A Cool Cut

A good friend got this fantastic new hair cut and wanted me to take some pics for her. I think her haircut is SO fun, and the pictures turned out okay too! Here are just some of my fav's....

I want her hair....and her eyes too for that matter.

His favorite place to fall alseep

William had been working hard fighting fires with sidewalk chalk. The fires were on my couch and cedar chest. So the poor little firefighter had to go to time out where he proceeded to fall asleep. Putting out fires is a very tiring job. He was only in time out for 2 minutes!

If you want to see other pics of him sleeping on the stairs check here and here.

What's up?

So it has been a few days since I have posted anything on what has been hanging over our head for the last 2+ months. I have been trying very hard to focus on other things, but no matter what I do, it's always there. My body won't seem to let me forget. I have been doing very good though. Mostly making it through the days with no problems, as long as I keep things simple and low key, which I am getting better and better at. The boys and I have been doing some simple preschool activities, reading lots of books, and probably watching more TV than we should. With the help of David and the kids we have stayed on top of the laundry and housework, and haven't missed any meals. Over all... we are in good shape. The only problem is, by the end of the day I am completely DONE. There is nothing left in me, but a bunch of spasms and a head full of lead.  It's progress though, and I am grateful for that.  Hopefully when our insurance changes in July we will start making more progress with the doctors and getting some answers.

Thatta Girl!!!

Anna just finished reading the complete and unabridged version of Jules Verne 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I have to admit I haven't even read this one and probably never will. Anna said it was torture to read it was SO boring, but she stuck it out and read the whole thing. Today she took an AR quiz on it at school and scored a 95% (AR quizzes is how the school tracks their reading and comprehension levels). It's ATOS book level is a 10! I am beaming with pride right now!

Painting is fun!

I like painting. I like dark blue. robert.

This post was by Robert! Pictures by mommy!

He stayed home from church because of a fever and wanted to put something on our blog! Now he is worn out and ready for a movie. So now we are off to watch, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. (His choice, not mine!)

Score!!!

Alahna has been hoping to score a goal all season and today was the day!!!! Just sad I missed it. I had to stay home with Robert who is sick. She has one game left before the spring season is over.

This pic was taken from a previous game, but doesn't she look like she is having so much fun! And does she remind you of anyone???

Yucky Lips

In the last few days William has taken a strong dislike for kisses. Maybe we have smothered him with too many... who knows. Any time someone tries to give him a kiss he says, "no, you have yucky wips."  He will only allow kisses on the top of his head and sometimes of you are really lucky on his cheek, though that is rare. And as soon as you kiss him he is wipin' it off of as fast as he can! At first I thought maybe it was just me, but he has told everyone in the family that they have "yucky wips" and refuses kisses from everyone. It makes us all laugh, except it also has me feeling a little wistful. He his still my little baby (although I can no longer tell him that!) and I wasn't quite ready to quit smothering him in kisses.


On a totally different note... I upgrades to PSE8, which I am still learning how to use, and I lost my watermark :(

The best gift Santa ever brought

The boys received Geo Trax for Christmas back in 2007, I believe, and it has seriously been one of the best toys we have ever had. 

 

 

 I love the look on William's face in the background. It's his "Why am I not getting my way? or Being two is so hard!" face.

And this is my favorite one! Peek-a-Boo!!! I love that smile!!!

This is how we roll

Girls Night!

Last weekend was the annual father's and son's camp out. And with the boys away, the girls played....

and played....and played!

We got Panda Express for dinner (the girls FAVORITE, and luckily I was feeling good enough to drive!), played Yahtzee, did manicures, makeovers, listened to some music and watched a movie. And who says you need to be camping to have s'mores? It was a great night filled with lots of girlish laughter and squealing, especially when it came time for mom's "makeover"! 

I'm pretty sure the boys had fun too. They came home covered head to toe in filth and tired as can be!

Obvious answer

Yesterday, I asked William why he was crying.

His answer: "Because I crying."

I guess sometimes it just feels good to cry!

Well, we were right.

If you are not in the mood to listen to a venting session, please skip to the end of this post.. 

I am so perplexed and frustrated right now. When we had the MRI we had to make an apt to get the results. For some reason they really did not want to give them to us. So when they called and tried to schedule an apt ASAP to got over the MRA results we figured, they must have found something, not so. It just showed more info about my stupid carotid artery that doesn't work. WE ALREADY KNEW THAT!!!!! I knew nothing would come out of that test and why I let a stupid phone call get my hopes up I will never know. So now back to square one. MS? Crazy Lady Syndrome? Or wait, wait, oh I almost forgot....it's HEARTBURN! That's why I can't breathe, the right side of my body likes to go into uncontrollable spasms, my head spins and fills with so much pressure I can't walk in a straight line, and now my right leg gives out on me when I walk. Yeah, heartburn, that makes so much sense. Gee... why didn't I think of it at the beginning.

Do I feel better for ranting? A little, so thanks for listening, um... I mean reading.. But what I really need is chocolate. A big extra strength chocolate pill. That will maybe make me feel a little better.

But, the good news is nothing serious showed up on the MRA. I am very thankful for that. I just need the frustration to subside a little so that I can feel that gratitude a little more. Other good news is, I had a great day today (minus the trip to Dr. Quack's office) I cleaned out and organized the girls bedroom, was able to have preschool time with the boys, and did some laundry.

Some answers....maybe

Last Thursday I had an MRA of the head. It was very quick and painless, whole thing done in less than 10 minutes. Yesterday I received a phone call from the doctor scheduling an apt to go over the results. In our experience that means they found something unusual. They wanted to get us in today, but their were several scheduling conflicts so our apt isn't until Thursday. So, now my mind is in a bit of a whirlwind.What could it be....hopefully something fixable. 

We were really, REALLY, expecting nothing to come out of this test, looks like we might have been wrong.

Mother's

 I have met this mother's day with a little bit of apprehension. Usually all I want is a break, but since I have spent the majority of the last two months laying on the couch I haven't had those same feelings. I hardly even feel like much of a mother these days. There have been no cooking, cleaning, running kids to and fro, and other such motherly duties. In spite of this it has been a great day. I made it to all 3 hours of church and got to paint my girls toe-nails and do their hair. Things that sound so simple have come to mean so much to me. My children have showered me with hugs, kisses, and more homemade cards than you can imagine. Maybe being a mom is more than cooking dinner and cleaning house. I pray that I can still be an effective mom without those things, that my  children will still know that I love them, and that I can teach them the things that truly matter in life.

As for the mother's in my life, thank you for all you have done through the years to help me become who I am today. I love you!

And I have to give kudos to David today. Since my mom has left he has been playing role of mother and father. I am so grateful to have such a capable, loving, and supportive husband. 

a sad day and a prayer.

A very dear friend of mine's nephew ended his fight with cancer last night. He was 10 years old, the same age as Anna, and has spent the last 4 years battling for his life. He fought bravely and even though we do not know this young hero personally we have been following his story and praying for him and his family since the beginning. We are so saddened for their loss, but are so grateful that they have the knowledge of the great plan of salvation. Grateful that they know their son is now in the arms of a very loving Heavenly Father. This young man did not want to think of his death as "dying", but as "passing on". He told his family that he was just going on to another place where he would be a missionary. He was happy to the very end and set a wonderful example of courage and faith for anyone who knew him to follow. I know that even though I never met him I will never forget him. I pray that his family will be able to feel the love of our Savior as they try to piece their lives back together. Some times people mistakenly think that because we know the plan we should not be sad when these tragedies happen. but that is far from the truth. I know they will grieve and it will be hard, unbearably hard at times, but I also know that they can lean on the Savior and with time he will swallow up the sting of death and they can find happiness again. It will take time... a very long time. Will they ever be the same as they were before? No. They will not. They should not. They have been changed forever. They will be stronger they will be better and they have more incentive than most to do their best so that they can return to our Lord and embrace their young missionary again. I will pray today that they will feel peace and love. That they will have the support they need and that they will be able to remember all the happy times. Good-bye young man and thank you for your example.