Driving through Nebraska to Illinois

So...this post is for Miki and the family at home while I am currently helping our dear Wilford friends move to Illinois. Jon and I started driving the 24-foot U-Haul, complete with car in-tow, at around 2:20pm pacific time. The plan is to drive straight through. Here's the map. We decided to take a slightly longer, northern route to avoid the slow-going climb straight up over the Rocky Mountains. So far we have made gas and restroom stops in Cedar City, UT; Nephi, UT (including a quick meal at Arby's); Little America, WY; and Cheyenne, WY. We are currently in Nebraska making good time as we just drove past the Cabella's world headquarters in Sidney, NE. We are estimating our arrival to Quincy, IL around 9:00pm central time. We'll see how we do.

Not sure how good of quality this video is, but as you can see we are alive and well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5-qK2DxK0g

1 Year to the Day

It was around 10:00 AM exactly one year ago that we received word that we had a healthy baby girl weighing 6 pounds 5 ounces. She had brown hair and looks perfect. By noon we had arrived at Valley Hospital to meet Shanna (our birthmom) and our new baby girl. I have to say the description we were given was dead on. She was perfect, 10 fingers, 10 toes, and beautiful almond shaped eyes. In certain moments it feels like Shaylee should still be a tiny baby, but after refecting on the long road we tread this past year she's exactly as she should be. Shaylee is a bright light in our home. She is smart, silly, giggly, very active, beautiful and more than we dreamed she would be. A little more than a year ago I doubted we'd ever have a 4th child. Now, I can't imagine life without her. Today she weighs 24.2 pounds. She's no light weight. She's walking a little, 2 to 4 steps at a time. She can open doors and help herself to cereal. She's an avid dirt eater. I doubt there's an object in the house she hasn't licked. She loves music and has a little twist dance when she hears it. Her curls get looks and happy comments everywhere we go. She charms men and women alike with her beautiful smile. Thank you Father in Heaven for sending this little angel to be a Hone. Happy Birthday Shaylee!

Mother's Day

I must begin by saying, I have the best children on the planet! I feel so blessed to have the four beautiful kids Father in Heaven chose to send me. This mother's day I discovered a hidden talent of Kaleb's. With his permission I'm sharing one of his poems...

LOVE

"L... Love is always in the air,
I always want you to be there.
Every Minute I'm with you is a treat,
just like eating candy that is so sweet.

O... Old and young I'll always love you,
and I'll know you love me too.
I just can't think how to thank you enough,
you've helped overcome times that were rough.

V... Vivid colors I can see,
but the brightest colors are you and me.
Any gift I can buy can't show
all my love for you, you know.

E... Everyday that I'm with you
I feel a connection coming through
Whenever we are near or far
know I'll always love you for who you are."

With all my love, Kaleb

Happy Mothers Day!!!