Bentley's 4-H Pre-show

Doesn't this look fun!! After two hours of shearing with dull clippers we finally convinced Uncle Bill to stop and wait for some sharp ones. Poor Wilma had this hair cut for about a week waiting for clippers. Thanks to Uncle Bill for shearing and getting Wilma ready for the show.
Bentley had a pre-show that I dreaded but it ended up being really helpful. He did well, and got 2nd place in the juniors. They judged on showmanship and for his first time I was impressed.

New Blog

I guess I am ready to put myself out there. I am really not one to make my feelings a public thing but I have drawn a lot of strength from others out there that blog about there angel babies. I have also heard that doing something for your child such a blog can help the mending of ones heart. I figured I could try that one out. Our new blog is http://www.simplyamiraclex2.blogspot.com. There is a link on the side of our blog above Landry's picture.

Gardening Help???

So I have been wondering WHY my garden has not been flourishing.
I just can't put my finger on it! Any suggestions?

Happy Independence Day

This year our 4th of July celebration was a little different. Lenn was working and so it was up to me to pull something off. I decided I would try to get to the Woodruff parade (yes, I have lost my mind). I figured I was setting myself up for failure, but I was determined to try. I have always had the intention of not letting Bentley and Abby feel as though they missed out because they have a special brother. So..my father-in-law said he would help me load and unload Owen.
I got up early Saturday morning, (after not really sleeping, wondering how I would pull this off), and got everything ready. We were even ready 30 minutes early!! Major WOW around here! We headed out the door to wait for my father-in-law and Bentley says 'let's you and me try'. I say okay and to our surprise we got him in, not near as smooth as Lenn would. Sorry Owen. Then my father-in-law comes up and he is still in his work clothes. I figured Grandma and Grandpa would go too. I asked him and he said no they weren't going. So we got in and off we went. We weren't too far from the house when I was ready to turn around and go back home. What was I thinking going off alone??? I didn't turn around and we made it to the parade even early enough to have a perfect parking spot.

Owen seems to have the perfect spot out of the sun. Only in a small town parade would you get this one!!

I was taken back a bit though by our parade neighbors, as the horses with the American flag approached, not one of them got up to salute or show any kind of respect for the flag. The more I think about it the more upset I get that I did not say something to them. Some people!

Anyway the kids loved the parade. Bentley and Abby love anything that has to do with candy being thrown at them.

For our fireworks display, well lets just say we REALLY missed Lenn on this one. He loves fireworks and putting on a show. All you wives that complain about the hunting budget, well ours is the firework budget. But he loves it and we love watching.

Bentley thinks he is the man of the house when Lenn is gone so he pulled out all the fireworks and he and I lit the fireworks. We mostly did Utah fireworks but we did do a few big ones too.

Owen again had the best seat. I moved the table over by the window and laid him there where he could see all the fireworks without the mosquitoes and wind.

We had to take a break to enjoy the beautiful sunset.

The camera did not do justice to the color and it still looks beautiful.
Grandpa, Abby and Bentley showing Owen their sparklers.

Communication

People (mostly doctors) ask us if and how Owen communicates with us. Now look at the pictures below and tell me if you can interpret what Owen is telling us. Keep in mind he loves these two people.

Do you see any differences?

This is Owen's new stander. In the first two pictures it was his first time in the stander and he absolutely did NOT like it . His therapists (which he loves to come) tried anything and everything to get him to open his eyes or smile, not a chance! Even after we took him out and laid him on the floor, no smiles. In fact, I have never seen anyone try so hard not to smile as Owen did that day. He was mad and he was going to let all of us know that.
After that day, he has started to enjoy his time in the stander. He likes to watch us help him color or draw.

Owen loves us to hold him and he tells us that too. I usually snuggle and sing with him and Lenn plays the wii with him. He loves both.

Then there is this little face. It started out when he was starting to get sad he would turn down his bottom lip and begin to cry. It was so cute we could not help but laugh. He soon caught on to that and now he will do it for attention too. When we react, he smiles, then we turn down our lip, he grins then turns down his again. It is hilarious!

So the conclusion we have come to is that Owen can definitely communicate his needs with us.

BASEBALL

In June Bentley played softball and Abby played t-ball. They both loved it. They played last year and this year they could not wait for it to start.
Bentley has become quite the player. He is a little hustler. He catches on to sports pretty quick. Abby has been counting down to t-ball since January. After her last game she said, "Oh great, now what am I going to do ALL summer"! She says the funniest things.

Touching the Logan Temple

Owen really was happier than he looks in this picture.



Our Stake President challenged every child in the Stake to touch the temple so they might feel the spirit and have the desire to one day return. So last month we decided we had better get that done, and we did. It was a nice day and Owen was doing okay.

FYI: Owen is feeling much better these days. It turns out that he wasn't tolerating what we were feeding him because it was too concentrated. Thanks to a great friend we figured that out and hopefully he will only improve from here.