Corgi

Kids Say The Darndest Things...

This morning, Elizabeth was looking at a book that she purchased at her school's book fair. It is a book about all different kind of puppies and dogs. As she turned to a page with a Corgi on it, she exclaimed, "This is the kind of dog that I want. When they walk, they strut like this!"...as she proceeds to strut around the room. Then she says, "It's like they got some "oomph" in their shoulders!"

I seriously love hearing all of the fun things that my kids say on a daily basis! I love their excitement for every day, ordinary things.

Kids Say The Darndest Things!

Today we were over at my parent's house, visiting my mom, who just had eye surgery. At the end of our visit, I asked the kids to gather all they had brought with them since we would be leaving in a few minutes. Elizabeth proceeds to go through a checklist...

Head....check
Body....check
Legs....check
Feet....check
Pee Pee spot....check
Bum....check

If that wasn't bad enough, Zachary exclaims, "Elizabeth, you know you should call that (pointing to her "pee pee spot") your crotch!

Not sure where they get this stuff...but it sure is entertaining!

Matt's Knitted Tie

A few days ago, I saw a pattern for a knitted tie. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I wanted to make one for Matt. I asked Matt what color he wanted and headed over to Kamille's to pick out the yarn. I finished the tie a couple days ago...Just in time for Matt to wear it to Priesthood Session of General Conference.

Matt looks so handsome in his new suit and knitted tie. He sure cleans up nice!

Knitting Pure & Simple Little Girl's Shrug

This Summer, at Kamille's, we are focusing on quick knitting projects that can be made while on a road trip. As soon as I found the pattern for this darling little shrug, I knew that I wanted to make it as a store sample. It was a super-quick knit that took me a little under 4 hours to create. I used the Knitting Pure & Simple Little Girl's Shrug Pattern and a little more that one skein of a yarn called Kenzie. With the pattern, the yarn, and the darling button, this project cost me less than $15.00!

This project was fast and fun! Now I want one in every color!

Free Slurpee Day!

Each year, we look forward to Free Slurpee Day at 7-11. It is a fun tradition that always brings a smile to our face. Zachary always gets so excited because it is a yummy treat that he is able to eat! He enjoyed the Birthday Cake slurpee, while Elizabeth had the banana. I tried the new Sour Patch Kids slurpee and it was delicious! 

Thanks 7-11!

Knitting Pure & Simple Baby Dress

Today I finished this darling little knitted dress with matching headband. It was a quick-knit and I love the way it turned out. I used the Knitting Pure & Simple Baby Dress pattern and 3 skeins of Simplicity by HiKoo yarn. It is knit from the top-down without any seaming!

Since I had enough yarn, I decided to make the matching headband with knitted flower. I have to admit, the knitted flower is a little lame. It looks more like a knitted circle. It is still cute...but this is definitely one of the times I am glad that I know how to crochet. The next time I make this headband, I will be adding a crocheted flower instead!

Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is a HUGE deal in the Freebairn Family. Matt's parents, Kelly and Karla, have events and activities planned from the early morning...all the way until late in the evening. It has always been one of my favorite traditions since becoming a Freebairn.

We started the day at their Stake Breakfast and Flag Ceremony. The Scouts did a great job of presenting the flag. The breakfast was delicious, as usual. They always serve eggs, ham, fruit, and fresh homemade scones with honey butter. Seriously, I could eat 10 of them!

Even Zachary could eat a yummy scone. We just had to leave off the honey butter!

We couldn't leave before playing at the playground. The kids love swings and would stay here all day, if we let them. They love being pushed, as long as it is not too high!

Elizabeth did great at pumping her legs and leaning into the swing. She got going pretty high without us having to push her!

After the breakfast, we usually head over to the neighborhood parade and carnival. Since Kelly and Karla have moved and are no longer part of the neighborhood, we did not go this year. I am not gonna lie...I kinda missed it. It was always so fun to see all the kids with their bikes and wagons decorated in red, white, and blue. Oh well...maybe I need to organize a kid's parade in our neighborhood next year!

In past years, after the carnival it would be time to head to Kelly and Karla's backyard for hours of fun with all of their water toys...pools, slip 'n slides, and water tables. However, all of that is in storage this year so we opted for watching a movie in our basement theater before the bbq began.

Adam and Tifani, along with Kena, Kate, Jack, and Tyler arrived around 4:00pm. We hosted the bbq at our home, since we are the only ones with a grill. The kids disappeared to our neighborhood park and the adults sat in the air-condition and chatted. It was a nice time and the food was delicious, especially the ribs!

At sundown, we headed to Adam and Tifani's home, where you can see the entire Salt Lake Valley from their front porch. It is amazing to sit at their home and watch the skyline filled with thousands of fireworks! We stayed out way too late but had a blast!

We were kinda worried about today since many of our traditions were going to have to change...but you know what...the day was a huge success. It just confirms to me that it doesn't matter what you do...it only matters who you are with.

We had a great day because we were surrounded by family!

HAIL...In the middle of June!

Today I sent the kids to go play at our neighborhood park. It was a beautiful day. Not too sunny...not too hot. After about 15 minutes the kids came back because it had started to rain. I thought that was so weird because the skies had been blue all day. Little did I know how weird things were about to get!

As we are sitting in the house, we start to hear these really loud bangs. It sounded like rocks hitting the house. It was so LOUD! As I looked outside, I realized that it was hailing! Yes, you read that right...it was hailing in the middle of June.

If that wasn't weird enough...it was the biggest hail that I have ever seen in my life. They were easily the size of golf balls. Each hail looked like it was made of small hail balls stuck together. Most of the hail were perfectly shaped balls. I have never seen anything like it in my life.

Look at how big they are! I used a quarter for reference! They were gigantic...or as Zachary would say, "Gi-ank-tis!"

The storm lasted about 20 minutes and then the sky turned back to blue and sunny. Weirdest thing ever! I am just glad that the kids weren't still outside when the hail started falling!

Top Eagle

Elizabeth was nominated as the Top Eagle in her class this week. Her teacher, Miss O'Maley, said, "Elizabeth is the Top Eagle for her efforts in class. She is working so hard towards her goals. She is being kinder to her friends and herself. She is a great example for how Eagles can always work to improve their behaviors!"

One of the rewards for being selected as the Top Eagle is that you get to sit at the Top Eagle Table in the lunchroom and eat with the principal or vice-principal. Today, Elizabeth was able to sit with Mr. Nixon, the vice-principal, and her fellow Top Eagles.

Way to go Elizabeth! We are so proud of you.

Zootopia

Tonight we enjoyed a family night at the Movies. All of the reviews were great for Zootopia and the kids were super-excited to see it, so we decided it would be a perfect night out for our family.

Zootopia did not disappoint. It was heart-warming and funny. It made you think, and you fell-in-love with each of the characters. It tackled the hard topics of discrimination and stereotypes but in a brilliant way. Elizabeth and Zachary loved it. Matt loved it. I loved it. It was great!

We all left the theatre with smiles on our faces talking about how we are totally going to buy Zootopia when it comes out on Bluray.

Watched Over and Protected

Last night, as Matt and I were headed home from the Food Allergy Seminar at Rocky Mountain Allergy we experienced a tire blow out on the freeway...as we were going 70 miles per hour. Luckily we were able to maintain control and pull over to the side of the road. As Matt prepared to jack up the minivan and change the tire, we noticed that our spare tire kit did not included all of the necessary pieces...GREAT!

Matt and I sat in the van for a while and discussed our options.

• We could call one of our family members and ask them to bring us some tools. OR
• We could drive on our flat tire and risk ruining our rim. 

As we sat on the side of the road, in the dark, with cars and trucks passing close to our van at 70+ miles per hour, we decided to risk ruining our rim. We drove at 5 miles per hour, with our hazzard lights on, until we got to the next exit. We pulled into the nearest 7-11 and got out of the van. As we looked up, 2 police vehicles entered the parking lot and parked right next to us. What a blessing! The police officers had tools that we could use and helped us get the tire changed out. 

This situation could have been so bad...but we received so many tender mercies last night. We could have lost control of the vehicle, we could have been hit as we were parked on the side of the road, we could have sat for hours as our family members took time to gather the needed tools and get them to us, we could have ruined our rim (which we found out today is fine!). Plus having 3 police officers available to help us made things go so much more quickly and smoothly.

Even though this was a stinky situation, so many things could have gone so much worse. I know that Matt and I were watched over and protected last night. I know that Heavenly Father sent those police officers to help us...and I am so grateful that He did. I know that Heavenly Father is aware of us. I know that we are children of a loving Heavenly Father and that He loves us.

Rocky Mountain Allergy Seminar

For the past year or so, we have been hearing about a new treatment option for food allergies. I have been a little hesitant to try it since it is so new and only one allergist, Dr. Douglas Jones, in Utah is currently offering this treatment option. At the end of January, this allergist opened a new location in Murray, Utah which is about 20 minutes from our home. When I discovered his new location, and found out that Dr. Jones was just recently added to our insurance plan, I decided to check it out.

Matt and I attended a seminar with Dr. Jones tonight. He discussed his revolutionary treatment and how it works. There were also a few "graduates" and their families there to discuss their experience and how their lives have been changed.

Dr. Jones began his career as an Allergist and always hated the times he would have to face a family and diagnose a food allergy. The standard protocol was to give the family a list of ingredients to avoid and a prescription for an Epi-Pen. He would then send them into the world with a "hope" that nothing bad would happen. During the seminar he discussed how he hated these conversations and felt so bad that there were no other options. As he began researching more, he took the idea of vaccines and of environmental allergy shots and began experimenting to see if there was something more that he could do. For 8 long years he researched and studied. Then in 2011 he launched the Oral Immunotherapy treatment plan with his patients. It has had unprecedented success!

Oral Immunotherapy Treatment (OIT) is a treatment in which the allergic patient is fed the allergen in a very diluted amount in a control environment. For example, the first dose amount for a person allergic to peanuts is 1/250,000 of a peanut. As each dose is tolerated, the dosage amount is increased until the patient is able to eat 24 peanuts a day. This may take anywhere from a few months to a couple of year to desensitize to the allergen. Once you reach what Dr. Jones calls your maintenance dose, the patient will need to consume the maintenance dose of the allergen every day for the rest of their lives. If they do so, they are able to eat unlimited amounts of the allergen as often as they would like. Sounds to good to be true, right!

Well it is not. After Dr. Jones presentation was over, we heard from many patients and their families. As we heard story after story of success and gratitude, my eyes were filled with tears. We heard the story of a 10-year old boy who was allergic to 24 foods. His story was so similar to Zachary's and his little personality reminded me of Zachary too. He now can eat all of the foods he once had to completely avoid. His eyes lit up as he talked about all of the food that he can now eat and how he doesn't need to fear food anymore. I cannot image what a weight has been lifted off of his little shoulders. It made me long for the day that we could share all of our favorite foods with Zachary. Next we heard from a 18-year old boy that was allergic to peanuts. He graduated from the OIT program in December and feels so much better about being out with friends and dating. Then we heard from a young girl who recently attended a friends birthday party for first time. In the past her friends would tell her, "My mom won't let me invite you to my party because she doesn't want to worry about what to feed you." We heard so many stories of how OIT has changed peoples lives.

After the seminar, we were able to mingle with the families and with Dr. Jones. Matt and I are extremely interested in getting Zachary started with this treatment. We are encouraged by all of the success and hope to be able to share our success story in the future.

We are currently on the wait list for the Oral Immunotherapy Program. We are looking at around 8 to 10 months before we will be able to begin. While we are a little sad to have to wait, we are grateful for the time to do more research and to prepare Zachary for what is to come. While we wait, we plan on starting immunotherapy treatments for Zachary's environmental allergies. Dr. Jones feels that if we can eliminate Zachary's environmental allergies, he will be able to work through the food allergy treatments a lot quicker and with less reactions.

I am so grateful for this new option. I am hopeful that Oral Immunotherapy Treatments will work for my little Zachary. If OIT works for us, it will not only open up so many food choices for Zachary, it will improve his quality of life and make it so we don't have to live in fear every single day.

What a blessing that would be!

Provo City Center Temple Open House

Today, our family was blessed with the opportunity to tour the Provo City Center Temple in Provo, Utah. This temple has quite the history and will soon be dedicated as the 150th temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are so grateful for the opportunity to tour this temple with Elizabeth and Zachary, who are usually not able to enter the temple doors. What a blessing it was to be there as a family.

This temple is absolutely breath-taking. The workmanship and attention to detail was incredible. From the moment you walked in, you could sense the love and dedication that went into creating this beautiful temple.

As we walked the hallways and the stairways and entered each of the rooms, each space was more beautiful that the one before. Just when you thought you had seen the most incredible thing, you would turn a corner and see something else that was even more incredible.

We could not help but notice all of the amazing woodwork throughout the entire temple. From the banisters, and railings to the pulpits, everything was amazing. I could not believe how intricate and delicate each of the carvings were. If I had to pick my favorite thing about this temple, it would be all of the beautiful woodwork.

One of the first areas we were led to on the tour was the Baptismal Font. Zachary was totally enthralled. He exclaimed, "Mom. This is amazing!". When the tour was over and we were on our way out, I asked Zachary what his favorite part of the temple was and he said, "The Baptismal Font."

Another beautiful area we were able to see was the Bridal Rooms. This is the area where brides get dressed for their big day. I loved all of the warm colors and dark woods. They mentioned that the painted border towards the ceiling of the Brides Room was a replica of a design that was painted in the original Provo Tabernacle.

The Celestial Room in the temple is a place for quiet and reverence. Individuals use the Celestial Room as a place to pray, ponder, and meditate. Traditionally, the Celestial Room is the most beautiful room in the temple. As you can see, the Celestial Room in the Provo City Center Temple is flawless. The stained glass windows, beautiful lighting, and elegant furnishings, make this room the perfect place to feel close our Heavenly Father.

Matt's favorite area of the temple was the staircase. I have to agree that it was pretty amazing. The details that are etched into this area are incredible. I cannot even image how much work went into carving all of the designs into this area.  I have never seen anything like it. It is truly captivating.

As we were leaving, we entered an area that once the temple is open will be the main entrance and welcome desk. Behind the desk was this incredible stained glass window depicting Jesus holding a Lamb. One of the missionaries at the exit, heard Elizabeth talking about the beautiful picture and came over to tell us that the stained glass image is over 120 years old. It was discovered in a Presbyterian church in New York. It was damaged and the Church commissioned a local artisan to repair, clean and restore it for the temple. I love the symbolism of the this story. That is what Christ does with us, He heals us and restores us.

It was such a blessing to be able to spend a couple of hours at the temple with my family. I hope that Elizabeth and Zachary will remember the way they felt inside the temple. Even though it has not been dedicated to our Heavenly Father yet, it was still a place where you could feel of His love. It made my heart fill with joy to hear Elizabeth say, "I want to get married here some day!"