Boston Willden

So, this is the obituary for my sweet nephew, Boston. Isn't he so handsome! He actually looks so much like his Mom, it just amazes me. Steph was such a good little Mommy to Boston, and it was so sweet to see them together. Even when talking to her on the phone, you could literally "hear" her smiling whenever she spoke about him. It was a joy to see. I cannot imagine how any little boy could be more adored by his Mom. I ache for her, I know how much she loves and misses him; and I ache for Boston, who I am absolutely certain loves and misses his Mommy, too. Please, keep Steph in your thoughts and prayers. I am sure that Saturday will be the hardest day of her life, and she will need some extra love and support.

Boston DeVon Willden "Little Angel" My "Little Angel" passed away suddenly and tragically on January 23, 2009. Boston was born to his loving mother, Stephanie Ann Willden on December 18, 2008, and was a gift from God. He was enjoyed, and blessed everyone with his presence for the short time he was with us. There are no words to describe how much he will be missed, but his perfect soul was called home to be the angel he was forever, and will live on in our hearts. Survived by his mother; grand parents, Neil Willden and Cris Warrington; aunts, Wendy (Bryan) Aitken and Danielle (Colby) Hill and their wonderful children; a huge extended family and so many friends that know who they are; we love all of you! Special thanks to Warren Thomas, Mikey Benson Jr. and Orlando Ventura who spent every moment they could with my special little man. Also to everyone from Delton's, words cannot describe how much we appreciate all your love, prayers, and support- it will never be forgotten. Preceded in death by his great grandmother, Betsy Willden; and his mother's special friend, Jayson Chase, who I'm sure is playing a game of catch with him and throwing the ball around; they are taking great care of him in heaven. Graveside Services will be held Saturday, January 31, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. at Valley View Memorial Park, 4400 West 4100 South. The family will receive friends at a visitation Saturday morning two hours prior to the service at Valley View Funeral Home, 4335 West 4100 South. In lieu of flowers, donations for funeral expenses can be taken at the Delton Sports Center, 3544 West 3500 South, West Valley City, Utah, 84119 at the front desk under the name Boston, or the Willden family.

Not such a great weekend

So, my weekend was bad. Really bad. Really, really, really bad. I think it would rate as my number 1 all-time crappy and utterly devastating weekend. You know how in bad dreams and terrible nightmares, everything happens that is catastrophic and totally unbearable, and then you wake up in tears and drenched with sweat? And you can barely believe that you are, in fact, awake, because the nightmare was so vivid and horrible? That almost happened this weekend for me, except that when I woke up, the nightmare was reality. On Thursday night, we had Barrett diagnosed with pneumonia, which in itself is not so fun, but kind of "routine" with my kids, for some strange reason. He had a bad night, but nothing really bad. Then, Friday morning comes. I received a phone call from my Mom telling me that she was in the emergency room with my sister Steph and her one-month-old baby son, Boston. Boston was cold and not breathing, and the prognosis wasn't good. Needless to say, my heart dropped to the floor, and for a moment, I couldn't even process what I had just heard. After a frantic phone call to Colby, we went to the hospital to be with my sister and the rest of my family. By the time we got there, Boston had passed away. They think he had actually died at home, and they tried everything medically possible to revive and save him, but to no avail. There is nothing in the world so unthinkably unfair and wrong as the death of a child, especially one so young and healthy. My heart feels so black and cold, and nothing can make it right. And my heart aches for my sister. I wish with all my heart that I could make it better, and take away all her pain. I cannot even pretend to understand the depth of her sadness and loss. My whole world seems so fragile and fleeting and uncertain now. I want to hold my kids and never let them out of my sight, even for a moment. I want to go to work with Colby because I never want to see him leave, even for a routine 8 hour workday. I just want to take Steph and wrap her in my arms and somehow transfer all of her sorrow and despair and pain to me, and make her feel better. Even though I know that nothing will ever make it better. Nothing. Can anything make it better? Or if not better, at least a little less terrible? I know that everyone says in times such as these, you just cling to your faith and trust that God has a plan and that all will be well in the end. You know, that is all well and good, but for now, I have to be honest and say- that just seems like a cheap cop-out somehow. That really doesn't seem very helpful. It doesn't bring Boston back, it doesn't make Steph's sorrow go away, it just doesn't seem to do anything except say, in different wording, "Boy, life sure is capricious and rotten at times, isn't it?" Anyway, those of you who know me understand that I am a certified pessimistic, cynical doomsayer. But I have to say, that sure does seem like an awfully REALISTIC viewpoint on the world right about now. I am going to try to exercise a small particle of optimism and hope that in a few days or weeks, I can start believing that God does have a plan, but for now, please, if you would, remember my sweet sister Steph in your prayers right now. She really needs some extra support and strength. Her burden right now is one that nobody should have to bear...

Henry

No, this picture hasn't been photo-shopped, he really was that fat! So, it has officially been one year since we lost our funny and lovable Henry the Navigator. Indulge me in a bit of reminiscing, I really, REALLY miss my little Henry. Well, to begin, Colby and I got Henry right after we were married. And from the start, he was a chunky, moody, and perfectly adorable kitty who had little (if any) use for humans besides us. Which was fine with me. Henry had SUCH a personality. Even for a cat, he had a big personality. He was so funny. As a tiny kitty, Henry liked orange juice, steak, bread, and virtually any dairy product known to exist. Once he got older, he really only liked dairy items; as far as people food goes. Well, as you can see by the picture, Henry was a certified Fat Chunk. Mostly my fault, but even as a kitty he was pretty darn portly. The thing is, just like Garfield, Henry was very content and happy with his fatness. He was most definitely Henry the Navigator, Fat Chunk Dictator and Lord of the Hill House. And we loved him. I miss him. We always say that he may be in heaven now, and he may not have a gimpy leg anymore, but he is definitely still a fatty! Henry was happy that way. There are no better cats in the history or future of the world than my Henry.

Although, I do love Smokey and Sneezy- I have to make that clear or Savannah will cry and worry about them. But, I love and miss my Henry and I hope he knows it.

GO UTES!

What a game! Is there any question that the Utes should be the #1 NCAA team? 75% of the country picked them to lose, we are glad that we were part of the minority. Earlier today Savannah and Charlotte made a couple of awesome posters to get in the spirit for the big game. Maybe the posters somehow made their way to the players and helped the Utes win! Savannah was proud of the poster that read "Go Utah, Boo Alabama." It was my favorite. Anyway, it was a phenomenal game, and the best way to cap off the season! Utah Utes, 13-0!!!

Let me take a few liberties with Nick Saban's (Alabama's head coach) words.

"The [Utes] are the only 'real' 13-0 team in college football."

Smokey

So, here is a picture of Smokey. Savannah felt bad that we had a whole post about Sneezy, and that we still love Smokey, so we had to post a picture of him. Sorry this is the best picture of him I could find. He is HUGE!! He looks like an absolute monster compared to the new little guy! Smokey is half Russian Blue and half Heinz-57, as Colby would say. He is such a handsome cat, and we love him!!

Introducing the kitty

Everyone...meet Sneezy!His name is Sneezy because he came to us with a little head cold he caught while riding here on Santa's sleigh. Well, that's how he caught his cold according to Savannah, anyway. So, he was sneezing at least 200 times a day at first. So, Sneezy just seemed like a fitting name for him.

He is such a good kitty. He is very playful and sweet, and FULL of energy! We haven't had a baby kitten for a really long time! He actually reminds us of Henry quite a bit. For instance, he won't stop eating; he has the shortest, stubby little legs; he lays flat on his back; he likes to curl up in the bathroom sinks, and some other things he does. Although, he has much, much more energy than Henry ever had!!!! He is so much fun, and Smokey has started to warm up to him. Poor Smokey, he had gotten used to being the only cat, and being very spoiled with attention. But, fortunately, Smokey is very mellow and sweet, and he seems to be adjusting nicely to a new "little brother" running around the house.

Christmas!!!

Christmas morning..... Barrett with his one of his many Star Wars toys. The poor kid has turned into a bit of a Star Wars geek, just like his Daddy....and I mean that in the nicest possible way, of course!!!!!!

Barrett with his Spiderman play set. This is so darn cool- it comes with a little Spiderman and an Incredible Hulk. He loves it.

Christmas continued...

And here are pictures of the girls..... Savannah asked Santa for a new cat because she missed Henry. So this is her favorite christmas present of all. For those who may not know, Henry was cat that we had ever since Colby and I got married. Almost a year ago, he got pretty old and sick, and he died. Mommy was VERY sad and shaken up by it, and Savannah too, apparently...

She also asked Santa for an I-Pod Nano. He brought her an I-Pod shuffle, and she liked it for about 24 hours. Then it got washed because Savannah forgot to take it out of the pocket of her jeans. No more I-Pod. Fortunately, Mom had one that she is scared of, so now Savannah has a brand new, never been used I-Pod nano. Lucky Savannah, indeed.

Charlotte with her Tinker Bell play set. She did tell Santa that she liked Tink, so he brought her a Tinker Bell kitchen, which we somehow failed to get a picture of. So, she does have it, she does love it, you'll just have to trust me on this one!!!!

Charlotte with her very own jar of pickles!! Char has recently developed an appreciation and craving for dill pickles. Now, I wonder where she could have gotten that from??!! So, Mommy decided to give her pickles for Christmas, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

Charlotte's Christmas Program

This is at Charlotte's preschool Christmas Program. She had so much fun, and it was just a riot to see her perform!Well, shake it up, baby, twist and shout! Honestly, Charlotte had a blast dancing!
So cool! Charlotte in her oversized cool chick sunglasses! Jackie Kennedy has nothing on Charlotte!
Charlotte introducing herself to the audience!
Savannah trying to not be bored!

Barrett with his new favorite way to smile...the "I am so handsome and I know it" kind of smirk. Jeez, he is funny!

Lights

Here are the kids at Temple Square to see the beautiful Christmas Lights!!

We always begin at "Daddy's Tree." This is the very first tree Colby got to decorate when he worked for the Temple Square grounds crew many, many years ago! On a related note, the gorgeous stained glass window directly behind his tree was almost shattered into a billion pieces one year when Colby nearly lost his balance on the ladder, and the ladder just about crashed through the window. We liked to tell the kids this story. Well, Dani liked to tell it anyway!!

Aren't they adorable! They look just like bundled up snow monsters!!! Also, something that was kind of amazing....when we were just getting out of the car and getting the kids all wrapped and bundled up, Elder Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve came up to see the kids and say hello. It was such a good experience for Savannah to meet one of the 12 in person, she was a little bit awestruck. He was very, very kind and sweet to the kids. If only we had remembered to get the camera and take a picture of the kids with him, but, alas, we forgot!!!

Snow and....Dance?

So, everyone just loved the massive snowstorms we had in the past week or so, right!!??!! Well, Savannah and Barrett just had to go outside and play when Colby was using the snowblower. I was surprised at how long they played out there....it must have been freezing, and it just never really stopped snowing! Look at these two cute frozen little kids!!!
So while Barrett and Savannah were outside playing in the snow, Charlotte decided to stay inside and dance! I asked her a few times if she wanted to go and play with the other kids, but she just said no!

Charlotte had so much more fun being in the house where it was nice and dry and warm. Snow is sooooooooo over-rated! That's my girl!

Santa!!

So we took the kids to see Santa the other day. It was pretty fun. Savannah has decided that this is not, in fact, the "real" Santa. He is one of Santa's workers who is here helping out because Santa is very busy at the North Pole right now.

Savannah asked Santa for a stuffed reindeer and an I-Pod.

Charlotte asked Santa for "something brown." Seriously. Just "something brown." Then added that she "likes Tink and princesses."

Despite how this picture looks, Barrett wasn't scared at all, which is hardly surprising! He asked Santa for "toys." Nothing more specific, just toys. Should be pretty easy for Santa to manage!

Graffiti

So, as promised...the pictures of our house awash in blue BYU graffiti. It's a great job! I mean, it is all blue and cougar-friendly, not exactly my decorating theme of choice or anything, but this must have taken a bit of time to accomplish!! Actually, our dear friend who is responsible for this fine job, waited in the parking lot of the church behind our house on the Friday night before the Big Game. Just waited there in the dark and the cold for the lights to go off in our house. Talk about dedication to his art!!!! Colby told him that he should have just come and knocked at the door- we would have let him in for some nice hot cocoa, he must have been freezing! And we still would have let him "improve" the exterior of our house for the game. Too bad BYU choked, there was a lot of effort that went into this!! Oh well, maybe next year, Stephen!!! But, don't count on it, the little blue kitties rarely defeat the Runnin' Utes!

Dance Recital

Charlotte at her first dance recital! Her dance class performed at the Festival of Trees. And, just in case you are curious, her fabulous makeup job was a requirement- I am not looking into turning her into a creature of the night! Charlotte thought it was soooo fun to put on all of the makeup, except for the mascara, she decided she is not such a fan of mascara. Does anyone else think that Charlotte could be one of the stars in a Robert Palmer video? Actually, now that I say that, does anyone else besides me even know who Robert Palmer is?!?!
Oh my gosh- talk about cute! A stage full of little 3 and 4 year olds. It was soooooo adorable. Charlotte was her typical self and hammed it up all the way. She entered the stage waving to the crowd and looking oh-so-excited. I tried to get pictures of her during the actual performance, but it just didn't happen, so you'll have to settle for these pictures I took before the performance. She really wouldn't smile for me here, because she wasn't "wearing ballet shoes yet," and she "wasn't dancing yet." Now, I realize I am somewhat biased in my opinion of Charlotte, being her Mom and all, but she was very, very good! She had the dance totally memorized and was happy to perform. I think we have a star on our hands!!!

Red, Red, and Red

So, has it been long enough for the BYU Cougar fans to have gotten over their crushingly, devastatingly, horrifyingly terrible and heartbreaking loss? Just in case you don't recall, the Runnin' Utes completely SPANKED the Blue Kitties who thought they were cougars. This is a picture of my adorable little Ute fans all dressed for the Big Game.

On a related note, one of our dear friends, who happens to be one of those unfortunate Blue Kitty fans, decided to "decorate" our house for the big game. So, is it his fault the cougars lost so miserably? Is it possible that his "decorations" cursed the team in blue? Well, perhaps, but we'll post pictures of that later, since I can't find them just now!! Plus, it will be nice to have another post about the Utes and their fabulous victory over the Dreaded Blue!!