Happy Mother's Day Tina!!

This is a message from my mom to my birthmom:

Tina,
You know me.... I am ALWAYS late sending cards. I do always buy them, but I never get them sent out on time. So, I thought I should put your card on TJ's blogspot so you could at least see it on time. Thank you so much for being you. We have really missed having correspondence with you. I hope everything is going good for you and I just wanted to tell you how much we ALL love you. Have a Happy Mother's Day!!
Love Always,
Lorraine, Tommy, TJ, Tyra and Braxton

Volcano's are AWESOME!

We got to go and spend the night at Tyra Jane's house in Boise last Thursday. While we were there she gave us our Christmas presents. She got me a Volcano!! My mom helped me make it yesterday. We had to wait overnight for it to dry before I could set it off. It just got too late when we were working on it last night. Just before I started it, I went and got some of my army men to put them on it. I think that made it look pretty cool. It was lots of fun!! I just want to do it over and over again! The box says that you should be able to, but when we went to rinse it off some of the mountain washed away, so I can't. Dang it!

I got an award today!!

Today I was recognized in our school assembly. Actually, Tyra was too, but her assembly was after mine. Dad got to come and see us. Mom was in Idaho Falls, taking a foot zoning class so she couldn't come. She was pretty upset, but it was okay. I sure was glad my dad got to come though. My award said, "TJ is respectful to his teacher and other adults. He is a great example of how to obey rules and be a good citizen." My dad thought that was pretty cool. I really do try to be respectful of others though. Dad came to Tyra's assembly too and since it was so close to the end of school, he just decided to let us get out of school early. Yeah!!!! I love to get out of school early. Except for when I miss Science. That is my favorite subject in school and I don't like to miss it. I am ALWAYS starving when I get out of school, so I don't like riding over an hour on the bus ride home, before I can eat something. Anytime mom picks me up from school she usually brings me snacks because I get REALLY grumpy when I am hungry. Mom says she's the same way. We got to do lots of fun stuff with dad after school. It was great!!

My first Pine Wood Derby from mom's point of view

My mom decided she had better post this on my page too, until she can post the story from my point of view. Here it is:

TJ just had his first Pine Wood Derby tonight! When we first found out about it, Tommy asked TJ if he'd rather have a fast car or a cool looking car. TJ said he'd rather have a cool looking car. He said that he wanted it to look like Bumblebee the Transformer. Since TJ is barely 8 and can't do a whole lot by himself yet, we all helped with his car. Tommy did the most of course. I just helped paint on the spokes and touch up the black paint. I also cut the number out for him at the last minute. Well, we weren't hoping for the number one winner, but we were hoping for at least a few wins. Come to find out, after it was too late, that a part of the front of the car was rubbing against the track. It seemed to race fine about half way down the track and then it would catch and start wobbling. Thank goodness that the scout leaders had made a really light car, so that every kid would be able to win at least ONE race. Well, the first scout leader car that TJ raced against was faster then they expected, so they switched to their other car. Luckily, before the whole thing was over, a dad sitting next to us noticed this and went and told the judges. So, TJ's VERY LAST race was his BIG win of the night!! Thank goodness too, because I was feeling really bad for him. Just before they let him race the last car, he came up to me and said, "Mom, my car didn't win ONE time." But anyway, he did win an award for "Most Creative" though, so that was cool! Even though he only won one race we ALL still had a really good time. I am guessing that next year TJ will say that he wants a fast car instead of a cool looking car!! He probably ought to use his own lucky number too, instead of mine. Apparently it's not that lucky for him!

I got baptized today!!

My baptism was at 4:00 pm today. First, my Grandpa Stuart gave the opening prayer and then we sang the song, "I Am a Child of God". We got started late with the talks because my Grandma Jeanne, accidentally left part of her talk home so while we were waiting for her to go back and get it, my dad had my Grandpa Tom and Grandpa Stuart bare their testimonies. When they got done, she still wasn't back so then dad and mom bore theirs too. As soon as she got back, she gave her talk on "Baptism". After that, my Grandma Joan gave a talk on "The Holy Ghost". Then I got to go down into the water with my dad. I was a little bit nervous. Dad baptized me in Spanish. I didn't really understand it, but it was still cool! I almost forgot to plug my nose. Thank goodness I remembered just before I got dunked. When we were on our way out of the water I told my dad that I wanted to go swimming!!! He laughed. My mom made a video for everyone to watch while we got dressed. When we got done, we got to watch about the last half of it. It was ALL about ME! Mom says that I sure was a silly kid! She has some really goofy photos of me. To watch the video push the play button twice on the top square on the right of this blog.

Anyway, after I was baptized, I went up and sat in a chair and a whole lot of family and friends who held the Melchizedek Priesthood stood in a circle around me and put their hands on my head. My dad confirmed me and now I have the Holy Ghost as a constant companion. I think that is so cool! After the blessing, I shook every one's hand. Then we sang "Families Can Be Together Forever" and Grandpa Tom said the closing prayer. There was another baptism just after ours, so everyone had to grab their cookies and get out of the room quick. Several people brought me gifts. They were all really nice. My mom is kind of upset because I don't remember who each of them were from so she can't thank them. Oops!! Well, after we stood around for a while, while all of the adults talked, we went to eat. I was mad at my mom because she told everyone we were going to a Mexican Restaurant and I wanted to go to a Chinese Restaurant. I like their grilled cheese sandwiches. Mom said, that since she had already told everyone that we were going to "Melina's" then next time we go out to eat as a family, we can go to Chinese. I was okay with that. Grandpa Tom and Grandma Jeanne, Grandpa Stuart and Grandma Joan, Troy and Alison's family, Clint and Camille's family and Jade and Melissa's family all went to eat. We had lots of fun and the food was good too! Today was a really neat day. Mom says that I will remember it for the rest of my life. Both of my grandpa's said in their testimonies that they remembered their baptism day and they are really old, so I think I will remember mine too!

These pictures aren't very good but they will show some of the people that came to my baptism. My Great Grandpa Elvin and Great Grandma Betty came too! That was cool! They are my birthmom's grandparents on her dad's side. I love ALL of my friends and family so much. Thank you for coming!!!!

My 1st slumber party!

Actually my birthday was on the 20th, but it was a school day so I had to wait until Friday to celebrate. Mom asked me if I wanted to have a bunch of friends come to my birthday party for a few hours or if I'd rather just have a few friends over to spend the night. The only friend that has ever spent the night before is Ben, so I thought it would be fun to have some friends come over. I decided to have Garrett and McKoy come since they have never been here before. We had a short day at school yesterday because of the Christmas Break, so after school Garrett rode the bus to our house with me. McKoy came a little bit later because he just lives down the road and around the corner from us, so his mom brought him. At first McKoy wasn't going to spend the night because, other than family, he hasn't ever spent the night at anyone's house. But just before bed time, he changed his mind and decided to stay. I was so happy!!

Well, when we first got home, we played out in the snow and a puddle of ice for a while. Then it got too cold and we came in and played up in my bedroom with my toys. Later dad brought all of us Kentucky Fried Chicken meals & mom let us have a picnic on the floor upstairs while we watched the movie, "Transformers"! I love that movie!! After the movie, mom put my little brother & Tyra to bed and let us stay up late. We played and played! It was tons of fun! Finally, at about 9:30 p.m. mom put Tyra's trendle from her day bed, in my room and made my bed the size of a KING bed! All three of us slept side ways across the bed. It was really cool. We dinked around for a while, so we didn't actually get to sleep until about 10:30.

In the morning, McKoy woke me up at about 6:30 a.m. UUGH! Mom made us pancakes and dad made us some sausage and bacon. YUM!!! McKoy had to get picked up around 9:00 a.m. but I got to stay and play with Garrett until about noon. Then we went and dropped him off and headed to my Aunt JaNae's house to bring her our puppy. I am going to miss little Hershey. She was lots of fun to play with. Well, my slumber party was AWESOME but I think it will be a while before I get another one. Mom didn't like me going to bed so late and waking up so early. I get pretty mean with her when I am tired. I hope I can have another one soon though!!!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

Today was tons of fun... except we had our school's Christmas Program and I wasn't too thrilled about having to SING on my birthday! Our class got to dress up like Indians and we sang, "The Great Spirit". Mom said that she will put a video of it on here as soon as she learns how. I did a pretty good job singing, I think. I didn't sing as loud as I did in 1st grade or Kindergarten though. Every class was from a different country or area. My cousin Siler's Kindergarten class was in the same program as me. He was from Hawaii. Our program was at 9:00 in the morning. The gym was so crowded that there wasn't even enough seats for everyone. After everyone sang their songs, we all got back on the stage an sang, "It's a Small World" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas!" After the program I tried to get my mom to check me out of school, but she said she wouldn't yet, because she had to come back at 1:00 p.m. for Tyra's program. They had to split the school up into 3 different programs this year because the gym was too small for everyone. Last year we had it at the high school. I thought that was a lot better.
After Tyra's program dad came and checked me out of school. I got to go with him to work and then later we met mom, my little brother, Tyra and Alison's family and Grandma & Grandpa at the movies. We got to go see Alvin and the Chipmunks for my Birthday! I sat by my dad and Siler. I really liked the movie. It was so much fun!!! It got over really late though, so I accidentally fell asleep on the way home. But, all in all, I really had a GREAT birthday today!! Here is a picture of everyone who came:Back Row (left to right): Dad, Grandpa Tom, Grandma Jeanne, Aunt Ali (dad's sister), Uncle Troy (Ali's husband) and Trey (Troy and Ali's oldest). Middle Row: Tyra, Mom, Me and Alexis (Troy and Ali's girl). Front Row: my little brother and Siler (Troy and Ali's youngest)

My primary talk

Today I had to give another talk in primary. It seems like I just barely had to give one a few weeks ago. Usually I am really quiet and I kind of mumble some of the words, but today I did a really good job. The topic I had to speak on was, "Jesus Christ once lived on the earth, and I have faith that He will come again." My mom helped me prepare my talk. I read the whole thing by myself. Mom only helped me with a few words. I only got a little bit nervous this time. Here is my talk:

"There is none other to compare with Him. More acts of kindness have been done in His name, more words of forgiveness spoken with His love, no greater love extended to both friend and enemy by His example than any other in the entire history of mankind.

He is the author of our salvation. He is our guide and our comfort in times of sadness.

It is still early in the Christmas season. There is time for each of us to reach out and help others whose lives we can bless, even with a small touch. This is the time to decide to do so.

May Heavenly Father bless each of us at this Christmas season with an understanding of one of the greatest of all gifts, the gift of Jesus, the Savior of mankind; and out of gratitude, may we become a little kinder, a little more generous, a little more thoughtful, a little more merciful.

We look forward to the time when He will return to earth. We know that he will come again and if we follow him in faith, we can receive another wonderful gift, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God – eternal life.

And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

My birthday party at Grandma Jeanne's!

Well, today was fun because I got to celebrate my 8th birthday early. About an hour after we got home from school we all went to my Grandma Jeanne and Grandpa Tom's house. We have five birthday's in December on my dad's side of the family, so we celebrate them all at the same time, at one big party. It makes it so much more fun that way!!
This year I got a Sponge Bob cake for my birthday. I kind of wanted a Transformer one, but mom talked me out of it. Besides, I already had one of those for my 6th birthday party. Plus, the Transformer cake didn't look as cool as the Spongebob one anyway. Mom let me put all eight candles on the cake by myself. I love puting the candles on! Then everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me.

I got the COOLEST robot from my Grandpa and Grandma. It's AWESOME!!! He can do all kinds of stuff. My Aunt Alison and Aunt Melissa got me a Basket Ball game thing and my mom and dad got me Heely's (which I have wanted for a LONG time)! It just stinks that I can't use them very many places because of the snow. Tyra and my little brother got me a Bumblebee Transformer! I played with it, almost the whole party. The other birthdays this month were my Aunt Ali and my cousin's Erica, Siler and Tyler. Erica didn't get to come to the party but this is a picture of Tiler (left), me (center) and Siler (right). I had a lot of fun at the party and I LOVE all of my presents!!!

Look what I bought with my tooth money!!

This morning when I woke up I found a whole roll of quarters and a roll of dimes under my pillow. It was so cool! That was even more then I was hoping for. I didn't feel very good when I got out of bed though. I kind of had a headache, but I still couldn't wait to go to Wal-mart and buy something with my money. Mom didn't make me go to school because I wasn't feeling well. I kept bugging her about taking me to the store so finally she did. But she said I would have to go to school after we went though. I really wanted a transformer really bad but they didn't have any so I bought a bionicle instead. He is really cool. I put most of him together before I got to the school. School wasn't very fun. "Everytime someone would sharpen their pencil it would hurt my head really bad." When I got home from school I was really grumpy. Mom gave me some medicine for the pain and I started to feel a little better. I really didn't like getting 7 teeth pulled out, but it was awesome to get $15 from it. My tooth fairy must be rich!

I REALLY don't like the dentist!!

Last night mom told me that I have a dentist appointment tomorrow and that I couldn't eat anything until I go to it. I got up really early and mom let me have a little bit of sprite and a piece of toast though. I guess it is because my appointment was really late in the day. I went to school and that was good because it kept my mind off of my appointment for the most part. But when mom came to pick me up I started getting really nervous. Plus, I could smell the food cooking in the school cafeteria and it made me REALLY REALLY hungry!
I was kind of mean to mom on the way there. Mom kept telling me that she wasn't quite sure what all they were going to do to me today. I think she was trying to keep me from getting too upset about it. When we got there, it wasn't the same dentist office that we normally go to. Mom said it was called a surgical center. That made me REALLY scared. I started to cry a little bit. We checked in and had to sit in a waiting room. I got to watch cartoons while we waited. Then we went back and a nurse weighed me and checked me out. Then the guy who was going to put me to sleep came and talked to me. He tried to make me feel better but I was still scared. Finally my dentist came in and talked to me. He made me laugh a few times. He is a really nice guy. Pretty soon they put me on a bed and wheeled me away. My mom had to go out and wait in the waiting area. I was so scared but I tried really hard to be brave. The dentist told my mom that I was really brave after she left. They had me get onto a different table and then they put a mask on my face. The dentist told me to count to 10 and I only got to 3. Then I fell asleep. The surgery only took 45 minutes.
He pulled seven of my baby teeth because all of my permanent teeth were growing in behind them and weren't pushing them out. I also got a silver cap on one of my teeth because it had a few fillings in it already and the dentist was worried that if they tried to fill it again then it would break apart. I thought it was cool though. I have wanted a silver tooth for a long time!! When I woke up my mouth kind of hurt. I got to get wheeled out to my mom and sit on her lap. Pretty soon my tooth with the silver cap started hurting REALLY bad. Mom finally got the nurse to give me some medicine. They put it in my IV and right away the pain started to go away. The medicine made me feel dizzy, but since I didn't fall asleep with it, they let me get ready to leave about 20 minutes after I took it. My little brother was at my cousin's house but Tyra had been with dad, so they came and waiting with mom and I until I could leave. I got to ride out in a big wheel chair.
I got to drive it myself a little bit. That was cool! After we left we went to pick up my little brother, pick up my pain pills and then to KFC. I LOVE mashed potatoes, so mom and dad thought that would be a good thing to eat since my mouth was so sore. They were so good but I was super hungry so I still had a few potato wedges and chicken pop corns. It didn't really hurt my mouth either. Mom thinks that is because of the pain medicine. It feels really weird to have all of these wholes in my mouth. My mom made sure that the dentist gave me all of my teeth so that I can put them under my pillow tonight for the tooth fairy. I had to take medicine again around 7:00 tonight because my mouth started hurting really bad again. I sure hope the tooth fairy brings me lots of money. The last tooth I lost I got $2 for. My mom said it must have been because I got it out by myself. Mom said she only got like 25 cents for a tooth when she was a kid. Plus, my grandpa would pull her teeth out with needle nose pliers. There is NO way I would ever let my dad do that. If the tooth fairy gives me $2 per tooth then I will get $14. That is A LOT!! I can't wait to buy something with it. My mouth hurts! Gotta go!

MY MOM WILL ADD MY ADOPTION STORY SOON.