Birthday Girl!

We had a WONDERFUL time celebrating Grace's 2nd birthday today! She has been waiting and waiting for this, as the presents piled up in my bedroom, and we talked about how old she'd be, and what kind of cake she would have... and finally her birthday came!

Mike went in and got her today, and sang, "Happy Birthday" to her. You could've heard her squeal a mile away! She was SO excited that it was finally here!

Unfortunately, Mike had to work, so we didn't get to celebrate until tonight. But, we had fun today playing and blowing up balloons and doing laundry and cleaning. Well, the playing and balloons were fun, anyways. :) The rest was just a necessity. And, she was obviously upset about having to wait. So hard being 2!


When Mike got home, we had her favorite dinner (or, at least, she likes it a lot... not sure if she has a favorite): Creamy Italian Chicken. She chanted, "Yum! Yum!" between every bite, making me feel like the best chef in the world.

After dinner, we opened presents. She got:

- her birthday dress, tights, and new church shoes from us


- dress-up shoes, play food, and play pots/pans from my parents and Kaity (Kaity gave her some stickers, a fun pen, and a birthday pin, too)



- a snap-on dress up doll from Mike's parents


- a doll, blanets, and a pink bunny from Great Granny


- $20 from Nano

She freaked out opening every single present. She squealed and laughed and gasped every time. She's so over-dramatic and so much fun!

She is absolutely obsessed with Nemo... she'd watch it every day, if I'd let her. Adam also was obsessed with Nemo when he was 2 and I made him a Nemo cake then. I repeated the same for her (knew I kept the pan around for something). She LOVED it!


Happy Birthday, sweet Grace! Hope all your wishes come true this year! (And that my wish, of the terrible two's not hitting too hard, comes true, too. :) )

Reflecting on Grace's Birthday Eve

Shortly after Grace was born, I read a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. It says:

"You were made perfectly to be loved.
And surely I have loved you,
In the idea of you,
My whole life long."

I remember holding her in my arms and reading this poem, and having the two just click. It described exactly how I felt about her. She was made perfectly to be loved, and somehow, somewhere in me, I've loved her always.

I can't compare the love I feel for Adam and Grace; I just know that I don't love one more than the other. They are both incredible. However, Grace and I have this bond. It's hard to explain. In some ways, it's because she needs me. Adam has always been very independent, very in control, very non-attached. It was no problem for him to give up his bottle or pacifier. He has never been attached to a blanket or a toy. He's very logical and smart. Grace, however, needs me. Just as much as I need her. She's a mama's girl through-and-through. I love it.

In other ways, I know it's because how much she has helped me. Literally, it was her and her sweet spirit and innocent mind and beautiful face, that got me through dark times. I have never felt as lost as I did after she was born. I remember being in the hospital, just having learned I had a tumor and that it looked cancerous, and thinking, "How cruel is it to have been given her, when I might die and lose her." Having her helped me pull through those sad days. To realize that life is good and wonderful, and that she was evidence of that. That Heavenly Father was aware of me and my family, and that all would be well. She's my angel.

She's full of light, energy, sweetness, and hope. Looking at her is a testimony to me that Heavenly Father loves me. He sent her to us, because He knew how much she was needed and wanted and how much she would be loved and how much she would love us. I'm so thankful for her.

Now... enough with the emotion-ess. Grace turns 2 tomorrow, and it's time to get ready to party! Pictures and details tomorrow!

Girl Trouble

Adam got in the car after school today very quiet. I asked him what was up, and he told me that he was confused: he had squished a centipede and now a girl hates him.

Apparently, on the playground, a girl had found a "worm" (she says it was a worm, Adam says it was a centipede... I think the girl is probably right :) ). She was watching it, and called to Adam to come look at it. Adam bent down, saw that the worm had "legs", and immediately told the girl to "back away" and stepped on it.

She was distraught, and starting crying, "You killed George!" She ran to the teacher, and Adam ran with her. She told the teacher what happened, and then the teacher asked Adam what happened. He said, "I was saving her. Centipedes are poisonous and she could have died! I squished it before it could bite her! I don't know why she's mad." His teacher told them that she believed both of them, and that she was sorry that the girl was sad, but happy that Adam was brave.

However, as they walked back to the classroom, the girl told Adam, "I will never sit by you again. And you will never be my friend! I hate you!"

Adam, after he finished telling me the story, looked at me, and said, "I just don't get girls. I was saving her life, and she's mad at me. Weird!"

Yes, Adam, girls are weird. :)

First Day of School

Adam had a GREAT first day of school! He woke up this morning early and could not wait. He's in afternoon kindergarten, though, so it was a LONG morning of, "How long, Mom?" "How long NOW, Mom?" Finally, it was time to leave... we dropped him off, he ran into his classroom without a look back. This is him putting his backpack in his cubby with his teacher.


I came back home, with visions of Grace and I having so much fun together; her first time as an 'only child'... we'd paint nails and play dolls and color. It was going to be great. However, she had other plans:


I can't blame her for sleeping the entire 3 hours... it is the first real nap she's ever had in some ways (older brothers who want to play with their sisters constantly, does not make for good napping), and I think she was enjoying our quiet house. At least I got to catch up on some homework while she slept.

We picked him up, and he was so excited to tell us about his day. He made friends, colored, read books, had a puppet show, played basketball, and even got an invite to play at someone's house. There wasn't much learning that went on, but I'm hoping that's a first-day thing. We ran over to D.I. so he could report to Mike on his exciting day.

I'm still not in love with this charter school, but I have to keep reminding myself it's SO much better than the school he was assigned to, so I think we made the right choice. He is so excited to go back tomorrow!

"They Did Not Doubt"

I was seriously fine with the thought of Adam going starting school tomorrow. Everyone kept saying to me, "You're going to cry," but I just laughed this off. Not that I'm not going to miss him (I will), but I'm excited for him to begin school. For him to meet so many new friends and have new experiences and have fun and to learn. And... he's only going to be gone 3.25 hours a day, 4 days a week. It really didn't seem HUGE, you know? Next year when he'll be gone 8 hours a day, THAT'S when it will be hard. I was fine with it now, though.

Or, rather, I was completely fine until Sunday School yesterday.

We had our lesson on the stripling warriors. How their mothers taught them everything that they needed to know. How much faith they had because of their mothers. How that's why they were successful in the battles. THEN, I broke down. Like, crying-in-the-middle-of- class-and-everyone-thinks-I'm-strange-because-it's-NOT-a-
sad-story.

I just couldn't stop thinking, "Have I taught him everything he needs to know to go out to 'battle'?" The world can be so scary, and he's going to face things he's never had to before. I know this sounds over-dramatic, but even when I was in kindergarten I remember kids doing/saying things that I had never seen/heard before. And the world is an even different place now. He's always been so protected at home... we've monitored everything he's seen/heard/said... and it's not going to be that way anymore. The world is going to begin to influence him, too. I know he's only going to be gone three hours a day... but, still, is he ready?

He is an amazing boy with an amazing testimony. He's such an example to me. I want to be more like the mothers of the stripling warriors, though... I don't want him or Grace to doubt. Someday, when they really DO have to face a battle in the world, I want them to be prepared.

Yeah, I think I'm going to cry tomorrow. Darn! :)

Craft Opinions?

So, I'm in charge of putting our Super Saturday together. I've been researching some options, and these are my final choices, and then we'll narrow it down from here. So, before I go to the RS Presidency with my ideas... what do you guys think? Good/bad? Would you do ANY of these or have any suggestions? We're going to do a service project of some sorts, too, as well as a few crafts that the RS President has in mind.

I know that there is a lot of wood things, but I was trying to keep it under $5, and everything else seemed so expensive... and several families in our ward have wood for free/can cut the wood. So, they're an inexpensive option.

Anyone else have any ideas?

- Testimony Blocks (5.5" x 5.5") ($3.00)


- "Look What _ Made" magnets ($2.00)


- Holiday Outlet Covers (possibly other holidays, too) ($.50)


- Scrabble Pendants ($1.00-$2.00... depending on how many people sign up)


- Valentine's (or possibly a different holiday) Stackers ($4.00)


All the vinyl projects are from Deidre at Wall Frenzee.

Fun Back-to-School Idea

So, everyone else has probably already started school, and Adam starts in just a few days. However, I saw this fun idea for counting down to school on this blog. Thought I'd share.

It's a little twist on the chain countdown. You cut strips of construction paper and write one thing to do to get ready to go back to school (buy supplies, practice writing, etc.) on each.. She also glued a candy on the inside of each link on the chain (we skipped the candy part... bah, I know, but I don't need to be tempted with extra chocolate right now!). Staple (or glue) them together to form a chain. Each day, pull one off, do the task for the day, and then enjoy the treat once completed. Our chain includes boring stuff (like buying new underwear and one more pair of shorts), some education items (like practicing first AND last name), and some fun stuff (like going bowling one more time).

It also seems like a fun (simple) way to count down/get ready for the holidays... earn money for presents, go caroling, buy presents, etc. could all go on the links. I might try that this year.

Future Blackmail Material

I don't think this was exactly what my mom had in mind when she brought up my old dance clothes for Grace to play "dress up" with. This is definitely one to keep around for future dates. :)

Another Thing I Like About Here

I had no idea that corporal punishment was still legal in so many states. I honestly thought it had been done away with altogether... crazy! I'm finding more and more things I like about where I live, and now can add this to the list, because it's banned here. Wow.

(Nothing against people who are for corporal punishment... I just don't happen to be one of them.)

Results

So, I got the results from my CT scan back today. I have lots of swollen lymph nodes (in the neck, below the ear, and the lump in my cheek is an elongated swollen node). However, they are all less than a centimeter big, which means, that they aren't 'technically' considered enlarged. Even though they are. So, he told me to come back in 6 months for another CT scan to make sure they are still the same size, but for now to not worry about it.

For some reason, this news makes me feel slightly worse than it would of if it had shown I had a tumor. Which sounds strange, I know. But, I've had this lump/swollen nodes/pain in the area for a year and a half now. SOMETHING is going on. From everything I've read, lymph nodes should not be constantly swollen for that long. I haven't really been sick, either, you know, so something must be happening.

I don't want to sound like a hypochondriac or anything, because I honestly don't WANT anything to be wrong, but I just hate being told, "I don't know." Because there has to be an answer. And I'd rather find out what it was and take care of it, than play the "I don't know" game. Ugh. So frustrating. The ENT did suggest maybe going back to my primary care doctor and getting a physical/blood work done just to make sure there isn't some sort of weird infection going on. So, I think that's what I'll do.

I'm very, very thankful to not have a parotid tumor, though. And Adam is completely excited to have all of the films of my CT scan. (He is very, very into science things-he was completely upset he couldn't watch Grace's bronchoscopy-so seeing inside of my head is just the coolest thing ever to him).

We had a great weekend with my parents, and have a super-busy week coming up this week: enrichment tomorrow, an open house at Adam's school Friday (where he meets his teacher), and Mike's parents are coming for a visit this weekend. Can't wait!

He Actually Ate Broccoli... for Breakfast!

It's a hard thing to get Adam to eat vegetables. Or fruit. Or really anything other than peanut butter and honey sandwiches with apples. So, that's why I almost fainted this morning when I was in the process of making him his usual PB&H, and he begged to instead have leftovers from last night's dinner.

I had tried a new recipe (below), and we all thought it was pretty good, but I had no idea I'd get this kind of reaction from Adam. I'm stunned.

I mean he willingly ate broccoli for breakfast. Wow! That. Has. Never. Happened.

Creamy Crockpot Chicken & Broccoli over Rice

3-4 boneless chicken breasts
1 14oz can cream of chicken soup (I used low-fat)
1 14 oz can cheddar soup
1 14 oz can chicken broth
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon Cajun seasoning
¼ teaspoon garlic salt seasoning
1 Cup sour cream
6 Cups broccoli florets, lightly steamed, just fork tender ( I cook it in boiling water for 3-4 minutes)
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
Rice, cooked (we prefer short grain brown rice)

1. Place soups, chicken broth, salt, Cajun and garlic seasoning into a crockpot over low heat. Whisk until smooth. Place chicken in, pressing to the bottom. Cover lid and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours.

2. When chicken is cooked, use 2 forks to shred into bite size pieces. Stir in sour cream and broccoli.

3. Serve over steamed rice and sprinkle with cheese.

(Image and recipe from Jenny at Picky Palate)

Bitter Much?

Adam really, really wanted our men's gymnastics team to win. Obviously. His picture is of a gymnast as he jumps off the rings. And we will be working on not using the word 'hate' soon... probably after the Olympics. :)

(BTW, we are having so much fun-and staying up way, way too late-watching these Olympics. Adam is especially getting into it, by making his own gymnastics apparatus' and attempting to perform on them, and his own dives. I have to keep reminding him we don't want any more ER visits. :) )

On CT Scans...

So, I had my very first (and hopefully last) CT scan today. And... it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Definitely a lot faster than I thought.

A few notes:

- Being completely blind without glasses/contacts helps take the edge off. I couldn't see a thing that was happening, and that works for me!

- The dye put in me was just the weirdest experience ever. It made my mouth taste like metal for about 30 seconds, and then I felt HOT. And after a bit it all went away. Strange, strange feeling.

- I was told to drink LOTS of water to help flush the dye out before/after the scan. Being the over-achiever that I am, I guzzled 64 oz. this morning. This made the scan rather uncomfortable as all that water hit me about halfway through. And resulted in me almost knocking the tech over in my rush to get to the restroom after it was over.

- We left Adam and Grace with an associate from Mike's work. She took the day off for this, and she didn't HAVE to do that, but I will love her forever for it. Anyway, it was Grace's first non-family baby-sitter, and she didn't cry a bit. Not sure whether I'm happy about that or sad. Is she over being a Mama's girl already (sad) or should I be happy that she's starting to be more independent. Hmmmm.... And she wouldn't even let us pay her. How sweet is that?

So, in summary, if you ever have to get a scan: go blind and don't drink too much water before, and you'll be fine. :)

We get the results Monday, and I'm pretty sure I know what they're going to say. But, I'm trying to be as positive as possible.

Want to Know What Women Want? Ask Adam.

Mike and Adam had this conversation while I was getting ready this morning:

Mike: Adam, you need to get dressed.
Adam: Why?
Mike: Because Mommy has to go to the doctor.
[pause]
Adam: Dad, I finally figured out how to make Mommy happy.
Mike: How?
Adam: You have to do everything she tells you to do, and some things that she doesn't tell you to do. It's tricky.

I've taught him everything he needs to know. His wife will thank me. :)

The Details

Last year when we learned about our health insurance changes, and we found out that we'd be paying more should we have to go to the hospital, I remember telling Mike, "It will be fine. We will just have to make sure that absolutely nothing goes wrong."

I love eating my words. :)

Grace was hospitalized on Tuesday morning, set to have an emergency bronchoscopy to remove the peanut pieces that she had aspirated, which were giving her a lung infection. They gave her a lovely blue gown (that made everyone think she was a boy), some more x-rays, an IV with steroids and antibiotics, oxygen, and blood tests. She was so angry at having her personal space invaded so much. Adam was a trooper, waiting the whole time with us. After the tests, Grace (exhausted) fell asleep for approximately 2.5 seconds before she had to wake up. Poor girl.



After meeting with the pediatric surgeons/specialists, they were able to make a slot for her in the OR. They got her into the operating room at 2:20, and after 2 hours, removed this (don't look if you gross out easily):


Yeah, it's kinda gross that surgeon brought it to us. But kinda cool, too. And, no, I'm NOT going to scrapbook it, like the woman in the OR waiting room suggested. Ewwww. SO hope she was kidding.

The surgeon came and talked to us afterward (he was amazing, BTW). He told us that her body had built a HUGE mass around the 3 peanut pieces to "protect" itself when they were aspirated, and when he initially looked at it thought the mass was a tumor. He didn't know how he was going to tell a 2-year-old's mom that her daughter had a lung tumor. He said that he was going to end the procedure and talk to an oncologist, but decided to go ahead and scrape it for a biopsy. He did, and in the center he found the nuts! So, so thankful that he "happened" to biopsy it, and the problem was taken care of.

I was able to go back into the recovery room with her, and seeing her under anesthesia with breathing tubes will NOT make the list of 'greatest moments in my life'. It was awful seeing her like that. The anesthesiologist was concerned because she still hadn't woken up after an hour, and then he asked if she had been sleeping well at home. Ummm... no. He told me she was probably just enjoying her first real 'rest' for a week and a half. She woke up a little while later, coughing and hoarse, but after several breathing treatments, doing okay.


We had a really, really rough night. She was in pain from the breathing tubes, hungry, extremely thirsty, completely sick of the IV, oxygen monitor, and oxygen mask, and the hourly nurse checks didn't help things. She is a very determined and stubborn little thing, and by about 9:00, she was determined that no one or no thing would touch her, and begin trying to rip everything out. So she was immobilized with lots of tape.


At 2:00 in the morning, she gave up on fighting, and began screaming that her neck had an 'ow' and I begged the nurses for some juice for her and some pain meds. After 3 juice boxes, 2 Popsicle's, and some Motrin, she was the happiest girl ever, and completely charmed everyone. However, after the 'yummies' and attention wore off, she was completely done with her bed, so I ended up holding her the rest of the night.

By morning, her doctor's were amazed at how well she was doing: she had a 99-100% oxygen saturation, was coughing everything out, and keeping fluids down. They let her eat lunch, and she wolfed down a large bowl of spaghetti-os, pudding, chicken nuggets, fries, and cake (healthy... notsomuch). When her surgeon learned that she had eaten (and kept) everything down, he okay-ed her going home, which I guess rarely happens so soon.

We're home and catching up on sleep and caring for Grace and cleaning up after the 'boys night' Adam and Mike had last night (which apparently involved Gatorade and playing Xbox until 3 am). I am so, so thankful that she is doing so well. It was such a testimony to us to see Heavenly Father's hand in our lives during this, as things worked out so well, and she recovered so quickly. So thankful that Mike's boss gave him the time off work, and that Adam was so good at the hospital (we couldn't find a sitter). Thank you all for your calls, thoughts, and prayers.

We are so blessed.

As If Things Couldn't Get Any Crazier Around Here...

For the past week, Grace has been waking up in the middle of the night coughing. She stays up from about 2 in the morning on and coughs the rest of the night. She's been miserable and exhausted (though you wouldn't know it from how much trouble she's still making :) ). We tried humidifiers, saline, the doctor's meds, etc., and nothing has helped. The doctor at the Urgent Care had told me that the phlegm in her lungs from the RAD could take a little while to come out, but this was getting ridiculous.

So, I took her into the doctor today, and her pediatrician was extremely worried about her: fast pulse, low oxygen, lots of effort to breathe. After a breathing treatment, Grace improved a little. The doctor was pretty sure she had asthma (said there was no way she had RAD), but wanted to get a chest x-ray to make sure.

We got the chest x-ray (cute story below about this), filled up on her breathing treatment meds, and headed home. As soon as we got there, the doctor called. She told us that the radiologist had found a "foreign body" in her right lung, and wants her to go to a Pediatric Pumonologist ASAP. At first I freaked out... what does a foreign body mean exactly? Scary stuff.

About two seconds later, I realized exactly what the foreign body was: a peanut. Choking on peanuts is what began this whole coughing-wheezing-breathing problem thing to begin with. And her having aspirated one into her lungs makes complete sense. So much sense.

I feel so horribly, terribly guilty. How could I have let her walk around for almost 2 weeks with a peanut in her lungs? How could I have given them to her in the first place? I have been reading about how many children die from aspirating a peanut... I had no idea. How could I not have had any idea? Her (prior) doctor had even suggested nuts to us as a healthy (fattening) snack, as long as I watched her. I had no idea that they were so dangerous. They are! Do not give your children peanuts until they are 4. I've read a gazillion baby books... how did I miss that fact? Everyone else in the world seems to know it. How uncomfortable has she been with it there? I can't even say just how bad I feel. My poor girly-girl!

Hopefully, she will get into the doctor tomorrow (cross your fingers) and we can find out how to get this taken care of. The craziness just never ends here. I wonder what it would be like to be normal for once. :)

So, we will keep everyone updated on that.

And needless to say, there will be no more peanuts allowed in our home. :)

Now, onto the cute story: At the radiologist, the tech had Grace sit up to the plate (no idea what the technical name is), and wrap her arms around it, so she could take the xray. She told Grace she was going to take a picture, and it would be over soon. Grace's face just lit up at the word 'picture.' She put both of her fists under her chin, tilted her head, and gave the cutest smile ever. The tech just cracked up, "Not that kind of picture, sweetie, but you are very good at that." Even with a foreign object in her lungs, she's still a ham.

Good to know.

Randoms, Randoms, Randoms

- I have banned all permanent-ink markers from our home. However, Grace found one in the back of her closet (no idea how it got there), and went to town. Not sure if she was going for the zebra or tiger look. She will look tres chic in her dress tomorrow at church.


- Adam had SO much fun at his Primary activity today. First, they divided into groups and ate food from their countries (hope he doesn't really go to Bolivia someday, because he's not a fan of the food). Next, they played a relay game where they had to put on a suit, ring a doorbell, run back, get undressed, and tag the next person in line. He wants us to play this for FHE on Monday. :) Then, they learned about being member missionaries and how to prepare for missions now (he told me very seriously that before you go on a mission you have to get a "temple lick-a-mend"). The last thing they did was bake cookies for the missionaries who are serving in our ward. Fun day!

- While Adam was at church, Grace and I hit Target. I found some fun clearanced 'bug items' in the summer section, and Adam has been going to town finding bugs outside with them. (Plus, now his cicada shell has a home. Phew! I don't mind it, but didn't particularly like it on the counter, either).

- Breaking Dawn came out today, and I had planned on buying it at Target. When I got there, though, I thought, "How fun would it be to wait to read it until my CT scan?" That way, I will have something to do/get my mind off of the IV and waiting. It will give me something to look forward to about the day, anyways. :) So, I'm waiting 10 more days, and avoiding the Internet so it's not spoiled for me. :) So, shhhh!


- Grace crawled onto the counter today and took a drink out of the fish bowl, something she declared "Yum! Yum!" before I realized what she was doing and grabbed her. Ewww. Tonight, she took one bite of her enchilada, and screached, "Yuk!" Please pass how that makes sense! (No pic of her in the fishbowl-obviously-but here is her climbing onto the counter again. This girl has muscles!)


Happy Saturday, everyone!

Conversation at the Park

Mike overheard this conversation between Adam and another little boy last night at the park:

Boy: So, what's your name?
Adam: Adam. What's yours?
Boy: Adrian.
Adam: (angrily) Look, I don't speak Spanish, okay?

Issues much, bud?

Cicadas (aka My Kinda Bug)

So, we've had the loudest buzzing in our trees for weeks now. Can't believe how loud it's been. Today, when we went to drop off the rent, we saw holes in the ground, and I realized that the cicadas must have emerged!

We went on a little walk, and found a bunch of the empty cicada shells. We gathered some (do you like our extremely scientific instruments?) and brought them home to look at. It's been fun reading about these cool little bugs. Adam loves the video of watching them molt, too.


Normally, I'm pretty squeamish around bugs, but I can handle cicadas. They burrow under the ground as eggs, come out after 2-17 years (depending on the type), go to the tree, shed their skin and leave. They don't harm plants or humans. And I've never seen one alive, just heard them and seen their empty shells.


Now that's my kinda bug.

Waiting Rooms and Ward Parties

Grace went to the urgent care on Sunday, I went to the ENT on Tuesday, and yesterday Adam went to the dermatologist. My poor kids have pretty much lived in waiting rooms this week. And probably picked up a whole slew of germs from them.

So, Adam has 3 warts on his hands that have been there for awhile. They didn't bother him, and they didn't bother me, so we left them alone. Getting closer to school, though, I realized I didn't want him teased or anything (you know kids), so at his 5-year check, we asked his doctor to remove them.

He said he couldn't because they were too close to the nail, so he sent us to a dermatologist. I've never had a wart removed, but when I worked at a pediatrician's office, she used to just freeze them off. I thought it would be a quick procedure, you know?

His dermatologist doesn't like the freezing thing, though, so he put some "extract of bark beetle" on it (so not kidding), that hopefully will take care of it after 4-6 applications, each which require a follow-up appointment to make sure it's going okay. And if it doesn't work, he'll try something else. What?!? I love Adam, but the appointment yesterday took 2 hours (with the waiting and all), and all those specialist co-pays add up. It sounds like a bit much for something as non-life threatening as warts. I'm thinking of just going out and buying the Dr. Scholl's wart remover tonight.

Anyway, we hurried home from the doctor's office to throw this cake together and take it to our ward party. I just love our ward (have I mentioned that already?). Last night we had a Court of Honor/Ward Potluck. It was fun to get to see everyone mid-week and celebrate the boys' accomplishments. They earned a ton of merit badges! This month, we're going to have a ward talent show, which should be SO much fun. Can't wait for that.

Adam really, really wants to perform for it. But, we'll see have to see. :)