Two year old New born?

April 6th 2009, I just can't believe it has already been two years since my handsome baby boy was born! It has gone by so fast I have a hard time remembering all the little details.

After finding out we were pregnant I just couldn't stop smiling. Aaron and I were so excited to be parents and couldn't wait to meet out first baby. We decided not to find out what we were having but I always thought it was a boy. AJ just gave me that feeling from the very beginning.

Labour wasn't long but it was lots of hard work and at 8:31PM I was so relived to finally hear them say, "It's a beautiful, healthy baby boy!" I wasn't surprised I knew it was a boy, Aaron on the other hand was pleasantly surprised to meet his SON!

Everyone was so excited to meet him, all the grandparents and new Aunts and Uncles who live within 30 minutes came to see him on his very first birthday. I don't remember a lot of the details (I was a little out of it) but I do remember feeling happier than I ever had before and chalk full of love for Aaron and our new Baby.

Over the past two years AJ has changed so much, he is defiantly Aaron's boy! I know I am a little bias but from early on he's been a pretty laid back little man, and an almost perfect child. Don't get me wrong all the ups came with some pretty big downs but nothing we couldn't bounce right back from. Although he has his bouts of energy he like to sit back and watch the world around him, taking it all in and processing. Big groups usually make he shy but when he is with his friends he let's it all come out and is actually a little comedian.

Honestly it has all gone by way to fast! I can't be live my tiny little new born is already two years old. Here are a few of my favorite thing AJ dose right now:

1. AJ never answers a question with out saying "know" which means "I don't know" before actually answering.
"AJ, Who's coming over to play this morning?"
"Know? Beckam and Lyndz!"

2. He always puts his hands on your check to hold your face when he give you a smooch

3. His favorite song to listen to is ABBA's "Honey, Honey" and actually sings along to it in the car. As soon as it's over he says "Lyndz, honey honey again!" She has the CD in her truck.

4. He knows all the different vehicles he sees on and off the road and shouts them out as we drive along. (Truck, tanker, tractor, back-hoe, bus, train, car, van, Etc.)

6. He is obsessed with Mini-Wheat's and Broccoli.

7. He loves swimming and bath time. Right now his favorite thing is picking out what color to make the bath water each night. I give him ever option but each night he picks the same, 2 drops blue & 2 drops green! (at least it's not pink right!?!)

8. Just this past week he has started telling me when it is nap time (when he's done lunch) or bed time (after his bath.) Then he gets his blanket and goes and crawls into bed and calls me for prayers. It is so cute that he just dose it on his own but I kind of miss snuggling him up with his blanket and caring him down the hall. Pathetic I know!

AJ has filled our hearts with more love than we knew we could ever feel and we can't imagine our lives with out him. We love you so much AJ, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Canada Trip 2009 - Last Day!

Thursday April 2nd 2009

Busy, Busy! Today is our last day in Canada which means we packed up our suitcases one last time said good-bye to my parents, and headed into town. After dropping off our tax papers to Lana, stopping in at the Bank, and picking up a few Canadian treats we wanted to take home with us we made our Way to Hutch and Kim's house.

The Orr's were the only friends we had left to see and we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to visit. Not only were they our last friends to see but also our last new little baby to meet. Rylan is the newest little member of the Orr family and boy is he cute. Him and Hayden look a lot alike, you can defiantly tell they're brothers, but Rylan has his own little look to him. Unlike Hayden, Ryland has decided to grow hair right off the bat! He has lots of dark hair but his eyes seem to be staying blue. What a little stud!

Hayden and AJ had no problems playing together again. The have always played well together and seemed to have even more fun now that they are both walking, running, sharing, and big enough to play together. Hayden was showing Age all his cool toys and how to climb up on all the furniture. Let me tell you that boys got one strong melon, he'll fall and get a pretty good smack on the head and just keep playing.


Dinner was great and Hutch and Kim seem to be doing well. The Car business seems to be keeping hutch busy, which is great to hear in our unsteady economy, and he really seems to enjoy the work. He also has a few different bike trips coming up this spring that are sure to be a blast.

Kim is looking great already, I can't believe that she has lost so much pregnancy weight so quick! I hope I look as good as she dose after I've had two babies! Adjusting to two kids has gone really well for her, she seems so on top of everything. Ryland is a great baby as far as sleeping and eating goes so that was a nice surprise for Kim.

At 8:30 we crawled back in the car to made our way to Fort Macleod for the last time. We wanted to be there a little earlier so we would have more time to hang out, but when has the time ever stopped us from hanging out before!? AJ was tired but as soon as we arrived he started to work on grandpa to go play with the Toys.

Since it was just 2 days till AJ's birthday Grandma, Papa, and Amber wanted to give him is presents a little early so they could watch him open it. AJ had no complaints, lol.

Here we have a card, I can't read Dad let's move on!

Not to fast now, nice and slow, don't want to rip that paper. Umm.. are you awake!?!

A New blanket!!!!! He love this Blanket, it goes on his bed and he makes sure we bring it out each morning to snuggle with on the couch. Isn't it cute?

Thanks Grandma! Thanks Papa!


We put AJ down at 10:30 after some lego time with Grandpa and then played 10 000 with the Poytress's for and hour or so. We really love that game and could have played all night except for the fact that we needed to get up at 5:00!

The next morning the whole everyone got up to see us off. Al made toast, Bacon, and Eggs to start our day off right and it certainly did just that, yummy bacon! At 5:45 we woke up AJ and gave everyone their good-bye hugs before setting out on our long journey home.

We had rain and snow until Spokane and then thing cleared right up. The closer we got to home the greener and warmer it became. It was a long trip home and we spent so much time on the road that about 2 hours from home AJ patience finally wore out! He was sad, mad, grumpy, whinny, and irrational all in one. It made that last leg of the journey seem impossibly long but at 5:00 finally rolled back into our own parking spot!!!

Dust and Lyndz had brought over some pasta, milk, muffins, and treats to welcome us home. It was so good to see them and hold little Becks again! He had grown so much in just two weeks I can't wait for the Grandparents to see him again, he will seem like such a big boy to them. They also made a welcome home sign which I, once again, did not take a picture of!

AJ was a wild man that night, running around the house, jumping on his bed, getting out all his toys he had forgotten about, and wearing Dad out. Visiting home was great but after our crazy busy week it sure felt good to curl up together on our own couch and watch some office.

HURRAY I AM FINISHED BLOGGING CANADA!!!! CELEBRATE! NOW I CAN FINALLY BLOG ABOUT AJ'S BIRTHDAY!!!

Canada Trip 2009 - April Fools Baby

Tuesday March 31st 2009

So Tuesday was a long and emotional day but it all ended on a good note. We decided to meet up at cheesecake for dinner with Aaron's parents as well as mine. It was a little later than AJ is use to but by this point in the trip we had basically thrown out is bed time out the window!

One of the things I love most about our families is that they blend so well together. My Parents love the Poytress's and vice verse which makes nights like this so fun. We had a great meal, great company, and the parents picked up the bill, who could ask for more! lol.

AJ also started to sort out his Grandma & Grandpa's this trip. He has so many I think he was starting to thing any one who wasn't Dad, Uncles, or Friends Dad's, was another Grandpa. All the Grandma's are just Grandma but the Grandpas seem to be lining up as such:

Great Grandpa - Grandpa Dick
Big Great Grandpa - Grandpa Chuck
Grandpa - My Dad, Darren
Papa - Aaron's Dad
Grandpa Alaina - My Dad, Steele

Ha ha, it is funny the way he sorts them all out but at least know we know who he is talking about.

Wednesday April 1st 2009

Today we meet up with Grandma and Grandpa Poytress for lunch at Chopstix. We hadn't seem anyone from the Poytress family and were happy tp see that Lynn, Gary, and Karen where able to join us to.

After lunch we said good-bye to the Knights and went back to Grandma and Grandpas house for an afternoon of Yahtzee and Phase 10 dice. We tried to put AJ down for a nap but he wasn't having it. Grandpa brought him up a little tub of toys and he played happily on his own while I showed the others just how these games are played. Ha ha, it was lots of fun to spend the afternoon with them and it made me realize how sad I am that we didn't do it more often when we live in Lethbridge.

3:45 time to go! Today was AJ's first official hair cut. We have shaved his head 5 or 6 times over the pst two years but I just didn't want to go that short again. They have this new place in Lethbridge just for kids so off we went.

The kids can chose where they sit so we brought AJ in and put him right into the Red and Black Quad. He loves trucks and tractors so it seemed like the obvious choice, however trucks and tractors are not the only things he loves. AJ has a lot of girl friends and spends most of his time playing with the girls and there for girl toys. It's not a big deal but he has become especially fond of all things pink and that is why he insisted on sitting in the Pink and purple Jeep. Aaron wants me to make sure that you all know it was a Jeep which is manly so. . .Ya.

There it is, the look of longing. As soon as he saw the Jeep there was no turning back.

Things started out fine. . .

And then went down hill.

By this point he had admitted defeat but was sure to let us know that he was not impressed.

In the end it was all worth ir though, Look how handsome!


No April fools joke for us toady but there is one very important thing that we like to do every April's fool day, Celebrate Grandma Sandras Birthday!! This year Mom decided to invite the family over for some desserts around 6:30. It was nothing major just delicious treats and a relaxing night with the Nelson Family.

Grandma Sandra has some of AJ's favorit toys and so far in life it seems to be the thing he remembers most about her but as he grows I think that will chang. Not only is Grandma hard working, she is constantly volentering and getting involved in the community. He willingness to help other and her generosity are characteristics that I am sure one day will stand out to my children more than her awsome toy collection. Happy Birthday again Grandma, we love you!

You'll never belive this but I actually remembered to take a picture!

Canada Trip 2009 - The Book

Tuesday March 31st 2009

Turns out that deciding not to stop by Chelsie was a bigger deal than we anticipated. True, we had seen them last week at dinner but Chelsie was expecting us Monday afternoon and the next thing she knows we are calling from Fort Macleod to apologize for running out of time and not popping in.

Let me start at the beginning. Chelsie is a family history fanatic! She has a genuine love for her ancestors and is eager to share all the amazing stories she has uncovered with her friends and family. She has found, prepared, and taken many of her ancestors names to the Temple and is constantly searching for more.

After getting married I realized that Aaron was not only my husbands name but a part of his family history and a legacy he wished to pass on to his eldest son. Charles Aaron Poytress was the 3th Charles A. Poytress in his family line and the 7th to carry on the name of Charles.

When our son was born he became Charles Alexander-James Poytress, the 4th Charles A. Poytress, and the 8th Charles Poytress in Line. We were so excited to pass on his fathers name to him and hoped that one day we could help him to understand the history behind his name and what an honer it was to carry the name of his father & grandfather's.

We were not alone in seeing the importance in all his name could mean to him. Chelsie set to work immediately, looking through old journals, family history books, papers, the Internet, racking Aaron, Al, and Grandpa Chucks brains for all they the history they had to offer. She was determined to find out all she could about these men and dig up any pictures she could find to compose a book of our little boys History.

It was not and easy task to accomplish, especially with her crazy busy schedule but after two years she had done it! The book was complete and all of the sudden we were coming home and even stopping by for a visit!!! With AJ's second birthday just around the corner what a perfect opportunity to give the book to Aaron and AJ in person and share all her hard work with our family.

She paid extra to ensure that the books would arrive on the day of our visit, cleaned the house, and made sure that everything was perfect for the afternoon. She waited and waited..... called her mom to see if she new what time we would be there, and then the call came. It was us calling from Fort Macleod with our weak apologise and lame excuses. To us it was going to be a quick visit to say hi and catch up a bit, to Chelsie it was an afternoon to spend with our family sharing with us a book she had poured her heart and soul into. She was crushed but held it together on the phone.

The next day we started to realize what that afternoon meant to her and what we had taken from her by not stopping. As soon as Al got home from work at 1:00 he and Aaron decided that it was time mend the damage that had been done. AJ was sleeping and Aaron felt like this was something he wanted to work out with his sister alone. With flowers in hand and apologies in his heart Aaron arrived at Chelsie just 2 hours later. Tears were shed, hugs were shared, and all was forgiven as they poured over the pages of this new and wonderful piece of our family history.

She made a copy for the Charles Poytress's that are still around today which means we have two in our home. We would love to share this book with any and all who want to see it, it truly is amazing. We also want to let Chelsie know how much we love and appreciate all the hard work and long hours so spent on this book. She is such an important part of our family and there are so many things she inspires me to improve upon. You are an amazing sister(-in-law), mother, Daughter, and aunt to our little AJ. Without you this family just wouldn't be complete. We love you Chels!!!!

This is such a cute little poem, it made me cry! Maybe because the Poytress men pass down the name Charles or maybe because I am pregnant but I was seriously tearing up! I don't know if you can read it but it's so cute!

Canada Trip 2009 - Edmonton

Saterday & Sunday, March 28th & 29th 2009

We spent the weekend with Grandma & Grandpa Tolman, and of course, Alaina! AJ loves hanging out with his aunt Alaina, she is always such a big help to me because she loves playing with AJ and is great at helping take care of him.

After a delicious pancake breakfast with all the fixing we made our way to West Edmonton Mall. It was so busy, I can't believe we went there on the first Saturday of spring brake! We wandered around a bit while the boys when to the shooting range, grabbed some lunch, and then went to Galaxy land so the Aaron could take AJ on the free kid rides. One again no pictures, but it was so cute so see AJ ridding the Train, bouncing along on the merry-go-round, or pretending to rive the tractor as he went round and round. He didn't get scared on any of the rides but seemed to be done after these three, which was good because I don't know how much more Alaina could take of watching all the rides and not being on them! She did really good though and was happy to let AJ have a little fun before heading home.

That night we ordered pizza and played at home, after all our traveling AJ was in heaven just running and playing at home.

Fast and Testimony meeting was great and AJ went to nursery with out any problem. It's nice to know that even at another ward he is comfortable going to nursery without needing Mom or Dad. We also had a fantastic lesson on communication in our marriages. I always love these lessons because it helps you to appreciate your spouse more and re-evaluate how you treat them on a day to day base. I love Aaron so much and want to make sure that I communicate that to him each and every day, LOVE YA POY!

Dad Grilled steak on the BBQ, while Cindy made potato's, fruit salad, buns, broccoli, punch, and everything else you can imagine to go with it. It was delicious! I love braking my fast with such a great meal it always puts me in the perfect frame of mind for a little nap. After a little rest we dove right into Cindy's home made Blueberry Banana Cheese Cake, WOW! This was my first time experiencing it and I knew from the first bit that this was a recipe I was going to need, yummy!

All thought there is still plenty of snow on the ground it was a nice sunny day so we went for a walk to get some fresh Air. The kids played outside for a while while we played 10 000 (the funnest dice game you will ever play!) It was a very relaxing Sunday which is just what we needed.

Monday March 30th 2009

Pack it up we are heading south again. Today we planned on driving to Calgary and visiting our siblings. We got a bit of a late start but we able to meet up with Levi and Dylan for Lunch at 12:30.

Levi works at a Burger King with a play place so we decided it would be the perfect place to let AJ stretch his legs while we visited with the boys. However this particular play place was not really designed for kids as little as AJ which meant he was going to need a little help. I was laughing so hard as I watched Aaron squeeze into all the little pipes and tubes to help his little man reach the tallest slide. Together they came sliding out the bottom with static hair and wide grins, what a good Dad my husband is!

Dylan and Levi both seem so be doing well, nothing to new or exciting just working and thinking about what they want to do in school. The love living together and get along really well which is nice since Dylan was raised alone with no live in siblings. We were never really close growing up because we didn't see much of each other but he defiantly feels like part of the family now.

I do miss the days when we all lived at home and Levi and I were so close. He would do whatever I said because he thought I was the coolest and wanted to be like me but those day are long past. I am sure he would be the first to tell you that I still love to try and tell him what to do with his life and how he can best find happiness (live the Gospel teachings!) LOL, I'm glad that he take it all in stride and knows that I love him and just want him to be happy.

We were planning in stopping in a Chelsie's but it was getting late and we had dinner plans with the Derricotts for 5:00 so we thought we would just hit the road and call he from Home to tell he we ran out of time. We had already seen them on Wednesday for dinner so we both thought it would be fine. . . .

Dinner with the Derricotts was lot's of fun. I couldn't believe how big the girls were and how much they look alike! There is no mistake, those are Derricott kids, lol. Dinner was potato soup, pasta salad, and garlic toast followed by ice cream Sundays. Have any of you started adding up all our sugar/calorie intake for the trip yet!?!? We were well feed!

Catching up and hanging out with Mike and Brit was like old times. We have been blessed with great friends and going home reminded us of all the love and support we have back home. Thanks to everyone for making time for us and taking care of our hungry bellies.

Canada Trip 2009 - Family, Friends.

Tuesday March 24th 2009

Today was our day to run around and get all the little things taken care of. Banking, new Drivers licence, etc. etc. It was so weird to be back in Lethbridge running around like we never left. AJ was pretty patient but seemed happy to be back at grandma and grandpas house for the night. After dinner we played and watched biggest loser and celebrity apprentice, hold Denice Rodmin!

Wednesday March 25th 2009

Pack up again we are heading to the Poytress's. We wanted to make sure we spent some time with everyone so we planned to spend the next few days in Fort Mcleod. Although Amber is the only one still living at home, luck was on our side again, and we were able to see the whole family.



Jeff's brother was getting married on the weekend and so the Wolf family along with Jared and Jordan planned on stopping by for dinner on their was to Cardston. The wedding was going to be at Jeff's parents cabin which ended up having a burst pipe, Chelsea and Jeff needed to go help get thing fixed up quick so the girls got to stay with us at Grandma and Papa's house for a few days.



When everyone arrived on Wednesday night it was like Christmas eve! Great Grandma & Grandpa Poytress came and all of Aaron's immediate family was there as well. Of course Lorraine made an amazing dinner, which was only surpassed by her famous apple pie. It was so nice to relax and visit with everyone and AJ couldn't get enough of Aby and Sidney. It's such a blessing for AJ to be so close to his cosines even though we live so far apart.



Again I failed to take a single picture, nice work Mom!

Thursday March 26th 2009

With Grandma and Grandpa at work we thought we would spice things up with a Pancake breakfast. Sure, Sure I say it's for the kids but everyone knows I'm a pancake addict and just can't get enough!



Since Grandpa only worked a half day today he decided to take the Grand kids swimming out in clarsholme. Down here in Portland we can't find a single pool that will let kids in the hot tub. All of them have a 16 years and older policy which really annoys me since going in the hot tub is AJ's favorite part! We played for an hour, again no pictures, and then Grandpa got the kids some gummy candies for the ride home.



After dinner and some more cousinly bonding it was time for the kids to hit the hay. As usual we stayed up way to late chatting, but isn't that what being with family is all about!?

Friday March 27th 2009

Pack it up, we are back on the road. This time we were heading even farther north, all the way up to Edmonton. My body was still mad at me about our drive from Portland but we had people to see so you just gotta suck it up.

Our first stop was Red Deer, Alberta. Both Aaron's Parents grew up there and most of the Dye (Lorraine's) family still lives there. It has been far to long since we have seen Grandma Dottie and the counsel of aunts so we called everyone up and stopped in for a visit.

Grandma looked so good and seemed to be feeling relatively well, but Grandparents always say they are good regardless of their true standing, lol! It was to bad that Lorraine wasn't there because we wanted a few 4 Generation pictures but we snapped a few of these instead.

Here is AJ is 3 of his Great Aunt's. Can you believe that Jen (on the right) just had her 9th baby 6 months ago!?!? I don't know how she dose it but she looks great and is such a good Mom, she really need to write a book or something. Age had a great time playing with all the cool toys at Great Grandmas house and Even went in to the cool cubby hole, which is now a fort.

It was so fun to spend some time out in Red Deer we really don't see the Dye since of the family as much as we would like but it's always great when we do get together. Love you guys!

Back in the car for the last leg of our journey. It was already almost 3:00 so AJ passed right out and slept all the way to Edmonton, I think Aaron may have dozed off to. Poy drove most of the time we were on the highway through out the trip but sometimes I insisted on driving because I could tell he was to tired to go on. We both love driving but he usually likes to drive when we are on our road trips. Anyways we got to Edmonton and headed straight for Dave and Dee's for dinner. I am sure most of you remember all the blogs from this time last year that always included Dave and Dee. They lived in the basement suit and we live upstairs and basically became inseparable, well at least me and Dee where! She is now one of my closest friends and we couldn't wait to get together.

It was like AJ & Lauren hadn't missed a single day together They were just as comfortable with each other as ever and hurried downstairs to start playing.

We were also so excited to meet their new baby Girl Kira Rose Gunderson. What a beautiful baby! I just couldn't get enough of her and all that hair! I don't know what Dee and Chuck were doing during their pregnancies to have babies with so much hair but I wish they would let me in in the secret!



Our visit seemed way to short and of course made me miss all those lazy days we spend hanging out, baking, playing at the park and in the yard, BBQing on the deck, watching the boys baseball games, golfing, and playing the train game. WE REALLY MISS YOU GUYS!!!!

We rolled in to the Tolmans between 9:30 and 10:00, stayed up to late visiting AGAIN, and finally passed out after and long and wonderful day.

Canada Trip 2009 - Southern Alberta

Our Trip to Canada was a pretty busy one, we wanted to see everyone and it seemed like everyone wanted to see us! We were gone for 13 days, which means it could take me a few blogs to catch you up but we have a busy week coming up so I am going to try and get it done A.S.A.P. Wish me luck!!!

Sunday March 22nd
we spent the day in Stirling relaxing with my parents and catching AJ up on his sleep. It was nice to spend time together with nothing to do, since not everyone has 13 days off work this was the only full day we got to spend with them. AJ was right at home with Grandpa, they went for a drive, played with Zoe, watched some tractor on youtube, and played in the cool new Airplane tent for the Grand kids. Of course I was to ridiculous to get out my camera and snap any pictures so you will just have to imagine it, sorry Dad!

After Church we went for dinner at Grandma Nelsons house. Brant & Camile where married on March 20th so everyone was in town including Auntie Marla from Texas. It was really nice to see everyone and catch up. There aren't a lot of times the whole family is together but everything just worked out in our favor.

Another great photo opportunity presented itself, which I again did not take advantage of and am kicking myself for now! My Aunt Lana and I are bother pregnant and happen to have the exact same due date! Can you believe that I am going to have a cosine the same age as my second child!?! Not only that but we both love the same two names for a boy and a girl! Guess it's going to be a race to the finish line. We never go a picture together at Christmas since we were both only 3 months and still just looking chubby not pregnant but now we are both showing and I missed it. I know that I won't see her again until both babies are here and I'm sad that I missed the chance to take our picture. Oh well. They tried to find out what they were having but the baby wasn't showing so June should be full of surprises, can't wait to hear what they have!

Monday March 23rd 2009
We tried to fill our days seeing everyone who doesn't work so we could spend our evenings with our parents. We knew we would be busy and we wanted to make sure that Age got as much face time with the Grandparents as possible. Monday morning our first stop was Great Grandpa Dicks. It seems like everyday he is doind better and better! No one thought he would live to old age but here he is alive and kicking.

Grandpa has been walking over to church, making himself all kinds of dental and eye appointments, walking to 7/11 for treats, and even calling cab's to take him to wal-mart for new sox or pants. He's such a character I love to hear all his hilarious stories. When we got there Grandpa was M.I.A., I wasn't sure if he had taken off in a taxi, but son we found him in he computer room. He was looking at the blogs and working on e-mails, boy was he surprise to see us! We went back to the room to eat doughnuts and visit until lunch.

AJ loved hanging out at Great Grandpas. He remembered all the toys that Great Grandma use to let him play with and had a ball playing in Grandpas remote control chair. This was one of the first times I have been out to visit Grandpa since Grandma passed away, I even had a little melt down on the way to Taber. I really miss her, I guess it's easy to pretend that she's still with us when I live so far away. Anyways it was great to see Grandpa and to know that he is doing so well.

Today was also my Dixie day, one of the days I have been most excited about! I have not yet blogged about my aunt Dixie and her amazing story since every time I start I get way to emotional and chicken out!

6 months ago, while my grandma was in the hospital waiting to pass away my aunt Dixie was diagnosed with Brest Cancer. Perfect timing by the way. Somehow she was able to get through the next week of sharing the news with her family, saying good-bye to her Mom, and finding out just what having cancer was going to mean for her. Dixie found out that she was going to need chemo therapy every three weeks until her mastectomy in early January. Not only are these treatments painful but they side effects are fairly unpredictable. For Dixie they usually seemed to make her feel like a 9 month pregnant 80 year old women who had been recently hit by a freight train.

We would talk every week, sometimes longer than others, depending our her health but we always had our chats. I love visiting with her and would wait to put AJ down so I would have a few hours of uninterrupted time just for her. I have always know that aunt Dixie was a strong women, she doesn't often show when things get to her as she prefers to weather her storms alone. Like always she kept a lot of her feelings between her and Uncle Rick but she was always willing to share her experiences and open up with her family. After her mastectomy the Doctors brought her in for the results and told her that they wanted to take her tests to the board because her results were so miraculous.

Dixie was cancer free! Not only did they get the Cancer in her Brest but everything that was in her Lynphnodes was gone! The doctors said that these types of results only occurred in 3-4% of patience, what a great day. I told her that we needed to celebrate the minute I got there and that is just what we did.

After visiting for a but Aaron and AJ went home for a nap and I spent the afternoon with my Cancer Free Aunt. It was great with did nothing but snack and visit and it was perfect. At 4:30 we left with Lexi, Milly, and Inga to meet up with my mom for a white chocolate Brownie. (and dinner too, but most important was the Brownie!)

One of the other things I was most looking forward to was seeing my mom. Mom is my best friend, I can't remember the last time a day past without talking to her. Not only do we talk everyday but we have the best time when we are together. No need for planning any big event, just being together is enough for us. This trip I was especially excited to see her because 6 months ago she had Gastric Bypass and has now lost 100 pounds!! It has been a long hard road but she has done so well and I couldn't be prouder of her. Saying good-bye to all your favorite foods and limiting your intake so drastically can't be easy but Mom has worked hard to make healthy choices and learn better eating habits. We too have been working hard to eat better and teach AJ healthy eating habits as well.

Aren't these sisters amazing!?!? I sure have a lot to live up to but all I really have to do is follow their examples of strength and faith and I know I'll be fine.