Some random pic's from this Summer...

Facebook has ruined blogging...

I promised my cute little neighbor and second "mom" to my pugs I would post something on my blog, because, she doesn't get on Facebook. And, I admit, I've been lazy about blogging. Mostly, it's because nothing amazing has been happening.

We've had an awesome Summer with the boys. We are lucky to have Dan working at home and it's so great that he has time to keep the house/laundry/yard done so that on the weekends we can spend time together as a family. We love "Movie night" with the boys and know that we won't have them forever. The boys will eventually think hangin' with their parents isn't cool. So, we cherish every moment with them while we still have them.

Dan and I took a short vacation in July to St. George on the motor-cycle. Still too soon to talk about that :(. I'll just say that I sustained a few injuries and it was in no way Dan's or the bike's fault. I'm just clumsy.

Then, to get back in the saddle, me and Caider and Georgie went to Grandma and Grandpa's again (in the car). There is nothing more relaxing than going to your parent's house and feeling like you're living back home. My mom and dad took care of everything! I love them so much.

When we got back, Uncle Cody took the older boys to the pool and everyone had a great time. Turns out, he's a great photographer also :). Cody is an amazing diver and I really wish I could find the pics I have of him cliff diving at Lake Powell. Boats would literally stop just to see his back-flips off the 100-foot cliffs. He's the best bro I could ask for!

And now, Summer is winding down and school is going to start...I haven't finished shopping for it! And that also means the kids get just a little bit older and wiser starting a new grade in school. I'm going to hold on to them while I can.

180 degree change...

...I am so ashamed. I haven't blogged in soooo long. I guess the reason why is actually very good news. After 10 months of complete misery for both myself and my family we finally found the underlying cause to all my medical ailments. It turns out, a few infected teeth were poisoning my blood. We immediately had those teeth yanked and I haven't been sick since.

I can't believe that after months and months of tests, blood work, hospitalizations, IV's, biopsy's, co-pay's, 21 pills a day, specialists, scans, scopes, $45k worth of health isurance claims...no one mentioned it could be teeth!!

I have always had (genetically :( ) bad teeth. So, when they hurt along with the rest of my body during this whole ordeal I didn't pay any attention to them. The last thing I wanted to do after spending so much time at the Dr's office's was spend time at the dentist! Although it wasn't much fun having 3 teeth pulled, I would have gladly given a limb to be rid of my affliction.
It's funny how you can just go along living your idea of a perfect life and then...have it all pulled out from underneath you.

There are many things I have learned from this experience and will forever treasure. The strength and unitedness of family is definitely the first and foremost. My husband and boys were amazing through all this. My parents, in-laws, sisters and brothers were such a strong support when I didn't think I could really go on. I will never forget what they did for my family and I will never be able to repay the kindness and love they gave us.

I am finally back to working (almost) full-time. My desk was an absolute joke when I got back :)! But, that is where I want to be. Not at home, sick on the couch, wondering where this all leads to. I'm slowly re-joining life and have been able to do things that 2 months ago would have been impossible. I'm still re-gaining my strength (you can't lay on the couch for almost a year and expect to be the same person physically after). But, if you measure it relatively, I'm light years ahead of where I was a few weeks ago.

Thank you to everyone who was worried, concerned, interested, or just freaked out by what was going on with us. Your support carried us through some dark times. There are blessings and lessons learned from what we went through and I think we came out stronger.

Organic foods...

Dan and I went to see a GI specialist in SLC yesterday because I'm just not getting any better. It feels like I take 2 steps forward and 20 steps back. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to give us any better news or some magical pill or surgery to fix me. He did start me on a new prescription (I'm up to about 16 pills a day now) and told me to stay away from fiber and fatty foods. So, stay away from fiber? Isn't that all the fruits and veggies and whole grains that are supposed to be good for you? Dan went to the organic health food store and bought me a bunch of supplements and foods that are supposed to help ease digestion so that maybe I can get something to stay down (especially my meds). Right now I have to stay on a liquid diet (V8) but that isn't so bad. The doc said it could have started out as an infection and that sometimes it just takes a really REALLY long time to get over. When I get really bad I have to go to the hospital for IV fluids and meds. This sucks!

If anyone has any ideas for tasty, low fiber, low fat, low iron, low sugar organic foods...I'd love some suggestions.

Family...

...aren't they the best? I'm the 2nd oldest of 6 kids, 2 boys and 4 girls. We are very close and are always there for each other. Each one of us has gone through our own troubles and trials and, as a family, we always rally together. Our parents have led by example and taught us to depend on each other. I hope that my boys will always stick together and take care of each other. In the end, family is what matters the most.

Resolutions...

...does anyone make them anymore? I get so bogged down with the state of the economy and how things are going it gets too depressing. How can you try to resolve something new when you are just trying to eek out the everyday stuff? It's so hard to keep a good attitude when you know that we are in trying times. I look to Dan for strength, he just keeps his chin up and knows you can "only do what you can do". I think that is a great example for our boys.

As far as my resolutions are concerned...keep my chin up!

Christmas...

Well, it's here now - the week in-between Christmas and New Years. We had an amazing day yesterday. All the boys were ecstatic with their presents. My birthday is the 23rd so we started the holiday out by going to dinner at Iggy's Sports Bar. A Utah Jazz game was on the big screen and it was a very relaxing dinner. I was surprised how busy the restaurant was. It seems like everyone wanted to go out for my birthday ; ). I spent a lot of my time (waiting for our food to come) returning texts wishing me a Happy Birthday. I'm not much of a texter so it took awhile! When we got home the boys and Dan had a present and a couple of sweet cards waiting for me. They got me a pair of big fuzzy purple slippers and I love them. It was exactly what I wanted.

On Christmas Eve, we all went to my sister Kami's house for the annual party on my mom's side. There were probably 60 people there and the food spread was incredible. (I'm still full!) Santa always comes to this party and it's fun to watch all my nieces and nephews and 2nd cousins enjoy what I did when I was their age. Then we went and saw my grandparents on my dad's side. They are so cute! My grandparents on my mom's side have passed away a long time ago and I sure miss them at this time of year!

Since school has been out for the holidays, the boys and babies (pugs) have been having a "camp-out" in the playroom and doing movie marathons. It's so cute to see pillows, babies, blankets, and boys spread out up there. So, as soon as we got home from my grandparents on Christmas Eve they wanted to get to bed so Santa would come. They were very excited and the Christmas Spirit spread through the whole family. Isn't kids what Christmas is about?

Christmas morning was very cool. Dan and I woke the boys and babies up at 7 to come see what Santa had brought them. I got up a little earlier to make sure all the lights were on and the music was going (which is what my mom did when I was growing up). The boys were so excited! Caid got a new cell phone, an MP3 player, the new AC/DC CD, and a gift certificate to Amazon.com. Haden got an Ipod and a laptop computer. And, Gage got an Ipod and several new games for the Xbox and his PSP (Sorry, I can't name them all!). Haden kept thanking me over and over again and Caid told me this was his best Christmas ever. Our boys are amazing!

After we opened presents here we went to Melanie's (my sister) house for our traditional Christmas breakfast and to open presents on my mom's side of the family. We had another huge spread of food and received great presents. We got to spend time with my brothers and sisters and their kids and that is always rewarding. Melanie lives in Enterprise (up Weber Canyon about 3 miles outside of Morgan) and the weather was horrible! One of my sisters and both brothers had to be rescued from being stuck in the snow on the way there. We made it safely because Dan is such a good driver in the snow, thank heavens!

After Mel's we went to Dan's family for another big breakfast spread and more presents. Dan's mom cooks for the whole family and makes the best bacon! It's no wonder people put on so much weight during the holidays :). We spent some good time with Dan's parents, grandparents, and brothers but had to give the boys up during the afternoon to go with their other parent. The kids were excited though because they got to get another Christmas and more presents. It's cute though, they deserve it!

And now, it's the 26th, the day after and also my baby brother's birthday. Things have calmed down and all the gifts are unwrapped. Christmas decorations are still up but that's the way it will stay for another week. I always hate taking the tree down because I love waking up in the middle of the night to go get some water and walk out and see the lighted tree. It's so pretty and I wish I could leave it up all year.

I hope everyone had a rewarding and merry Christmas. I got everything I wanted, and that was spending time with my family.