Super Kidney

This month we discovered an interesting thing about Brayden.  He went to the doctor for stomach pains and the doctor thought he had appendicitis so they sent him for a scan.  Well turned out he did not have appendicitis - just indigestion which resolved itself.  However there was another suprise finding.  It turns out Brayden only has one functioning kidney.  The other one never fully formed so its tiny and useless- essentially Brayden just has one to rely one.  However we visited with the doctor about it and Brayden will be just fine with one kidney.  Just needs to take care of himself the way we all should.  His other kidney has grown larger than normal and the doctor called it a super kidney- a term Brayden has embraced!

Happy Birthday Makenna

What a milestone Makenna has hit.  She is now in Young Womens and already turning into such a beautiful young woman- inside and out.  We are so lucky to have her in our family!

Makenna's 12th birthday was a great day.  In the morning she was surprised by her whole beehive class who came to our house and kidnapped her and took her to breakfast.  She loved that special surprise!

When she got home we let her open her birthday presents.  She got an ice cream maker, a Kendra Scott gift card, and some other fun little things.

Then, as a family, we went to Brielles soccer game where Brielle scored a goal just for her sister ;). Then we watched her open presents and then we all went to Jasons Deli for lunch.  Then dad and I and Makenna went to the Kendra Scott store so Makenna could pick out a necklace.  Then we took her to the temple for her first time to do baptisms for the dead.  It was a beautiful and special experience. Makenna then chose the Calilfornia Pizza Kitchen for dinner.

The following weekend Makenna had her friend party.  She had a great group of girls come over for pizza, cake and swimming!

All in all I'd say it was a pretty perfect birthday!  Happy Birthday Makenna!

Grigors Move In

Over the summer the Grigors came to visit.  They were also job hunting at the same time.  Luckily Jason was able to find a job within just a few weeks of staying.  So the Grigors extended their visit and turned it into a move.  We were thrilled to have them moving to Texas.  I never thought I would end up with family here!  They stayed with us for three months July-September and were able to get a job, sell their house, and buy a new house during that time.  It was a big time of transition.  It may have seemed a bit tight at times but the cousins had a blast living together for those few months. Heres some random pics from during that time.

Helping Hands

For a service project for the Youth, Kevin and Brayden -along with Jason, Ben and Daniel, spent the weekend in Louisiana cleaning up after a terrible flood.  It was a great opportunity for them but also a lot of hardwork and sacrifice.  I think they had a good time and it was a rewarding experience.

The temple parking lot was where they all met to get organized and given assignments.

 They even ran into Jacob and got to hear from Elder Nelson who was there on Sunday.