Christmas

We hope everyone had a nice Christmas. We did. It snowed here a couple days before Christmas. I took the boys sledding at the small hill near our home. It was snowing and we had lots of fun.Here are the kids in their new pajamas on Christmas eve. We had dinner with some friends from church then we enjoyed a Christmas eve devotional at the church.Sawyer is our little puppy dog. She always has her long tounge sticking out. She liked grabbing the wrapping paper and putting it in her mouth.
"You'll shoot your eye out!"

We went sledding again after Christmas. This time we went to the big hill. The kids call it rocket run. That is them in the middle about to be pushed by Luke.

Sawyer got this sweater dress for Christmas. She wore it today and she looks like a cute little elf when the hood is on.

My Brother Scott

NOTE: The following is a direct copy and paste of my little sister Sadie's blog. For fear that I might not be able to express my thoughts as eloquently as she, I have decided to shamelessly use her post and ask for her forgiveness.

This is my brother Scott.


He is the toughest kid I know. He contracted cancer when he was 13. He's gone through more crap in a few years than most people will ever deal with in their whole life. Sometimes it's annoying having a brother who always has the trump card when it comes to sickness (c'mon, I know my tummy ache is nothing like you've had, but it still hurts!) but he can have it.

He regularly took this many pills each day for the last 2+ years

Exactly three years and four months after his diagnoses, today he had his port removed. He is no longer a cancer patient. He will have monthly monitoring blood tests for a year, then tests every other month for a year, then bi-annual tests for the rest of his life. (The most frequently asked question is "Is he in remission?" Remission is the shrinkage or absence of the cancer. That happened after his first month of treatment. Unlike a tumor which can be measured to an extent, leukemia hides out in the bones. He's been in remission for over three years, but he's also been full of chemo which kills it as soon as it enters the blood stream. Is the cancer gone? We don't actually know until the chemo stops and we see if the cancer cells reappear.)

I've never heard/saw him feel sorry for himself. He'd acknowledge if he hurt or felt sick, but never to get pity. He knew complaining never took away any pain. His condition kept him from doing lots of things he was used to, so he developed other hobbies instead.




He has a wonderfully developed sense of humor. Our family is the first to joke about his condition. It's not morbid or anything, it's just part of our lives, just like how we joke about the number of pictures Dad takes, or how hott Danny thinks he is.



Thanks to all my friends who were so supportive of my family, who brought food, bought video games, sent hats, or just always remembered to ask. I've never had cancer, but having a brother with cancer was pretty hard in its own way. I really appreciate your concern for me and mine.

I'm most thankful for the inner strength that has come into my life and the lives of those this has affected. We'd never choose to go through this, but since we had to, I know we're better for it. You may be thinking "I could never go through that." You're right. But if you had to, you'd be given the capacity. Heavenly Father promises to make a way "whereby [we] can accomplish all things" that he allows to happen to us. That's a real promise. I lived it. Access to that enabling power through the Atonement is the real significance of the Baby born in Bethlehem. Let's not forget that this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas from Luke, Janna, Stone, Rusty, Van, & Sawyer

It's that time of year when we get updates from so many friends and family. Once again we have gone the electronic route and posted it on our blog as most of those who read our blog are the ones we would send them to.

We had a great 2009. We started off the year sharing the news of our expanding family. In May we found some nice wood floor on Craigslist as well as someone to install it for a reasonable price. Janna insisted we get it done before the baby arrives and so we hired it out and had it done in 2 weekends. We love our 5" Brazilian Walnut floor and the boys love to slide across the floor and "rum" their cars across it.

Before we had Sawyer I had the opportunity to make a career move into parking management. Yes, I park cars for a living. I was offered a position as the Denver Regional Manager for one of the largest family owned parking companies in the west. It was a bit of a risk and a change as I went from t-shirts, jeans, and boots to shirts and ties and slacks. I manage day-to-day operations for my different garages as well as all of the marketing, HR, training, and anything else necessary to us growing and being successful in the Denver market. We recently have started valet operations in town and that has been going very well. I love my job and cannot imagine doing anything else for a long time. I have a flexible schedule and have opportunities to take the boys to school and attend more of their events. I also have opportunities to offer people employment as well as show more of my outgoing personality that everyone says I have.

Janna had a big year as she hit the big 3-0 in October and gave birth to our first daughter, Sawyer Jade Lee, in June. She went full term but Janna was tiny and so was Sawyer. She was 4lb 15 oz and 19 inches long. Janna stays busy with 4 kids in tow. She doesn't get a lot of rest as we have a sleep walker, a 6 month old, and a 2 year old that insists on making his way into our room a couple of times a night. Janna was called as one of the ward librarians and enjoys meeting all of the people and hearing about all of the happenings of our ward family. 2 weeks after we had Sawyer, we embarked on a 4000+ mile road trip that included stops in Coeur d'Alene, ID, western Montana, Newport Beach, CA, a 3 week stay in California for Janna and the kids after Janna fractured her elbow, and a 1,000 mile drive back to Denver. 3 weeks later we flew back to California for Janna's sister's wedding.

Stone started 1st grade and is a fantastic student. He excels in his studies and is becoming a great reader. He is a caring big brother and is very adventurous. His brothers follow him everywhere he goes and they are just as comfortable in his 1st grade class as he is when they come to visit. Stone enjoys drawing and playing games.

Rusty stayed in pre-school this go around. He loves it and is very social. He has a late birthday so we waited to start him in Kindergarted til next year. He is very smart and makes friends easily. He pretends to be shy but usually is the center of the excitement.

Van is our wild child. He is fearless. He will follow his brothers everywhere they go and has to do whatever they are doing, except bigger and better. His hair usually gets people's attention as it is still very much platinum blonde. He loves nursery and always talks about the "bubbles" afterward. He is a great big brother to Sawyer and loves to lay by her and hold her hand.

Sawyer is our baby girl. She just hit 6 months and continues to be a joy. She has red hair and it is starting to thicken on her scalp. She has a very cheery disposition and smiles and laughs a lot. Sawyer got her ears pierced last week and looks very cute with her cute dresses and outfits. Our ward was more excited than we ever imagined that we had a baby girl and they were so generous.

We feel so blessed to have had such a great year. We have a wonderful home, 2 cars that are paid for, and a ward that has been so good to us. We have so many wonderful friends that make us feel at home here in Denver. We hope that many of you will let us know when you pass through so we can give you a place to stay and visit.

More pictures

This pictures was taken during the big snow storm at the end of October. I know these are a little late, but here are the Halloween pictures. Stone was a zombie skeleton, Rusty was a ninja, Van was a pirate and Sawyer was a ladybug. Don't let the snow fool you. It was actually quite warm. We went to boo at the zoo on Halloween and we didn't even need to wear a jacket.

Sawyer is growing so fast. These were taken the begining of November when she was 5 months old.

I know we haven't been good bloggers lately. After Sawyer was born, my camera broke. I got a new one for my birthday last month. So here are some pictures.

Here we are at dinner for my 30th birthday.

Stone's 7th birthday.

We spent a weekend in Avon, Colorado during Stone's fall break. It's a good thing the kids are easily entertained because the town is pretty dead during the off seasons. We had fun in the little outdoor hot pool on the 7th floor. We went for walks with lots of throwing rocks into the river.

The kids had so much fun. They thought it was awesome that there was a tv in the living room and one in the bedroom. Stone did not want to leave. They said they wanted to live there. I think they would have gotten tired of sharing a small pull out sofa bed.

Chocolate milk, halloween oreos and jello. What is better than that? Wearing no shirt.

Snowy October

We got our 4th snow of the month and it started Tuesday around 7pm. As I sit here almost 42 hours later it continues to come down. We have about 18" in our back yard and counting. Our front yard has anywhere from 6" under the pine tree to 32"+ in front of the garage blocking in the cars. I shoveled the driveway yesterday morning when it was manageable, today it is crazy. The wind-blown snow is the deepest stuff. Our driveway seems to be a wind tunnel where it all ends up and piles up the deepest. The city of Denver has pretty much shut down for the last 2 days, my garages are pretty barren.
We haven't been very good about updating our blog, so we'll put up some pictures. If you are on Facebook you have seen a lot more photos there because I can upload them directly from my Blackberry. Sawyer is growing. She has been fighting a cold for a couple of weeks and wakes up congested. She has a very mild cry so she doesn't kill us with her screams yet. The boys got a Wii a few weeks ago and it is a good thing with all of this snow. They like to go outside but it is only good for about 15-20 minutes of playtime.

So summer is gone, at least it has been this week. Cold temperatures and sick kids have been the story of the week. Sawyer, Van, and Rusty have all been congested and waking up all stuffed up. Stone has recovered from his stitches and other minor cuts and scrapes and despite not being an early riser still wants to stay up late. Rusty and Stone went with me to participate in a State Park Service Project last Saturday. We did trail repair and made rock breaks to divert the water from the trail. REI sponsored it and gave us nice shirts and water bottles and food.

I started framing the basement a week ago and have almost finished it with the help and tools of some friends. I hired a good friend of mine and he has pushed me to get it done. We just have a couple of hours left before we can start roughing in the electrical, plumbing, and doors.

Our Tough 1st Grader

Stone started 1st grade this week. Today, his 2nd day of school, we got a call from the school and they said he had cut his leg at recess and might need stitches. They had him bandaged up when Janna picked him up. I haven't been feeling well since returning from Sara's wedding in California, so I was home working. It didn't seem too bad, so we let him rest (which turned into playtime of course) and a couple of hours later we took the bandage off to check it out. It was deep enough and wide enough that we thought he probably should get it cleaned out a little better and stitched up. The doctor put in 3 stitches and it is all good.


Stone has only lost one of his teeth so far, which is weird considering he is almost 7. Both of his two bottom teeth have had the big teeth grow in behind them before he lost them. Tonight it was time to lose the 2nd one. I cranked on it for a few minutes and he was able to finish it off. It scared him more than it hurt him so he was a little timid but took care of business.

Home Sweet Home

We finally are home. Our 2 week trip turned into a 5 week trip for Janna and the kids when she fell off of her mom's bongo board and fractured her elbow. We put over 4,000 miles on our Ford Windstar on the trip. We were able to see my Uncle Terry and stay with him Saturday night on the drive home. The boys had a great time swimming, eating at IHOP, and watching the fish. Rusty even woke up early Sunday morning and walked the dogs with Uncle Terry.

Sawyer is growing. We haven't weighed her for a few weeks, but she is finally the size of most normal babies. She eats a lot and is doing pretty good sleeping at night. Her hair is still red, lucky her.

Congratulations goes out to Tim, Tanya, and Marisa. Tanya gave birth to their 2nd daughter, Natalie, this morning. We

Stone, Rusty and Van are glad that we stayed at Grandma's house. She takes them fun places. Here they are at the Children's Museum.

They love to play Wii. Here they are playing boxing. No one has been able to beat Stone at the boxing. He knocks out everyone, even me.

Stone helping Van trying to nurse Sawyer.

My mom and I went to the mall with 3 little boys and a newborn. It wasn't very fun. We only made it to 3 stores. One of them was the Disney store and this is what we left with.

Sawyer and her new Minnie Mouse doll in matching dresses.

Big Brothers and Baby Sawyer

Stone and Sawyer

Van and Sawyer

Rusty and Sawyer

Sawyer is now 5 weeks old. She has finally outgrown her preemie sized clothes.

Sawyer has been so many places already. When she was just 2 weeks old, we packed up and headed to Idaho. Then we went to Montana for 4 days for the Lee family reunion. We then drove straight to Newport Beach, CA for the beach house. We drove all day and got to the beach at 3 am. Crazy, but Luke wanted to keep driving. The kids and I are still in California. We were supposed to go back last weekend, but I fell and fractured my elbow. Luke flew home and I stayed so I could have help since I'm not supposed to lift anything. The boys were excited to stay so they could play with their cousins.

Sawyer