Life is super busy right now. We have a lot of irons in the fire so to speak and we keep adding more now that spring and soon summer is upon us. The kids have been loving the outdoors lately. Today, I caught them outside digging up my weeds. Now if they would do the whole back yard!

One of the projects we have going is Juli and I have come up with several ideas for iPhone/iPad applications that will help parents with autistic kids. The first one we are attempting is called Picture Me Calm.

In the office we have a picture schedule board that we load up with pictures of tasks for the kids to do. For Hailey it is a great way to communicate what we want her to do. She has a hard time processing auditory commands especially when you string 2 or more together. The picture board allows her to see a task, do it and then move onto the next one. We got to talking and thought, this would make a great iPad app. Then you could take it with you wherever you went. It could be used for everything from going to the dentist office to going to church to cleaning up the house.

The app will have a standard library of picture activities (brushing teeth, making a bed, going to school) that can be arranged and saved. The idea is to select a schedule and hand the device to the child (or help them with it if needed) and let them go to work. The nice thing about it is that it not only works for Hailey but for Noah and Joslin too.

I am racing to design the app and will have to find someone to program it. I could do the programming but it would take me 3x as long. I would rather get it out for Hailey’s sake and to see if we can make some extra income off of it. There aren’t hardly any apps out that do this and the ones that do are either in Japanese or horribly designed and overpriced.

Wish us luck!

In other news, I was going through my image library and remembered this image from when Noah and I went down to Arizona. One of the days, Bommy took us to the zoo and paid for Noah and Delly to ride a camel. Both of them got right up there and had the time of their life. They were real camel jockeys.

Taking family pictures is always an interesting venture with 3 kids. Trying to take a picture without actually seeing the scene from the camera’s point of view and hoping you get a good shot is even more of an adventure. It usually ends up that we take hundreds of pictures with the hope that we can get at least one with everyone looking and smiling. Last year we actually got a really good picture without a lot of effort so we decided to try again.

We got a late start in the day and by the time we got our act together, the sun was rapidly going down. When we finally made it up the mountain, the sun was already setting, we didn’t have a spot picked out and so we just stopped off by the side of the road so that we didn’t make a wasted trip. I am hoping that the weather will hold out just a little longer so we can try again, but if it doesn’t here ya go. Our latest family pictures.

My extremely HOT wife. She practically melted the snow away!

And last but not least, the 3 rug rats. Hailey the instigator, Noah the joker, and Joslin the extremely photogenic and fantastically cute pretty princess.

Noah just completed his T-ball season tonight and after the game they handed out the trophies. He has been excited since day one about getting a trophy. His last t-ball league gave him this huge golden trophy and his expectation was to get another one just like it. the trophy came in a box and we didn’t open it right away. Driving home he opened it and from the back of the car we hear, “This trophy is CRAP!!”

We asked Noah to pass up the trophy and this is what he got for a trophy.

I could help but laugh and then totally agree! His last comment was, “I wanted a golden trophy, not nuts”

Today was Noah’s first day of kindergarten. It hardly seems possible that he is now going to school. From all accounts he had a good day and gave us several blow by blow descriptions of what happened. It was interesting because we don’t get that type of communication from Hailey.

When we dropped him off they had all the kids line up against the wall and when it was time to go in, the teacher asked each kid to hug their mom/dad before going to class. Noah was a little stinker because he just wanted to go into class. We had to drag him back to get a hug. He was like whatever. Without hesitation, he walked right through the doors and didn’t even look back. Too cool for mom and dad I guess.

Sorry about the long time between meaningful posts. Life has been crazy for us lately and is only about to get crazier. We were informed a little over a week ago that the house we are renting had an offer on it and that the person making the offer wanted to close on the 29th of June. Yikes! We had been actively looking for a home and found a few but everything was falling through. Now it was go time. We had to find something and find it soon. and it had to be right for our family. We knew that there was the possibility that the house would be sold but when it finally happened, well it was scary. We were just about to go to a family reunion when we found out so that compressed our time frame down even more.

Well that night, I got on my knees and in my discouragement I pleaded in prayer that we might be provided a direction to go. I had no idea. All our best efforts had been in vain and it was discouraging. So many factors we were looking for such as house size, yard size, a good school for Hailey (top priority!) and many more. In our efforts however there was a house that Shane took us to look at that was one of his former rental properties. Well, I liked the house well enough. It had a good sized yard, was very private, custom home so that it didn’t look like every other house on the street, quiet well kept neighborhood, etc. Juli however didn’t like it. To her it was not her dream home. The layout was wrong, the lawn not green and beautiful, and many other things. Well the thought came to me, “Take Juli and go see that house again.” We had been offered to rent the house as well as buy but the terms weren’t what we were looking for. We want to buy while the market is good for buyers and not lock ourselves into a lease agreement so I didn’t know exactly why we should go and see this house again.

So I said ok and went to bed.

The next morning I proposed to Juli that we go look at the house. I told her of my experience and right away I knew I was in for a fight. Keep in mind I only know what I was told to do. Nothing more. Well I got the third degree about how this was not the house, we didn’t want to lock into a lease, etc. I explained that we just needed to go look at the house again. After some cajoling, she finally agreed and we made arrangements with Shane to meet him at noon to walk through the house again.

At noon we pulled up to the house, and started looking around again. As we walked though each room and the front yard and the back yard and well all over, I had that peaceful feeling that it was where we needed to be. I was keeping my thoughts to myself though because I didn’t know how Juli was feeling. Comments I made were very non-committal and general. It wasn’t till the end however when were were alone and standing in the kitchen/dining room area that I could sense a change. I asked her how she felt about the house and she teared up. I told her not to because well….

We both knew that this is where we were supposed to be. We talked to Shane about it and agreed to a price. Because it is his home he has agreed to let us move in before the 29th and before we officially close on the home. With the reunion the following day and his family going on vacation for a week after that, we just didn’t have time to start the process. So, we are moving into the home on the 24th and will finalize the sale after that.

I will post some pictures of the home later today. We have a home inspector coming out this afternoon to make sure everything is ok.

In other news, we are doing really good! Everyone is healthy and happy. Noah starts Kindergarten at the end of summer and Hailey finished 2nd grade. She did really good socially but is lagging a little in academics. We have put her on a new medication that has really helped her with her mood and aggression. She no longer beats up her brother and sister all the time. Joslin is doing good as you could tell from the video. She is my little princess and that is a dangerous thing for me. I have a feeling she is going to be really expensive when she gets older.

I took this picture a few days ago. She is the only one still willing to pose for the camera!

Other than that, not much else going on. We are frantically scrambling to get packed up, making plans for things we want to change in the house, and trying to get ready for the upcoming school year for Noah and Hailey.

This is so silly, I keep holding myself back from posting because if I miss a day or two I feel like so much has happened that I can’t write it all. Oh well, here I go.
Tonight at bedtime Noah got his picture of Christ off his dresser and said ” I know Jesus is real but do you really think this is what he looked like?, cause I saw another picture of him and he looked different.” I love his questions he is so sincere.

This morning we went to the Draper Temple open house. It was really neat. I am so glad our kids got that opportunity. Brandon is going to write in more detail about it later. After we were done we met Brandon’s dad for lunch at Chilli’s in Orem. He has been flying up from AZ for the past two weeks for some work that he is doing with one of the steel companies. Joslin has a very sweet relationship with Grandpa Beecroft. She loves him, and wants him to hold her over any one else besides Brandon and I. Well after we dropped him off at his hotel we were driving away and Joslin quietly said “bye bye Grandpa”. It was so cute. Last weekend we took Padre to see the new Joseph Smith movie in the Joseph Smith Building in Salt Lake. That is an amazing movie.

Last but not least. We have definitely had a big change in our life. Well especially Noah. Basically from the time Noah was about 2 weeks old he has been hurt by Hailey about 10 to 20 times a day. No I’m not exaggerating and no it is not normal sibling rivalry. We tried everything for years and nothing worked. When she would hurt him she would get her mouth washed out with soap, she would get time out, books taken away, movies taken away, apples taken away,we tried everything nothing worked. Sometimes Noah would walk past her and out of the blue she would throw what ever she had in her hand at his head, random things like that constantly. Noah prayed every night that Hailey would stop hurting him.
I am always researching and reading books on all of the things that Hailey deals with to try to make things better. Well it seemed to me from what I had read that Hailey had aggression and impulse control problems. When she was 5 we finally gave in to try medication but after 2 weeks of Hailey acting depressed and sad we took her off. When she first turned 8 we decided to try something again. This stuff made her even more aggressive to a very dangerous point. After that again didn’t work we took her off and both Brandon and I were discouraged. By the way we have done many natural things as well. We are still working on that. Well there is a medication called Risperadall which is tested and made specifically for kids that are on the Autism Spectrum. It has a mood stabilizer in it. What I had found out earlier, (which some Doctors forget to tell) is that if you have mood disorders that run in your family or the possibility that a person has a mood disorder they should not go on an anti-depressant unless they also take a mood stabilizer or it could make them worse or manic. Well we pretty much believe that to be true after what Hailey went through with the first two.

So after Noah came to me and said “Why isn’t Heavenly Father answering my prayer?, I pray to him every day so Hailey will stop hurting me”. I told him about how sometimes we have to go through hard times to make us stronger and more compassionate. I also told him sometimes Heavenly Father wants us to use our knowledge that we gain to make things better. I knew what I had learned and also knew after consistently disciplining her for her behaviors and it not working at all that she couldn’t stop herself. I also had come a long way from the negative stigma I had about medication. (Awesome article in the Ensign about 2 years ago titled the “Myths about Mental Illness”). I do realize there are a lot of people out there that abuse prescription drugs. There are also people that need these medications to be able to live as normal a life as they can.

That said, I asked the psychiatrist to start her on a very low dose .25 he thought she needed more but I just wanted to try. Well Hailey has not hurt Noah for 2 weeks now. Brandon and I can hardly believe the amazing change. We’re not running to Noah’s rescue or yelling for Hailey to stop hurting her brother every other minute like before. We hope this dose will continue to work for her at least for a while. Noah is so relieved, and at the end of the day I ask Noah if he’s gotten hurt (already knowing the answer) and he says ” No” and throws his arms around me with a huge smile!!!!!!

Now that we have that hopefully under control I want to focus with Hailey on hygiene, knowing where and where not to undress, closing the door in a public bathroom when she uses the toilet, Sensory problems (right now as always she yells and fights and cry’s when getting teeth brushed hair done, or getting dressed). She still has a hard time zipping, tying or buttoning anything and gets very frustrated when trying to get her coat on or shirt on. It is just so hard for her to maneuver her arms the right way. Her Occupational Therapist has always tried to help us help her in these areas. A lot lot more but at least we took the first step toward success. If we could get her to stop running out of sacrament meeting over and over that would be great. A couple weeks ago, she ran out of sacrament and I didn’t follow her because Brandon was out there with Joss. About 15 minutes later Noah says ” Mom I’m getting worried about Hailey” we went out and Brandon said he never saw her. We finally found her outside in the snow with no coat on.

I forgot to mention one more thing, Brandon and I and Hailey’s Resource teacher noticed. Since Hailey has started this medicine it has some how slowed her brain down enough that she has been able to express her self a little bit. Tonight, I was wrestling her to get her teeth brushed and she pinched my neck and said “how does that feel’? Brandon and I started laughing and I said “great communicating Hailey”. Ok, it’s 11:00 p.m. better end this.

Well, actually it’s last week. So I have been lazy. Sue me! These are some pictures that were taken over the last week. Enjoy!

Picture of the SLC power plant. I was walking out of work and this particular day I had to park in the upper levels of the garage. Because of that, I saw this scene. There has been so much smog and fog in the air that it made the sunset brilliant. Too bad that bill board is in the way.

–

We were sitting at the dinner table the other night and all the kids were being so cute. Grabbed the camera real quick and shot these pics. Cute kids! (sometimes)

Of course Hailey had to copy what Noah was doing. Poor girl needs a dentist. Is there a dentist in the house?!?

Part of the reason we got the camera out was because of Joslin’s eyes. Many of you don’t know because we haven’t said anything yet. Jos needs eye muscle surgery. As we were traveling home from Arizona after Christmas, Juli looked back at Jos and her eyes were totally crossed! It really freaked us out. We got home and took her to the pediatrician right away. She recommend a pediatric ophthalmologist who we went and saw. He told us that she needs to have the one muscle weakened and the other strengthened in order to straighten in out. Apparently it is a safe and short procedure and we’ll let you know what happens when we know!

My poor princess. I truly am wrapped around her finger and it breaks my heart to see her like this. I mean really, it’s becoming a face ONLY a mother could love. She just might drop off my favorite princess status list.

Having a third kid is a lot of fun. Sometimes however it complicates things. Take for example our adventure last night at McDonald’s. First let me explain that the fast food restaurants here must have been in some bizzare competition to out-do the others in attracting customers. Each one has phenomenally humongous children’s place places. Slides and swings and climby things. It’s crazy. The kids love it and so sometimes we take them to McDonalds just to play on the indoor playground. So last night we decided to take them to McDonalds for dinner. I purchased 2 regular meals and 2 happy meals for Noah and Hailey. Joslin? She is only 20 months, she hasn’t earned a spot on the happy meal team and subsequently she must share off of mom and dad’s food at any restaurant we go to. Until last night.

As many of you know, Happy Meals come with a toy. Hailey and Noah get really excited for the toy and usually that comes out first before food. When they both pulled out the toy to see what it was I look over at Joslin and with both hands in the air looking longingly and with a bit of jealously at the toy doggy’s she turned to me and said, “Toy?” … “Toy?” Oh boy. That girl melts my heart. It was heartbreaking. I didn’t get her a happy meal toy and she wanted to know where her’s was.

Juli immediately wanted me to go get one and I must admit I almost did. The pressure was intense. Joslin staring at me, Juli staring at me, the other parents in the playground, staring at me. Right before I cracked however I noticed Noah and that he was not that into the dog toy he pulled out. I think I heard him muttering something under his breath about this not being a transformer. I quickly and deftly swooped down and whispered in his ear, “Noah I will give you a special treat if you share you dog toy with Joslin. Without hesitation or reservation he handed Joslin his toy and went about his business. I was impressed. Heartbreak averted! Whew!

Now my only problem was that the bribe worked. What could substitute for the toy? He didn’t mention anything to me for the rest of the night so I thought, wow I might just get out of having to do anything. But alas it was not to be. Quietly as the girls were going into the house and he was getting out of the car, he said, “Dad, what is my special treat?” Having already passed the Walmart where all white trash toys can be purchased and figuring he had forgot about our deal, I was at a loss. Fortunately I had purchased some candy bars to tempt my wife with during her daily workout. ( I can’t have her all hot and sexy while I am on my downward slide can I? ) So anywho, I gave Noah a choice, You can have a candy bar or you can watch an episode of Spider-Man the cartoon with Dad after the girls have gone to bed. Surprisingly he chose the one I didn’t expect. Can you guess which one? He is such a smart good kid.

On a different note, we submitted our papers for renting our home in Arizona. Hopefully we can get it rented pretty quick. We need to have it rented for a while before we can buy a home up here. Shane, Juli’s cousin, is getting ready to list the home we are in right now so we will have to figure out where we need to be pretty soon. We took pictures of the house so that he could post them with the listing. This has been a great house to be in and we are so thankful to Shane and his family for allowing us to stay here while we tried to get situated. Here was one of my favorite pictures that I took.:

Sorry for the lack of creativity in my post title. I just couldn’t think of anything smart allecky to say. Go figure. Anyways, I decided to take Noah to his first NBA basketball game. He is now five and I figured I have waited long enough to indoctrinate teach him about how important basketball is. I had Juli drop him off at my office 2 hours before the game. He and I went up to my office so he could see out the window and see where I worked. He has asked about it before. We then went to go and get something to eat. Right next to the Energy Solutions Arena are a bunch of shops and eating places. We went and grabbed some pizza and then headed over to the game.

I was really interested in seeing how he would react to walking in the building, being around all those people and his first look at the inside at the court. I remember going to a Phoenix Suns game with my dad back when they played at Veterans Memorial Coliseum and I remember how cool it was.

He really seemed to get a kick out of it and so now the clock is on to see how fast he would get bored. I knew it would happen and that’s why I bought cheap tickets. After about 10 minutes of sitting in our nose bleed seats, he turned to me and said, “We could probably see better if we sat closer, huh dad?” I turned and said, “Yes son.” The game was a 7pm so it was already going to be late for him by the time it would get over.

The Jazz were playing the Oklahoma City Thunder so it wasn’t going to be a good game in my opinion. It was going to be Jerry Sloan’s 1000th win as Jazz head coach so at least I can say I was there. We sat in our seats and Noah just sat there taking it all in. He loved how high we were and watched everything going on down on the court. He even got to take some pictures. By the time the game was supposed to start, I could tell he was getting a little bored. But then the opening introductions happened and that changed everything.

The lights went off…

The music got really loud…

Noah started screaming and clapping, and he probably didn’t even know why…

The strobes started circling around the court…

and then the fireworks went off. Noah couldn’t believe it. Fireworks in the building!! At each starting player, they would launch fireworks and the noise was incredible. He was in hog heaven. We watched the game and he loved what was happening. My plan is working!! The boy will be hooked in no time.

So as we watched the game, about midway through the 2nd quarter, I hear the words, “Dad can we go now?” I look up at the score and its 51 to 26 in favor of the Jazz so I figure why not. By halftime it’s a runaway and the Jazz are up by 31 points. No point in hanging around for this, right? Lets beat the traffic. So as halftime begins Noah looks at the court and the score board says, “Welcome the BYU ball room dancers!” Everyone starts booing because most of the people are Utah fans and hate BYU. Not Noah though, he is intrigued. I’m thinking ok Noah, let’s go….RIGHT NOW. Nope, he sits down to watch. So we watch. I ask repeatedly, “Are you sure you want to watch this?” But to no avail, he does.

When it’s all said and done, my brainwashing teaching is for not. He thinks the dancing is way cool. He might have even asked if he could do that, but I’m not sure because I was in a ballroom dancing induced coma.

My son, future BYU ballroom dancer.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Pictures:

My little boy is growing up. Tonight as he was talking to Mombee, the first thing he said was, well I was four, but now I’m five.

Happy birthday Noah!

Read the rest of this entry »