The Kids!

Chelsea was born on January 17th, 1994 at 2:50 am. When Chelsea was born she was very anxious to join all of us, she came 4 days early, when I finally made it to the hospital, we were very lucky that she didn't come out on the way there, It was very close, she didn't want to wait for anyone to give her a hand, she came when she wanted to, which happened to be before the doctor was there.

Well, since that day she has been very strong willed, she does whatever she wants, if she can't do what she wants she tries her very best to get it. When she was 2 years old, we had a BIG scare. She playing with her cousin & a friend, she was riding on the friends shoulders, trying to play basket ball, she lost her balance & fell on to the pavement, she started to cry, they brought her home, and I tried to comfort her, then the neighbor who saw everything happen came over & told me what had happened, so it was at that point I decided to take her to the hospital (if he had not seen what had happened and not told me what he saw she might not be with us right now, he is her guardian angel).

I arrived at the Hospital & she started having seizures, one lasted for 4 minutes & one lasted for 2 minutes, then she had another that lasted 1 minute, needless to say I was petrified, They ended up taking her to Primary Children's Hospital, via Life flight, they wouldn't let me go with her in the helicopter.

Now that she is a full grown teenager, she is presenting a whole different set of emotions..... Need I say more? But we love her just the same. She can be difficult at times but weren't we all at that age? She is a very strong young woman, with a good head on her shoulders and good moral values. She likes boys a little too much, at least more than I want her to.

Justine was born on July 23, 1998 at 6:30 PM it was a joyous occasion, we knew she would a stubborn child, even before she was born, she would always move when they tried to hear her heart beat, when we did the ultrasound she kept on moving all over the place. When it was finally time for her to be delivered, she did not want to come out, we were in labor for 10 Hours, and they finally got her out, of course it took some convincing on our part.

The doctor had to use a suction cup to pull her out. When she finally came out and into our arms it was the most beautiful thing in the world. Still to this day, she is just as stubborn as she was then. Her favorite word right now is "no" she has her own little personality, we have been really lucky to have her, She is a true blessing from heaven, it is really neat when we walk through church or when we walk through temple square & the visitors center, whenever we see a picture of Christ, she points at it & is so happy, when you ask her where Jesus is she always points to him,

She is turning 10 this year, it's hard to believe how fast they grow up, she has been baptized and has tons of little friends, she gets herself into trouble sometimes, but she knows how to use that cute little smile to get what she wants. Whenever she wants anything she looks at her Dad with those big eyes and says..."Daddy you are my Super Hero!" makes my heart melt.

On January 22, 2000 we were blessed with another angel. Brady Kirk Ricks was born. He is such a blessing in our lives. I had the wonderful opportunity of giving him a blessing when he was about 3 weeks old. He is now growing into a chubby little man.

Before he was born, there were some concerns during delivery. When Camie was in labor his heart rate began to drop considerably, so much that the doctor was considering a C-Section (ouchie!!) We began getting concerned about this, Camie looked over at me & said to me (through her oxygen mask) I need a blessing...

So before we continued with pushing, we called for an elder to assist me with giving her a blessing, a few minutes later an elder walked into the room. I had some oil with me, so we administered to her. Shortly after that she started pushing again, except this time, no drop in the heart rate, shortly after that the baby was born. He is truly a gift from God.

This little Munchkin is now 7 years old...... He is such a smart little boy. He has had some issues with his speech but is just about on track now. He is such a good reader and loves math & learning in general, He is also a big fan of Maps...yes maps.... and organization. If course like all little boys his age he loves playing video games. He is also a big fan of Star Wars just like his Dad.

Lorenzo Wilson was born on April 16th in 1999 to Amanda Lou WIlson. Lorenzo came to live with us in June of 2007, sadly his mother had passed away quietly in the night and was living in a environment that was not good for him or his sister. After his mother had passed away in March of 2007, they were staying with their grandparent, however they were unable to provide the type of care they needed, Amanda is Camie's sister and we feel that this is what she would have wanted and she is watching over her little ones. Lorenzo, has had a hard start in his little life. He has a bit of ADHD as well as exhibits some learning disabilities, however he has some great teachers that are working with him to get him back up to speed. His education prior to coming to live with us was not very structured, there really was not any kind of parental support when it came to homework and school work in general, so that is something we have been struggling a bit with.

Lorenzo loves Soccer, Star Wars & Video games, he and Brady are best buddies and share a room, where they get along most of the time.

Cambree Alise Wilson was born on May 28th 2001 to Amanda Lou WIlson, She came to live with us at the same time Lorenzo did, She had a very hard start to life. She was the little girl we never knew we were getting. Her mother hid her pregnancy until the delivery, We received a phone call when she was born and were a bit confused because we did not even know she was in her mommy's belly. When she was born she had swallowed her Meconium (poop in the bag) which cause a bit of brain damage. She was also diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, although her doctors originally told us that she would never even walk, she had since learned to walk, and mumble most of her words, but she seems to be speaking her own little language, because all her little friends seem to understand what she is saying.

She too loves Star Wars & especially Darth Vader. She said that is who she is going to marry him .

She is currently attend a special program at her school, and has a special friend there. One of her aides has taken a real interest in her and comes over on the weekends to spend time with her. Cambree has made a good deal of progress since she has been attending there