Happy Birthday Elder Grandpa!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!
We wanted to send you some photos to show we are celebrating for you.
Stephen can't wait till you get back so he can treat you to an ice cream from Little Miller's for
your bday treat. We are grateful for all the ice cream you have brought into our lives (or should we say
our guts. ): )
But, more importantly, we are grateful that you are the #1 Dad/Grandpa of all time. Thank you for taking care of us
and creating wonderful memories for all of us. We do miss you, but know that you have a great companion to
celebrate life with. So, enjoy your Samoan celebration and we'll party when you return home.

We love you.

Happy hugs,

Ray, Kary, Stephen, Bethanie & Sage

PHOTOS to be posted later...I kept getting a 'bad request' message. Tried to post twice....keep watching for bday pics.

Playtime w/ Sage & Stephen

While Ray was at the Priesthood session of Conference, Stephen, Sage and I went outside to play in the leaves. Apparently, Stephen was not too excited about the idea of being set inside a pile of leaves for Mommy to take a picture. His expression in the photo will show his concern. Sage rescued Stephen and came in for a lick to make him feel better. : ) She is so mothering to him when he is sad. What a good girl she is! We love our puppy dog. She'll be three years old in January. We're so grateful she joined our family. Stephen was much more content just playing on the lawn freely while Sage chewed on a stick. The simple things in life.......

Rake & Bake!

Yesterday, Ray and I needed to split more wood, so we had to put Stephen somewhere nearby. I bundled him up and put his playpen in the driveway close to us so I could watch him. He was happy to have his sippy cup of juice to keep things sweet. Right before I had brought him out to the playpen, one of the friends that I walk with called and said, "how about my husband and I come over and help you split the wood and I'll bring hot dogs and chips and we can cook dinner over your firepit for date night." I was so impressed by this phone call. Totally an answer to prayer. Lifting the logs is a lot of work. Which I love. However, it's really hard to attend to Stephen's needs when I'm behind a machine handing Ray the logs to split. So, her hubby came over and lifted the logs while she and I made up peach cobbler in the dutch oven and got the fire started. The babies played together for a while inside and then we went outside to enjoy the fire. They are such a fun family. Ray thinks the guy who helped him reminds him of Charles. I'll have to find out why. They also brought their dog, Rocky (a blue heeler) to play with Sage and she was so happy to have a new boyfriend in the valley. And, since she's spayed, she's free Willy (oops, sorry William, didn't mean to put you in the doghouse.)

Today, I baked "Grandma's sugar cookies" (aunt Lorna'a recipe).. the BEST! Then, I frosted them with cream cheese frosting. I made them to cheer up a friend and send some to Grandma Lindquist because her favorite cookie is a sugar cookie. Cookies have made it safely to her before, so I'll go for it again. As I was making the frosting, I thought Stephen would really like a beater. So, I gave him his first frosting beater and had to get a photo. He could not get enough in his mouth at a time. He wanted the whole beater to fit, so he kept trying. too funny!

Today was also rake the leaves day (after general conference, of course.) So, Ray took Stephen in the backpack while I made Belgian waffles and bacon for the intermission/halftime of conference. : ) Have to stick with tradition you know. Then after the second session, I went out and helped Ray rake the rest of the leaves. I made a pile to put Stephen and Sage in and will send those photos later tonight or tomorrow. Fall has truly fallen. It was so beautiful. We love it here. Now that the trees leaves have fallen, we can see more mountains around us a little bit more, so that was a welcome surprise.

Over and out for now. I hope you all enjoy conference.

hugs and happiness,
Kary

It is good to split wood!

Ray's latest obsession in Wasilla is cutting wood. He has searched the woods in nearby areas to find trees that have been cut down for new construction. He has been successful in finding gold mines of birch wood. We have gone together often as a family to cut the wood and then haul the logs in our little handy dandy trailer. Ray uses his chainsaw to cut the wood at the sight and then we bring it home and use a log splitter (which you rent for a day) and prepare our firewood for the winter. I love having real fires. I love the crackling of the wood and the smell of wood burning. There is such a calming feeling as a family sits aroud a fire together. We are having a Soapstone fireplace installed in December. They are made in Finland and the soapstone holds the heat all day and radiates it out so you are roasty toasty and save tons of $ on the gas bill. That is our goal. We have been planning for this fireplace for a while and are grateful that it will be arriving hopefully before Christmas. There was not a fireplace in this home when we bought it, so it worked out perfectly.

The other photo is of Stephen using his 'cell phone.' It is so cute how babies love telephones. They just love to push the buttons. Stephen accidently hung up on Bethanie today from pushing the wrong button, sorry Beth. : )

Just reporting in Mari, my walk today with the two gal pals was 2 1/2 hours long. Whew! I did it and then came home and cooked halibut au gratin for dinner. I appreciate your encouragement. Tomorrow's walk is for an hour since I need to get home early to help Ray split more wood. yes, I'm a true Valley girl now, like yah! Totally and for sure!

love you all,
Kary

Thanks (Post by Mindy)

Hey everyone. I just wanted to say thanks for the birthday wishes. My birthday, in case some of you were confused like Kevin and Beth were, is on the 27th, not the 28th. For future reference. I had a lovely day and I was able to spend it with my sister and mom and Greg. I didn't wear red Kary, I drove to my mom's house that day and I was just trying to survive the drive. :)

Here are some pictures (that I didn't post on my blog)

Ben is eating his first apple that John shared with him. He uses his two bottom teeth to just bite off what he can. It is super cute. He would not let us take it from him either.




Here is his second apple. I skinned it for him this time.





This one was actually on my blog, but it is cute.



Mari, in case you didn't read my blog, did we leave our Baby Einstein Colors book at your house? I can't find it anywhere and haven't really seen it since then. :)

Thanks again for the poem and birthday wishes!! Love you all. Kev it was great to see you.

Moo, Woo & Hoo! Celebrating Stephen!

I hope you enjoy a few fun photos that I recently took of Stephen. I had to put him in his cow outfit that Cheryl got for him
because it fits now. Isn't it adorable? Moo to you Cheryl! Thanks so much for thinking of Stephen when you saw this outfit. He loves to drink his milk when he wears it. ; ) The other pictures are of Stephen in a church suit (which I got for $2 at a garage sale) performing a concerto in C minor (if there is such a thing).....he loves to play the piano. We enjoy playing together. We're almost ready for our debut in church. There will be more pictures of his birthday coming since Ray took quite a few, so just the one of the two of us together for now. I sure love this little one year old boy. He is truly full of joy!

How to post video here. . .

I figured out why I could not upload video on this site! It was of course something VERY simple. Anyhow, now you can post video! Make a video on your camera and download it onto the computer just like pictures. Then go to the regular posting area and next to the photo icon should be a video icon. Click on it, then follow the directions to upload video. Make sure it is set on compose mode (upper right hand corner of posting page). It may take awhile to upload (ten minutes or so) depending on size. When finished uploading, publish post and it should work! Would someone give it a try??

Just a note - it does not work with Safari. Good luck!

New video blog. . . www.mari4uvideovenue.blogspot.com. I will be posting video on that site as often as I can!

Happy Birthday Mindy!

We sure love you and think you are great! Hope you have a fantastic birthday!!

I will try and think up a poem for you. . .

Full of fun and laughter
Mindy loves to play
Not only sports
But with Ben everyday

Tall and cute she is
No one can deny
She went on to find
The world's greatest guy

She can block a shot
Knock you to the floor
Bruises she shows-off
As if she wanted more

Fun to be around
She is never frowning
She is just too happy
Working on her clowning

We love her, yes we do!
No one can compare
Mindy is a nifty girl
With her special Mindy flair!

Thank you, Thank you. I wrote that in five minutes! :-) Love you Mind!

Lots of love!

Three years ago we stepped off an airplane in California to begin our Law school journey. Mishap after mishap occurred causing much doubt about whether or not we were even suppose to be pursuing this course. We stuck to it, and 3 years later - we made it! Charles is a certified attorney!! 3 years ago I had my doubts about it. Not if he could do it - if we should do it. 8 years ago I did not comprehend one bit where our journey would take us! I stand amazed.

These pictures are of the lame car flop experience. That was how we began our journey, one trial after another. And so it is with life. . . the trick it to find joy in it anyway! To be able to laugh instead of cry. As Sister Hinckley (the prophets wife) said, "I prefer to laugh, crying gives me a headache!" I agree!!

Now we are starting on a new journey. It is just as exciting!

Thanks to you all for your support through love and prayers. We appreciate it SO much!

Much love!

Up, Up & Away! Stephen's B-day Celebration!

Stephen Joseph Hafen celebrated his #1 birthday today! He was full of joy! He loved seeing all the balloons and he especially loved eating his first piece of bday cake. I created a hot air ballon cake (no pattern), just inspired by an embroidery that Dad (yes, Grandpa) made years ago that I have hung in Stephen's room. I can see why many Mom's have given in to the Costco special cakes. Wow, Thanks Mom for spending all of that time in the kitchen for so many years creating special designs for us. I did enjoy the experience, but a lot of little things went wrong. I didn't have the right size coupler for the cake decorating tools, so I had to improvise on my frosting idea. Since I had to do that, I had a lot of gaps in my ballon, so I thought sprinkles would fill in the space nicely. Little did I know that when I shook the cute little sprinkle container that the lid would fly off and scatter sprinkles everywhere! I just had to laugh. The main thing is that the cake tasted delicious and Stephen enjoyed every bite. I think he definitely experienced a little sugar high, it was too cute! I'll post a few pictures tonight that I took and then I'll see what pictures Ray imports and share those as well.

Happy Birthday SONSHINE Stephen! I love you my little one.

Thanks for posting all of those pictures Mari, it was so good to look back at his first year of life. He has given me new life.
Like you wrote in your poem, he truly is an "angel boy."

love,
Kary

Angel Boy

Little angel sent from Heaven
Waiting long to take your place
Many years have passed by
All waiting to see your face

Now you’re here to show the world
And the Heavens too
Miracles still can happen
For a miracle are you

The sweetness in your smile
The glow within your eyes
How great a thing you have done
For someone small in size

You have brought new hope
Prayers were plead for you to come
Now you’re here we all know
The place where you came from

Such a gentle little soul
Sent down for this new day
You have come to show that faith
Can always find a way

Welcome baby, welcome here
You wonderful sweet joy
Welcome to this world Stephen
You little angel boy