The Fort

Dad and the boys working on the new lower fort!

Kaden on the rope swing made with a piece of wood a base of an orange cone.

The Old Fort up in the tree over 15 feet. Heartattack scary!

The weather in Heber is not predictable, nor does it seem to go in my favor either. I love the sun, I could live in the heat over the cold any day. Well if winter was the three months like the calender says, I could handle that. Yucko! But I never focus on the negative.....soooooooooo

when the sun does shine, I set my sites on the outdoors, along with the boys...we have been rollerblading, playing baseball, basketball, biking, going to the fort in the field behind our house. Now its these things that make me appreciate Heber much more. This fort is so cool and so scary at the same time. The boys love it, so we took them yesterday afternoon. I was like no way can you go here without me.....Its truly a work of lets be nice "art". Some others have constructed this thing with a pulley cable even to hoist things up there. Wow! My boys think its the the coolest thing in the world...Colton brought a bag over there yesterday with the following contents: 2 hammers, a box of nails and his Book of Mormon, and that is it! Not sure what the rhyme or reason was but it is what it is. I immediately was looking around for another spot on this gigantic tree seriously the diameter is like 20 feet and that is not an exaggeration. Steve located a spot that could suffice but it was about 15 feet lower than the other one and that made us both feel better. Colton took to it and started building away, those nails and hammers sure were a lifesaver...well not really as he didn't want to leave at all. He was in his glory for sure. He loves to build, arrange, and put things together that is what he can truly focus on well and he does....Kade of course was happy swinging on the rope swing that swung over the little creek. Colton's friend, Ethan, was there as well and he did something wrong in the building plans according to Colton hence, Colton's reply....."Ethan was choosing the wrong, good thing I brought my scriptures with me." Steve and I couldn't stop laughing, he can be such a sweetheart then in a moments time turn vicious. Ugh..I know I gave him that personality...its has served me very well 95% of the time! So I am going to try to embrace it the best I know how.

Baseball season has started and it is fun, we have been to two games only but both games Austin was the starting pitcher and did well the first game and not so well the second on the mound however, he made up for it with a three run homer out in left field! It was a beautiful hit and I know he needed that after his mound performance. When we got home, he said I was throwing strikes...that umpire had no teeth on the bottom and his right eye was all jacked up! LMAO...the other game the umpire has a HUGE 6 inch hole in his pants...so glad he had on some pants underneath those....Seriously it was so hard not to look at it every single time he bent over.


Kaden......as precious as ever, I tell you that kid makes me want to have ten more, well not really. He is reading so well, and loves it too! Tonight our family home evening lesson is on reading our scriptures more and then going to the library, he is so excited.

I can only Imagine................

What my sweet baby girl would be doing today, who would she look like, would I have to get a job to support her clothing habit....or would that be mine? I wish I could say that this was all a dream and that this never happened to our family. But since I can't, I have chosen to look at the positive things that our trial has helped us achieve in such a short time. As I reflect back on Avery's journey, I can't seem to grasp how I made it through that period of time. I was with someone today and I shared with them that it was as if I was being guided literally, to take each and every step & breath. I was given a very special gift when I needed it most and for that I will be eternally grateful. My husband and I became like one again, we gained strength through each others struggles and good times. We needed one another, we felt strong in the presence of our children, their innocence and tender spirits showed us what was really important in life. We cherished our family, our friends, ourselves....just a little bit more as we embraced life for another day, as our journeys are not our own.

Sweet Avery Ann is still here, somehow she lives on with us in our daily lives, as my boys would have it no other way. There is not a day that goes by that Colton and Kaden don't talk about or pray for her. My boys have given me a gift that I don't know if I could have given myself. They have the faith that is untainted by the words of the world, their innocence is untouchable, they believe what they are told! They teach me day after day that Avery is our family forever and we will see her again.

Until we see her again, we will enjoy when she shows off her presence, as she visits us in many forms, sometimes as a ladybug, sometimes as a butterfly...and often times she says hello to us in the form of some coin on the ground. A friend of ours, who also has a special angel, gave the boys piggy banks and said that whenever you see money on the ground that is Avery telling you hello! We relish in that notion, and every time we spot a coin on the ground, we pick it up and say hello Avery! She shows up a lot in our lives and it may seem corny to others, but we will take all we can get and the smile it puts on our faces and in our hearts.

Today we will celebrate instead of mourn the short life of Avery. The little boys have requested a birthday party at the cemetery, pink cupcakes and messages attached to balloons telling her about the special spirit she has brought into our lives. I will tell her, Life is not the same, life will never be the same, life goes on....we love you so much Avery, thank you for the strength and courage you have given each of us! Happy Birthday to you!