Ever since Louise has been watching Karston we have been trying to gauge whether having he and my brother's twins during the day is working well for her. My brother and I obviously want our kids to be close and love having them grow up together. Louise wanted to try watching all three of them but it seems as if with their 2nd birthday the twins have become terrible 2. Add in the demands of a three month old and heaven bless Louise for trying. Three weeks ago she told me it had been a tough week (i.e. Shannon bit Korbin on the cheek-- a nasty bite and Karston had the runs the same day) but she wanted to try one more week before calling it quits. She evaluated for a week and decided it was a little overwhelming. She offered to finish out December. The next morning I signed up for Au Pairs in America. For ten days Nathan and I have been reading thru au pair applications and debating live-in au pair or live-out nanny or daycare. Last week as I was looking thru the application of Isabel, a candidate in Bolivia, I saw a group picture with what looked like sister missionaries. Then I saw the picture titled "The Second Coming" on the wall behind the group. I read thru her application and sure enough the candidate had written I.J.S.U.D. (Mormon). I couldn't believe it. I had poured thru application after application on the Au Pairs in America website and found a member of our church in Bolivia. I was excited but knew that just being a member of our church doesn't necessarily qualify one to be a great au pair. I reviewed her references and all the other material provided, then emailed her a note and a couple pictures and told her we would be calling. During the call we quickly found out her English needs some work. Nathan pulled up an online translation website and between her English and his translated Spanish we survived the call. After asking about her family and her experience with childcare Nathan tried to tell her in English that we are members of the same church. There was really no reaction so I didn't think she got it. We continued on with the call and later on before we hung up Nathan told her again, this time in Spanish. She was sooo excited! After our call with Isabel we called potential au pairs in Costa Rica and Macedonia as well. We told all three we would think on it for a week and let them know. We still hadn't decided if we were going to go the au pair route anyway. All week we talked about the pros and cons of each of the candidates and having an au pair in general. On Saturday as I was outside sweeping our walkway I had a feeling come over me that Isabel was the right choice. My doubtfulness led me to think maybe I was leaning in that direction just because Isabel is Mormon. Then last night our friend Luz came over and called Isabel. The two spoke in Spanish for about 30 minutes and Luz confirmed at the end of the call that Isabel is awesome. We matched with Isabel and she should be here on or before Feb 2. She'll have a few days of training in CT and then come to live with our family for the next 1-2 years. She is 23 and she and her siblings are converts to the church. Her parents are not members. She had two other families who wanted to match with her but her father was not in favor because he was afraid she would stop practicing her religion if she matched with a non-member family. She has a great resume of child care experience. We love the idea of Karston being able to stay home during the day with someone who is capable and shares our belief system. We're glad to be able to give this opportunity to Isabel who wants to improve her English and have a U.S. experience. We hope Karston will learn Spanish too! We also hope this will turn out to be the win/win situation it is looking to be.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas from the Coffey family.

Below are a few pictures that we have taken of Karston recently and haven't gotten online. Enjoy!! He's really cute. At least we think so!!

Labels: family, Karston, val

Our Christmas letter with photos of Karston as young Santa Claus is here

On Tuesday when I picked Karston up from my brother's house he was dressed in his 2 year-old cousin Korbin's clothes. Karston had a major blow-out and being the unprepared mother I am, there were no extra clothes in his diaper bag. To my defense, I had just switched out all of his 0-3 month clothes for 3-6 month clothes and had forgotten to put the bigger ones in the bag. Cousin Shannon's clothes would have been smaller than Korbin's but Louise decided not to give Karston a gender crisis by dressing him in pink!

The oldest living Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints passed away last night around 11:30 pm (MST) due to old age.

A former running back for the University of Utah, Elder Wirthlin often added sport stories from his life into his Conference addresses, including his final Conference talk this past October, entitled "Come What May, and Love It."

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin's bio:

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin was ordained an Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 9, 1986. He was sustained and set apart as an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles on April 4, 1975 and served in that capacity until he was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy in April 1976. He was set apart in the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy August 28, 1986, where he was serving when called to be an Apostle.

Elder Wirthlin was born in Salt Lake City to Joseph L. and Madeline Bitner Wirthlin. His Father served as the Presiding Bishop of the Church.

Elder Wirthlin graduated from the University of Utah in Business Administration. He received from Brigham Young University a Doctorate of Christian Service Honoris Causa, April 26, 2001. He is an Eagle Scout. He was active in athletics in high school and played football (running back) at the University of Utah.

Before his call as a General Authority, he was a prominent business leader in Salt Lake City. He was also president of a trade association in Utah.

Elder Wirthlin served a mission to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in the late 1930s. Among other positions in the stake and ward auxiliaries, he has served as a counselor in the Bonneville Ward bishopric and as bishop. He was a member of the Bonneville Stake high council and a member of the stake presidency. He served as a counselor in the General Sunday School Presidency until April 1975, when he was called as an Assistant to the Twelve.

He married Elisa Young Rogers May 26, 1941 in the Salt Lake Temple. They are the parents of eight children. Sister Wirthlin passed away on August 16, 2006.

Labels: church

Karston has been smiling on and off for the past few weeks but it's started to get a lot more consistent lately and he is mixing in some laughter and cooing. Here is a picture of him at his best, and in his Sunday best ($15 at Target). More pictures can be found on flickr.com.



However, evidently Karston can't watch TV and use the remote during the day - he ends up like an old man, falling asleep while channel surfing with remote in hand.

Labels: baby, family, Karston

This past Sunday we blessed Karston at the chapel along the Potomac River in Alexandria, Virginia.

Here are some photos from the event:


Our Family


Extended Family at the Blessing


Karston, Daddy, and Grandma Deborah


Karston, Mommy, Daddy and Grandparents in Attendance


Mount Vernon Chapel, Alexandria, Virginia


Karston in his blessing outfit


Karston rooting for the Redskins, grabbed his football and was ready to play!


Then on Thursday, Karston went to the pediatrician the other day for his 2 month shots. During his visit, Dr. Fleming said she 'thought' she heard a heart murmur and for us to schedule a visit to the cardiologist.

Valerie took him in today and after running an EKG and Echo cardiogram on Karston, the doctors determined that Karston has a small hole in the wall between his two upper chambers of the heart, called an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD). Blood from the left atrium is leaking back into the right atrium where it goes right back to the lungs. none of this affects his breathing.

The doctor said that the hole will NOT get bigger, can get smaller and may even disappear altogether! Karston does not need any type of medication at this time. The cardiologist also said that 10% of the population has some form of minor heart defect, not including those who do not know they do, and are still considered 'healthy.' There is really no need to worry. We are going back for a check up in six months.

We are so blessed to have little Karston in our lives.

Labels: baby, family, health, Karston

For his first Halloween ever, Valerie and I decided to dress Karston as a hot dog. Valerie found this sweet Old Navy brand costume on eBay and we bought it a few weeks ago. We were so excited for him to wear it, even though he is so small compared to the 'one size fits all' costume.

For as long as I have known her, Valerie has gone around calling this last 'holiday' Halloweenie. It only seemed fitting to dress our most impressionable member of our family - the one who we can still get away with embarrassing - as a hot dog!

Labels: baby, family, Halloween, holiday, Karston

Karston's uncle Spencer and aunt Leslie gave him this bear for his birth day. It's extremely soft and cuddly. He doesn't quite know what to do with it yet but has enjoyed chewing on his ear. We call the bear "Chewy Bear."

Labels: baby, Karston

Our Baby with Insurance = $200.00.


Nathan's Baby without Insurance = $316.19.