She's Here!

At 8:08 this morning Brynn was born and joined our not so little family. She is beautiful and healthy. She came in at a whopping (at least for us) 7 pounds 5 ounces, and about 20 inches tall. Summer is doing well and appears to be making a good recovery. We are all so excited that our little girl is here. We called Coleson and Ammon shortly after Brynn arrived this morning and both were simply besides themselves. Coleson answered the phone and heard Brynn in the background and completely lost it he was so happy. "She's here, she's here!! I'm a big brother, Ammon we're big brother's!!! Yes, Yes, Yes!!" I'm doing it no justice, it was awesome to hear his enthusiam. Maga (Grandma Debbie) said Ammon was smiling the biggest smile that she has ever seen, and when it was his turn to talk he just yelled into the phone. Just like there is a special connection between Coleson and Ammon, it appears there is another special connection between Ammon and Brynn. So much more to tell, but on to some pictures first.








After we returned to our room our first nurse was Tara, and she did a great job. At the end of her shift she indicated that her Mom was coming in for the next shift. We thought that was pretty cool and asked what her Mom's name was. Turns out it was Sherry. If you've ever read "Ammon's Miracles" you'll know who Sherry is. We haven't seen her since soon after Ammon was born and we were so excited when she came in. After hugs and warm hellos we were so happy to hear that not only did she remember us, she remembered Ammon and the events of that incredibly special day over 2 1/2 years ago. And now here she was again with our new little girl. Unfortunately, after all our picture taking and video recording we realized we only got Sherry on the video recorder. So Sherry if you're ever reading this, we'd love to put a picture out here of Ammon's personal angel. Below are some other fun photos from the past few days. However, don't fret, we'll put alot more photos of Brynn out here tomorrow as we refine our picture taking skills.

We're So Glad When Daddy Comes Home...

We've been promising friends and family posts of Ammon being himself at home. Most people think that Ammon doesn't say much, because he really doesn't when he is in public. But when Ammon is at home and it's just the family he can be quite the chatterbox. It's been slightly hard to capture because whenever the camera comes out he usually keeps quiet. One sure fire way to capture "vocal" Ammon is when Daddy comes home. Believe it or not, this is one of the more low key Ammon reactions when Daddy comes home from work (you can't stage this kind of stuff). Hopefully we'll get more out here in the near future as we catch Ammon's version of dancing to the music, giving five, playing the "pat" game, and so many others. There's alot inside this wonderful little boy that is still trying to express itself and find a way out.

Saving on Gas...

Here's a post about one way to save a little cash at the pump, and it doesn't involve signing up for lame credit cards. I know you're all thinking, "Wow, finally something useful is being posted." We are just here to serve. Amazing Summer identified this little trick that is sure to save you at least 10% on all your gas filling needs. Smith's grocery stores is running a gift card special through the end of July, wherein if you buy a $300 gift card they automatically add an additional $30 dollars to the card (i.e. 10%). A while back Summer bought two $300 gift cards and we just finished them up, so this week she bought two more. Yesterday she discovered that she could fill up the car at Smith's fuel centers using the gift cards. So not only do we get effectively 10% off the gas price, we also receive a $.15 cent off per gallon coupon because we made a purchase at Smith's for more than $90 when we bought the gift card. Additionally, each time you use the gift card to purchase groceries and the transaction amount is above $90 we get another $.15 cent of per gallon coupon. Too sum it all up, we are now receiving $.15 cents off per gallon and 10% off the entire gas bill each time we fill up. The Smith's near our house is constantly the cheapest gas or very comparable so this is working out fairly well. Summer also likes it because it's one more reason she uses to not shop at Walmart for groceries (I'm usually indifferent with the whole Walmart thing, but after looking at some Walmart produce I see her point). If this is something that works for you, if you decide to purchase multiple $300 gift cards make sure they are separate transactions so you receive the $.15 off per gallon coupon for each transaction. With gas and groceries we think we will almost burn through these by the end of July, so we are planning on buying four or five more before the "special" ends. There's the scoop.

Happy Father's Day!

We wanted to wish our grandpa's and our wonderful dad a Happy Father's Day!

Happy Fathers Day!!!

I wanted to beat Summer to the punch for this Fathers Day and put a post out here about her. This year, Fathers Day is the same day as our wedding anniversary (we are also only a few short weeks out from the arrival of our little girl, which equals one very pregnant Summer). Summer and I have been married for seven years, and the “spark” continues to burn brightly. I can’t imagine my life, let alone a happy life, without her in it. About a month ago it was Mothers Day, and I had the opportunity to give a talk in church. The week before the talk work was insanely late (about 2 or 3 a.m. every night, due to a special project). So besides a whole lot of “Mommy we love you,” all I really had as a gift on Mothers Day was my talk. There is one small part from the talk that is all about why I am the best Dad in the world in the eyes of my boys, and I wanted to share it with you for Fathers Day. It reads as follows:

“I’ve mentioned to you before that I usually do an okay job in my social interactions with people when I am on my own, but consistently I have noticed that people usually feel better about me after having met my wife Summer. This is especially true within the walls of my own home with my own boys.

It is because of her that my boys love me so much. I know that everyday she talks to them about Daddy, in much more adoration than I am usually deserving. Frequently she tells them, “Let’s call Daddy and yell Happy Lunchtime; let’s surprise Daddy with homemade pizza when he comes home from work; let’s call Daddy at work and tell him good night and that we love him.” Her love and sacrifice on my behalf with my boys appears at times to have worked a little too well. I only have the opportunity to feed Ammon a couple times a week, but somehow he has associated me with happy eating time. There are times when he will cry almost uncontrollably with his dear mother, and all she has to do to calm him down is say, “Should we call and say Hi to Daddy?” After one quick hello the tears are gone and he usually gets back to eating. In short, I am my boys’ hero because she has made me their hero.”

The more I think about Fathers Day and my relationship with my boys the more it makes me appreciate and love Summer. She is the love of my life and my eternal sweetheart. It is because of her that this Fathers Day, our anniversary day, is an especially happy day. Maybe I will see if I can beat her to the punch again and have breakfast ready for her, but I doubt it, she and the boys are really good at that game.