Stretches with Maggie

My chiropractor has me on a rigorous stretching and exercise program, which is difficult because every time I get on the floor, Maggie thinks it is playtime.  Her endless supply of energy keeps me laughing.

Spondylolisthesis

I was born with a mild case of spina bifida.  I went into surgery immediately after entering the world and because of it I have lived an active pain free life... that is until recently.  MRI's revealed the difficulty and at the beginning of the year I started decompression treatment, hoping to avoid back surgery.  At the close of last year I could barely stand on my feet more than five minutes without severe pain radiating down my left leg.  Since I have embarked on this journey I have seen numerous doctors, all of which recommend surgery, of course... but we hope the decompression continues to be successful.  I am currently optimistic, since my pain level has dropped significantly.  I still experience mild numbness if I am on my feet for hours during the day but my pain level has significantly improved.  Only time will tell.

Maggie and Mom

Sunday was nice and relaxing.  I finally felt the urge to pull my camera out.  Sara was patient as I set everything up for my all-natural photos.  I fed Maggie slices of dried apple to keep her engaged.  Sara fell into a slumber towards the end... but it was all for a good cause.

Maggie swings

Maggie graduated to the big swings.  She still needs an occasional push... but don't we all need a little push now and then.

Hair pulling

I don't know if any of these pictures made it to the blog but these are some of my favorite images of Taya with Maggie, especially this hair pulling series.

Cousins

Here is a picture of Taya with her cousins. She will be eighteen in a few days. There is sixteen years between Maggie and Taya. We feel fortunate that each child has a great set of cousins. I love having cousins, they have always been a great influence for good in my life.

Cousins

The boys club and a girl

Switch

Maggie playing with the light switch

These boots were made for walking...

Belly

"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." Proverbs 31:10 

Despite the pregnancy blues, Sara is amazing.  Everyday she gets up at the crack of dawn and regardless of how she feels, she drags herself to work.  She is truly amazing and wonderful.  Her heart is always in the right place.

Snack

This is a fraction of the emotions Maggie will pass through during a quick snack.

Maggie's birthday

Maggie turned two without a lot of fan fair.  Family from across the country sent packages... and before we could eat dinner the present were opened.  She took it very seriously and didn't break between gifts.  We had a simple meal of chicken nuggets with home-made honey mustard sauce and a side of cabbage salad.   Somewhere during clean-up I realized our dishwasher was broken... what I thought would be a 15 minute detour slowly turned into an hour... until, it was getting late.  So I bagged my man project and finished decorating the cake, angel-food from scratch with fresh strawberries, whip cream and cookie crumbs. Maggie quickly dispensed with the candles and before we knew it were we all eating cake, that is... all of us except Maggie, who had pushed it aside to eat the ice cream.

Maggie was all business

Intermission between presents

Back to work

All in a days work

Come on Mom, we have got work to do

Ahh, finally I found what I was looking for...

perfect for my sweet tooth.

No trick candles here!

You never know...

You never know what kids are going to like... Maggie loves her two hand puppets from Grandma Richins. She gets some big laughs when we play puppets and wrestle... these aren't nice lizards, so she has sustain all kinds of injuries and tears... but no matter what... she still keeps coming back for more.

Henry's first pictures

3 lbs and growing. Profile (upper left).  Hands (upper right). Mr Johnson (lower left).  Sucking thumb (lower right).

Way back when...

Ya, I know I am slow at getting pictures up... these or from Christmas... Maggie and Cousin Payton. Enjoy!

A little Ray of Light

Say Yes to the Blessing Dress

Valentines

Sara's made these beautiful valentine crepes

I wish you could have seen her face after, that was a sight!

Everyone in the family went crazy with Valentines gifts.

I should document all the wonderful cards we received.

No stopping for Sara. For dinner, Valentines Pizza!

Premiere: Behind the Motel Curtain

The family traveled up to Cedar city for Ginny's baby blessing.  We made a little film while waiting around.  It doesn't get much better than this.

Birthday wishes

This is a creepy video I made about my birthday. Thanks everyone for making it special. Thanks Blake and Whitney for your beautiful voices.