Our New Grandson

Sometimes in life you experience moments of joy that are just to precious to explain! On August 16th our son and daughter in law had a beautiful little son come into this world and join our family. He was born a month early and so the time was unexpected but he still weighed in at 6lbs. 12oz. and he was 19 inches tall. He was born at 4:04 a.m. and he is the sweetest thing ever! We got to the hospital about 11:30 and Dave, Melissa, Lindsay and I waited at the hospital for the little arrival patiently, with heads bobbing now and then with want of sleep! : )
Finally at 4:04 he came into this world and because he was early he had a little bit of trouble breathing on his own so we couldn't hold him as he needed to head down to receive oxygen and other things for awhile. But we did get to look at him in his baby cart they put the babies in and touch his sweet little face. That was worth it all!!!
Rachel did fantastic and Dan looked like the proudest father in the universe! We are SO excited for them to experience all the joys and learning of parenthood. They are both wonderful people and I know that they will teach little Thomas Daniel Soderberg all that he needs to know in this life to be successful and happy.
We have since had chances to hold Thomas and he is so precious. It never ceases to amaze me what a miracle human life really is! We look forward to enjoying his sweet spirit for a long time to come. Family really is what matters I believe! : )

July 4th

This country is a wonderful place to live. America with all of it's freedoms and all of it's beauty! I am thankful EVERY day that I have the privilege of living in this beautiful land! We had a little get together on the fourth and enjoyed family food and had some fun as well! We had a barbeque with all the trimmings and played a game that Daniel and Rachel introduced to us on our family vacation called "Kubb". It is really quite fun! None of us had ever played it before our vacation, but we all enjoy it and since they had not returned it yet we played it again. It is an outdoor game and it has been around for years and years. You should try it!

When it got dark, we headed over as close as we could get to see the fireworks from the stadium of fire display. They started about 10:15 or 10:30 and it was wonderful! I like to be right under them if I can. The closer the better! : ) Every single one I think is the prettiest!!! I love listening to the crowd as they ewe and awe over their favorites. And I love watching little kids with their eyes as wide as they can be taking it all in. I could watch the fireworks for hours, but of course they don't last that long, so eventually we have to go home!

But I do love this country and I love every single person that is fighting for our freedoms. I wish I could personally hug each one and tell them how much I appreciate them and all of those that have done so in the past and died so that I can enjoy all that I enjoy each day! Well happy 4th of July everybody! *****

Girls time out!

Family is something that is SO important to me, and I don't get to get together as often as I would like to with mine or Dave's extended family. But a few weeks ago I was able to get together with my Mom and my sisters that are in town and have a "mom and sister's" lunch! It was so much fun to just catch up! We all had a blast together. I think we out stayed our welcome at the restaurant, but there were empty tables so I didn't feel too bad! : ) We laughed till we cried and we decided that it has been WAY too long, and we would not wait the three or four years it had been since we had done it last, to do it again! Thanks Mom, Sheri and Diane for taking the time and making the effort to get together. You mean the WORLD to me! I love you all SO much and I had the best time with you all!

Dave's and Melissa's Birthday!

Birthdays can be so much fun, and in June we had the privilege of celebrating two in our family! Dave turned 51 on the 3rd and Melissa turned 21 on the 8th! It is so nice for all of us in our immediate family to live so close together right now and we were able to get together and celebrate. This has not always been the case and we have enjoyed the last two years so much! We wish that we were closer than the one hour distance that separates us from our extended family as we have found that it is harder than we all realized to travel that distance to get together as often as we would like! But we LOVE it when we do get to see any and/or all of them! : )

Dave looks outstanding for his age!!!!! : ) : ) I guess you can tell who is writing this entry! He loves the outdoors and goes biking regularly and 4 wheeling when ever we can! He enjoys being with his family and appreciates the simple things of life! I love that about him. He loves landscaping and gardening and playing with the family. Any kind of sport makes him happy as long as he is doing it with someone he enjoys!

Melissa loves life! Did I mention Melissa loves life? Well she does! : ) And she loves people! She will be a senior at BYU in the fall and will be graduating in Public Relations. She will be doing an internship at BYU in their Sports program in the fall as well. She loves music, and dancing and working out and having fun! Melissa makes people laugh and we just love having her around!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE AND MELISSA!!!!

Lindsay's Graduation!

On Wednesday May 28th at 10:00 a.m. Lindsay graduated one year early as a junior from Spanish Fork High School in Spanish Fork Utah!!!!
She was so excited to be done and she graduated with high honors in National Honors Society, and also received honors for graduating with a GPA of 3.9 or higher. We were so happy for her and all that she has accomplished this year! Way to go Linds!!!
She will be attending BYU in the fall and will be rooming with her sister Melissa off campus! They are so excited to be roommates! Right now her plans are to graduate in exercise science. Linds is working full time this summer at Apx Alarms and she loves it! We are so proud of you Linds! We know that you will do great in all that you do!

Lindsay's Graduation Open House!

On Saturday the 17th of May we had an open house to celebrate Lindsay graduating from high school this year. It was really fun and we were touched by the friends and family that called, came by and sent cards of support to congratulate her at this special time! Thank you for your kindness and excitment for her at this time! She is graduating a year early and is going to attend BYU in the fall. She will be rooming with her older sister Melissa in an apartment near BYU and she is so excited about being able to spend that time with her sister. They are such great friends!!! She will be graduating from Spanish Fork High School on May 28th. She has a job at APEX Alarm and will be working full time this summer. We are so proud of her and all that she has accomplished. She has really worked hard and is excited to be done for the summer! We will miss her terribly at home, but will just have to find ways to entice her back once in a while. : ) Lindsay is so full of life and loves learning and we know that she will do well and enjoy her college experience. Good luck Linds, we love you so very much and support you in all that you do!!!!

Lindsay's Prom Date

On April 26th it was Lindsay's senior prom! Her date was Alan Fish and they started the day out with a trip to mountains with their group for a little 4 wheeling. Some huge boulders had falling into the path during the winter which just made the adventure that much more fun. : ) Lindsay LOVES 4 wheeling so she had the time of her life! Later on they enjoyed dinner at the garden restaurant at temple square where we were able to take some pictures before hand. I guess I am just Mom but I think that they look awesome! It is SO nice to have Lindsay go with such a wonderful young man, and someone that really knows how to treat a girl right! What a way to end the year.

Dave and I decided to go to dinner on our way home that night as well and on the drive home it was so crazy..... this car pulls up along side of us on the freeway and we look over in the dark and these two people are waving at us and it is Lindsay and Alan! We could not believe it! I mean what is the likelihood that that would happen? That we would be on the freeway in the exact spot at the exact time, it was so funny. So we just waved back and all of us had a good laugh and went on our separate ways! : )