4 Things ...

Okay, Kimi tagged us all to do a different 'set' ... of four this time ... hee hee!

Jobs I've had:
Shopko - in High School and College ... I needed in-state residency, what can I say?!
Clinique and Esteé Lauder ... seriously a fun, no-brainer job. Loved it.
Graphic Designer ... (Melaleuca, I.F. / Nutraceutical, Park City / Valley Media, Salt Lake City)
Art Director ... (Learnframe, Salt Lake City / Keller Citizen, Fort Worth, TX / Yoke's, Spokane)

4 Places I Have Lived:
IDAHO ... Boise, Idaho Falls and currently Coeur d'Alene
UTAH ... Logan (born there when mom & dad were in school, and I went to school there too!)
Salt Lake (Oh my: Holladay, Ft. Union, Sandy, Murray, South Jordan and Lehi-all in 6 yrs.)
TEXAS ... Gainesville and Denton
WASHINGTON ... Spokane - does living at work count, ha ha ...

4 Favorite TV Shows:
Grey's Anatomy
That 70's Show ... cracks me up.
Jeopardy ... nerd alert!
Brothers & Sisters

4 Places I've Been On Holiday:
Vermont in the Fall
Florida in the Humidity
Georgia ... georgeous
Hawaii ... loved snorkeling at sunrise - no one else around ... heaven!

4 Favorite Dishes:
Mom's Swiss Steak
Jim's chili or goulash ... SO yummy.
Tortilla Soup
Ryan's Pizza!

4 Websites I visit:
Worth1000.com (Photoshop contests - hilarious!)
Apple
Family Blogs - of course!
Metro Creative Graphics

4 Places I'd Rather Be:
Anywhere but here ... at work. Eek.
At lunch with my mom and my sisters! (Olive Garden sounds yum Kim!)
Fort Worth Botanic Gardens
On a road trip with Jimmy ...

Jim's '5 Things' ...

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Living in Keene, Texas, going to school and volunteer firefighting.
2. Working at Barnes and Noble during the day ...
3. Attending Fire Academy at night.
4. Was studying for Fire Exam ...
5. Lots of fishing and flirting ...

5 things on my "to do" list today:
1. Go to Costco to get bottled water
2. Build 17 exterior window frames
3. Call Fire Chief in Driggs ... for the weekly 'check-in'
4. Water the yard
5. Take a shower

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Beef Jerky
2. Funyons
3. Mt. Dew ... do the dew.
4. Milk Duds
5. Bagel with cream cheese, lox (smoked salmon), capers and red onion. Awesome.

5 songs I know the Lyrics to:
1. 'Dust in the Wind' - Kansas
2. 'Back in Black' - ACDC
3. 'Turbo Lover' - Judas Priest
4. Anything by Garth Brooks
5. Anything by Lynard Skynard

5 Things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Start a foundation for middle-class white people ... ha ha.
2. Start a wilderness program for wayward kids
3. Buy a home in Jackson, WY and Fort Worth, TX (okay small homes-ha!)
4. Travel Europe ... From Scandanavia (Our homeland!) to the southern tip O'Africa
5. Buy a yacht to be kept in the Puget Sound ...

5 Bad Habits:
1. I swear too much.
2. I drink too much caffeine.
3. I hate doing housework.
4. I play video games too much.
5. I leave piles of change all over the house.

5 Things I would never wear again:
1. Louvered sunglasses ... don't ask.
2. White, woven loafers ... aka Sunny Crockett Sandals ...
3. Kangaroos ... (shoes with velcro)
4. Tighty-Whities
5. Peg legged jeans

5 of my favorite toys:
1. PlayStation 2
2. iMac
3. Knife collections
4. Gun collections
5. Compass

5 Poeple I tag:
Everyone's pretty much been tagged ... c'mon bros.

5 Things ...

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Living in Sandy, enjoying my new found freedom!
2. Working in Park City designing labels and magazines
3. Dating three guys at once ... hee hee.
4. Spending WAY too much money on shoes and clothes ...
5. Spending lots of time at Des' house

5 things on my "to do" list today:
1. Make it through the day ... ha ha.
2. Grab new product and take photos
3. Get Ad proof to stores by 3PM
4. Get more cough drops on the way home
5. Go to bed early

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Gala Apples, but they have to be crisp!
2. Almonds
3. Anything chocolate, or anything dipped in chocolate
4. Sugar-Free Popsicles. Grape and cherry are my favorites.
5. Sunchips ... they're even good dipped in chocolate.

5 songs I know the Lyrics to:
1. The Primary Songbook!
2. Lots of 70's and 80's stuff ... eek.
3. "What a Wonderful World" ... my favorite.
4. Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest ... ha ha.
5. "Summer Lovin" ... Grease ... doesn't everyone??? Haha.

5 Things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Take the entire family on a fun trip somewhere ...
2. Well, we could move WITHOUT new jobs ... ha ha ha ...
3. Visit Jim's family more often.
4. Buy lots of children!
5. Travel all over ...

5 Bad Habits:
1. I always say, "I'm sorry" ... even when there's nothing to be sorry for?!?!?!
2. I don't know how to delegate ... aka ... I'm a control freak.
3. I'm not the most patient person in traffic. I'll just leave it at that.
4. I'm OCD ... I have to recheck all locks and make sure lights are off and things are unplugged.
5. It doesn't matter if I get up early ... I still push it until the VERY last minute to get out of the house in the morning ... it's ridiculous.

5 Things I would never wear again:
1. "Mom" jeans
2. Plastic earrings that match my outfit
3. Blue mascara
4. Sweaters with personality ... e.g. sweaters with snowmen on them, hearts or any kind of seasonal 'shout outs' ...
5. High-top tennis shoes with multi-colored, glittery laces ... 'LA Gear' anyone???

5 of my favorite toys:
1. Jim
2. iMac
3. iPod
4. Digi-Cam
5. Brookstone foot massager ... heaven.

5 Poeple I tag:
1. Mark
2. Eric
3. Ryan
4. Rodney
5. Jim

Grandpa Mel ...

I hope you've read Kimi's beautiful blog about Grandpa Mel ... Saturday night was such a special night ... to go and see grandpa and be able to hold his hand and gently kiss him on the forehead. How grateful I am for those precious moments. Erin offered an amazing prayer on behalf of all of us ... There was an amazing calm, peaceful feeling in grandpa's room. Those who are on the other side of the veil are very close by, attending our sweet grandpa ...

As I looked through some of the photos I have of grandma and grandpa, I thought I'd post some that captured some pretty amazing moments.

Their wedding day ...
Grandpa at his college graduation ... with Grandma Ernestine and little Orkell.

... grandpa with little Melvin Reuel ....
... with Kelly and Dad ...
... horsin' around ... ha ha.

... what a good looking couple!!!
... Our greatest examples ... we love you so much grandma and grandpa!

Grrr ...

It was so fun to see you all this weekend. What a special trip! I'll post lots of pictures soon, but I wanted to post one of Jim that one of his fellow counselors took while he was up in the Montana wilderness this summer ... in all of his bearded glory ... hee hee. I love it! Gorgeous ... and the sunset isn't bad either ...

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy ...

I love you sweet Jaxon ... I miss you so much. I miss your bright, blue eyes and your never-ending hugs. You are my heart. Love, Tare Bear

Eight years ago, sweet little Jaxon was born and changed all of our lives forever. I miss him so much and can't wait to see him again. I know we're all thinking of him today (and always) ... I am so grateful for the knowledge that families can be together forever. I feel so blessed to be a part of our eternal family ... I love you all bunches and tons.

Seattle ...

We went over to Seattle this weekend with some friends of ours ... and we had a GREAT time! See some of the fun stuff in the next two posts ... it was, appropriately enough, raining ... which was a welcome relief from the heat of the past few weeks ... the shot above is the view from our hotel room ... and here's my cute Jim, sans beard, relaxing ... I'm so glad to have him back!

Pike Street Marketplace ...

... One of our favorite places ... those of you who've been there know what a fun melting-pot of crazy people, colorful flavors, sights and smells Pike Street Marketplace is ... it's quite fun place to people-watch ... Lots of local artisans that come and sell their wares ... it's such a unique experience every time we visit. Some of the shop stay the same ... which we're grateful for ... as Sotté Vocé has the best Basil Olive Oil and Peppered Balsamic Vinegar we've ever tried ... we have to grab a couple of bottles every time we visit ... here are some pictures we took in the market ... check out the gorgeous flowers ... amazing.

The old buildings line either side of the street ... all have beautiful flowers over head ...

SO many visitors ... fresh fish, fruits, etc ... kind of like a farmer's market on steroids.

Check out these peppers ... I've never seen anything like them .... such vibrant colors ... in long strands and in wreaths ... to be used fresh or dried for decoration ... they were dripping with rain ...

Take me out to the ball game ...

So, we went over to Seattle for the Mariner's game on Saturday ... it was SO fun! My good friend from work, Shirlene, and her husband Wayne invited us to go with them ... Shirlene had gotten four 'Diamond Club' tickets from one of her biggest vendors, and so we got the royal treatment ... wow ... we walked in our own entrance ... were able to have an amazing pre-game, buffet-style dinner with gourmet offerings like: Salmon Oscar, Chicken with Porcini Sauce, Beef Wellington and other things like fresh fruit, aged cheese and amazing pasta ... and desserts. Don't even get me started on the desserts ... all in our own restaurant under the ball park ... it was unbelievable. All of it was 'taken care of' for having 'Diamond Club' tickets ... Then a SHORT walk to our seats (like 100 steps), which were two rows behind home plate ... Ha ha! I'd never been to a major league baseball game before ... and this was quite the experience! It was so fun to be with Jim and our good friends. It was such a fun night.

This was the view from our seats ... we were right at homebase ... so fun. The pitches were so fast, you couldn't even SEE some of them!

This was the program and the menu ... ha ha ha ... you could just mark what you wanted and pass it down your row ... and within about 10 minutes, you had your little treat in your hot little hands ... not like we were hungry after that dinner! Wow!

We snapped a picture our ourselves ... a little too close??? Y'think???

Our good friends, Wayne and Shirlene Ingraham. We love these guys! They're like our family up here ... I don't know what I'd do without Shirlene ... she's my sanity at work! They're so good to us ... THANK YOU Shirl and D'W!!!!
Our seats, looking down ... one row in front of us, and then the camera guy was down in a little pit ... it was fun to watch him film the game ... there were SO many balls that came flying our way ... crazy!

This is a picture of the readerboard at Safeco field ... it was daylight when the game started, but it was dark by the time it ended ... and it was raining (welcome to Seattle!) ... so they had the stadium covered ... My hair thanked them.

Jimbo's coming home!!!

So, Jim will be back later tonight - FOR GOOD! I'm so excited. We thought it might be later in the week, but all the kids will be on their way home as of noon today ... so Jim gets to head home this afternoon!


His friend Joe, who was a therapist at Explorations, will be bringing him home (thanks Joe!!!) ... so they should roll in sometime late this evening. Joe will be picking his wife up at the Spokane airport tomorrow afternoon, and she'll drive back home with him ... so he'll be staying tonight with us! It'll be fun to meet one of the people that Jim's spoken so highly about ... Joe and his wife will soon be sealed in the temple - so pretty exciting times for them! Jim said he's got lots of pictures, so I'm sure we'll be posting those this week too! Hope you're all doing well! Love you! We're going to try and sneak down weekend after next ... we've been missing you all!

Hug those you love ...

... I just heard that yesterday morning a disgruntled tenant at our old apartments walked into the manager's office and shot and killed our friend Bette. She was so kind to Jim and I when we moved up here - taking a chance on renting to us because neither of us had jobs yet ... She treated us like her own kids. For the two years we lived there, we'd go in and visit her just to say 'hi' - she was such a sweet lady. I'm just sick. The dispute was a long-standing disagreement about a parking space. A parking space. I'm so sad for her family.

Hug your sweet families and keep praying for protection in daily comings and goings ... I love you all VERY much!!!

Kids Do the Darndest things ...

As I look through all of your amazing family photos ... I've decided to come clean with you all and let you know that Jim and I are the proud parents of two boys and two girls ... It may seem virtually impossible, but with the advances in modern science, it's been quite the science project, er, umm, I mean miracle. It's time to introduce you to our brood. As it seems, with all of the 'comings' and 'goings' of our busy summer, what with their athletic practices, and Mensa meetings ... I haven't been able to get all of them in the same place at the same time for a family photo ... so until we're able, these still shots of each of them will have to do ...


Here's our fifteen year old Jimmy John. He's quite little vocalist. He's first soprano in the all boys choir ... Jim is so proud.

This is our little artist ... you knew we'd have to have one sooner or later, huh? Our little Saffron is quite talented. When she's not eating the glue, she using it to stick all kinds of macaroni to her shoes. At thirteen, she's almost to the second grade reading level ... and if she keeps practicing, she should be able to form audible words by next spring.

At ten, Lionel Rupert is our resident health fanatic. As soon as he learned that eating carrots may improve eyesight, it's a rarity to find him without a beta carotene popsicle hangin' out his mouth. Bless his heart ... he's got perfect vision, and we just don't have the heart to tell him.

Oh our shining star ... little Chrysathemum ... we like to call her 'Rysanthemum' for short. She's almost three weeks old and at this rate, doctors tell us we'll need to buy her a girls size 8 outfit for her first birthday ... can you believe it? Quite the over-achiever already, wouldn't you say?!

Oh I feel as though a weight has lifted from my shoulders ... I mean, if you can't laugh about it ... you'd cry, right? Where's the fun in that???!!!

Our new Sandpoint Store ...

So this is some of my daily life ... in pictures. I had to run up to Sandpoint and get some shots of our newly remodeled store ... it's a beautiful store - and it's kicking Super Wal-Mart's bum! Woo-hoo! I think either people don't like Wal-Mart, or they love our store, so that's why we're doing so well ... that and the store's been there for forty years or so there's a loyal customer base. It was recently updated to look like the rest of our stores, so it's kinda fun. Kimmy, mom and dad have visited a Yoke's Fresh Market in person ... but here's a peek for the rest o' ya. Love ya all. I'm working on some more exciting things to post, I promise. Jim'll be home next week! So I'll be sure to update then too!

Jaxon ...

I know this is a long post, but as we enter Jaxon's 'month' ... and with Lori's permission, I wanted to share some of my favorite memories and post what I wrote as Jax's life sketch. It's full of fun memories that we all have of him and his amazing little personality.

~~~~~~~

The story of Jaxon Ryan Smith is one of the sweetest ever told. To think of happy times with Jaxon is an easy thing to do ... they’re plentiful and so very sweet. And anyone who knows me, knows that he’s one of my favorite things to talk about so I’m going to share with you some of my favorite memories and those from his beloved mom and dad. Our hearts have taken pictures of moments too numerous to count.

He was the first grandchild on either side of the family and he certainly knew it. Many a night you could find him surrounded by a roomful of adults just watching and ‘ooh’ing and ‘aw’ing over him. It didn’t take much to get an applause. He had an amazing spirit around him and without even demanding it, he was always the center of attention. You just wanted to be around him.

It wasn’t long and Lori was calling him her ‘little man’ ... nothing could’ve said it better ... he was a little man. An adult spirit inside the most precious, beautiful boy you’ve ever seen. His blue eyes were like heaven and he had a smile that made you feel like the most important person in the world. And you might just feel that way until you saw him look at his mom. The love that Jaxon had for his mom made any other pale in comparison. She was his whole world and the love that she and Ryan had for Jaxon, he shared with everyone around him.

Family was everything to him. He loved his grandparents and has special names for each of them: Papa Bill, Bette, MaLyn and Papa Reu. He was loved and adored by his aunts and uncles, and while growing up fast in the company of all these grown ups, he was relieved when Aunt Kimmy had the twins whom he affectionately called Pamri and Poby. The three of them had a pretty special relationship. Kamri and Koby loved their Jaxon. When saying family prayers, Jaxon would listen carefully and if Ryan or Lori asked for a special blessing for the family, Jaxon would say, “You need to say ALL the people” ... and wouldn’t let the prayer continue until everyone’s name had been said.

He loved to dance and sing... Lori says that ever before he was born, as soon as she could feel him kick, he was kicking to the beat of whatever music was playing. As soon as Jaxon was old enough to watch TV—the “Barney Adventure” began. Every time the “I Love You” song came on, he would say, “Mommy, you need to come sing this wit me.” and they’d hold hands and dance around the room and when it came to the part where the song says ‘a kiss from me to you’ they would kiss each other on both cheeks. No matter how he was feeling, Jaxon loved to move. If he was feeling good, he would dance with his whole body. If he wasn’t feeling so hot, he would dance with his fingers, and when he was feeling his worst, he would still tap his toe under his blanket.

He loved being outside and enjoying the sunshine ... the summer before last, Ryan and Lori and Jaxon would go camping a couple of times a month. Jaxon loved to see the squirrels run down the trees, watch the water run over the rocks and hang out with his mom and dad. When it started to get dark, they would build a huge campfire to roast marshmallows and hot dogs and Jax would arm in arm with his dad. The two of them loved getting into trouble together. There were times when Lori would g et home from work and find the two of them sitting on the floor amidst a bagful of empty Starburst wrappers or she’d find the entire basement remodeled into a multi-room fort. Jaxon and dad would coax mom into watching TV with them inside their newly created ‘entertainment room’.

Jax was so smart. You only had to tell him once and he got it. He would ask all kinds of questions and once you’d explained it to his satisfaction, he’d nod his head and let it go ... if you didn’t explain it well enough, watch out! He’d keep asking until he was satisfied ... then days or weeks later, he could explain it right back to you. He remembered everything. When Jaxon was just a little over two years old, he and Ryan had made a Valentine for Lori and she had put it up on her bedroom wall next to a picture of Jesus. On a recent trip home from the hospital, Jaxon hadn’t been home for quite some time and when he went into his mom and dad’s room, he asked his mom where the valentine was ... it had fallen behind the night stand and he said, “You need to put it back up mommy.” It was amazing how quickly he picked up concepts and ideas. Whenever he had dome something for the first time, he’d shout, “I did it! I did it!” It was amazing to watch him learn.

I remember the day that Jaxon was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma. When the doctor explained that this was a rare form of childhood cancer, Ryan and Lori, as you can imagine were in shock - but instead of breaking down or falling apart, they immediately asked ... What do we need to do? Where do we need to go? and When can we start? I remember Ryan turning to Lori and saying, “This is our ‘normal’ now. We just go from here.” I was amazed at their strength and resolve that would surely be tested, but it was easy to see that Jaxon’s well-being and comfort were their first priority.

In the months that followed, there was plenty of time spent at Primary Children’s Hospital.While going through treatment, there were endless hours painting and playing games ... creating shaving cream sculptures, hiding under blankets and in cupboards. His mischevious nature always kept you smiling. It was Jaxon who lifted everyone’s spirits. I remember when I’d leave his room to go grab him some root beer, I’d turn around when I’d reached the door and teasingly say, “Don’t go anywhere!” (not like he could as he was connected to many tubes), and he’d just smile and say defiantly, “I will!” ...

Earlier this year on Valentine’s Day, I walked into his room at Primary’s and opened the door to one of the funniest things I’d ever seen. He and grandpa Reuel were painting on the window. A nurse had brought in all kinds of washable paints and they had not only painted the window, but each other’s faces and Jaxon’s beautiful head ... they were laughing so hard.

Jaxon’s emotions were so pure. If he was happy ... you couldn’t help but be in a great mood yourself, but if he was in a bad mood, he’d let you know. You always knew where you stood with him. There weren’t many hidden messages. There was a time when they ‘snuck’ Jaxon home from the hospital for the weekend, and he was outside riding in his Jeep and when Lori asked him if cousin Koby could get into the Jeep with him ... he simply replied, “I think not. Poby heaby.” His sweet honesty kept all of us around him in stitches.

Jaxon never complained. He never wanted anyone to see him hurt. Especially his dad. After his surgery, I remember him being in a tremendous amount of pain. Instead of complaining to his dad, he would ask Ryan to sit on the couch on the opposite side of the room and Jaxon would turn his back to his dad so that Ryan wouldn’t see him hurting. When asked if he was okay, he would either nod his head or say, “I fine, I okay.” He was the bravest little boy. Everyone at Primary’s loved our little Jaxon. The surgeon who operated on Jax was known around the hospital as being really good, but a little cold, and not that friendly. Ryan talked with her before the surgery and told her that he didn’t know if she believed in God or not, but that she would have help from above while working on Jaxon. She spent eight hours removing tumor from him and saved one of his kidneys by spending hours and hours removing microscopic bits of tumor from his renal artery. He would need both of his kidneys in good working order to help his bone marrow transplants. After the surgery, Dr. Meyers checking on Jaxon quite often and they formed a unique friendship. When she came in to see him, he would wave to her with his foot. He had a habit of putting his arms behind his head while laying in bed as if he were watching the sun cross the sky and he couldn’t be bothered moving one of them to wave to her. It cracked her up and from then on, it was their special ‘thing.’ All of Jaxon’s doctors were amazed by him and would often comment about his unheard-of positive response to the toughest treatment a cancer patient can endure. He was such a trooper. We often teased that if he’d had his hair—you’d never have known that was sick.


After Jax’s first bone marrow transplant, and while adjusting to living in an apartment in Salt Lake, Lori took him to the grocery store ... and because his immune system had pretty much been wiped out, they had to be extra careful about germs and any kind of bacterial infections ... so it was kinda tricky to shop for some of his favorite foods, but he wanted cheesecake. Lori explained the whole situation to the lady in the bakery and this nice woman was more than willing to make a special New York-Style cheesecake just for Jaxon. And it must been special, because Ryan and Lori said it was the heaviest cheesecake they’d ever lifted. They took home their fun dessert and put it in the fridge. It was forgotten about until the next morning when Jaxon woke up and said, “Hey, I want some of that cheesecake” ... so he climbed down off the bed, went out into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door, pulled out all the items that were in front of his much-anticipated treat, put them on the floor, took out the cheesecake - set it aside and put all of the other items BACK into the fridge. He then shut the refrigerator door, picked up the cheesecake and walked it back to the bedroom door. Well, because the air conditioner was on, the bedroom door had shut by itself and Ryan and Lori were still in bed, listening to to Jaxon wiggle the door knob. He yelled out, “Open the freakin’ door!” He must’ve had one arm under the very heavy cheesecake and the other on the door, because all they heard next was, “Open the freakin’ door right now!” and then THUD. Ryan opened the door to find the cheesecake turned upside down on the floor, (thankfully it was still inside it’s container) and Jaxon just looked up at Ryan and said, “You need to get a fork” ... so the three of them sat on the bed eating cheesecake right out of the container.

A few weeks after his second transplant, the doctors would let Jaxon, if he wore his mask, go outside and feed the birds in the little courtyard just outside the front doors of the hospital. He loved to do this with his grandmas and grandpas as they visited often. One day, after a particularly hard night, Ryan told the nurses in the Bone Marrow Unit that he was taking Jaxon outside to feed the birds and wanted to know what time the next round of medication was supposed to start. It wasn’t going to start for about five hours, so they told him to enjoy the time outside, but that Ryan and Jaxon needed to stay out in front of the hospital—because they weren’t supposed to let them stay outside for too long ... but all the nurses had grown quite fond of Jaxon and knew how much he loved to be outside. Well, you know Ryan ... give him and inch, and he’ll take a couple of miles. He took Jax and they got in the truck and headed to the apartment. They laid down for a little nap, and a few hours later woke up from a wonderful, much needed sleep. Just then I called Ryan on his cell phone—I hadn’t been able to get a hold of them at the hospital, so I was wondering what was ‘up’—Ry told me they were headed to the park. I told them I would meet them there. We played hide-and-seek and ran around for quite a while ... Jaxon loved it! He would count 1 2 3 ... 8 9 10! and say, “Ready daddy? Here I come!” and we’d go look behind every wrong tree before finally finding that daddy had actually climbed a tree! I can still hear him laughing! In the days that followed, the nurses tried to get Jaxon to tell them where daddy had taken him ... they would tease and ask him if daddy took him for a ride on his motorcycle, or if he had taken him to the apartment, or even to Idaho! Jax just smiled and said with a little grin, “I will never tell!”

His time in the hospital was long and so hard, but he did it like he did everything ... he did it with everything that he had in him. His doctors have told Ryan and Lori that they have to know that they did everything right. They did everything that was asked of them and more. Jaxon couldn’t have been any braver or fought any harder.

Some of the sweetest memories for Ryan and Lori have happened in just this last week. When they found out they were pregnant, Jaxon just knew the baby was going to be a brother. Many times, after getting a new toy or learning something new, he would mention that he would have to “show brother”. When little brother Jacob finally came home from the hospital on Sunday morning, the first thing Jax wanted to do was kiss him. What a sweet day. Lori told me that Jaxon held Jacob while feeding him a bottle and didn’t want him out of his sight. When Lori put Jacob in the bassinet, Jax said he couldn’t see Jacob, so they laid him on the couch right next to Jaxon. A little while later, he wanted to brush Jacob’s hair, so they laid little Jacob on Jaxon’s chest and he brushed and kissed his sweet little brother’s head for a long time. What a precious time it was for Ryan and Lori to watch their boys together ...

We’re here today to celebrate the life of a valiant spirit who touched us all. He showed many of us what pure love means. He was indeed a ‘little man’—but without question was choice among men.

Jaxon was one of my very best friends. To spend time with him was to know exactly what was important in life. I love him with ALL of my heart. For all the lessons he taught me, for the unconditional love and incredible example he was to me. One of my favorite scriptures is 2 Nephi 21:30 — It talks about keeping a “perfect brightness of hope” and enduring to the end and that if we do, we will have eternal life. Jaxon IS my perfect brightness of hope. I am so very grateful for the knowledge that families are forever and that life is eternal. I pray that we may all keep a ‘perfect brightness of hope’— a hope that we might live worthily that one day we might return to our Father in Heaven and be reunited for eternity with those we love so very much.

Hardy Har Har ...

... so I got a new iMac, and it's got some newer features than my G3 ... and 'PhotoBooth' is one of them ... you can take pictures with the camera in the top of the monitor. I went to dinner with some friends of ours last night ... and then afterward, while Rob was watching TV, Nancy and I went a little crazy with the camera ... their five beautiful children were at the in-laws for the night ... so it was a free-for-all! We LOVE the Clark's! They are amazing and we're so grateful to have them in our lives ... I'll bring the computer home so all the kids can take distorted pictures of themselves. Hee hee. It's a good time ... or a cheap date! Ha!