One missing

With the new changes the church has made we now have a young man, Briggs, ordained as a teacher.

Avram was ordained as a Priest and also stood in the circle to help ordain Briggs as a teacher!

Ila just wanted to get her picture because I took the boys pictures

Im so thankful for my husband and children.  When I see pictures like this my heart aches a little knowing there is one more boy not in the picture but I know it won't be long until we are all together again.  I wouldn't want it any other way.

Blessed

We had a miracle the past couple of months.  About a year ago I had a strange bump grow on the bottom of my eyelid, between the eye lashes and the eye ball on the rim of the eye lid.  I didn't think much of it other than that I didn't want to look like a wierdo.  When there is something on your face out of the ordinary people notice that immediately so I wanted it gone asap.  It was the end of 2017, we had met our medical deductible, and I wanted it off fast so I went to see John.  He took it off and we thought it was the end of that little problem.
Sept 2018 rolled around and that little growth started to come back.  By November it was as big or bigger than the first one I had taken off.  I decided I would visit a plastic surgeon that worked specifically on faces because maybe there was something tricky to do to make sure these things didn't return.  That plastic surgeon looked at it and said, "I have no problem taking that off but I'm not sure why it has come back and what it is.  If it were me, I would go see this ophthalmologist.  He may know some more about what it is.  If he looks at it and doesn't think anything of it then come back and I will take it off."
The plastic surgeons office was able to call and get me in within the hour to see the ophthalmologist.  He looked at it and said, "well it looks like a clogged duct or something,  I can see oil coming from it.   It could go down on its own or it could get bigger.  You can decide if you want to get it off or wait to see if it gets bigger."  I immediately said, "take it off."  His appointments were full so his next open surgery day wasn't until after Thanksgiving.  I didn't mind waiting an extra two weeks.  In many ways it was a relief because it is not fun having shots in the area where they need to give them.  Not to mention trying to stay still with my eyes open while they perform the procedure.
Surgery day came and the Ophthalmologist did a little more extensive work than John had done previously.  He wanted try to not just take it off but dig down a little to try and get out what ever was causing the growth.  Not fun for me but once again it was gone and it was actually feeling great.  This time the Dr. sent a sample to the lap to get it tested but none of us thought anything would come of it.
I was extremely surprised when a week later while I was reading to Ila I received a phone call from the doctor telling me that he had received the results of the lab test.  He explained that the test had come back positive for skin cancer.  It was a basil cell, which is good because it was more contained but I needed to get in to see a specialist immediately to have it removed.
Well I will cut through the next few weeks.  I ended up going to see a dermatologist that specializes in Mohs surgery.  With this procedure they are able to take off small layers and test each one for cancer before removing more.  This helps them to be able to remove as little as possible and still they are 99% positive they remove all the cancer.  Monday the 7th of January I went in for the Mohs surgery.  I was so nervous about how much they were going to have to cut away and I was also dreading a 3rd time having to be worked on.  The procedure went really well.  They were able to take out the cancer without too much damage.
Due to the sensitive and complicated area in which the cancer was removed I was sent to a plastic surgeon that specializes in eye lid repair.  He saw me on Monday for a consult and then Tuesday I was checked into Alta View hospital to get the surgery.
Again it was stressful going into the surgery because the surgeon told us a couple different plans to do the repair but he said he wouldn't know for sure what he would have to do until he was working on me and able to see how my skin would pull and come together.
Surgery went great.  He was able to make the repair and he is really happy with how it turned out.  I actually ended up with very little bruising and it is healing very well.  I have to have these attractive stitches in for just over three weeks and then we will see the final results.


I feel so blessed that I was able to get to good doctors that were able to treat the problem with minimal damage.

Joy

Briggs is the child that probably has the most of me in him.  He looks more like me then my other children and his personality is like mine.  He was extremely shy when he was young.  Because he was so shy it was rare to see him break down his barriers and lite up.  When he was tiny he loved the Disney show CARS.  The song that is popular with the movie Cars is "Life is a Highway."  One day we were blasting that song in the house.  I started to look around for Briggs and found him hiding in the corner dancing to the song.  He was the cutest little guy but it made me sad that he couldn't be himself in front of everyone.  I completely understand the pain of being shy because I was painfully shy when I was young also.  It wasn't until I began playing sports that I could begin to let loose and find freedom to be who I wanted to be.
For years I watched Briggs and it hurt to see him in groups or at school because I could see how hard it was for him.  We have been blessed because when we moved to Bountiful we moved into a ward with several boys that were Briggs age and they were all good to him but he was never super comfortable.
I moved Briggs into a couple different schools because I was trying to find the right fit for him.  Finally in 5th grade I moved him into a charter school called Legacy.  A friend of mine told me about a teacher at the school that was amazing.  She was the theater teacher and she directed the school play.  My friend told me about how much this teacher had helped her kids and that she was such a positive person.  After hearing about this teacher, Jules Snarr, I knew Briggs needed this teacher in his life.  It was April and I had applied to get Briggs into the school that following Aug.  Unfortunately the tryouts for the school play was in May before we even knew if Briggs would get into the school.  I know nothing about theater and singing.  At the tryouts the child had to sing a song.  I signed up for the play tryouts even though I wasn't sure Briggs would even get in the school.  I just new Briggs needed to do this.   We chose a simple song to sing, "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story.  When we went in for the tryouts it was the director (thankfully she let me be part of it) and him.  The song started and he wouldn't sing.  Some how this women knew Briggs needed this, or maybe she new I needed this but after a couple of minutes of trying to get Briggs to make a sound on the stage she jumped up and said Briggs come here.  She sat at the piano (she is an amazing pianist) and started playing this amazing yet very simple version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  Briggs whispered out a few word of the song.  She cheered for him and said, "you have really nice voice."  We left the tryouts and I was a little heart broken because I thought there was no way she would accept him in the play.
A few days passed and the announcement for the cast was posted.  I almost started crying when I saw Briggs name on the list.  For Briggs this was the moment that began to change his life.  I think it was the first time he felt really special.
Briggs didn't  have a big part in the play.  He was one of the Whikerson Brothers in the play Sussical the Musical.  When the show began I think everyone (including Jules) was shocked by Briggs on stage.  This shy little boy that could hardly let out a peep at tryouts was now taking a back up part and shining on stage.  I heard people talking about the cute little monkey on stage.  As I sat in the audience each night for the play tears ran down my cheeks because I was seeing the little boy that I knew and I knew he wanted to be.
Well it has been 4 years since that play.  Each year Briggs has tried out for the play and each year he has gotten better and better.  In 7th grade he was one of 5 kids that made the Advance Musical Theater group that Jules teaches (Typically she only takes 8th and 9th graders in this class).
Performing has become more natural for Briggs and each year he continues to shine on stage.  No matter what role he plays he stands out.  It is so fun sitting quietly after the play, while I wait for Briggs to get changed, and I listen to people talk about how good he is.
Each year the competition has gotten harder and more intense.  This year he is an 8th grader.  Briggs made call backs for a lead role in Shrek the musical.  Jules said she had asked him to come to call backs for the experience, she typically only chooses 9th graders for lead roles.  Jules said as soon as he began to perform, she and the other judges immediately said, "He is our Donkey for Shrek"
Briggs will start performing Shrek in two weeks!
Along with theater Briggs has taken what he has learned from Jules and he has found another talent and love in Ballroom!  Legacy has a great Ballroom teacher Fred Lee.  He is a lot of fun and makes Ballroom fun for the kids.  Briggs tried out for the Ballroom team this year and he made it!
This is an eye opening experience for Adam and I.  We can jump into almost any sport and know what is going on but Theater and Ballroom it is like a fish out of water.
It has been so fun watching Briggs perform!  He is really good!
This past week the Ballroom team performed for the elementary school.  It was so cute hearing the girls cheer over the beautiful dresses and the little boys eyes being open to something different and fun.  Adam and I went to the performance and again I had to fight the tears because it is so amazing seeing who Briggs is becoming.