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

October 2008 General Conference

I absolutely loved this past weekends conference addresses. There were so many wonderful talks presented this week that the messages couldn't help but enrich my life and the lives of my family. This year I was especially impressed with Thomas S. Monson, Jeffrey R. Holland, Dieter F. Uchtdorf and the other apostles as they spoke to us. I must say, I could not get enough of Joseph B. Wirthlin's talk. He was incredible to listen to. Some of the stories he related were so funny. I loved the story of his teenage daughter going on a blind date and the mishap that happened there. It was one of those stories that reminded me that we are all human, including an apostle of the Lord and his family members. It's refreshing to remember that we're all united by a common purpose. I loved when Elder Wirthlin stated:

"The next time you are tempted to groan you might try to laugh instead."

That sentence really hit home for me. It's another one of those extremely simple lessons I can apply to make life happier and a little easier for myself. Now, all I need to do is remember that phrase the next time I accidentally step on one of my kids toys that seem to have a razor sharp edge that my bare feet can't help but be magnetized to. Youch...but a little laughter just might be the best medicine to ease the pain.

I hope anyone who had an opportunity to watch conference enjoyed it as much as I did.