What a great Birthday!

Yesterday evening, I went to an Autism Support group. I met with several mothers from my stake who have at least one or more children with autism. The role that I signed had 17 names on it. -I couldn't believe there was that many people. The number of children being diagnosed with autism is growing. Any way, I had a great time listening to their stories and sharing some of mine as well.

I took this picture of Brody this morning. I told Brody to smile and say "Cheese". Not only did he look at me and smile, but he said cheese. It literally brought me to tears. I think Brody is going to come out of this. I love him so much. -He has the sweetest spirit. One othe mothers at the meeting last night said that she felt like her son was close to God and maybe that was why he didn't talk. I think the same can be said with Brody.

Tagged! By my good friend Natalie

10 years ago: 1998~I was finishing up my first year at USU.
5 years ago: 2003~I was pregnant with our second son Brody. We had just put our house up for sale and were looking for a place to live in Dallas, Texas.
5 months ago: October- Pretty much the same as now. Aaron was working at Willowcreek and I was working at USDC. Andrew and Brody were in school. We had a combined birthday party for Brody and Abby. -It was really fun!
5 things on my to do list today: 1. Laundry 2. Dishes 3. Beds 4. Dinner 5. Quality time with Aaron and kids
5 Snacks I enjoy: 1. Peanut Butter M&M's 2. Anything with icecream 3. Anything with chocolate 4. guacamole and chips 5. licorice
5 things I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire: 1. Tithing 2. Pay off all bills/debts 3. Buy my dream home 4. Invest 5. Put money away for my kids.
5 of my bad habits: 1. Too many unfinished projects 2. Staying up late 3. Not enough exercise 4. Don't plan well 5. Spending too much time on the computer
5 places I have lived: 1. American Fork, Utah 2. Logan, Utah 3. Irving, Texas 4. Eagle Mountain, Utah 5. (blank)
5 jobs I have had: 1. Wendy's 2. Fred Meyer 3. Wirthlin Worldwide (Surveys!) 4. CNA at Heritage Care Center 5. Nurse at USDC.
5 things people don't know about me: 1. I love to fish, (-I can even clean them thanks to my husband). 2. I'm a bargain shopper. Go ebay! 3. I tipped over my truck when I was 16. 4. I love to draw and paint. 5. In 2000, I broke my jaw in 3 places while I was knee boarding.

Midway ...What a cute little city!

Yesterday afternoon, our family drove to Midway. My sister-in-law and her family own a timeshare with Worldmark, and they are spending a week there for spring break. They invited us to spend the day with them, and we had such a good time!

We got to go swimming!

Our kids got to play with their cousins!

We played cards!

My Brother Got His Mission Call!

This morning all of my family got together to watch Michael as he opened his letter from the Church headquarters. Michael is going to the Thailand Bangkok mission! (I hope I spelled that right). -He's really excited, ...and grateful that he's not going to Africa. Michael has a good friend (Jordan) that was just called on the same mission. Who knows, maybe they'll be companions. Congrats Mike!

"All he wants for his birthday is his two front teeth"

A week ago today was Andrew's 7th Birthday. Andrew lost both of his two front top teeth shortly before his birthday so Aaron and I sang "All Andrew wants for his birthday is his two front teeth." -Andrew didn't get his two front teeth, but he did get a lot of presents. Abby (our two year old) kept saying "We need to go shopping for my birthday now, huh. Abby needs presents for her birthday." (Abby's birthday isn't til next halloween). We didn't tell her that. Luckily, Andrew let her open some of his gifts. Brody spent most of the evening showing off his alphabet and number skills to Grandma Nelson. Brody can say and write the whole alphabet. -He can also count to 20! He's shown a lot of improvement since he started his autism preschool. Breelyn is starting to stand alone. She's also getting very good at opening cupboards and pulling everything out. I keep telling my kids to quit growing, but they don't listen!