Jacob's Obituary

Jacob Ephraim Imbler
7/21/04 – 7/31/06

Our sweet angel passed away on July 31st, 2006, after an accident in Upland, CA. Born July 21st, 2004, in American Fork, Jacob lived in Lehi with his family. Jacob was loved by all and was a happy, energetic boy. His smile was infectious, and his laughter a sweet melody. He loved to play with toy cars, Elmo, and Thomas the Train. Jacob adored books, especially when his big brother read to him, and was put out if ever at scripture time he was without his Book of Mormon. He also loved cake and recently celebrated his second birthday, enthusiastically digging into his chocolate cake. Jacob was an expert climber and could often be found climbing over the baby gate, up the entertainment center, and onto any table or countertop. He was our water baby and was always trying to give himself a bath – be it in the tub, the sink, or the toilet. Jacob loved nursery at church, always calling nursery “toys!” He loved to sing, and his favorite song was “cudders” (Our Primary Colors). We love you Jacob. We cherish your memory. You will be greatly missed!

Jacob is survived by his parents, Matthew and Angenette of Lehi; his older brothers, Taylor and Nathan; his grandparents: Donald Imbler of Upland, CA, and Jim and Molly Cox of Mesa, AZ; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins. Jacob was closely followed in death by his beloved grandmother, Dorothy M. Imbler (11/12/1955 - 8/1/2006). They are together with our Heavenly Father.

Viewing will be from 6-8 pm at the Lehi Jordan River Stake Center at 2150 N. 1940 W. in Lehi on Tuesday, August 8th. Memorial service is scheduled for Wednesday, August 9th, at 11:00 am in the same location, with viewing one hour prior to services. Interment at Lehi City Cemetery will directly follow services.

In lieu of flowers, we request that donations be made to the General Missionary Fund of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Jacob's Funeral- August 9, 2006

Family Prayer: Donald E. Imbler, grandfather

Presiding: President W. Kirk Evans
Conducting: Bishop Paul Williams
Accompanist: Meredith McNett
Chorister: Laura Meek

Opening Song: I Am Like A Star
Invocation: Lisa Russell

Eulogy: Scott A. Russell

Special Music: Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam
Primary children

Memories: Angenette Imbler
Matthew Imbler

Special Music: “Cudders” (Our Primary Colors)
Taylor and Nathan Imbler

Remarks: Christopher Callister
Closing Remarks: Bishop Paul Williams

Closing Hymn: I Am a Child of God #301
Benediction: Adlei Da Silva

Dedication of Grave: Jim Cox, grandfather

Pallbearers: Mitchell Imbler, Scott Russell, Mark Imbler, Nelson Jaco

Honorary Pallbearers: Taylor Imbler, Nathan Imbler, Michael T. Imbler, Chad Westover, Jonathan Grizzle, Michael Lott, Anthony Willyerd, Boyd Cox


At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, who is the greatest in
the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
St. Matthew 18:1-5

Jacob's Eulogy

August 9, 2006- given by Scott Russell

Thank you, everyone, for coming to be here with Matt and Angenette and the boys at this difficult time. As the bishop said, I'm a close family friend. Matt and Angenette and the boys are very much our own family. And we're grateful for their friendship. I’m here this morning to remember the life of Jacob Ephraim Imbler who recently passed away the afternoon of July 31st in Upland, California. I will walk through some milestones of Jacob’s short, two-year life. and I have to say that this euology is a credit to his mother, Angenette, for keeping a journal. She'd spend time Sunday afternoons to write in the boys' journals to make sure that they had a memory of their early life, until they could keep their own journal. So I referred to these three journals, and I've had a great time reading them and remembering the memories of these boys since we've known them.

Jacob Ephraim Imbler was both a surprise and a blessing to his parents. After a relatively easy labor on July 21, 2004, Jacob made his entrance into the world at 11:08am weighing in at 6 lbs 10oz and measured 18 inches long. He instantly captured our hearts with his cute smile, chubby cheeks and his dimples. Being the third child he was greeted by his two older brothers Taylor and Nathan who instantly took him under their wings and taught him everything that they knew. He wanted to do everything that they did.

Jacob was blessed in sacrament meeting on September 5, 2004 and was given a name and a beautiful blessing by his father. The blessing left a lasting impression on me as I’m sure it did to many of you. The presence of the spirit was very strong there. Matt and Angenette documented the blessing, and I'd like to read an excerpt about his name.

“Jacob, your name was chosen for you with careful thought. May you reflect on it often, and may it be a source of comfort and humility when needed. We learn from latter-day revelation that the prophet Jacob “did none other things than that [which he] was commanded.” May you also follow that path, striving diligently to keep our Heavenly Father’s commandments. It was also through Jacob that the covenant of Abraham continued, and it was then passed on to Ephraim. Ephraim means one who is fruitful. May you be fruitful and bring forth righteous fruits. It is the privilege of Ephraim’s descendents to bear the message of the restoration of the gospel to the world. We bless you with a desire to serve the Lord and proclaim the gospel through your words and deeds.”

Jacob passed onto the other side of the veil where he'll be a blessing those there. He will be able to fulfill the blessing given by his father to bear the message of the restoration of the gospel to the world through word and deed.

Jacob’s outgoing personality will be a blessing there. He would smile at anyone, and he wasn’t afraid to be anyone’s friend. He had a love that he freely shared. I know that many people felt Jacob’s love.

In early June 2005 when Jacob was between 10 and 11 months he decided it was time to walk. He would pull himself up to anything that would stay still and move about. It was only but a few weeks later that he would walk the short distance between Matt and Angenette. They would get excited, thus he would get excited. He loved to clap his hands at success. With learning to walk comes the bumps and the bruises. His Grandpa Cox called this walking phase in Jacob’s life “the black and blue phase” because he was covered in all kinds of bruises. He loved to climb. And as you know, Jacob was very active and didn’t like to stay still. Up until his passing, I think he was still somewhat in the black and blue phase.

He just wasn’t afraid to climb on anything. His favorite place to be was to climb on the kitchen table. He'd crawl up there and sit there as if he had just climbed Mt Everest, and if he was right in the middle of the table he would be safe from Matt and Angenette's grasp and he wouldn't have to get down. He wasn’t deterred from climbing on the table. Just before Matt’s 29th birthday last September, he climbed on the table and Angenette saw what was going to happen. And he started to fall, and he did fall and ended up with a large goosegg on his forehead. But that didn't deter him, because that was one of his favorite places to be on the table. Last Christmas Jacob climbed onto the table and proceded to eat a whole muffin loaf. Once again, he climbed to the middle of the table where he thought he'd be safe and proceed to finish off that loaf. Again, thinking that he was safe.

Jacob’s early form of verbal communication came by way of the ear-piercing shriek. When he was unhappy or wanted something – instead of crying he was let out these shrieks. This wasn't pleasant, and everyone was grateful when he found other ways to communicate. It did, however, persist for several weeks. One thing that was sure to bring a shriek was when Angenette or Matt would break up his food into little pieces. He didn't want any part of that. He wanted to gnaw on it. He had five little teeth at the time and wanted to just devour it. He would put away whatever was in front of him. This little boy could eat like you wouldn't believe. The other boys are somewhat picky eaters, but Jacob would eat whatever you put in front of him. He loved meat. He loved any kind of protein. It was fun just to watch him eat. We would stop by after dinner and find the older boys playing in the living room, but Jacob still be in his chair, still at the kitchen table finishing his dinner.

Just before his first birthday, Angenette took a cake decorating class. She would make lots of cakes, and there was lots of cakes for Jacob to eat. He loved cake. Angenette always lets the boys choose the theme of their birthday cake and then she creates a work of art – a masterpiece for them. Jacob's first birthday cake was a circus theme complete with clowns. While I’m sure he wasn’t interested in viewing the cake, he sure was interested in eating it.

By his first birthday Jacob has mastered walking and moving about on his own. This was great in some ways but difficult in others. He loved to climb and explore. Two weeks after his first birthday, Nathan and Jacob discovered sunscreen in the diaper bag. They had been at the county fair the day before and must have thought it would be fun to put sunscreen on again the following day. But Jacob wasn't into putting it on- he wanted to eat it, true to Jacob's fashion of wanting to eat. This sunscreen ended up having a bug repellent in it as well. It was 40% alcohol. He constantly vomited. Poison control told Matt and Angenette to watch him and make sure he didn't go to sleep. He ended up getting drowsy and couldn’t stay awake. So they rushed him to the ER, where they discovered his body had already purged the alcohol through the vomiting and he was sleepy and lethargic, because he had worn himself out. Despite all three Imbler boys being very active children, Jacob is the only one to have had an ER visit.

This experience didn’t get Jacob down though. He still continued to climb and explore. The next week, he pulled the piano bench down on on his face and ended up with a bloody nose He nursed that and was back goin' again. This event happened again later in the year as he learned to run, and he ran into the piano bench. I think he just got going with the little pitter-patter of his feet, and he couldn't stop. But climbing was truly his passion. This time he was climbing on the sectional. For those of you who haven't been in Matt and Angenette's home, they have a nice sectional in their family room. And Jacob would climb up on the back, and would be fine as it hugged the wall, but as he got to the corner there was a gap back there, and he would fall back behind the couch. He would squeal and shriek and Matt or Angenette would pick him up. It didn't deter him; he would do it again.

Angenette was getting fed up with Jacob’s persistent shrieking and decided it was high time Jacob learned to say please. Angenette said that this was a “tall order” as the only thing he could say at the time was “da da” and a hello greeting – “Ha." Finally, Angenette heard some “Eeees" out of him and knew she was getting through.

When he finally learned to say “Hi” instead of Ha and would go around saying it for no reason. He would just walk up to Matt or Angenette and say “hi” out of the blue. This was always be accompanied by a cute smile.

Mid-September last year brought the sad news of Grandma Imbler’s cancer and the beginning of the monthly trips to Southern California. But Jacob was truly a trooper in the car and did remarkably well. He was just old enough to be in a front-facing car seat, and he could watch movies. One of his favorite movie was Finding Nemo. You probably saw it there on the table. He would just sit in his car seat, and when you would walk up to the window, he would just smile at you.

He added some new words to his vocabulary which included Mama, this, and Jesus, as well as a couple things that sound like Taylor and Nathan. When he would say Mama, he would stick out his tongue out afterwards. He had a little bit of a sense of humor.

He loved to hear stories about Jesus and loved to read the Book of Mormon with the family. Jacob was my Sacrament Meeting buddy, and we would sit together and read books. One of the books that the boys liked to read was The Sacrament Book, about the importance of the Sacrament and being reverent during the Sacrament. Nathan had some favorite pictures on each page that he would point out to Jacob. While Jacob couldn't say anything, he would point out those same pictures that Nathan liked on those pages. He would sit on my lap and lay his head on my chest and relax. It was some of the greatest and quietest and mellow times with Jacob. I think deep down he understood the importance of the reverence of the Sacrament. Angenette has taught the three boys of the importance of the Sacrament, and through repetition, I think they are understanding it and getting it. When he turned 18 months he loved to be in the nursery with Brother James and Brother Ercanbrack as well as with Nathan.

Last Halloween on a trip to California, Jacob was dressed up with Taylor and Nathan as characters from the Wizard of Oz. He was the Tinman and quite happy about his cone-shaped hat and gray sweatsuit. He would pose for pictures and was very cute.

The Imbler family spent time with both grandparents during the Christmas holiday and all spoiled him. Jacob gained a passion for Thomas the Tank Engine from his older brother Taylor. Taylor loved Thomas and passed on his love to Jacob. Jacob loved to watch Thomas, play with Thomas and generally anything that had to do with Thomas. Every train whistle he heard was either a train or Thomas. As Lisa was saying the opening prayer, I could help hearing the train whistle, and I just think of Jacob every time.

Jacob’s eighteen month appointment rolled around this past February and after mentioning to the doctor that Jacob wasn’t doing a lot of talking, a series of tests were run to see if there was something the matter. It was determined that he was having some difficulty hearing and acquiring language. With all the frequent traveling being done, Jacob, we think, couldn’t pop his ears when needed. He never seemed to fuss or complain, but after the visit to the doctor, we learned what was going on. He wasn’t at the 15-20 word average he should have been with someone of his age. But within the next few months he began picking up more words. Some of my favorites were ees for please. Tay for Taylor and Na-nan for Nathan. My favorite words though was blue and baby. Every Sunday we would read a book about Fisher-Price’s Little People that would help kids learn about the environment and about colors. He always looked forward to the page with the blue balloon and would immediately point to it and say blue. The other was a picture of a baby inside of a minivan, and he loved to point to the picture of the baby and say, "Baby?"

In April of this year he learned to say “outside”. He loved to be outside. Angenette even discovered that he snuck into the back yard one day and was making mud pies. He loved to be outside- especially with Nathan and Taylor. He had no fear of the slide or of the swings. I think if it meant climbing or being high in the air, he was in.

Jacob wasn’t ready for potty training, but he wasn’t interested in his diaper either. In fact, he took great joy in taking it off. He perfected this art and could even take it off with his clothes on and then pull the diaper through his pants. So can imagine the messes that it made.

Jacob loved the bathroom. Angenette usually knew when the house was quiet that Jacob would be upstairs either on the counter, or actually sitting on the faucet or in the sink brushing his teeth. He loved his toothbrush. I think he would have either been a professional climber or a dentist when he grew up. On one of these quiet days, Angenette walked into the bathroom and found Jacob sitting in the toilet. He was all smiles! Instead of scolding him, Angenette ran for the camera, and we still laugh about it today!

Jacob had recently began using the word “yeah” and would answer quite simply with "yeah," even if he didn’t mean yeah. He has heard Taylor and Nathan use it and in he liked to be like them.

His language got much better and he'd begun reciting simple prayers. He could say a blessing on the food and simple personal prayers with help. On one occasion Jacob tried to say the family prayer before bed but became distracted by the whistle of the passing train.

He has recently been able to say Gott and Eesa for Lisa and I, and our hearts melt anytime that he would say that. One of my fondest memories of Jacob was a reoccurring event. Whenever would walk in the door, Taylor and Nathan would jump up and greet us at the door. Jacob would drop was he was doing and come running to me with his arms up to be picked up. He was my little buddy and I was always very excited to see him. I miss him so much.

The final entry in Jacob’s journal reads. “You’ve been talking are a lot. The other day you even said “Mommy, help me.” Angenette felt so good to hear him say that. She goes on to write “You’ve still been taking your diaper off (Grrr) and recently you climbed out of your crib. I’m not ready of you to be in a big boy bed yet.”

After I left for my new job in Oregon Angenette sent me a picture on my email of Jacob taking a nap in a twin bed. I was curious about this, as I knew he hadn’t moved out of his crib. As it turned out, Lisa had been staying with the Imblers a few nights after our furniture had been picked up and taken and was sleeping in a twin bed in Jacob’s room that Aunty Crissy had recently been in when she was visiting. The house was all too quiet one afternoon, and Angenette went looking Jacob. She found that he went into Nathan’s room, took Nathan's pillow, and went back into his own room, and climbed into Lisa’s bed and was fast asleep. He put himself down for a nap in a normal bed. Thus was a signaling that he was ready.

He received a toddler bed for his two-year birthday with some Finding Nemo sheets, and he was thrilled. He loved his Finding Nemo pillow and insisted on sleeping on the side with Dory on it.
He had some difficulities staying in the toddler bed, mainly because they put in with Taylor and Nathan, and he just wanted to be up playing with them or playing with the toys rather than sleeping.

Shortly after his second birthday, the family made a trip to California to see Grandma Imbler one more time before the cancer would take her. It was there that he passed away. He was there on the other side to comfort his grandma when she passed away a few short number of hours later.

While Jacob is gone from this mortal existence, he is still part of the eternal Matt and Angenette Imbler family. I suspect that he will talk with his future brothers and sisters on the other side and tell them what to expect and what to do, and what kind of things push his parents' buttons.

He was so loved by all that knew him. He will live forever in our minds and our hearts, until, as we live righteously, we can return to live with our Heavenly Father and with Jacob again.

I'm so grateful for Matt and Angenette, and for the boys for their friendship. I'm grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that families can be together forever. They can return together and be an eternal family. These things I say in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Jacob's 3rd Birthday

I made a Nemo cake for Jacob this time. After having cake, we went to his grave and had an ice cream cone picnic and left some new trains there. My mom and sister were visiting, and they brought a new Elmo for him. We felt his absence so much today, but we had fun remembering the good times we had with him. We love you, Buddy!

Our Sweet Angel

The following are some excerpts from an email we sent to family and friends on August 1, 2006:

It is with aching hearts that we write to tell you that Heavenly Father has taken our sweet little Jacob home.

We are in California. We rushed down Friday night at Matt's mom's request to see us one last time. We've been waiting for several days for her to pass, and the ward here has been wonderful to watch our children so we could be with Dorothy.



Unfortunately, he slipped away and managed to get in the neighbor's pool. The hospital was just wonderful to us and worked on him for so long before we told them to let him rest.

We were able to spend some precious moments holding him and saying good-bye, and we were so blessed to feel the presence of his sweet spirit there with us.

Matt's mother was finally able to be at peace and join Jacob this morning. It is a great comfort to us that his grandmother is there with him.

We love you all and appreciate your friendship at this difficult time. We are so grateful for our Savior and the Plan of Salvation. It is our only comfort at this time.

Love,
Matthew, Angenette, Taylor, and Nathan

Fond Memories from Jacob's Mother

Memories~



• Whenever I made bread, he’d stand in the kitchen, point at the mixer, and scream, “bed” until I picked him up and let him look at the dough.




• He loved to climb up on the piano and either pull flowers out of the swag that hung on the wall above it or beat the grandfather clock with a piece of hardware from the piano lamp. When I’d go to get him down, he’d look at me and say, “Noooooooo!” I’m not sure he was telling me that he understood that what he was doing was a no-no or if he was just protesting me getting him down!




• He loved the triple fan we’d recently purchased. He was constantly pushing the buttons on it. He also liked to stand with his back up against it. I think he liked the vibration.




• He loved the chewable Vitamin C tablets we have. He always wanted one, and I’d bite it in half before I gave it to him. He didn’t like me doing that, but I was worried about him choking on it. He'd shriek at me until he had it in his mouth. He seemed to instantly forget that he was mad about me biting it in half.




• I always got him out of the bathtub first. I’d wrap him in a towel and snuggle him, and he’d look up and me, grin, and say, “Teeth?” because he knew that brushing his teeth came next. He was getting good at swishing and spitting.




• Jacob was always pulling the metal piece at the top of the gas fireplace out. He’d do it on purpose and say, “Uh-oh!” I think he did it just for an opportunity to say "Uh-Oh."




• He loved playing with the GeoTrax airport. He always tried to grab the arm so the plane couldn’t fly in a circle.




• He loved to splash in the toilet. Sometimes he’d use the toilet brush, but most of the time his hands were enough for him!
  
• During the last week of his life, he discovered he could climb up on the counter. He'd climb up there and get pens out of the holder and scribble on important papers. I pulled him down several times a day. Funny how something that irritated me so is now a fond memory.




• When Matt got home from work, Jacob would get so excited and run to the door screaming, “Daddy!” He was also always the first of the boys to run to Matt and give him a hug bye-bye in the morning.




• We were trying to teach him to kiss on the cheek. At first he would turn his cheek to us expecting to get a kiss. But more recently he’d press his mouth to our cheeks, then pull away and make a kissing smack noise after he’d pulled away.

• Whenever he colored a page from a coloring book, he’d insist on me writing his name on it several times. He’d bring it to me over and over again, push a crayon into my hand, and say, “Mame (name)!” Most of his pictures had his name on it 3 or 4 times.




• He was beginning to tattle. He’s come to me and say, “Mommy…” then would follow unintelligible words, but clearly in that tattling tone!




• He liked to spin in circles. He’d try to twirl on his toes like a ballerina, and he usually fell down. Then he’d say, “Ow!” Even if he wasn’t hurt.




• He was learning his colors. He could identify red, blue (his favorite), and green.




• He could do all the actions to Popcorn Popping.




• When I would use the bathroom, he’d come knock on the door. I always thought it was one of the older boys because he had such a hard knock. I wouldn’t know it was him until he said, “Mommy!” like he was impatiently waiting for me to come out.




• If I put up the footrest on the recliners, Jacob would crawl under them and not come out so that I couldn’t get up.




• If I needed to shush him in Church, I’d put my finger to my lips and say “Shhhh.” He’d try to imitate me. He would put his finger to his lips and says, “Sssss” like a snake.




• He was having a hard time getting used to a big boy bed. He kept coming downstairs to see me. He’d pop out from behind the end of the couch with the proudest look on his face like to say, “Hello, I’m here!” Sometimes he’d say hi, but most of the time he’d just pop up all proud of himself.




• We loved watching him when we were walking to Church. He’d have to run to keep ahead of us (where he liked to be). We loved watching his little body bounce and listening to his footsteps as he pitter-pattered along.




• He would make faces trying to imitate whatever face we were making. My favorite was a really big grin with his eyes bugging out and his eyebrows raised.




• Jacob loved to pick up the wood chips in the play area and throw them on the bottom of the slide. Even as we’d be calling to him not to do that, he’d pick up speed to get a few more handfuls in before he quit or we made it to him.




• Jacob loved food, especially meat. He was always asking for more, and I couldn’t cut meat and give it to him fast enough. He usually ate his portion and half of mine.




• He recently discovered that if he colored on the vinyl floor, I couldn’t get it off easily. His artwork would remain there for a while and he loved it. He always drew circles.




• Jacob called Taylor “Kaylor” and Nathan “Nanan.”




• Jacob loved to open the recliner and stick his legs through it. This was great fun until he realized that he was stuck, and then he’d SCREAM. We’d have a really hard time getting him our without hurting him. But it never seemed to deter him from doing it again!




• He loved to climb up on the arm of the living room couch and fall backwards onto the couch. It didn’t matter to him whether anyone was sitting in the way or not!




• At bath time, Jacob always wanted to sit by the faucet so he could drink from it as the tub was filling. I was always trying to get him to stop it because we have soft water and it wasn’t good for him. I was trying to teach him to spit it out after he put some in his mouth. He was able to do it a few times.




• I loved when he would first get up in the morning. He was usually the first of the boys to awaken, and that was our snuggle time.




• He loved spitting after he had his teeth brushed.




• He had recently chipped his tooth. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but I suspect he did it when he ran into the kitchen cabinets. He and Nathan loved running back and forth between the family room and the kitchen, and they usually plowed right into the kitchen cabinets before turning around to go back. He had his first dentist appointment a month before he died, and his dentist said it would be fine. I grew to love that little chipped tooth, a testament to his exuberance.




• He liked to sleep on his tummy with his knees tucked up under him and his bum in the air.




• He always said “Cheese” for pictures.




• He loved copying his brothers. In the final videotape we have of him, the boys were all singing and dancing, and Jacob copied everything Taylor did.




• Jacob could outeat both of his big brothers combined.




• Scott and Lisa were called “Gott” and “Eesa”




• On our last trip to California, he was unusually fussy trying to sleep in his car seat, but he would settle down when I reached back and rubbed his feet and legs.




• He called James “Dames!” and Percy “Ercy!” He squealed both their names.




• I fell down the stairs holding him once. I remember how hard I tried to keep him on top of me to avoid him getting the brunt of the fall. He was unscathed but scared, and I had a heavily bruised thigh for weeks.




• He loved to tuck his chin into his chest and then look up at you without raising his head. The result was a rather mischievous-looking scowl, usually accompanied by a big grin.




• Jacob would run into a room with his head turned sideways, but looking where he was going out of the corners of his eyes.

• Jacob:“Mommy?” Mom: “What?” Jacob:“Umm…”

• Jacob loved to dance. We’d often put on music loudly and dance. He especially liked to spin.

• He loved books and being read to. He was always bringing me a book to read to him. He was so excited when his big brother Taylor could read to him.

• The morning of his passing, I went into the boys’ room to see if anybody was awake. Jacob’s back was to me, and he said, “Roarrrr!”, then turned around with a big grin on his face.

• He loved to play telephone, saying “Hello Daddy, hello Mommy…bye-bye.”

• Jacob loved to eat- and no one was allowed to eat without him eating too.

• When he had a toy, he would run over to me, show it to me, and squeal what it was. He was so excited about toys.

• Jacob could hear a dog a mile away. If he heard a bark, he’d scream “goggy!” until you acknowledged him.

• His big brother Nathan loves the movie The Incredibles. When something would happen on it, Jacob would say, “Oh no! Oh no!”

• He was learning how to pray. He was very good at a mealtime prayers and was learning that bedtime prayers were not for blessing food. I got in the habit of nodding when he was on the right track saying a prayer. One time I opened my eyes while he was praying, and I saw that he was nodding all the way through the prayer!

• He always said, "Eeeewww, yucky!" whenever I changed his diaper, no matter what was in it.

Memories of Jacob's Final Hours~

• He was upset with me because I wouldn’t give him more toast for breakfast.

• He came into the room we were staying in and played with the phone “Hi mommy, Hi daddy, hello… bye bye.”

• He dumped the balls out in the living room at the Carter’s and was telling me what colors they were.

• He was so happy on Sunday afternoon eating cake and ice cream at the Carter’s, with a big grin on his face.

Fond Memories from Jacob's Father

Memories~

He would always come in to my bed to get me up, and give me a big hug, and say “et up dad”

He loved getting wet, and true to form, I found him in the upstairs bathroom in the sink soaking himself last Sunday morning

Reading Book of Mormon, he would sit with us and turn pages, and often would end up tearing the pages out.

One of my favorite memories is of having family prayer on the upstairs landing… I would kneel one step down from the landing and Jacob would always come kneel on the step with me, snuggle right up next to me, and rest his little folded arms on the top of the landing.

Memories of Jacob's final hours~

I gave him a big kiss when we got out of the van the day of his passing

He ran in and gave Grandpa a big hug and kiss and said hi to Grandma before going to the sitter

He was sitting in the high chair at the Carter’s happily eating potato chips when I came downstairs, making a huge mess.

Sunday, I found him in the Carter’s upstairs bathroom in the sink soaking himself

He came in to my bed to get me up, and gave me a big hug

After singing “I am a Child of God” in the car on the way from the Carter’s to my parent’s house, he immediately asked for “cudders” (Primary Colors)… we sang it with him and the kids.

We held his little body in the room at the hospital after he had gone, and sang “cudders” to him… when I got to “blue is for purity in thought and deed”, I could hardly finish the song.

Jacob's Second Birthday

Jacob could be heard squealing "Cake!" all day today. I made him a planes, trains, and automobiles cake this time, and he was enthralled. We laughed as Jacob insisted that he was "One, two, THREE!" instead of two years old! His presents were some toy trucks and new Nemo bedding for the toddler bed. Tonight was his first night in the Big Boy Bed.

Jacob's First Birthday

Jacob's first birthday was fun. He had a circus cake complete with clowns, but he was more fascinated with the fire on the candle. Scott and Lisa came over to help us celebrate his birthday.

Jacob's Birth

Jacob joined our family on July 21st, 2004, after a very fast labor and delivery. We think he was just anxious to be here and get the party started!