Kauai-Day 1, September 3rd

Paradise....pure paradise. Gabe and I decided a year and a half ago, that no matter what happens in life, we are going back to Kauai. We went for our honeymoon in 1997, and we have never done anything but dreamt about the day we would return. We had gone on other trips....Mayan Riveara and Cabo San Lucas for our anniversary, which were all amazing, but they were not Kauai. We found the perfect reason to go. The Kauai marathon was just a few weeks short of our 12th anniversary date, so we booked it! We asked our friends Kim, Spencer and Chandra to come with us. As soon as we arrived, life became less hectic, the stress was lifted, and I was in love....all over again!

The first day was mellow, we explored the areas around our hotel a little, hit the amazing pool they our hotel had and waited for our friends flights to come in and met them for dinner.

There are chickens everywhere! It is an amazing sight when you first get there, but after a few days, you barely notice them. We parked at a overlook to capture a picture of the beach and we were attacked by these little guys. The Mama jumped up on our car while her babies surrounded the car trapping us in. I had to get out of the car and lure them about 20 feet from the car then run back and take off. I didn't think we would ever get out of there!

We checked into our room, and was amazed at how lovely it was. A chefs kitchen, huge rooms, balconies, bathrooms.....all of it was just so nice. I was happy we decided to stay here.

Like I said, we didn't do too much the first day, but it was nice to take it easy after the long flight. It was also good to know we would have a good nights sleep, and wake up to paradise in the morning. Kim stayed with us, and Spencer and Chandra stayed in a hotel about a 1/4 of a mile down the road. I just kept saying to Gabe, "We are here, we came back!"

12 Amazing Years

September 20, 2009

( because I am late )

Married for 12 years to someone who I look up to, admire and truely just worship is more than I can say I deserve. I can not imagine what I ever did in life to be lucky enough to have him here with me, but whatever it is..........thank you for letting him be mine.

Heart Walk 2009

Our Heart Hero....Noah

On Saturday, September 12th, we attended the 2nd annual

Heart Walk for Intermountain Healing Hearts

It was a grueling 1 mile walk, which took us

22:57 to do. Can you believe that?

We may have tip toed the thing we went so slow.

Well, making a good time was not our goal,

showing up to support a wonderful cause with

people we love was our only purpose!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!

After about 50 steps, there was a rest stop and snack station. Sheeew, I didn't think we would make it, but we did!! We learned that the snacks weren't suppose to be eaten until AFTER the walk.....silly us! Oh well, we didn't take anymore after the race, so I guess we can be forgiven.

Gabe was trying to motivate Jason to the finish line....

You can do it!!

As always, Ashlyn and Zane were being their usual selves

and taking off to be crazy little monkeys!

Noah and Tyler like to take it easy

Jason pushing a stroller with a McDonalds cup.

Gabe finally caught up to those crazy monkeys!

Addie and Zane refueling after a tough workout

The Griffith Family minus the man of the hour

our NOAH!!

He took off to play with some friends he had met

at the heart camp last month.

Our wonderful friends Alec, Jenny and Brian came to support this great cause with us.

Jason, Tyler and Ashlyn are always there supporting our family.

We were minus Carrie because she had a church activity.

I guess when the lord calls......you must obey.

Here we are....the whole gang.

We were missing my Uncle Mike and Nikki, because they slept in.

My Mom had a client meeting she could not get out of,

and I plain ol' forgot to tell my dad.

Ooooops!!

They did register though, so donations were made in their names.

Gabe and I with our miracle child.

Gabe is so proud of this little guy

Me and my little man

The 3 ring circus.

Gabe and I are so proud to be their parents.

We are so lucky to have each one of them.

Finally, a picture with all of us!

The purpose of the Heart walk was not only to raise money and awareness to a great cause, but to honor the heart angels that earned their wings through a courage battle with CHD.

It was very touching to see the beautiful posters

the families had put together to honor their child.

There is so much love and support in this group, each and every family

is amazing to have gone through the struggles that having a child with CHD brings.

Gabe and I have so many mixed feelings when it comes to this.

We were introduced to Intermountain Healing Hearts by a member that did not even know us, but stumbled across my blog one day.

I feel like it had to have happened for a reason.

Gabe and I can look at all these other families who have children effected by this, and realize we are not alone. It would have been so helpful to have when Noah was little, when hope was all we had to hold onto. We never knew anyone in our situation, so we never knew what to expect from another parents point of view. Now we have an amazing 10 years old boy that can serve as an example of what the future can hold to others....something we never had.
It is truly nothing short of an honor to belong to this organization, and we hope to be more involved in spreading awareness to this cause that will continue to be a part of our lives.

There was a beautiful ceremony at the end, where we had a moment of silence for the fallen angels, as well as others that are fighting in the hospital. We listened to musician Paul Cardell, who is an adult with CHD, in fact, shares Noah's exact heart condition,

whom received a heart transplant the Thursday before.

It was beyond touching as I stood their watching these parents who had lost a child release a butterfly in their honor. It was amazing to watch them fly up in the air, where they all kind of grouped together, then took off out of sight.

It was a moment I was honored to have witnessed.

If you look closely, you can see the butterflies.

Addie has a J-O-B

See that darling little worker in the background?

That is my Goonie.

Gabe and I snuck into Famous Footwear after we dropped Addie off for work. We wanted to see her in action!

I grabbed my camera, and Gabe said, "No, No, what are doing with that?"

I said "I want to get documented proof of my girl workin'!"

Well, Gabe advised me NOT to do it, but he as well as everyone else should know that I would never pass up an opportunity to embarrass one of my kids!

So, I was hiding behind a pillar, watching her do her thang when I pulled out the Nikon and snapped a shot. DANG IT, I forgot to turn the flash off! The store lit up really bright, and Addies head looked up, she stares right at me and says, "OMG!!" Then she put her head back down and pretended nothing ever happened.

It was classic, classic I tell ya!

She did amuse me with one pose before telling me to get the heck out of there and take my stupid camera with me.

Gabe apologized, and led me out the door.

They are NO FUN!!

Back to School 2009 Edition

Where did the summer go?

That is the question me and my kids have been asking over and over in the final days before school started back up again. I am amazed at how fast it goes, and here we are again, starting a new school year. Another reminder that my kiddos are getting bigger,

and Gabe and I are getting older.

I present to you....(drum roll please)......

Noah Spencer Griffith

5th Grader!!

School: Entheos Academy

Teacher: Mr. Kent

Shoe Size: 8 in men's (yes...you read that right!)

Wants to be when he grows up: Movie Director, Producer and Creator

(** note- Noah actually started school last Wednesday, but I thought since Addie started school today, I would combine the two of them)

I do not know how many eye rolls I get the morning of the first day of school,

but I assure you, it is a lot.

They seem so much older to me on the first day of school.

Even more so than the last day of summer break.

When I picked Noah up that day and listened to the excitement of him explaining his first day of school, I became overwhelmed with emotion. I felt so lucky to be sharing that moment in time with him. He is such a miracle, a fighter, and I feel honored to be his mother.

There is not a moment every single day that it crosses my mind how lucky we are to have Noah.

I feel like I always have to explain after saying something like that.....yes, I feel honored to be a mother, period. All three of my children are remarkable
and make me a better person everyday.

But there were moments in Noah's life where I dropped to my knees and begged, pleaded, screamed and cried to whatever greater power exists in this world to give him a chance.


Now...after that little rant.... I introduce to you.....(drum roll again)......

Adison Gabrielle Griffith

11th Grader!!



School: Copper Hills High School

Subject most looking forward to: Peer tutoring and ASL

Shoe Size: 9

Wants to be when she grows up: Special Ed Teacher,
specializing in Autism and Down Syndrome children
(what parent couldn't be proud of THAT!!)



Isn't she perfect? I just can not believe where the time has gone. She is just two years away from going to college, and I swear to god she was just born.

Her age also brings a lot of memories of her birth to light.
See, it was at the end of my Junior year in High School when Gabe and I had Adison.

Talk about a scary time in life.

Each one of my kids have taught an important lesson in life, and I hope one day, Addie will be able to understand how grateful I am for the lesson of pure love and selflessness she gave me.
There is so much I want for her future, becoming a young mother is not one of them.
But, for me, she must know, that I never truly knew what love was,
until the day she was born.

Wow, I am waaaay too emotional today....sorry about that!

Having your kids get older is such a bitter sweet ordeal.

But I am so grateful for the chance to call these

silly creatures 'My Kids'

Heart Camp 2009

The first ever Heart Camp with Intermountain Healing Hearts

took place on Friday, August 14th-Saturday, August 15th.

It was held at Camp Wapiti up Settlement Canyon.

Intermountain Healing Hearts is a group of families effected by CHD

providing support and encouragement to each other.

I am honored to be a part of such an amazing organization.

The main lodge where we ate and the kids played many games.

I really thought the plaque outside the main lodge was very fitting to the occasion.

The pool I was afraid the kids would not get to use, but we had a break in the weather on Saturday and the kids were able to swim after all.

The committee prepared treats for the movie night.
They had nachos, ice cream, brownie sundaes and root beer floats.
They had a giant movie screen set up in the field were we all sat with our families and watched 'Escape to Witch Mountain'

This is a 'not so pretty' picture of me with Noah right after I helped the kids load their stuff into the cabin.....during a hail storm!!
I volunteered to take care of dinner on Friday, and lunch on Saturday.
It was so much fun to get to be a part of the camp.
I really need to thank my wonderful friends
who came out to help me:
Carrie
Spencer and Chandra
Melissa
you guys really are the best....thank you!!

The kids had a great time getting to know each other,

and playing outside getting ready for the festivities of the day.

We were assigned cabin #12. Zane was very sad we did not get cabin #11 because it had a picture of a dinosaur on the outside of it.

We had a lazy morning on Saturday.

It was gloomy outside and the beds inside were so much more inviting.

We finally dragged our lazy butts out of bed for a yummy breakfast of

pancakes, fruit and eggs.

We went from a dark sky filled with angry clouds

To THE most amazing sunset I have ever seen.

Intermountain Healing Hearts plans on making the camp a three or four day camp where we send Noah away to be with kids like him every summer. I feel so lucky to have found this group. I want Noah to always be aware of the fact that their are other kids who are like him, and that he can grow up having support as well as giving hope to others by his amazing progress.