Hallstrom Family Blog

Leap Year!

2012-01-15T11:26:00.002-08:00

So we are scheduled for our c-section on February 29th! Six and a half weeks to go! I can't wait to see my new little guy! We are so excited to have another miracle come into our lives. Calvin is going to be such a good big brother too. He is so excited to have little Jax coming.

So Aaron is currently getting certified to be a neurotherapist/neurofeedback specialist. We are so excited. He should be ready to go in the next few weeks! It is amazing stuff. It helps with nearly every health condition out there. It helps with anxiety,depression,ADHD, OCD, RAD, headaches, sleep, addictions, weight loss, and much much more. It is going to be so awesome! Basically Aaron does brain scans and finds out what part of the brain is being "lazy" and what part of the brain is "over-working" and he trains your brain to function properly by strengthening the part that is being "lazy" and relaxing the part that is over-working. This is basically all done by playing a video game or watching a movie. So cool.

Leap Year!

2012-01-15T11:26:00.001-08:00

Du nu nu nuh nuh!!!

2011-10-10T09:57:00.000-07:00

IT"S A BOY! Yay!!! We are having another boy! Can't even believe it! When I saw the ultra sound I thought for sure it would be a girl because this baby was totally chilled out whereas Calvin was kicking and going crazy when we did his ultra sound at about the same age! So his name will be Jax David Hallstrom! He is due ) for a c-section_ march 2nd but maybe we will be able to do it on leap year! How cool would that be??

Yesterday was Calvin's birthday! Our little boy is now 2 years old! It goes by so fast I can't believe it! He has had so much fun the last few days. We took him to schnepf farms and let him see all the animals and ride the kiddie rides. He had a blast! He got so many gifts from family and friends it was crazy! He really was spoiled. He didn't want to go to sleep last night cause he just wanted to play. Then this morning he woke up and and picked up where he left off last night! So cute.

So I am teaching guitar lessons if anyone is interested. It will be in my home and $10 a lesson (weekdays from 4-4:30 but I am flexible).

Aaron is now taking the bus to work which is nice but it's not... it takes him twice as long to get home and to work but I now have a car and we are saving 200 a month in gas! We are really focusing on getting out of debt (mostly baby debt since that adoption blew a HUGE whole in our finances) but we will get there some day. You know, it still hurts but we are so excited for our little Jax who is coming to our home and who is worth every penny we have spent and barrowed to get to where we are right now.

Update

2011-09-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

Aaron started with a new company called Youth Development Institute and he runs all of the chemical dependancy classes and counseling for them. He loves it! He is now a LASAC (licenced associate substance abuse counselor) and in about a year and a half he will be able to own his own practice. We are so excited. Aaron is still busy busy being the Elders Chorum President in our ward and I am now a relief society teacher aaaaa! It is fun but very scary because I am so used to teaching primary that I'm not sure what I am doing when it comes to adults!

So Thursday we find out if our baby is a boy or girl! So exciting!! Also there is a good chance that our baby could be born on leap year (Feb 29th) this year! Cool eh? So exciting!

Lately we have been trying to save money. We switched to safeco insurance (for car and home) and we are saving like 100 bucks a month in insurance! Also Aaron's work is closer to home so we are saving on gas there too. I'm always looking for good ways to save so if you have any ideas please let us know! -Shannon

=)

2011-08-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

Elder Bednar came and spoke at our Stake Conference this last week! It was so neat! He went over some very basic principles and explained them in ways that I never thought of before. For example he went through the first 5 articles of faith and explained them in depth. He explained the plan of Happiness in a way I never thought of before. He explained Satan's thought patterns when he he rebelled against Heavenly Father's plan. He warned us that Satan wanted something for nothing and that was a rebellion against God because it defied the law of the harvest. Satan wanted God's glory without sacrificing for it. He told us never to seek after something that promises something for nothing because you will end up with nothing. What you reap is what you sow. That is the law of the harvest. It was very powerful to me.
Today in church there was a talk given by my former bishop who said a phrase I have heard many times but it really hit me... "Seek me diligently and you will find me." It doesn't say maybe it says you will. How neat.
Well the pregnancy is going great. I got a doc appointment in a week and will update then!
Shannon

A Miracle

2011-08-04T08:55:00.001-07:00

So I thought Aaron had updated this blog a week ago but I just realized it hasn't been updated (so sorry!) So yeah... WE ARE PREGNANT! I know right? Amazing. They said it couldn't be done... but that is what we get for obedience. I am just completely shocked. We still have a hard time believing that God has blessed us that much. We were so worried because we were over 10k in debt with the adoption and figured that we just couldn't have anymore kids for a while because we were broke... amazing (I'm still in awe). You know... we went through so much crap to get here. We had family members who were so excited that our adoption fell through that they went and basically congratulated Bridgette on keeping the baby. I had a lot of forgiving to do and I never truly hated anyone before this all happened but somehow Heavenly Father is making it all better... making it easier to forgive and let go. I still feel like there is a hole in my chest sometimes but this miracle overrides so much pain that I have been feeling. We will be 9 weeks on Sunday... LOTS of puking (I have lost 12 lbs already!) So I just want to say that when this happened I knew that our prayers had been answered but I didn't realize how many prayers Heavenly Father actually answered until all of you expressed how you have been praying for us all along and how Heavenly Father answered more than just our prayers with this miracle. It feels so good to know that. Love, Shannon

Life goes on

2011-06-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

So we have had a rocky last few weeks. The adoption fell through after having the baby for two days... It still hurts... but I know we did what Heavenly Father wanted us to do... still not sure why he wanted us to go through that and get slapped with a $10k bill but hopefully we will come to understand his true plan for us soon. Well, I don't want to be depressing on here so that is enough on that subject...
So Aaron and I are on the look out for the perfect APA certified Clinical Neuropsychology program. We have a few schools picked out that have outrageously incredible programs. I'm a little nervous because we may need to move out of AZ for up to 5 years to get the school done but we are so excited to accomplish our goals and dreams. Aaron is currently getting certified in sandtray therapy and he is loving it! Ultimately Aaron wants to specialize in adolescent addiction neuropsychology. It is crazy cause I can hardly pronounce some of his terminology let alone understand what he is talking about but Aaron drools over this stuff! It is so pleasing as a wife to see my husband so excited about what his career choice has become. Can't wait to find out what school we end up going with!!!
Shannon

Wednesday!!!

2011-03-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

Aaron graduates on Wednesday!!! Wow life is so exciting right now! Aaron loves being a substance abuse counselor. He loves working with the youth. He is working on getting his LISAC and his adolescent specialist endorsement. He begins his PhD in Psychology (emphasizing in child and adolescent therapy) in April at Northcentral University. Who would have thunk that I would land a guy like him eh? A doctor!! Wow who would have thunk? I am one lucky girl.
So Calvin is totally brilliant. He is so smart! He cleans his room and he helps me do the dishes and laundery. He knows all his shapes and colors (he puts this puzzle together just right!) I can't believe how smart he is! I don't think he got it from me! must be his 4.0 GPA daddy over here rubbing off on him. He is such a good boy too. He loves to give kisses and knuckles. Ugh he is so cute it is hard to say no to him! -Shannon

Update

2011-02-21T15:40:00.000-08:00

Okay so busy busy. Here is our update and it is going to be a doozy.
So Aaron graduates in about 4 weeks with his Master Degree in Addiction Counseling at grand Canyon University and He starts his Doctorate degree April 14th in Behaviral Health Business Management (It actually has a really long name but that is basically what it is =) I am so proud of him. He is such an amazing man. I fall in love with him every day. Aaron currently works for Chicanos Por La Causa as a child clinician (Counselor) and He loves it! I love being at home with Calvin. He is my bundle of joy. He is getting so big it is hard to keep up with him. He loves going outstide and riding his bike. I love just watching him. I can't believe he is mine. He loves to help me do the laundry and the dishes Such a sweetheart. Right now he is just sitting on my lap while I type. Can't get much better than this.
I have been feeling so blessed lately. We found out my sister Heather is having a boy! Can't wait to meet him. I bet he will look just like Elliot. They can't decide on a name though but hopefully soon. Calvin will be excited to have a boy cousin.
So I am now the Nursery coordinator for my ward as well as the achievment day leader and Aaron is the second counselor in the Elders chorum so we keep busy around here.
Well, Life is great and I ran out of time with Calvin sitting quietly so I better run.
Shannon

2010-10-09T23:41:00.000-07:00

Calvin is 1 year old! I caved in and agreed to get him a puppy for his birthday. Katara is a red heeler. She follows Calvin everywhere and he giggles all day. It is so cute. I can't believe that he was born a year ago. 5 years ago tomorrow (October 10th) Aaron proposed to me. Now my sister Heather is getting married next Friday! Such happy times.

Disneyland!

2010-09-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

So for two weeks I planned to surprise Aaron and take him to Disneyland on Labor Day. He had no idea. I told him I had a surprise for him. He guessed that it was a puppy or a big screen tv. Ha ha! He had NO clue that I was taking him to Disneyland. I got my two sisters Hayley and Anna to come and help with Calvin. We just went up Sunday night and played Monday the 6th and then came back that night. It was a blast! Calvin LOVED it! He even got to go on a few rides. It wasn't busy at all. We got right on Indiana Jones. It was a blast. It was really nice because Aaron is working Monday through Saturday now so it was good to get away and have fun. We probably won't get to do a good vacation for a while so it was great. The main reason for the trip was because last time we were at Disneyland, Aaron weighed 320 lbs! Now he is down to 240 and still going. (See before and after pics) I am so proud of him.
Well, my sister Heather is getting married! I am very excited! My sister-in-law Kari is pregnant with twins! I am soooo excited!!! My sister Deserie is doing great on her mission. I miss her so much. Calvin turns 1 year old on October 9th! I can't believe how fast time flies! Well life is a blast. Gotta run! ~Shannon

2010-08-13T21:44:00.000-07:00

So Calvin is 10 months now. His favorite things to do are making messes and shaking his head whenever he hears the word "no". I still don't think he knows what the word means but he certainly knows to shake his head ha ha ha.
Aaron is loving his new job. It is hard since he doubled his classes for his masters degree and now he works overtime but it is still awesome that he loves it so much.

2010-08-03T22:08:00.000-07:00

Well Calvin is crawling and pulling himself up everywhere. He is so close to walking that it scares me! He is playing more games and he laughs everyday (even though he is getting about 5 teeth at the same time!) I hope his teeth all come in soon so that he won't have to hurt anymore. Poor kid =(
Aaron started his new job yesterday (his birthday)!!! We are so excited over here! He is a therapist for a place called Centro de Amistad and he gets to specialize in working with the youth which is what we have always wanted! On Saturdays he is a group therapist for a company called ACCS and Centro de Amistad just asked if he would be interested in being a group therapist for them on Thursday nights. So busy busy busy! He gets to do his intern with this same company too! He will actually be done with his classes in November then he starts his internship and can get licensed in February! Wow this is amazing. He has now lost 80lbs+! I know he is going to be a great therapist especially for the youth. I'm so proud if you can't tell

Well we will catch you later!
Shannon

Braggin on my husband

2010-06-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

K so Calvin is such a stinker but I LOVE him. I think my mom pinned it on the nose... I coddle him. It is true. He throws these fits to get what he wants and I just give it to him. I never had such a hard time with other kids that I babysat. I thought it would be easier with your own. Silly me. He looks at me with those huge eyes and I fall to pieces. I will get this right soon.

Aaron is so incredibly amazing. He is currently trying to stop me from writing this. He has a 4.0 GPA in his masters degree (substance abuse counseling) and he is already halfway through his program. He just got a side job being a group counseling leader for Arizona Consulting and Counseling Services (ACCS). We are so excited. He will only do it 1- 2 nights a week but still he is so pumped! Drum roll Aaron stated doing weight watchers online about 2 years ago and switched to the campus about 6 months ago... he has lost 77lbs!!! That is right...77!!! I have to point out that Macaia and Mindy are really looking slick! Truly amazing. It isn't easy to lose weight. INSPIRING! Well... Aaron's birthday is coming up... it is going to be the big 27 duh nuh nuh (August 2nd) I'm trying to think of something fun to do... hmmm...)

Shannon Venting--no sleep!

2010-06-22T13:24:00.000-07:00

Help! Calvin can stand up in his crib now! Talk about scary! Also he is crawling on his hands and knees! He only army crawled for about a week! He is going to be running before I know it! I already realized that I'm not so good at cleaning my house (once I discovered that he likes to eat all the fun pieces of trash he finds on the floor). Still there is only one thing we are really struggling with... he doesn't sleep! He wakes up every hour (sometimes every 20 minutes). He wants me to feed and rock him every time. (Yes that is why he is so chunky--I have given in too many times obviously) I wish he could fall back asleep on his own. I was looking up different things to try: I would lay him down right before he falls asleep so that maybe he would figure out he can go to sleep alone... that totally doesn't work. He pops right back up and SCREAMS like I have never heard a baby scream. I tried/trying to cut him down to one nap a day so that he will sleep better at night... doesn't work. I give him a nap at one then he goes to bed for the night at 8 and wakes up at 9 and stays up til midnight. I tried not feeding him right before he goes to sleep just in case that is what is waking him up... but then he would wake up every 20 minutes until I feed him. When I rock him to sleep and lay him down he wakes up everytime and wants me to hold him. I can't ever set him down and he is really heavy! So after trying to rock him I lay him down and if he wakes up I tried just patting his back and putting his binky in his mouth and he will SCREAM until I pick him up. I tried running out of the room. I tried letting him cry for a few minutes--nothing! I tried letting him sleep in bed with me. That seems to be the best answer because even though he still wakes up every hour to eat... he goes back to sleep faster since I am right there. But I don't sleep very well when I am holding him all night long. I am getting so grumpy! Ugh. Sorry for venting...any suggestions??? Or can anyone tell me what it is supposed to be like? Maybe this is normal??? If so then people weren't kidding about never getting sleep again. I haven't slept more than 2 hours at one time in 8 months.

2010-05-31T10:28:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Well we are doing great over here. We got to go to Oceanside California with a couple friends of ours for a week! It was amazing! We stayed in a condo that was literally ON the beach! Calvin loved it! He slept so well with the sound of the waves outside the door. It was so nice.
Aaron is doing great in school. Doubled up on master degree classes and he still has a 4.0!! I'm not sure how he does it. He is still on schedule to be finished in December.
Calvin is just about 8 months old now. He is a wiggle worm but still not crawling yet. He is saying mummm a lot now... Still can't say it on demand just yet. I love being a mommy.

Da da da da da

2010-04-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

Aaaa! Calvin said his first word this last Saturday!! I thought that he had to be older for some reason but it was crazy! I started crying! Of course it wasn't MAMA!!! Figures - I only gave birth to the kid ugh. Just kidding. I actually love that is was Dada!! He keeps saying it now. Adorable! SO cute! But yesterday he said Mummmm twice! (I didn't provoke him to so I am just assuming he knows it is me he he) Anyway so fun being a mummmm!!! =) I love it! Calvin is so sweet. He makes me laugh every day.

Well - some good slash bad news - We finally found out what the spots on Calvin's tummy were. (Hardly anyone has seen it before) We took him to a dermatologist. The nurse we saw had no clue what it was so she brought in 2 doctors who knew exactly what it was (what a blessing)... It is a disease called Urticaria Pigmentosa. It is really rare but it is basically like Poison Ivy (except it didn't come from an allergy to anything... just something his body was born doing I guess) It isn't contagious so no worries. He will have it for a minimum of 3 years. I guess 90% of these cases - the child gets over the disease by the time he hits puberty. It shouldn't bother him too bad... he is just itchy all the time which is why he doesn't sleep at night and why he wants to eat so much ha ha. Such a big boy! There are just certain things I have to do to keep it under control... other than that he is a normal healthy boy! Yay!

2010-04-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

You know... it is so fun having a reason to take lot's of pictures! For the first 3 + years of our marriage we always sent around wedding pics because our family hadn't grown. (Plus Aaron and I were a lot thinner back then ha ha) but now I pull out the camera all the time. Calvin changes so fast. He looks nothing like he did when he was first born. What a blessing he is. He smiles ALL THE TIME! I can't get enough of him.
Well we are busy busy with aaron's school and work. Calvin will crawl full time any day now and I don't know if I will ever see him again. He is crazy active. My dad suggested that I put a bell on him so that I will know where to find him... like in the kitchen on top of the fridge or playing in the toilet... the possibilities are endless.
So I definitely had a boy... let me explain. Today Calvin spit up on the floor and decided that it looked fun to play in so he sloshed his hands around in it. I quickly grabbed a toy to distract him so that I could clean up the mess... He took one look at the toy and then back at the puke and decided that the puke looked like more fun so he played with it some more1 ha ha ha! Definitely a boy.
Another story that maybe only a mother would love... Calvin likes to play with whatever we are playing with and I was going through some papers. I gave him some junk mail to play with and then I heard him chomping on something... I looked down and a bite was missing out of the piece of paper. Lukily he didn't swollow it but it was bunched up in his cheeks like a chipmunk ha ha.

2010-03-02T06:50:00.000-08:00

So Calvin is sitting on his own now and he is starting to scoot on the floor. He rolls and is SO MUCH FUN!!! Wow where does the time go? He sings himself to sleep and his Bumpa (Grandpa Sanders) taught him how to vibrate his lips and blow bubbles with his spit ha ha! He does it all the time. So cute! He will be 5 months old on March 9th! He smiles all the time. He is such a blessing. I can't believe how wonderful it is to be able to be a mom... especially to such an incredible little boy. It is such a thrill.

Aaron started his master's degree in addiction counseling at GCU (Grand Canyon University) and he is doubling up on classes so that he will graduate in December! He will then take his exam to become a licensed associate substance abuse counselor... then on to his doctorate degree and 2 years of experience before he becomes an independant counselor and then he can own his own practice! Woo hoo! Lots of work but so much fun!

We are all doing great! I finished my book and Aaron had it printed for me for Christmas. There are a few copies floating around but if you would like a copy (it is called The Tin Soldier - Return of the Lost Tin-Blade) I think it is about 13 bucks including shipping and handeling but just call me and I will get a better estimate.

Love you all,
Shannon

The New Addition to Our Family

2009-10-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

Aaron Calvin Hallstrom was born on 10/09/2009 at 7:38pm. He was 21 & 1/2 inches long and weighed in at 7 lbs & 10 oz. He is a perfect addition to the Hallstrom Family1 :) So far we recognize that he has daddy's eyes, ears, hair, and height. He has mommy's nose, noggin, and feet. We will keep you updated. We will upload an album to our blog shortly. Hope you enjoy!

Update

2009-10-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! So I'm still fat ha ha! We are due on Sunday. Hopefully something will happen soon. We can't wait to see our little boy! Aaron started his last semester for his BA degree. He is getting straight A's so far! I'm so proud of him. Work is going great for him too and we love our home.

Drum roll please...

2009-06-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

It's a boy! Calvin David Hallstrom - our little trooper. He is so cute! And wow can this kid kick!! I am very proud of my little belly so belly rubs are completely appropriate (especially for good luck... we are convinced that Calvin has mind powers so rub away). Our dear friends (Paula and Shawn Wheeler) gave us a crib and dresser for his room! We are so excited because it is actually becoming more realistic to see his room being put together. October 4th is the due date! I know you all have been there for us and have kept us in your prayers and we are so very grateful to you all!

Update

2009-05-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

Here is our monthly update (sorry) and we are taking votes on if you think the baby is a boy or a girl! We find out this coming Wednesday night, May 6th. We picked out names... If it is a boy his name will be Calvin David Hallstrom and if it is a girl her name will be Sawyer Hadassah Hallstrom... I still think Calvin pushed Sawyer out of the way on his way down from Heaven (he is my little rascal) but Aaron and I know that our little Sawyer packs a punch and in order for Calvin to make it down before her he must have jumped her from behind... hmmm... What do you guys think?

So everything is great here. We are loving our new house and excited about our growing family and my growing belly. Aaron is doing well at the fraud department of Wells Fargo and he is just finishing up another semester of school. He will graduate this December instead of this summer because they don't offer his last class during the summer... grrr. Oh well. Aaron and I received callings which is so much fun. I work with the 11 year old girls for activity days and Aaron works with bears and wolves in scouts (of course he is having a blast.) We love you all!

Our Witto Baby

2009-03-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

So we are just having one beautiful little trooper! We are very excited. We saw the heartbeat at five and a half weeks and I got to hear the heartbeat for the first time on my first visit to the ob (march 9th). It was incredible. My next visit is on April 6th. I am doing great. I am very blessed in the morning sickness area. I am not even close to as bad as I thought I would be so it is really nice. We are 11 weeks today! Our due date is October 4th. We will keep you updated. We don't know if it is a boy or girl yet... I say boy and Aaron says girl but we shall see.

So we have officially moved into our new home. Same phone numbers but our new address is 8043 E. Idaho Ave. Mesa, AZ 85209. We are now over on Sossoman and Baseline in a beautiful house that we love! I know I know... this makes the 8th move in 3 years but we are done for a long long long long time.

January 31st, 2009

2009-01-31T13:47:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Shannon and I have just come back from the doctors, and it looks like we are having our first kid! I take that back...the doctor said that the numbers that came in from the test leads him to believe that it is twins! For those of you who don't know...Shannon and I have been married for over 3 years now. We found out after MANY test that we were unable to have children on our own (besides a miracle from our Father in Heaven). So, we tried envitro. Unfortunately, the first two embryo's were miscarried. We decided to start fresh again in about three months. Since mid January, we tried again. This time with (obviously) much more success! The babies are due the last week of September! We are VERY excited...and VERY thankful that our Father in Heaven blessed us with this great blessing. Thank you all for your prayers! We love you all!