i love fall!

i know that i am not the most diligent blogger or journal writer--i guess that i just trust that my old memory will remember everything. hmmmm, i think that i am getting too old for that to be the case. i will try to be more diligent, i don't want to forget how great our lives are.

i absolutely love, love, love the fall! i love the excitement of change--good change! my boys are back in school and have 2 of the greatest teachers EVER! i feel so fortunate to have them at the school they attend. a week after school started i received a call from the assistant principal asking if i was interested in a reading aide position. it is 2 hours a day--first thing in the morning. i jumped on it and have loved it! i am at the school all the time anyway (serving for the 2nd year as PTA president), but this is something a little different. it is so neat to see the kids that i work with as they start grasping things better and feel more confident. my sweet little girl continues to be such a joy to us. i love her and am so grateful for the wait that it took to finally get her here! she is such a wonderful addition to our family! my sweet hubby continues to work hard. i so appreciate all that he does for our family. i look forward to our little sunday night dates when we drink diet coke and watch amazing race. the house is all decked out with fun halloween decorations. my favorite being a little purple rug with witch legs that we have placed by the stove. it looks like she is under the stove. so cute!

here is the recap of whats going on. now off to create more memories.

end of a great summer

i cannot believe that the boys go back to school this week. this summer has flown! we have had a wonderful time and have created many wonderful memories with family and friends. at the beginning of the summer we sat down and created a summer bucket list. here are a few things that we did: summer reading program, classic skating, swimming (and a ton of it!), walks, summer lunches at the school, scouting ("A" earned his wolf), visiting great grandma, boating with friends, REAL soccer game, going to Boulder, etc. we spent the day yesterday with our neighbors on their boat. we had a wonderful day--the perfect ending to an awesome summer. tonight at family home evening daddy will give the boys father's blessings. i am sad to see them go back to school, but am so excited for the great opportunities that they will have this year--1st and 3rd grade--i can't believe it!!!!!!!!!! sissy will miss them like crazy, but we will enjoy some much anticipated girl time!

congenital adrenal hyperplasia

it has been a while since i have updated on M's condition. he has been diagnosed with a condition called congenital adrenal hyperplasia. the first test done was an xray on his wrist to find out his bone age. the hope would be to see 5 1/2 (his age). our dr. told us that if it showed 7 + we would have something to worry about. it came back at 12 1/2. next we headed to primary children's hospital for blood work--poor kid--he has been back a few times since and will continue to have level checks every couple months. short story of his diagnosis--his adrenal gland is not functioning properly. it is not making some life sustaining enzymes (cortisol for one). so, his body makes an excess of male hormones. he is now on several pills a day--2 in the morning, 1 after school, and 5 at night. when he gets sick we have to triple his meds. and then when he gets really sick (vomiting, broken bone, etc.) we give him an injection of hydrocortisone). he had the stomach flu this past week and i had to give my first shot. it was not fun for either of us!! we will find out in a couple of weeks if the meds are working well enough to stop the puberty or if he will have to have an implant put in his arm. we are praying that he won't! the dr. told us that the condition is not curable, but it is treatable. we feel so blessed to live where we do where we have such wonderful doctors and hospitals. after hearing m's medical history the dr. was shocked that he is still alive. 4 surgeries (oxygen levels dropping to the 30's), tumor in his ear, broken collar bone, etc.--he said that he shouldn't be alive. thank heaven for the priesthood. this little boy is a trooper. i know that he is here for a reason.

crazy times

this past week has been a really interesting one. over the past several months i have noticed that my 5 year old--"m"--has seemed to have some hormonal issues. he has pimples on his nose, sweaty armpits, etc. i finally decided to take him into the dr. the dr. agreed that he is extremely tall and thought that it would be good to do an xray of his wrist to show his bone age. a few days ago the dr. called me and told me that i was right on to bring him in and that his bones showed that of a 12 1/2 year old. he told me that there was definitely a problem and that we needed to get to the bottom of it. we were then sent to primary children's hospital to have several viles of blood taken. that was a treat! luckily his auntie who works there let him go crazy at the vending machine! i think that he got one of everything! the dr. called the next day and told me that the 2 tests to see if it was something from his brain came back as negative. we are still waiting to hear on the other tests. there is a possibility that he is lacking an enzyme in his adrenal gland so his body is cranking up the hormones trying to make it--which it can't so it produces male hormones instead. we will see the endocrinologist on wednesday to see what the next step is. he is such a sweet boy and has been through so much. the Lord must have special plans for this great kid!

blessed

i feel so blessed! i haven't posted in so long--nothing too profound to say--just thought that i would quickly jot down some blessings.

--my amazing husband who does soooo much! i was recently in the hospital for a few days. he picked up the slack and then some! he is so wonderful!

--my beautiful children. need i say more?

--my parents and sisters. i love them so much!

--good friends, neighbors, and ward.

--spring break with the kiddos. we saw dairy of a wimpy kid and how to tame your dragon. i love watching their faces and listening to them laugh!

--general conference. remarkable--as always!!!!!!!

just a few things that make me smile.

8 is great!

two weeks ago "A" was baptized. it was such a special event! i cannot say enough about how special this little boy is. he is such a kind, gentle, intelligent, and loving little spirit. he brings such joy to all of our lives. it was so neat to see the outpouring of support for him! there was standing room only. there were ward members, school friends, his teacher from last year and his vice-principal and her family. grandpa steve and grandma connie came all the way from oregon and the rest of the family was there to show their love and support. it was so neat to see "A" as he soaked it all in. he has prepared for this and was ready. we love him and feel so blessed to have him as part of our family.