Achilles Heel

"And then there was Achilles. Now there was a guy who had it all; the build, the foot-speed. He could jab! He could take a hit! He could keep on comin'! BUT THAT FORSLUGGINER HEEL OF HIS! He barely gets nicked there once and kaboom! He's history." Phil-Walt Disney's "Hercules"

On Thursday Jan 14th Brady got hurt playing basketball at the church with his friends. He thought someone had landed on his leg. He limped around until Saturday when we finally decided he had better go to the doctor. The doctor thought his Achilles was torn either partially or completely. We had an ultrasound on Mon and determined that it was torn. On Wed the 20th we saw the orthopedist who immediately opened him up and discovered that it was in fact completely severed. He was able to repair it well. He is in a lot of pain and is very nauseated, but we are glad it is fixed and he should make a full recovery. No basketball or snowmobiling for now, but he will be able to again. I was completely overwhelmed by the offers of help I received from our family and neighbors. I probably won't have to do anything but sit around. Seriously though, we really appreciate all the support and are glad he is okay. We are excited that he should be back on his feet (literally) by the time the baby comes.

New Year

It is a new year again, and once again I am trying to improve myself. Why, oh why, am I constantly having to do that?? My own fault, of course! I am looking forward to this year. It should be great. We are excited to have another baby and be done having babies. My first baby will be 2 and that happened in a blink. We still love our ward and our neighborhood and are just enjoying life. We feel like we are very blessed and are so thankful for our families. We are pretty lucky to live so close to all of our siblings and our parents. Our Katie is getting big and getting the funniest, cutest personality. She is a teaser like her dad and it constantly cracks up. She likes to tell us, "I funny." And she is, for sure!

Santa!

Santa came to our family Christmas party last night. It was lots of fun for all of the kids. This is all of my nieces and nephews with him at Amanda's house.

We're Expecting!

We are happy to announce that we are expecting baby #2 the end of July. We had our first appointment today and they heard the heartbeat and everything looks good. We are super excited!

Fall...

I love the fall. It is my favorite time of year. I love the colors and the smells and the activities. I love Halloween and Thanksgiving, and, of course, my birthday. It is so fun to see the leaves change and look forward to the holidays. It is also a time that I reflect more on what I have and am thankful for. I am so thankful for my family, both immediate and extended. We are very fortunate to have awesome siblings, parents, aunt, uncles...you get the picture. This is the time of year that I lost my Grandma Radford and Grandma Shumway and my Grandpa Radford. I think of them now, when it is cool outside and the season is changing and think how grateful I am that the made it possible for me to have the life I have. I am so thankful for my wonderful husband and beautiful daughter. They are the light of my life and make every day wonderful for me. This year we are cutting back on gifts and stepping up the Christ-centered activities for Christmas and I am looking forward to it. We are so fortunate to live in a time and place that we have the freedom to choose how to worship and celebrate and live. I have set a goal to be less worldly and more Christ-like. I am far from where I need to be, but the journey has been good for me.
Katie watching BYU football with daddy

Katie being silly

Summer Fun...

We are having fun so far this summer. Kate is getting so big and just talking all the time. She can say lots of words and she is starting to develop her own opinion and a little bit of an attitude. Right now it is more funny than anything, but I am willing to guarantee that the day will come that the attitude will no longer be funny. She is such a sweet baby and is so easy-going (mostly) and easy.


Fourth of July fun with cousins Hannah, Andrew, and Aaron Reading. Aaron is only 10 days old! We love cousins!


Cousin Kyle just home from his mission. Katie was born while he was gone so this is her first time meeting him.

Katie enjoying a radish.


Katie at Hogle Zoo with Daddy, Uncle Marty, and Grandma Dixie. Apparently all of the animals there say "moo" because that's what she told us!


Katie loves to swing!

Summer

We are waiting impatiently for summer around here. Not much has been going on. We are enjoying our baby girl and she is getting so big. We are still struggling with her reflux and trying to find a safe and effective treatment, but in the meantime, she is eating really well and getting big. She is thirteen months old now, and I don't know where the time has gone. We have no news, really, and we consider that a good thing!