A Day at the Park

Last week it was finally "cool" enough to venture out into the neighborhood and do some exploring (by cool enough, I mean the high in the 90's instead of 100's). There's some sweet nature trails right by our house, and once you get done winding around in there, it opens up into this even sweeter, astro-turf playground with awesome equipment. Landen was in heaven! He even made friends with this cute little boy that looks like Corbin Bleu (sp?) from the High School Musical movies...can I just say, I love having diversity again!!!

Anyway here's a couple of shots from my phone of our little venture out. We're hoping it's going to cool off again here soon so we can do this again!

Abrie's first time on the swing! She was more tired than anything, so I'm not sure she really cared what was going on
Landen loving the swings! He could swing forever! (oh, notice the difference between the green turf and the real, dead grass in the background...gotta love droughts!)

2 Nephi 10

Ironically (or maybe not), I was reading 2 Nephi 10 from the Book of Mormon this morning while eating breakfast, and Jacob, the elected King at the time is speaking to his people about America from a revelation given to him by God. On today of all days, these 2 verses jumped out at me the most:

12) And I will fortify this land against all other nations.

13) And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God

What a great reminder! I'm sure all of us remember exactly where we were and exactly what we were doing on that horrible day, but these scriptures give me comfort in knowing that even though many nations will come against us, that God will protect and provide for us as long as we are striving to be a choice nation (at least this is my interpretation of it).
Today, I'm very grateful for men like this and my husband who willingly sacrifice so much for a country that they believe has been ordained of God.

Baby Jayden

A few of you have asked how my sister is doing, and I thought I would just post a link to her blog since she says it so much better than I can! I hope she doesn't mind. Little Jayden has touched so many people already. I think about him everyday. It makes me grateful for eternal families (which you can find out more information here for those of you not of my faith). It makes me not take a single moment with my children for granted, even when they're cracking eggs on the floor, missing the pan trying to "make breakfast". I'm trying harder to savor these moments instead of give cause to growing grey hair. Thanks Jayden for helping change my perspective!

San Antonio Zoo

Wow! It's been a month since we went to the Zoo, and I'm just now blogging about it! Photo's are courtesy of Katie (she was in town still after helping us drive out here). It was a stinking hot day, and I don't know what we were thinking!!! Actually, we were trying to find something to do since our stuff hadn't been delivered to our house yet. Landen had a blast, the rest of us had fun too, but were more uncomfortable from the heat. Quite and adjustment coming from Idaho!

Well at least Brian is half smiling. You can see how red our faces are already, and we only just got there!

We rode the train when we got there. Landen was scared at first (which he seems to be scared of everything lately), but enjoyed it when we finally got going.

Cute little train

Abrie looks so tiny in this picture! Landen usually rides in this seat, and Abrie in the back, but since he wanted to walk, we put Abrie up front so she could see more....so stinking cute!

Dad and Landen chatting about the monkeys

There's one of the more entertaining ones we saw

If you look closely, that's not just rocks in the water back there...there's 2 hippos!

Better shot of them. It was cool how they'd stay underwater FOREVER and come up occasionally for some air!

We didn't even get to see all of the Zoo before we pooped out and went home, but what we did see was awesome, and Landen loved the elephant. He really wanted to see a giraffe, but they didn't have any at this zoo. There's an "African Safari" ranch out here that has giraffes, so we'll have to go check it out sometime.

Going Private

So, Brian informed me today that because of his current job, which I'm not allowed to even talk about publicly, it poses a threat to our family. Without going into much detail, it was a big enough concern for him, that he asked me to make our blog private. So, for anyone who wants to be added to our list so you can continue to view our blog, either leave me a comment or shoot me an email at daleen.royer@gmail.com. I'll give it about a week before I do the change, so there's a bit of time.

Trisomy 18

Some of the blood work tests came back yesterday, and Jayden has Trisomy 18 or Edward's Syndrome. It's a genetic disorder that has an extra chromosome 18, which continually repeats and causes all kinds of problems such as heart problems, kidney problems, clenched fists, mental disabilities, etc. (If you want to know more about it, go here). About 50% of babies that actually make it full term die within the first week, but some can survive until their teenage years, depending on the type you have (there's 3 kinds). I'm not sure if they know yet what type Jayden has. The "good" news out of this is that it's not likely to happen again, unless one of them is a carrier for one of the 3 types (hope that makes sense).

So now, Katie and Cory are faced with a decision of what to do. Her doctor is suggesting terminating the pregnancy (she's 21 weeks today) because of the harm it can cause to Katie to have a still born baby, and the body not being ready to deliver can also cause problems with the placenta not detaching, which could lead to a huge infection. Another option is to try and get further along, then induce labor. What a crappy decision to make. I'm amazed at how well Katie is taking it! She said that she'd been preparing for the worst, so she's actually pretty calm about it. She's been getting every one's opinion about it including her doctor, family and she's going to talk to her Bishop (our church's congregational leader) about it to get his insight on the spiritual side of it. Then, comes the hard part of making a decision. I have total faith that my sister will know what's right for her and Jayden, and that Heavenly Father will provide a way for this whole experience to be more bearable for her.

More than my sister

She's my best friend, and even more than that, she's an answer to my prayers! Looking back, having a little sister was probably the first huge answer to a prayer in my short 10 year old life! She is our miracle, our "Saturday's Warrior", our family just wasn't complete until she came! I prayed for years to have a little sister, and as soon as I found out that my mom was pregnant, those prayers were in even more earnest.

My sister is seriously awesome! She is so talented in everything that she tries. She got all the good genetics, tall, thin, wavy hair, amazing eyes (you know how sister's like to compare everything even with a 10 year age difference ;). She also inherited my dad's ability to feel everything so deeply, and because of that, she is one of the most compassionate people I know! She's always the favorite aunt to all her nieces and nephews (she says it's because they're closer in age to her, but she has an amazing way with every type of person in every walk of life). As Katie (my sis) put it recently, "I can never get mad at you", and I totally feel the same way! We are able to communicate in such a way that we never get offended, which is pretty unique I think, especially since we're both girls.

And now, my beautiful, younger sister is going through the hardest trial of her young life! Her and her husband Cory are expecting their first baby, due December 31st, a little boy to be named Jayden Dale Sharp. Of the pictures I've seen of him, he's perfect, and Katie has been so overwhelmed lately with being able to feel him move and how active he is. But, she went in for an ultrasound on Wednesday, and she's being told that her perfect little baby boy might not be so perfect. What they know for sure, is that he only has 3 out of 4 chambers needed in his heart, and that his kidneys are enlarged and not working well. What they don't know is if it's something chromosomal/genetic, which will take a couple weeks for results to come back for sure!

My heart is breaking for my sweet, compassionate sister who loves her unborn son so much. But amazingly, my sister is already teaching me about the tremendous faith she has! She's so much stronger than I think she even knows. So, now I ask anyone who reads this to offer up prayers in behalf of my sister and her family. They need comfort, and to feel the peace that only our Heavenly Father can give them.