Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Jordan's tubing hill off of our back porch.

Caleb making sure Kyler has just the right amount of snow on his face to become his own personal Frosty.

Caleb ready to brave it out in the cold, cold world we call Home.

A view of the fort Kyler started outside my window.
In all, he's now made 3. One for each brother and one for himself complete with tunnels, garbage cans, and wind barriers. He's pretty inventive.

"Snow" much fun!
I know...cheesy, but true!

Kyler having a blast this week playing outside.

Michigan has been hit HARD with snowstorms this past week. Every day a new whopper seems to slam us, but as you can see, my kids aren't fazed a bit. I can barely keep them contained indoors when there's so much fun to be had outdoors, and really, who can complain about that? They play, I get a chance to relax and have a little "me time", and the only thing I have to worry about is having 3 cups of hot cocoa ready for them once they finally decide to come inside. Sounds just about perfect to me!

Cleaning or Playing? I Choose Playing!

Kyler starting his fort

The boys "sledding" hill


A happy, snowy Jordan


My sweet baby Caleb!


The picture isn't upside down.
Just Caleb tubing down the hill backwards and running into mom!

December has proven to be busier than usual this year. A couple weeks ago I was put in as the Primary President at my church. All but 11 months of my married life has been spent in one Primary or another as we've moved around. I've been a nursery leader, a Sunbeam teacher for the 3 and 4 year old's, Secretary for a few different presidencies, a 2nd Counselor twice and most recently a 1st Counselor. But this is a whole new ballgame for me.

I absolutely love serving with the children on Sunday. Their little spirits are about as close to perfection as you can find on the earth today. Not to say I don't come home haggard some Sunday's (I most certainly do), but there is definitely something special about our Heavenly Father's smallest children. Their intentions are pure, and their testimonies are so sweet. You can't help but love being around them and feeling their goodness.

My new calling has consumed my thoughts quite a bit, and as a result my home organization has suffered a bit. I've noticed I've passed on quite a few chances to clean that I normally wouldn't. Laundry is piled up a tad more, dishes stay in the sink a bit longer, and my carpets could use a good vacuuming today, not to mention there is quite a few Christmasy things I really should have gotten done by last week. Oh well...there's only so many hours in a week!

Today was suppose to be the day that I finally caught up on all those little things I've been neglecting, but guess what...it's a snow day, and quite honestly none of us felt too keen on cleaning this morning, so instead the kids and I bundled up and went outside. The snow was great, and my kids had a blast making their own little sledding hill and fort. I figure my carpets could stand another day without vacuum lines, and I know my floors are going to be grimy again with snow and mud if I pull out the mop today, so maybe we'll all just hang out and watch a Christmas movie instead. That sounds way better to me. Cleaning can wait for another day!

I hope you all have a Very Merry Christmas!

A trip to Utah, and one spoiled girl!

Our Michigan Thanksgiving...I was feeling pretty haggard after a long day, but the food was delicious!

My sister Jillee and her fiancee Allyn

Jordan, Hannah, & Kyler

Hailey & Jordan became dancing buddies

Caleb and Hailey waiting for dessert

My Sister Kelcee

Ethan and Mary...Can you believe this is a baby who just had brain surgery?

My brother Brooks and his puppy, Bailey.

My brother Travis and my sister-in-law Mary

Kelcee & Caleb

My wacky younger brother and beautiful mother

Grandma Marilyn & the boys

Marilyn & Vern

So I'm completely spoiled, and truth be told, I like it! Me and the kids flew out to Utah the day before Thanksgiving so we could spend the holiday with my family. Kevin had to stay behind since that is his busiest week of the year, but we made sure to have our own little family Thanksgiving the Sunday before we left. The kids and I had such an amazing time on our vacation. My dad watched the kids practically every day so I could shop with my mom, go to the movies, or go see the "The Forgotten Carols". I have not had that much free time to myself in over 10 years. I was completely spoiled!! Thanks dad for giving me that much needed break, and teaching my kids all the ins and outs of the Wii. They were pretty spoiled themselves all week long.

My mom spoiled me just as much, if not more. Between her, Mary, and the Speechly family, we enjoyed a huge feast for Thanksgiving. Mom also made sure that we continued in our traditional "Day After Thanksgiving Celebration" in Salt Lake City. We went to "Spaghetti Mama's", got tickets to see the movie "Bolt", and walked around Temple Square to see all the lights. On Saturday we met up with Kevin's mom, Marilyn, and her husband Vern. We were able to spend a couple hours with them catching up on the happenings we miss by living in Michigan. It was great seeing them again. After lunch I was able to go see "Twilight" which I have been wanting to see since it came out, and well worth the wait for me.

Caleb enjoying the Spaghetti Mama feast

The two greatest parents around!!

Jillee and Allyn at Temple Square

My Mom, Dad, Kelcee, & Jordan

Monday was a day spent with my mom and sisters. We took Jillee out to look for Wedding dresses. She looked gorgeous in everything she tried on, but there were too many choices to make a final decision. Whatever she ultimately decides on will be beautiful. That night my mom got us tickets to see"The Forgotten Carols", and it was just as wonderful as I remember, but completely different since the last time I saw it. Michael McLean has added a lot to the play since it first debuted, but it is still so incredible.

Tuesday we packed up and headed home. The week went by way too fast! Even the 2 hour delay in the airport wasn't so bad. I'm already counting down the days until I can go back in April for Jillee's wedding. Until then, I guess I'll sort through the bills that piled up while I was away, catch up on an endless pile of laundry, possibly attempt to pull out my Christmas cards and finally start on them, and oh yes...dig into the pile of homework my kids are sure to bring home any minute, but I'm also going to take some time to enjoy the Christmas lights and decorations my incredible husband put up while we were away to surprise us with when we finally made it home last night. He managed to work insane hours every day that we were gone, and still did something sweet like that. Yep...I'm definitely spoiled, and loving every minute of it!
Happy Holidays Everyone!!

The Forgotten Carols & A Christmas Tree

One of my all time favorite Christmas stories and albums is this. If you haven't read the book or listened to the music, you need to get your hands on a copy and indulge for a night. It's amazing!

Our upstairs tree. Now that it snowed 8 inches last night, it finally feels a bit like Christmas!

Last night we put up our Christmas Tree. I know, it seems way to early, but since I'm heading to Utah next week, and Sunday was the only day Kevin had off before I left, we figured we shouldn't pass up the chance to do it together. We pulled out all our Christmas Tupperware, and hauled the tree trimmings up the stairs to the living room. Since we're back to an artificial tree this year it was really quite easy. We put our 3 sections together, plugged in the tree, and voila...practically done. It's the 1st year we haven't had to string all the lights, which is my least favorite part. The kids and I had a good time decking the tree out with all our fancy ornaments while Kevin read to us from "The Forgotten Carols" I forgot just how much I love that story. I wish Michael McLean would bring his show towards Grand Rapids one year. It is one of my favorite things to do at Christmastime, and definitely one of my favorite Christmas albums to listen to. I love Michael McLean...everything he produces has a spark of magic in it. Once he came to New York and put on a special Family Home Evening for a few of the nannies who lived in the area. He made each of us there feel special, loved, and worthy to be called a daughter of God. He has a true talent, and I'm so happy he has chosen to share it with so many others. I'm excited to finish reading the story with the kids and teaching them about some of the lost aspects of the Christmas season. I hope each of you has a wonderful Thanksgiving and a marvelous Christmastime!

Happy News for our family!

Kevin has been working his tail off at work lately (well, at least he would have had he been born with one) ,but for good reason...Today was PROMOTION DAY for us, and Kevin is now the Store Manager of the Holland store. Yippee for us! We thought for sure we would end up moving to another state for this opportunity, but some major, and unexpected changes happened this past month making it possible for Kevin to apply right here in Holland. Of course this means a bump in pay for our family, but even more important, Kevin will now be able to post his beautiful picture in the store PLUS his name gets to be scrawled across all those store receipts...LOL!!

I'm really proud of Kevin for all the hard work he put in to making this dream happen. He is an amazing worker!

The Detroit Zoo

It seems our family can't go on a trip without hitting at least one zoo along the way. Here are pictures from our recent trip to The Detroit Zoo and a few of our favorite animals.
There was a really beautiful green hummingbird in the pavilion.

Caleb checking out all the butterflies in the butterfly pavilion

This is Kyler's favorite part of the zoo since he loves learning about different species of butterflies and moths.

In the background you might be able to see Jordan's favorite animal which is the giant anteater. Just last week Jordan taught his class about this animal for Sharing Time.

Detroit Zoo has one of the coolest Polar Bear displays we have ever seen. They have a huge outdoor display as well as an indoor aquarium where they literally swim over your head as you walk through their tunnel.

Caleb's favorite animal is the zebra so he took this picture with the last of our camera battery.
They had a little giraffe that was so cute.
A couple "playful" rhino's. They were gearing up and taking charge at the visitors who passed by.
The Tiger was out which is sort of rare for us, and quite magnificent.

Halloween 2008

Our kids had a great Halloween this year. It seems like the parties were non-stop for over a week. We partied at the church, friend's houses, the school, and of course the neighborhood. I decided to forgo spending a lot of money on costumes this year, so the kids dug through our buckets and pulled together their costumes. Jordan had three different outfits this year: A Pirate, Darth Vader, and Peter Pan. Caleb insisted on being a Zoo Keeper at all times (party or no party), and Kyler went as a Forensic Crime Investigator. We had to buy a couple things for his costume since there are no hand-me-downs when you're the oldest, but we had a couple coupons making it a very inexpensive Halloween for us! And now...I can officially move onto the holiday I love. You know the one... It involves a bunch of songs about Christ. Others about reindeer, and of course, Santa!

Another Ethan Update

This is Ethan. He was in some pain during this picture waiting for his next dose of medicine, but as you can see he is doing great. The redness on his face is not swelling from the surgery. That's one of the side effects of his Sturge Weber Syndrome. He's really doing incredible from what we could see, and is set to be released from the hospital on Wednesday or Thursday if everything continues progressing the way it has been.

Yesterday we were able to visit with Travis, Mary & Ethan at the Detroit Children's Hospital. It was so great to see them all, and I must say, Ethan looked **fantastic**. If he didn't have stitches covering his head, you would never know he underwent major surgery a couple days ago. Ethan has virtually no swelling, and yesterday was suppose to be the worst day for that. His personality is reemerging and he is starting to talk to his mom, dad, and the doctors and nurses. While I was visiting with him he made all his animal noises for me (except for cow...Trav says they must have cut that part out LOL) He also had a moment with one of the nurses that walked in where he decided to smile and became googly eyed with her. It was his first post-op crush! Ethan is continuing to amaze his doctors at the rate he is recovering. He has had a couple seizures, so they upped his dose of anti-seizure medication, but hopefully they will be able to wean him off of that over the year. They are also starting to wean him off of his morphine drip, and withing the next few days he should only be on Tylenol (I am amazed by that...Tylenol within a week of having a portion of your brain removed...how crazy is that??)

I am in awe at how far the medical field has come in the last few years. The doctors have given Ethan a whole new lease on life with the surgery they performed. I can't believe how well he is doing, and I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father heard and answered our prayers on Ethan's behalf. I know things could have gone so differently, and often times do, but for whatever reason I know our Heavenly Father blessed Travis, Mary, and Ethan throughout this ordeal, and Ethan is well on his way to a full recovery and life that is vastly different than the one he was looking at just last week.

Thanks to everyone for thier prayers on little Eakers behalf.

An Ethan update

I've had a lot of people ask me how Ethan's doing so I thought I better give a little update. I just hear tidbits now and then, but this is what I know as of last night. Ethan's surgery went as well as could be expected on Thursday. He was taken in around 8:30 that morning and surgery lasted until 4 o'clock that afternoon. The doctors discovered a bit more diseased portions of his brain once they started the surgery than they originally anticipated so they had to remove a couple additional portions, but everyone is hopeful there won't be any long-lasting effects due to that.

Last night Ethan had a little setback, but it was a setback the doctors were prepared for. He had a seizure while Mary was holding him. That held off plans for him to be released from the ICU because the doctors want to watch him there a bit longer to make sure he doesn't have any more seizures which could signal a blood clot. Mary and Travis are taking turns staying by his side at all times making sure he is as comfortable as possible. He's still on a morphine drip to ease some pain, but it looks like he is able to move all his body parts which is happy news. Paralysis could have been an issue with a surgery of this magnitude. Our family is heading to Detroit tonight and I will get some more updates once I talk to Travis and Mary. If Ethan is still in ICU we won't be able to see him, but at least we can see a couple incredible people who have had to be pillars of strength this week as their baby underwent something most people could never dream of. They are staying strong and are incredible parent's!

A Prayer for Ethan

This is a photo of my brother Travis, his wife Mary & their 4 incredible kids Hannah, Dave, Hailey & Ethan. As some of you might remember from a previous post, I mentioned Ethan will be having brain surgery in Detroit this month. Well... the day is finally looming, and Thursday will be Ethan's surgery. It's going to be a very long, labor intensive surgery, but it will hopefully have some amazing outcomes for this sweet baby. The doctors will be removing about 60% of Ethan's left brain hemisphere in hopes of combating some of the side effects Ethan has due to Sturge Weber Syndrome that he was born with. It's the hopes of the doctors and our families that this will cure Ethan of the numerous seizures he has right now and stop the downward progression this syndrome is having on his brain.

Our family as well as all of Mary's family will be having a special fast that morning as the doctors are working their magic. I am sure they would love any extra prayers you could muster that morning on Ethan's behalf.

(sidebar) Hey Trav & Mary: I hope you don't mind me copying one of your photo's. I figured I was getting one for Christmas anyway, and it was just too cute to not post!! We'll drive over on Saturday night and come see you on Sunday. Good luck... Call and give us updates. Love you guys!

5 Qualities Tag

I've seen a lot of great tags this week. I actually like seeing them and reading other peoples answers. This one is a little unique in that we are forced to find something special in each of our family members (easy), but also with ourselves (harder). Thanks Nikki for tagging me in this one.


Subject: Wonderful Qualities. List every member who lives in your home. Include 5 wonderful qualities each member holds.

The Catch: You must include yourself.

5 people I 'm going to tag: Melissa, Jacqui, Suzanne, Lisa, Mary

HERE GOES:

Caleb: (1) Caleb is sugary sweet. He loves giving hugs, kisses, & holding mom's hair. (2) He loves to play with his brothers, but is also great at entertaining himself. (3) He is my "cooking mama" which means he loves to cook & bake every chance he gets. (4) He loves to help mom clean and is good about cleaning up his messes. (5) He always has "A Cool Thing Just Happened Story" for mom no matter the time of day.

Jordan: (1) Jordan is a leader which is fantastic when he's leading in a right direction!! (2) He is a fast learner..whether it's reading, math, or memorizing something ~~he is quick! (3) Jordan always ends the day with prayers, hugs, and kisses. Even if I am having a frantic moment he has a way of centering me once again. (4) He's independent. I know that sometimes leads to frustration when I want him to be more dependent on a mom or dad, but there are moments I stand back and marvel at what Jordan can accomplish when he's left to do something on his own. It's pretty fantastic to watch him grow. (5) Jordan has a way of making friends everywhere we go. We can't drive to Chicago and stop at a playland without Jordan coming out of the restaurant with at least a couple new friends. Just last week at the Washington DC Zoo while we were all eating lunch, we look over and sure enough, Jordan is sitting on the ground in a circle surrounded by girls playing a game with them. He came out of there knowing 5 new friends.

Kyler: (1) Kyler is a go-getter. He sets his mind on a task and does everything he can to accomplish it such as running for Student Counsel or Vice President. (2) Kyler can tune in to the Spirit easily. He is the leader in our family when it comes to reading our scriptures, having daily prayers, or preparing a family home evening lesson. (3) He is sincere. He knows if you are having a good day or a bad day and likes to do little things to make it even better like making you a card, or sending a quick e-mail to a friend who is having a bad day. (4) Kyler is dependable. If I ask Kyler to help me with something he will usually do it without a lot of prodding..even if it is something he doesn't want to do. (5) Kyler is a nurturer. Many days I will find Kyler cuddling one of his brothers when they have hurt feelings, or sitting on the couch reading them stories. He plays the big brother role with ease.

Kevin: (1) A major hard worker. Kevin puts in endless hours at work to ensure our family is well taken care of and to give me the luxury of staying home to be a mom. He makes it possible for my dreams to come true. (2) Leader: It must be where my boys get it, because I am a follower, but Kevin is definitely a leader. (3) Romantic: Kevin makes sure he tells me he loves me every chance he gets. He's incredibly sweet to me even if I'm being a bit of a downer. (4) Hands-on-Dad: He tries his hardest to make it to all the activities, PT conferences, and sports our kids are involved with and gets excited to be involved. (5) He is a strong Priesthood holder for our family and a wonderful Patriarch. He is the glue that keeps this family strong.

Tami: SO I hate talking about myself, but I know I have a few good qualities. (1) I am organized. If I say I'll get something done you can depend on me to do it. (2) I am a good planner. I can put together some memorable vacations, parties, and events for our family. (3) I'm spiritual. I love to read my scriptures, pray with my kids, and learn about the gospel. (4) I think I'm a decent friend. I can always find time to sit back and listen to a friends needs, and try to be helpful whenever possible. (5) I love people. Truly, I can find traits I love in everyone. There is always something to admire in the people I come in contact with every day. It's easy for me to love others.

Washington DC Vacation

Washington DC

Our Family in Washington DC

Mt. Vernon

Mount Vernon Museum

Our family just returned from a whirlwind trip around the Washington DC area. Kevin's dad, Blaine and step-mom, Debbie flew out to meet us. We had a blast together and toured as much as we possibly could cram into our 7 days there. On Sunday we managed to make it to Mt. Vernon, home of President George Washington followed that afternoon by a highly sprinted walk through Arlington Cemetery to watch the final Changing of the Guards before taking a slight breather and basking in the reverence the cemetery offered. As the sun started to set we walked around Thomas Jefferson's memorial and were in awe at how centered everything was around a Supreme Creator. It was very evident that all the Presidents and Founding Fathers tried to keep God at the center of their decisions when trying to decide how to shape our country. It was quite a way to spend a Sabbath Day. The Changing of the Guards; Arlington Cemetery

Monday morning we woke up and decided to check out a bunch of the monuments and memorials they have at the mall. We saw Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, the World War II memorial, Korean Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial. Our feet were so sore by the end of the day that we also put in an "emergency" stop to Kohl's to buy some better walking shoes. Debbie and I had feet that were much happier with us after our newly acquired Sketchers purchase.

The Freedom Wall. There is 1 star for every 100 people who were killed in WWII. Total 4,000 stars = 400,000 lives lost during the war

The Washington Monument. It was Kyler's big wish to get a photo where it looks as if he was pushing on the monument. This picture was taken from the Jefferson Memorial which is not actually close to the Washington M emorial so it looks more like Kyler is holding up a Washington Memorial stick!

Part of the WWII Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

President Bush in his Limousine

The Air & Space Museum

Kyler posing with Wilbur & Orville Wright

Future Pilot?? Jordan

Wednesday was a great day. We arranged to have a tour of the Capitol Building and the White House. The Capitol tour was especially impressive. Unfortunately, after a great morning 5 out of 7 us came down with a pretty bad cold. That wasn't enough to keep the Scott family down for long though. We did go back to the hotel early to rest for a bit, but then Kevin and I had the opportunity to go to the DC temple which was the highlight of the trip for me. The temple is gorgeous inside and out. Thanks Blaine and Debbie for watching our sick kidlets so Kevin and I could rejuvenate our Spirits.

The National Capitol

The Washington D.C. LDS Temple

Thursday was suppose to be a more laid back day with only the National Zoo on schedule, but either the zoo was a lot bigger than we anticipated, or our colds were having a bad affect on us because we were dragging by late afternoon. We ended up leaving around 4:30 to go to "The Cheesecake Factory" before relaxing in our hotel room for the remainder of the evening.

We started off strong on our outing. We couldn't wait to see the 3 Pandas.

Caleb got this bag and named it "Jessie Long Sticks" Not sure why or where that name came from, but he wouldn't let the bag out of his sight the rest of the day.

Here we are starting to drag. We still have a little reserved energy, but it is quickly dissipating!

Friday was our last full day in DC. We ended with another long, yet wonderful day. We went to The National Archives and saw The Constitution, Bill of Rights, and The Declaration of Independence. Afterwards we went to the National Museum of Natural History. It was such a memorable trip for our family. We are all anxious to go back again. Next time we need to hit the Spy Museum, The Smithsonian Castle, and the Pentagon. There just wasn't enough time to accomplish everything there is to do and see in DC in a week.

The Hope Diamond The Emancipation Proclamation

A worn out 3 year old with Grandma Debbie

The Declaration of Independence