So I couple of weeks ago I posted on FB that colored recipe cards saved my life and I have decided to explain here. Two of Dallin's teachers have had a color coded system in their classes to let the kids know how their behavior is for the day. Green=good, yellow=warning and so on. Well I have finally put this in to practice at home and it has been AMAZING. I went a little further though because I wanted to encourage better behavior and not just be happy with good, so the boys can earn a purple card which means that they have done something to help me or they have been playing together well or whatever I decide is "purple card" worthy behavior. The boys really love earning their purple cards and if one of them earns it then the other wants a job to do to earn a purple card too. All it took was a piece of printer paper that I folded to make an envelope to hold their cards and they each have a set of colored recipe cards. They get to start the day on green which means good, then yellow is their warning, blue is time out and then pink is another punishment suited to the "crime" committed and of course the coveted purple card. I was feeling like I was constantly yelling with no results prior to starting this and immediately it worked to stop a lot of yelling. Dallin especially likes the feedback to know how his behavior is for the day/moment. It might just be because he is already used to it from school. I started to wonder if the boys would want more than just a purple card for the good behavior (i.e. treats, prizes), but they really seem to take pride in knowing that they are doing good and don't require anything more than just that good feeling which is such a great lesson.

Well for those of you that know about Jared's heart condition, part of his follow-up care is yearly CT scans to check up on the repair work he had done in 2007. Jared had his CT scan in March and last Friday May 14 we meet with a vascular surgeon to discuss the results. The good news is that Jared doesn't have to immediate surgery, the bad news is that he will need more surgery in 6-12 months and it will be BIG and COMPLICATED! Once he has the surgery it will probably involve a heart surgeon and vascular surgeon. Apparently Jared has some kind of undetermined condition that is causing a dissection along the entire length of his aorta and in the arteries above his heart. The easiest way to explain what it means is that the inner most layer of his aorta has pulled away from the middle muscular layer creating two pathways for blood flow. The good news is that his internal organs are receiving adequate blood flow. The bad news is that the blood flowing toward the middle muscular layer is dilating his arteries and weakening them. This dilation and weakening of the arteries leaves him susceptible to aneurysms which is life threating if they burst. Most people have an aorta 1 inch in diameter Jared's is about 2 inches. Please keep us in your prayers. The surgeon said Jared has youth on his side since when they normally do this kind of surgery it is on someone twice his age, but we are still scared and uncertain as to what the future looks like for our family.