David Randy Madsen

Once a year I get down my Baby Davy box.  I pull out the teddy bears that were on his graveside flowers.  I hold up the blanket he was wrapped in and laugh at the doll clothes the hospital dressed him in because even though they are tiny with silly metal snaps, Davy could have almost slipped out the neckhole. I read over all the cards, touch his footprints and marvel at his pictures because each addition to our family looks more and more like him.  I guess that's because, just like his brothers, he is our son.

And that is the memory that I'm trying to nuture with my yearly tradition.  Four years ago we had a beautiful baby boy and even though he only lived a short time, he is still ours forever.  I remember right after he was born, I could put two of my fingers over his whole chest.  I laid them there and felt his heart beating and I prayed and prayed that somehow his heart would keep beating.  I wanted him to be a medical miracle that overcame everything to keep living.  And somewhere in that hour that he lived, it came to me that Davy would die, but because of a different miracle, because of the Atonement and Resurrection of the Savior, his tiny heart would beat again.  That is what I try to remember.

Holy Terrors

Since our move to Wyoming, the boys have been surrounded by people making choices that aren't exactly consistent with an LDS lifestyle.  We've tried to keep things positive by telling them that people just don't know what Jesus wants them to be doing and that's why they need to go on a mission, so they can teach people about Jesus and how he wants them to live.  A couple of weeks ago, we were taking a walk on a Sunday afternoon when we passed by the Remys restaurant's very full parking lot.  Dash looked over at all the cars representing the "Sabath breakers", sighed and said, "Looks like there's a lot of people that don't know what Jesus wants them to do."

Speaking of what Jesus wants us to do, we were trying to say family prayers the other day. Of course the ultimate goal is to have all the boys kneeling reverently with their arms folded, head bowed and mouth shut, but we would take 1 out of 3.  As we began this particular prayer, Dash and Colt were both kneeling, but Sport was wandering about the room.  Brand started saying the prayer and Colt immediately began shouting at Sport to kneel down and fold his arms like he was doing.  This continued throughout the prayer, which was cut quite short, despite all the stern looks I sent his way.  As soon as Brandan said "Amen", Colt immediately informed us that Sport was being naughty during the prayer because he wouldn't kneel down like Jesus wants him to.

Maybe Colt is right and we haven't been doing a good job of teaching Sport to behave.  This last weekend was our Stake Conference and we had Elder Nelson attending.  Brandan and I both had meetings on Saturday afternoon followed by a short break and then the adult meeting.  Since we would be in Gillette, we decided to pack a potluck dinner with some of the other ward members and eat at the Stake Center between meetings.  We were lucky enough to get a babysitter for the older boys, but we had Sport in tow.  After the first meeting, I went out to the car to bring in our food while Brandan stood in the hall with Sport who was holding a small slinky toy.  It just so happened that at that time the Stake Presidency and Elder Nelson walked right by and Elder Nelson paused in front of Brandan and commented to Sport that he had the smallest slinky he had ever seen.  Apparently Sport took this as an insult because he immediately threw his toy at Elder Nelson.  At 87 years of age, Elder Nelson wasn't able to make the catch, but Brandan said he was impressed with his agility anyway.

Sport tried to look penitent after throwing his toy at an Apostle.

Labor Day, Birthdays and Boy Stories

We had a great Labor Day weekend.  Dan, Jill, Boe and Kamber came to visit and we spent Saturday in Spearfish wandering around the sanctuary and the rest of the weekend relaxing and chatting.  It's fun to have family move closer.

Sport swinging at the park.

Sport has 4 new teeth and while they were coming in he got into the habit of puckering up his lips.

After our company left Monday afternoon, we took the boys out to play some baseball in the front yard.

Colt "batted" with a tennis racket.

Wednesday was Brandan's birthday.  The boys were so excited to celebrate with him and give/unwrap his presents.

Brandan and the boys blowing out the candles on his birthday cinnamon rolls.

The boys gave Brandan a pic of themselves in a mat them decorated.

Today we attempted taking family pictures.

Colt practiced his smiley face.

Family Photo

I love being able to spend time with the boys and watch them grow and have them make me laugh (and make me mad).  They all have their own unique personalities that develop more and more each day.

Dash is really growing into the role of firstborn leader.  I'm constantly asking him to help out around the house and with his little brothers and he is really stepping up to the challenge. He unloads the dishwasher without being asked and usually gets Sport out of bed after his nap before I can get to him.  The other day we were making pizza for dinner and he was rolling the dough out while I gathered the toppings.  At one point he told me, "You can just relax Mom. We got this."
The other day Dash gave us the perfect example of how completely culturally accepting a child is.  We were looking at the UnderArmour magazine that came in the mail and there was a picture of a black man modeling the clothes.  Dash pointed to the picture and said, "Look Daddy, this guy looks just like you, except (here is where we expected him to point out some very obvious differences) he is wearing a green shirt and you have on a blue one."

If Dash is my helper, Colt is my comedian.  He is always doing something to get a laugh.  Last Sunday the boys were chasing some deer in the park.  As we were walking home, Dash said, "I'm fast like a cheetah."  Not to be outdone, Colt piped up with, "Yeah and I'm like an elephant."
Colt's latest quirk is to "ask you a question" which turns out to actually be a really long story about his Baby Puppy, his imaginary friend.  In fact, we just celebrated his Baby Puppy's birthday today.  Unfortunately, after birthday treats, Baby Puppy died (again...Baby Puppy "gets dead" at least once a day).  Not to worry though, Colt put Baby Puppy in the fridge and I expect he'll make a full recovery in the morning.

Sport is also really coming into his own.  He loves clapping and dancing to the songs we sing and chasing the boys around as fast as his little legs will carry him.  Sport has also learned he can control certain situations by screaming and demanding attention.  He often ends up with most of Brandan's snacks by yelling and pointing at what Brandan has until he gives in and hands it over.  Along with this, Sport has also developed a jealous streak and can't stand to see anyone sitting in my lap.  The other day Colt was snuggled up with me and Sport came across the room and pulled on Colt's feet until he got off my lap and then Sport went so far and to push Colt away from the chair I was sitting in!