Our Hero

Last weekend we celebrated the life of a true hero, my cousin Jake.

Sergeant First Class Glen Jacob Whetten was killed in Afghanistan while defending MY liberty. The overwhelming respect present throughout the services was beautiful. I feel so honored to have known this great man. My Aunt Amy, (Jake's mother) wrote this poem and gave it at Jake's funeral, it was perfect.


To Jake
It seems like just the other day
When every time we knelt to pray
Someone would be sure to say,
“Please send us Jake”

Of course, we didn’t know your name,
But Heavenly Father knew our aim:
The son and brother we would claim.
He sent us Jake.



You had a loving, gentle touch,
And never fought or squabbled much
–(Except with G I Joes and such.)
Our Peaceful Jake


You always had a clever knack
Of asking us when we’d be back
(Which hints secrets I still lack!)
Our Plotting Jake


A quiet kid; I rarely knew
If schoolwork ever bothered you
–Till homework came up “overdue.”
Our Silent Jake


We seldom saw your feisty side
Unless it had to do with pride,
Like breaking your hand on a bicycle ride!
Our Fearless Jake


To your growing years came many a friend
With SOONS as the favorite place to spend
And backyard games that had no end.
Our Southside Jake



There was no “calling” we could see,
But you just joined R.O.T.C.
We had no inkling WHAT you’d be:
Our Soldier Jake



Then to Hawaii, and married a while
To Lacy, with her pretty smile.
Ariana was born – your precious child.
Her Daddy Jake



There were brothers found around the world;
Total devotion to our flag unfurled
And to Megan Hughes, a beautiful girl.
Our Loving Jake



We’ll never know all you have seen,
The awful danger where you’ve been,
And hell, beyond imagining.
Our Valiant Jake



Our hearts hurt every time you’d go–
A Ranger; a Leader for others to know;
--Concern/Love/Pride all in a row--
Our Hero Jake


Please know you’ll never go too far
For prayers to follow where you are,
And LOVE, sure as the Northern Star,
For You, Our Jake

-Amy Whetten

gave a day... got a day!

Sam and I, along with my in-laws and parents, participated in the "Give a day, Get a day" promotion sponsored by Disney. There were many service opportunities to choose from, we chose to make quilts and donate them to a charity who will send them to Haiti. I can't believe how huge the response has been! 1 million people have already signed up and done a service and it's only been going on for 3 months. It always feels good to serve but to be rewarded with a free ticket to Disneyland makes it that much better! Thank you Disney for reminding us that a little help can go a long way.

Here are our group's quiltsHere are just some of the hundreds of quilts that were donated for this promotion.

growing up

Landon can ride bike with training wheels. However, lately he refuses to touch this bike and has become partial to the plasma car. Mario Kart may have something to do with this. I no longer have to help Landon eat or clean up his ice cream. He gets so much practice with these (thank you jason's deli) he is now a pro.

Perhaps the most important milestone as of late: Landon loves Pete's! No corn dogs or chicken fingers in our order, just fish and chips!

big boy bed.

We are staying with my parents (yes, again) for a couple of months until we make the big move east. I thought that instead of setting up the crib, Landon could just use the "big boy" bed that is already set up. We were a little nervous since I've heard horror stories about this particular transition. Landon has always been great at going to bed and I didn't want to jeopardize a good habit. However, he is a very large 2 year old and I don't know if our old crib can handle much more weight... or jumping for that matter. We made sure to tell him the crib was "all gone" and that he would be sleeping in Landon's big boy bed, then we omitted his afternoon nap. That night with Bronco in hand we laid him down and hoped for the best. He probably laid there for an hour talking/playing but slept through the night and didn't budge the next morning. He just continued his conversation (with his car) where he left off the night before. He actually stays in bed until we come and get him in the mornings, I am thrilled with such a smooth transition! Now, if we can only get him potty trained.