He's a Walk'n Man

Its amazing as a mom to watch him take those first steps. To see him finally get the courage to let go and be on his own. He was so hesitant at first, but now when he's walking he gets the biggest smile on his face. We are so proud of him! He's still not 100% walking, but he is getting so good! Its so fun to watch him get stronger and stronger.

A Child's Prayer

I can't stop thinking about it so to make myself feel better I'm going to write about it.

I don't know if you've noticed this on my blog the past year or if you even checked his blog out, but this is Ryan Hess. Shortly after we moved into our new ward here in Sahuarta, Ryan Hess was diagnosed with Cancer. Ryan went through a few rounds of Chemo and a bone marrow transplant. He went into remission, but a few weeks later the Cancer was back. Ryan is now home on Hospice and the doctor told him he had about two weeks to live.

Ryan has beautiful wife and she brings her two small children to church every Sunday with a smile on her face. I have never met anyone so positive while going through such a tragedy. She is such an example of strength, and her two kids couldn't be cuter. Which brings me to the title of my post. Yesterday, during primary sharing time, their 3 year old son Max said the opening prayer. In his prayer he asked that his daddy feel better, his mommy feel better, and at the very end he said "...and please bless that my dad won't die, Amen". I think every teachers heart just broke and we were all crying. It was the sweetest prayer. I still can't think about it without tears swelling up in my eyes.

I have never met Ryan, I've only given him a couple smiles at church when he was feeling well enough to come, but I feel as if I've know him. I feel like I know him through the many prayers and fasts from our ward. This is the second tragedy I have gone through with a ward family and I'm always so humbled when I see the outpouring of love and a strong desire to help the family in need. Not only does it bring the ward together, but also the community.

In her blog, Ryan's wife, states that she KNOWS that this is the Lords plan and that she will be with him forever, because they were sealed in the temple.

I'm so thankful for this gospel. For the knowledge we have that we can return to our Heavenly Father, and through temple marriages, we may live together as families forever.

Please pray for Ryan and his family as they are going through this difficult time.

Lookin Sharp

Literally. Brad got glasses! He doesn't have to wear them all the time, they are used just for distance, like driving and watching movies. He is still getting used to them since he has never worn glasses before, but I think they make him look more sophisticated. He looks pretty hot!

Carson's 1 year pictures

There are not enough words to describe how much I love this little guy! I haven't done a "Carson" update in a while so I'll take this time to let you in on how he is growing. First off he is incredibly smart. He has figured out how to open the "child" proof cabinets and is always wanting to play on the computer. He loves to pretend talk on the phone. He will hold it up to his ear and just jabber away. Of course if someone is actually on the other line he just smiles and won't talk.

He is becoming a major flirt. If there is an adult girl nearby he will flash a shy smile so that the girls will start to play with him. He has taken a couple steps, but its nothing consistent. He is doing it on his own terms. He knows how to get around faster by crawling and is very content with it.

He is my little play buddy and best friend. He is my handsome little man:

Our Family Pictures

A quick shot out to our AMAZING friend and photographer Phil Flores who took our family photos! I am absolutely in love with my pictures and for my fellow Tucson readers he is offering free photographing to help build up his portfolio. So if anyone is interested let me know and I will send you his info.

Coming Soon.... Carson's OFFICIAL 1 year pictures!

1 year!

As of April 13 we have lived in Sahuarita for one whole year! I can't believe its already been one year. We moved in when Carson was just a little over a month old and its been amazing to see him grow up in our house. So what better way to celebrate our 1 year of being a homeowner, then to go back to Morenci to see all of our old friends.

Brad was called out on a business trip to Morenci and of course I had to tag along! On our way into town we thought we would stop by to see the Gila Valley temple. Here is a sneak peak...

We will actually be going back in a couple of weeks for the Open House. I can't wait!

All of our little kiddos! Two of them I got to meet for the first time. So cute!

Shawn Arrington, Paul Arrington

MaKayla Sant, Carson Clark, Marlo Day, Angie
Alexis Sant, Hannah, Libby Plaizier
Eliza Day, Isaac Sant

Ethan Plaizier

The Moms

L to R: Ethan & Amanda Plaizier, Sarah Day, Hannah, Tolu & Shawn Arrington, Carson & Emily Clark, Kimberly & Isaac Sant

My AMaZinG friends! How I miss you guys! When we drove into Morenci it felt like a big weight was lifted off my shoulders and I took a big sigh of relief, because I felt like I was home, and not because Morenci is such a wonderful town, its because of the Clifton ward. No other ward can ever compare. The friends I made in Morenci will forever be my lifelong friends.

The Murphy's come to Visit!

Last Friday my family came to visit us over their spring break, and it was a really busy week! We were able to see many things, but most important to spend some quality time together especially with my brothers. My youngest brother Tim calls me the sister over the phone, because he doesn't have very many memories of me living at home (he was 7 when I left for college) so it was a great opportunity to have them in our home.

The first thing my brothers wanted to do when they arrived and found out the amenities our community has to offer was to play miniature golf. I had never played on that course before and it is actually quite difficult! We ended up not keeping score and that was probably a good thing, because I was horrible!

After our mini golf game my dad treated us out to El Charro, the birthplace of the chimichanga. Mmmm it was so good!

The following day we went to Tombstone. Brad and I have lived in Arizona for 4 years now and I've always wanted to go, but never had until now, and I'm glad I was able to go with my dad. For those of you who don't know my dad, he is a HuGE history buff, so this was right up his alley.

If you have never hear of Tombstone (its nickname is "the town too tough to die" ) it is one of the most famous cowboy towns. It hosted Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday and had the famous OK Corral shooting. They have even made a movie out of it with Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer.

While walking through town almost everyone is dressed up like a cowboy. Tim made the comment "man, a lot of the people I thought worked in Tombstone are actually tourists, because I saw them buying tickets!" Its true if you love to dress up like a cowboy come right on down to Tombstone.

While in Tombstone we went to Boot Hill graveyard, and lets just say I'm so thankful I didn't live in Tombstone during the 1870's, because everyone in that graveyard was either shot, hanged, or murdered. I think only 2 people (I'm not joking) died of natural causes. One guy got shot because of the shirt he was wearing.

Loved the history in Tombstone. It was a definitely a fun place to visit.

While looking up things to do in Tucson I was so surprised at how many things there are. Like Old Tucson where a lot of cowboy films where shot, the Desert Museum, the Pima Air and Space Museum, the biosphere, and the Saguaro National forest. However EVERYTHING costs money, even the drive through the national forest. I was so disappointed. I did find one thing in Tucson that didn't cost money and was really fun. The Presidio Trail. If you have ever been to Boston then you'll get the idea. The Presidio Trail is a 2 1/2 mile self guided historical walking tour of downtown Tucson. I'm just sad that my dad left the day before to return to work. He would have loved this.

Here is the "turquoise" trail that we followed throughout the day:

Who knew how much history Tucson had to offer? I was pleasantly surprised. Some of the sites we saw where: the Tucson courthouse. Yes its pink, but it has a beautiful blue/green tile dome.

Others included Hotel Congress (have any of you seen the new movie Public Enemies with Johnny Depp? Hotel Congress is the site that the infamous bank robber John Dillenger was captured), the old railroad depot which another gunfight that involved Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday happened, the first fort in Tucson built in 1775, and the Mormon Battalion Sculpture.

(interesting piece of history, at least for me, was that the Mormon Battalion who is holding the flag in the sculpture is Layton. He founded the town that I grew up in -Layton, Utah. After he settled in Utah, he was then called to settle the Gila Valley in Arizona. The Gila Valley was where Carson was born.)

A rock from my old town of Morenci:

We went to the Zoo!

The San Xavier Mission was built in 1699 by spanish missionaries. It is a beautiful cathedral.

We had a wonderful time together and like always its hard to say good-bye. Carson just loved his uncles. I've never seen him like that with anyone else besides Brad and I. He would just laugh at the sight of Tim and loved climbing all over Aaron. Its nice to have people for Carson to play with, even if my brothers ate me out of house and home. Love you guys and hope you'll come again soon!