Random Pics

Madi is a beautiful dancer! She is in Jazz, and they performed to "hey, hey we're the monkeys"  She is so fun to watch, she is so animated and really gets into the moves :)  She is awesome!


Lunch at Cowboy Grub with my mom and sister.  I love it when we can all get together.


Yumm! Chocolate pudding! I decided it was time that he learned to feed himself... and why I chose chocolate pudding... I have no idea!  He has it down really good now!


This is our grouchy cat, but he will do ANYTHING for Jordan, so Jordan dressed him up in football gear (imagine that). Atticus was fine until Jordan put the helmet on him!

The Beckstead Family Pics

Wow! I didn't realize my family was so big!  I love them all!

This is only PART of the family...Jenni and Erik aren't in this, along with Dave and Becky and their two boys (live in Delaware) and Jeff and June (live in Nevada) and their kids.


Cousins...Madi is holding Charlotte (Jer & Linds), Kennedy & Bridger (Jer & Linds), Danielle, Rylee, Nichole (Jamie & Traci), Tara (Pat & Marci) and Jordan!



Grandpa and his grandkids (part anyway).




Me and Joely.


My cute family.

Jordan made SBO!

On Thursday, May 20 we found out that Jordan made SBO! We are so proud of him! I guess everyone loved his video...even the teachers. One of his teachers emailed me and told me it was 'HILARIOUS' we are trying to figure out how to get the video on the blog. Great job Jordan!

Through all this, the whole family except for Jordan has been sick :( I got put on meds for a sinus infection. I took Huddy to the Dr. yesterday and he has infected tonsils, both ears are infected and a sinus infection...poor kid. Joel and Madi are sick too, but haven't seen the doctor yet.

Oh! One other great thing that happened this week (sarcastically)... Joel decided to shave Huddy's hair. I was in the shower when it happened. I walked out and saw Hudson, he is BALD! Well, it's a good thing hair grows back and Hudson isn't old enough to care AND he is a boy. OH JOEL! WHY????

Braces

What would it be like to be a teenager without braces? Jordan is now in Phase 2 of having a beautiful smile. He will have this set on for about 15 months. His mouth has been killing him the last couple days...poor kid!

S.B.O. Tryouts

Jordan is trying out for Student Body Officer. He went through the interview, and was chosen as a candidate, along with 9 other students...so it's crunch time!! His platform was based on the Old Spice commercial of "Anything is possible..." He did a great job of making the video, and posters. Luckily he had some great Campaign managers ha ha! I hope he makes it. He will do a great job! The vote is on Tuesday, May 18. Good Luck Jordan!!

The making of the video (shower scene).

Jordan's manly look

And one of the posters

Talented Young Writer!

Our cute little Madi was chosen by her teacher to submit a piece of writing authored by Madi.

Talented Young Writers is a district sponsored special program open to students who demonstrate an exceptional talent in writing. Jordan School District used the selected pieces of writing in a publication with other talented writers. They also allowed the students to read their writings. The facilitator liked the poem so much, she had Madi recite it 2 times to the audience, then again privately to the principal. Madi did an awesome job of writing, and acting!

Her Poem reads:
When I am smiling I am happy.
When I am frowning I am sad.
When my mouth is shaped like an O I am scared.
When my mouth is straight, I am mad.

March-April Happenings...

JOEL WAS IN A FASHION SHOW!

As a lot of you know, Joel has been working with a trainer, and watching his diet since November 2009. He has been working out at Lifetime Fitness. Lifetime decided to host a Fashion Show, with all proceeds going to the Cancer Foundation. They wanted to highlight about 28 of their members that have been successful with weight loss, and Joel was one of them. Joel is still working out, he is by no means finished with his weight loss journey, but he is nearly half way! We are so proud of him and his choice to have a healthier life style. We love you!!

Before

After 60 pounds off!

Joel values the support he gets from friends, family and his trainer. He has really had to re-program his eating habits to lose the weight he has lost. He has also sweat buckets full with his trainer, Presley. He is so so strong to take on such a large feat and be so successful. Keep it up! You are doing awesome!

I am SO glad he has such great, supportive friends! They were so awesome to show up to support Joel for his weight loss!

WE HAVE A NEW NIECE...

Charlotte Leigh Nielson was born on April 9, 2010 and weighs 7.1 pounds and 18 inches long. She is so gorgeous! She looks like a Nielson with her dark hair, olive skin and eyebrows (unfortunately I didn't obtain any of those features). We are so happy for Jeremy and Lindsay for their new arrival! We are so happy that Kennedy's (Charlottes 3 yr. old sister) baby finally got out of Lindsay's tummy ha ha!

Happy Easter!

I love how Joel's parents have cute blow up decor for every holiday. It is so fun, and the kids just love it!

Huddy had to kiss it before saying good-bye.



THE CASE OF THE SECRET ADMIRER-ER FOR JORDAN...

Her name is Josephine, she likes to door bell ditch our house, bring us yummy cookies, with a few gross ones included on the plate, and then she wrote on our window..."Josephine loves Jordan more than a girl loves chocolate". P.S. I know who his admirer-ers are!

Our neighborhood has a fun group of kids, all about Jordan's age, right now they like to pull pranks on each other...the boys pulling pranks on the girls and vice-verse. It is so fun to watch the kids grow, the weird part is, is waiting up for Jordan at night.

EASTER EGG HUNTING...

We had our annual Easter egg hunt at Aunt Karen's house this year. Jordan won the "Golden Egg" which had $5.00 in it... lucky! Huddy loved to look for the eggs and Madi got 2 buckets of eggs somehow and all her prizes.

RANDOM PICS...

Our heads are above the water now!

So, lots has happened...life has been so crazy! It has been full of sorrow, with the loss of our wonderful great grandma. She was (is) such a beautiful, caring, and loving lady. She had a love for our Heavenly Father that is far more for anyone to understand. She loved to visit, loved to take pictures, make memories, and make everyone happy who came in her path. She has a beautiful rose garden. I have to say, the loss of our great grandma has had a definite impact on our family. We love her, and we are so glad that she is able to do her work on the other side now.

The very day of great grandma's funeral, we found out that my grandma Ruth was admitted to the hospital for Pancreatitis. As of the date of this post, she has barely started to eat real food. She was hospitalized for 2 weeks and in the recovery center for another 2-3 weeks. She is a sweetheart. She is always on the go, I feel so sad that this has put her down for so long, and it will take a while before she will be able to gain her quality of life back.

Oh! So, I haven't been really up to blogging. Sometimes things are hard to put into words. But on the upside, and in the meantime of all these things, Madison is doing SO well in school, and dance and entered the Reflections Contest for her school, and she made it to the state level. She wrote the cutest story about a butterfly named "Apricot".

Jordan has a 4.0 GPA for the school year, and just received a school award called "Eagle of the Quarter". He was 1 of 4 boys that was chosen for this award in the 7th grade! He just finished up basketball season, and has taken an interest in snow skiing. So, he went snow skiing last week...and is hoping to go more often.

Hudson! He is just a ball. He grunts, snorts, growls, barks and is just a boy in every way! He is starting to talk a little...he knows how to say Madi really well, because she gets him anything he wants, and he doesn't have to say a word! Mean ol' me...I make him try to say words! Then he just wrestles and snuggles with Jordan. He is so much fun, we feel so lucky to have him.

Joel, I AM SO PROUD OF MY MAN! He has lost a lot of weight and looks awesome! He is so determined, and I admire him so much. I love him.

I will get some pictures on here. I have started taking them again, and I hope I don't fall in the slump I've been in. I have to say...the Fibro, and Dystonia have taken a huge toll on my energy level this winter, and it's hard to write about things, when sad things have happened, and my health has been what it's been. I am just so thankful for such an awesome family.

SUNSHINE AHEAD.... :)

Madi's baptism

This is Madi and Reilly helping each other out to the car. They are so cute together and Reilly is so thoughtful toward Madi. We were so glad the Harris' family could be here for the baptism.


Right after Madi got baptized and came into the changing room, she burst into tears. I thought it was because she was letting go of the anxieties, but she said she couldn't stop the tears because she felt Heavenly Father and knows that he loves her. She told me she was so glad she chose to get baptized. She just sobbed of happiness after her baptism and all through her confirmation. Her confirmation was beautiful. I feel so blessed to have a husband so "in tune" with the spirit. Madi is such a strong spirit, we feel so lucky to have her as our child on earth.

The following Sunday, Madi got up in church, all on her own and expressed that she knew her Heavely Father loves her and her family loves her. It was such a beautiful, spiritual experience for me too. It was such a great testimony strenthener!


Joel and Madi coming out of the dressing rooms.


Right before the baptism.


This was on Madi's birthday. She chose to go to Texas Roadhouse....Yummy! So the waiters/waitresses sang to her as she was sitting on a saddle. She loved it of course (being the center of attention).

November-December

Happy Birthday Madi!!

We woke her up by singing to her and giving her cake for breakfast and a bunch of gifts.


Our Madi...always up to something!
Madi won Reflections for her age group in the Literature Category... We are so proud of her!


Yeah, I know we are huge Star Wars nerds, but we went to the coolest Concert ever! They had a whole orchestra playing John Williams Star Wars music to scenes from the different movies. They had real Star Wars costumes and guns that they used in the movies. I think we got pics with all the characters that dressed up, but this one scared me the most...the emperor acted like the real one...he acted so evil. Oh, and Darth Vader kept teasing Jordan by saying "you have a sister??". We had tons of fun!


Madi and I joined up with Kelly and Reilly to go see the witches at Gardner Village. It was a fun day with the girls.


Awwww....


First time ever that Hudson had a sucker, it made him so happy! I love that smile... it makes me giggle!

October

Halloween 2009

Madi made an adorable, fashionable witch. She was so funny, she would walk around casting spells on everyone! Then, when she didn't know what else to say...she would say "shall we move on?" She was hilarious!


So, Jordan is usually a football player, but as we were decorating pumpkins, and my pumpkin turned out looking like the Joker, it gave Jordan an idea...very last minute, to be the Joker. So off to DI and the costume store. So some parties he would show up as a football player, and some he would be the Joker.


Football Season! Wow! Joel coached again this year, but unfortunately Jordan spent a lot of the season on the sidelines due to Tendinitis in his leg. He was so disappointed and frustrated. He did play a few games, and he totally rocked! He played as quarterback, safety, and defensive end.

Family Update...

Hudson got his first haircut on September 2, 2009. He also started pointing on the same day. On September 4, he called Jordan "Dun, Dun" and Madi "Dee, Dee". Some other words he will say is, Mama, Dada, and Bubba. He loves to play with cars. He will sit and just spin the wheels around, then drive them around on the floor. He gets a little scared around the noisy cars though... it takes him a while to warm up to those. At Hudson's 1 year check, he weighed 22.5 lbs and 31 inches long. He is doing so great. He is taking about 2 steps, then he'll fall, he is so close to walking!

Madi started second grade this year. Her teacher is Mrs. White. Madi loves school and gets a star (A) on every paper! She is so helpful with Hudson and the whole family. Right now, she is working on Reflections. For Reflections, she decided to do literature. So she wrote a cute story about "Apricot", the butterfly. She is just a sweetheart! She loves to listen to Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus. She is in Jazz dance again this year. She is a gorgeous dancer.

Jordan started the big Jr. High at Oquirrh Hills Middle. He is recovering from tendonitis. He is playing football, however with the tendonitis, he hasn't been able to play much. He is also doing great in school, we just went to Parent Teacher, and he is getting straight A's as of mid-term. He tried out for Student Council this last week, and made it to the top ten! They now will narrow it down to four. Cross our fingers! I think he would be great in the Student Council!