Welcoming Matthew

After many late-night talks and tears with his mom, Matthew has decided to live with us. Thatcher will provide Matthew with the good friends, good school and all the wonderful small town experiences a teenage boy would want. He first told us that he prayed about it and felt that it was what he wanted last summer. We talked to him and told him that he needed to think and weigh all the options of this big decision. He decided to stay with his mom because he realized he wasn't ready to leave his siblings behind and he wasn't prepared to break his mom's heart. He is such an amazing boy to be able to put others feelings above his own. Summer and Shawn have been noticing a change in Matthew and felt that they needed to let him go. Summer is a special woman and mother to do this for her child.
He has been here for almost a week now. He enjoys being a Thatcher Eagle and loves that he has seminary during school and most of all loves that he gets to leave campus for lunch. He usually goes to Coby's house or here for lunch. It has been fun having him here. Morgan and Jensen count down the minutes to when he is suppose to walk in the door from school. They love having a big brother in the house. They like to sit and do homework with him and especially love the nerf gun wars down in the basement. Last night Matthew played in his first church basketball game. Our ward got beat, but Matthew scored the most points. We told Matthew that he had to go out Friday night, so we'll see how he does making plans. We already know that he is planning to go to the Varsity basketball game. We are so lucky to have him in our home and look forward to the time with him. Darren and I were both really nervous about him coming to live with us. Our biggest concern was that we provide him with what he needs in this last stretch of his teenage years to be ready for his mission. Summer and Shawn have done such an amazing job with him (and Garrett and Rylee). We look forward to the challenge and are hoping that we can provide all the love and stucture that he needs. We are just so blessed to have him here. Welcome Matthew- we love you!

Happy 10th Birthday Jensen!

Jensen has turned 10 years old! I am such a lucky mom. Jensen is so special and has always held such a big spot in my heart. From the time he was born, he has been such a pleasant little boy. He is so creative. He will spend hours on end creating things in his room with scraps of paper and anything else he can find. I love when Jensen comes home from school. He is always so happy to see me and gives me a big hug and kiss. He has always been so aware of my feelings and makes sure that I am happy. He has such a sweet spirit about him and I know that he loves his Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. His prayers are so honest: asking for everyone to be safe and everyone to be kind and that he is grateful for everything in the whole world. He has picked up a new love this year- wrestling. I am so proud of him for trying something new and having such a good attitude about it. He went to practice everyday from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. The whole team liked Jensen and seemed to have a really good time with him. He still pays very close attention to his grades. He got his first B on his report card and came home crying. I had to convince him that a B is okay. We just took trip to Disneyland for our Allen Reunion and I learned that Jensen loves to spend money. He got $50 from his Grandpa Jack and Grandma Lucia for Christmas. We told the kids that they could use it on whatever they wanted for this trip. He had a ball spending his money. He was naturally sad when it was gone, but quickly the feelings went away when he got his birthday money. He has already gone to store to spend the first bit of it. I love him so much and I am very grateful to be his mom.