Weekend Update

I had a great weekend in Santa Barbara. I got a lot of work done, and I read a book! I read "Push Not the River" by James Martin Conroyd. It's about a countess during the time of the Polish uprising. (1790's). It's based on the diaries of the Countess and her cousin. It was an OK book, but it had a kind of a Romeo and Juliet storyline and that drives me crazy.

Steve's weekend is still going....and going....

he left with the kids Saturday morning and got to Fresno to his mom's house at about 3pm to discover that she was at Target. So - he took the kids to Target and told them to go find her. He surprised her and they had a great afternoon/evening together. He left there at about 9 this morning to go surprise his brother in Elk Grove. Then he went on a scenic drive (rather than coming straight home). He just now got back to Fresno (it's after 9pm). I encouraged him to stop and sleep for a while before continuing on, so we'll see them sometime tomorrow. It sounds like they've had a wonderfully adventurous weekend.

I got motion sick on the air plane on the way home. I can't remember the last time I got that nauseated...I came home and took a long nap, and now I'm feeling marginally better. Hopefully by tomorrow morning it'll all be through me and I'll feel much better.

World Travelers (or maybe just state travelers)

Just a quick update on our travels this weekend...I'm leaving tomorrow morning for a weekend with a client in Santa Barbara (yea, I know...it's rough). Steve's taking off Saturday morning with the kids (like 2am he says) to spend 2 days with his mom & sister in Fresno. So - we should have more to report come Monday morning...I don't know about you but I'm looking forward to the Dancing with the Stars opener on Monday! :)

I've been reading "The Work and the Glory" series by Gerald Lund. It's an historical fiction series taking place during the time of the restoration of the Gospel to the Earth. It has opened my eyes to the hardships of the pioneers in general, not just the church members. It has also opened my eyes to the prejudice against the Church in the early days. (I think that's putting it mildly). I'm on book 4. The last 2 days I've read about the massacre at Haun's Mill and the looting and savagry that occurred in Far West shortly thereafter. It saddens my heart to know what those good people endured. I have a greater appreciation for the early leaders of our church....and for their wives. I feel like I did when I was reading Fire of the Covenant (historical fiction, also by Gerald Lund, depicting the Martin and Willey handcart companies traveling to Utah late in the season); I feel like I'm experiencing it with them. I feel better connected to my pioneer forefathers. I guess that's why we're told to do family history work: because the more we learn about people and their lives, the more we appreciate and love them. It's very true.

Fun weekend

Steve took the kids to Mt. Charleston this weekend, and took some fun photos (see below). I've also posted one of my Caitlin with my sister's Emily...aren't they cute? Emily is 3 weeks younger than Caitlin...Elise & I really have fun with those 2! Today was busy with work - then cleaning. Angela saved my bacon by taking Caitlin while I cleaned. She became very clingy and whiny just as I needed to get my rear in gear. I got a lot done, and I feel much better about me and my house now. Tomorrow I'll concentrate on laundry....and I need to bake more bread. I'm still loving my new bosch. It's amazing. I actually use the blender a lot, too! I borrowed my friend's wheat grinder while mine is in for repairs, and it's amazing. If you ever need a wheat grinder - get a Whisper Mill. They're SO quiet (hence the name :) ) and SO fast! It's amazing. I'm learning more and more about wheat. Red wheat is more dense than white wheat. It's fun to try different recipes with the different wheats and discover the differences. I finished Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand tonight. Wow - what a book! It was over 1100 pages - my personal best by far - and it was an amazing book. I really enjoyed it. It's amazing to think that it was published in 1958. Her ideas must have been quite radical at that time. I haven't decided whether or not to read the precurser to that book, The Fountainhead. Not for a while, anyway...I've got to get caught up in other areas of my life, first! :)
I found out tonight that one of our friend's father had a stroke. His name is Ernie Lea. Please say an extra prayer for Ernie tonight. He has surgery tomorrow morning.
This blog is kind of random tonight - but I have HAPPY NEWS!!! Our friends, Debbie & Nancy, from Texas are COMING TO VISIT US!!! We are SO EXCITED!!! They're coming over the Memorial Day weekend and we're already counting down! Yea! We haven't seen them for over a year (well, I saw them last April, but the boys didn't). Anyway, we're very excited to see them SOON!!!
Angela got her back yard graded today - it looks awesome - they took out all the big boulders...what a big difference! I'm sad that they might move, but I'm trying to keep a level head about allowing them to do what they think is best without making it harder on them. I so enjoy having them so close!
Kenneth & I went to the library this evening - I had to renew Atlas Shrugged for my friend to read before book club. Anyway, they're having a program where kids 4-12 can read 5 books from the public library and earn a free burger from In-N-Out. Kenneth read his 5 books before we even got home! He gets to earn up to 3 burgers, so we'll have to go back and get him 10 more books to read. He is a good reader, and I can hardly keep him stocked well enough right now. I ordered $40 of chapter books from his last bookorder and he's almost through all of those already. I go to the library a lot these days.
We got the information in the mail about Steve's commencement at the University of Idaho on May 12th. I'm pretty excited. He's worked very hard for this. I know he's nervous about the class he's taking now, but I'm sure he'll be great - just like always. This is a goal he's had for a long time, and I'm excited to see him accomplish it.
Well, Steve just came up so I guess I'd better be finished with my rambling. We're all doing well, and grateful for our blessings every day.

New hair

Well, I cut my hair. I guess that's the only big news around here. The weather has been lovely and we've been at the park almost every day - I believe it was close to 80 on Wednesday. Tonight I turned on the A/C for the first time this year...it was 77 degrees in our upstairs - and Steve would NEVER sleep in that! :) Here are a few photos (courtesy of Angela, of course) from one of our park visits...

Selective Memory

Well, I guess men aren't the only ones with selective memories today...

It only took me 6 days to forget ear plugs for Caitlin in the bath. Holy cow! It was only her 2nd bath since surgery and I completely forgot ear plugs. Now that's something my friends, Julie & Sean Buckley, would have NEVER done!

Caitlin seemed to survive, but I'll try to be more diligent. The ear plugs are still on my bathroom counter, for crying in the soup! No excuse.

Today it's a little chilly in Vegas. It was only about 50 degrees, and so we changed play group to be at my house, rather than at the park. We had a record turnout and the house was very full! We had a great time, though, and no major damage was done, so it's all good. Steve came home toward the end of it ( a few ladies had already left, but it was still a madhouse ) and he just grabbed what he needed and took off...never even saw the other 15 people in the entertainment room! :)

The big news for me today is that I used my new bosch for the first time. I got a new bosch and I love it! It's got twice the capacity of my old one (which is still running, but dying a slow death). I made 3 loaves of bread in one batch - WOO HOO! I also made strawberry daquiris with the blender part. It's totally cool! The only bummer is that the dough hook is not dishwasher safe, but I guess I can handle that.

Angela was in charge of the blue and gold banquet tonight at church for the cub scouts, so Zachary came to play. Another little boy, Jordan, also came to play while his mom and 4 siblings attended the event. The kids all played together fantastically well, and I was able to get some reading done even! It was a low key evening with Steve at a church activity as well. Catilin is finally getting old enough to play with her brothers and give me a break. It's very nice. She comes over periodically for lovings, but then she goes off and plays again. That's a very welcome change from her constantly being attached.

I'm going crazy with my computer lately. It's all of a sudden EXTREMELY SLOW! It's just about driving me to drink, so I'm spending tonight dumping programs, and trying to get to the bottom of the issue. This is when I wish I didn't live so far away from my IT guy...well, if I can't figure it out I'll give him a call, because I know if I've got IT, he can fix IT! :)

I guess that's just about it for now.

Ear Tubes....done

Well, after sending Kenneth and Daniel to a friend's house last night, and waking up with Caitlin at 5:30am to get her to the hospital, I'm relieved to say we're home and everything is OK. Caitlin's surgery was quick and there appear to be no complications, etc. Her ears were infected, so we'll probably have to extend the ear drops, but that's small potatoes. I guess they're making an ear goo or something now to use in the bath and in the lake, so we'll have to pick up some of that. We got Daniel, and shared the breakfast leftovers at my friend's house, then came home and rode bikes out front adn Daniel wanted to go to the park so we loaded up his bike and both kids and went to the park to wear them out. Caitlin is now sleeping and I hope it's a long nap for her sake.

I have a cute story to share because I don't want to forget it. Last night Steve brought his church kids over (9 boys ages 14-15). I prepared by baking cinnamon rolls, brownies and bread. I spread everything out on the table and was upstairs with Caitlin before they came. I was laying on my bed reading when it was time for them to leave and I heard Steve saying "Let's go". One of the boys said "Where are we going?" and another boy replied "We have to go back to reality now." My heart was touched; I'm glad they feel happy and safe and well-fed in our home. I hope they know they are welcome here any time. :)

Another Update

Well, we're getting back in our groove after Elise & Emily left. We were very sad to see them go, but we're excited that the next time we see them there will be 3 of them! :) Emily taught Caitlin 2 things while she was here (well, Caitlin learned from Emily...I know Emily wasn't trying to teach her)...Caitlin now kisses you on the lips (melt my heart!) and Caitlin says "Mmmmmm" after she eats or drinks something....then she waits for you to say "Mmmmmm" back to her. It's very cute. Emily couldn't have taught more adorable things.

Caitlin is scheduled to get tubes put in her ears on Thursday morning. I am very disappointed that the surgery precludes me from going up to visit Missy again, but I'm very ready for my happy girl back. Caitlin has been pulling on her ear - putting her finger in her ear - and putting warm things next to her ear all weekend and so far this week. I don't think her ears are clear, and I'm sure that contributes to her chronic crabbiness.

Steve is spending a LOT of time on his class this semester, and it's pushing him. It's a lot of heavy duty math and he's having to brush up on a lot of old learning. We got him another book and it seems to be helping a bit, but he's spent a lot of time and is not encouraged. I don't want him to drop it, but I know that thought has crossed his mind.

Daniel hasn't exactly been 100% lately. He's not running a fever, he's not got a runny nose or cough, but he seems to have less energy than usual and is sleeping more than usual. I'm hoping he'll feel better soon.

We got to see my cousin Britta play volleyball over the weekend. I got to watch 2 matches (best 2 of 3 - both sets went to 3). She's amazing. She's a sophomore in High School and plays on a club team with mostly juniors and she's really good....they all are. It was a pleasure to watch her and to see my cousin Brooke and my Aunt Diane and Uncle David. I'm so glad they invited us to come watch.

Well, I guess that's about it for now....

ANOTHER ear infection! Actually, 2!

Well, Caitlin had an ear infection that was diagnosed 2 weeks ago today. She finished her antibiotics last Wednesday. On Thursday she started acting sick & crabby. We struggled through the weekend...she looked miserable. I started using some homeopathic remedies, but I think it was too little too late. She was too far gone. She had 2 raging ear infections today and her cough is something awful. She's got drainage like she's sprung a leak. The doctor gave her a shot of Roceffin (sp?) and sent us home with prescriptions for Zithromax, a numbing ear drop, and a cough medicine. She's sleeping well tonight (so far) for the first night in several. We have an appointment with the ENT on Thursday at 6:30pm....this after they originally told me their first available appointment was on March 7th. That wasn't soon enough. In other news, we're having a great time visiting with Elise & Emily. It's a pleasure to have them both around...I wish I weren't doing so much running around, but tomorrow we're piecing 3 quilts, so we'll get lots of quality time. Here are a couple of photos from last Friday.

She really did feel lousy - as evidenced by our doctor visit today, but I still think this picture is funny.
You can really tell the difference in the girls' phisique in this photo...Emily is lovingly the "Tank" and Caitlin is more petite. Emily has so many entertaining facial expressions...I think Caitlin was taken aback by this one where Emily was "smelling" the rose petal.
This is a classic and made the whole shoot worthwhile! Isn't she a doll? Too bad Caitlin wasn't more cooperative.

Is it Spring?

I know this will surprise you Northerners...but I planted my garden this weekend. 6 strawberries, 6 broccoli and 3 tomatoes. We'll see how it goes. I pulled out our dead lemon tree (didn't make it through the freeze). We are thoroughly enjoying our back yard. I got this really cool bubble machine that makes THOUSANDS of bubbles and the kids love it. Angela gave us this really cool little cube with a slide that is perfect for Caitlin and she loves it. It was 72 degrees here on Sunday - it's supposed to be 64/65 through the rest of the week and this weekend. Elise comes tomorrow (HOORAY!!) with Emily. I've got 3 matching dresses to get the girls' photos in...and my local client is a photographer and said I could borrow a back drop! So, hopefully I'll have some photos to post before too long. Steve & Angela made a bet over whether or not the port-a-crib would fit in our laundry room and Steve lost, so he's making Chicken Enchiladas Verdes for dinner tonight (Yummy!). Well, Steve & I are both fighting colds, Caitlin is still on an antibiotic from her ear infection last week, but the boys are healthy as can be.

News News News

Well, my birthday weekend was wonderful! Steve surprised me with a night at the Aladdin after our dinner & show. Kenneth had a basketball game on Saturday and he did great. I got to go shopping and lunching with my sister for several hours! It was great fun! Then, we went to the baptism of a friend. Baptisms are always wonderful. I dressed up Caitlin like my little doll (literally)...it was so fun. I changed our her ear rings, and now she lets me change them every day. Sunday was church and rest (yea - I love morning church!). Kenneth had an "It's great to be 8 fireside" where they talk about all the programs that start for the kids when they turn 8. He's very excited to start scouts and his "Faith In God" program. The Bishop talked to them about reading their scriptures and praying every day - and Kenneth took that to heart. Sunday night he wouldn't go to bed without reading his scriptures, and yesterday, when he was in timeout (for 22 minutes because he kept talking back!) he came out quoting his new "favorite" scripture (1 Nephi 3:7). Anyway, it was a great day. Yesterday I worked all day (thanks, Ang for watching the kiddos). Then, as soon as I got Caitlin back I took her to the doctor. She had been running a fever and when she came home with me she wouldn't stop moaning. The doctor said she has another ear infection (darn it - that's 7 since last February). She wants us to go back to the ENT. Today Caitlin is dragging and pretty much my little attachment. I just laid her down for a nap, which is how I snuck in to write this. Here's a photo of Caitlin before the baptism:

My 20's.....

Well, after tonight I'm officially in my "30's". It's been a good 3 decades so far...this most recent decade began with a marriage proposal, and ends with a marriage that's still going strong....and a family that's grown by 3! It's good, very good. I'm grateful for the "sheltered" life I've led. I have wonderful parents, great siblings, and a fabulous spouse & kids! What more could a woman ask for? Thanks to all the wonderful people who have befriended me along the way, too. I would be lost without my friends! Here's my life so far "at a glance":

• Jan. 26, 1977 6:34am Utah Valley Hospital (Provo, UT) Joy Kristine Fellingham is born.
• Approximately 6 weeks later I fell extremely ill with viral pneumonia. Doctors didn't give me one chance in 10 of surviving.
• 9 months later our family moved to Sequim, Washington
• Sept. 1989 we moved to Bellevue, Washington
• Sept. 1990 we moved to Provo, Utah, shortly to move to Lindon, Utah
• Jan. 1995 we moved to Lehi, Utah
• May 1995 I graduated from Pleasant Grove High School with a 3.995 GPA. (One A- ...darned Mrs. Giles!)
• Sept. 1995 I started my BYU education
• Oct. 1996 I met my sweetheart, Steve
• April 1997 I was married to Steve for eternity in the Jordan River Temple
• Jan. 4, 1999 I started working at Ernst & Young in Austin, Texas
• July 27, 1999 Kenneth Warren was born
• August 1999 I graduated with my Bachelors and Masters degrees from BYU
• November 1999 I passed the CPA exam (Yea!)
• November 1, 2002 Daniel LaVelle was born
• October 31, 2003 was my last day working at Ernst & Young in Austin
• December 2003 I started my own business as a CPA working from home
• August 3, 2005 Caitlin Joy was born
• August 2005 we moved our family to Las Vegas, Nevada

When Steve asked my dad for my hand in marriage, Dad said "Joy is young, but she has always been well beyond her years." I did life early...that's how I like to say it. My life is good, though, and I wouldn't do it any other way. This year we celebrate my 30th birthday, our 10 year wedding anniversary, and Kenneth will turn 8. It's a big year for us.

Thank you to all of you (anyone reading this) who have touched my life and affected it for the better. You have each played a part in helping me fill my life with happy memories and bright hopes for the future.

Goals I have yet to complete:

• Learn Spanish
• Learn to play each hymn in our hymnbook (on the piano)
• Make myself the kind of person/mom/wife that everyone respects and who touches others in a positive way. I want my kids to remember me as a happy, nice mom - not a mom who yells all the time. I want my husband to think of me as a kind, loving person, not a naggy wife who complains. I want my friends to feel like better people because they were my friend. (Steve says this isn't a real goal because it doesn't have a definite "completion", but it's my biggest goal nonetheless.)

Well, here's to my 30's! Bring it on!

Thawing Out

We're home safely from our trip to Utah, and we're still thawing out. HOLY COLD! Wow....we're glad to get back to above-freezing temperatures. We had a WONDERFUL trip and we're very glad we went, but we were very cold. We got to witness the baptism of my nephew, Johnathan Webb, which was very special. Then we got to hang out with our friends the Joneses...such good times...Kenneth & Daniel even got to play in the snow! Then we saw my brother, David, at Cabella's (where he works) and he gave us a tour of the place. Then we went to dinner and played games with all the adults! It was a very full day packed with good memories. Yesterday Angela & I sang with my mom in 2 different church meetings, then we headed home. All in all we're very glad we went, and we're glad to be home safely.

It's COLD here!

Well, it froze last night. This morning Tasha's water was frozen solid. I found her a dog house on Craig's list and Darrel kindly picked it up for me yesterday. I've put a blanket in it for her. We're going to stay inside as much as we can for the rest of the day. We cleaned a bit this morning, then went to Kenneth's basketball game. He scored 1 basket! Yea! His team has a very hard time scoring...they often shoot 3-4 times without making it before the other team gets it away from them. They seem to have a good time, anyway, though. I'm glad they don't keep score yet. We ran to the grocery store after the game, so now we have no need to venture out.

Steve says he's coming home tomorrow - no word on what time, though. Cross your fingers.

Hum Drum Friday night

Well, Steve has spent this week in New York, battling a cold/flu. He's been detained, and was unable to return home today. :( He is hopefully coming back Sunday night. He's been sorely missed. The boys are playing a new video game I bought them (for my sanity's sake) and Caitlin is already in bed. We've had a good week, and it should be a slow weekend except for Kenneth's basketball game and church. I'm finally starting to get over my cold, and the kids all seem to be healthy. Work is picking up rapidly and that stresses me out, but what can I do? It's what I signed up for....

Nevermind

I guess it wasn't nerves...he's had a relapse, and he's feeling sick again.

Nerves

I believe Kenneth has had his first case of the nerves....

He had his first basketball game this morning and shortly after he woke up he vomited. I told him he couldn't go to his game and get his friends sick and he insisted he wasn't sick and that he felt all better. We loaded up and went. Steve & Kenneth jumped out of the car (we were running a little late) to go down to the bball courts while I parked. Kenneth went running down to the courts and came right back up again....he couldn't quite make it to the bathroom. He vomited in the hall at the multigenerational center. I walked into all of this. I got some rags, cleaned it up, we talked to him again and he insisted he wasn't sick. He played 2 quarters of the game and he did great. They lost, but that's OK. Johnathan made a basket and Johnathan and Kenneth had a great play together - Johnathan rebounded the ball, dribbled it across the court, passed it to Kenneth, and Kenneth shot the ball...and missed. But it was fun. We went to breakfast afterword, and Kenneth ate fine and seems to be OK now. I guess it was just nerves.

Doctor, Doctor!

I cleaned the kitchen yesterday, so this morning I put it to good use. I made 4 loaves of bread (which is 2 batches for me), a double batch of Elise's rolls, Cinnamon rolls, and cookies. Yummy!

I took Daniel for his 4 yr. checkup today - I know it's late, but there were insurance issues. He's 90% for height ( our FIRST child EVER over 50%), and 75% in weight. He got 4 shots, but he was very brave.

Caitlin woke up from her nap worse (she's had a cold), so I took her to the Dr. an hour after I left with Daniel. She has another ear infection, and pink eye. The doctor also gave me some recommendations for her dry skin.

Angela left for Bakersfield for Alex's first gymnastics meet of the season, so I've got 5 little chickens here. The kids are loving the back yard - even though it's cold and windy today. Johnathan didn't even walk into the house - he went straight to the side gate.

We've got a lot to get done this weekend - Steve's hanging crown molding, and I'm working. Steve leaves on Monday for New York....again. They booked him an open-ended ticket this time, so we have no idea when we'll get him back again.

Anyway, hopefully we have a good weekend, and you do, too!

Before and After.....as promised

Aparently it doesn't load my photos in the order I selected them, so it's after, then before, then after - but you get the "picture".... :)

It's AMAZING!!!

Well - big news today! Our back yard is IN!!! Retaining wall, bushes, rocks, edging, sprinklers and even grass! YIPEE!!! It got too dark before I could take "after" photos, but Darrel lent us his camera and Steve went out and took "before" photos...so, I'll take "after" photos tomorrow and share them with you! Prepare to be amazed! We even made Tasha a 10X10 area by the gate where she likes to look out so she won't be on rocks! Eventually we will build her a shade section there, and probably a dog house....someday. Also, eventually, we'd like to put some lattice by the patio and put planters in for flowers and cover the patio and build a deck and.......you know how it goes.....anyway - this is a HUGE step in the right direction and our back yard is no longer an eye sore! YEA! The boys waited until the workers left and then went right out and played tether ball (Kenneth & Johnathan). Then they stayed out there and played a made up game until we made them break for basketball practice. Daniel was in pajamas until 6pm - so it must have been a good day, eh? I also fixed Catilin's hair in a more "grown up" hair do today....she's growing up SO MUCH SO FAST I can hardly believe it. I pulled it into "some up and some down" - that's what my mom always called it. It was darling on her. I just hate that her car seat smashes down all her curls before we get any place! She's repeating words more and more every day - even when I yell for one of her brothers....or even when Daniel yells at me....woops....we'll have to work on that one. She's also getting more words of her own like "treat" and "yesh". She's a pro at "no", but she usually says it very cute. I'm having a wonderful time wearing all the new pants I bought while I was in California. Daniel has his 4 yr check up tomorrow (ouch - lots of shots). I'll share photos as soon as I can!

Settling in......

Well, we're getting settled back into our routines. I have happy news to report tonight. Tomorrow night at this time I should have a finished back yard....of course there will still be things to save for, like a cover over our patio (to save us from the HEAT), and some lattice here and there, but for the most part...it will be done. At least the kids won't get so dusty when they go outside! We're having a retaining wall installed, a drip system, sprinklers, a little grass and lots of river rock. Kenneth and Daniel are loving the tether ball back there - and now it will be so FUN to go out back! Yea! A big thanks to Steve for making this all possible.....

I'll let you know how it all goes....and maybe I can talk Angela into taking some pictures....

We're back!

We had a lovely trip this holiday season, and we've arrived home safely. Here's a quick re-cap:

December 22nd: Left and drove to Bakersfield.

December 23rd: Drove to Fresno - played at Chuck E. Cheese's with Gma Ackerman and Aunt Sara...continued driving to Sacramento. Had a huge wonderful dinner with all the Hansen clan, and finished up with a visit from Santa!

December 24th: Went to church, Steve & Pat visited Artie's grave, had a Christmas Eve "hang out" party with the Riders in Elk Grove.

December 25th: Woke up to presents from Santa...had a lovely turkey & ham dinner with all the fixins with the Hansen clan. Steve played soccer with his family and Kenneth.

December 26th: We were supposed to go to the snow, but we were afraid of bad weather, so we hung out and did laundry, then went to the Davis family home for a beautiful roast dinner and watched the movie "The Da Vinci Code"

December 27th: Packed up the car and headed to Lafayette to the Clay home. Had a lovely dinner of ham and all the fixins.

December 28th: Went to SAN FRANCISCO! This was the highlight of the trip for me. Just 4 adults (no kids) Darin, Missy, Steve & me. We had a great lunch on pier 39 at Boudin Sourdough, shopped a bit, visited a few fantastic jewelry stores - learned a lot about jewelry, had a lovely dinner overlooking the wharf - DUNGENESS CRAB!!! It was a splendid day - thanks to Sami for watching all 11 children!

December 29th: I spent some time working with Darin & Missy on their taxes...then we went to the Miur Woods - and saw the Redwoods! We had a wonderful dinner of homemade Korean food, made by Missy.

December 30th: Steve got to visit with his Grandmother for a few hours. I did some laundry then went shopping with my sister, Missy. I got 7 pants, 2 skirts, and 3 pair of shoes!! I'm a happy woman! We had the BEST Chinese in the WORLD that evening with the Thompson family.

December 31st: We loaded the car and drove home. We opened our remaining presents and played with almost every one of them!

January 1st: My Grandma Noble came over for the day. We got crown molding for our Master Bedroom, Angela & Grandma and I went shopping while Steve & Darrel and the boys installed the tether ball stand that Kenneth & Daniel got from Santa. Steve made a wonderful meal of Beef Strogenoff for us to share and we ended by watching "Invincible" (A great movie).

We're very blessed. Most of us have colds, but now that we're home, I'm sure we'll get better quickly. We still owe the boys one present, but we've told them they'll get it when we can find it to buy...

SNOW!

This photo was taken by my sister who lives in Greeley, CO. They put our little dusting of snow to shame! Holy cow. Hang in there, Elise, Les & Emily!!!

SNOW!

Well, I couldn't believe my eyes when I went to put Tasha out this morning....there was SNOW on the picnic table and other various objects in the back yard....so I went out front - and this is what I found! Amazing. I totally didn't see it coming. I didn't think it was even that cold! Good thing Steve finished winterizing the boat before he went to New York! Wow.

Daniel ruined the surprise, so I guess I can say that the last 2 days have been spent painting the master bedroom in our house. The bedroom doubles as my office, so there is a LOT of furniture in the room. Thanks to Angela for helping SO much!!! I totally LOVE how it turned out, and maybe after Steve sees it Angela will take photos for me to share.....

Anyway, tomorrow I have a couple of errands and Caitlin has to go to the doctor for a followup with her burn. But it should be pretty low key other than that.

Getting Along

Well, I'm excited to say - Kenneth & Daniel are really getting along....I mean REALLY. They have been playing exceptionally well together lately, and I'm hoping it's not temporary. Daniel has even taken to sleeping IN Kenneth's bed with him. Kenneth usually reads to Daniel before they fall asleep, but lately Daniel hasn't been going back to his own bed - and tonight they didn't even read and they're both in Kenneth's bed. It makes me very happy. Kenneth has also been doing better with Caitlin lately. He's been holding her hand and helping her places and tonight when I was trying to get them all into the car and I ran out of hands to hold - Caitlin went over to Kenneth and reached for his. :) YEAH!!!

Anyway, I thought I'd share my "joy"...

Mystery

We went to "The Forgotten Carols" by Michael McLean. It was FABULOUS! Of course we went to dinner first, and dessert after. It was GREAT!

Burns, scars, and sore mouths

Well, as if I didn't have enough discomfort in my mouth....I got a huge cancer sore! Geesh. Well, it's sure taking my mind off the hole in the roof of my mouth! Ouch!

Yesterday we played at the park, and played at home. It was a lovely day.

Caitlin got a burn on her head last week and she's on antibiotics and I'm putting silvadine cream on it multiple times daily. She's wearing gauze around her head to keep the silvadine cream covered, and she looks like "Ninja girl". Steve says I should take a picture, but my camera is still missing. Anyway, hopefully it will heal OK.

Today we're organizing, cleaning, and getting ready for next week. Steve just found out he's leaving for New York on Sunday. He's not very happy about it. The last time he traveled for work back East, he got stuck in Atlanta in some crummy hotel on his 30th birthday. He's very bitter. Hopefully there won't be any storms or anything crazy happen that would prevent him from returning home on Thursday. We plan to leave and start our "Christmas vacation" on Friday.

Tonight we have a very special date planned. Angela and I have been planning it for over a month as a surprise to Darrel & Steve. We're going to have a wonderful evening, and I'm so looking forward to it!

We've got all but 2 gifts bought for Christmas, and that's such a good feeling. I've wrapped all my presents this year and put them under the tree (ahead of time!)...I know...don't faint! Anyway, it's been a very nice Christmas season for us. We went to the ward party last night and it was very nice.

Steve's at work (grumble, grumble). Hopefully he'll be home soon.

Friday, Friday

I love Fridays and I hate Fridays. I love them because it's so close to the weekend....and I hate them because I realize all those things I've been saying I'll get done that week and aren't finished! :) I've done TONS of laundry this week, but it's all folded in piles on "Grammy's bed". It'll take an hour to put away.....and now it's Friday.

I had a good talk with my sister last night. It's so good to have her back in the same time zone! She is rich with wisdom, and I enjoy her insights.

Yesterday was one of my best friend's birthday. She found out this week that her father isn't going to live much longer, and she spent her birthday driving to get to Wyoming to see him. I've thought of little else since I talked to her. That's one thing about this life that's so hard to bear. Death. And comforting the mourning. The scriptures say to mourn with those who mourn and comfort those in need of comfort....but how do you comfort someone who's lost someone so dear? I wish I knew. Debbie, I love you.

Weekend update

Well, Friday was a bad day for me, recovery-wise. I ran an errand and left in a hurry Friday morning and didn't take any pain killer. By the time I returned I was miserable. Angela was nice enough to take all the kids and run Kenneth to school for his afternoon class. I crashed on the couch and slept for 3 hours. I've been nauseated last night - in the middle of the night - and this morning, but now I'm feeling better as far as the nausea goes. The pain is more than I anticipated, but I've taken more ibuprofin, so hopefully it will back off.

Steve left at 3am with the kids to go to Grandma Ackerman and Auntie Sara's house. They are having a holiday dinner tonight and families are invited. All the kids were excited to go. I'm home "resting".

It's done

Well, it's done. I'm still pretty numb and feeling OK. The first thing the periodontist said was "Wow - it looks a lot worse". He had to cut away a lot, and there was a lesion on my root...he took a picture between the biopsy and the skin graft. I think he did a good job...he said it will turn all kinds of colors before it looks normal, but right now it doesn't look too awfully bad. I didn't anticipate stitches on the roof of my mouth - I don't know why not, but I didn't. I did see the skin they took and they took quite a chunk. I also asked to see the cyst they sent into the lab, and it was gross. I kept my eyes closed through the first 1/2 of the procedure, but I watched him do the stitches in the front. I go in 1 week from today to have the stitches on the roof of my mouth removed. The stitches that hold the skin together in the front will dissolve over time. I'm on a modified diet for a week. I was very apprehensive, but Steve gave me a beautiful blessing before we left the house for the surgery and that helped me be calm. I'm not sure I would have liked to be as "alert" as I was - they just did local numbing - no knocking out. I was very glad Steve was there, it was very comforting. He took me to CVS afterwards to fill my prescriptions (pain killer, antibiotic, and more pain killer) and he bought me some ice packs. They said the more I ice it in the first 24 hours the less swelling there will be. I guess that's the update. Thanks for all your prayers.

Today's the day

Today's the day I'm having the cyst removed from my mouth. I hope everything will be uneventful....especially the skin graft....wish me luck!

A moment to myself.....

All right, I finally have a moment to myself, so I'll try to update you on the last 2 weeks.

On November 22nd I left our home at 5:30am to drive to Fresno with the kids. There, Sami met us to get the kids. We all had a nice visit with Grandma Ackerman before she left. Then, Sami took the kids home with her and I spent the night in Fresno. EARLY the next morning - like 5am - I went to the Fresno airport. After 2 long flights, I arrived in Orlando at 5:40pm, surprised that Steve was still at the airport! His flight had arrived at 3:40pm. Well......he was not very happy. They lost his luggage. He flew out of Las Vegas - arrived at the airport 3 hours early, and flew DIRECT - NO STOPS to Orlando. His luggage (we later found out) went to Omaha. So, he was crabby and I was ready to vacation. After some food to cheer Steve up, we took the shuttle to La Quinta, where Elise & Les, Angela & Darrel were waiting. The rest of the crew arrived shortly thereafter, and voila, a vacation begins. We got Steve's luggage the next morning, thankfully, before we had to go to the cruise. We boarded the "Soverign of the Sea" that afternoon (Friday). There were 14 of us all together: Mom & Dad, Angela & Darrel, Steve & me, Elise & Les, Danny & Amanda, David & Jackie, and Benjamin and Weston. Weston is a dear friend of the family who came along to room with Ben. He was a delight to travel with, and we were so glad he agreed to come.

The cruise was amazing - as always - I highly recommend it for vacation....although, I recommend at least a 5 day cruise. We spent one day in Nassau, Bahamas and snorkeled and went on a large catamaran sailing ship. We spent one day on a private island called Coco Cay. A few of us (including Steve & I) went scuba diving and snorkeling. The highlight of that dive was a sea turtle! Cool! The beach was lovely, and we rented a small catamaran and sailed for a while, too. The weather was perfect and it was a great day! We returned to Florida on Monday morning. Since we weren't scheduled to fly out until Tuesday, my dad took me running (we also ran before the cruise, and worked out sporatically on the cruise). We ended up running around a lake - it was a beautiful run - we got caught in the rain, but it was so humid and I was sweating so much a little more water didn't really matter.

Tuesday Steve flew home to Las Vegas, and I flew back to Fresno. I then drove to Fremont to get the kids. Daniel was the one who asked for me the most, and he was glad to see me. Kenneth just kept playing and acted like it was no big deal that I came back. Caitlin, however, wouldn't come to me at all. She held onto Sami like she was a life raft. It took her about 10 minutes to forgive me and come over for loves. She came over VERY SLOWLY. We had a great time playing with cousins for a while - then went to McDonalds together before the kids and I headed to Lafayette (closer to Oakland).

There, we stayed with Missy & Darin for 2 days. We had a wonderful time renewing friendships and the kids had a great time playing with MORE cousins! The cutest thing about them was that Daniel (due to his underdeveloped speech) called Gilbert "Dilbert". I thought that was pretty cute. Missy took us to an amazing play place and the kids got 2 prizes! (They thought they had died and gone to heaven). Missy has a great toy room and the kids loved disappearing in there. She also has an adventurous back yard and the boys had a great time exploring. We got some Boudin Sourdough bread (I brought home 8 loaves to Steve) and Missy got Caitlin lots of DARLING clothes (thanks, Missy!). It's so fun shopping for a girl!

Anyway, after a fun-filled 2 days, we loaded up on Friday and drove home. It took 8 hours exactly. We only stopped once, and I only had to give Caitlin benadryl. :) Considering that was the part of the trip I was dreading, it went fairly well.

So-that's our trip! It was great - every piece of it.

We're back safely!

I don't have much time to post ALL the updates from the last 10 days, but we did manage to arrive home safely just now. We've had a wonderful holiday, and we've got a big week coming up, but it'll be nice to enjoy sleeping in our own beds tonight. We had a wonderful time on the cruise - a big thank you to Sami and Scott for watching the kids. And, I had a wonderful 2 days with my sister, Missy - a big thank you to Missy for being the wonderful hostess that you always are. It was also good to see Jan and Sara when we passed through Fresno.

More later,
Joy

We're off

Kenneth is on a date with Steve tonight as a reward for his straight "A" report card. It's a tradition we started in Kindergarten and Kenneth doesn't let us forget it! I'm glad he loves his dad so much....and the one on one time is always good. We seem to need the excuse because we're not usually very good at planning "dates".

Well, after a week and a half of nonstop preparations, I believe we're just about ready....well, we'd better be because I intend to leave before 6am tomorrow. That should put us at Grandma Ackerman's in time for lunch and a small birthday party for Daniel before the kids will continue up to Aunt Sami and Uncle Scott's house. Kenneth is VERY excited to spend time with his cousins, but not so excited about the drive. Daniel is wary I believe. He acted out at preschool today. I explained the "plan" to him yesterday and he just kept saying to me, "But Tennef is going to be there, right?" I think as long as Kenneth is there he'll hang in there. Of course there's no explaining to the baby and that's hard for me. I know she'll miss me - she's quite a mama's girl, but I know she'll be well loved and well taken care of in my absence. Knowing that adds peace of mind like you can't believe. I so appreciate Sami & Scott being willing to take on 3 more munchkins in their home. I know my kids will make sweet memories that, for Kenneth at least, will last a lifetime. I'm excited for the time "off" of work and "mom-ing". I'm also VERY excited to visit my sister, Missy, and her family. It's been just over 2 years since I've seen them and I'm so excited to be going to visit!!!!

Anyway, I have to finish packing - I've already mostly packed and loaded the car...I just have some finishing touches.

Losing....and life

Well, I'm finally losing weight. That is good news...I'm down at least 7 pounds, and sometimes 9. Angela and I have been exercising a lot and it seems like my legs are always a bit sore. I finished the last of the white meat turkey leftovers today, and that is always a sad moment. Caitlin had the best day she's had in WEEKS today....no moaning, griping, crying, whining, etc. She was happy - I even heard her LAUGH! I'm pretty sure she's finally feeling better now. We are all finished with our antibiotics (Kenneth was the only one to NOT take any - and he's the one in public school!). The week has been filled with preparations for our big trip that starts next week....getting the oil changed, etc. etc. This weekend I'm going to attempt to change the transmission fluid in both cars - wish me luck on that. Kenneth also has his last soccer game of the season on Saturday and we'll have a pizza party after the game. I signed him up for basketball this week - and that will begin the 2nd week of December. I'm still waiting to hear from Delta Dental about my periodontic surgery....hoping to hear any day. When I called them last week they said they'd be mailing my letter out this week. I'd like to get that scheduled and overwith. Today I got all my visiting teaching done, and it was so nice. I met a new sister who was added to our route, and she had such a sweet spirit. I was so glad to visit with her and pray with her....and, of course I love visiting my other "regulars" as well. We got unexpected news this week that Steve's company will be shutting down between Christmas and New Years. We weren't too excited about the "unplanned" vacation, but we're making the best of it and we should end up having a great holiday! It will be really nice to have a week as a family...and we'll probably spend some time in San Francisco and other fun places! My mom is coming through here tomorrow night, and of course we're looking forward to seeing her. Tonight Steve is back at work and as soon as I finish this post, I'll be working, too. I guess that's just about all the news....

Life and Death

One of our dear friends in Texas lost their son today. It wasn't entirely unexpected, but it's always tragic. It's been on my mind a lot, and I've felt so helpless. Their post sharing the passing was sweet, and they said they felt at peace as they held him in their arms (he was only 9 months old, and he never left the hospital). The Lord truly works in mysterious ways. Even though little Zachary had a short life here on earth, he touched the lives of many people. He has now moved on to a better place, a glorious place. I am so grateful that I know there is life after death. I know there is a purpose to our earth life. I know we are meant for bigger and better things. I know we can live together forever as families. I'm grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. I grateful for the Atonement. Every time I think about it I realize how very pivotal that moment was....that time in the Garden of Gethsemane. All of eternity hung in the balance, and Jesus Christ overcame the temptations of Satan and suffered for each of our shortcomings, and then a few short days later, He overcame the bands of death. What a blessing that is. I know I am not perfect, and I'm grateful I can repent and work each day on becoming a better person. I'm so grateful for each of my children, and for my dear Steve. I'm grateful that our challenges in life haven't been medical in nature. I'm grateful for the Lord's boundless blessings. I'm grateful for the family He gave me, and for the friends He placed in my path who make me want to be a better person. Sometimes when I ponder my blessings I am overwhelmed. The Lord is merciful. The Lord is kind. The Lord loves each one of us, regardless of our choices.....of that I am sure.

Family Photos and Thanksgiving

Talk about two big undertakings in one day! Today was Stake Conference, and we decided to have a "Family Day". We started by stuffing the turkey, then family photos. We had a HUGE, WONDERFUL Thanksgiving dinner with all the goodies....turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, homemade rolls, olives....and we ate it on china and drank out of crystal! We finished up with homemade pumpkin pie, homemade apple pie, and storebought pecan pie. We're STUFFED!!! It was a great Thanksgiving. We should have leftovers for a few days. We've decided 18 pounds is the perfect size bird. We got all our stuffing INSIDE the bird, and we have plenty of leftovers. Thanks, mom, for the tips on the cooking - it turned out PERFECT! We enjoyed sharing the day with the Webb family, but we missed our Texas family. Here are our family photos:






It's hard to believe it's been over 10 years since Steve & I met and fell madly in love. We've made wonderful memories together, and a beautiful family - if I do say so myself. We've got a big year next year with my 30th birthday, our 10 year wedding anniversary, and Kenneth's baptism. I've got to say - I wouldn't change a thing. We've learned and loved and grown together, and I can't imagine life any other way.

Busy day and photos

Well, Caitlin's ears didn't clear up, so now she's on Zithromax (this is a 5 day antibiotic). Thankfully, she's been an angel about taking her medicine this round - including her iron supplements that she's on now. Today we had a busy day. We started at Kenneth's soccer game, then to the air show at Nellis Air Force Base, then to a sports store in the mall, then to Johnathan's karate demo, then back to a different sports store, then home. This evening I spent starting our Thanksgiving dinner preparations. We're having Thanksgiving tomorrow since we won't be with our kids on Thanksgiving (we want time to eat the left overs before we leave town). How can we have Thanksgiving without remembering all of our wonderful Texas friends...Nancy, Debbie and the Jones family. Half of our recipes are from Debbie or her family, and of course the deviled eggs are the Jones' addition to our meal. We miss you guys! It's not the same without you!!! Here are some photos from our morning...

Park Photos

It's been too long........

Angela kindly informed me that it's been too long since I've updated you on our exciting and wonderful lives....so, here goes...

Caitlin finished her antibiotics, but she still has a productive cough and a runny nose. I'm ready for both of those to go away.

Daniel wasn't able to go to his wellness check up this week due to insurance reasons. We'll reschedule for early in January. He's still on antibiotics, and feeling much better.

Steve & I are both still taking antibiotics, and feeling MUCH better. Steve has had a LONG, HARD week at work, but today hopefully will be less stressful, and we're looking forward to a fun weekend together. We've got a full weekend planned....air show/boating (we haven't decided between those two yet), Thanksgiving dinner (we're having it early since we'll be traveling and away from our kids on Thanksgiving), Stake Conference, family photos....it should be busy. I got a new client this week, so that's good.

Kenneth has had a much better week. I seem to be able to get along with him better, and he's not talking back as much. We've had some really good "bed time" time together, and I think that's helped. He's out of school today for Veteran's Day, so he's doing chores this morning...his "least favorite" chores. (Clean room, do laundry, and clean toilets). Life is rough, isn't it?

We spent lots of time at the park this week, and Angela took some darling photos. Yesterday we went to 2 different parks! The weather here has been upper 70's and lovely. We've definitely taken advantage of it. We're hoping to meet Steve at the park for lunch today. I'll see if I can share some photos...

Ears, ears, and more infected ears

Well, Thursday I was totally "off". I don't know what was wrong with me....seriously. I was snappy at everyone and I had book club at my house. I found out there were free flu shots at Albertsons between 10am - 2pm, so I drug everyone (Darrel, Angela, Steve, Alex, Johnathan, Steve, Kenneth, Daniel and me) to get their flu shots. I don't think they were too thrilled, but now we're all innoculated. (Except Zach & Caitlin because they only had shots for those over 4 years old - Daniel barely made it - lucky him). We did a little shopping after Angela and Daniel got theirs, and Daniel cried the entire time - "I got hurt...I got hurt....I got hurt". So pleasant. So, as part of preparing for the book club, I reorganizing my house (why can't I ever just clean it? Why do I have to move stuff around?) I had a baby shower to go to before book club, too. Right before book club I burned the homemade fudge I was making and that was just bad news. My whole house stunk, and I was so bummed.

Book club went well, though, and lots of ladies came. We read the "Peacegiver". It was a great book - very thought provoking. We had a great discussion, then chocolate cake and bread (thanks, Ang, for bringing the bread).

Friday started uneventfully and neither Angela nor I had much planned, so we decided to venture off to the park. On the way to the park we noticed that Caitlin looked miserable, so I called and made an appointment for her to see the doctor. We had a fun time at the park, and Steve & Darrel came home for lunch. When I took Caitlin to the doctor, the doctor said she had a major ear infection in her right ear (puss and everything), and a minor one in her left ear. She was anemic at her 12 month check up, so the checked her iron levels, too. She's still anemic, so now she's on a straight iron supplement instead of a vitamin with iron. She also got the first installment of her flu shot. We got her on Omnicef and she started feeling better quickly.

This morning at approximately 4:15am Daniel screamed in pain. He said his right ear really hurt. We gave him the boo boo sock, motrin, and laid him in bed by us. When he woke up, he said his ear still hurt, so I spent 2 hours at urgent care with him instead of going to Kenneth's soccer game. Kenneth scored and played great - I made it for the 4th quarter, but Kenneth was already finished playing, so I left to fill Daniel's prescription. Daniel had 2 ear infections - one really bad, and one mild. So - now he's on amoxicillin.

Both Steve & Darrel worked today, so Angela and I took the kids to the park, then met Steve & Darrel at Chuck E. Cheese's. It was so much fun! The weather here was 78 today. Lovely. I was thinking about my friend Shauna, who ran in a 1/2 marathon in Boise this morning. I'm pretty sure it wasn't 78 in Boise today. I heard she ran well, and she and her sister, Karen, had a good time, so that's great. Way to go you two!

As I type, Angela, Darrel, Steve & I are playing the game "Acquire". Daniel is sleeping, Caitlin is eating, and the other kids are watching a movie. It's only 8pm, but it gets dark now at like 5:30pm, so it feels like midnight. The other reason it feels later than it is, is because I'm getting sick. I think I have what Angela had last weekend. I started on antibiotics tonight (thanks, Danny), so by tomorrow I should be feeling better.

Well, I guess that's the update. Have a great Sabbath!

Happy Birthday, Daniel!

Well, Halloween was awesome fun. I went to vote first thing (early voting), then visiting teaching (I know, can you say procrastonator?....at least I went...), then to Daniel's pre school party...Holy Cow...was there ever a lot of food and games to play and crafts to do! We had a wonderful time, and Caitlin fell asleep in the middle of it. Steve & Darrel came home for lunch and we had BLT's (thanks, Steve!). After we got the kids and did homework it was time for dinner and TRICK or TREATING! We went to a neighboring neighborhood (nicer houses - gated area - safer) and the kids brought home the LOOT! We now have tons and tons of chocolate and candy! We took Daniel straight up to bed after trick or treating, and Caitlin went down pretty quickly, too. Kenneth got to stay up and carve a pumpkin he won at school by guessing the number closest to the actual number of seeds in the pumpkin. (There were 503 and he guessed 199). Since he hadn't had a chance to carve a pumpkin, it worked out well. After the kids were down, Steve & I stayed up watching 3 episodes of "House".

Today started with a hard work out for me....just what I needed. I ran 2 miles and rode 5. Then I did push ups and sit ups. I felt really good when I was finished. Then I came home and woke Daniel up to "Happy Birthday" and a couple of presents. We had breakfast, then we went shopping with Daniel's birthday money. ("We" in this part being Angela, Zachary, Daniel, Caitlin and me). Daniel got a remote control snake. I tried to point him in the direction of some new clothes- but he would have nothing of it. He had several toys he considered, but the remote control snake was the favorite. We went straight to Chuck E Cheese's from there and spent the last of our tokens from our last 2 for 1 sale. Then we got In-n-Out Hamburgers and went to a park. Steve and Darrel met us there. The weather was lovely. No coats required. Then home for Caitlin and Zach to nap and soon after we got batteries in the remote control snake it was time to head off to speech therapy (much to Daniel's dismay). I volunteer during Daniel's speech class, and I helped Kenneth's teacher with her web site today. We came home and helped Angela cut out and laminate about 30 sleeves worth of pre school stuff. Daniel took a quick nap, then we went to Red Robin for dinner! Yea! Daniel had a great birthday - thanks to everyone who called or sent a card to help make it special for him. He is really growing up in every sense of the word. It's hard to believe it was 4 years ago that I had 18 people in my hospital room just 1 hour after little Daniel came into this world. Thanks again to Sean Buckley for the chocolate shake. I've never had another shake that tasted SO GOOD! We are so blessed to have Daniel as a part of our family, and I'm grateful every day for his health and strength. He's a good boy.

We're Baaaaaaaaaack

We went to Brawley, CA Saturday, and returned home last night. It was a quick trip - 360 miles each way - but worth every minute. Our kids had a GREAT time playing with cousins, and it was so nice for Steve & I to be able to be there for the blessing of Sami's 5th child, Afton. We hung out with Scott's family and they were so kind to us and very accomodating. We had a great time and we're very glad we went.

Kenneth's soccer game was good - he played before we left for CA. They lost -but they put up a good fight. Soccer is a good sport for him.

We also had a wonderful time with Grandma Hansen here last week...we're just bursting with activity at our house. Tomorrow is Halloween and Wednesday is Daniel's birthday! YEA!

Off again....

Well, we've had a busy week. First- not our news - but my sister, Missy, and her family moved back to the USA - YEAH! We're so glad they're back. I know they had a great time in London, but I've missed them and I'm looking forward to catching up with them soon.

Steve worked his little pitootie off this week. All week. He promised it would relax after this - but not so. The customer they worked with all week is coming back in 2 weeks. Such is life.

The kids and I have been enjoying the weather - visitng the parks often. Tomorrow Kenneth has a soccer game, then we leave for Brawley, CA. Steve's little sister and her husband are blessing their 5th child and we'd like to be there for that. We'll come back Sunday night - so it'll be a quick trip. I just randmcnalley'd it and it says it'll be 340 miles one way.

Mary Lou Hansen, or "Grandma Hansen" came to visit us this week, too. It's been so fun having her around. She had a class to take in Las Vegas (she's a CPA) and so it's been a real treat for us. Tonight we went to the Cheesecake factory - just the 3 adults. She flies out tomorrow morning.

Next week is Halloween and Daniel's birthday and our first book club meeting - so it should be more eventful than this week. We did have our church halloween Trunk or Treat this week - and that was fun, as always. They combine it with the Chili cook-off here, so it's dinner and games and then trunk or treating. The kids had a great time.

Well, we'll let you know how our quick trip went - shortly. :)

Caitlin/Daniel

Caitlin is speaking more and more. She now says the following words:

• Uh Oh
• Mom
• Daddy
• Doggie
• Shoe
• Kisses
• Thank you
• Please
• All done
• I love you

She's very feisty when she's tired, but very cute when she's well rested.

Daniel can write his name unassisted, and I've taught him to fill in the blank when I say, "Daniel is sooooooo __________". I taught him to say "smart" but last Sunday during church I said it and he came back with "reverent". I'll take it. :)

St. George fun

Well, we're back. We just drove in from St. George. We went up (we being Angela, Joy, and all of our kids) to St. George to see our dad play in a volleyball tournament....the Huntsman Senior Games. It was FABULOUS. I didn't realize they'd changed most of the rules of volleyball during my decade off (not kidding). It was really fun to see dad play. Kenneth was under the weather on Thursday so I let him stay home from school. We left shortly after Angela's preschool finished at noon that day. We hung out with grandaddy playing miniature golf, ping pong and air hockey before heading to the park for a picnic and soccer. It was great fun and wonderful bonding time with grandaddy. Then, last night I had the night from #*$) with my kids....it was bad...we'll leave it at that....sufice it to say that NONE OF US GOT ENOUGH SLEEP. We picked Dad up this morning and went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast before heading to the volleyball court to watch his first match. They won that match, so we headed back to Angela's sister-in-law's house (that's where we spent the night) for nap time. I got ALL 3 of my kids alseep and Angela and I headed back to watch Dad's second match. We were about 5 minutes into the match (the score was 4-4) and we got a phone call that Kenneth had thrown up. So - I hurried back. By the time I got there they'd cleaned it up and he was back asleep. Kenneth woke up after a 2.5 hour nap. Daniel had a 2 hour nap, and Caitlin 3 hours. Kenneth woke up burning hot so I borrowed a thermometer and it registered 103 degrees. That's a personal high for him. He's never been that hot. I gave him some motrin and went to wake up Caitlin, who woke up with a blow out. So - after a quick bath we headed back for more volleyball. Dad had won the match I had to leave during, but he lost the one we came back for. (It was no surprise - that match was against the number one team). So........after that match Dad had to ref, so we hung out on the lawn before heading to a park for pizza and more games. We dropped Dad off and headed home after that. It was a wonderful time and we're so glad we went. Kenneth is resting now and hopefully he'll wake up "all better". He has a soccer game at 9am tomorrow - and he's convinced he'll feel good enough to play. I'll let you know...........

Headed out

This morning I am cleaning and packing for our trip to St. George. We are going to watch my dad play volleyball. My uncle is on the team as well. I haven't seen him play for a decade, and I'm very much looking forward to it. Angela and I are going together with our children. We'll see him play tomorrow (his game today is this morning - we already missed it)...then head back home. It'll be a quick trip, but we're very much looking forward to it. This afternoon we're just going to hang out with grandaddy. Maybe we'll find a park or go bowling or something.

Kenneth is home from school today, he's not feeling well. Hopefully the extra rest this morning will help him snap out of it. He has an upset stomach, and Steve was up in the night with an upset stomach.

Steve has been working way too much and work is very stressful right now. I'm ready for him to back off a bit, but the time is not yet.

Caitlin woke up at 3am and I was up with her until close to 4. Then she woke up again sometime after 4:30 or so. Steve got up with her and he said she never went back to sleep. I'm very frustrated with her schedule right now. She's been waking up shortly after 5am every day this past week - but I just can't do 3. For Heaven's sake! Any suggestions on regulating her schedule are welcomed.

Well, I'd better finish my cleaning!

Monday, Monday

Well, we had a good Saturday. Kenneth's soccer game got cancelled due to the rain, and the cops finally left. We are still a bit wary, but feeling better about being in our house. We got to go to the park as a family this afternoon and we had a lot of fun. It was wonderful to have Steve with us all day. We ran some errands - one of which was getting Kenneth a piano book. He has been BEGGING to learn how to play the piano. So....I gave in. I got him one basic theory book and a piano book and we started Saturday. He is a quick study which is no surprise.

On Sunday Kenneth gave a talk in church (which he's very good at - in my humble opinion), I substituted in primary, Steve taught his lesson and I directed the choir. It was a busy Sabbath for us. We had a nice relaxing evening as a family, though.

This morning Kenneth got up early and got ready for school. He was eating his breakfast and he said, "I want to talk to Nancy & Debbie". I thought, well - OK. I know it's hard for Nancy to talk while she's at work, so we called Debbie and Kenneth chatted with her for a while. Thanks, Debbie, for taking the time to chat - it made his day. Nancy - we'll have to call you at home some time! :)

Tonight my mom & my sister-in-law, Jackie, are here. They are doing a conference here in Vegas tomorrow. They're doing the "Million Dollar Woman" conference series. (www.milliondollarwomanconference.com). We're glad to see them. Mom's sleeping here, Jackie at Angela's house. They'll spend tomorrow dinner with us before they head to St. George for their Wed. conference. It's nice to have them here - even if it is a brief visit.

In our house

Well, I'm now back in my own home typing on my own computer. There is still a police surveillance car parked in front of our house. (Under cover). Steve brought Tasha over this morning and took her through the entire house and garage before the kids and I came back over. We are a bit uneasy, but the weather here is quite stormy and we actually have had a fair amount of rain - so we're just hunkered down. I'm glad I ran errands yesterday, including going to the grocery store. I have plenty of ingredients for several different soups - which seems like a good meal choice in the rain. I also got a roast for Sunday.

Update

The cops never called us last night. We called them 2 hours later and they said the search had moved over a block. They said it was safe to go into our house. We still weren't sure, so Steve got Tasha and we slept over here at Darrel & Angela's place (thanks, guys!). We'll probably call a patrol officer to escort Steve later this morning when we return to the house. Kenneth has a soccer game at 10am but it's been thundering and lightning off and on all night, so we'll see if the game actually is played.

Well, never a dull moment, eh?

CRAZY LAS VEGAS!!!

Well, we're not allowed in our house tonight. The police have stormed the neighborhood, and they've searched our boat. They're apparently searching for someone......

Well, let me back up. Earlier today there was a silver dodge caravan out in front of our house (across the street), running, for over 2 hours. I got wierded out and called the police. They said "It's a code 4. Everything is OK. It's p0lice business." Tonight was Octoberfest at Kenneth's school, so we left shortly after that to go to the school. Angela and Darrel left straight from the school to spend the weekend in Arizona. Our neighbor and friend, Erin Mohler was at Octoberfest, too. On our way home she called my cell phone to tell us that we couldn't enter the neighborhood the way we usually do. While we were talking, she circled the neighborhood and told us that police were storming our street with BIG guns drawn and pointed. Then she told us that they were searching around our boat. Then she told us that they were searching under the cover of our boat. By the time we got back there were cops everywhere and they said we couldn't go in our house. They're searching for someone ( a convicted murderer living in our neighborhood ) and we can't go in our house until they clear it with a canine. I told them we have a german shepherd in the house, so they're supposed to come get Steve before they go in. We've now been here (they said we were safe in the Webb's house) for 45 minutes. I'll post more when I know more.

Uneventful Week

This week has been fairly uneventful. We've spent a lot of time at parks this week. This is the season for parks in Las Vegas...and we take full advantage of it. I've been spending time (Steve helped over the weekend) organizing/cleaning/unpacking our room. I'd like to paint it, too, but that will come. We've been here a year and I'm plum out of excuses. It's ABOUT TIME!

Last night we were watching the weather and they said we were going to get a 'soaking' this weekend. Later they said it would rain between 1/2" and 3/4". Steve and I bust up laughing! SOAKED! Better watch out! It's supposed to hit tomorrow afternoon or Saturday. Kenneth has soccer tomorrow at 5pm and a game Sat. morning, so hopefully neither will be cancelled, but BRING ON THE SOAKING! I think I'm up for it. :-)

Boating

We went to Lake Mead Saturday with Darrel & Angela, and Danny & Amanda. We had lots of fun. This is Amanda, Angela and me getting ready to tube.
This is Steve and Danny messing around on the tube.
This is Darrel (falling off) Steve (legs in the air) and Danny in the midst of a wipe out.

We had a TON of fun and BIG THANKS go to Danny & Amanda for driving down, and to Angela & Darrel for taking so many great photos.

Kenneth played in a soccer game Sat. morning and he scored 4 of his team's 5 goals. They won 5-1. Yeah! Kenneth!

This morning I have moved the kids' rooms all around. I put the dressers back into the boys' room, and I put the crib in the purple room. So - now instead of having the baby sleep in the blue room and the boys sleep in the purple room....Caitlin will be sleeping in purple, and the boys are back in the boy room. I've hung curtains and made up their beds all special to surprise them when they get home.

Pretty Girl

This is Caitlin in her new Sunday dress. Isn't she pretty? She's really growing up. She's 14 months now.

Rainbow

See - I told you it rained yesterday. Here's the rainbow.

Break Through

Here's the photo I promised of Caitlin and her cousin, Emily. Aren't they cute? I couldn't resist the photo op since we were both in the same state for about 48 hours.

We had a big break through today. My sister's first guess was Daniel pooped on the potty. No - I'm happy to say Daniel is now thoroughly potty trained and yeah for us. Her second guess was with his speech. Well, we continue to work on that, and we're making slow, steady progress. So - here it is. Daniel wrote his whole name, "DANIEL" today, unassisted. He's really doing great with his letters, and Angela's pre school is helping tremendously. I am very proud of him.

It rained here - all day. That's big news! It's literally about the 6th time it's rained here since we moved in over a year ago. I never thought I could miss the rain; yet I do. I left my window and door open all day so I could smell the rain. There's nothing quite like the smell of rain. Then - this evening we got the most beautiful double rainbow. What a blessing it is to know the Earth will never again be flooded. I'm grateful each and every time I see a rainbow. What a beautiful way to symbolize such a lovely gift.

Bittersweet

Today is a bittersweet one. This morning we turned in our last piece of Texas for a plastic piece of Nevada. We went to the DMV and got new driver licenses. :( We hung on to them just about as long as we could, but I really want to vote in the upcoming election and I felt like I should have local ID to do so. Texas was good to us. We still have dear friends there, and we will always have a piece of Texas in our hearts. Our children are all "Texans". When we moved there - out on our own for the first time - not depending on anyone but each other - we had no idea how profound life's experiences there would be. Texas is a big part of who we are as a couple and hopefully will be part of who our children become. Texans are just so friendly. They care about others around them. They have pride. This afternoon I went to the Post Office to mail a few things and there was trash strewn about all around the swinging door that said "Waste". I picked it all up and gently put it IN the "waste" container. The guy behind me said, "Wow, that was nice". Then - the girl ahead of me got called up prematurely and the postal worker who hadn't started to serve her yet got called away. She stood there - not knowing what to do. (She was only about 12). When I got called up, I gestured to her, telling her that she was ahead of me in line and she should go ahead of me. She looked so shocked. Why is it so hard for us to be nice to each other and care about our surroundings? It's sadly amazing. It's sad that the people around me were surprised by my behavior. I just stood there thinking, "What can I do as a mother to teach my children to pick up, keep their world clean, and be kind to the people around them?"

On an entirely different note, ever since our vacation to Northern California in July, I have had a longing to live in a place where I can GROW something. I miss my garden. I miss my soil. If I had it to do over again I wouldn't have stupid statues in front of my house. I would have beautiful plants and flowers. I would have Rosemary and thyme. I would have allspice and bay leaves. I would have things that smelled beautiful and looked beautiful. Maybe that's why no one will buy our house - the "Street Appeal" isn't there. Who knows? We're putting in new carpet ASAP. Our realtor still says she's showing it 2-3 times/week. I can't believe no one has even liked it enough to make an offer. It's a nice house, dang it! I miss it. I miss the tiny mortgage! I miss the garden! I miss the covered patio! I miss the dog run! I miss the grass!!! I miss the yard!

Anyway - I digress. I really do hope that someday I can live in a place where I can plant beautiful things and help them grow, and enjoy their beauty.

Wish me luck!

Weekend in Utah and other updates

This is a photo from Kenneth's first soccer game this weekend. He stayed with my sister while Steve, Daniel, Caitlin and I went to Utah.

We went for Steve's Mexico City South Mission reunion. It has been 14 years since he served, but it was good to renew friendships and see everyone. We spent Saturday watching conference and then we went to a family get together at my Aunt's house in Lindon. It would have been my Grandfather's 90th birthday and my Grandmother planned a party. We had a great time and I got to see some cousin's it's been close to 10 years since I've seen them. We have several engaged and several others expecting babies so it's a very fun time.

Sunday we put Caitlin and her cousin, Emily, in their halloween costumes. I'll post a photo when I get one. They were DARLING. It's so fun to have them so close in age and size.

Well, it's park weather here, so I'm sure we'll be going to the park tomorrow.

Milestones

Caitlin now says "Ugh Ooh". I heard it the other day and I wasn't sure if it was on purpose, but she did it several times last night when she dropped things so I know she's associating it with an action. It's very cute. Steve installed tot locks on the cupboard she likes to open and empty and yesterday after her nap she went directly to the cupboard. When she couldn't open it she looked at me and screamed....and screamed. She didn't like that AT ALL. I've started putting her hair in 2 pony tails on top and it's very cute. She still pulls it out about 10 times a day, though....

Daniel is now walking around saying "Down, around; D. Up, Down, Across; A. Up, Down, Up; N. D A N I E L Daniel Layton". It's very cute. Angela's preschool is great for him. He's learning so much, and he loves it.

Kenneth is maturing. Yesterday he sat and read an entire chapter book - I'm talking like an hour. He's loving being so close to Johnathan and just wants to be near him all the time! He's looking forward to this weekend with the Webbs. He was writing in his book log that he had read Charlotte's Web, but he spelled it Charlotte's Webb. It was pretty cute.

Steve, Caitlin, Daniel and I are heading to Utah today for a mission reunion of Steve's. Kenneth is staying with the Webbs so he won't miss his first soccer game. Good luck, Kenneth! Thanks, Webbs.

We'll be back Sunday evening.

Reflections

I just read the Joneses' post and this was my comment to her:

Yes, it's amazing...truly amazing. Remember that ICU stay - and that day without your pump? Was that 5 years ago - no! It couldn't have been. How is that possible? Is it possible that it's been 3 1/2 years since that ice storm? Nooooooooooooo. Couldn't be. How can it be? Has it really been 2 1/2 years since that dreadful phone call while I was "covering" for you as basketball coach (that was a joke!) No way. Gosh, where did all the time go? We miss you guys so much. I miss being part of your lives....more than once a month or so. I'm so sorry we are separated. I love each of you so much. You each mean so much to me. I'm so glad Spencer is growing older. So glad. I'm sad that as Sophie grows older her bond with me grows weaker. I love her so much, and soon her memories of our daily triumphs and battles will fade. Such is life. I guess it's what we signed up for. I miss you, nonetheless.

I guess I'm just reflecting on how we've spent our last 9 1/2 years of marriage. It's been good...Texas was good. Las Vegas is OK - but in such a different way. It's hard to move on - to leave those you love so dearly behind. It's bitter-sweet to look back on the memories - I constanty have to say "Did we do the right thing? How could we have left (voluntarily) such a perfect life? I know Steve's job wasn't perfect, and that was the motivation for the move. There are things that are good about living here. We've been able to spend a lot more time with family - since we're so much closer. Steve is able to go help his mom a lot more, and that's a blessing....for her, for us, and for our children. We aren't too keen on the weather, though, and even as I get "settled in" here, I think - someday I'm going to leave all these good friends here. In some ways I'm jelous of the pioneers who just stay put. It would be nice to put down roots and know you're going to be some place forever. It's nice to see different places and get to know different people, too, but it's hard to leave, and hard to move on. We were very blessed with good friends in Texas....maybe that's why I'm hesitant to make "really good" friends here....because I know that will just make it harder to leave. It's so nice to have my sister here now. I hope we can always live by each other. Her kids are good for my kids, and she's good for me. I'm glad Steve has a friend, too.

Well, those are the thoughts I'm having tonight. The weather here is lovely and we went to the park again today. Kenneth had a very emotional afternoon. I strive to stay calm and not lose my temper with him, but he pushes me sometimes. He is tired. He's asleep - and it's 7:30. Actually, all 3 kids are asleep. No wonder they were so crabby. Daniel overheard me telling a telemarketer (who called at 6pm) that I was trying to get dinner together and I had crabby kids and he said "I not crabby, mom". He actually wasn't crabby right then - but Kenneth and Caitlin were...

Anyway, Steve made it home in time for a nice family dinner and that was wonderful. Now he's heading back to work....and I should work a while....so I'll sign off.

A beautiful day

Today was a lovely day in Las Vegas....the kind of day that is "payoff" for living here. I took Caitlin, Daniel & Zachary to the park this morning and we stayed for over an hour. Then, we took all the kids except Alex back later this evening. It's just a nice time in Vegas. I didn't do any cleaning today, just hung out with kids. I did sneak time to call my dear friend in Texas, Nancy, and we had a good chat. I am so pleased that she sounds so good following some serious health challenges. It seems she's on the mend, for which I am truly grateful. I miss our friends there so much, but no one more than Nancy & Debbie. It is a huge hole in our lives, not having them around.

Daniel got his first "speech therapy" of the school year today (after much ado) and I didn't see any progress. It's so hard to switch teachers, isn't it? Gosh, Mrs. Eades was so good with him and I saw marked improvement after each and every session (except the one he fell asleep in :0). This teacher is new - just did her student teaching last year, and I have a feeling she has a way to go in honing her new skill.

I bought the kids their Halloween costumes today - well, Angela bought Caitlin's and I bought the boys'. Caitlin will be a lady bug (darling outfit - thanks, Ang), and Daniel will be a Power Ranger (I need to add velcro to the belt - he's a little slim for the outfit) and Kenneth will be Darth Vadar. Kenneth is the only one who chose what he was going to be before we went to Saver's. I need to add a button to the costume, and fix one part, and buy a mask, but it's a cool costume, and it was $7.99 less 20%. So - who's complaining?

Steve got home in time to spend some time with me this evening, which was a real treat, and very well received. I'm trying to talk him into going on the family cruise this Thanksgiving. I just feel like we need a vacation together.....can you blame me? Oh, well. I guess he's got to decide for himself, eh? Kenneth overheard us discussing it, and he said he didn't like being left with a babysitter.....oh, no. How am I going to recover on this one? I've got to find someone who he'll consider it a treat to spend a weekend with, so he doesn't feel neglected. I don't blame him. I used to hate it when my mom went to Utah for a week for Education Week every year. At least this will only be 4 days.

Anyway, another day in the life of the Laytons in Las Vegas.

Reunion

Well, there's nothing like a few days apart that makes you appreciate what you have, is there?

I left Thursday for Santa Barbara to meet with my favorite client, and Steve took the kids for a couple of days. Of course, Angela kept them DURING the day Thursday and Friday... thanks, Ang.

Steve took the kids to Clovis to help out his mom...so I felt like we were doubly separated...that, combined with me not having any cell service.

I love my husband and I love my kids, and no riches on earth could make me happier than they do. I'm grateful for the role I play as wife and mother. And, I'm especially grateful that we're all safely reunited....even if we are in Las Vegas.

Cute cute cute

So, a cute thing just happened. I just brought the kids home from school, and I had to run to the restroom. Kenneth also headed to the restroom, so that left Daniel and Caitlin downstairs. Tasha was in because the bug people just came. So - I hear the baby cry and I hear Daniel say "Tasha ran into the baby" -- then I hear doors opening and closing and slamming, etc. I yell down and say "Daniel - what's going on" and he says "I'm getting the baby the "boo boo sock"". I just thought it was cute....

Then he put Tasha out.

Weekend

Well, we didn't go boating this weekend, but we did put 28.75 gallons of gas in our 26 gallon gas tank on the boat. We also turned the ignition key to see that it registered "full" - which we've never before had happen! Steve took the whole boat apart and replaced the sending unit for the gas tank! Now we can actually see how much gas we have without dismantling the back seat. What a treat! We had a great Saturday playing and working together and it was such a treat to have Steve home all day.

We got news this week. One of our dear friends, Nancy Stimach, had a pacemaker placed in her heart. This was a shock to us and our prayers are with her as she recovers from her surgery.

Life in Las Vegas

Caitlin is pointing, now. She's trying to immitate words. She's becoming very independent. Daniel can buckle his own seatbelt without help! He's growing up! Kenneth starts soccer today and he's VERY excited. He slept in his shin guards last night. :-)

Preschool

Well, Daniel had his first day of preschool today at Angela's house, and it seems he gave her a run for her money. We knew it would be tough for him to go from "playing" at Angela's to "preschool" (i.e. obeying - working WITH the group - following instructions - sitting DOWN) at Angela's, but we underestimated the initial challenge. He sat in time-out 3 times. He also spit on a little boy. We had a talk when he came home, but he's definitely having trouble making the association of "school". He still says, "But Mrs. Eades is my teacher". (She's his speech therapist from last year). Anyway, hopefully Thursday will be better, and each day a little better after that.... He will be having speech again this year - we're just waiting for the new speech therapist to get her schedule figured out.

Boating

We had another WONDERFUL - FULL day on the boat yesterday. We drove over 86 miles according to Steve's GPS. Maybe that's why we ran out of gas? :-) We literally pushed the boat onto the trailer in the pitch black at the end of the day. It was a VERY fun day, though. Angela came with us. I almost got up on a knee board - got very frustrated in the process...I was SO close! Geesh. Anyway - it was so "helpful" to have Kenneth (the know-it-all) on the boat shouting at me what I should be doing...because...he's the pro now. :) Today should be an uneventful Sabbath. If the weather holds, we may go boating again tomorrow, but a storm is supposed to be coming in, so we might be thwarted. We're looking forward to a fun day with Daddy, though.