every sense of the word and what he witnessed should never have to be remembered, it should be erased from his mind, never to recall again. I just can't believe what he went through and I love him all the more for the way he has handled it all his life. Needless to say none of us wanting to leave him last night. But when the anesthesia wore off, he was back to his normal cheery self. We went to see him today and he had already walked first thing this morning and while we were there he walked for the second time. The nurses said that he was doing exceptional well and my Dad says he will be leaving the hospital on Thursday. I know my Dad and he has the will unlike many others so Thursday will probably be the day of departure, even though most people stay five or six days. I just wanted everyone who has called, prayed, and worried for my father to know that he is doing great and he said the pain is minimal compared to what he has been through. He is grateful for all the prayers on his behalf and says is feeling wonderful!

Father Knows Best

Tonight I am grateful for a father who seems to always knows what is best for me. Isn't it interesting the older you get the more you look at your parents and think how wise and amazing they are. I have always admired a lot of things about my dad, but I don't know if I showed him my gratitude as much as I should. My father is going in for back surgery tomorrow and Matt and Dan just finished giving him a blessing. I was watching my father tonight who I have always known to be strong, brave, and the I can do anything I set my mind to it Dad, and realizing for the first time in his life he can't fix this on his own. For me it is difficult to watch this remarkable man and see his pain with each step he takes and sense the fear that he feels as he heads into this surgery. He has tried everything in his power to fix his back without surgery but in the end he has realized that this is the only way. Gratefully the surgery with be at the University of Utah with the very proficient orthopedic surgery team. We have all the confidence in the world that in the end he will feel better and have a new lease on life.

With all this said I would like to express how much I love him and how proud I am to be his daughter. He serves his children and wife endlessly and never seeks praise for his service. In my lifetime I have seen him give away the family car, when we needed it for our use, but someone needed it more. He has given away multiple items of furniture to those in need when he himself was out of job and could have sold the products for income. I have seen him get up in the middle of the night because someone was in need, with no thought of the fact he needed to arise early the next morning. He is easily the most gentle and loving Papa in the whole world. He made me feel like a beauty queen my entire life with his encouragement and love. In times of weakness and discouragement he brought me to a new height with his wisdom and outlook on life. In all sincerity I want to be more like my father. I want to serve the way he serves. I want to care for those around me the way he does. I love, admire, and respect my father more than words could ever transcribe. He came from a very difficult childhood and reversed what could have been his future into a life that is rich and full. I know everything will be great with the surgery, but I just realize each day that this life is short and the time we have with each person that touches our lives goes by so quickly so I want to be more appreciative, more kind, and more open about the way I feel for those who have impacted my life. So tonight it is my Father who I honor. It is my Father who I offer my gratitude for the life that he gave to me through his sacrifice of many long hours of hard work in jobs he wouldn't have necessarily selected, but did them to provide for his family. It is my Father who I wanted to emulate. He is everything I could have hoped for in a Father and much more. I love him with all my heart and pray the Lord will watch over him tomorrow and guide the surgeons hands as they mend him back to health. I love you Dad.

The Pumpkin Patch

This was Ethan's first time in a maze. We went with the Gardners and the Sandbergs and it was a blast! The mosquito's were a little crazy that night, but other than that it was lots of fun. Here is Ethan trying to make his way through the maze. He thought it was pretty great.Here we are picking out the perfect pumpkin. Sarah was with us as well, but she was sound asleep in her carrier. It was a little cold, but a beautiful night.
Here are all the cousins: Britton, Bryson, Parker, Abby, Carter, Hallie, Ellie, and Ethan. They are sitting in the cart that you check out to put your pumpkins in. The cart was the highlight of the night, all the kids thought they had traveled back in time and they loved it.
Let the fun begin! I couldn't have imagined how much fun this night would be. When I got out the paints and Ethan realized he could paint that huge pumpkin with as much paint as he wanted, well Picaso was reborn. Well and let's just face it the other bigger boy in the house was just as excited to create his own masterpiece that night. Matt loves to carve pumpkins and always takes plenty of time to make it just perfect. My pumpkin said Parkin on it, Ethan's was painted with star wholes craved in it, Sarah had a beautiful princess that Daddy carved, and Daddy's was a skelton head that won him first place at his work party (no surprise, he always wins when it's something artistic).
Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of the final product, I only took video, but it was beautiful work if I must say so myself. Holidays are so much fun and this was the first year when Ethan really got into everything. After we got done carving the pumpkins we put candles in them, put them on the porch and enjoyed our masterpieces! We then came inside and turned out all the lights and watched It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, it was a perfect night. I love making memories with my family!