Parker Seely

This is my nephew Parker Seely! He was born 1 week after Madison with a heart problem. I'm not very good at describing exactly what was wrong but the simple explanation was that initially they thought it was a hole in the heart but when they went for a more detailed ultrasound they found that the hole in his heart was actually keeping him alive allowing the blood/oxygen to find it's way through the heart because the arteries were backwards and on the wrong sides so blood and oxygen couldn't flow through the heart properly.
Thankfully he was delivered normally and able to breathe enough oxygen to come home after a short time and be breastfed. They prepared him for his first surgery when he was able to sit up on his own where they tried to make him a functioning 1 valve heart which served it's purpose for a time. Unfortunately it turned out to only be a temporary solution and he became quite sick the beginning of this year and since the end of January has been living in the hospital in Edmonton waiting for a new heart. In the mean time they have given him something named a Berlin Heart which is 'fake' heart hooked up to a laptop that does all the work the heart should be doing mechanically. This has been keeping him alive and although they have struggled with blood clots, strokes and Jessica living with him 6 hours away from her husband and other two cute boys, they have all been so strong! Parker keeps proving to me time and time again that prayer works. I have tried to look at every obstacle in his journey will only help him obtain his new heart faster, and that Jessica and Jim will have a stronger family until because of all they have fought for.
I have no idea how hard this has been for them! I only know that it has been a struggle to be so far and not be able to visit and give Jessica a hug and cry on each other's shoulders when something happens or to help with Kaden and Brock. All I had to offer was our prayers.
Well! Today we just heard that Parker is getting his new heart. I am so excited and scared. I'm asking for prayers from my friends and family for Parker and his family. They are special and they so deserve everything to work out.

Birthday Party

Scarlett Jarman turned one last week and we got to celebrate with her in style! Her Grandma sent a package filled with party supplies including sparklers that the kids got to light! They were really excited to hold them until the lighter came out and they all got a little nervous about actually lightning them up. Thankfully Sydney is one brave little girl and took a shot giving Brayden the courage he needed to follow after seeing no damage was done.

Maddy was also pretty interested in the sparklers! Interested enough to stop moving for a few minutes and sit still with me while she watched them burn.
It was a nice relaxed party which included a few friends and a really yummy dinner made by Bobbi. The kids seemed to really enjoy the food, eating lots of rice. Brayden was brave enough to taste and discover that he likes sweet and sour meatballs and Maddy made her rounds trying to suck all the juice boxes dry that the kids had left on the table and finishing the random pieces of rice of their plates. After dinner Scarlett got her very own chocolate cake and was spoiled with gifts which all the kids enjoyed playing with! I think the favorite toy by all were these light up flashing charms that the kids could wear around their necks. It's always interesting to see how much fun 4 and 5 year olds can have with a bunch of toys meant for a 1 year old. I think that those older kids would have been entertained all night if we had stayed longer!

Well, Happy 1st Birthday Scarlett!!

Our Big Little Girl

Our Madison is one of a kind. It seems the last few months her personality has really shown. She teases her daddy every time he asks for a kiss pretending she's going to give him one and then at the last second pulling her head away giggling at his defeat! She follows Brayden and Sydney everywhere! Just the other day I was doing laundry along the side of the house. Brayden and Sydney went out the front door to go play with Isabelle Jarman across the field after asking permission. I come inside to find the house very quiet, Maddy is quite a chatterbox so it's never quiet. I go to my phone and find a text from Bobbi stating that Maddy made her way over to her house with the other 2. She completely 100% understands the word 'NO' and loves to hear me say it. She will go to the phone and slowly take her fingers to it until I say 'No Maddy' and quickly pull her hand away. She then looks at me with a HUGE smile and slowly moves her fingers towards the phone waiting for me to tell her no. Then when she finally gets close enough and she gets her NO off she goes smiling with satisfaction. She's got the sippy cup and straw cup down so we've been done with bottles for a while now and her hair is getting longer and she's starting to look more like a little girl then a little boy. It's unbelievable how much these little people grow up in such a short period of time!
Well.....
I have been waiting such a long time to be able to make this post! It has finally happened! Our 14 month old girl is walking. Such a difference from Brayden and Sydney who were both walking at 10 months, but I guess when there are 4 people who do pretty much anything for you there is no reason to walk. I think the only reason she started walking was because she was tired of being left behind by Brayden and Sydney when they went outside. Brayden would try to carry her but she's just so big now that it was looking pretty awkward and uncomfortable for both parties!
She started with help from my good friend Gay who tricked Maddy into thinking she was holding onto her shirt but would really let go and just walk beside her. I then took her outside onto the street where she decided walking was so much better then scraping her knees trying to crawl after the kids. She really started picking up speed and courage when we were Cebu City last week because the hotel was carpeted and so soft, easy to fall on.
Obviously I am thrilled and had to capture a small video clip of our little frankenstein walker for our family and friends to see. I can't wait for you all to see her in person... the countdown to Canada vacation has begun. In the mean time please enjoy this clip of our little spoiled rotten and extremely lovable Maddy.

Goodbye, Hello

Well it's that time of year where we say goodbye to summer and say 'hello' to rains! The talk around these parts is that rainy season is starting... It's earlier then I remember but we really need it. It's been such a dry summer, everything is so brown throughout the Island. I think it only rained 3 or 4 times since January and then all of a sudden since we got back on Monday we've had a huge poor every afternoon with huge thunder and lightening storms! It's nice because it cools everything down and we've been loosing power around noon and bedtime for a couple hours each so it gets quite hot in the house with air conditioners or fans. One not so great thing is that it sure makes doing laundry outside really suck. Thankfully the machines are covered so it's just a small sprint from the dryer to the door! Unfortunately I'm not sure if our poor garden is going to survive since it's all new seeds and young plants starting to bud and the garden collects quite a bit of water.
The other night the power was out and there was a huge thunder storm so Ryan pulled out a sofa bed/couch into the driveway where the wind kept us cool and we sat out there with the kids and watched the lightening light up the sky!

Vacation From Our Vacation

After the long drive to Cebu City Thursday and spending the evening learning how to be an effective tour guide at the temple we were ready for Friday. It was a great day giving tours but it was so so so hot and we were on our feet all day. We went back to the temple in the evening to get some pictures and it ended up being a late night. Saturday morning came and we went with the whole family to check out the temple and look around. I needed a day of R&R &B (and beach). We knew that Bohol seemed to be quite relaxed when we been there before and you we always got a good chuck of the beach to ourselves so off we went.
Saturday afternoon we took a ferry to Bohol. It was a longer day then we had hoped because one of the ferry's were cancelled and so the next boat out was already fully booked. It gave us time to get some lunch in us before the boat took off. Thankfully the boats are fast, air conditioned, show good movies and have free wifi. Unfortunately Madison was not a happy camper! She pretty much struggled for sanity the whole 2 hour ride being over tired and just wanting to walk around instead of sit on my lap. As soon as we got off the boat and she was free to roam around she turned herself around and was back to her normal content self.

We checked into the Bohol Beach Club which was amazing! We put Madison down to bed, got some grub and hit the sack. The next morning we got up and took a walk along the beach before breakfast. We didn't really do too much all day long, just play in the sand, play in the pools (the hotel had 3 pools), ate some food and explored the massive amount of property the resort is on. It was such a nice day to spend the time together as a family and just play. Madison if at that age where she's so much fun and her personality puts up with our craziness and she's so happy to be doing whatever it is that the rest of are.

Sadly, we had to pack up and leave early Monday morning so we would back in time for Ryan to get a little sleep before work Monday night. The drive home went so smoothly and we were able to keep that great mood from the weekend at the temple and the beach with us. The weekend defiantly is in the top weekends ever!

Cebu City, Philippines Temple Open House

WOW!
Ryan and I had the most amazing opportunity last week to volunteer for the Cebu City, Philippines LDS Temple open house. All last week the temple was open for media, people who were apart of the design and construction of the temple and other VIP. Friday marked the first day that the temple was open for the general public and Ryan and I were tour guides. In preperation we went to the temple Thursday night were we so fortunate to have Elder Ko, the General Authority from our church over our area, gave us a tour of the temple discussing in detail different rooms, their meanings and symbolisms. Both Ryan and I learned something knew and were blown away by the spiritual experience. We felt so lucky since Elder Ko just happened to take our small group over others.
The next morning, Friday, Ryan and I showed up for work and again we were able to walk through in a pre-run with Elder Ko and President Balledos one last time before were in the spot light. We lead through about 5 groups of people through the different rooms of the temple explaining them and showing off their beauty. I really can't explain how it felt, but it was incredible!

We then went back Saturday morning together as a family so the kids could have a chance to look around, see the inside of the temple and take a look at the rooms where we were married in and be able to show them the mirrors that go on for eternity. For those of you not familiar with a sealing room in an LDS temple there is a large mirror on either side of the room facing each other. When you look into one of these mirrors you can see a million you's looking back at you. Elder Ko explained to us that you look in one mirror and it represents all your ancestors that came before you, your mother, your grandmother, great grandmother and so on. Then you look into the other mirror and all those reflections represent your posterity so your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and so on. Then in the middle of the room where you and your spouse kneel across from each other is where you have the opportunity to bind together that chain from the past, present and future for eternity. Such a great feeling to be standing in the middle of that stunning room looking into the mirrors and seeing the two of you and your family together forever! But that is what the temple is all about, bringing families together forever.

Here is one of my favourite pictures I took when Ryan and I snuck out to get some night shots, I think it kind of looks like the temple is glowing:

Did You Say Free??? I'm In!!

Bacolod City is the capital of the province we live in. It's defiantly the most civilized town on the Island (we have an iStore and a Starbucks!) but it's still has that small town mentality. We really love it here, the people are super friendly and warm, we can find pretty much anything that we need and nothing is too far that it ruins your day to have to step out to run an errand. I think one of the only downers to Bacolod is that because it is more a smaller town we run out of idea's for new things to do. Well, after 3 1/2 years here in Bacolod City we did a 'first' together as a family this week! We rode on the free shuttle from the north wing of the SM mall to the south wing.

I know, we really live on the wild side, don't we!?

Daddy's #1

So in our family daddy is the pronounced favourite. This has never really bothered me since it's common knowledge that Ryan is WAY funner then me although at time I do wonder about it. We have some good times throughout the day... what is it exactly about daddy that makes him so perfect?
Well, a couple weeks ago I think I got my first hint. I had been out at a meeting in the evening and so Ryan was in charge of getting the kids their dinner and sending them off to bed. I come home to peaceful house, no problems whatsoever. That morning I'm getting Brayden some breakfast and he wants to eat it in the living room. I remind him that we only eat our food on the kitchen table (the ants are seriously on top of their game here so we try to keep them generalized in one area). He then proceeds to tell me that "last night daddy let us eat there in front of the TV and we watched 2 movies. He even let us eat all the cookies there on the coffee table." I then explain to Brayden that Daddy is just way cooler and funner then I am and he seems quite satisfied with that answer and moves himself to the kitchen table.
A little later in the morning Brayden is in time out in his bedroom and Ryan is getting breakfast/dinner made before he heads up to bed and I say to him "this morning Brayden was telling me that last night they got to eat dinner at the coffee table while watching 2 movies!?" Ryan defends himself by saying that no, it was only 1 movie that they watched but then this voice from the bedroom says "No daddy! It was 2 movies!" Ryan was so busted in his little lie by his own son!

I had decided that maybe that might be one reason why daddy is the favourite and then I saw the pictures of the last time Ryan was in charge of dinner while I was a meeting!

Who wouldn't love their daddy if he filled your mouth with whipping cream and let you rip all the sheets off the bed and jump on it like a big trampoline and then takes pictures to capture the joy on their faces! Obviously Mom is a total hag for telling you "no more jumping on the bed" and "no you can't have that whipping cream, I'm saving it for a special occasion."
Who can blame them for declaring daddy the best!?

Yucky YUMMY

I think that this picture defiantly explains the difference in taste preference when you are on the other side of the world. I hope I'm not offending anyone by saying that this flavour of ice cream has never been our first choice....

Seems Like Yesterday

May 3rd marked our seventh wedding anniversary! I wish I could say I can't believe it but I do. Maybe it's the degree Ryan finished, the three kids I 'popped' out, and the move across the world that helps remind me it wasn't just yesterday. BUT it has been a great seven years.... filled with great times and challenges but here we are, stronger then ever and still learning.

So, on our wedding anniversary this year we woke up to a pretty empty fridge. No milk, no eggs and a few pieces of moldy bread. We decided to celebrate by going to McDonalds for breakfast after a nice walk around the Lagoon. We took our moldy bread with us and fed it to the fish. We spent the morning together as a family enjoying our time together. It was just a perfect start to a day!
Ryan and I then ditched the kids and went to the Iron Man 2 matinee and went out for dinner. Although the date was nice I have to admit that spending the morning having fun together with the kids was defiantly the highlight of my day!

Earthquake

A few nights ago I was up playing on the computer while the kids and Ryan were sleeping. There was this noise that sounded like a big semi truck was turning onto our street and driving past our house. I thought that was a little strange since all the time I've been here I don't recall ever seeing a semi truck and we live in a private subdivision so the biggest truck around these parts in the garbage truck. So I sat there listening to the noise when all of a sudden everything started shaking. At the time it was scary, I didn't know what to expect since it was my first earthquake experience so I just kept waiting for it to get worse but it never really did. It didn't last for too long either, maybe 15 seconds, and everyone in the house just kept on sleeping like nothing happened. Got my heart rate up just enough for it to take me a little longer to fall asleep that night but small enough that nothing was damaged and the internet didn't even flicker off for a second.