I'm Back

WOW! I did start a post a while back, so I will finish it here. Sorry I've been gone so long:) Maybe I'm back...no promises.

December 18,2011

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I have intentions of sending a card to everyone, it just won't be a Christmas card, or arrive this year, even.

Having six children is a busy thing.

You would think that I'm so busy and tired with the baby. I am convinced, however, that Deiter (4 mos) must have promised me in our pre-earth life that he would be happy, nice, content, and good if I would let him come to our family. He is really so delightful. He will lay down just about anywhere and smile and talk to angels in the sky. He fusses if he's hungry, and sleeps all night long. He's nice, patient, and happy to watch the commotion going on around him.

Henry (2)is so busy. He is more demanding of my attention than Deiter is. He broke his little arm last week, and now sports a bright red "bandaid." Although he tells us that he wanted a purple bandaid. If you ask him what happened he will blame it on yaya (Amelia). He was trying to climb the ladder to the new bunked and Mia was protecting Emma's candy stash from the top of the ladder. Broken ulna and radius resulted. He has learned the value of his cast as a weapon, and likes to beat up Clay. He likes to help me do whatever chore I am doing around the house, and has developed an affinity towards anything electronic....ipad, iphone, tv, wii. Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Cars, Toy Story. The kid knows his alphabet, and will point out letters on any book, computer keyboard, or sign that he sees. His intellect and enthusiasm for life amaze me. He is currently afraid of the Baxon (winnie the pooh movie).

Emma (6) is our little Kindergartener. Today she put on her Easter dress from April, and it was 3 inches above her knees. She is getting so tall. She is still our little mother. She has a very kind and nurturing personality, and loves to care for babies and stuffed animals and dolls. In fact, one of her Christmas lists was: doll, puppy, tree,

Every day she asks if I will pick her up early from school. Every day I tell her no. That's usually met with a tirade of comments about how much she doesn't like the specials (art, socials studies, gym, library, music) that she has that day. Every day. We think it all may have to do with her phobia of crowds. This is the girl who hated Disneyland. But she is helpful, and loving, and delightful, and very matter-of-fact.

Amelia (7) is in first grade this year. I have never known a child who likes to pull their own teeth like she does. The minute the tooth has any give to it at all, she is in front of the bathroom mirror until she emerges with a gap in her teeth, and a request for $100 from the tooth fairy. She has begged for a retainer, and when we went for an ortho consult, learned she has a cross bite, and really needs it. I don't think she'll like it so much when she gets it. She is my responsible child, and I can count on her to relay information, give me notes from school, and remind us of everything going on. After begging for a bunk bed, she was upset when we surprised her with it, but has gotten used to it.

February 5, 2012

Well then...

Clay (10) is such a teddy bear. He has enjoyed wrestling this fall, and is excited to start back up again in March. He has a hard time being aggressive on the mat unless he is really angry, and from the time he gets paired to the time he starts the match, he's best friends with the kid.

He has found a new interest this year with Student Council. He was elected President, and seems to be enjoying this new opportunity. He does incredibly well at school, and I am very happy for his teacher this year who has instilled in him a sense of responsibility. Things are better on that front. He won the school Geography Bee, and hopes that his written test score was enough to qualify him for the state competition, and even the nationals...he wants that $25,000 scholarship to go to BYU and major in architectural engineering.

Sam (13) is such a great kid. He's always joking and making clever remarks. He loves music (loud bass) and dancing (don't tell him I told you that). He is in the middle of his middle school wrestling season and doing very well. He's 17 and 3, with the 3 losses being to the same person. He's in an 8th grade algebra class this year, and we are in a 'discussion' with the school district to find a way to offer them Geometry next year. He is 13. But we still adore him, and are happy for his helpful attitude.

Makes Me Laugh

Clay came into my room the other morning with the thermometer in his hand and says

"mom, it's 98 ffflllaaatttt."

"Well, normal is 98.6 , so that's just about right. You're fine."

Clay takes his temperature again.

"mom, it's 97!!!?!?!?!"

"yep, you don't have a fever."

"Do I have a cold?"

I was driving home from school with the girls.

Mia describes something as being "screamin" and explains that she is using that word because "freakin" isn't a nice word because it sounds like the "f" word.

Emma, in her very matter of fact way says...it is an "f" word.

We had a really good snow yesterday. We woke up to about 6 inches of snow. When Henry woke up it was snowing pretty good. We were in the kitchen eating and Henry notices the snow out the sliding door. A while later we are in the living room, and Henry notices the snow out the front door. "2 snows" he says. "right there," pointing to the back door.

"right there, " pointing to the front door.

Look Who's 6

Pictures for Jenny. Details to come after we watch Lion King on our wall.

Look Who's 2

Happy

Funny

Laughing

Silly

Dancing

Engaging

Henry

He is a breath of fresh air.

He makes all of us laugh with his antics and his infectious laughter.

He is so dang cute.

A little of Henry's likes

Food: cheese, hotdogs?!?!?! and candy. doesn't like breakfast food

Movies/TV: Mickey Mouse and Lightning McQueen

Toys: Playdough and cars

Outside: Throwing rocks into water, swinging, walks in the stroller, the trampoline, four-wheeler rides

Book: photo album of our trip to Disneyland

Loves Ya Ya (Mia), Memma (Emma), Yam (Sam), A (Clay) and can just about guess the time of day when we have to start getting ready to get the kids.

He makes me laugh when we are in the car. He knows where we need to turn to go to the school, grandma's, Aunt Lindsey's, Nate's office, or Rips. He can throw a pretty good fit if I don't go the way he wants to go. It took me a couple weeks to figure out what was making him so upset:)

Has a recent interest in the iPad...loves to play the Starfall Alphabet game. It's a great way to pass the time while I'm feeding the baby.

He doesn't like to wear diapers. I decided to try two things. First, I bought pull-ups. That seemed to be a good move. He actually went potty after I told him that is what he needed to do in order to wear them. And, he has continued to do so. There is only one problem. Some pull-ups have Mater on them. Then there are some with Mater and Lightning McQueen on them. {from the movie Cars} He goes through them one by one..."no...no...no...no...ya...ning" Wanting only the ones that have both characters on them. What a funny kid.

The other thing I decided was that we might as well teach him to go in the toilet, since he wouldn't keep a diaper on...{he ran around naked quite a bit this summer}... I bought a box and filled it with little prizes...playdough, cars, granola bars, goldfish, crayons, etc...and he gets a prize every time he goes "boop" in the toilet. He's doing exceptionally well, considering that he's just barely 2.

Tonight he was refusing to get on the toilet.

I pretty much told him that he had to at least try.

He still didn't want to.

"Why not?" I asked.

"no prize"

It occurred to me that we were running low on prizes, and he was not going to "boop" in the toilet if he wasn't going to get a prize.

I assured him that there were prizes (there were a couple left), and he promptly sat on the toilet for 15 minutes to take care of business.

Clearly, the prize box is having the desired effect.

Yes, we love all of our kids. But we all call Henry "the favorite."

see what I mean?

Got Pictures

Finally, I have resolved the almost 2-month long old issue of not being able to transfer my pictures to my computer. Hard for me to post without pictures.

So, I'll break it down a little and not overwhelm y'all with one post. We have football, first day of school, Henry's birthday, Deiter awake and smiling....lots of that one.

So, here are a few, and I'll add a couple posts, time permitting.

Here are some of my favorites of our newest cutie.

Sleeping...he's still pretty good at this. He sleeps for about 6 hours at night, and naps frequently during the day. However, he has several "not quite ready to sleep, but not wanting to be awake, and really tired, causing severe crankiness and wanting to be held really tight and rocked and not put down." I still maintain that he is a good baby despite the aforementioned condition. This was during one of Sam's football games. He really sleeps well despite all the chaos that is consistently around:)
Here he is at the homecoming parade, beautiful day, warm and sunny, smiling for Grandma.

Fresh from a bath (maybe???), wrapped up tight and cozy, looking mighty cute:)

Deiter Bruce

Introducing Deiter Bruce

We are all in love already. Even Henry, who is playing "piggies" with Deiter's toes here.

August 13, 2011

11:27 am

7 lbs. 3 ozs.

19 inches

Smitties

There seemed to be quite a bit going on this summer. Not much time for long camping trips, or any trips for that matter. So, when we needed a little reprieve, we often found ourselves at Nate's grandpa's place. A little bbq and throwing rocks in the river goes a long way with the kids. And spending the night there....well, you'd think they've gone to heaven.

One night we spent moving cows there, another weekend family reunion, and a couple odd picnics in between. It's always fun to go to Smitties.

Kayson & Ryker playing on the river bank. A truck + a pail + a shovel = hours of fun.
4-wheeler rides...wahoo
double wahoo with Uncle Darren
I love how Emma watches out for her littler cousins and siblings. so tender.
The rope swing means changing into and out of a swimming suit at least 4 times every day.
Aunt Sherrie's fudge is finger-lickin' good:)
Henry has a good arm. Look at how he pitched that rock.
Do you have to drive the tractor on Grandpa's head, Henry? Those two are quite the buddies.
Despite the wrinkles and puffy pregnant self, I like this picture. Cute kid. Handsome husband.
The cow herders on horseback.
Watching for the cows to come home.
I like this kid. And the lighting.

County Fair

This year the kids participated in the open class horse show at the county fair. They looked awesome decked out in their "cowboy clothes." And of course we couldn't leave Henry out.

Emma did lead line with the help of our fabulous friends. After a little incident on a horse that got spooked and ran away with Emma on it, so Nate had to pull her off, and tripped while he was doing that, and they both fell to the ground in the mud so that Emma was scared and crying but had to get back on a different horse anyway to compete in her class; Emma was brave and did very well, holding her reins correctly, and sat poised on her horse as Ashley led her around the arena.

Amelia placed third in her event of walk-trot where the kids go around the arena according to the instructions given by the judge. They walk, stop, reverse, trot, face the judge, etc. We were pretty proud of her.

Sam and Clay both did the trail course, but both broke the pattern, so did not qualify in that event. I suppose that if we consider that we had practiced for only a week, they all did stellar.

And they were all dang cute. The following day Sam ran the speed events, but forgot that he was trying to get a fast time, and kind of meandered through the courses a little. I think he could have been a little more aggressive...but that's Sam...more cautious than aggressive. And that's ok too.

Phew

What an emotional week. So many thoughts and feelings, petitions to the Lord, wondering, hoping, fearing...

We have been stretched this week. What a blessing that this phase of our journey has been so short lived.

Amelia had her MRI today. She did wonderful. Her hands were cold and sweaty as she got ready to go in. She was nervous, but took great comfort in everything she had been told about the ease of the procedure. I was disappointed that they ushered both of us back to the waiting room after indicating that one of us would be able to stay by her side during the procedure. That tore my heart out a little bit.

It was almost 2 hours later when Shari called to tell us the results of the scan, not the following week like we were planning.

Everything looked good. There were no abnormalities to speak of, and everything looked healthy. She does have BRE, and we will still monitor her for seizures, but we are back to the "best case scenario" that we were hoping for after the episode on Sunday afternoon.

YAY!!!!! What sweet relief. What a miracle. What an answer to so many prayers on Amelia's behalf.

I know that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us. He is mindful of us, and he wishes to test us, to stretch us, and help us realize our capacity. I would never ask to repeat this week again, but I would never ask for it to be taken away. It has been an amazing testament of the love of family, friends, and neighbors...and of our Heavenly Father.

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, phone calls, meals, and offers to help.

If I can sleep tonight, morning will come early with another miracle just waiting to happen.

{we'll get pictures up quickly, promise}

Not Quite What We Were Hoping...We Think

Shari called this morning. The EEG showed the typical signs of BRE...but only on one side of the brain. She's ordered an MRI to rule out any "structural abnormalities". She suggested we call back in a week to schedule that after preauthorization had been done. I called today. They worked things out for us...again, very accommodating. We will do the MRI Friday at 1:30 pm...then have a baby on Saturday at 7:00 am. I'm thinking that sounds a little restful at this point.

Beautiful Girl

I don't usually put my heart on a shelf for everyone to see. My posts generally deal with the day-to-day going ons of our family. I'm not sure I wanted to share these musings, but I feel compelled to. Maybe because we need your prayers. Maybe because I'm not as confident as I've just sounded here. Maybe just because...

This is what happened Sunday afternoon on a drive through the Uintas near Christmas Meadows.

I think it was one of the most terrifying experiences I have ever been through. It was short-lived, but profound, and potentially life-changing. We still don't know yet. We may have known last night, but for a few brief moments, I left my phone in the car and wasn't able to discuss results with Shari, the PA who met with us about Amelia's incident. Part of me is ok with that because it has given me one more night to think that maybe we are just dealing with a benign condition that she will outgrow.

It's funny because I had just been thinking how beautiful Amelia is. She radiates life, enthusiasm, joy for playing, and it all shines through her enormous blue eyes, framed in the most amazing eyelashes you could imagine. {and I am not being exaggerative in that statement...all the nurses and doctors have mentioned her eyelashes} And then she smiles her crooked teeth growing in smile, and it just makes me smile.

Then to see her drooling like an infant, swiping at her face with no control, gnawing on her tongue in an attempt to speak...was such a stark contrast to the thoughts I had been having just days earlier. There was no sparkle, only confusion. There was no smile, only a lopsided, goofy grin. It's no wonder that my mind instantly went to the worst case scenario...brain tumor. Why else would she behave that way? It wasn't like a seizure with shaking and loss of consciousness. She was trying to communicate most of the time, with no success.

It's no wonder Sam was totally freaking out..."There's something wrong with Amelia" over and over again.

It chokes me up again to think of it. Nate stopping the car immediately, Me jumping out of the car, pulling Clay from the car to get to Amelia....to get her standing up, to see if she would respond, to get her talking to us.

And what a tender mercy that the ER Doctor in Ogden would refuse to do tests that he knew would be inconclusive or unnecessary at that point in time. What a tender mercy that the ER Doctor in Ogden had a son with similar symptoms, and who was treated at Primary Children's. What a tender mercy that we were able to have an appointment Monday afternoon, and that they were willing to stay late for an EEG.

An EEG that would hopefully confirm to us that what Amelia has is nothing more serious than Benign Rolandic Epilepsy.

A little outside info....

{"Benign"

	is almost always outgrown and may not require treatment;
	is not due to any underlying structural brain problem;
	may frequently recur; but would only very, very rarely cause any harm; and
	is not detrimental to the child’s intelligence.

“Rolandic” refers to the area of the brain where these seizures typically start: the “rolandic” strip, which is also known as the “motor strip.”

“Epilepsy” simply refers to “recurrent seizures.”}

Benign Rolandic Epilepsy. That's what they seemed to think caused Amelia's little episode. The only inconsistency that they saw was the fact that she had not been sleeping for a long period of time, which is customary with episodes. But they were able to confidently look over that little detail and maintain this as the most likely cause. I prefer not to go with the what-if-its nots because there is a lot of hope in this direction. There is no surgery, chemotherapy, or loss of brain or motor function in a permanent sense. It will not last forever, it may not require treatment, and it may not ever happen again in the day-time.

I will maintain that hope...

And I will let you know when day breaks what I hear from Shari.

Summer Fun

No pictures to post today, {jk...this post was begging for something a little more visual...I only have uploaded pictures through June} but I thought I would give a little update on how our summer is going so far.

We've played t-ball...the girls did. I coached. I'm sure I looked pretty funny out there, and it was not my first choice of things to do while I'm 8 months pregnant, but we ultimately had a really good time. It made me laugh that, except for one talented and interested player, the kids would all ask to be out. Some were a little disappointed when we didn't have enough players and they all had to play the whole game. During one game we tried to play 4 innings because we were moving pretty quickly. That did not really work out very well. We saw improvement, and by the last couple games we didn't have to provide quite as many reminders about where to throw the ball, when to stop playing in the dirt, and how to tag a runner out. It really was fun when all was said and done, but I was pretty happy to be done.

Sam's been pretty busy this summer. He started his summer out at a wrestling camp in Vernal with the high school team. It was not easy for this mom to let him go...but he had a great time and learned lots of valuable skills. He also spent a week at scout camp and will spend the last half of next week on the Trek that our stake is doing. They can take 17 lbs of supplies, and will be walking 8-12 miles each of the three days on the hike, pushing a handcart. I hope that it will be a defining experience for him. Babysitting has been a little of a new adventure for Sam this summer as well. He's enjoyed watching Lindsey's kids a couple times, and he's been very helpful when I have need of a sitter. And of course I have kept him busy mowing the lawn and doing other chores like taking care of animals. (pigs, dogs, and horses)

Clay also started his summer out at a wrestling camp. We took him to Idaho to attend a camp with Wyatt. They had a really good time. Clay loves to spend time with his cousin!

It was definitely a highlight. He had a day camp for scouts, which he enjoyed, and went for a little campout with Nate on the way to get Sam from scout camp. He had a blast at the family reunion too. Otherwise, it is difficult for him to stay focused and productive. He claims that he is very bored. probably.

The girls kind of get the short end of the stick from my perspective. They did the trip to Idaho and the family reunion.

Otherwise, they just enjoy playing with cousins, riding bikes, not cleaning their room, and begging to play with neighbor friends.

I'm trying not to freak out about being ready for another baby in the house. Clothes are out...not washed yet. We're working on finding better sleeping arrangements for Henry and the baby. We took a trailer full of things to DI on Friday. It felt good to clear out a little. But I'm thinking it wasn't quite enough.

Nate's kind of been over many aspects of the trek that they are doing this week. It's kept him busy! Yesterday we spent the entire day doing/supporting his callings. We went from Mirror Lake where we had a Stake hike for the new sports committee that he is over. That was a fun little family outing. When we got home we changed to go to Bear Lake for the rededication of Camp Hunt and the council executive board meeting for our local boy scout council. {Nate's on the executive board} We got home just in time to swing by the stake youth dance to see if they needed any help getting set up. Well, after an hour, there were some music issues. So, long story short, we were there the rest of the night, getting home at 11:30. phew.

We're staying busy:)

My Mia is 7

Amelia Mae. Such a beautiful, delightful, responsible, and often madening child.

"I wanted my hair in ponies today...like this, no like that, you're not doing it right"

{get the idea?}

Going to school has really given her a great deal of confidence, and has really let me see how responsible she can be.

Some favorites:

school subject...math

movie...Aladdin

song...Praise to the Man

food...left-over macaroni & cheese, chicken noodle soup, s'mores

clothes...pink and white striped t-shirt with denim (jeans, capri's or shorts)

to do...play with cousins

place to be...at cousin's house...(better than at home?) oooh, home....I love being at home. No, Disneyland.

restaurant...Olive Garden

best thing to do at Washington DC...swim

favorite thing at home...play outside, ride bike

She checks the school menu regularly and has a ham sandwich cut into triangles if the school lunch doesn't work for her.

She's very helpful if she wants to be. If not, don't even bother.

She is quick to bring me notes and notices from school, and takes her school work seriously.

She has not been quick to read, but is finally trying to read things, and is catching on. She's much more mathematically minded.

She loves to have things to do, especially anything active like swimming, bike riding, or helping her dad with projects.

She won't leave for school without a hug and a "love you mommy...see you at 3:40" and everyday after school she jumps up and runs to me with her arms stretched out..."mommy!"

For her birthday she wanted an umbrella and a hamper. hmmmm. It doesn't rain much here...it's for the sunshine, mom.

I got her a fuzzy blanket too. And some clothes.

She wanted to see a movie with her cousins for her birthday this year, so we did. It was super-fun.

Oh, and the cake. She wanted butterflies with bright colors.

That was fun too. Except that I put the big butterfly on the white cake, and she wanted the big butterfly on the chocolate cake. Can you say meltdown? It didn't really matter too much because by the time it got a booster seat thrown on top of it, and jostled around in the car on the way to uncle Darren's, it was a mess. Good thing I took pictures before we left=)

Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh Bear

The kids have been begging to go to Disneyland forever. I guess that I'll admit I was anxious to go again too. We had such a wonderful trip the last time that we went...

Nate and I decided to go in June when there was a conference that he wanted to attend. When that date turned out to have a conflict with wrestling camp, we decided not to go. We couldn't go any later because of the baby...not to mention not wanting to be there in the hot California summer. Any earlier and we'd have to take the kids out of school for a week...so we did. I'm not sure how, but we managed to keep it a secret until the day we left. It was pretty fun.

4 days at the Park.

(note to self: never go on a Friday! No matter how enticing the parades and fireworks seem to be, they are not worth the crowds)

Overall, we had a great time. It was good to get away from the stresses of life for a few minutes and spend some family time together. But we've got our fix of Disneyland, and have convinced the kids that we can't go again for at least another 3 years.

Here are some favorite pics=)

But, the breakfast is fun with dancing, characters to meet, and the most delish Mickey Mouse waffles. My kids ate cereal..(really?)

We figured out a few systems that worked, and the older boys got to ride their favorites multiple times in a row without too much waiting.

California Screamin' seriously my favorite roller coaster, and what I missed most by being pregnant this time. This would be the 4th ride in a row for them.

Henry like watching them take off. And the water, loves the "wa."

Henry loved the carousels, especially the one with a horse. (You've got to hear him make a horse noise...it's priceless)

OK, so you can't really see the delight in this picture, but I promise. He screamed and cried, and grabbed onto the belt when I tried to take him off.

And knuckles and high fives for all the characters once he warmed up to the idea.

Mia likes the roller coasters, especially the Matterhorn.

Good thing Amelia had the umbrella she got for her birthday. We had a good bit of rain one morning.

Emma didn't seem to like very much, and spent quite a bit of time with me and Henry waiting while the others rode things that she was sure she wouldn't like.

She did like the little roller coaster in Toon Town that lasted like 28 seconds, the characters {we waited 1/2 hour at least to see Tinker Bell...no complaining}

the Winnie the Pooh ride (which we rode 3 times in a row, and maybe a total of 5 times altogether). And the carousel next to California Screamin'...perfect placement of that ride.

Aladdin ranks up there with one of my favorite Disney shows. We saw their production of the show, and it was fabulous!!! Henry was even good during the whole thing. And then, bonus, we got to meet Aladdin and Jasmine. {see how thrilled Amelia is? and Emma told Jasmine she wished that she could pet tigers too}

We wore all the kids out. It was a quiet trip home:)