Angel Moroni

On May 15th the Angel Moroni was put on top of the Gilbert Temple. We were there earlier in the day & took a picture before but right when they did it the boys were sleeping & it was well over 100 degrees & I was worried how long it would be ok to have Ryan out in the sun/heat so we watched unfold on Facebook through friends that were there. Here is my "before" picture.

Here's the process through my friend Tina Hansen's camera. (Hope it's ok that I copied some of your pictures Tina)

 These are my "after" pictures from a little later in the day.

It's so wonderful to literally see a temple being built for us.

Mother's Day

It was a great Mother's Day once again this year complete w/flowers, breakfast in bed, pictures drawn by the boys, jar of my favorite candy, & awesome presents. Here are the things they made at school for me. Here's is Alex's from preschool. I love that, to him, my world revolves completely around him.

 Here's what Jameson made. It's his cute silhouette w/a poem (below) on the back.

Klint also got me a bike which I have been wanting for years now. It's so cute & as Klint says "very me". If I remember right this is the very first bike that is actually all mine & isn't a hand -me-down. I love it! (Note: I haven't ridden a bike since I was maybe 10. Please don't laugh if you see me around & I look ridiculous. Thnx.)

I sure love these boys, & feel blessed to be their Mama.

Growing Baby - 1 Month old

I can hardly believe that our little "Baby Ryan" is a month old already. It's already going by way too fast. Here he is compared to his stuffed caterpillar. He now weighs 8lbs. 8oz.

 Here he is in his first camo relaxing with Daddy.

 We still don't get much sleep around here, but he sure is cute when he is sleeping.

 He's always trying to have his arms out.

For some reason he loves sleeping with his arm up by his face. So cute.

 He's totally loosing his hair (male pattern baldness style) except a little tuft right in front that sticks up. I think it's adorable. Love this kid.

Bros

Finally took some pics of the boys in their "Bro Shirts". Here they are.

Love being the Mama of this crew of little "Bros".

The Story of Ryan's "Grammy Blankie"

I'm copying the post from my Mom's blog about this one so I'm sure to get it right. Here it is.

Little Baby Ryan Arrives

(post by Lorraine Jameson aka "Grammy" May 5th, 2012)

April 10, 2012 was a wonderful day for us. We got a call from our kids, Corinne and Klint, saying that they were on the way to hospital for what they hoped was the birth of little baby Ryan. They didn't feel very sure that this was really the day. Corinne had been to the hospital many times during this pregnancy and was pretty convinced this was just another trip there. So, we waited anxiously.

About an hour later we got a skype call and were greeted by this beautiful little boy and his Mom and Dad. It was so wonderful to actually get to see them. Since he was born in the middle of the night in Arizona, we actually got to be the first to see him.

Ryan's name is a special one since it's the name of his Uncle Ryan and his Great-Grandpa Karl Bird. All three of their boys have family names and that makes the name even more special. It's fun too that Corinne used cars made for her boys by their Great-Grandpa Bird for the theme in decorating little Ryan Karl's nursery. She put up the cars, truck and helicopter and then used the brown color scheme for the room, which also contains the cradle and changing table made by Great-Grandpa Bird.

Not being able to resist being a part of this wonderful event, we decided that there just had to be a little quilt to go in Baby Ryan's room. So, we went to work to make it happen. We were determined to get a quilt made and make it a surprise for the family. It was indeed a challenge. I wasn't able to get any fabric that would go with the car theme. They have beautiful bright-colored printed cotton fabrics here in the Congo, but nothing suitable for a baby quilt and nothing BROWN. So, with the help of my good friend in Utah, Beth Ann, the process of getting a quilt made began. She went to work to help me get fabric chosen and delivered to the Congo. This great friend went to fabric stores and took pictures of fabrics. She emailed the pictures to me so I could see what was available and chose the combinations I liked. She made a few trips, sent lots of sample pictures and then went back and bought the ones that I had chosen. She even made the extra effort to be the first person in the store that day, since that gave her a big discount on the fabric. Thanks BA! About that time a new couple was coming to the mission. Beth Ann's sister, who lived near our couple, delivered the fabric to them. Thanks Claudia! They packed it into their already full luggage and brought it to us. Giving up precious packing space was a real sacrifice. Thanks Elder and Sister B. The next job was designing a quilt that would go with the room. I got pictures of the cars, designed patterns and appliqued cars and trucks that match the vehicles made by Great-Grandpa and then figured out the layout, and the fabrics and colors for the sashing.

The next thing I had to do was to explain quilts to our African staff member, Pascal. The whole concept of a quilt was unfamiliar to him. I needed him to get the frames for my project. I had brought clamps from home, but needed the frames. So, I told Pascal that I was making a blanket for our new grandson and needed some boards to help me make it. I told him that I was cutting material into small pieces and then sewing those pieces back together in patterns. Then I'd put some more material inside and backing material on the other side. I'd sew it all back together again. I couldn't believe how silly it sounded as I was explaining it. I knew that Pascal was wondering why I didn't just buy a piece of material to wrap around him. I tried to explain that it was an American tradition and he just wasn't sure about it at all. But he knew that I really wanted those good boards and somehow that would make it so I could make a special blanket for my new grandson. Pascal went to the furniture maker who does all our missionary furniture and the next day we had four great 2x4's all stained and varnished. They're made of hardwood and are the sturdiest, fattest, heaviest, hardest to pierce quilt frames I've ever seen. Thanks Pascal! The clamps that I brought from home were much too small to fit around these big boards and I was distraught. Brent said that he thought there were some industrial strength clamps at the office. It was late at night, but he went right down and found some. Voila! We were back in business. Add four folding chairs for stands and I was ready to go. Thanks Brent!

Conference weekend was the perfect time to enjoy general conference and quilt furiously. Brent took over some household tasks to help out. Thanks again!

We even had to move the quilt aside for a zone leader counsel. It was pretty scary, but we moved the quilt to the office, where there was barely room for it, and the quilting went on.

Finally, on the very day that Ryan Karl Webb was born, the quilt was finished and only the task of getting it to Arizona and to that cute little baby lay ahead.

It happened that some doctors from the US, who were working on a short term humanitarian project, came to Kinshasa and one of them offered to take the quilt to Utah and get it to Uncle Ryan and Aunt Linsey so they could send it to Baby Ryan. Then he said that he would actually mail it himself. So, we left it in his care and headed to our conference in South Africa, with his promise that it would be sent as soon as he got home. And it was! They even gift-wrapped it for us. Thanks Doctor and Sister D! 

Stacy set up the surprise opening of the package. She arrange for us to be on skype when Corinne and Klint opened their package. Thanks Stacy!

This little quilt was indeed a labor of love from a lot of wonderful people, but little Ryan is doing well and now he even has a "grammy blanket." We love you, Baby Ryan. Thanks everybody!

Epilogue 

(By Corinne) 

Thanks so much Mom & all those who helped make it possible. It means more than words could express for us to have this special gift that required so much effort & sacrifice. We love his new "Grammy Blankie". Jameson & Alex are so happy that Ryan got "his very own Grammy Blankie" so now they each have a special one made by Grammy. Ryan loves it too. Thanks Everyone!

Ryan's first bath by Daddy

A couple of days after we got home from the hospital Daddy, with the help of Alex Gave Ryan his first bath at home. Daddy has never been around for any of the other boys' first baths cause he had to go to school/work. This time he had almost 2 weeks off work so he got to give the first bath. Only thing is that Ryan HATES his baths. Daddy gave the bath while Alex tried to keep him happy by holding his hand, talking to him, etc. Here are the pics.

Not a happy baby.

Alex even tried making funny faces for Ryan to make him happy.

It was a good try, but sadly it didn't work.

 He did get nice & clean though so it was still a success. He still hates his baths though.

Ryan's 1st Hospital Visit

Apparently Ryan has decided he's gonna continue to keep us on our toes. His latest way to do that was with a 2 day stay in Cardon Children's Hospital ICU. Last Wed night we went to visit Klint's sister Vanessa who had just moved here (Yay). About 7pm we piled in the car to head home & just as we pulled out of the driveway Ryan suddenly started screaming his head off. It sounded off, so Klint stopped & got out to see what was going on. He was screaming so hard he was turning red, & purple, then he suddenly stopped crying turned his head to the side, his eyes rolled back, & he wouldn't respond. We tried getting him to respond but it took about 3 mins before he started responding. It was a pretty scary 3 mins & even Jameson & Alex were concerned. (Jameson started to cry cause he wanted to know "what is wrong with brother.") Klint & I had a bad feeling, so we decided we'd better head over to the ER to make sure he was ok. We called my sister Jen & she met us at home to take care of the older boys so Klint & I could take Ryan to the ER. As soon as we got to the ER they got us right back & hooked him up to monitors. They were thinking it was either seizures or a congenital heart defect & they started blood work & tests right away. We called my brother Scott who lives close to Cardon's & he came to the hospital & helped Klint give Ryan a blessing. By that time everyone was zeroing in on a substantial heart murmur Ryan has & they were pretty sure it was a heart defect that was causing this. Heart issues are something that runs in my family and I have always been very worried that one of my kids would have one so I was pretty freaked out at that point. When everyone stopped, took a step back & watched Klint & Scott give Ryan a blessing  you could feel the Spirit so strongly. Everyone in the room was suddenly quiet & calm. I don't remember all that was said in the blessing, but at one point Klint paused in the blessing, got really emotional & then blessed Ryan "to be made whole." As soon as he said those words I immediately was calm & knew for sure that it was going to be ok. As they concluded the blessing I looked up to see everyone in the room, nurses & all, wiping tears from their eyes. It was an amazing moment & I truly believe we witnessed the healing power of the Priesthood & that our sweet little Ryan had been very litterally healed. While things were still scary, (they were now saying we would probably be spending a day or two in the hospital) I knew without a doubt that it would be ok and I never had another fearful moment for the rest of the time were were in the hospital. 

Ryan was pretty good throughout the tests, but every time they did something new (draw blood, IV, etc) he would have another episode so everyone got to see them. They said they'd never seen anything like it. It just happened when he got mad. They ended up admitting him for what they were then pretty sure was a heart defect & sending him up to the ICU so they could monitor him closely. We spent the next 2 days there having tests run & being monitored. He had blood work, an EKG, an Echocardiogram, an EEG & an MRI of his brain. Thankfully all the tests were came back normal. After eliminating all the "big stuff" they decided that it was "breath holding spells" which the neurologist said was VERY rare. He said in his career he had only seen 1 other newborn who had them. Kids don't usually have them until 18mo-2yrs & they usually grow out of them by about 3 or 4yrs old. He said the good news was it wasn't hurting him & he never really stops breathing longer than one could hold their breath, so he was fine, but the bad news was "he's gonna drive you crazy for the next 3-4 years". I told him I would take it over seizures or heart defect. While we were in the hospital he was having 6-7 episodes a day, but now that we're home it's not as often, & it's still always when he gets mad. He was such a cute little trooper so I got a few pictures of him having the tests. 

 Having an EKG in the ER

 With his IV or as we called it his "transformer arm"

 Here he is snoozing away hooked up to tons of monitors. 

 Such a cutie.

 More hooked up to monitors

 Here he is having his EEG to check for seizures.

We are so grateful everything came back clear even though it was an eventful couple of days.