Ray & Becky
Hi everyone,
For us (Ray and Becky), the
year 2017 had some challenging times, but mostly many enjoyable events to
remember. Here is a synopsis from our calendar:
Jan: Ray was back to work
after Christmas break at his P.E. job at Eaglecrest Elementary. Becky continued
to work Wednesday’s at her clinic and swim two days a week. They stay busy with
church jobs and activities.
Feb: Lisa turned 40! She’s
aging well, how would that be? She had a big party in Layton and entertained
everyone with her clogging. Becky got family history pictures from her sister
Claudia to eventually have a family history wall of pictures. The other wall
has her nature, baking, and activities photography.
Mar: Stephanie and kids flew
in for two weeks. The next day they had perfect Spring weather to go biking at
Oquirrh Lake. Nephew Grant Jones married at Provo City Center Temple. Becky,
Steph, Melanie went to 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, great performance! Becky’s
sister Pam has been going through breast cancer treatments, many prayers said.
(She has since finished treatments and is doing ok.) Grandkids had an early
Easter egg hunt, took picture on deck stairs and slide.
April: Over Spring break, Ray
and Becky drove to St. George to see Nadean, Carol and Blair. They did some
biking. The red rocks were still there and the company and weather were great,
but Ray decided St. George had become too crowded! So sorry to see Stacy’s mom
go, she was a great lady.
May: Family saw the “Oliver”
play. Becky stained the deck stairs. Garden was planted, early for them.
Produce got off to a fast start due to good weather, but abruptly ended much
earlier than usual. Perhaps adding lime to combat tomato blossom-end rot did it
or a black thumb? Enough green beans were frozen for Thanksgiving and Christmas
dinners, though, better than last year. There were only enough tomatoes for one
batch of salsa and some daily eating. Better luck next year! Becky’s dad called
from Arizona and said he’d had pneumonia at age 99! They had a Memorial Day
cookout and biking along Jordan River Parkway with Decker’s. They were so sad
to have to go to cousin Michael Thurman’s funeral; he wasn’t old enough to go!
He will be greatly missed! They had a Jones family party with niece Karen
Cromar Wane at a West Jordan park, rode bikes on path. They went camping with
Burnett’s at The Spruces at the #10 favorite site and celebrated Michelle’s
birthday. The biking, hiking and scavenger hunt with grandkids was so much fun!
July: Becky got to see her
dad in Orem, he was still sick. Becky retired on 7-7-2017 after a full-time
nurse took over her part time position for the 5th time in 22 years!
She could have gotten another job in the system, but it was time! Ray and some
family went on their annual backpacking trip back to their first hike location:
Cuberant Lake. Twenty plus years later the hike was harder than they thought
it’d be! The Humpherys’ reunion in Star Valley with Lisa, Michelle and Ryan and
their families was fun. They were the family in the orange t-shirts. Ha! Ken’s family
organized great activities and games to play. The Dutch oven meals were great!
Aug: Becky made a lot of
quilts in the cool of the basement for a church humanitarian project. The
family toured candy factories for something fun to do with cousins. Becky got
to see her dad two more times; he was in better health. They celebrated him
starting his 100th year of life! They went camping with Lisa’s
family at The Spruces at the #35 site, great new spot. Melanie’s family came up
again, did more great Dutch oven. The eclipse on the 21st was
amazing and eerie!
Sept: Burnett’s visited and
rode the recumbent bikes. There was a small nectarine harvest this year, so
they ate yummy nectarine crisp. They went to Logan for Ryan and Nat’s baby
gender-reveal party. It is another granddaughter! Yeah! Melanie, Wes and Becky
rode bikes near Gardner Village already decorated for Halloween.
Oct: They had leaf raking
with the Burnett and Decker families, so fun. They needed the help, so many
leaves! Their church ward boundaries changed and they were put into a new ward.
It has been an adjustment to learn new names. During Ray’s fall recess they
went to Park City to be with Lisa’s family. They had a great bike ride, went
swimming, shopping and enjoyed the family with the condo activities. Then, late
Saturday night on the 28th, Becky got one of the calls they never wanted:
Wesley had type I diabetes, too, just like his sister Josie. They still
celebrated Halloween together with insulin help! Life must go on, they all are
so brave!
Nov: Ray found water damage
in the RV over the cab and spent time trying to seal possible leaking areas.
Becky went to Michelle’s house to help out. She was eight weeks pregnant with
terrible morning/all day long sickness. By the 22nd great fall
weather still held and they were able to play tennis and bike with Melanie and
kids. They had their Thanksgiving dinner on the 25th and most of it turned out
yummy.
Dec: This year they put up
Christmas trees and all the decorations in anticipation for the Spear’s coming
to spend the holidays. Sunday was Christmas Eve. Everyone came to church to
enjoy the new ward’s choir then get a family picture, open presents, have a
great dinner and end with a family piano concert. Great memories were made! On
Christmas morning Ray had kidney stone pain. Merry Christmas! Not a great
present! It took a week to pass. They (mostly Becky) did have fun playing ping
pong, riding bikes, piano playing, enjoying movies, baking, cousin time and
swimming with the Spears before their time was up. Carly’s and Jasmine’s
baptisms were on the 30th, so special. That evening they were in
charge of the Jones annual party so they had a 2018 New Year’s themed party.
The pictures show how fun
this year was. We are looking forward to a wonderful 2018, hope yours is, too!
Love, Ray and Becky
Lisa Humpherys Gutierrez
Hello Humpherys family,
Winter- We had a few swim races for both Paige and Allison. They were so much fun to watch and cheer on. I turned 40 and had a wonderful celebration and party with family and friends. I continue to play basketball year round with Michelle most mornings of the week. I always look forward to this fun way to exercise. Seriously one of my favorite activities. I am starting a city league with our average age of 38. Guess we will never retire! It’s in the Humpherys blood.
Spring we had clogging competitions and the yearly Easter hunt with all of our wonderful family. We enjoyed time with Stephanie’s family who was visiting from Indiana. We took dad to a Jazz game for Autism awareness day. Isaac at 6 1/2 started to learn to ride his bike without training wheels. That was a milestone. We had a piano recital for Paige and I was nominated into the National Honor’s Society for nursing. Allison and I flew out to Indiana to surprise Stephanie for her birthday. She was so surprised she fell to the ground when she opened the door. That was so much fun. I also went from per diem, 1 night a week, to part time, 2 nights a week at the same hospital I’ve been working at for almost 14 years. I have a supervisor position where I am the Charge nurse for some of my shifts. It’s a nice change of pace.
Summer we went back East and spent a week in Washington D.C. and Virginia. That will be a trip to remember. We saw many monuments and George Washington’s house. The kids spent time with their cousins and we saw beautiful country in both places. I went with Allison to girls camp. I was in charge of the water front in helping the girls in and out of the canoes and kayaks. We had a wonderful time at Lake Lyman. Paige went with her clogging team to Disneyland and had the trip of her life! We went on the grueling summer back pack trip on a difficult trail to the Cuberants in the high Uintahs. The scenery and peaceful bliss was worth the difficult terrain. We enjoyed watching Allison’s summer camp play and watching her sing and dance. Star Valley for the Humpherys reunion was another fun camping trip. Spending time with cousins can never be beat! We also spent many days/nights at Lagoon. We always looked forward to that. In August we had fun touring chocolate factories and spending the day with cousins. We also went camping at the Spruces in the motor home in Salt Lake City. That was our first time there, and we hope to go back again soon. Fun memories. Don’t forget about the eclipse. We could feel the temperature drop when the moon went over the sun. Truly amazing and almost eerie.
Fall we enjoyed our annual Labor Day Backpacking trip with cousins and family. We played in the water, fished, and hiked. Truly a small peace of heaven. October mom and dad joined us in Park city. We went on a fun bike ride, enjoyed the beautiful fall weather and had fun in the hot tubs and pool. We look forward to this every year. Allison made one of the lead roles in her school play. 130 tried out and she made it in the top 12 lead roles. Her play is in May and we are so excited for her! I took Paige to the Jazz game again with the newly remodeled arena. That was so much fun and I’m glad we both enjoyed the game together. Isaac did his hip hop boy dance festival and always steals the show. The last two events of the year was of Carly and Jasmine’s baptisms. That was truly a magnificent event. We also had the Jones family Christmas reunion party. We had great food and great fun!
Looking forward to seeing everyone again this summer!
Love always,
Lisa, Allison 14, Paige 10, and Isaac 7
Winter- We had a few swim races for both Paige and Allison. They were so much fun to watch and cheer on. I turned 40 and had a wonderful celebration and party with family and friends. I continue to play basketball year round with Michelle most mornings of the week. I always look forward to this fun way to exercise. Seriously one of my favorite activities. I am starting a city league with our average age of 38. Guess we will never retire! It’s in the Humpherys blood.
Spring we had clogging competitions and the yearly Easter hunt with all of our wonderful family. We enjoyed time with Stephanie’s family who was visiting from Indiana. We took dad to a Jazz game for Autism awareness day. Isaac at 6 1/2 started to learn to ride his bike without training wheels. That was a milestone. We had a piano recital for Paige and I was nominated into the National Honor’s Society for nursing. Allison and I flew out to Indiana to surprise Stephanie for her birthday. She was so surprised she fell to the ground when she opened the door. That was so much fun. I also went from per diem, 1 night a week, to part time, 2 nights a week at the same hospital I’ve been working at for almost 14 years. I have a supervisor position where I am the Charge nurse for some of my shifts. It’s a nice change of pace.
Summer we went back East and spent a week in Washington D.C. and Virginia. That will be a trip to remember. We saw many monuments and George Washington’s house. The kids spent time with their cousins and we saw beautiful country in both places. I went with Allison to girls camp. I was in charge of the water front in helping the girls in and out of the canoes and kayaks. We had a wonderful time at Lake Lyman. Paige went with her clogging team to Disneyland and had the trip of her life! We went on the grueling summer back pack trip on a difficult trail to the Cuberants in the high Uintahs. The scenery and peaceful bliss was worth the difficult terrain. We enjoyed watching Allison’s summer camp play and watching her sing and dance. Star Valley for the Humpherys reunion was another fun camping trip. Spending time with cousins can never be beat! We also spent many days/nights at Lagoon. We always looked forward to that. In August we had fun touring chocolate factories and spending the day with cousins. We also went camping at the Spruces in the motor home in Salt Lake City. That was our first time there, and we hope to go back again soon. Fun memories. Don’t forget about the eclipse. We could feel the temperature drop when the moon went over the sun. Truly amazing and almost eerie.
Fall we enjoyed our annual Labor Day Backpacking trip with cousins and family. We played in the water, fished, and hiked. Truly a small peace of heaven. October mom and dad joined us in Park city. We went on a fun bike ride, enjoyed the beautiful fall weather and had fun in the hot tubs and pool. We look forward to this every year. Allison made one of the lead roles in her school play. 130 tried out and she made it in the top 12 lead roles. Her play is in May and we are so excited for her! I took Paige to the Jazz game again with the newly remodeled arena. That was so much fun and I’m glad we both enjoyed the game together. Isaac did his hip hop boy dance festival and always steals the show. The last two events of the year was of Carly and Jasmine’s baptisms. That was truly a magnificent event. We also had the Jones family Christmas reunion party. We had great food and great fun!
Looking forward to seeing everyone again this summer!
Love always,
Lisa, Allison 14, Paige 10, and Isaac 7
Ben & Michelle
Humpherys newsletter 2017
Humpherys newsletter 2017
Well this year definitely had its ups and downs. We experienced 4 floods at our house. Our subpump broke, then the ice maker in our fridge twice, then the toilet. Pretty frustrating.
Ben broke/dislocated his ankle playing basketball. His injury was almost identical to Gordon Hayward’s. I’ve never seen him in so much pain. He had to get around on one of those scooter things, wasn’t fun.
We did a really fun siblings road trip to Vegas this summer with Ben’s siblings and spouses. No kids. It was great. The reunion in Star Valley was a lot of fun to see everyone. I always love going to Star Valley.
We were involved in a lot of activities this year with the kids: Cub scouts, basketball, wrestling, piano, baseball, soccer, gymnastics, and flag football. Ben coached Brayden‘s flag football and basketball team.
Brayden is 10. He went backpacking up in the Uintahs with my dad and everyone. They said he was such a trooper and always at the front of the pack. He’s such a good kid. I don’t know what we would do without our Brayden. He’s Ben’s little sidekick. They are always palling (spelling?) around together making jokes playing video games, Minecraft together, you name it. He also hates to miss any school because he doesn’t want to have any missing assignments he’s a great student.
Jasmine is 8 and was baptized on her birthday (Grandpa Humpherys birthday as well) with her best cousin Carly. It was a special day. She got really into wrestling this year. I was blown away. She did not want to lose a match and she wanted every medal and trophy she could get her hands on. She has 3 first place medals and one big first place trophy so far. Ben takes her to these tournaments around the valley and she mostly wrestles other girls but she has wrestled a handful of boys. She’s just awesome.
Stasia is 4 and started preschool this year and she is the biggest character of them all. If you ever need a laugh that day she will definitely give it to you and she’s not even trying to be funny. She has the biggest heart. I don’t even know how many times a day she tells me that she loves me, she’s so sweet.
Taylor just turned 2 and he is really starting to say a lot of words now. He’s so sweet. He loves to play with our chickens and our cat and do anything that the other kids are doing. He follows me around the house all day saying mom mom mom hi mom mom hi. It’s pretty cute.
Ben is still the high priest group leader in our ward and works for Fidelity Investments. He’s also doing his My Calc Rental business where we rent out graphing calculators to high school and college students all over the United States.
I saw an ad on craigslist where they were looking for actors and a makeup artist for a McDonald’s commercial. So I told Ben to apply for it and I applied for it as well and we both surprisingly got it and so we got to work on set together. I actually had to put makeup on him. It was kind of funny.
I had a really busy year for weddings doing hair and makeup. I love how flexible it is being a freelance artist so I can still stay home with my kiddos.
My calling was leading the music in sacrament meeting but once I found out I was pregnant I asked to be released because I knew I was going to be out for a while. I just get so incredibly sick my first trimester, it’s hard to function. I don’t think I went to church for a couple months. Pregnancy sure is a blessing but not an easy thing to go through. We are so excited though to welcome baby number 5 into our family. We’re going to name her Isabel Jane Burnett. They’re both family names on Ben’s side.
Legoland was our big surprise trip for the kids. Brayden and Jasmine worked really hard to save up their money and paid for half of their ticket. We were so proud of them. We told them we were going to drive there next April but we surprised them and took them in October and it was their first time on an airplane, first time to California and first time seeing the beach. (I guess Brayden flew on a plane to China when he was one and played on the beach when we lived in North Carolina when he was 18 months old but he doesn’t remember that). We stayed at the Legoland hotel and it was just a trip of a lifetime. Our kids are totally into Legos. They wanted to go there way more than Disneyland so we thought hey, this is the year to do it. It was a blast.
We always love to go yard saling every Saturday morning in the summers and we try to get in our Friday night dates as well. Ben’s really good about that.
As I have already shared on our family Facebook page I had some really cool Family History experiences reading about Grandma and Grandpa Humpherys. I read that book from cover to cover and really felt a lot closer to them knowing more about their lives and what amazing people they were. They’re such great examples to us in so many ways. Thanks for being such an awesome family, love you all.
Love,
Ben, Michelle, Brayden, Jasmine, Stasia, Taylor and Isabel.
Ben broke/dislocated his ankle playing basketball. His injury was almost identical to Gordon Hayward’s. I’ve never seen him in so much pain. He had to get around on one of those scooter things, wasn’t fun.
We did a really fun siblings road trip to Vegas this summer with Ben’s siblings and spouses. No kids. It was great. The reunion in Star Valley was a lot of fun to see everyone. I always love going to Star Valley.
We were involved in a lot of activities this year with the kids: Cub scouts, basketball, wrestling, piano, baseball, soccer, gymnastics, and flag football. Ben coached Brayden‘s flag football and basketball team.
Brayden is 10. He went backpacking up in the Uintahs with my dad and everyone. They said he was such a trooper and always at the front of the pack. He’s such a good kid. I don’t know what we would do without our Brayden. He’s Ben’s little sidekick. They are always palling (spelling?) around together making jokes playing video games, Minecraft together, you name it. He also hates to miss any school because he doesn’t want to have any missing assignments he’s a great student.
Jasmine is 8 and was baptized on her birthday (Grandpa Humpherys birthday as well) with her best cousin Carly. It was a special day. She got really into wrestling this year. I was blown away. She did not want to lose a match and she wanted every medal and trophy she could get her hands on. She has 3 first place medals and one big first place trophy so far. Ben takes her to these tournaments around the valley and she mostly wrestles other girls but she has wrestled a handful of boys. She’s just awesome.
Stasia is 4 and started preschool this year and she is the biggest character of them all. If you ever need a laugh that day she will definitely give it to you and she’s not even trying to be funny. She has the biggest heart. I don’t even know how many times a day she tells me that she loves me, she’s so sweet.
Taylor just turned 2 and he is really starting to say a lot of words now. He’s so sweet. He loves to play with our chickens and our cat and do anything that the other kids are doing. He follows me around the house all day saying mom mom mom hi mom mom hi. It’s pretty cute.
Ben is still the high priest group leader in our ward and works for Fidelity Investments. He’s also doing his My Calc Rental business where we rent out graphing calculators to high school and college students all over the United States.
I saw an ad on craigslist where they were looking for actors and a makeup artist for a McDonald’s commercial. So I told Ben to apply for it and I applied for it as well and we both surprisingly got it and so we got to work on set together. I actually had to put makeup on him. It was kind of funny.
I had a really busy year for weddings doing hair and makeup. I love how flexible it is being a freelance artist so I can still stay home with my kiddos.
My calling was leading the music in sacrament meeting but once I found out I was pregnant I asked to be released because I knew I was going to be out for a while. I just get so incredibly sick my first trimester, it’s hard to function. I don’t think I went to church for a couple months. Pregnancy sure is a blessing but not an easy thing to go through. We are so excited though to welcome baby number 5 into our family. We’re going to name her Isabel Jane Burnett. They’re both family names on Ben’s side.
Legoland was our big surprise trip for the kids. Brayden and Jasmine worked really hard to save up their money and paid for half of their ticket. We were so proud of them. We told them we were going to drive there next April but we surprised them and took them in October and it was their first time on an airplane, first time to California and first time seeing the beach. (I guess Brayden flew on a plane to China when he was one and played on the beach when we lived in North Carolina when he was 18 months old but he doesn’t remember that). We stayed at the Legoland hotel and it was just a trip of a lifetime. Our kids are totally into Legos. They wanted to go there way more than Disneyland so we thought hey, this is the year to do it. It was a blast.
We always love to go yard saling every Saturday morning in the summers and we try to get in our Friday night dates as well. Ben’s really good about that.
As I have already shared on our family Facebook page I had some really cool Family History experiences reading about Grandma and Grandpa Humpherys. I read that book from cover to cover and really felt a lot closer to them knowing more about their lives and what amazing people they were. They’re such great examples to us in so many ways. Thanks for being such an awesome family, love you all.
Love,
Ben, Michelle, Brayden, Jasmine, Stasia, Taylor and Isabel.
Drew and Stephanie’s Recap of 2017
In January we celebrated
Stockton’s 5th birthday. He had a dinosaur themed party with his
friends.
February was filled with
indoor soccer games, orchestra performances, play dates, Relief Society and Young
Women activities, and lots of love on Valentine’s Day. Drew also was quite busy
working at two law offices.
In March Stephanie and the
kids flew to Utah for Spring Break. We attended Grant’s wedding, swam a lot,
celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, early Easter, went downtown to visit Temple
Square and the Church History Museum, and had a lot of family bonding time.
Mom, Melanie, and Stephanie went to the play Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
We also rode banana bikes by the Daybreak lake.
In April Brooklyn sang at her
Middle School’s talent show. She sang a song from Moana and the whole crowd
went wild. We also celebrated Sadie’s two year old birthday! Riley got first place with her pinewood derby
car. We went to a lot of Riley’s travel soccer games. We celebrated real
Easter. Stephanie was also made Young Women’s president.
In May we had a Cinco de Mayo
party for Stockton and his friends. Drew and Stephanie went to a Guatemalan
Mother’s Day dinner. We also celebrated Mother’s Day at church and Stephanie
felt so grateful to be a mom. Lisa and Allison surprised Stephanie and flew to
see us in Indiana. We had such a fun time shopping, seeing the Indy500,
celebrating Stephanie’s 35th birthday at the Cake Bake Shoppe and
going on walks on a trail near our house. Brooklyn received an award for
Orchestra for the best Mental Attitude. Drew and Stockton also went to
Father’s/Son campout and had a great time.
June was filled with
swimming, popsicles, and end of the school year celebrations. Brooklyn and
Riley went to a three week summer camp course and had so much fun taking cool
classes like cooking, hip –hop, design and tinker, and Lego building robots.
July we went to a food
festival downtown Indy and got to sample some yummy local food. Then Brooklyn
and Stephanie attended girl’s camp and had an amazing spiritually filled week.
Meanwhile back at home Drew and the other three kids celebrated the Fourth of
July with fireworks that Sadie didn’t like at all. Brooklyn and Stephanie came
home to celebrate Drew’s 37th birthday. Stephanie also took the kids
to the children’s museum and the zoo. Then we celebrated Riley’s 10th
birthday at Chuck-e-Cheese and the movies. Then we packed up the car and drove
to New York City. We met Drew’s parents there and enjoyed all the sights for a
few fun-filled days.
On August 1st
Brooklyn, Riley and Stockton started school. Brooklyn is the queen of the
school in 8th grade, Riley is ruling elementary school in 5th
grade, and Stockton started full day Kindergarten. Our ward went through a
boundaries change which was such a blessing because five of our good family
friends moved out this summer so we met some new friends and got a new
bishopric. Drew, Stephanie, Brooklyn and Riley went to the concert Pentatonix
downtown at an outdoor park. All of the family rented a pontoon and rode around
the Eagle Creek Reservoir. Brooklyn joined the Cross Country team and did so
great! She learned a lot about perseverance and teamwork. She received the Best
Mental Attitude award at the end of the season. Drew and Stephanie went to the
play “West Side Story.”
Sadie also attends a music
class once a week and absolutely loves it! She gets to learn all about art and
music and social skills.
September was filled with
many play dates, cross country meets, Young Women activities, and walks on the
Eagle Creek trail. Riley discovered how to make “slime” and became obsessed and
made it all the time! Sadie loves to learn and enjoys watching shows that teach
her about the ABC’s and nursery rhymes. Brooklyn loves chatting with her
friends on her phone and Stockton loves to play with his toys and legos.
October was so exciting
because Drew officially was done working for his boss in Brownsburg and is only
working for himself at Spear Legal Services. His business is thriving and Drew
truly loves what he does, serving others and helping them with their legal
issues. We also listened to General Conference and loved every minute of it! We
enjoyed two weeks of school for Fall break and went to two pumpkin patches, the
children’s museum, the zoo, a fun family farm, and a trunk or treat at our
church. Drew and Stephanie got to see Jerry Seinfeld downtown and He was
hysterical!! Stephanie laughed so hard she cried! Stephanie also took the kids
trick-or-treating and Sadie was the biggest trooper she lasted the longest ☺
In November Stephanie was in
charge of Young Women’s in Excellence. Brooklyn also celebrated her 14th
birthday by going ice-skating and to Fazoli’s with her friends. We ate
Thanksgiving at the church with some ward members.
In December Brooklyn and
Riley played the violin and piano at a couple nursing homes. The Young Women
also got to go Christmas Caroling at a few widow’s houses. We made homeless
care packages and got to give back to some needy families in the ward. Then we
were off to Utah for three weeks. Drew and Stephanie drove to Long Beach with
Drew’s siblings, in-laws and his parents. They then went on a four day cruise
to Catalina Island and Ensanada Mexico. Then they came back and celebrated
Christmas Eve with all the Humpherys side of the family. We celebrated
Christmas day with Grandma and Grandpa Humpherys and Uncle Ryan and Natalie.
Then two days later Drew had to fly home and celebrate our 16th
wedding anniversary apart. Stephanie and the kids made a lot of fun memories at
Carly and Jasmine’s baptism and the Jones New Year’s Eve bash.
This year has been very good
to us and we feel very blessed and look forward to the New Year with faith and
hope!
Elliot & Melanie
Dear My Wonderful Humpherys Family-
Dear My Wonderful Humpherys Family-
2017: Elliot and I on New
Year’s Eve we cheered our glasses and said, “here’s to a year with no surgeries
and no more ER visits.” Well you could say we jinxed ourselves.
We had two knee surgeries for
Elliot, multiple ER Visits and another child diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes for
Wes.
January we went and visited
Ryan and Natalie up in Logan. It’s always fun to hang out with them, we went
sledding, played the Wii and lots of card games.
We started out our year with
Elliot breaking his tendon in his knee in another freak church ball accident.
He went to the ER and they said it wasn’t broken but he went to a specialist
and found out his knee cap was floating around because his big tendon was
broken. Meaning it wasn’t holding his
knee cap in place. He had his surgery in March and it was really hard on
everyone.
Also in March we had a fun
treasure hunt and Easter egg hunt with cousins including Stephanie’s
family. The kids had a blast. I loved
seeing Seven Brides with Seven Brother’s with Mom and Steph that was a
highlight of their trip and also seeing Beauty and the Beast in the
Theaters. I love spending time with the
Spears, wish they lived closer.
All my siblings and parents
and some kids went and saw the play Oliver, it was well done and so funny. We
went swimming and rode bikes with Mom and Dad in May. We love spending time with mom and dad. They
are so fun and always up for fun activities.
Josie took dance this year
and she really enjoyed it with her friend Katie. They had a Program in June and
she did so well. I couldn’t believe how
confident she was on stage but she said she didn’t want to do that again, way
too scary.
June was full of camping; we
went camping at the Spruces with Michelle’s family over her birthday. We ate yummy food, fun little hikes and rode
bikes and scooters. We also went camping
with friends down south at a very dirty dusty camp sight. I was cold, dirty and
didn’t sleep much even though I slept in the van I thought I’d sleep better but
I didn’t. We had fun in spite of the
usual stuff that happens during camping.
We played Frisbee golf, made fairy houses, played card games and roasted
marshmallows and talked around the campfire.
We also played at the sand dunes and had yummy shakes in town. I don’t
think we will do that again but it was a fun one time adventure.
July Elliot had family from
Canada come and visit. We played at
Boondocks, the kids loved driving the go-carts, golfing and playing lazor
tag. We saw fireworks and celebrated a
bunch of birthdays that month on the Decker’s side. Josie and I also took a
rock climbing class and I realized how out of shape I was. But it was fun to do with my Josie and learn
a new skill.
September the kids started
school, Josie is in 5th grade and Carly is in 2nd grade.
They have wonderful teachers and enjoying the year. Carly thinks math is too easy and wants to be
more challenged. Josie likes most parts
of school but she loves her teacher the most. Wes started preschool this month
he was so bored at home with just me so it was time to get him in. He has a hard time leaving me every time but
he loves it when I pick him up he tells me how much fun he had.
October we had fun picking
out costumes and picked out pumpkins at a pumpkin patch. Wes called it a Pumpkin Pie Patch, silly kid.
At the end of October my cousin Holly took Carly’s Baptism pictures down town
at Temple Square. It was really fun to
do something with just Carly and I.
Later that day I colored Holly’s hair and Wes was acting extra out of
control. He kept going to the bathroom
more than 5 times an hour (I’m guessing but that what it felt like because it
took me forever to do Holly’s hair) He
wanted to eat so much then he wouldn’t eat it after I made it. After Wesley
finally went to bed I thought…I’m going to check his blood sugar. I thought I was being paranoid but why was he
acting so crazy. The meter read over
600. I ran downstairs and showed Elliot
and he told me to go check again and it was the same results. He said, “Well wake her up and we can check
her Ketones.” I told him it wasn’t Josie it was Wes who I checked. He called our pedestrian while I went and got
Wesley dressed to go to the ER. The
pediatrician told us to take him to the ER at Primary Children’s Hospital. It was the longest drive, I was shaking and
in disbielf that this was happening for a second time. We finally got to the ER
and they checked Wes out and had him pee in a cup. Sure enough he was over 700. He had Type 1 Diabetes. NOT ONE CHILD BUT TWO
CHILDREN WITH THIS AWFUL DISEASE!!!! We
waited forever until they had a room upstairs to admit us. For some horrible
reason they can’t give them insulin in the ER if they’re not in DKA. I think
that’s just crazy and dangerous. We
finally went up stairs and it still took awhile to get him his insulin. Wes was given some toys and play dough so we
could check is blood pressure and prick his finger. I don’t know why they thought he’d corporate
when his blood sugar was sky high. He
was hysterical and so I had to hold onto him while they tried to take his
blood. Wes is so strong now and I had to
use all my muscle to hold onto him. He
finally got some food and insulin and his shots after he fell asleep. They give his shots after he eats because
they aren’t sure how much he’ll actually eat. That night we fell asleep by 3
and woke up by 7. Wes had to go through a lot for a couple days and he was a
trooper. We played in the playroom all
day until my dad came. We were on the fast track to leave because we already
knew what we were doing. I had to go to
one nutrition class and watch their training videos again but that was pretty
much it. Wes finally fell asleep for a few hours while my dad and I were able
to eat dinner in some peace. We were discharged around 7pm and finally got
home. I had been praying for so long how
to learn how to take care of Wesley and his anger and misbehavior. We were
happy to figure out was causing Wesley’s challenges and glad to know we can
help him be the best Wes he can be. It’s rough for a 4 year old to understand
everything and he often ask’s me, “why do I have Diabetes.” Hoping for a cure some day.
Thanksgiving and Christmas
was spent with family and friends. The
kids were spoiled for Christmas, and we love making new memories as our small
family.
We hope everyone had a great
2017 and we hope 2018 we be much better.
Love,
Elliot, Melanie, Josie, Carly
and Wesley
Ryan & Natalie
2017 the year of all the BIG
things!
We always joke that we always
do everything all at once and this year proved it.
The first thing we did in the
New Year was buy Ryan a drum set! He’d been missing them for YEARS and He’s
been having jam sessions with our friend. Failed attempts at teaching Natalie
have been made but she’ll stick to dancing to music rather than making it. The
nieces and nephews love it too, especially Wes Decker.
Over Christmas we decided to
take the IUD out on February 24th, our four year engage-iversary,
and see what happens maybe bring a non-furry baby into our family.
We had been looking at houses
on and off for about a year and a half, not seriously but considering it. We
decided to check out some homes with a builder that builds affordable homes so
we set up a meeting with the bank to get a loan on February 24th
right after our appointment with my doctor.
February 24th
turned into literally the craziest day of our lives. We went to the doctor
super nervous both of us questioning what we were doing like ARE WE REALLY
DOING THIS?! We went to Jimmy John’s for lunch, Ryan didn’t say anything just
looked like he saw a ghost and Natalie just couldn’t stop laughing- both we’re
sure in shock, handling it our own ways. The next day met with the builder to
talk about homes and turned out there was a spec home that was move in ready so
we checked it out. Natalie fell in love immediately and Ryan being the
practical one he took longer to warm up but once he saw the loft area he was
in. We literally put money down that night.
Could we have made anymore
big decisions that weekend?!
We moved into our house in
April! It was so exciting! Got a fence put up and Ryan created his dream media
room with a projector he saved for a long time to get. Natalie was able to send
6 Kenyan kids to 3 semesters of secondary school through Rise with Kenya.
We have an awesome group of 3
couples we hang out with A LOT, they’ve become like our Logan family. We played
in a softball league with them. It turns out we really just don’t like sports
but it was just to hang out with our friends and make new ones.
A half an hour before our
first game on May 24th Natalie took a secret pregnancy test since
she just kept taking them so Ryan kept telling her not to buy anymore but she
didn’t listen. IT WAS POSITIVE. She broke to the news to Ryan and he just
couldn’t believe it! We went to our game in shock – IS THIS FOR REAL?! Over the
next couple weeks the sickness set in and Natalie was throwing up over 20+ a
lot of days even at work. Her work bathroom became a too familiar friend.
Though they both were convinced it was a boy – Ryan’s wish came true and it’s a
GIRL.
We had a blast throwing a
Murder Mystery Pirate Birthday Party and the Gender Reveal the same weekend
over Nat’s birthday. We really felt so loved and know the little baby is
already so loved. Even by the fur babies she’ll come to love who cuddle
Natalie’s stomach and feel little kicks every now and then.
Natalie made a hard decision
to quit her hostile job. Hoping to pick up some freelance work or find another
job after the baby comes but until then Izzy, Sheba and Theo get a stay at home
cat/dog mom. Ryan loves his job and is so good at it they are scared to lose
him. He’s been honing his skills in coloring and getting really good at it.
He’s done a few film festivals and videos for people being their colorist.
A lot of BIG things happened
this year. We are so excited to bring our baby into the world next year and
show her all the people and things we love.
PREVIEW OF 2018
Claire Anne Humpherys was
born January 25, 2018. We had gone in for a routine 39 week checkup at 9 am
when we were told due to preeclampsia she’d have to be induced. She was induced
at 12 pm and things were progressing well but by 6:30 pm the contractions were
too long and as the doctor explained it was as if she had been holding her
breath for 2 minutes and then gasping for air at the end of each contraction
(causing her heartrate to drop dangerously low) so an emergency C-Section was
now on the table. It was easy for Nat to make the call when the
anesthesiologist said, “Can you hold your breath for 2 minutes?” She was born
wide eyed and alert at 7:07 pm. We fell instantly in love!
The whole day was a whirlwind
and nothing went how we expected but we went with the flow and couldn’t be
happier with how it all turned out! -
Ryan & Natalie
