Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Our Prophet...

As many of you know, President Hinckley passed away on January 27, 2008. I (Richard) thought I would throw in my 2 cents on how I feel about our prophet's passing b/c he's the only prophet I've ever known since being baptized in 1996. He was a man who would always bring a smile to my face regardless of the mood or situation I was in. I remember when I was in high school I had just listened to a talk he had given in Conference for that session and I get a knock at my door from my neighbor who infomed me that my car had been broken into and my stereo had been stolen. Now, any of you who know me know that I'd usually freak out and go ballistic b/c of the situation, but for some reason, that day I simply smiled and said, "Oh well." I know that reaction was b/c of the message I had just heard from our prophet. Also, I always marveled at the love he had for his wife. I remember the message he gave at Conference after her passing and he said, "She was always the girl of my dreams. Now, she really is." I will always use that as an example of how much I should love my wife through the good times and the bad. There's so much more I could say about him but I don't think anything I say could do him justice as a man, a leader, or our prophet. I will say, though, that I never met him (although would've liked to) but the the testimony he helped build in my heart will be w/ me always and that's enough for me to say that I loved him and he will be missed.

Gordon B. Hinckley
June 23, 1910 - January 27, 2008

Friday, January 25, 2008

Eliza's first photoshoot

I guess when a new baby comes the ol' camera gets quite the workout! Here are some of our favorite pics from a recent photoshoot:

Saturday, January 19, 2008

The newest Noojen

Introducing ELIZA NGUYEN! She was delivered on 01/18/08 @ 3:03 PM CDT via c-section. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 4.3 oz & is 17.5 inches long. Mother & daughter are doing great! Thanks for all the love & support we've received over the past 9 months. We know that this little miracle will be a blessing to us for the rest of our lives!

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

I'm ready for my close-up

We were able to get a 3D sonogram of our daughter recently and here are the results:

We think she has Dad's lips & Mom's chin, but we're undecided about her nose. We hope she gets Mom's nose but it's looking like Dad's genes are taking over. The whole process was quite interesting b/c she didn't want to give us a full facial shot and kept laying on her right side, but just as the sonographer was about to give up she turned for her close up. We're a little biased, but we think she's pretty darn cute! :)

Sunday, October 21, 2007

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

We recently had a chance to go to a Star Wars Expo in Plano. Needless to say, I geeked out uncontrollably! Chris & Kristy Hall came w/ us and we all enjoyed the geekdom together. It was a very interesting experience. We saw Storm Troopers, Darth Vader, Jedi, & Storm Trooper Elvis! We also got to see many of the actors that portrayed the Star Wars characters in the movies; Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Dave Prowse (Darth Vader), & Kenny Baker (R2-D2). The Expo itself was really just a flea market of Star Wars memorabilia. I was hoping for some exhibits on the Star Wars galaxy, but I was happy w/ what we got. It was definitely interesting and I can't wait for it to come to town again! Until then...May the Force be with you!

Being "Force choked" by Lord Vader

Arrested!

Storm Trooper Elvis

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Time to get a shotgun!

Steph and I went to the doctor today and found out we're having a GIRL!!! I think we both already knew we were going to have a girl since we found out Steph was pregnant; I had a dream the morning Steph told me she was pregnant that I was holding my daughter so this is just confirmation. All I know is I'm going to have to get a whoopin' stick to keep the boys away! :)


Friday, August 24, 2007

Say a little prayer.

UPDATE 8/26: My mom got out of surgery around noon on Friday. The surgery took about 4 hours to do. They removed her thyroid completely and a couple of lymph nodes. They also moved one of her parathyroid glands from the right side of her neck to the left. Overall, the surgeon said he was very happy w/ the surgery. We didn't get to see her until about 2:00 PM, but she looked pretty good (considering her condition)! Her throat really hurt b/c of the breathing tube they had down her throat during the surgery. She never complained of any pain from the incision, but did say swallowing really hurt. B/c they moved her parathyroid gland, her calcium levels got really low and it caused her some numbness and tingling in her extremities. They gave her some elemental calcium and put her on a calcium IV drip. Saturday & Sunday were great b/c she was back to her old self; she felt no pain, her energy was back, & her throat didn't hurt much any more! However, her calcium was still a little low and they want to keep her until Monday for more observation. Let's hope that her calcium levels stabilize and she can go home ASAP! It's been a really emotional weekend for our family, but now that the worse is over, my mom can begin the process of becoming a cancer survivor! Thanks for your prayers, calls, & love!

As I type this my mom (Twee) is currently in surgery. She's having a thyroidectomy to completely remove her thyroid gland as a result of a papillary carcinoma (cancer) she's acquired. We received the news that she had cancer the day before we found out Steph was pregnant (ironic that w/ all bad news comes something good, huh?). She was admitted into MD Anderson in Houston (voted the best cancer center in the country) and will have the best doctors in the world taking care of her. Luckily, those w/ thyroid cancer have a 95% survival rate w/ surgery and radioactive iodine treatment. Her surgery was scheduled to start at 7:30 AM CDT today, and I am currently in the waiting room of the hospital awaiting an update on her status. The waiting is the worst part, but there is a calm that has come over me since last night after I gave her a blessing that lets me know that everything will be ok. I will update on her status ASAP...please keep her in your prayers in the mean time.