TJ's growing up! (sniff ~ sniff)

Well, today TJ gave his stuffed animals to Lily.  It was so sweet of him, but at the same time it was so sad.  He has had his Tiger since he was Lily's age.  It was just before Christmas, right after he turned two.  We were Christmas shopping at Toys-R-Us and when we passed that Tiger he wanted it SO bad.  He wouldn't quit until I let him hold it.  Yep, that was a mistake.  There was no way I could PRY that Tiger from his hands.  I think he had found his new best friend.  Through all these past years, any time he was getting rid of old toys, or stuffed animals, he would never let me get rid of his Tiger.  It was so cute.

So, today he came to me and said, "Mom, ya know how much Lily likes kitties and stuffed animals?"  I told him, "yeah."  Then he said, "Well, do you think she'd want mine if I gave them to her?"  Aawwww!  What a sweet and tender moment.  He said, "Well, I don't really play with them anymore or doing anything with them and I know she would love them, so I'd like to give them to her."  I said it would be okay, but I'd have to give them a bath first, because truly they were disgusting. :)  So, when I get them washed I will take a picture of her with them and post it.  TJ really has grown up so much this past year.  Not just in maturity either.  He is now about an inch or more taller than me.  He's also getting a peach fuzz mustache!  He even let me Nair it off once, which was pretty funny.  He still won't really talk to ANY girls, but I'm okay with that for right now.  As long as he EVENTUALLY will. :)  This year in the summer was the first time he ever got to skype with Tina.  He didn't talk much.  I think he was uncomfortable a little.  She was so worried that she would just break down if she ever got to, but she said it actually went really well and she really enjoyed talking to him.  Then on his birthday this year, I caught her on skype again and this time they actually talked for about a half an hour.  It was really fun to listen too.  They really did have to search for things to talk about, but it was so sweet anyway.  Also, this year he refused to ask Santa for anything for Christmas because he told me he just didn't know if he believed in him anymore.  Well, he really wanted a bomber (black leather looking) jacket for Christmas, so we tried to find one for him.  We had to get it shipped overnight to us, just to get it here on time and come Christmas morning, that is what Santa had gotten him for Christmas too.  He couldn't decide which one to keep.  I think he didn't want to make either his parents OR Santa feel bad, so he decided to keep them both.  It was cute.  I know he is 13 and most kids quit believing in Santa at a very young age, but it's going to be so sad to me if and when he actually does.  I remember when I was about his age, that I decided that I didn't care what ANYONE thought.  I was never ever going to quit believing in Santa and really I haven't.  I know that there is a spirit of Christmas all around us at Christmas time and so many miracles happen then.  St. Nickolas was and is a wonderful man.  I am grateful for all that he has brought to so many people.  One of my absolute favorite pictures in the whole world is one of Santa sitting by baby Jesus in his bed.  It is beautiful!  If I can find it I'll post it here later.

Anyway, I just wanted to post to say how sad I am that TJ's growing up.  The time has gone by so fast.  I can't believe that he is already a teenager.  Only 5 more years and he could leave on a mission or move out.  That is so sad for me.  Time just goes WAY too fast.  I should do love the guy though and am so proud of the great young man he is becoming and of course I am SO thankful for Tina for allowing him to be a part of our family.  She's wonderful.

TJ's New Blog!

Happy Mother's Day Tina!!

This is a message from my mom to my birthmom:

Tina,
You know me.... I am ALWAYS late sending cards. I do always buy them, but I never get them sent out on time. So, I thought I should put your card on TJ's blogspot so you could at least see it on time. Thank you so much for being you. We have really missed having correspondence with you. I hope everything is going good for you and I just wanted to tell you how much we ALL love you. Have a Happy Mother's Day!!
Love Always,
Lorraine, Tommy, TJ, Tyra and Braxton

Volcano's are AWESOME!

We got to go and spend the night at Tyra Jane's house in Boise last Thursday. While we were there she gave us our Christmas presents. She got me a Volcano!! My mom helped me make it yesterday. We had to wait overnight for it to dry before I could set it off. It just got too late when we were working on it last night. Just before I started it, I went and got some of my army men to put them on it. I think that made it look pretty cool. It was lots of fun!! I just want to do it over and over again! The box says that you should be able to, but when we went to rinse it off some of the mountain washed away, so I can't. Dang it!

I got an award today!!

Today I was recognized in our school assembly. Actually, Tyra was too, but her assembly was after mine. Dad got to come and see us. Mom was in Idaho Falls, taking a foot zoning class so she couldn't come. She was pretty upset, but it was okay. I sure was glad my dad got to come though. My award said, "TJ is respectful to his teacher and other adults. He is a great example of how to obey rules and be a good citizen." My dad thought that was pretty cool. I really do try to be respectful of others though. Dad came to Tyra's assembly too and since it was so close to the end of school, he just decided to let us get out of school early. Yeah!!!! I love to get out of school early. Except for when I miss Science. That is my favorite subject in school and I don't like to miss it. I am ALWAYS starving when I get out of school, so I don't like riding over an hour on the bus ride home, before I can eat something. Anytime mom picks me up from school she usually brings me snacks because I get REALLY grumpy when I am hungry. Mom says she's the same way. We got to do lots of fun stuff with dad after school. It was great!!

My first Pine Wood Derby from mom's point of view

My mom decided she had better post this on my page too, until she can post the story from my point of view. Here it is:

TJ just had his first Pine Wood Derby tonight! When we first found out about it, Tommy asked TJ if he'd rather have a fast car or a cool looking car. TJ said he'd rather have a cool looking car. He said that he wanted it to look like Bumblebee the Transformer. Since TJ is barely 8 and can't do a whole lot by himself yet, we all helped with his car. Tommy did the most of course. I just helped paint on the spokes and touch up the black paint. I also cut the number out for him at the last minute. Well, we weren't hoping for the number one winner, but we were hoping for at least a few wins. Come to find out, after it was too late, that a part of the front of the car was rubbing against the track. It seemed to race fine about half way down the track and then it would catch and start wobbling. Thank goodness that the scout leaders had made a really light car, so that every kid would be able to win at least ONE race. Well, the first scout leader car that TJ raced against was faster then they expected, so they switched to their other car. Luckily, before the whole thing was over, a dad sitting next to us noticed this and went and told the judges. So, TJ's VERY LAST race was his BIG win of the night!! Thank goodness too, because I was feeling really bad for him. Just before they let him race the last car, he came up to me and said, "Mom, my car didn't win ONE time." But anyway, he did win an award for "Most Creative" though, so that was cool! Even though he only won one race we ALL still had a really good time. I am guessing that next year TJ will say that he wants a fast car instead of a cool looking car!! He probably ought to use his own lucky number too, instead of mine. Apparently it's not that lucky for him!

I got baptized today!!

My baptism was at 4:00 pm today. First, my Grandpa Stuart gave the opening prayer and then we sang the song, "I Am a Child of God". We got started late with the talks because my Grandma Jeanne, accidentally left part of her talk home so while we were waiting for her to go back and get it, my dad had my Grandpa Tom and Grandpa Stuart bare their testimonies. When they got done, she still wasn't back so then dad and mom bore theirs too. As soon as she got back, she gave her talk on "Baptism". After that, my Grandma Joan gave a talk on "The Holy Ghost". Then I got to go down into the water with my dad. I was a little bit nervous. Dad baptized me in Spanish. I didn't really understand it, but it was still cool! I almost forgot to plug my nose. Thank goodness I remembered just before I got dunked. When we were on our way out of the water I told my dad that I wanted to go swimming!!! He laughed. My mom made a video for everyone to watch while we got dressed. When we got done, we got to watch about the last half of it. It was ALL about ME! Mom says that I sure was a silly kid! She has some really goofy photos of me. To watch the video push the play button twice on the top square on the right of this blog.

Anyway, after I was baptized, I went up and sat in a chair and a whole lot of family and friends who held the Melchizedek Priesthood stood in a circle around me and put their hands on my head. My dad confirmed me and now I have the Holy Ghost as a constant companion. I think that is so cool! After the blessing, I shook every one's hand. Then we sang "Families Can Be Together Forever" and Grandpa Tom said the closing prayer. There was another baptism just after ours, so everyone had to grab their cookies and get out of the room quick. Several people brought me gifts. They were all really nice. My mom is kind of upset because I don't remember who each of them were from so she can't thank them. Oops!! Well, after we stood around for a while, while all of the adults talked, we went to eat. I was mad at my mom because she told everyone we were going to a Mexican Restaurant and I wanted to go to a Chinese Restaurant. I like their grilled cheese sandwiches. Mom said, that since she had already told everyone that we were going to "Melina's" then next time we go out to eat as a family, we can go to Chinese. I was okay with that. Grandpa Tom and Grandma Jeanne, Grandpa Stuart and Grandma Joan, Troy and Alison's family, Clint and Camille's family and Jade and Melissa's family all went to eat. We had lots of fun and the food was good too! Today was a really neat day. Mom says that I will remember it for the rest of my life. Both of my grandpa's said in their testimonies that they remembered their baptism day and they are really old, so I think I will remember mine too!

These pictures aren't very good but they will show some of the people that came to my baptism. My Great Grandpa Elvin and Great Grandma Betty came too! That was cool! They are my birthmom's grandparents on her dad's side. I love ALL of my friends and family so much. Thank you for coming!!!!