Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Apple Fest....A Success!!!

A HUGE THANK YOU to all those who attended the 1st Annual Apple Fest! We had such a great turnout and had a lot of fun. We just want to express our appreciation to all those who participated in the Harvest 5k walk/run. We had close to 100 participants and raised close to $2,000, which will be donated to Primary Children's Medical Center Foundation in Kate's name. Thank you for all the generous donations. We would especially like to thank our fabulous volunteers. Without You none of this would have been possible.

I wanted to post some fun pictures courtesy of kirstin roper photography. For more pictures and 5k results please visit the Apple Fest blog. We hope to see you all next year!

Apple Pressing at its Finest!

The Finished Product

Giddy-Up Cowboy!!

Pressing gallons & gallons of Cider for the Harvest Breakfast!

These dried cinnamon apple rings were to die for! Thanks Merv & Carolyn!

The Band....Masons Jar of Jam

Thursday, September 25, 2008

6 Months

I'm generally not one to wear my heart on my sleeve, nor do I express my emotions in a public manner. However, I was overcome with many emotions when I woke up this morning. Today marks 6 months that Kate left our arms. I think back to that morning on March 25 and the many thoughts and feelings I had. Life seemed, somewhat, normal to us. I remember thinking how very blessed we were to have Kate out of the hospital and at home with us. Although she was technologically dependent, Bryan and I were determined to help Kate live as "normal" a life as possible. Life was good. We had a beautiful daughter who brought us so much joy and happiness, who made our lives complete and a baby girl on the way. Kate required 24-hour care. It could be tiresome, stressful and emotional at times, but I would never change a thing. I feel that true happiness comes from serving the ones your love. How grateful I am that I spent almost every waking hour with Kate. Did I ever think when I woke up that beautiful Spring morning that our lives would take a different route. Kate endured so much in her short little life. She was sick and struggled in many aspects. Some may say that it is a blessing for her to be freed from her physical pain. However, that doesn't change the fact that we miss our baby girl.

This past Saturday, Kate's headstone was set. It is perfect. I couldn't be more happy with the way it turned out. It was a bitter sweet day, though. We were excited to have it here to actually have a monument to visit, but sad because I feel like it's the final step of this whole process.

We chose to use a picture from her blessing day. I love the little look on her face.

One of my favorite songs I would sing to Kate was You Are My Sunshine, so we thought it was appropriate to have the words on the back side of her headstone.


Dear Sweet Kate....

Who would have ever thought that one little girl could teach us so much. You were loved.....loved beyond measures. You were beautiful. No one could resist playing with those beautiful brown curls....even though you hated it when people would play with your hair. You were strong. You were brave. You were a teacher. Thank you for teaching us patience, charity, humility, faith and unconditional love. You made your mommy and daddy so happy and made us better people. Thank you for allowing us to learn from your example. You had so many friends who loved you and prayed for you. You are missed.....missed more than you will know.

We love you sweet Kater Bugs.

This is the last picture we have of Kate taken on Easter just 2 days before she passed away. I think she looks so beautiful in her little Easter dress.

Monday, September 15, 2008

We're Bringing Curlers Back

Before.....

.....After

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Go Cougs!

For those of you who watched the BYU vs. UCLA game you know what a blowout it was. The stadium was PACKED and it was HOT. I wasn't sure how Mia would do, but she LOVED it. With a halftime score of 42 to 0, we ended up leaving and just watching the rest of the game at Bryan's parents home. It's going to be a great season! GO COUGARS!!!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Goodbye Summer

As sad as I am to see Summer go, I am REALLY looking forward to the Fall. I LOVE the Fall and I really hope that we get to enjoy a couple of months of it before the snow comes. We spent one last Saturday at Seven Peaks and I ended up buying a season pass for next year. You can't beat $39.95.

We loved spending summer nights on Grandpa Roper's farm. Mia especially loved seeing the horses. There were a few colts born this summer, so it was fun to see them.



Last weekend, we were able to attend Jalee's baby blessing. Nolan gave such a beautiful blessing and it was fun seeing little Jalyee on her special day.....what a little doll.


Are they twins are what???

I love these girls!!!



Monday, September 8, 2008

Our Little Munchkin.....Literally!

Mia is 4-months-old.....Actually 4 1/2-months-old now. We are loving every new little thing that she does. Along with drooling like crazy STILL, she has become a master at rolling over (especially at night waking herself up frequently....ahhhh). But, we think she's finally getting used to being on her back (which I never thought we would see the day). Last week Mia had her 4 month well check. This is how she measured up:

Weight.....a hefty 14 lbs. 9 oz. (61 percentile)
Height......23 inches and she's in the .......drum roll please.....5 percentile

So in other words, Mia is short and chubby. But looking at her parents, she is destined to be a little on the vertically challenged side.

We also started rice cereal.....oh boy! Let's just say it's been an experience. The problem is Mia likes it so much, but we can't get it to her fast enough so she ends up getting frustrated. Therefore she ends up getting it via the bottle. It's so much fun and not to mention, entertaining. She's actually getting better at it . I guess practice makes perfect.

Okay, so I have been a slacker at keeping my blog updated.....but for good reasons. I am so excited to announce Apple Fest 2008. You may be thinking "What exactly is Apple Fest 2008?" Well, I have created a blog so CHECK IT OUT!!!


This is an event for the whole family. So, mark your calendars and consider this a personal invitation. Hope to see you there!
***please feel free to contact me with any questions: marcaerosenvall@yahoo.com***