Wilson 2nd Ward Christmas Party

Santa we definitely the highlight of the ward Christmas party. When Ava went up for her turn she stood in front of Santa and started digging around in her pocket. She pulled out a little piece of paper and handed it to Santa. She snuck a list without us knowing! It only had one word on it, "book." 

Tim's #35

A Christmas Tea Party

My mom planned a little tea party at the Monarch in Brigham City for all the girls in my family. I loved it. Brielle and Ava weren't sure about the fragile settings that they had to be careful with, but the treats were good and they liked eating the sugar blocks!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a little different this year.

A few weeks ago my mom went to the doctor for abdominal pain. She has been having shortness of breath and fatigue for over a year, and the pain in her side for a few weeks. Her family doctor has been telling her that her shortness of breath is just anxiety and tried to prescribe her anti-anxiety meds, which she didn't take. This time doctor told her that she had gallstones and would need surgery. He sent her for x-rays before the surgery and that doctor told her no, she didn't have gallstones at all. But there was something. They sent her for more tests and bloodwork and told her that it looked like she might have cancer.

She told me while I was visiting quickly during a girls night out, and I wasn't sure what to think. It didn't seem possible. And my dad seemed to think that the doctor didn't seem convinced that it was really cancer.

A few days later she got the diagnosis. Small-cell lung cancer, and it was advanced. More tests confirmed that she was in late stages, possibly stage 4. I was totally devastated. The days after her first diagnosis were horrible. I kept crying She got in touch with a friend who has connections with oncologists that specialize in her particular cancer in California and flew immediately for tests.

A Brielle Date

One-on-one time with each child is a little hard to come by with four kids. Lately I've been feeling like each of them need a chance to be the center of attention, even just for a little while. I had been thinking that about Brielle in particular for a while, and one morning a friend made an Instagram post about taking her little girl on a date, and I just knew it was time to take Bri. Then that very day, while we were having breakfast, Brielle asked me if we could go somewhere just her and me. So that sealed the deal! And a date was planned.

First we went to the nail salon so Brielle could get her first ever manicure. She was pretty timid, per usual. But she was also very sweet and very excited. She has been working so hard on remembering not to bite her fingernails and fingertips, so it was an appropriate reward.

Then we went shopping for a few minutes and then went to the cupcake shop in downtown Ogden. The whole time was just perfect. Brielle is such an interesting, fun, happy girl. She can turn on the tears faster than a snap, but she is so quick to apologize and she really really tries to do the right thing, all the time. Lately she has been letting guilt over every little thing take over all her emotions. She dwells on it way too long. So we have been talking a lot about how she is so loved, and everyone wants to forgive her, particularly her Father in Heaven. And once she has made things right, she should move on! Let it go and just try to do a little better. And she is always trying to do better. I hope she realizes how wonderful she is.

The other photos aren't from our date day, but I need to document all her cuteness.