Mason's Baptism

This month has been an extremely busy but very exciting month for our family. Lots of birthdays in the past couple weeks! But the highlight of my month was preparing for, planning, and experiencing Mason's baptism. I can't believe I have an 8 year old boy!!! Before his baptism I tried to plan ahead and figure things out like pictures, baptism program, FHE lessons on Baptism, and just getting Mason ready. I took him down to the temple and took his pictures myself. We also had the missionaries over for dinner and asked them to talk to Mason about getting baptized.

Figuring out his Baptism Program:

When we asked Mason who he wanted to talk at his baptism he responded almost INSTANTLY "Uncle Nate!" I love how close he is to and idolizes his Uncle Nate. Nate gave a really good talk on the Holy Ghost. I love how he talked about the Godhead. He reviewed with Mason that our Father in Heaven is our Father, Jesus Christ is our Big Brother, and the Holy Ghost should be our Best Friend. I looked at Mason occasionally while Nate was speaking and I just love how captivated he was and I felt like he was really listening to Nate. 

I asked my good friends Christi and Alice to sing this beautiful song 

"My First Steps"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0wfbWZVtfc

Conducting: Jake Watkins

          Pianist:   Christi Jensen

Music Leader:   Lori Faler                                   

Opening Song:   Baptism

Opening Prayer:   Larry Huber (Grandfather)                                            

Musical Number:   “When I am Baptized”

Callie Huber, Ella Faler & Leah Dunaway

accompanied by Christi Jensen 

 Talk on Baptism: Shelly Huber (Mother)

 Baptism of Mason:   by Ron Huber (Father) 

 Witnesses:   Larry Huber, & Von Faler

                     Grandfathers              

 Musical Number: “My First Step”

Christi Jensen & Alice Johnson

accompanied by Erica Faler 

Talk on Holy Ghost:   Nate Cook (Uncle)                                            

Confirmation of Mason: by Ron Huber (Father) 

Closing Song:   I Stand All Amazed

                         (Mason’s Favorite song)   

Closing Prayer:   Von Faler (Grandfather)

 My one regret... I DID NOT take many pictures at ALL!!!! So sad! That's so not like me! I'm the queen of taking too many pictures! I didn't even get a picture of Ron and Mason all in white. :( I teased Ron about putting his wet clothes back on for a picture. (I was kind of half serious)

 Preparing my talk:
I was SHOCKED that I didn't get very emotional during his baptism. I'm pregnant and the emotions seem to fly plenty lately. I think I got all my tears and "moments" out while prepping and planning his baptism.

I started off reciting the 4th article of Faith and then had Mason come up for a little demonstration. 

I placed 2 papers on the ground (pretty far apart).

Mason come stand on the "START".

“Can you get from here to the white paper square without stepping on the carpet?”

Too far?... Heavenly Father has given us steps to bring us back to Him.

Do you know what they are?

1. Faith

2. Repentance

3. Baptism

4. Holy Ghost

5. Temple

6. Stay Righteous

I spoke to Mason about memories from my own baptism. I remember 3 things about my baptism day.

11. The water was actually really cold.

22. I remember my dad talking at my baptism. I would like to share with you what he told me.

I bought Mason a "Boogie Board" and pulled it out to show him.

I talked about how every time we goof up or maybe don’t act EXACTLY as Jesus would we make a mark on our slate.

When you get baptized it's like pushing this button, it wipes our slate clean.

33. The last thing I really remember about my baptism is how clean and fresh I felt. You can feel like that always if you keep following the steps of our Savior Jesus Christ. I know you are a strong young boy and very capable of many things. You have already experienced some pretty heavy trials at such a young age. I’m proud of you for making this decision today! I love you and I love my Savior Jesus Christ I have a testimony of his endless love for each and every one of his children. He wants us to return to live with him someday. I say these things…

My really good friend Nanna had this towel made for Mason. I LOVE it! I actually really felt loved by all those around me willing to help and be part of this big day for our family. My friend Erin worked all night long the night before and came to the baptism with her kids running on NO sleep AND brought cookies to help with refreshments. I had all kinds of help from friends and family in the kitchen and with the program. I really felt loved and am grateful to have such good people in my life.

Noah is 6!

Noah wanted a Robot Birthday Party! We planned on borrowing my parents projector and showed the movie "The Iron Giant" in the backyard. The kids got to make "robot cans" and accessorize the cans themselves. I was very impressed with their creativity and excitement over making these cups.

Ron even got into the robot making!

Noah's ONE request was that I make a robot cake. I'm not very creative and don't especially enjoy baking. But Noah isn't very particular so when he has a request I feel like I should try to accommodate. I think he liked it and that's all that matters.

It was a little crazy but I was surprised at how well it went! Because it was October Break I really didn't expect very many kids but we ended up having over a dozen kids at the house! Great turn out! I think Noah had a very good time!

  

Noah is in half day kindergarten and I am soooooooo glad I chose to have him home all morning. He is the peace maker in our home. He is very helpful and plays extremely well with Callie. In fact I'm not sure what I would do with out him. Callie can be a little demanding and Noah is very sweet with her and will do just about anything to help her be happy. They have become very close in the past couple months and I just love witnessing it. Noah is very smart and successful in school. His parent-teacher conference went really well, Ms. Stradling told me he is at the top of his class. She can always rely on him to answer any questions and help other kids. He can read pretty well and really never complains about school. I am very excited for what the future holds for him. He's very in tune to what is going on around him. He's not perfect but just about as close to it as you can get. I wish he had to desire to ride a bike. But I'm sure with time that will just come with time. So happy to have this wonderful little ray of sunshine in our family!

8 is GREAT!

This year we went with the necessities for Mason's presents. 

I bought him his cub scout uniform, a football scripture case, and some legos. He is so excited for Cub Scouts. 

His birthday was on a Sunday so we invited family over for cake and ice cream. His cousin Owen even surprised us with a visit from Texas!

Thanks to the help of my mom I took some of his friends to Jump Street, then a park for cake and pizza, and finished up at Laser Tag. (Thanks to my pogopasses and my friend Lindsey I actually didn't spend much at all!) He told me later it was the best birthday ever. Which made it worth all the effort.

 Hide N' seek!

 They were so cute at the park I almost didn't want to leave to take them to laser tag!

My mom pitched in and helped get Mason a set of scriptures for his birthday. Every Sunday Mason has been going to the church library to check and sign out scriptures. This kid has a love of reading and a love of the Scriptures. My parents wrote out cards with their favorite scriptures on them for Mason to read and mark. Mason was so excited to read their scriptures he even came up with his own code for marking and labeling those scriptures. G. F. stands for Grandpa Faler and M. H. is Mason Huber (apparently Grandpa's favorite scripture is also Mason's.) He takes his scriptures to Dr. appointments to read and busts them out at family scripture study nightly. I LOVE it. I don't ever have to remind him to bring them to church either.

There's a BUN in the Oven!

I'm so excited I can't contain myself! I'm pregnant again and due April 20th! I've always known we were going to have 4 kiddos in our family. The day I found out I went into my closet crying tears of joy and thanked my Father in Heaven (those "happy tears" lasted all day long). I had my first check-up at the Dr. last month and everything seems to be looking good. The kids are super excited. Mason found out I was going to the Dr. and wanted to come with. He's so sweet. I told him he could come to the next appointment when the Dr. will do another ultrasound. We told the kids about a month ago but asked them to keep it a secret. All of them were so excited but I think Mason grasps the concept a little more. Everywhere we go he would whisper to me "Can I tell them our secret?... or Do they know know yet?" Every morning before school he would ask Can I tell my friends yet?  So excited to share his happy news.

Noah is adorable and randomly comes up to me to rub my belly.

Callie is just excited to have a real live baby doll to dress up and play with!

The day I found out I was expecting I baked some cinnamon rolls in the oven shaped in the number 4. I told Ron when he walked in the door from work to "Go look in the oven, I'm baking something sweet for you." He looked at me a little weird but went to check. Opened the oven and said "YUM!" Then went to the bedroom to change out of his work clothes. UGH. I was so annoyed. He didn't even NOTICE! So we got the cinnamon rolls out of the oven frosted them and waited for Ron. The kids wanted to eat them so bad so I told Callie to go tell Daddy to come see the rolls! LOL Finally he starred at them and it clicked.

"Bun in the Oven"

I'm about 12 weeks along and so far have had a really good pregnancy. I'm still exercising daily, including weights and running. I'm blessed with a strong stomach and so far have only thrown up a couple times (both at the gym and not really a big deal). I have been a lot more nauseous this pregnancy but it hasn't stopped me from eating anything or doing much. (In fact I want to eat any and EVERYTHING in sight) I'm extremely tired and that annoys me! At night I pass out which is very hard for me, I'm the most productive at night plus I feel bad because Ron's working a lot so I don't get to see him much when I go to bed at 9:30pm. Super emotional! I cry over and get choked up about almost anything. It's been a little bittersweet. When I'm pregnant I think I really appreciate life so much more. It's like I get a taste of heaven and am a little more receptive to the spirit. (I wish it would magically make the perfectly patient mom but I'm still working on that.)

Callie saw me setting up the camera for the "pregnancy test" pic and insisted we have our own photoshoot. LOL

 I just love this little girl!

 Noah also wanted in on the fun!

Mason's Eye Update

A couple months ago we had another eye appointment on July 23rd. This time we were seeing the pediatric eye specialist, Dr. Underdauhl. This is the same doctor that came to the Cardon's children hospital the night of Mason's accident. He pried Mason's eye open and examined it in the hospital. We haven't seen too much of him since the hospital because of all the retinal and anterior eye issues and surgeries. At this point I felt like things were calming down and we were on track for Mason's eye being "back to normal". Even though he couldn't see out of it very well I wasn't concerned because in all his surgeries and appointments every doctor had been very hopeful and optimistic. At this particular appointment I figured we would walk in, the doctor would examine Mason's eye, maybe recommend some reading glasses, pat us on the back, and send us on our merry way. Putting this whole nightmare behind us. WRONG.
I was so glad Ron was there with me at this appointment. Dr. Underdauhl looked and looked into Mason's eyes, did a few tests and then the bad news came. It's still a bit of a blur but he basically told us that Mason had severe and irreversible optic nerve damage to his optic nerve. He explained that the way Mason's eye responded to light and what he could see in his eye was not good. Nerve damage to the eye rarely regenerates. Translation: Mason would NEVER see out of his left eye.
I was in shock. No one had mentioned this to me before. Not one of his surgeons had prepped me for this. I didn't believe it. I felt like we were back at square one. So discouraged.
Dr. Underdauhl then went on to recommend prescription eye glasses for Mason that would mostly serve as protection for his good eye and not be terribly beneficial for the damaged eye. He also casually recommended we do "eye patch therapy" for 2 hours a day. Placing an eye patch over Mason's good eye might help stimulate nerve activity and could possibly improve eye sight in his bad eye. (Not very encouraging words) I left this appointment bewildered and sad. I tried not to show Mason and quickly put my sunglasses on. In the car I turned around to back out of the parking space and Mason asked "Mom, why are you crying?" I didn't know what to say so I think I responded "I got something in my eye". All those yucky feelings of regret and guilt were creeping back in. I still feel responsible for his accident and that's not a good feeling.
The next couple months were really hard. I quickly HATED eye-patch therapy as much (or more) than Mason. He has handled everything post trauma extremely well. No complaining at appointments or with eye drops, no whining or crying, handled surgeries very well before and after. I was very surprised at how much he fought me with putting the eye patch on. Luckily, I'm pretty stubborn and if the Doctor says it MIGHT help we are going to do eye patch therapy. Everyday he dreads it, I feel like he turns into another kid (not my happy peppy Mason). We came up with a few strategies and incentives to help the time go by. He's allowed to play on the IPad for 1 of the 2 hours everyday. (This was particularly hard for me. I HATE video games but if it helps him not kick the wall and be mad at the world I'm OK with it.) I try really hard to plan eye patch time around activities outside the home. I don't want him to have to wear it in public and be self-conscious about it. This is really difficult lately when he gets home from school at 3:15 and then has football practice at 5:30 pm. But we manage. Honestly there is probably 1-2 days a week where it just doesn't happen. I'm even seriously considering purchasing a large punching bag to help him punch out his frustrations on during therapy. I talked to several friends whose kids need to patch as well and got some really helpful advice. Some kids have to wear an eye patch for 4 hours a day!!! I'm so grateful ours is only 2 hours. I'm learning a lot about myself through all of this. I keep praying for patience and well... this is definitely trying my patience! Practice makes perfect right? I need more practice because I am certainly not perfect. There were days I seriously thought of giving up. The doctor said he really wouldn't regain eye sight so WHY was I putting myself and Mason through all this?!?!?!
Now fast forward to our 2 month check up. September 24th I was extremely nervous in the waiting area. The technician called us back to do the preliminary testing and evaluation. She set the eye equipment to the recommended prescription for Mason to look through and test his sight. She blocked off the right eye and began the exam. Last appointment Mason couldn't even see the HUGE "E" at the top of the eye chart. The technician was showing letters much smaller and Mason was calling them off correctly. I WAS shocked and kept asking Mason "Are you cheating?" or "Don't move Mason just use your left eye." I couldn't believe it. The technician informed me not to worry she was watching Mason and he had his right eye closed. The letters he was reading were about 1.5 inches tall. Anything smaller than that was not readable. I was so thrilled my hopes were soaring. When Dr. Underdauhl came in he asked us to move rooms. He claimed to like the equipment better in this particular room. He then proceeded to tape off Mason's right eye and perform the exact same test that the technician had JUST performed. I chuckled to myself as I thought "He doesn't believe it either and wants to witness it first hand" Again, Mason read off letters about 1.5 inches tall and I could tell Dr. Underdauhl was impressed. He told us he had never seen this before and that we just made his day. I felt a rush of happy tears spring to my eyes. Dr. Underdauhl was very hopeful and impressed. He said to keep doing what we were doing because it was working. I asked him to turn to Mason and repeat that. Dr. Underdauhl smiled and stressed the importance of eye patch therapy to Mason. I left the office feeling much happier and at peace. We still have to do eye patch everyday, I STILL don't really enjoy making my child go through that but it obviously is working so we will continue.

We ordered his glasses this week. That was quite the ordeal too! I had no idea how many options and upgrades there is involved with ordering glasses. I've been blessed with good eyes and have never had to have any prescription eye glasses. It was like a whole new language to me. After 2 hours at the optical center we finally picked out his glasses only to find that I needed to pick different set of frames because bifocal lens only fit larger frames. I have mixed feelings about Mason in glasses. But he is a cute kid no matter what and I think he likes them. I might just start calling him "CLARK" for Clark Kent.

Baby Kendalyn has arrived!

My baby sister had her baby last Sunday! We are so excited for this new addition! Maryann was a trooper and is my role model when it comes to labor and delivery! Callie is absolutely captivated and obsessed with her! When the boys found out she got to meet Kendayln first they were a little upset and kept saying "That's not fair! When can we go meet Kendalyn!" LOL

7lbs. 2 oz

born on September 14th

She is beautiful and perfect in every way

We have been going to the bus stop for Mason's school right by Maryann's house just so we can pop by and say hi to Baby Kendalyn! It's so cute! My kids ask almost everyday (every minute) when we can go see her!

Football Season!

We are back in the swing of football season! And I'm not talking about the annoying season of "I lost my husband to NFL football games on TV". I'm talking about Gilbert Youth Football League! We signed Mason AND Noah up this season! I'm so excited! Noah is really into it and so far really enjoys it. This weekend he had his first football game and the Packers WON! He pulled 2 flags and was really proud of himself! He really enjoys playing defense. I hope in future games he will get to play offense a little more but for now I love seeing the look of confidence on his face as he dives for the flag and pulls it!

I love that he has so many friends on his team! Makes the sidelines a lot more fun for me too!