4 months plus one day

We went to Harry Potter. He is the masked arcade bandit.
This is his summer fun. Hangn out poolside.

Pool side again. Its gonna be a long summer.

Notice the hair.

My Lily!!! She is growing up too fast.

Cole and his friend at the arcade. He is so focused.

Yesterday was Clays four month BMT birthday. Man how time flies while your having fun.

We celebrated by doing nothing. It is nice to do nothing. Its nice to curl up together and just relax. It has been tough getting back into Mom world as well as germ nazi and food preparer and nurse. Some days I'm on top of it and the clothes are washed the meals are made and the fighting is not there. Other days, well, its not as pretty. I love every minute of it but sometimes it is over whelming. From the message boards I am on, all I need is time and patience. As, most of you know I have neither of those qualities. So I, like most, am a work in progress.

I have gone back to work. It is nice to escape and feel needed. The store staff have been amazing and they did such a good job of giving me job security. haha. I'm all honesty they did awesome and have made me feel good about coming back. I love my company, I work for the greatest company with the best boss. My boss was transferred while I was away and his official last day with us is coming soon. Doug, the boss, is solid as a rock and could not be better. I will miss him but also know this is better for him. Our new boss has some big shoes to fill but I know he will be just as great.

Clay has been doing amazing as he has been doing. His hair is growing so much. It is coming in strait and black. Everyone wants to touch his hair and feel how soft it is and he hates that so much. He always tilts his head to one way or the other. I think its funny to watch him run and hide from people. We have been lucky enough to go back to church. He wears his mask through sacrament and then goes home. It has been nice to see him there and feel uplifted by the spirit.

We go to the doctors in Utah this weekend for our monthly follow up. The docs here are saying he is doing great but wont take out his line until he hits the 6 month mark which is September. Hopefully it can be sooner but we are not holding our breath. The bummer is since he still has the line, no swimming this summer. Talk about a bummer summer. Oh well there is always next summer and we plan on taking full advantage of our summer next year.

So, other than the normal family issues all is good at the Shurtleff house. We are all happy, healthy and full of love and craziness. We fight, we play, we tease and we fight some more. So normal.

Love to all,

Tabitha

4th of July as a family

Lily, Clay, Cole

4th of July
Clay and his friend Fidel lighting fireworks.

Cole and Jake.

Fireworks group.

Shurtleffs, Ludwigs, Ludwigs neighbor

The kids at fireworks. I love that our families get along so well.

Thanks Ludwigs

We had an awesome 4th of July. We went to see Transformers and Clay had to wear his mask the whole movie. He loved the movie, hated the mask.

We had a great weekend with the Becks, Ludwigs and us. This holiday has a special meaning to us. It is the start of something amazing, it is the start of time. We have nothing but time.

I got a message on face book from a special friend I met at the hospital who lost her son in May. I was grateful to hear from her and know she is doing well. I miss her and love her. Keep moving forward Kristi, Tanner is pushing you every step of the way.

I love being with my family. I hate that the kids fight still and that I have to be Mom and be responsible. I love that we can argue over where we are sitting on the couch or in the car. I love that Clay is here to push buttons and tease his siblings. Being together is awesome and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Love to all.

Tab, Tad, Cole, Clay and Lily