Poor Little Dude

Carter was just diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder called Alopecia Areata. It's very rare in infants. It's more common in young adults, teens and adults. We started noticing that he had patches of hair missing, and very rapidly. One of the bald spots just appeared within the last week. There's some treatments available, but he's too young to do anything about it right now. Maybe steriod cream, but that's about it. Now we just have to monitor him to make sure that he's not showing signs of a more concerning health issue. I just feel bad for the little guy!

Two cuties

Thought that these were cute of the boys in the tub. Carter loves splashing the water in Dawson's face. They succeeded in making a giant puddle on the bathroom floor!

Ahhhh....Spring!

So this is what a Moscow Spring looks like, huh? The fresh, crisp air and chilly wind makes for such a lovely morning. Our poor frozen tulips are trying to come out and enjoy the sunshine, but there isn't any! (I just hope that our hyacinths and our lilac trees don't die!)

Proud of Ryan

I'm a proud wife and I wanted to share what Ryan is doing these days. He is doing so well and is being so successful down at that school of his and I wanted to praise him for doing so well. Here's some highlights:

-Is on the Dean's List...still! (only 127 students out of 295 are on it) He's been on it every semester so far!

-Trial Team took him to Seattle a couple weekends ago and competed in a trial competition and his team won all three rounds and made it to the Semi-Finals! (They beat BYU! Sorry Ash) {Ryan's team was then booted because the AAJ said that his team wasn't officially registered, which wasn't true. They are currently appealing that decision.} He's automatically on it for next year too. Trial Team - competition that simulates a court room civil trial (they do not do criminal in this competition). These are similar to the types of trials that people see frequently on T.V.

-Was just chosen to be on a National Moot Court Team. He may possibly get the chance to go argue and be involved with a case in front of the 9th District Circuit Court! Not as a student, but as a real live lawyer. (Hooray!) Moot Court -competition that simulates the appellate level. This includes Courts of Appeals and Supreme Courts. This is not at all like what people often see on T.V. Two people stand up and get grilled by a bunch of judges for 30 minutes.

-Is also going to be involved in an Appellate Clinic - this is also at the appellate level. The difference between this and moot court is that Appellate Clinic involves real cases, real clients, and real judges. The outcome of the case will be binding and will have significant impacts on people's lives as the law is based around the decisions coming out of appellate courts. (So while Moot Court simulates this type of court, Appellate Clinic is the real thing.)

-He's also working on his upper level writing requirement. He would like it to be of publishable quality and then will see if he can get it published. (this requirement is a HUGE project)

-Has fulfilled his pro bono work; a requirement for graduation. (he actually got that done last summer)

-Since he won the McNichols Competition last fall, he has been been presented with some wonderful challenges and meetings with important people. He's definitely in his element.

-Has had some nice opportunities to interview with law firms around the state for a summer internship. We'll know soon where he'll be working.


I am so lucky to have him as my partner, my friend and my husband. I am so proud of him and cherish every day we are together. I support and adore him and want him to know how very proud of him I am! We have some really good friends down at that school that have blessed our lives and we're so grateful for them. I love you, Rysie!

A to Z...all about Me!

Thanks, Jaimee, for tagging me! Sorry it's taken me a while to get done!

Me from A to Z...
A--Attached or Single? Attached to Ryan, married for 7 years.
B--Baking or cooking? Both! I love to do either now.
C--Cake or Pie? Cheesecake Factory Chocolate Tuxedo Cream
D--Day of Choice? whenever I can squeeze a nap in
E--Essential Item? Erasure album
F--Favorite movies? Gilmore girls, The Thornbirds, Noises Off, What's Up, Doc?, North by Northwest, Remmington Steele, Michael Flatley's Feet of Flames
G--Gummy bears or worms? chocolate-covered cinnamon bears
H--Hometown? Boise is where I hang my hat.
I--Indulgences? chocolate, diet coke, scrapbooking stuff
J--January or July? August! My birthday is the first! (if I HAD to pick, I'd pick July since that's when Ryan's birthday is and we love the Fourth of July)
K--Kids? Got my hands full with my munchkins.
L--Life is incomplete without? chocolate and diet coke
M--Marriage date? February 10, 2001
N--Number of siblings? 2 sisters, 1 brother...I'm the oldest
O--Oranges or apples? Neither. I choose asparagus.
P--Phobias or fears? The Dentist.
Q--Quotes? I love anything by William Ernest Henley, Edgar A. Guest and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
R--Reason to Smile? As soon as we get a new vehicle I'll smile, no! I'll sing! I'll shout "Hooray!" For now, I'm smiling from all the blessings we've received since our van died.
S--Season? Fall! Moscow is absolutely beautiful in fall.
T--Tag 5 people? Aimee, Ash, Nicky, Michelle, and Jetta.
U--Unknown Fact? I flew an airplane before I drove a car.
V--Very Favorite Stores? Old Navy, Bath & Body Works, Hastings, any scrapbooking store, Dollar Tree (do I admit that or hide that fact?!)
W--Worst Habit? Biting my nails
X--X-ray or ultrasound? Neither! I choose CAT scans.
Y--Your favorite food? Taco Bell Tostadas (oh man, I can eat these all day!)
Z--Zodiac? Leo

Kaput, Kapooie, Dead!

Saturday evening our transmission in our van dropped completely dead! In the MIDDLE OF A BUSY INTERSECTION! We were on our way home from dropping my sister off at the airport in Spokane, and we were nearly home. We had to leave our van in a parking lot in Pullman and have it towed back to Moscow. (Thanks to B & N for rescuing us!)

But the tender mercies have been plentiful! While in the intersection, we were never honked at, and big guys from a nearby bar saw the trouble and ran over and started pushing our van. (But since it's locked into a gear, it wouldn't budge.) After trying to figure out how we should move it and get ahold of the nearest policeman, a tow truck just HAPPENED to drive by. (he was on a date!) He flipped on his lights and whipped around. He hooked us up and took us 30 feet to an empty parking lot. At NO CHARGE. The kids were in the van when we were getting wheeled out of the intersection and they thought it was great! They were giggling and "weee-ing!" the entire time. (Our next family vacation won't be to Disneyland, we'll just call the local towing company to take us for a ride!)

We found a ride to church yesterday and we have had several offers for rides to appointments, the store, etc. B & N offered to let us borrow B's vehicle if I needed it this week, but since they've already done so much for us, we felt badly for taking them up on their offer. Instead, our Home Teacher offered to let borrow one of their cars for the week and after hesitantly accepting, they are bringing it over today. What a blessing! I am humbled, embarassed, grateful, etc. I don't know how to thank our dear friends for all that they have done. They won't ever know how they've touched our hearts. I just pray that I'll never forget the generosity and support that we've received.

There have been other little miracles in our situation that have humbled us even more. It has strengthened our faith and we're just so grateful that our family is safe and taken care of. We're being watched out for. Thank goodness we pay tithing. (when there's an income of course!) Whew! The timing of all the events in our lives have been incredible. Whatever negative thing happen, something equally positive balances it out. The Lord is merciful indeed!