Surprise, I'm back

I don't blog much anymore, but for some reason I have the itch to do so. For some reason the Lord thought we needed some trials this year. Fortunately we have a great job and house and the kids are good. We have run into a couple of trials that we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

At the end of spring break the two older boys received chemical burns as a result of coming into contact with limes and being in the sun. Stone on the back of his hands and Rusty on his love handles (where he often itches). It is a very rare condition called phitophotodermatitis. None of the pediatricians, nurses, or doctors knew what it was until we took him to the ER and were blessed to have a doctor with 15 years on a burn unit. The result is large blisters on every exposed piece of skin that had exposure to sunlight.

Stone ended up in the hospital for potential infection; he had streaks down his forearms that had the appearance of infection. He ended up being transported from one hospital to another via ambulance and was kept overnight at Childrens. It was a precautionary stay, but unfortunately the bills are not precautionary. Luckily we were inspired to set up a HSA account a year or so ago and because of that and good employment we are in a position to be okay.

We were very frustrated at how our boys were treated by the nurse at the school. The manner in which she conducted her job in a position of trust was truly distasteful. We love our kids and would do anything for them. Cherry Creek School District isn't as lovely as people think. The experience has me looking into charter schools in the area.

Just before Spring Break we received news that my Grandpa Lee passed away. His health had been fading for some time and I had feared the time was close. I received a call early one March morning from my mom that he was gone. While losing someone can be extremely sad, I rejoice in the knowledge that I can see him again. Grandma has been gone for 8 years now and I know the reunion between them had to be a great sight to see. I miss them both very much, sometimes more often than I realize. My boys got to know "Grandpa Leo" quite well and it was surprising how hard it was on Stone to say goodbye. We love Grandpa and will miss his bear hugs and 'hubba-hubba' and quotes when parting.

I learned many things from Grandpa and feel so grateful that we were able to live two doors from he and Grandma during my high school years. Most of my auto mechanic, plumbing, framing, and hundreds of other skills I learned from Grandpa. I can't wait to see him again.

On a brighter note, because of the generous donation of the US Federal gov't returning our taxes to us, we have been able to afford to finish a portion of our basement this spring. I haven't taken many pictures, but we are to the point now where we have carpet ordered and are putting on a 2nd coat of paint. I have doors ready to be hung and will be prepping for the carpet this weekend.

We started framing it over a year ago and it got put on hold for a while, but now we are to the point where we have very limited room and need the space. The kids will have somewhere to play and make things hopefully a little quieter during the day upstairs. Janna is probably more excited than any of us.

More good news, Janna's oldest sister moved to Colorado a couple of months ago. She and her family moved to Longmont and are about an hour away. It has been nice to see them every couple of weeks and not just once a year. Their kids are all getting so big. The boys finally have cousins close by that they can play with.

Janna's other older sister Carin is also moving soon to Denver. Her husband Trent was offered and accepted a job with a company here in Denver. We are especially grateful as he had been unemployed for 17 months. He will arrive in a couple of weeks and will be staying with us until the family moves out and we can get them set up with a place. We are very excited to have more family migrating to Colorado; who would have thought we were starting a migration?

Personally I am doing ok. I really love my calling as an Assistant Priest Quorum Advisor. I enjoy the comraderie with the boys, I don't really feel like I am that much older than them. Sometimes I wonder if they are really getting anything from me as a leader, but if nothing else I guess I can share with them how a lanky redhead stumbled his way through high school, a mission, and college and ended up here with a great family. I often feel like I am the one being taught and am just lucky to be put in a position to be surrounded by the other great leaders.

I went turkey hunting a few weeks ago with Rusty and a good friend of ours. We were lucky enough to call in a couple of Toms Friday night and get them both. It made for an uneventful Saturday, but gave us a chance to sleep in a little later than we would have otherwise. It was nice to get away from the city and hear myself think a little bit. It was fun to have Rusty experience the success we did. It was his first time hunting and he was a riot. He has several funny expressions, he just loved being there.

I am excited to take Van, Rusty, and Stone camping soon. Stone had soccer and was unable to go hunting with us. We have the Father & Sons campout coming up in a couple of weeks so we will get a chance to camp soon.

Sawyer is almost 2. She is more than a handful. Her hair is getting long and is still strawberry blonde. She tries to keep up with her brothers and isn't afraid to get what she wants. We're hoping she will start to take a liking to her more docile brothers soon and want to become more like them.

Janna and I celebrated our 10th anniversary this past year. I love her and am grateful for all she does to make our life together what it is. It just keeps getting better with her by my side.