Christmas 2013

 My favorite place to be for Christmas is right in my own home; however, due to the fact we are still living in our basement and space seems to be getting tighter and tighter (I wonder if that is really true or it just seems to be true), I decided it would be a good idea to not stay home for Christmas this year. Since last year we went to the Nates (my side of the family) for the holidays, this year we headed to the Congers. We were very excited, let me tell you.

The kids and I headed north to Logan on Sunday, three days before Christmas, leaving Dan behind to work for one more day before joining us for a big prime rib dinner the next evening. Yes, prime rib. Boy, did we eat like kings and queens while we were there! And since eating is something we absolutely love to do. . . well, we were in heaven pretty much all the time! The good thing about Dan coming a day later is that he was able to take care of all the little things I forgot--or the not-so-little-things. Ok, so the truth? I forgot some huge things!!! Like Regyn's major thing from Santa. And Regyn and Boston and Berkley's Christmas Eve pajamas. And dare I mention I forgot to ever take Boston shopping to pick something out for Hallee since he had drawn her name? Oh goodness! Good thing my husband is patient and was willing and able to make a trip home to search out all my hiding spots to find everything and bring it.

Anyway, here are some pictures of our Christmas this year. It was truly wonderful!

 Okay, so the Saturday before Christmas we actually went down to Salt Lake City to see "Savior of the World" at the Conference Center. It was amazing! I highly recommend it. It was a great way to start us off in the true spirit of Christmas.

Notice my flaming red hair. That was because I thought it would be nice to be a red-head and I colored my own hair from a box I bough from Wal-Mart. Not the best decision I ever made (although I did look quite festive, don't you think? Ha!). I fixed that baby the very next day to a very normal brown.

Each year we choose a project to do that helps us think of others. Usually we choose a family in need to do something special for. This year we did something we've never done before. We made hygiene kits for the Humanitarian Center in Hyrum. This is the only center run by a Stake throughout the whole Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We were lucky enough to get a private tour of the place while we were visiting over Thanksgiving, and that little tour really sparked my children's interest to do something to help out (I loved it!!). I mean, they were honestly ready to go right home and start building quilts or something. I love enthusiasm like that! Unfortunately, reality has to set in as well. We decided instead to make something every one of us could help with; thus, the hygiene kits. 

We all went shopping together, first at the Dollar Store, then to Wal-Mart. I was so excited at first, thinking we could whip out tons of these things, but then we realized that hand towels were quite expensive, especially when each kit needed two, and our excitement fizzled a bit. We weren't able to make as many as we first imagined, BUT we did do it together, and we did do something! That's what matters. It was a great experience.

Here we are stuffing the Ziploc bags (no easy task, I must say)

Here are the finished kits.

a little closer look

Next . . . Christmas cookies!

That is one patient, beautiful grandma!

Ok, so what is this? Nate seems to think a gallon of chocolate milk and some cookies are a normal snack these days. Can you say, "growth spirt"?

Berkley had to get involved, of course. She was covered in flour from head to toe by the time we were done. But oh, so cute!

Boston is the only one who stuck it out until the end. He looked at me and said, "I'm no quitter." I loved it!

This is the cookie Berkley frosted over and over and over again. She just kept licking the frosting off and then frosting it again. That is one great strategy, I'm telling you.

We all look happy (and blurry, darn it), but by this time, we were losing our edge a little, to be perfectly honest. Making Christmas cookies is not for wimps.

Boston made this ginormous cookie for Santa. It took him forever. But Santa sure appreciated it:)

His note was so cute. Too bad I can't remember what it said, and it's too little to read here. Oh well. It was cute anyway.

Dad even got involved by the very end,  you know, when it was time to eat them!

Does this look impressive or what?

Then there was Christmas Eve, my favorite. Dan's father, Reed, always tells a Christmas story (something I was unaware of, but I sure loved it!), and this year he told about the priest in Les Miserables, which just happens to be his all-time favorite book. He did a marvelous job recounting the story and the priest's merciful decision that changed Jean Valjean's life forever. Then we had a testimony meeting and presented our gifts to Dan's parents--memorized scriptures and pictures, as well as some favorite books we thought they might enjoy. The kids opened new jammies, we watched a new Christmas movie, Christmas for a Dollar (I highly recommend it), and went to bed with visions of sugarplums--or was it geckos and new headphones--dancing in our heads:).

And then, it was Christmas morning . . .

Berkley loved her new slippers . . .

. . . and her new Arial dress and her huge gorilla pillow pet

Regyn got her much-wanted Monster High dolls (it's worth giving her gifts just for the look on her face).

Regyn also got a karaoke microphone and Boston got an electric guitar. There was music all over that house, I'm telling you.

And then there was the gecko. It was so fun watching my kids watch the gecko.

Oh yea, I almost forgot the visit from Santa himself on Christmas Eve. He ran around the house a few times so my kids could spot him from the windows. It was . . . hmm . . . how should I put it . . . weird? That's as nice as I could say it. My kids were way to smart to think Santa was spending his time on Christmas Eve just running around the back yard waving at them. Dan's mother insisted he put this Santa suit on and do the jig, but it didn't quite go over the way she envisioned. Oh well, kudos for trying, right?

We had such a wonderful day together on Christmas day. We visited my grandmother and Dan's grandmother, both in their 90's. We played games, watched movies, rested and just soaked each other up. I love it when we can be together without expectations, which truthfully happens so rarely.

With Dan's grandmother

The day after Christmas, Dan went back to work so we packed up and headed to Wyoming to see my side of the family. It was another few days of fun.

Not sure what we were doing in this blurry picture, but we were together, which means we were having fun!:)

More karaoke concerts

Berkley got a makeover from my sister, Katie. So cute!!

There is so much to be thankful for in my life. Right now, I must be honest and say I am thankful it's a whole year until Christmas comes around again, but when it does, I know I will soak up the music and lights and smells and feelings like a sponge and love it all over again. That's the beauty of Christmas!

Boston-7

Sometimes when I stop to consider that my Boston would be the baby of our family if we had not adopted Berkley, it astounds me. That means my baby would have just turned seven years old! Thank heavens that isn't really true.Still, I can hardly believe Boston is in first grade, that in only one short year he will have the opportunity to be baptized, that he is learning to add and subtract numbers in his head and loves to learn interesting facts about unusual things. How does this happen so fast?

The thing about Boston is that it hasn't been an easy journey so far. Not from day one. He was the one child we didn't get to take home from the hospital because his lungs were not functioning at full capacity. He was in the NICU for a number of days and then came home with a huge (and I mean huge) oxygen tank attached to him, making it difficult to even hold him. When we finally got his oxygen levels up to normal, we noticed he wasn't gaining weight. At two months old, he wasn't even his birth weight, even though I was supplementing and working hard to help him gain weight. He spent a week at Primary Children's Hospital, where they finally decided he suffered from failure to thrive and I stopped nursing so I could make sure he was always getting enough to eat. It was then he contracted RSV, then a month later another ailment. And it just never ended. The first year of his life was spent at hospitals and doctors' offices.

When we finally got him healthy, I realized the toll it had taken on me personally. I felt like a complete failure as a mother. I was exhausted in every way--physically, emotionally and mentally. No matter how I looked at things, I just kept thinking if I had been a better mother, we could have avoided many of Boston's health issues. Not only did I feel I had let my baby down, but since he had demanded so much time and attention, I also felt I had been failing my other three children. All in all, it was a difficult year, and one that had left me feeling completely depleted and downhearted. My dreams of being a really good mother went right down the tubes, and I remember thinking I would take just being a "regular" mother over the failure I was sure I was at the time (that sounds so funny, I know, as if being a "regular" mother isn't enough anyway). It's amazing how circumstances in life can beat you down to the point that you lose all sense of who you really are and what you are accomplishing. I had definitely lost perspective. No matter how hard I tried to see the good I was doing, all I could focus on was my flaws. I had to really turn to the Lord for help to see things clearly again.

For whatever reason, Daniel and I decided to put previous plans of having more children on hold. In fact, we decided our family was complete; after all, we had two girls and two boys now, and who could really ask for more than that? Thus, Boston became our caboose. Now, it is not really in my nature to coddle and baby my children much. Truthfully, I think that may be a weakness I have. I do love to love them and hold them and shower them with words of endearment and praise, and I love to hug and kiss them to death BUT I also love to see them grow and mature and become independent. And so, I tend to work towards helping my children reach new steps of independency right on cue (maybe even sometimes before they may be ready). I love it when my baby starts sitting up on his own, or when he starts to crawl or walk or talk. Some moms dread these milestones, but I rejoice in them! To me, it means my child is learning and growing and is ready for the next stage of life, and that makes me terribly happy. Anyway, with Boston, I think I may have let go of my natural tendencies a bit and allowed a few too many fits, gave in a few too many times, did things for him in a few too many instances because one day I woke up and realized my little boy was not really doing all that well. And that is not a good realization as a mother.

It happens so easily, doesn't it? I mean, especially with your youngest child (or the one you think might be your last anyway?). Since you're not as worried about another child coming along and you needing this child to be independent and secure and under control, you just sort of sit back and let things happen. At least, I think that's what I did. And it worked out great for quite a long time. Boston was cruising along just great--until I decided one day that he needed to start pulling his weight around our home. WHAT??? He didn't really want to. And I learned that training a toddler is much easier than training an older child who is already set in his ways. I felt terrible. This was painful--for me, for Boston, for the whole family. And I had nobody to blame but myself for my lazy parenting. Note to self: Lazy parenting just never pays off in the end.

Needless to say, these past two years have not been easy. I feel like I have spent countless frustrating moments with this sweet boy, working to reteach and retrain him, and he has resisted quite a lot. There have been a lot of meltdowns, a lot of tears, a lot of "I'm sorry's," and a whole lot of "I love you anyway's," but this mother has sure learned a lot from this seven-year-old, let me tell you.

Boston has a tender heart. He is very smart and loves to learn new things. He hates to see me upset or know that I am hurting in any way. He has certain insecurities my other children have not had, making adjustment to first grade very difficult for him. He has no real interest in sports, as my other children do, but has still tried playing soccer and basketball. He actually has great potential in athletics but no real desire, so we are still trying to figure out what he is passionate about. He loves to swim and is a very good swimmer and diver, but he is too concerned about certain things to join the swim team just yet. Because of his emotional needs, Boston has required consistent, with-it parenting, which has been exhausting at times but also has humbled me and opened my heart to loving him more. He is teaching me important things about myself and about motherhood that I don't think I would learn in any other way. I'm so grateful for that, even though many days are grueling and frustrating and difficult. There are also many days of happiness and growth, and those days fill me with gratitude.

I sometimes wonder what the future holds for this handsome little boy. I am certain he has gifts and talents that will bless the world, and I pray as his mother to help him figure out what those are. Growing and maturing can be so painful--for adults as well as children!! I feel I have been going through the process right along with Boston, as well as my other children. I am so grateful they are so very patient with me. Children are so forgiving.

One inspired thought I had as I prayed for guidance on how to help this sweet boy was that he needed a friend to call his own. This panicked me, I'm not going to lie. I am anything but a pet person. Getting a fish a couple of years ago was a huge step for me, so to even consider something bigger was monumental. But I knew it was what we needed to do. I also knew our family could not take on a puppy at this stage of things, especially since we are still living in our basement (5 more months, not that I'm counting:). I felt strongly that Boston needed a pet, a live friend that he could talk to, hold, and take care of--be responsible for--that was just his very own. So, I took Hallee and we went to the pet store. This is what we came up with. . .

A LEOPARD GECKO!!!

Here he is from the front.

We had to get this huge terrarium for the gecko. Finding a place for it in our already-crowded basement was not easy.

Here are all my children on Christmas morning just staring at it. So cute!!

Yes, meet Oscar Oasis Conger, as Boston immediately named him. And I'm getting way ahead of myself because Boston actually got Oscar for Christmas, and this post is supposed to be about his birthday, but since it's mostly about Boston, I had to put it in here. This gecko has been amazing so far. Boston has fed him every day and talked to him and tried to hold him (we accidentally bough a non-tame gecko--oops), and he has made this little boy so very happy. I'm so grateful for inspiration.

Now back to his birthday. He had an absolutely wonderful day because his parents went out of town and his Grandma and Grandpa Conger took him out for breakfast at Granny Annie's (his favorite) where he got a free cinnamon roll that "he didn't even have to pay for!!" They gave him seven presents, and he had the best day of his life!! He really needed a day like that, let me tell you, as he had had a lot of not-so-great-days before that. Then his parents came home and told him how very much they loved him, and he was as happy as a seven-year-old boy could be.

His mother even took him to YoGoToGo a couple of days later because he had (finally) reached a goal of good behavior he had been working on.

It was so cute. I had physical therapy on my neck right before we went. Boston was with me. The therapist asked him what he could do with his little girl to help her make good choices. Boston told the therapist, "It helps if you set some goals with her." I loved it!

 This boy just happens to be one of the sweetest, most giving little people I know. He got Hallee's name for Christmas and wanted to save up to buy her a laptop computer. Not very realistic, but I love his heart. Here he is watching her open his present. I love this picture!

Here is another picture I love. I just smile when he smiles.

Okay, last picture. He and Regyn happened to match the other day when they got ready for church so I made them pose for a picture. Are these two adorable or what?

Let's look a little closer at their cute little mugs. . .

I sure love my children, each one of them. They each challenge me in different ways, but they also teach me and make me realize things about myself and about life that are so meaningful.

I am so very grateful for this little seven-year-old boy. He is such a joy in my life. Happy Birthday, son.

I love Boston's look in this picture. He is so serious. It cracks me up.

Hallee--14

Hallee turned fourteen right before Thanksgiving. I still look at her and wonder how she ever got to be this beautiful teenage girl.

It seems like just yesterday she was a tiny little thing. Now she's taking honors courses and trying out for a 16 Power Club Volleyball team (and making it--yea!!). 

Here she is with her two good volleyball friends. They all made the team. Such darling girls.

She is becoming friends with her siblings, instead of fighting with them (something I am a huge fan of, let me tell you). She is becoming this person I can talk to and listen to and laugh with and truly enjoy. I love it! It's so fun watching her truly become. I know she is still very young and has a lot of becoming yet to do, but so far she has been so mature and so wise for her age and she has brought us so much joy.

It's definitely true that it all goes by in a blink. This girl has been growing up so fast. And she has been such a delightful, wonderful first child that I have thanked God for her every single day of my life. I decided a very long time ago that I would never want to be the first born. I mean, parents just have absolutely nothing figured out, and although they shower that first little child with love like crazy, which of course matters more than anything, they make so many mistakes. Hallee has been so patient with us (and will hopefully continue to be). It's just no secret I am crazy about this daughter of mine. She's got her flaws to be sure, but she's one fabulous girl in my book.

I think birthdays should be special every year, but I also try to not overdo it year after year because, well, I just think it's easy to overdo it and then kids tend to get over-spoiled and have way too high of expectations and then they don't really appreciate things, and then birthdays aren't fun or special any more (Okay, sorry for that little tangent on my feelings on birthdays). Anyway, we decided in our home to only have big birthdays and friend parties on extra special, big birthday numbers, which we termed to be 5, 8, 12 and 16. Therefore, this was not one of those years for Hallee. Still, I, of course wanted the day to be good for her and special, even if it wasn't a huge, monumental thing. So I tried to do some small things to let her know I was aware of her favorite things and loved her uniqueness. Instead of a birthday cake, I ordered peanut butter bars from a local bakery (her favorite); we put up the family "Happy Birthday" sign, opened presents, made a breakfast casserole at her request (which I stayed up late the night before to start and then she wasn't crazy about, darn it). Then her Grandma and Grandpa Conger took her to Salt Lake to stay at the Kimball and go shopping for the night. Talk about spoiled!

Darn, I am struggling with blurry pictures lately.

The wonderful breakfast casserole that I personally loved. Too bad she didn't:)

Love that Happy Birthday sign!

Hugs after favorite gifts were given. I love this picture.

I always wondered if having a teenager would be the death of me. I am learning that it definitely takes consistent, constant, with-it, involved parenting, and sometimes I wonder if I am really up to the task, but it's also a wonderfully rewarding and fun experience. I am just at the very beginning, so I have miles and miles to go in this journey (which seems completely overwhelming, I'm not going to lie), but so far, it's been pretty fabulous. Not perfect by any means, but I've never expected perfect.

The scariest part of having a beautiful, smart, talented (Ok, so I'm a little biased here:) teenage daughter is this four-letter-word: BOYS. I hate to admit it, but I just have secretly wished they would not appear in our lives at all until. . . like. . . after mission and a college. I know that's completely unreasonable, but I'm kind of serious. Somewhere deep inside, however, something told me they would be hard to avoid that long. Maybe it was all the people who keep telling me I had better lock my daughter up, or all the parents who've secretly told me their sons have crushes on Hallee, or maybe just common sense, but I knew that four-letter-word would appear sooner or later. I just hoped for later.

But nope. Sooner came all too soon.

This girl turned fourteen, and the next thing I know, I hear about a ninth grade boy who likes her. What??? And then I notice she is on her iPod much more often than usual. And then I see she is spending a little more time in the bathroom, working on her appearance in the mornings, and I start to add things up. I try not to panic. I take lots of deep breaths and do what any reasonable, put-together mother would do: I pretty much start freaking out inside! I do not want this!! I do not want a boy to start texting my daughter or liking her or anything like that. Not yet. And I definitely don't want her to start doing it back! 

Regyn, my little 8-year-old informant (in other words, my nosy little snoop--love it!), tells me this boy snap-chats Hallee and tells her he likes her. The next thing I know Hallee is asking to have friends over Friday afternoon after school. This is highly unusual for her (she has very seldom asked to spend time with friends--just has never really needed a social life). The kicker is, a couple of the friends are boys--one of them being this ninth-grader! Yikes! I seriously feel my blood pressure sky rocket. I am so not prepared for this! I calmly tell her I will talk with her dad about it and get back with her. Then I go in my bedroom, shut the door and have my own private little panic session.

Dan and I discuss it later and we sound like a couple of idiots. We have no plan, no policy for this. This is a first for us, so we have no idea what our family rule is, and we feel like we have been blind-sided. Two weeks ago this girl could have cared less about a social life, and now this! What happened? It was eye-opening, I'll tell you. I learned you have to be ready long before these things actually occur because things can change in a big fat hurry. We gave her an answer, then talked it over more, decided we gave her the wrong answer, and changed our answer by morning. LOL! How is that for fabulous parenting? I think that's just how it goes when you are doing the best you can and trying hard to follow your heart and work together with your spouse to establish important precedents and guide your children along this all-important path that leads to eternal goals. It is not easy. Decisions are not made in an instant. They take careful consideration. And it's ok to think it over and change your mind. At least, that's what I learned from this little experience. 

The best part about it all is that none of them could come! Whew! Dodged that little bullet. 

But it has given me time to think about what is ahead. And to talk with Hallee about this stage of her life. And about boys. And her iPod. She has had that little device for two years and has been so responsible we have never even had to police it at all (our kids don't have cell phones yet--we've teased them about getting them when they turn 18, but seriously we've made it this long without them and it's been great, but the iPod Touch does have a texting feature if there is wifi). But now, we realize it is probably time to set up some rules and boundaries. We wanted to do it in the right way and under the right circumstances so she wouldn't feel she was in trouble or like she was all of a sudden totally restricted. This was tricky, to be sure. Believe me, I've spent a lot of time on my knees in prayer lately over this child. I think parenting requires that, especially during times of deep learning curves, like this one. I got up at 2:30 a.m. one morning this past week, and although completely exhausted by the next evening, it was so worth it. That time I spent pondering and praying and earnestly seeking answers from the One perfect Parent who loves my daughter even more than I do and can help me maneuver through these tricky situations with love and patience and grace, was more valuable than I can express. I'm so grateful to know we are not alone in this eternally important role of parenting, that there really is a parenting Expert, so to speak, that is ever ready and always willing to help us and give us inspiration on how to help our children and our families. I think I would feel totally helpless without that knowledge.

Anyway, I was reminded of a blog post I read a long time ago from the blog 71 Toes by Shawni Pothier where she shared a Technology Contract she had used with her children. I looked it up and found it, and it was a great place to start! I tweaked it a bit to fit our needs a little and then printed it off. Dan and I took Hallee out on a date last night for fried ice cream--so delicious--and then we drove up on the mountain side where we could look out over Kaysville and see all of the beautiful lights. 

Here is Hallee and Dan enjoying the fried ice cream.

With a prayer in my heart, I told our amazing daughter how very much we loved her. I told her how I thanked God for her every day of my life and how truly wonderful she was. Then I told her that because we loved her so much, we wanted to protect her and help her navigate through life as safely as possible. We read the contract together (here it is):

Dear Hallee,

You are the proud owner of technology we never dreamed of having when we were your age. You are a good and responsible child and we WANT you to have this. But as with many things in your life, as your parents, we feel the need to present some rules and regulations because we adore you. We have been around a little longer than you have. We have seen the marvels of all this great technology and we are so grateful for it! But we have also noticed a gradual decline of old-fashioned communication that we feel is so very important for your spirit and your general development. So we’d like to introduce you to some rules and regulations we are establishing in our home.

Please read through the following contract. Failure to comply with the following list will result in termination of your technology freedom. We hope you understand it is our job to raise well-rounded, healthy young individuals who can function in the world and co-exist with technology, not be ruled by it. You may be mad at us for a while about some of these things. You have enjoyed some great technological freedom, which you have not abused and we are proud of you for that. But we feel the need to train you (as we train ourselves) to not let technology take over in our family or with your friends. We love you with all our hearts and look forward to sharing several million text messages with you in the years to come.

1.     Your iPod is given to you with the understanding that you will act responsibly. If you choose to put a password on this device, we will always know the password.

2.     Do not ever ignore a message from Mom or Dad. Not ever.

3.     Pray and read your scriptures before you turn on and check your iPod every morning.

4.     You will hand your iPod over to one of your parents promptly at ______________________ every night and turn it on again before you leave for school. You may not text anyone late at night.

5.     Although it is ok to take your iPod to school with you, realize it is mostly so we can get a hold of you if we need you. Pay attention to your teachers. Work on assignments. Fill your brain with knowledge. Have conversations with people you text in person. It is a life skill. Do not text or turn it on in between classes unless you need to text Mom or Dad.

6.     If your device falls into the toilet, smashes on the ground or vanishes into thin air, you are responsible for the replacement costs or repairs. Babysit, save birthday money, clean houses, etc. It might happen, so be prepared.

7.     Do not text or message anything through this device you would not say in person, out loud or with your friends’ parents in the room. Do not involve yourself in conversations that are hurtful to others. Censor yourself. This is very important.

8.     We reserve the right to be the only ones to give you license to any new apps. Please let us know if you want something new and why. We love to discuss these things with you, and we mostly trust your judgment. We also reserve the right to delete an app if we realize it is not in your best interest to have it. We love you and want what is best for you.

9.     No pornography. Use the Web only to search information you would openly share with us. If you have a question about anything, ask a person—preferably us—we know more than you think we doJ

10.   Turn it off, silence it, put it away in public—especially in a restaurant, at the movies, or while speaking with another human being. You are not a rude person; do not allow your device to change that.

11.   Do not take seductive or inappropriate pictures of yourself or anyone else. Remember first and foremost that in our family we seek after goodness and want to shine our light to others. Remember also that Cyberspace is vast and more powerful than you. Be careful what you put there. It is hard to make anything of this magnitude disappear—including a bad reputation and hurt feelings.

12.   Leave your device home sometimes and feel save and secure in that decision. It is not alive or an extension of you. Learn to live without it. Be bigger and more powerful than FOMO (fear of missing out).

13.   In addition to the music you love, download music that is new or classic or different form what all your peers listen to. Your generation has access to music like never before in history. Take advantage of that gift. Expand your horizons.

14.   Keep your eyes up. See the world happening around you. Take a walk. Talk to someone new. Wonder without Googling.

15.   After school, you are mine for 15 minutes (at least). Tell me about your day before thinking about looking at a screen.

16.   Most importantly, remember your spirit is the most important thing you have. Don’t let this privilege cramp your wonderful spirit. Don’t ever let your iPod or technology seep into your relationship with your Heavenly Father. The noise of technology is quick to make us all think looking at a screen is more important than talking, especially to God.

17.   Remember: You will mess up. You will make mistakes. And we will take away your device. We will sit down and talk about it. We will start over again. We are always learning. BUT, We are on your team. We are in this together!

It is our hope you can agree to these terms. Most of the lessons listed here do not just apply to iPods but to life in general. You are growing up fast in an ever-changing world. It is exciting and enticing. Trust your powerful mind and giant heart above any machine!

WE LOVE YOU FOREVER.

Mom and Dad

We laughed and cried together. We reminded her of her worth as a daughter of God and to stay as pure and beautiful as she was right at that moment. We told her lots of boys would come in and out of her life over the years, to get to know them, to become friends with them, but to always keep in her heart the kind of man she really wanted to be her eternal mate and never to settle for anything less. Dan told her she would make mistakes as the years went by but that we would always be here for her. The air was thick with love and the spirit, and I just wanted to take her in my arms and squeeze her tightly forever. 

I am sure there will be lots of bumps in the road as Hallee continues to grow up, but I can say the last 14 years have been a tremendous journey. I love this girl with all my heart, and I'm so glad she's mine.