Happy 13th B-Day Ryan

As of tomorrow we will officially have a teenager. I can't believe it. Ryan is growing up so fast. I can still remember the day I had him just like it was yesterday. Ryan is turning into a really nice young man and I am so PROUD of him. He is very responsible and very helpful with Emalee and Zach. I know I don't tell him nearly enough how much I appreciate the help that he gives me. So I just wanted to take a minute and let Ryan and everyone else know how happy I am that he is my son and that I love him. I will try to remember this when he is having one of his teenage moments, which are coming more and more frequently. I know he is a handsome kid but wasn't he a really cute baby!!! HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY RYAN!!!!!

Way To Go Utah!!!

For Christmas this year my mom made all of us Utah Ute Pajama Pants. Even the dogs got neckerchiefs to wear on their collars. So in celebration of the Big Sugar Bowl Game we all put on PJ Pants and watched the game. The dogs wouldn't cooperate at all to get their picture taken and Rich said I could not post pictures of him in his PJ's. But here are the kids and they looked so cute. It was a great game and the kids loved having us all dressed alike. Way to go Utah!!!!!!!

Christmas Pictures

Emalee's Christmas Recital

Emalee had her Christmas Recital on December 18th. She did such a good job. Her dad couldn't get over how much she has improved. Mostly it's just that she is more confident. I also danced but we will save everyone from having to experience that. Here is our little dancer.

Christmas Letter 2008

Dear Family and Friends,
Here we are again in the holiday season. I know I say this every year, but it seems this time of year comes around faster every year. So here we ago again.
Ryan is 12 ½ and started Jr. High this year. He is getting so big. He is loving school and doing very well. So it seems all my worries about Jr. High were for nothing. He is still playing baseball and basketball and is just a typical pre teen. His favorite things are his phone and girls.
Emalee is 8 and in the 2nd grade. She also loves school and is doing very well. She is still dancing on her competition team and this year is one of the team leaders. So all that means is mom gets more to do. Emalee is growing up and I don’t really like it. But I can stand it more then her Dad. Rich does not want his little girl to grow up at all. I think it’s kind of funny. She is still very independent and noisy. She just loves to talk non-stop, dance, and sing.
Zachary is 5 ½ and in his last year of preschool. We held him out of Kindergarten for a year because of some of his health issues. He is such a funny kid and literally either has me laughing or crying depending on the situation. For those of you that don’t know we finally have a diagnosis of what is actually wrong with Zach. In November we found out that he has Cystic Fibrosis. So all the other things we have been told through the years were not the case, just as I had always suspected. So at least we know what we are working with and we are just moving forward. Not saying this is easy but what choice do we have. We are going to do everything we can for him. Zach is still playing baseball and is going to go back to skating lessons for hockey in January. He is a really good boy and has gone through a lot in his short life so far. He always has a smile, which I just love.
As for Rich and I we are just busy working and taking care of the kids. Rich is still working at Superior Water and coaching baseball for Zach. I am just busy with my 4 part time jobs that equal more then 1 full time job I’m sure and taking care of the kids. I did start a blog this year and have had a lot of fun with that. The web address is http://richkimgrahamfamily.blogspot.com/. I try to update it a couple times a month. So I would love for you to check it out.
We hope that this holiday season finds everyone safe and well. We are thankful for every one of you. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.
Love,
Rich, Kim, Ryan, Emalee, & Zachary

Christmas Decorations

So I wasn't going to put up all of my Christmas decorations this year. I kept thinking to myself it's a lot of work and nobody ever sees it but us. But when it came right down to it I ended up putting everything up. It turned out really nice and I will love having all this stuff around until Christmas Day. By then I will want to rip it all down and those that know me know that it will all be down on the 26th. So I thought I would take some pictures to show off all of my work. Because before I know it I will be putting it all away again. Happy Holidays.

Holland Here We Come

As most of you know Zach was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis on Wednesday of this week. Even though we knew it was a possibiity it was still really hard to hear. So today we just spent 5 1/2 hours in the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic at Primary Children's. They are really nice and made Rich and I feel a lot better. They answered a lot of our questions. Poor Zach got poked and proded and wasn't very happy but seeing how we were there for so long he was actually really good. Of course the 5 different toys they gave him helped him feel better. Anyway this is a poem that they give to the parents on their first visit up to the clinic and I thought it was so good that I would share it.


WELCOME TO HOLLAND

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.


Were going to enjoy every minute of our trip to Holland!!!!