An update

I have gotten several complaints that our blog is never updated- so true! Our computer has been in the shop and, as of now, there is not hope in sight of getting it back before the new year. In the meantime, I've had to grab internet access whenever possible and I have no way of posting pictures. Rough life! (just kidding)

For those of you who haven't heard, we have gotten some great news back from dental school interviews! Eli has been accepted to Marquette University (in WI) and USC (in CA). We should find out in the next 2-3 weeks about acceptance to MCG (in GA). Also, we got word today that he has been invited to interview at UNLV (in LV, duh!), so the good news just keeps rolling in. We can't thank our friends and family enough for the prayers and support as we've gone through the application process- it's been a long two years! We're so excited to have something to show for it.

Jax is growing and getting bigger everyday. In light of the season, we've been teaching him to say "Ho Ho ho, Merry Christmas!" He has the "Ho ho ho" down, but just does mumbled voice inflections for the "Merry Christmas" part. I can't believe he is 15 months old now, and how quickly he's growing. Do I say that on every post?

I wasn't sure that we were going to put up our Christmas tree this year. We only have like 2 weeks that we're at home before leaving for the holiday, and by the time we get back it's just time to put it back in the box. I debated for a few days, but ended up putting it up. I love it! I'm so glad that the Christmas season got the better of me. I love Christmas!! Jax thinks that the tree is pretty neat, and loves to pull the ornaments off. Thank goodness that our ornaments are plastic, or we'd have a lot of broken glass right now.

Well, I had better run. Final assignments are getting the best of me, and I feel like I'm drowning half of the time. But, for better or for worst, it will all be over in 2 weeks! HOORAY!! Another year bites the dust.

XOXO

Come What May, and Love It

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin passed away peacefully last night. The Church (via lds.org) put out this write-up about his life, and I enjoyed reading it: http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/elder-joseph-b-wirthlin-a-life-full-of-adventure-and-joy-that-surpasses-understanding

I am grateful for Elder Wirthlin's words of wisdom. I have always quite enjoyed listening to him at general conference, and reading from him in the Ensign. He had an insight and a wisdom that surpassed many, and they often brought me comfort and renewed faith. His most recent conference address, entitled "Come What May, and Love it," brought such a positive point-of-view to dealing with adversity. He is a beloved man in our home, and we will continue to study draw strength from his the testimony he so readily bore.

a Creepy Crawly Halloween!

In honor of all of the spiders that have been in our house, my mom sent us a spider costume for Jax to use! we had a fun time going to the ward's Trunk-or-Treat. It was a pretty low-key night!

Homecoming Hottie!

My 14-year-old sister went to her first Homecoming last weekend. I heard she had a great time, and my mom just sent me some pictures of her on the big night. Doesn't she look so beautiful!? If I didn't know any better, I never would've guessed that she's 14 based off of these pictures:) You look great, Lex! Hope you had an awesome time! I'm so sad I wasn't there to help you get ready!!!

Just a Clarification...

With regards to President Packer's talk that I posted yesterday, I wanted to clarify that the email I received contained notes that a member of the congregation where Pres. Packer spoke had taken. Therefore, please keep in mind that there is a possibility that some of the words or thoughts may have been rewritten or remembered incorrectly. Nevertheless, I think the words are profound and greatly needed nowadays. Love to all!

Thoughts from President Packer

Here is a highlight of a testimony given by President Packer who spoke in the Forest Bend Ward in Salt Lake City, UT on Sunday, October 12, 2008. I found it profound and wanted to share it with you all.
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“Even though I regularly have the opportunity to attend Fast and Testimony meeting, I don’t
usually stand to speak. But today, I feel moved upon by the Spirit to share a message… Last weekend’s General Conference was different than any before. We felt that down at Church Headquarters and have been talking about it all week. We live in troubled times. There is great financial crisis and we’ve seen something that hasn’t happened in the last 60 years: the world’s financial markets are collapsing. I was six years old when the Great Depression began: the 10th of 11 children. My father was a mechanic and times were difficult for all of us. Many families were suddenly out of work all at once. There were large public projects to try and provide employment – like the great ditch or canal I remember being dug here in our city. It was at least six feet deep and dug by hand, with pick and ax. Nowadays, we’d use a piece of machinery to
do it. But in those days, people worked with what we had. They were desperate times for many. There were things as a child that I didn’t understand and was afraid of. I didn’t like to go
into the basement of our home. I thought the Boogeyman lived there. But as I grew older and
we got some lights down there, I realized that the great dark space underneath the stairs was a large pile of old shoes. As a pair of shoes we were wearing would wear out or break down, we didn’t throw them out. We would use a shoe from that old pile as spare parts to repair our shoes or make new ones. It was just the way you did things in those times.
There’s a scripture that says “Yet learn we obedience by the same things we suffer.” It seems sometimes that we don’t learn until we need to turn and rely upon the Lord. In the Book of Mormon, well, if you looked in my copy, in the Book of Helaman about chapter 12 or 13, you’d see that I’ve written-in a swirling chain of circles across the top of the page. It might look like
old cursive, but that’s not what it’s meant to be. It’s meant to remind me of the cycles of the
people. In times when they were blessed with great prosperity and wealth, they forgot the Lord. Then when they fell to bad habits which led some to wickedness and placed many in peril, the righteous would turn/return to the Lord in their humbler circumstances. It’s a cycle of prosperity and wickedness we see repeated over and over again in the scriptures and now again in our day. I remember once I went deer hunting with Brother Tuttle and some others. We were up in the mountains, riding on horseback. He went up one side of the canyon, and I went up the other. As I was riding, I bent over and just nearly kissed the saddle horn as we passed a low cedar tree
that was right by the path. Well as we passed the cedar tree, there was no more path on the other side of it and the way before us was just a dropping hillside covered with loose shaley rock. I kicked my feet clear of the stirrups, just in case the horse reacted badly, and it was a good thing I did. She reared up and I was thrown back. I hit my head on some rocks and got a cut right
above my eyebrow that was bleeding heavily. I’d been holding my rifle in my hand and as my hand flew back and hit heavily against a rock, it broke as well. So I was laying there hurt and shaken. My companions on the other side of the canyon had seen what happened and I heard Brother Tuttle call out “Are you hurt?” I replied “Yes, I’m bleeding!” He called out again “Are you hurt?” I called again “Yes, I’m bleeding!”, but the wind was blowing the wrong way and
they couldn’t hear me. The fourth time this happened, I yelled in response “No!” And they called back “Okay!” and continued to ride on up the mountain. That’s lesson one!

I finally got myself up, caught my horse down the mountain where she had gotten caught in
some branches, and managed to get into town where I was bandaged up and my hand was tended to. Shortly after that, I was traveling on business and was at the airport. A fellow traveler, an older man not of our faith, saw my bandaged hand and asked if I was all right. I replied rather offhandedly. And he responded that it was something I would remember all the rest of my days. He then told me that he had once worked at digging a canal – now that caught my attention because I remembered the canal I have mentioned. He said that he was out of work at the time
[the Great Depression] and couldn’t find employment. He saw the canal being dug and knew that if he asked the foreman for a job, he would be turned away. He saw a spare pick laying there, so he picked it up and started working. A short while later, the foreman walked by and, not recognizing him, asked him what he was doing. He explained to me that he told the foreman he was out of work and stated “I need to work. You don’t have to pay me, but I need to work.”
Well, as you might expect, they worked things out and he was paid for his labors. We then
proceeded to talk, this older fellow and I, and I have remembered his counsel. Now I am the old man giving counsel to you. In the Great Depression, people were frightened and growing more so. They began to be very resourceful. They had to be. Looking forward, we’re all going to learn that lesson, one way or another.
The Church is in excellent condition. You don’t need to worry about that. But as individuals we will face difficulty. Some will come to the Bishop seeking financial aid and counsel. And as judges in Israel, the Bishop will respond. The time for financial largess in our ward activities is over.” [President Packer then turned directly to our Bishop and counseled him that last year’s
youth trip to Nauvoo, which was, President Packer said, a great opportunity for testimony-building and missionary work, will not happen again. Times of/for that sort of expense in the Church are past.]
President Packer then shared experiences of providing aid and service after the great Tsunami devastated Indonesia. He recalled... “I was speaking on the phone with a government minister who said “I’m standing in Banda Aceh and you cannot imagine what I am seeing. A city of a million people has been swept away and there is nothing.” A week later, I was standing in area
of Banda Aceh and the need was immense. “What do you need?” I asked. “Body bags” was the reply. So we found 20,000 body bags in China and had them on a plane the next day. A call came, “we need 30 [thousand] more.” We found them and they were sent. The next call “do you have any motorcycles? We need to get back into the mountain villages
with aid and medical supplies, but the roads are gone. Trucks can’t get through and elephants
are too slow. If we had motorcycles, we could get through.”
“Are they to be found in Asia” I asked. “Yes,” he said. So we found the motorcycles and had
them on their way the next day.
The Church is sound and is able to provide these types of aid as a back-up where there is need.
We [as members and in our individual wards] are the back-up position of the Church. Learn to apply the old Pioneer adage – “Eat [use] it up. Wear it out. Make do, or do without.” We’re going to have to learn to do without. Again, “Eat it up. Wear it out. Make do, or do without.” Even if we have the resources, we need to do more to be thrifty. Others will rely on us. The Church will rely on us. It is our responsibility and duty to be caring for ourselves, our family, and those around us. Be watching for need. Set something by that we can be of help to others when the time comes. Trust in the counsel of our wise elders/older people.
There are nearly 60,000 missionaries serving throughout the world today. The cost to support a missionary is right about $400 a month today. That’s $4,800 a year. Consider if we have the
resources that there may be others who don’t and who have a need. When Brother Tuttle was a young man, he had a strong desire to serve a mission. But he didn’t have the money to pay for it, and his family didn’t have the money for it. So Brother Tuttle thought of who was the richest
man in his town and, after saying a prayer, he approached him. A loan was made, a mission served, and the loan repaid. Those who need our help may not always ask us.
It’s about time the Lord taught us a lesson. A great catastrophe is coming. Now I probably
shouldn’t say that because then it will happen. But it is going to happen. That’s what it will take
to turn our hearts to the Lord. And we will learn from it.
Our prayers will be different, less selfish. The scripture says “If ye are prepared, ye need not
fear.” Renew your prayers. You can [also] think a prayer. Carry a prayer in your heart throughout the day. Learn to pray for that which is of worth. Another scripture says “…do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy.” (2 Nephi 9:51) That can be applied both spiritually [to prayer] and physically. Use what we have. If something is broken, fix it. Our young people are going to see different times than what they are used to. To you teenagers, your life will be different. Things are changing. You will have to do without some of the things you are used to expecting. Don’t be afraid. Change your life to do without the extravagances and luxuries that you’ve expected. Learn to pray. There’s a difference between ‘saying prayers’ and praying. A wonderful time is
coming – it’s not going to be easy, and it’s not going to be short. But don’t be afraid.
Brother Tuttle was one of the Seventy when there were just seven of them. Now there are eight quorums of the Seventy called to go throughout all the world. It’s an apostolic calling to teach the gospel to every nation, people and tongue. They’ll know what to do and will lead and counsel where they are called. Take care of what we’ve got. Begin to save. The rainy day is coming – in fact, the snowy day is
already here [in reference to today’s first winter snow]. Reset our expectations. Give up
selfishness. Wickedness is all around us. In today’s world, it’s not safe for children to be
outside alone. We need to be ever watchful. We need to protect ourselves from the wickedness, avarice, and greed in the world. Read the scriptures and the revelations. The guidance and counsel are there. Read with new eyes, and the scriptures, the Book of Mormon, will take on new meaning.

As President Bush and world leaders gather in the coming week and the weeks ahead, there will be no easy answers or solutions. Hard times are ahead and it’s difficult for them to see what to do. It’s important to listen to the Sprit. We are led by prophets and apostles. We can see ahead. We can be and are prepared. I pronounce upon you an Apostolic blessing. Comfort our children. Little children can be afraid of things we might not think of. Comfort them and strengthen our families. Turn off the television and focus on family. Pay your tithing. The promise is there – pay your tithing and you’ll be watched over. You’ll be alright. None of us is exempt from trials. If hard times come upon you and your income dwindles, remember that tithing is equitable for everyone: 10%. If
you have nothing, then it’s 10% of practically nothing. Pay your tithing, do what you’re supposed to do. You’ll be comforted. Sure trials will come. Because of them, faith will increase. Happiness will increase. Security will increase. You’ll be glad to be alive at this time. It’s a good time to be living, to be raising children. I leave this testimony, counsel, and blessing with you in the holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Women in the Draft?!

So I usually don't post politically-driven stories on my blog, but my dad forwarded me the link to this story today and it just reaffirmed to me what a complete disaster it would be (will be?) if (when?) Obama is elected President:
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Report: Candidates Diverge Over Whether to Extend Selective Service to Women
Though neither candidate wants to revive a military draft, Barack Obama supports a requirement for women to register with the Selective Service while John McCain does not, according to a report.
FOXNews.com
Monday, October 13, 2008

While neither Barack Obama nor John McCain want to reinstate a military draft, the two candidates diverge over whether to include women as part of any future conscription efforts.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Monday that McCain does not think women should have to register with the Selective Service, while Obama supports a requirement for both men and women to register.
The Post-Gazette also reported that McCain supports current restrictions on women in combat positions, but Obama would consider opening those positions to women.
"Women are already serving in combat [in Iraq and Afghanistan] and the current policy should be updated to reflect realities on the ground," Obama national security spokeswoman Wendy Morigi told the newspaper.
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The good news, ladies and gentlemen, is that when Obama is elected President, I won't have to focus all of my attention on worrying about Eli being called off to war in Iraq. Why, you may ask? Because we can all be just as worried aboout whether or not our daughters are going to be called off to war...

...I can just picture a Saturday Evening Post photo: the entire family crowded around the living room, enjoying a Sunday afternoon, while Daddy fixes dinner and the rest of the family anxiously waits to see if Mommy is going to come home.

Spiders- Update

WE FINALLY GOT EXTERMINATED!! It was about time, because in addition to the 2 Black Widows that were found by my upstairs neighbor, we were killing Hobo Spiders (the West Coast version of the Brown Recluse) left and right at my house...

Erica's boyfriend Chris was in town and I had to have him COME KILL A HOBO SPIDER THAT WAS IN MY BED!! It was scary. At the time, I thought it was just a brown recluse. But, then I read that Brown Recluses didn't really exist in Utah. So I was a little less concerned--

Until the exterminator came. I asked him to take a look at this brown spider that was by my door (since it was the same type that was in my bed and the 3 others that we killed around my living room). He bent down to look at it and- voile!- found a bundle of joy: A black widow AND a hobo spider! hooray! it was an arachnid party.

So these are really scary spiders- and Hobo Spiders jump, at least the ones at my house do. And I SWEAR they stare me down when I look at them. YIKES!

Last night I was sleeping and Cosmo was asleep on my leg. All of a sudden in the middle of the night, he jumped up and snapped at something. Then, about 3 seconds later, he snapped at something again and jumped up! I am 100% (though I was too scared to look) that it was probably another spider. I HATE THIS GAME!!

(by the way, the pictures at the top aren't from my house. That'd be too creepy!!)

Spiders

I'd like to talk about how unfunny it is that my neighbor found a black widow and its nest right outside of the door that leads down to my house. I have already been stressed out because I feel like there is an infestation of spiders in my house and now- YIKES!!- I have to hear about this crazy incident. You had better believe that I have drafted a formal written complaint to my landlord. I have already called to her and told her about the arachnid problem, but her answer was to buy the sticky glue pad mouse traps and put them around the house to trap the spiders. When I explained that her solution was 1. not condusive to having a very curious toddler and, 2. ineffective because I had to try and guess where a spider may happen to walk that day, she said her son needed to go to school and she would have to call me back.

I've been sitting by my phone for 3 days without a call.

Boys on the Go!!

**NOTE: Watch Jax in the top corner when he walks up the hallway...

We've been having a great time getting David and Jax together lately. With the boys being only 3 weeks apart, it is so fun to see what different personalities they have and how much they learn & feed off of one another! They love to run around, especially when we take them to the park with the dogs. All we have to do is throw a tennis ball and-VROOM!- off run two dogs with two babies in tow after it. They make quite the pair- closest to brothers they will probably have for a while. It is great that we live so close that we can drop by anytime. We got a few cute while they were playing, and a great video- hope you enjoy!

Camping with the Saumwebers!

We have had the best time spending the last 2 weekends camping with Mary, Joe, and David! My sister Erica (and Joe's sister Jackie) came along with us a few weeks ago, but last weekend we just took off with the six of us and our two pooches (yes, Zues and Cosmo also come along) and drove up Rock Canyon until we found a good spot. I didn't have my camera with me, but Mary stole a few shots! We had so much fun, we're sad that they seasons change so quickly... camping season just doesn't last long enough!

CONGRATULATIONS, ELI!

Eli has recently recieved 3 invitations for dental school interviews! Over the course of the next month, he will be interviewing with
MCG (Medical College of Georgia)- his top pick for location and housing market
Marquette University (Wisconsin)- his top pick for school facilities and innovative learning
and USC (University of Southern California)

We are so excited and just keep our fingers crossed that the interview will lead to a plan for the next four years of our lives! We still have 15 schools that we are waiting to hear from, so more interviews may be on their way.

CONGRATULATIONS, ELI! You'll do so great at your interviews!

Blast from the Past

I saw this on Heather's blog and had a fun time reminiscing about my own high school days!

1. Did you date someone form your school? I mostly dated guys from other schools or college, but I did date a guy named Eddie Rowe from my high school.
2. What kind of car did you drive? I drove a white 1991 BMW 525i. It was a manual, and I had a hard time learning it at first but ended up Loving it! Man, I miss that car...
3. What was the most embarrassing moment of high school? Probably the time that I slipped and fell in the middle of the most crowded part of the main hall after the afternoon bell on Friday afternoon. I literally did a belly flop on the floor and my books went flying. It was really embarrassing.
4. Were you a party animal? What's a party?
5. Were you considered a flirt? I think some people may have thought that but I don't think that I was.
6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? No... I quit the flute after about 2 months in the 5th grade.
7. Were you a nerd? Not that I was aware of
8. Were you on any varsity teams? Yes, varsity football/competition cheerleading.
9. Did you get suspended/expelled? No, but I did get Saturday school for throwing a grape in the cafeteria. I lobbed it over to another friend's table, but he thought it was the group of punk guys next to me that threw it at him and got all up in their faces. So I got Saturday school for "Throwing a grape to incite a riot!"
10. Can you still sing the fight song? We didn't have a fight song that anyone knew at that time!
11. Who were your favorite teachers? Mr Williams for Calculus, Ms. Darby for History, Mr Medwed for Economics
12. Where did you sit during lunch? Outside in the Senior's Section.
13. What was your school's full name? Centennial High School.
14. School mascot? Knights.
15. Did you go to Homecoming and who with? Yes, I went with Banks Forrester, Mike Salmon and Travis Smith (not all at the same time, obviously).
16. If you could go back and do it again, would you? No... although I have some unforgettable memories that I would love to relive every now and again.
17. What do you remember most about graduation? Allison Lee gave an awesome speech and my boyfriend who came to watch was a total jerk. Our lock-in at Startime was really fun and Officer Parker called me by my first name (as opposed to "Young Lady") for the first time in 4 years...
18. Where did you go senior skip day? To the Chattahoochee River, then for lunch at Jason's Deli.
19. Were you in a club? Yes.... dare I admit it? I was in the Latin Club. I was actually in the Presidency of the Latin Club. Don't tell anyone. I was also in Skills USA (a competitive club for anything involved with Criminal Justice-which I LOVED!) and the Peer Facilitation Club (working with the Special Education Department)
20. Have you gained some weight since then? More than I'd like to admit.
21. Who was your prom date? I went to 3 proms with the same guy- Scott Heninger (2 were mine, one was his).
22. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Yes! I think it'd be so fun.
23. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself? Probably to hang out with a wider variety of people and to keep in touch with good friends after high school.

I tag all of you- Leave me a comment letting me know if you do yours too! :)

Jax's First Portraits

We'd like to thank Doug Hemsley from Alpharetta, GA for taking these beautiful portraits of Jax on his First Birthday!

Our Little Miracle

Well, for all those who have been following us in this terrifying experience, we can share a resounding sigh of relief! Today we brought home our little Jaxon, and we have never felt such relief. I cannot put into words the miracle that has transpired over the past few days. On Tuesday we didn't know if our little one was going to make it. Unconscious, struggling to breathe, siezing and then going limp, we were not sure if he would ever recover and, if he did, what to expect with regards to permanent damage. As Tuesday slipped away into Wednesday, we were just happy to have some responsiveness from Jax. It was difficult, however, because on Monday we had a toddler that was walking, talking, and "showing what an elephant says." Then, less than 48 hours later, we had a little baby that couldn't hold his head up any better than a newborn infant. He was completely unable to support any of his own weight. By Wednesday night, I would probably equivalate his motor skills/dexterity/coordination to that of a 2 month old. Also, his fevers were spiking despite being on Tylenol and Motrin around the clock. He spent a significant amount of time being at 104.7, and didn't get below 102.3 for the entire day. Around Midnight his fever finally broke (got down to 99.8) and we were so excited!! It stayed "broken" for about 10 hours, but on Thursday morning it shot back up around 104 and he stayed feverish for the rest of the day...

Thursday, however, was the day our miracle began! Jax, usually lifeless and not very interactive, woke up from a long nap. He looked over at me and said, "Hi!" while he waved. This was amazing. Then he flipped over on his stomach, pushed up on his hands and knees and crawled across the bed to see me. Everyone in the room cried, including the nurses. No one could have ever predicted this sick baby boy would wake up from a nap and have gotten back so much strength and coordination! It was amazing. The Pediatrician was pretty much dumbfounded.

From there, Jax only got stronger! Despite his fevers, he worked hard to get his skills and coordination back. One minute he was unable to even root for the nipple of a bottle and literally within an hour he was able to eat solid foods again.

I want to thank everyone for their prayers and fasting on our behalf. Despite the unseen strength that comes from the faith of a prayer or a fast, we were able to so tangibly feel it. I have been overwhelmed with gratitude to our Heavenly Father for blessing Jax with such a quick recovery. Though he is far from being at 100%, his road to recovery has been so greatly accelerated. We anticipate that he will be back to 100% within a week... with no signs of permanent damage from the incident. We look forward to the progress that Jax will make over the next week.

Thank you for your faith, and for your strength... It has gotten me and Eli through the most difficult time of our lives. We are not totally "out of the woods" yet, but we know the future looks bright. We are eternally indebted to you!

UPDATE

We got some test results back, all of which were great. His EEG (which monitors brain waves and picks up hints of "hot spots" in the brain where seizure triggures could be likely on a regular basis) was normal, indicating that Jax does not have a seizure disorder. His spinal tap (lumbar puncture) was negative, showing no signs of meningitis (PHEW). His MRI and CT Scans also came back normal, showing no signs of brain swelling, bleeding, etc. Just this afternoon, after being extremely lethargic and unable to hold up the weight of his own head, Jax fell asleep for a nap. About an hour or more later, he woke up, turned onto his stomach and crawled across the bed to me. You cannot imagine the relief of this miracle... we have felt the prayers and support of so many. His motor skills are coming back and, after 2 days in the hospital, we are able to start discussing the possibility of Jax's full recovery being continued at home sometime soon. We feel so blessed to have such significant improvement-- truly a miracle. The nurses in the room all started crying when they saw this, as they have been with us since the beginning of this terrifying episode. The pediatrician kept commenting on what a "new baby" he was... alert, sound of mind, and trying to work on his motor skills and coordination. Thank you for our prayers on our behalf, we will keep you posted.

Sweet Jaxon

Here is an update on our son Jaxon as of about 11 o’clock this morning. Please distribute as you see fit. Yesterday morning Jaxon appeared to be sleeping in much later than usual. This was a day after receiving his 1 year immunizations. I had checked on him several times and he appeared to be sleeping normally but finally at about 10 a.m. I was concerned and decided to wake him up. I picked him up and found that his little body was stiff, that he was drenched in sweat and had a high fever. I was unable to wake him or get any response. He would alternate between his body being stiff as a board and then being completely limp. He was barely breathing and appeared nearly lifeless. We called 911 for an ambulance which took him to Utah Valley Hospital (in Provo). He received a blessing from his uncle Chase since Eli was at work.

Eli was waiting for me and Jaxon (who rode in the ambulance) when we arrived at the hospital. After some time at Utah Valley they were able to bring Jax back to consciousness and at one point he was able to drink a bottle, but he was slipping in and out of consciousness and had essentially no motor activity. He was given a spinal tap to test for meningitis, no results back on that yet. It was decided that he needed the care of a pediatric neurologist which required him to be moved by ambulance to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City where was admitted last night. Overnight he was seen by several doctors and has been assessed by a pediatric nuerologist.

It appears that all of this was caused by seizures which were the result of a reaction to his immunizations, particularly in response to the fevers. The severe seizures he was exhibiting yesterday morning have subsided and he has been on Phenobarbital to control them. Later last night Jaxon had become more cognitive. He recognized people, would cry, and was responsive to people around him. This is certainly encouraging, however we are still concerned that he was not regaining motor control. He was having difficulty staying attached to his bottle, tracking with his eyes, could not put things in his mouth, had difficulty holding his bead up, was drooling excessively, would suddenly jerk his little body nearly out of the arms of whoever was holding him, etc. At this early stage, the theory was that he is having continuous seizures, which are likely located in the cerebellum.

At this point they plan to keep him hospitalized for observation. The seizures have subsided, and he has begun to hold his head up for short periods of time on his own. He is showing the desire to sit up and move around, which is a good sign. Yesterday his fever spiked and stayed at 104.7. He broke through the fevers temporarily but they are back at 103.3. We greatly appreciate all of your fasting andprayers on behalf of Jaxon and us, and for the Christ-like acts of service that have been both rendered and offered. His situation is still serious... They are keepng him for observaton.

Eli-The human Slingshot!

Eli went to a party for the MTC (where he used to work) and got to ride the HUMAN SLINGSHOT! He said it was soooooooooooo much fun. For those of you "less cultured folk" (I say that with a smirk), it was featured on CMT's "Country Fried Home Videos" ... needless to say it was one of those things listed on Eli's "To Do Before I Die", and now he has fulfulled it. Fun stuff!!

Welcome Home!

I thought I would post a picture of Jax with his Uncle Chase! This is from Jax's first 4th of July (*which we celebrated on the 5th of July)... So cute!

All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth!

Jax is working on his fourth tooth! I can't believe that I have a baby old enough to even have four teeth...

His first two teeth came in on the bottom in the middle, as they typically do. But, he recently had two more pop through the gum and-WHAM!- Jax now has four teeth growing in... All of them on the bottom! Does he have any front teeth? I sure hope so, because he is going to be funny looking with four teeth on the bottom and no teeth on top! It is funny to watch him try to bite food and things too, because he can tear really well with the bottom teeth but then has to grind it against the top gums. Pretty interesting!! We love him like crazy, and he's growing more and more each day. I love being a mom!!

An Anti-climatic Fourth

Happy Belated 4th of July! Hope ya'll enjoyed everything. We didn't have anything too crazy happen. I have been house sitting for a family in our ward, so I had to stay at their house that night. Then, we decided to make a few extra bucks by helping Linda & Greg Mackay sell fireworks in their TNT fireworks tent. So, we heard a bunch of fireworks and we saw a LOT of drunk people celebrating, but we didn't really do anything and we certainly didn't get to see any fireworks. We did grab a few fireworks for ourselves, however, and set them off on July 5th. Lame? I think so! But hey... that's how we roll.

Jax was totally intrigued by the fireworks, and the loud ones didn't really even scare us. Our camera is still broken... i'll try to find another way to get some pictures posted. Sorry! I know its boring to just read this, because I get bored just writing it. Apologies, everyone!

A Whole lot of Nothing

For the sake of keeping up with the blog, I thought I should probably post something. I have some great pictures that I am dying to share, but I just can't get my XD card to work and I'm so sad about it. The latest (and cutest) part of the summer is that Jax has a cute little girlfriend. Her name is Charlotte Butler and she is absolutely beautiful. He went to her birthday party a couple of weeks ago, and she and he play every week at church. They also have swim and play dates. I keep trying to teach him to giver her a kiss, but I haven't had success yet. Ha! Too cute.

Eatin' Dirty.

Has anybody who lives outside of the Southern states heard of Eatin' Dirty?

It is absolutely fabulous. Picture this: you line your table with a vinyl table cloth to protect it from the moisture. You line that table cloth with newspapers to pick up all the grundge. Then you bring a ginormous pot of water to a roaring boil, at which point you throw in the following ingredients- snow crab, corn on the cob, potatoes, and anything else you are interested in eating. You cook it.

And how do you eat it once it is done cooking? no plates. no utensils. you dump all of the food in the middle of the table and everybody eats it with his/her hands. It is phenomenal.

Well, we had a "Dirty Dinner" tonight, coupled with some beer-battered fried shrimp and a salad (and, we did cheat because we used plates for the salad only). We also cooked up some amazing cornbread and served it... eating it off of the table with our fingers just like the rest of it.

My camera-computer-sync isn't working right now so I can't put up any pictures, but as soon as I can I will. It was soo fabulous, and if any of you haven't tried it is a fun way to pull off a dirty night!

WAY TO GO, ELI!!!

Just wanted to post a quick SHOUT OUT to my Honey! He has been studying and preparing to take the DAT, and took the test this past Tuesday. I know he was nervous, but he did a great job studying and a

**GREAT JOB ON GETTING AN 18!**

Time has slipped away from me

I can't believe that it has been so long since the last time that I wrote! We have definitely had a lot going on. We decided, on not much more than a whim, to leave Provo for the summer and spend our time in Atlanta! So with about four days notice, we packed the things we would need for the next four months and drove across the country to my parents' house. It has been so much fun being home with my sisters again and letting them spend time with Jax. He is growing up so fast... moving all around the house, crawling like a wild man and pulling up on EVERYTHING! We have been encouraging him to take steps, but he's still trying to muster up the courage. In the meantime, he has loved to spend time with my parents' hound dogs who basically let him crawl all over them and try to catch their tales... they are very patient! I am mostly excited to be out here because my brother Chase will be getting home from the Oklahoma Tulsa mission in about 3 weeks, and now I'll be able to be here for his homecoming! I'm ecstatic.

Eli, on the other hand, hasn't had the chance to enjoy our new found freedom from Provo. He has signed up to take the DAT (Dental Admissions Test) again THIS TUESDAY!! and has spent about 6-8 hours every day studying for it. We're keeping our fingers crossed and saying our prayers that he can do well enough to get into Dental School, as it is getting more competitive every year! Any positive thoughts you can send this direction are welcomed! :) In addition to this he is participating in a business internship. He is currently only doing the internship part-time so that he can study, but will move to full-time next week (sometime after he can recover from taking the DAT).

One thing we have both been able to enjoy since we have been home are the huge thunderstorms!! We miss the hail, lightening, and deafening thunder. There's nothing like watching the green clouds roll in during a tornado warning... it has been pretty awesome. It is funny how many of the little things one ends up missing when they are away from home for long enough.

I wish that I had more pictures to post, but for some reason our card drive in our laptop has gone haywire and I'm not able to upload any, so hopefully I'll find another means of getting them posted soon.

We spent the last week up in Tate, GA (which is a small town of about 400 people located just outside of Jasper). This is where Eli grew up. There is something about going up there and literally feeling time slow down a little bit that gives me a glimpse of how life used to be lived, when things weren't quite so busy. It is always relaxing to go up there and walk around their property, skip rocks in their creek and so forth. Eli and his brother Nate were able to go fishing a couple of nights ago, so we had a good ol' Southern "Fish Fry" yesterday afternoon for lunch. It was good! I was a little skeptical at first, but it was much better than I expected. There's just somthing about preparing your own fish sticks that is a little unnerving for me...

...perhaps that is because I had my first real experience with TICKS! I will never be able to listen to Brad Paisley's song "Ticks" the same again. I found one on my neck and another crawling across my blanket after we had spent the day outside. And, to make things worse, I had to call Eli outside TWICE to pick on out of Cosmo's ears... one of those episodes took place in the car earlier this morning. The are absolutely the most horrid things I have experienced, and I am scared to death of them. I can't talk about it any more, I'm getting nauseous.

Check out my pages!

I decided that I would spend each Sunday catching up on my scrapbooking pages. I have included a link in the sidebar- check them out!
http://picasaweb.google.com/astephens24/DigitalScrapbookingPages

Trying to stand up

I sat Jax in front of his toy box on the floor today and went to fix dinner. I heard some squealing and walked into the living room to find him standing up, holding on to the scrawny basket with all his might! It was pretty cute. He was really proud of himself! He stood up for a good two minutes (at least!) before (dare I admit it?) toppling forward into the basket. He didn't get hurt, but it did scare him a little bit. Poor little guy, but getting so big!

A Weak Attempt to Catch up

I realized that it has been almost a month since I did our last post... that's so long! So I thought I would take a minute to try to catch up.

• Jax is MOBILE!! He still seems to favor the "army crawl" over a real hands-and-knees crawl. He goes all over the house, including loving to help himself to a snack from Cosmo's dish every now and then. He also thinks it's pretty great to pull the fishing line out of Daddy's pole.
• It's that time of year again- finals... YIKES!! Eli and I have both been going pretty crazy trying to wrap up our semesters. I will be going to school all summer and graduating in August. Eli is styding to re-take the DAT (Dental Admissions Test) during the Spring semester. He will spend about 8 hours per day doing so, and I'm sure it will keep him busy.

I think that pretty much summarizes everything. We haven't really been doing anything too crazy... Eli's mom and her friend Dorrie came into town and we had a great time getting to spend some time with them. We went to a great restaurant ("The Mayan") where we had great food and great entertainment. They also enjoyed some camping, but Jax and I stayed home as we had a bad bout with a cold and the flu.

We're looking forward to celebrating Brad's graduation with him here within the next couple of weeks. CONGRATULATIONS BRAD!! Finally all of your hard work has paid off!

I'll do what I can to post some pictures soon. Till then.....

My First Haircut!

Today I found my first Balloon...

...And it was awesome. My mom let me play with it for a while! She tied it around my wrist so that the harder I flapped my arms the more fun it would be! I played with it for a really long time, but then I decided that dad's XBox 360 would be more fun, so I scooted over there. My fun didn't last very long, though... My Mom's pretty quick now-days.

Oh the places you'll go!

Now that Jax is mobile he's having a great time getting around, and we constantly find him under tables. Kitchen table or coffee table... it does not matter. Today he had fun playing under his high chair. If you look closely in the second picture you can see his back arched up as much as possible... he was trying to pull himself up with all his might!

Happy 76th Birthday Grandma Newton!

We had a wonderful time celebrating with Grandma yesterday for her 76th birthday party. I planned a little surprise party and several of the cousins who were in the neighborhood came over to join us in on the celebration. We had a great time with Kjarsta, Robert, Amber, and Spencer Salmon, Brad & Erica, McKay, Eli and Jax. Michael Stanley also stopped by for a minute or two. It was really special and we all had a great time.

Our latest trick....

I put Jax in his crib to play for a minute while I restocked his diapers in the diaper hanger. I then took a minute to reorganize some things in our drawers... LITERALLY one minute... and here is what I saw:
What am I going to do?? My little Cashew is growing up waaaaayyy toooooooo fast!! Well, here is a video of his latest trick:

Ggi Comes to Town!

Jax's Great Grandma Newton (Ggi) came into town to help me out while I was on bedrest from surgery. This was her first time meeting Jax, and they have really hit it off. She has been a real lifesaver, doing laundry, cooking every single meal (!!!!!), taking care of me, Jax and Eli, walking Cosmo, cleaning the house... need I go on?? Here is a photo of her giving Jax a bath. They had a great time!

Who Needs a Gall Bladder Anyway?

Just thought I would take a minute to update the blog and let everyone know that I had my gall bladder successfully removed on Friday. I'm still really sore, but hopefully this will keep me out of the ER since I've been in there 3 times in the last 4 weeks. They were able to remove it laproscopically, so I only have four 1" incisions on my belly. Hopefully they won't really scar very badly.

I'm looking at a 5-7 day recovery before I jump back into school. My Grandma Newton drove down to take care of us, bless her heart, and we have kept her busy while she does laundry, cooks meals, takes care of Jax, and caters to my every whim. What a champion!

Jax Practices Walking

Jax is {somewhat} Mobile

Jax and David Wrestle

Babies!

Mary and David Saumweber came over to keep us company today... just a couple of babes hanging out! we had a great times as the babies showed off their latest tricks. Little David is crawling all over the floor and pulling himself up on furniture... he's 3 weeks older than Jax. Jax tried to keep up...... he'll keep working on it! He did, however, stand up by himself with no help in sight for 5 whole seconds!! Is this a preview for the upcoming month??

Time with Family

Here are some more pictures from when Nathanael and Alyssa! We took Eli's brother Nate and his girlfriend to the Mayan Restaurant. It is a really cool place! The food is decent, but the atmosphere and show of live divers and fire dancers is what makes it quite an attraction! We had a great time, and Jax got his first taste of Pina Colada! (virgin of course). He was suprised by how cold it was, but he ended up really liking it!

When the Ox is in the Mire...

Is there anyone else that can say that they called for a tow from AAA and officially got rejected from every towing company in the valley!? Well, the Stephens Family can!

As the boys were driving into the campsite on Saturday, they drove Mike's truck about 100 yards off of the main road (although the road they were on was still paved) and suddenly sunk into about three feet of snow. The frame of the truck was even in the snow! They figured they would flag some people down later to help them out, so they went about building a fire and hiking around for fun. Later, when they decided it was time to head home, they tried to get the truck out... to no avail! They finally flagged down a jeep and a local sheriff to team pull them out. Instead, the jeep and sheriff got stuck too!

Some snowmobilers drove by and stopped to help. They were able to pull out the jeep and the sheriff, but Mike's truck stayed sunken in the snow.

The next day was Sunday and we decided the ox was in the mire and we had to get the truck out. (The truck being the ox, the mire being the snow!!). I brought them a bunch of snow shovels and they started digging... but every time they made progress with the truck it would hit another patch of powder and they would just sink in again.

It wasn't until about 11pm on Sunday night that we finally freed the truck! It took about 15 people pushing the truck backward while simultaneously two snowmobiles pulled it with some ropes. After it got close enough, a tow truck was able to hook up its wench and pull it the remaining 40 yards or so. Needless to say it was an adventure!

Here are some fun pictures. There is one of me making a funny face, but that is because the moose is in the background :) Enjoy!!