auction for emily jones

many of you may have heard about the tragic accident that claimed john jones in the nutty putty cave in utah last week. ben and i were lucky enough to know john and his wife, emily... we were in the same ward at BYU before we moved out to california a couple of years ago. john and emily were the most amazing couple... with the most contagious smiles and so full of love and faith. truly marvelous people.

my heart aches for emily, who is left without her best friend to care for their fourteen-month-old daughter, lizzie, and unborn child. my heart also aches for the family, especially john's mother and father. i cannot even imagine the sorrow of losing a spouse or a child. my brother, joel, passed away when i was a senior in high school from a tragic accident and now that i am a parent of my own children, i can see but a tiny glimpse of the pain my parents have been through and what john's parents must be going through now. you can read the family's statement here.

stephanie over at a daily scoop is hosting an auction all this week to raise money to donate to the john and emily jones memorial fund. head on over to check out the first auction and keep checking back this week to see lots more. some of my stenciled onesies are going to be up for auction. pass the word along if you would please! if you don't see anything you would like to bid on and you would like to contribute to the fund, click here. you can also email stephanie at stephaniewaite@gmail.com if you would like to contribute something to be auctioned. hopefully we can raise a good amount of money for emily and her little ones. what better gift can we give this christmas season?

we did it

well folks, we reached our goal. we finished the richmond, virginia marathon in under 4 hours. 3:59:38. just by the skin of our teeth. i'm not gonna lie, the last 6 miles felt like i was literally in hell. at mile 20, i was so sure that i wasn't going to make it... i mean i knew i would finish, but i didn't think i would make it in under 4 hours. i must be one ornery and stubborn cuss because i MADE myself do it. and by the time i finished, i'm not sure i could have pushed myself ANY further. seriously so stoked to be done.

doug, ben's brother, was amazing... his first marathon and he totally rocked it. ben was my rock... he stayed with me to the end and helped me push myself when i was so sure i couldn't do it. thanks babe.

the grandpa pjs

with each new baby, i get excited to pull these rad jammies out of the storage box. kadi and i bought these when joel and carter were babies. joel wore them, kadin wore them and now oliver is sportin' them. and if we ever have a girl someday, she'll wear them, too.

i must not have taken a picture of kadin in the grandpa pjs, which seriously makes me want to cry, but here's a cute picture of him in jammies at about the same age.

carter on the left, joel on the right with kadi. joel and oliver look A LOT alike as babies... if it wasn't for oliver's blue eyes, i would almost have a hard time telling them apart.

our little ballerina

i hope oliver forgives me someday, but he makes the cutest chubby little ballerina.

for those who have lost...

my friend, molly, who lost her daughter, lucy, in 2008, just launched her new website, "a good grief." it's a wonderful place for those who have lost a child to connect. you can also make a donation to help families pay for a headstone for their child who has passed on.