So, I was challenged last week by my friend Jill McNeil Beach to start a program called "8 weeks to a better you". I took her up on it fully, and have done everything required in that challenge. I am loving it! I have lost a pound a day, I am eating better, and I'm doing better spiritually. I've been needing a change for awhile, and this has been a godsend. If you want to know about it, just check out the blog with the same title. It's been amazing.
Now, I just gotta say that I am sorry that I am such a slacker at keeping up with this blog. I thought I was getting back in to it last year, but then only wrote twice. The last time was 9 months ago. I've had a great 9 months though, and even though it feels like my life is just plain ol boring, I have a lot of laughs, and a lot of things that keep my busy. I had my son, at home, with a midwife. On my own, no drugs, and no c-section. I will write about that whole experience at a later date. My son is now 7 and a half months old, and he is crawling all over the place, pulling himself up to things, and falling magnificently. Usually straight back on to his back and head. As much as he falls, he should have more bruises, but he has only had one tiny one. My oldest daughter turned 12 this summer, and is now in Young Womens, went to Girls Camp, and starts Junior High this year. (This one makes me hyperventilate) I hated 7th grade! Kids are so mean, and I worry so much for my sweet, tender-hearted little girl. Last week I sent off a bunch of my cards to get sold in a little store in Eager, AZ. That is so awesome to me, I love to make cards, and have always wanted to sell them, but here in Utah, people just look at something, then say to themselves, "I can make that" so your ideas, as great as they are, are easily copied, and then you don't get the sale. I have no idea if it's any different in Eager, AZ but I am willing to give it a shot. Russ and I will celebrate our 13th Anniversary in a few weeks! Holy Cow, where did the time go!? So you see, I have so much to be thankful for, and so much to remember and write down so I don't forget to be grateful.
SO, I finally have some pics put on my computer that I could publish in my blog. Here is the bathroom remodel from start to "almost finished". There are a few more things we need to finish, like the plumbing fixtures, shelves in the shower, put up a new mirror cause the bottom long one broke, put up the other mirrors, and then touch up painting all over. I will still take pictures and document all the hard work my hubby has done! Mike, my brother-in-law, the guy in the first picture helped tear it all down, and he also did the granite. It's going to look gorgeous when he's done!
So, my girls decided one day to play around with the camera making funny faces to see which ones Elayna would mimic. This one happens to be my favorite of Sandi. She looks likes such a goofy looking toothless monkey! Never a dull moment in this house with 4 girls!You also gotta love the red punch mustache on Elayna!
So, I guess I have taken my year off of blogging, and looking back I can't honestly remember why I quit doing it. It's been fun to read back what I put up and notice that it's been like a journal entry of our first year in Eagle Mountain.
This past year has been interesting. The end of last school year I had to help Jurnee and Millene bring their grades up because they had both been slacking in class. I didn't learn until a month and a half after the fact that Jurnee hadn't been turning her homework in! I was in shock that the teachers (there were 2 of them) didn't let me know after just a week of no homework let alone waiting until Parent Teacher conference. So, we had to work hard and push like crazy to get her grades back up from a 38%. She ended up getting a B, but only after many tears and tantrums, and being grounded the rest of the school year. For Millene it wasn't so bad, but she just couldn't seem to focus in class. And her spelling and reading were terrible. I think it's because she was in dual immersion in Kindergarten and 1st grades, so she didn't get to practice spelling and reading as much as she could have. So, we worked with her as well, until she came home with a 100% spelling test which required me to throw her a party.
In May I found out I was pregnant, and then spent all summer long being sick. We went to Lagoon once, and Thanksgiving Point a few times, but we didn't do any family vacations this Summer due to morning sickness. Bleh! Then the first weekend in July we decided we would redo our master bathroom. (I'll post pictures later). I gave Russ 2 months to complete the job, but as you can see it's the middle of Sept. and I'm not cheering over anything. I'm tired of dust all over the place, including every surface of my bedroom! When construction moves out of my bedroom I will get it ready for my home birth. (Oh yeah, I am having this baby at home with a midwife from my ward. Valerie ElHalta is her name, and she's fairly famous. Google her).
The highlight of my month though is the fact that I can feel the baby moving around like an Olympic Swimmer! This is the best part of the pregnancy for me, not too huge and uncomfortable yet, but the baby is big enough to make me feel the movements. I am happy that my girls are all going to school all day this year, and TJ and Elayna are becoming really great buddies. The coolest things about Elayna right now is the fact that she is potty trained (knock on wood), and when she is tired she tells me she's ready for bed. Is that strange for a 2 year old? Maybe she'll just like sleeping like her older sister Sandi.
Well, I will close my year catch up, and get some pics in again. Enjoy this last bit of Holiday free time before life gets too crazy!
I just thought I'd share what my wisdom tooth looked like. My dentist said it was the weirdest root he'd ever seen. But, it shows what a good dentist he really is that the root tip didn't break off during the removal. I am so glad that he didn't have to go digging for the root!
Russ has been working on this bed for a couple of months now. The first stages were awesome, cutting out the wood and prepping it. I learned how to measure and use the cut-off saw pretty good with this project. Then Russ told me to sand it and paint it. I got busy sanding it, but ended up quitting because the sand paper kept coming off the dang machine. I told Russ he'd have to finish painting it too, because I was just done. So, about 3 weeks ago, Russ had TJ help him paint the wood pieces red, and boy did TJ enjoy that! He's been wanting to paint something for months now, he didn't care what, as long as he could use the paint brush!
Russ also put in these headlights. I know that Lightning McQueen does not have these in the movie, but TJ really wanted a night light, and so Russ came up with this idea. The light isn't bright, so it's prefect at night.
Then came the detail painting, Russ free handed everything in pencil first, then used a spray paint machiney thing (ha, don't tell him I called it that!) and just went to town. He wouldn't let me help him, other than holding up the wood pieces so he wouldn't have to bend over too long. He even had to fire me from that because I was too wiggly. But, now it's done, and when TJ came in to see the finished product, he kept saying over and over "Dish ish sho cool!" I think he likes it.
This last week, Russ left us to go to Zions with some of the Priests in our ward. (He's the Young Men's Pres. again) and while he was gone, Jurnee had her 10th birthday which I was brave enough to throw for her and 12 other screaming girls. It was fun, and Jurnee had fun, even though dad wasn't there. So, that made it worth while. But, in the mean time, Sandi decided to get sick. She started Thursday morning feeling really dizzy, and had a bad headache. So, after taking a bath, the dizziness went away, but the headache remained. It just got worse from there. She got a fever that spiked to 102 in less than an hour, and then had that the rest of the day. Thursday night, she started throwing up, and the dizziness and headache returned. Every time I gave her medicine for the fever and headache, she'd throw it right back up. At 1:00 in the morning, her fever was at 103.3, and then I was starting to get worried. So, I gave her more medicine which she promptly eradicated from her belly, after which I gave her some more, and then she slept pretty good the rest of the night. In the morning, she thought she was feeling better, but her temperature was still pretty high. I finally got her in to see the doctor at 4:30 in the afternoon, and the doctor did some tests, and come to find out, she has Strep throat. He said that explains everything, even the dizziness. So, I picked her up some Amoxicillan, and gave it to her Friday night and all day Saturday. Well, this morning, she woke up with a headache again, and a rash all over her body. The poor thing just needed one more trial. So, now she can't have the Amoxicillan and her fever got high again, clear up to 103.9. And she is our little girl who, when she prays, asks that nobody has to get sick. Today, she prayed for that again, and then added, "even myself". TJ was pretty funny about it all. He was wondering what the medicine was for, and I told her that it was to kill the bugs in Sandi's body. He looked at me, and crinkled up his face, and asked me "Are dey tinkbugz?" Hopefully though, Sandi will be better tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed.
So, today after Jurnee and Millene got home from school, and after doing her chores, Sandi asked me if she could go play with a friend down the street. I said yes, and so she left the house. Shortly after she stepped outside she came right back inside. There were two boys riding their bikes in the road and on the sidewalk, who constantly give her grief. She really didn't want to walk by them and have them taunt her, so she was going to wait inside until Jurnee or Millene could take her. She ended up going down the other street, taking the long way around, but before she did, TJ went to the door to look out at those two boys. He then turned to me and said "I will walk by Tandi and if dey tay tometing, den I will top dem!" He was so brave, knowing that Sandi was a little scared, and so he was going to take matters into his own hands!
Well, this morning my husband let me sleep in, and he and the kids, all 5 of them made me breakfast. They then brought it to me in bed while singing. Then Russ let all the kids bring their plate of food upstairs so we could all eat together. That is a rare treat for them to eat anywhere but the kitchen table, so they were loving it. And with only one tiny orange juice spill, it was really fun. Then I got my presents. Russ gave me a giant cork board to put my children's pictures on so my fridge isn't so crowded all the time. Every year Russ makes me a necklace, and this year he added to it by making a bracelet to go with it. I wore them to church, and like them enough to wear them everywhere. At church my ward has a tradition for Mother's Day, in the last hour, all the men teach all the primary classes, and the women get to go to the gym and eat pie that the men provided, and mingle. It was really neat to see the Bishop walking around with a garbage can serving us women. How grateful I am to have been lucky enough to move into a ward where the men really respect womanhood and mothers. And they teach their young men to respect women with their own examples. All in all, I think this will be one of my most memorable Mother's Days.
I had to have a blog devoted to Elayna's cake eating abilities. It was great fun to watch her eat her Birthday cake. So, sorry that this is my 3rd blog for today, but I had to do this one more. First of all, I gave Elayna a piece of her cake on a plate, and the first thing she does is pick up the plate and drop the cake on the floor. So, I gave it back to her then she went to town on it!
Now it's Elayna's turn. She is the cutest little thing ever! I know all moms think that about their kids, but I believe it to be a true fact about Elayna. She is growing up so quickly. She is now walking like a pro, she has 5 teeth, of which her 2 bottom teeth came in first, then the 2 right beside the front 2. She looked like a Vampire for a good long time before her right front tooth popped through, now she looks like a Jack-O-Lantern!
So, TJ and Elayna both have Birthdays 6 days apart from each other. TJ's Birthday is March 29, and Elayna's is April 4. TJ turned 3 this year, and is now a "big"boy. So he informs me at least. He got a bike for his birthday, along with a bunch of boy toys that he desperately needed. (He was liking Barbie too much for his dad's comfort!) So, now he has Dinosaurs and farm animals, and a Light Saber. Everything he needs to become a "real boy"! Except, I caught him carrying around a Barbie just a day after his Birthday. Oh well, I guess Barbies are his fall back toy!He got to have a slumber party with his sisters downstairs while they watched a movie, and this is a classic looks for him.
This all started Tuesday when I began to have some pain in my chest, and shoulders. I attributed it to the workout I had done in the morning, thinking that I just over did it. Then, Tuesday night I had a really hard time sleeping, I kept waking up because I couldn't breathe very well, each breath was like someone was pushing really hard on my chest. I just couldn't get enough oxygen in.
Then, Wednesday came along, and I just passed through the day with this constant pain again. I went to Activity Days and tried to take control of 18 girls alone because the other leader is in California. The girls were great though, and seemed to have fun even if I wasn't as active with them as usual.
After that, I came home and tried to take care of things here. I was just in so much pain that I couldn't do much. I tried to go to bed around 9:00, but again, laying down was awful. I couldn't get enough air, and the pain peaked out at "child labor". I finally had the courage to tell Russ that I needed him to take me in, because I was afraid it was a heart attack. At 31 years of age I shouldn't have to worry about that!
We called our neighbor and had him keep an eye on our kids, and started the trek to the A.F. Hospital. We got there at about 2:00, and people came out to greet me at the Emergency room door. (That's the most hospitality I got for the rest of my visit) They started an IV line, and took some blood. Then I had a CT scan, followed by an E.K.G. After those were done, the doctor came in and informed me that the scan was inconclusive, I could have a blood clot, or I could have Pleurisy.
If it was Pleurisy, then they give me an antibiotic, and send me on my way, if it's a blood clot, they give me medication to thin my blood, and send me on my way. I figured that it was a win win situation for me. It wasn't a heart attack, so let me go. I didn't realize that a blood clot is just the beginning of heart attacks and strokes. The next step was to have another test, a radiation scan. I passed that one too! No blood clot! Woo Hoo!
So, the nurse comes in at 11:00 this morning, and tells me that I can go home, with some anti-inflammatory medication. Now I just have to wait it out. I am not used to being totally out of breath when I come up the stairs. I am not THAT out of shape. But, even if I take a deep breath it still feels constricted and painful.
Pleurisy, by the way, is just inflamed tissue around the lung sacs. It isn't caused or prevented by anything, so I just got it. It takes weeks to feel better, though I really hope I am better faster. I sort of feel like a wimp though, having to go to the E.R. in the middle of the night was scary and all, and I tried to put if off as long as I could. (To the point that if I waited any longer I wanted to rip my own heart out just to relieve the pressure!) I just feel like I should come out of it with more to show for my excursion. I will just be grateful that it wasn't serious, and that I have a cure.
There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States. Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution... Every student was required to take this course his freshman year, regardless of his or her major.
Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.
This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going on to seminary for the ministry.
Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor's class.
One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. 'How many push-ups can you do?'
Steve said, 'I do about 200 every night.'
'200? That's pretty good, Steve,' Dr.. Christianson said. 'Do you think you could do 300?'
Steve replied, 'I don't know.... I've never done 300 at a time.'
'Do you think you could?' again asked Dr. Christianson.
'Well, I can try,' said Steve.
'Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it,' said the professor.
Steve said, 'Well... I think I can...yeah, I can do it.'
Dr. Christianson said, 'Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind.'
Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room.
When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls.
Everyone was pretty excited. It was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class.
Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, 'Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?'
Cynthia said, 'Yes.'
Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, 'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?'
'Sure.' Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.
Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, 'Joe, do you want a donut?'
Joe said, 'Yes.'
Dr. Christianson asked, 'Steve would you do ten push-ups so Jo e can have a donut?'
Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut.
Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship.
When the professor asked, 'Scott do you want a donut?'
Scott's reply was, 'Well, can I do my own push-ups?'
Dr. Christianson said, 'No, Steve has to do them.'
Then Scott said, 'Well, I don't want one then.'
Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, 'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?'
With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push-ups.
Scott said, 'HEY! I said I didn't want one!'
Dr. Christianson said, 'Look! this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it o n the desk if you don't want it.' And he put a donut on Scott's desk.
Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down . You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow.
Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, 'Jenny, do you want a donut?'
Sternly, Jenny said, 'No.'
Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, 'Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?'
Steve did ten....Jenny got a donut.
By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say 'No' and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks.
Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.
Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely.
Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room.
When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.
Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.
Steve asked Dr Christianson, 'Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?'
Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, 'Well, they're your push-ups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want.' And Dr. Christianson went on.
A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, 'NO! Don't come in! Stay out!'
Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, 'No, let him come.'
Professor Christianson said, 'You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him?'
Steve said, 'Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut.'
Dr. Christianson said, 'Okay, Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?'
Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. 'Yes,' he said, 'give me a donut.' 'Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?'
Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.
Dr. Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room.
The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, 'Linda, do you want a donut?'
Linda said, very sadly, 'No, thank you.'
Professor Christianson quietly asked, 'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?'
Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda.
Then Dr Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. 'Susan, do you want a donut?'
Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. 'Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?'
Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, 'No, Steve has to do it alone. I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work.
Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes.'
'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?'
As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he h ad accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.
Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said. 'And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, 'into thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten.'
Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.
'Well done, good and faithful servant,' said the professor, adding 'Not all sermons are preached in words.'
Turning to his class, the professor said, 'My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not only His Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole World, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid.'
'Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?'
Just to follow up on the last post. Jurnee's foot is not broken. She took the crutches to school the first day, then stayed home the following day to rest it. Then she has been crutches free since then. It was just a bad sprain. Thank heaven! Only the wall was hurt for the making of this blog.
So, maybe you all remember Elder Wirthlins' talk about taking what happens and love it. Or, taking what happens and being devastated or frustrated or mad or....I could go on and on. Well, yesterday Jurnee had her friend over and they got into their sleeping bags and decided to slide down the stairs. They did it a couple of times, laughing and joking around. Then either Jurnee or her friend had the bright idea of going backwards on their stomach. So, Jurnee decided to try it first. She gets into her bag, and painstakingly turns herself around so that she doesn't slide prematurely. Then wheeeeee, she goes down, then CRASH! she doesn't stop on the landing like she should, and her foot hits through the wall! Then there's screaming and crying because she hurt her foot. We still are not sure if she broke it, I believe it's just sprained, but our neighbor was kind enough to let Jurnee borrow her crutches, so now Jurnee can't live without them. Russ is thinking that Jurnee is enjoying the limelight. We will see how it turns out. This now gives me the excuse to change the bottom part of the stairs, if Russ is agreeable. Right now he is still too frustrated. When it happened I had some choices in how my reaction could be. I chose the calm one, I am very glad that I did too, now Jurnee doesn't feel like her whole world exploded. Just her foot!
I am 34 years old, and have 6 really great kids. 2 boys, and 4 girls. My bathroom remodel is done, and I am now ready to move on to the next project. I love to make and sell cards, and watch my kids who always can make me laugh.
She had to kiss it all the time, you know the baby kind of kisses? Ope
