© 2002-2004, The Purdys

OK. We thought other months were busy. May 2004 could be the busiest month of our lives. Here goes an attempt to explain it all...

A Whirlwind Month

As we mentioned in an earlier update, we received a finalization court date of May 10, the day after Mother's Day (nice gift, huh?). Anyway, we spent the last week of April and the first part of May getting ready: making arrangements with family to fly/drive in, scheduling the appointment at the temple, getting the blessing approved for Sacrament meeting, notifying friends, making plans for a celebratory reception...

May 8—Jason had his hoop-a-thon (improved his total for the 4th straight year, by the way). Kelsee's parents flew in.
May 9—Mother's day
May 10—Finalization. Our little girl is officially Haley Matisse Purdy; we're a legal family!!!
May 14—Kourtney's family drove in. So did Grandma and Grandpa Hobbs.
May 15—Jason's mom flew in. We were sealed in the Seattle Temple, making us an eternal family!!!
May 16—Haley was blessed in church. We have many family and friends together for a reception. Kelsee's family all drove out of town.
May 19—Jason's mom flew home.
May 23—Kelsee's parents returned to Issaquah via train.
May 25—Kelsee's parents flew home.
May 28-31—Our annual Memorial Weekend camping trip (this time near Walla Walla).

Mix into that the normal stuff of life: church callings, Jason's work and school, Haley's therapies, Kelsee's entertaining guests for the better part of three weeks (wait, that's not normal). Whew! And things haven't really slowed down much in June...

June 4—Haley's appointment at the eye doctor.
June 9-10—Jason's finals.
June 16-18—Jason's business trip to Orlando.
June 19—Jason's graduation.
June 20—Father's Day

About the Finalization

This was a happy event, probably more of a relief that it's finally come. Not too emotional since Haley's always been with us. This isn't to say it wasn't joyous, because it was. It just seemed like a formality that needed to be done before the best stuff could happen. We were privileged to share this with Kelsee's parents and our good friends Terry and Cindy Hess.

About the Sealing

This was the big day, and probably one of the most spiritual and joyous days of our lives. We've been told there weren't many dry eyes in the sealing room when our friend Terri Young brought Haley into the room to kneel with us at the alter. Not that we'd know, since it was hard to see through our tears. Haley just smiled at everyone the whole time. She held her hand there and just glowed, like she knew this was a very special day. We had 30 or so family and friends there, which was wonderful. Jason's mom served as Kelsee's escort, and the temple workers treated Kelsee like she was a new bride. (They treated Jason like he was a new groom, but that's not saying much.) Denzel Wiser, a dear man from our ward, sealed us as a family. It was absolutely wonderful!

About the Blessing

Haley did wonderful here, as well. She didn't fuss or cry at all, just looked around at the men in the circle, and even tried to get the microphone. She was blessed that she would be a great missionary to bring people to the Gospel; that she had been given strength and a personality that would help her deal with the trials in our life; and that she would, and has, touched the lives of many. She did so well. Kelsee and the Moms and Kourtney, along with some other friends, put on quite a spread after church. Just a great day.

Last Note: The Eye Doctor

We visited the eye doctor today. We've had some concerns about Haley's vision. Four major issues really:

1. She appears to have misaligned eyes when she tries to look up or to the side without moving her head. The right eye seems to not be able to move as far as the left eye.
2. She seems to often tilt her head back a little to look forward, which makes it hard for her to see down by her feet. This often leads to her tripping over things.
3. When she does step over things, she often steps way over them, like she can't tell how high they are or how far away they are. Almost like she has poor depth perception.
4. She rubs her right eye often. Many times a day. Like it bothers her.

Just a last thought. The eye problems are on the right side, which is also the side she's shunted on. May not have anything to do with it, just an interesting observation...