Happy Birthday Daniel!!!

Today was our dear little boy's 3rd birthday. We are so glad that Daniel is part of our family. He brings lots of fun, and makes us all laugh. We woke up this morning and had chocolate milk with breakfast, in honor of Daniel's birthday. He and I said goodbye to everyone, and spent a lot of the day working on his cake (and doing laundry, and watching Jacqi's kids for a little bit, and...). He's been telling us for awhile that he wanted a shark cake. Here he is eating dinner on the celebration plate. Dinner was his choice, chicken nuggets and french fries : ).

The Shark Cake

I took a few pictures along the way, just in case any of you were interested in the process. Step one was baking the cake in a jelly roll pan (no photo of that, use your imagination). Step two was searching on Google images for pictures of sharks, and studying them. Here's a picture of Step 3, cutting the pieces and putting them together.
Step 4 was the crumb layer. Applying a thin (as thin as possible) layer of frosting to the entire cake to form a surface that could be decorated. The result, a crumby shark (ha ha!).
Then, Step 5 was decorating. I used inverted chocolate chips for the eyes, and melted chocolate chips for the gills and writing. Daniel liked it, and when each of the kids came home from school and saw it, they were pretty impressed. I must say, that made me feel good. : )

Happy Birthday, Daniel!! We love you!!

"I Put Ketchup On My Ketchup"

This is the phrase on Dallin's T-shirt that he wore today for his first day of school. How can I have an 8th grader? I mean, I know the answer, I've been here for the whole 13 years that are the answer, and yet it is so difficult to grasp. I would be posting pictures of the first day of school, but this morning I ran around, searching for the camera, only to discover that I had left it in Nauvoo. No worries, I called the Visitor's Center. They have it, and they are sending it to us. Isn't that cool? That was a tangent. Anyway, Dallin started 8th, Dailie 6th (that's also crazy), Audri 4th, and Eliza 1st. How does this happen? Have I said that enough yet? I go through this every year. How bad will I be next year when Dallin enters High School and goes to Seminary?!? Stop me now. I need to go play with my kids or squeeze them, or at least watch them, and see if I can see them growing, cause I could swear that it's happening that fast.

Vocal Point

Tonight was the last night for Vocal Point to perform in Nauvoo this year. We decided we couldn't live with ourselves if we didn't make the drive to see them. It was worth the drive. This was the third time we've gone and seen them in Nauvoo. They're just great, and the kids love the music. If you're unfamiliar, Vocal Point is BYU's 9 man a capella group. They sing a variety of types of music, complete with amazing vocal percussion, and were the 2006 International Champions of the ICCAC (International Championship of Collegiate A Capella). If you want to learn more about them, check out their website at http://www.byuvocalpoint.com/. If you go to Alumni, you'll see that my brother, David Thompson, was one of the original members of this group at BYU. It's defintialy becoming a family tradition to see Vocal Point in Nauvoo!!

Joy Amidst the Sorrow

Life has a way of slipping in blessings just when you need them. It has been a joy to watch Sarah and Lee meet, get to know each other, and fall in love. Indeed they have the love that it takes to form an eternal bond. What a wonderful time for all of us in the Jeffs family to be reminded of the eternal nature of marriage, and the love that lasts forever. The weather was beautiful, Sarah was gorgeous, Lee a gleeful groom, and the ceremony just what it needed to be- a simple yet elegant reminder to all of us in attendance. I will always be grateful to Sarah and Lee for providing the opportunity for all of us to be in the temple at just the right time.

Another thanks to Sarah and Lee for providing the wonderful example to my children, especially my girls who ADORED Sarah all day long.
These cuties were just too much to pass up!! That's Daniel and two of his cousins, Caleb and Sam. Nothing like handsome boys dressed in their Sunday best to bring a smile to your face.
I couldn't leave out this impish picture of Daniel.
Congratulations, Sarah and Lee!!!!!

Lego, in Honor of Kevin

Before Kevin came out, we had decided that we would have a Lego party while he was here. Kevin loved Lego. Once he said that one of his favorite Christmas memories was building Lego with Rick on Christmas morning. Wednesday evening, after he passed away, we decided to go forward with the Lego party, in honor of Kevin. Rick and Dallin went to Toys R Us, and came home with plenty of Lego for the party. Here are some shots of the frenzy. I'm sure Kevin was smiling about this : ).

Brother, Uncle, Hero

This week has been a week that will be engraven in our minds for years to come. I only hope that we will always be able to remember the many miracles that we have experienced. On Saturday, family began arriving for the blessed event of Sarah's wedding. Saturday night Kevin and Tera arrived after a long day of flying. Kevin struggled to get his breath, and we all thought some rest was what he would need to recover for the wedding.

Sunday came, along with more family, and Kevin rested, but got progressively worse. He thought if he could get some oxygen, he'd be better off. He was taken to the ER Sunday night, and was about to come home early Monday morning, but thought perhaps another day or two in the hospital was what he needed to recover for the wedding.

Monday came and went, with more rest, and we all began to see that it would not be possible to make it to the wedding. Tuesday Kevin was brought home to our house, and set up with hospice care. The wedding was yesterday, Thursday. Kevin slipped away from this Earth Wednesday evening at about 6:20 pm, leaving behind the body ravaged by cancer. We all know that he was there, in the temple for the wedding.

I just don't know where to start to describe to you the kind of person that Kevin was, and is. His life was exemplary. Kind, exuberant, full of love, positive, and so much more. He will always be loved, and he will be missed. We love you, Kevin, and are grateful that you are no longer in pain or discomfort. We'll all look forward to the day when we will see you again.