Kaileigh Jeanette Saling Turns 2!

Happy Birthday my baby bug! We love you so much! We are so glad you're in our family. You make us scream, cry, laugh and smile. Kai is such a sweetie and can be such a little devil. We love her. She has the funniest personality that is larger than life. She loves her siblings but has moments of being tough on them. She is sweet and sassy. She will make the funniest faces and make us laugh out loud by her antics. She loves desserts. If there are any sweets in the house she can find them and eat them before we even realize it. But look so innocent in the process. Kai loves to dance and has a great inner rhythm, it's amazing. She sings and dances and reads and loves to do her own thing. I love that she doesn't need a lot of attention but will take it if she can. Kai I love you sweet girl. I can't imagine our family without you. Thank you for being my daughter.

The cake was put together quickly because it was late and I ran out of time. The cupcakes were the birthday plan for her treat. The kids had so much fun making their butterfly cupcake. I have come to really love cupcakes because they are the perfect individual size and they love to be creative and make their own. They were messy but fun and tasty! So glad papa could be here to celebrate with us. I love my family so much. So glad Jen is here too. So grateful Larry got out of the hospital in time to be with us to celebrate as well. My pictures of her opening presents didn't turn out but she loved her outfits and the book she got. She loves her baby but not as much as her real baby brother that she seems to think she's being nice to but is only making him tough so someday he can fight back. LOL Love you Sweetheart!

Larry's Fight...

Larry Dean Saling Jr Before...


Larry During...


Larry After

As you can see Larry has shaved his hair off. This was not an easy day for him as he's losing it not because he wants to but because of his chemo treatments. As you know he's going through Chemotherapy for his Leukemia and the medicine has finally taken his hair. And although his hair may be gone his fighting spirit is still strong and his smile is still in place. He had his moments of sorrow and tears but he came through stronger and more determined. He's a fighter, always has been. We love you Larry Dean. We know that this moment was hard but it too shall pass. You are a strong child of God and a wonderful Father. You're children may not understand now but this is experience is one not only you but your family can learn from and gain strength from. I think you're still just as cute and handsome as you always were! I like the new do! Keep the faith and all will be as it should be. We will learn and grow and become the stronger children we are supposed to be. Love you sexy bald man!

Day ?, can't remember...

I think the picture is supposed to be of something I cherish. I love my bed but my sister took a picture of that and I didn't want to copy her completely. So I chose the outdoors and peace and quiet. I love being in nature where is peaceful and pretty. Behind our house we have this pond with waterfalls and a few trees. There is a hill for kids to roll down. I loved Hawaii because of the waterfalls and hikes and being outside. I love the sound of Nature, it's so relaxing. And with 7 kids and a husband who never sleeps peace and quiet isn't found often. Kids all day, tv and hubby up all night and working nights I have come to truly cherish quiet moments. Moments of no phones, noise or modern devices. Don't get me wrong. I love modern day conveniences but I do miss the quiet easy life of my childhood. So anyways...the pic of behind my house for space and quiet which I cherish and enjoy.

Birthday Pics of the Little Ones

Jen and I got up early to take the annual summer pictures of the kids. These are their birthday pictures although for some it's a bit later than their birthday. Kam turned 5 in January. Kinsee turned 4 in May. Kai is turning 2 in a couple of days and Kal is 8 months the same day Kai turns 2. But each summer I like to take their individual pictures to put up on our wall. When Kait and Kira come home in July we'll do theirs and update the blog and wall then. Kaijsa is 18 and so her picture will forever be her senior photo that Jen took. We're not sure if she'll show up for a week or two this summer or not for our family photo but we hope so. She is part of the family but she's also in college so we all know how that goes. But here's hoping she comes down for a bit to see her family and take a picture or two or twenty. :) It was early enough this morning that it wasn't too hot yet and the sun wasn't glaring. It was just far enough down in the sky though to make it hard at times for the kids to see so there are those pics of squinty eyes. Overall the kids did great and took turns without fighting or complaining. It was fun to get them ready this morning and spend time taking pics. I look forward to the day that it won't be quite so hard to get them to look at the camera and smile normally but till then some are funny, some are great and then some that are...well...not so great. I love my little ones. It's like having 2 sets of twins because of how close in age they are and how they like to be together. Kam and Kins have to be together all the time. I love that they play with each other and talk and are good friends. They can fight like nothing else but they love each other madly. Kai and Kal are just young enough to not quite realize all they have but are figuring it out. Kai can be pretty tough on Kallen but it's making him strong. I can tell that in time they will be close like Kam and Kins and I can't wait. I love them young but I like it when they are older too. Till then I'm going to keep taking pictures and capture the little moments and time while I can. Thank you Kam, Kinsee Belle, Kai and Kal for being so wonderful. Thank you for making me laugh, scream, cry and laugh some more. Their personalities make me smile, Kai especially. I love my little children. When i take pics of the older ones I'll say the same thing but till that post here's to hugs and squeezes of my babies.

Blog Picture

So I've decided to change up my blog picture a bit. Since my family seems to keep changing it's hard to keep a recent family photo up there. With Kaijsa now in UT and getting ready for college and Kira here a couple of times a year it's hard to have a full family photo. The little ones change so quickly that I thought I'd do highlight pictures instead. So...that being said...My first picture is of Kaileigh since it's her birthday coming up! Yep, she'll be 2 on Sunday! I'll do a post for her birthday once we've had her party and stuff but until then I'd thought I'd do a pic of her. She is so funny and has such a cute personality. She's getting big and we've started to do a bit of potty training. We'll see how long it takes but it sure would be nice to cut back on diaper costs. :) Kai is a joy and a wonderful daughter, despite her sassyness. She makes us laugh and that's important. Love you Kai bug. Next time who knows who will be on the blog. So many kids to choose from, plus Larry and I!

Pool Fun

I love summers and time at the pool. Someday I hope to have a pool but maybe not till the kids are older and can for sure swim on their own. Till then we go to the pool either at Papa's house or the city pool. Papa got us a pass to the swim pool in town. It's not amazing but it sure feels amazing when it's 100+ outside and the kids are driving you crazy inside. So off to the pool we go each day to enjoy some fun in the sun and relax. The kids still wear floaties but I'm hoping to get them to have a bit more confidence in themselves and the fact that they could probably swim if they'd try. They have been brave enough to jump off the diving board though and that's a plus. The city pool has a toddler pool that is great for Kai and even Kamden and Kinsee. It gets to 3 feet on one end which is nice for them to practice their swimming skills. It's shallow enough on the other end that Kai can walk around and do her thing too. The big pool has the deep end with the diving board and then the normal end to play and float around in. There is also lap swim time that Jen and I are hoping to be able to enjoy every once in a while. We can take some of our pool toys and become sun worshipers. I have very fond memories of spending my summers at the public pool and I want my kids to have those fun memories too. So far I think we're successful. They love to go. They love to swim and They are enjoying the diving board immensely. Plus it wears them out that they either take naps or sleep in till at least 6am or maybe 6:30am! I love my kids but I sure do wish they'd sleep in a bit longer. I know Jennie wishes that too! Thanks Papa for getting us the pool pass! We LOVE it! Larry's been able to come and relax in the pool too so that's nice as well. I sure do love sitting in the water and Kal is liking it more and more each time we go. Here's to summer fun in the sun with the pool and the fam!

Larry's 37th Birthday...may there be many more...

This past Saturday we celebrated Larry's birthday. He turned 37 on June 4th. Just a few short weeks ago we discovered he has Chronic Myeloid Leukemia and it's been a curvy road since. He's had several blood transfusions, been put on a chemotherapy pill for treatment as well as nausea meds and pain meds to try and control the nausea/vomiting and the pain. Because in addition to his chronic back pain he has pain from the cancer. He was home for a couple of days before his birthday only for him to get very sick from the chemo and for his blood levels to again go crazy. So he's back in the hospital, unfortunately going in on the night of his birthday. BUT, before he went back to the hospital we took him to lunch and gave him a couple of presents. We got him a new recliner to sit in/sleep in to help him be comfortable. And we got him a NY Yankees Jersey with patches of the 2009 World Series. It has Jeter's name on the back and Larry loved it. It's their official Jersey and the ones they are wearing currently. I'm glad he was able to smile for a bit and the kids were so excited to give it to him. He felt just strong enough to go to lunch and we took him to The Cheesecake Factory, one of his favorite places. Lunch was delicious, our waiter was wonderful and the time together was priceless. It wore him out and he came home to rest only to not feel well. So back to the hospital he went. He may be able to come home tomorrow which would be nice for him. He has a good group of Dr's helping him and the nurses have been fantastic. We love Chandler Regional Medical Center, it's where we had Kallen too. It's a good hospital with a knowledgeable group of Dr's and Nurses. He is looking at having to go through a pretty intensive Chemo treatment so any rest he can get now is treasured.

Larry, you're a wonderful Dad and Husband. We love you and are so proud of you and your courage through all of this. May the Lord bless you and comfort and strengthen you through all that lies ahead. I'm so glad we are an Eternal Family! Love you Honey!

On a side note, June 4th is also my Dad's Birthday! Happy Birthday Papa! We love you and appreciate you and all you do for your family! Thank you for being the wonderful Dad and Grandfather that you are! You set an amazing example and we are so blessed to have you in our lives! Love you! May you be around for many many more years too!

On another side note, Kait left for her 4 weeks in UT today. We were/are sad to see her go and look forward to her return. She is going to miss her friends and her family here but we love her and hope the best for her. She wasn't wanting to go for 4 weeks but didn't really have a choice. We hope that despite that she can have fun and enjoy herself. Family is important and time needs to be spent with all of them. The bonds of siblings are the most important and I hope they can be strengthened and mended while she's there. We can't wait for her return! In July we'll get our 4 weeks with Kira which will be more important than ever. With her dad being sick it's important for her to be here and spend time with him and the rest of us. We're an Eternal family and our bonds needs to be strengthened. We love our children and look forward to time spent with them. We pray Kira and Kaijsa know we love them and they are welcome in our home any time. We hope they will come as often as they can, especially now. We love all the kids and pray for them daily. I love it when we can be all together and can't wait for family time and photos! Gotta make the most of every minute!

Love you Larry Dean! Love you Kaijsa, Kaitlyn, Kira, Kamden, Kinsee, Kaileigh and Kallen!

Thanks Jen for being here and all you're doing to help us! Thanks for all the prayers of those who care for us. I know they are being heard.

Kaijsa's High School Graduation

Kaijsa Graduated from Emery High School on May 26, 2011!


Kaijsa and Kira at her After Graduation Dinner

As you can see Kaijsa graduated from High School! After a long difficult road she was able to complete a huge milestone in her life. Congrats to our oldest for seeing this through. We unfortunately couldn't be there to celebrate with her which broke our hearts. We know how important this moment is and it would have been great to be there but a health issue wouldn't allow it. Larry was in the hospital dealing with a new diagnosis of Cancer that was one of the reasons we couldn't be there with her. We are glad she had family around to celebrate with. Plus she has made some friends to hang out with too. She had a great day of partying the night away after the ceremony and realizing she is now a grown up. She is officially an adult, 18 and done with High School. Real life here she comes!

We love you Kaijsa Ray. We are sorry we couldn't be there but hope you know we wanted to be. We've had some struggles and differences but life is full of both. Please know we all love you and are proud you were able to accomplish graduating from High School. We hope to see you often now that you're an adult. You can make your own decisions and travel as you wish. During College breaks you can come visit us and hang out and relax with family in AZ. Good luck at CEU (College of Eastern Utah)!

We love you!