Summer with the Sommerfeldts (2016)

Highlights of this summer:

Epic moment where Ryan and Isabelle looked cute and Jack decided to eat Will's leg for no apparent reason, and I managed to capture it all in a photo by complete accident.

Will's snorty face :)

Jack playing at the Children's Museum in Texas - on the table because he couldn't stand up with his blue cast

Sommerfeldt family reunion at Port Aransas, Texas. Will enjoyed getting in the water, and Jack enjoyed watching everyone from the dry safety of a rubber raft (because of his cast not being able to get wet.)

Jack and Mommy and Daddy riding in the golf cart at Port Aransas

Our family at the Port Aransas beach house we all stayed in.

Going on the "blue airplane" home from Texas

Attending the traditional Provo Fourth of July parade with Grandmere

At the parade

Jack getting his cast off and getting a celebratory Slurpee

At the doctor's office getting his cast off.

Swimming in Grandma and Grandpa's pool practically every day after Jack got his cast off.

Running the Hobbler Half Marathon with Scott (and subsequently being so sore we could barely move...) 

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa Sommerfeldt in Canada - Will's middle name is after Grandpa Theron.

Four generations of handsome Sommerfeldts

Grandma singing to Will

Loading our big truck to go to Illinois

Going to Bear Lake for the annual Brockbank family reunion

Playing sunglasses with Grandpa Parks

Will's early first birthday party at Grandmere's house

He thinks cupcakes are the best thing ever :)

Will perfecting his snorty face at Daddy's hockey game :)

And then, just like that, summer was over and we headed off across the country...

Jack at his blue house

Jack and Will love the "orange store" where we can drive the carts (Home Depot, our new favorite place...)

Yep. That's us!

We unloaded our entire moving truck all by ourselves. We're awesome. Mainly Ryan. Ryan is awesome!

Daddy's little helper, putting the kitchen table together.

Will turned 11 months old shortly after we moved in!

We went in search of some ducks to feed, but ended up finding a cool blue and orange playground instead, and Jack loved the little slides on the toddler area of the playground (which is great, since he's avoided slides for the past year or so for who knows why)

More to come later on the adventures in our blue house. We had a whirlwind of a summer that we jam-packed as much as possible with fun things. We didn't want to waste a minute of time with grandparents and friends before moving, and we're glad we did. We love all our family and can't wait to be together with them again at Christmas!

"Jack's Blue House"

*In case you're getting these posts as emails: I just added a few people to my email list for our family blog. You can always see the original blog posts at http://sommerfeldts.blogspot.com/.

Last weekend was exciting because Jack got two new blue things: his blue cast (see previous post) and his blue house in Illinois!

Well, it's not ours yet. And it will come with a nice mortgage to go along with it. But we're excited and are hoping and praying everything goes well with the home inspection, financing, etc in the upcoming weeks.

The short version: Ryan and Will and I spent 5 days in Illinois. We spent a lot of time with our realtor looking at a lot of houses (most of which either had structural problems or neighborhood problems). We spent even more time talking to neighbors (establishing and finding out about said neighborhood problems). Finally, on our last full day there, our realtors sat down and found a house in a good neighborhood that they thought we might like. It was a little out of our price range but had been on the market for a while, so they thought we could talk it down. It wasn't the nicest or newest of the homes we'd looked at, but the neighbors described the street as "great" "good" and "fantastic" which was so much better than the "okay" "fine" and "good enough"s that we had been hearing from other neighbors in other areas.

We fully recognize we're paying a little bit more for a slightly less-nice house, but throughout this whole process we realized that being in an area with other families with kids, on a safe street and near a bus line was more important than having updated countertops and wall finishes. We both prayed (a LOT) and felt really good about this house. And our initial offer was just right, such that we ended up agreeing on a price that we felt good about.

Here are some pictures of "Jack's blue house!" Feel free to pray with us that the home inspection will come back clean and that financing and closing will all go smoothly.

Love, the Atonement, and a Broken Femur

This past weekend was an emotional one, as we got our first taste of the sorrows of parenting. To date, Ryan and I have had a blissful and blessed marriage, where the "hard things" we've gone through together really haven't been all that hard (or perhaps, as Ryan would point out, we tend to go through our trials with an optimistic perspective, which, in turn, makes them seem less severe... hmm, that's a question to ponder at another time.) The point is that our life together has been a happy and fairly easy one so far. And to be honest, after a few days of perspective I would say that it still is. However, sitting in the surgery waiting room after spending the day with our little Jack and watching him suffer, wishing with all our hearts that it could have been us with the broken femur instead of him - it didn't feel so easy right then. And the next day, trying to sing him to sleep while he begged to get up and walk and have me carry him - none of which was possible - it didn't feel so easy then either.

I came out of his room and commented to my mom that I wished so badly to take his place... and then observed that she, too, wished she could take my place and suffer instead of me... and that Heavenly Father must also wish He could take our place... And Christ DID take our place.

That chain of thoughts has been on my mind for several days now. I've commented many times that I wish I understood the atonement more. Today I realized for the first time that an understanding of the atonement comes not from studying and studying and studying about it - it comes from living it. It comes in the moments where we experience Christlike love for another person, free of any selfish impulse. It comes when we catch a glimpse, however small, of how much he truly suffered for us. So today I am filled with gratitude - for Him, for His love for me, our family, and our little boy, for our family, and for all the blessings I take for granted every single day.

Now on to some pictures of our little trooper! To tell the story in his own words, "Jack tripped on the yellow ball and broke his leg and went to the doctor and got a pink sock - where da pink sock go? Huh? And got a blue cast, and Mickey Mouse came at home!"

Interpretation: Jack was playing with a kickball and somehow either kicked it or stepped on it such that he fell and broke his left femur. We thought it was a sprain and waited until the next morning to take him in - which we later felt horrible about - but how were we to know? The pediatrician splinted us and checked us into the ER, where they x-rayed it and sent us up to pediatrics. At 5pm they took him and did anesthesia so that they could put on a Spica cast (which wraps around his whole waist and all down his left leg) to immobilize the femur. They didn't actually have to operate or do pins or screws or anything. He'll have the cast 4-5 weeks if all goes well. We are SO grateful it isn't something worse, and Jack is doing fantastic now - if any little boy could handle something like this, it's Jack!

At the doctor's office - before we even knew it was broken!

Elevator selfies

"Jack has a pink sock!"

Mickey Mouse blanket - a gift from the Pediatrics floor (Thank you, all you Young Men and Young Women out there who tie blankets for hospitals as a service activity - it made my little boy's day!)

Jack's "blue cast"

Getting to ride around in style :)

Springtime!

Sunday was both the first day of spring and the Provo City Center Temple (Tempernacle!) dedication. We attended the 9am session at our church building, then walked down to the temple during the 12pm session and walked around. We saw the cornerstone and inscription and Jack loved touching the temple and getting to see "Angel 'Roni" up close. Next time you see him, ask Jack who Angel Moroni's daddy is. He usually says "Mormon!" and then "Prophet!" We can see the spire of the temple through the trees from our front porch. What a blessing it is to live so close to the temple. We'll miss that in Illinois this fall!

Jack and Emma getting a jump on the wedding photos ;)

Our little Will is growing up! He's finally mastered rolling - which means it's now the method of transportation of choice. He can roll all the way into a different room within about 10 minutes if he puts his mind to it. And this morning I noticed his very first tooth popping through. Our little toothless baby grin is on its way out, and this little guy is a wiggler and a mover now. Where did the time go?

Lately, Jack's favorite thing to do is get up close to Will, shout, "Two kids! Two kids! Mommy two kids, picture!" and wait there for me to take a picture of them. Will loves it, even if he's getting totally squashed in the process.

No, Will doesn't sit on his own yet - we snapped this right before he toppled :)