still here!!!

i love reading blog posts. i don't know why i spend so much time reading about others and not writing about us!!!! i have a minute, so i wanted to jot down a little about what is going on with us. summer is in full swing here at our house and we are loving it!!!!!! here is a little update on each of us.

daddy--started a new job in april and absolutely LOVING it! he works downtown so he takes the trax each day. he loves the downtime as he rides--visits with friends, and even reads his scriptures on his ipad. he continues to take taekwando with the boys.

"A"--finished 3rd grade--rocked the standardized testing!!! loves riding his bike and playing with the neighbors. working towards his 2nd degree blackbelt, earned his wolf and bear--waiting to become a weebelo.

"M"--finished 1st grade--is an awesome reader!! currently reading the "big nate" series. hoping to earn his blackbelt in december. he is my lovey. he is so sweet and affectionate! loves to ride his bike and play with his siblings and neighbors.

"H"--just turned 3! i cannot believe it!!! she loves all things girl--which i love! her favorite friends are cruisey and roxy. she loves to talk on the phone. her new favorite trick is to pick up and ants and to bring them inside. a few days ago she came inside with a spider crawling on her arm. "look mama, my friend--he is tickling me." the look of horror on her face when i squished it was priceless!!!

me--as of a few days ago, i am no longer PTA pres. it has been a fabulous 2 years!!!! i am now going to be on the council level--i am excited for this new adventure. some of my girlfriends and i participated in a dirty girl race last week. nothing like trying to run threw the mud! we had a great time and are excited to do it again next year! last month i repainted our kitchen cupboards and drawers. i love how they turned out!!!! i painted them black and then distressed them. in june i attended youth conference with the kids in the ward--had a great time--manti pagent and boating! we have girls camp in august. i am loving having the kids home and cannot believe that the summer is half over.

there's the update--hopefully it won't take so long to get the next one!

mortality

this passed week i have been reminded of how short and precious life really is. interestingly enough, on sunday i taught a lesson in young women's about eternal life and how this life is like a "layover" on our way to eternal life. over the past couple days i have been reminded about how short this life can be. i found out that one of my dearest friends who i was an efy counselor with has a hubby with terminal cancer and a blood disease. then yesterday, i found out that one of the elders from my mission that i was very close to passed away. my heart hurts. my heart hurts for those who were (and will be left behind). as i am writing this i have a two year old climbing on me--she is one of the biggest joys in my life. i am soooo blessed. we all are. how wonderful the gospel is. how tender that the elder who passed away will be with his unborn child for a brief time before it is sent to earth--his wife is expecting baby #4. i love my crazy life. i love my practically perfect husband. how grateful i am that i have the privilege to be with him and our 3 beautiful children FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! holding my little ones a little tighter today.

the day of love!

i love, love, love LOVE!!!!

last night after the kiddos went to bed i sat on our bed cutting hearts. i then hung them out throughout the house. it was so fun to have "A" come into our room this morning thanking me for the hearts. how wonderful it is to just be grateful for the little things!

the boys and daddy bought hannah and i beautiful roses. i feel so loved.

this past week at FHE i gave each family member (including nana and papa) a red pail. we each drew names to see who we would give little acts of love to each day up to valentines day. it was so neat to see the handmade pictures, cards, notes, etc. it really made for a great week--a tradition that we will continue.

i feel so blessed and loved!

happy day of love!

recap of 2010--A LITTLE LATE!

i have a mountain of laundry that needs to be done. so, as i have loads going i thought that i would jot down a little recap of 2010. it may not be exciting for anyone to read, but i need to do it for myself.

hubby--as always, "K" stayed extremely busy this past year. he continues to teach and has even picked up a class at a nearby university. his dream would be to teach full-time at the university. he is a fabulous designer and teacher, i know that it will happen! he continues to stay busy with his freelance business. he has also been taking tae kwan do. due to some injuries, he hasn't been there as much as he would like. he loves it though, and loves spending time with the boys!

"A"-- a week before his 9th birthday "A" earned his black belt in tae kwan do! he worked extremely hard--often times 6 practices a week. he and his papa were extremely dedicated and it paid off! he was the youngest member of his black belt training phase. he continues to attend classes and is working on his 2nd degree black belt. he mentors at his tae kwan do school once a week. "A" is in the 3rd grade and is doing fabulously! he loves reading, math, and art. he has an incredible teacher who motivates him in such a great way! he loves recess--he and the other boys play soccer. in fact, 2 weeks before his black belt test he broke his pinky finger playing soccer. splint and all he tested for and earned his black belt! he was in a splint for 6 weeks and celebrated the day he was able to take it off!

"M"--quote from our pediatrican--"M" is the happiest kid that i have ever met!" "M" has a laugh like his daddy's--lights up and room and is so contagious! "M" is doing great! after years of speech therapy, he has finished!!!! he has worked so hard and is doing wonderfully!!!! he loves 1st grade, his teacher, and friends. he has become a great reader!!!! he loves to read to sissy--they snuggle up on my bed and read and read and read. like his daddy and brother, "M" is in tae kwan do. he is good!!!!! he loves it and is so fun to watch!

this past spring both boys were diagnosed with CAH (congenital adrenal hyperplasia). the diagnosis has forced us to study a ton and has made us even more grateful for our sweet little boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sissy--i LOVE having a girl!!!!!! sissy turned 2 in june. she is the cutest thing ever! i am not just saying that! she is a minnie me and my parents and sisters remind me of that often! she loves her clothes (which the boys pick out for her), shoes, and having her hair and nails done. she doesn't go anywhere with her "cruisey." she loves girls days with aunties and mommy. our neighbors have kids all the same age as ours--and same genders. needless to say, they are always together!!!!!! sissy spends a lot of time with her nana and papa--the highlight of her day. she loves to be read to and has memorized several books--her latest favorite is "are you my mother."

me--as i think about this year and my life in general--i cannot believe how blessed i am. i have the sweetest, kindest husband, and the perfect children FOR ME! i have relied so heavily on the Lord this past year--and am so grateful for my testimony and relationship with HIM. i am definitely keeping myself busy. for the 2nd year in a row i am serving as the president of our school's pta. i love it!!!! i love the children and teachers at the school. i love that every time i am out in public i have children running up to me and hugging me. what a wonderful gift! this past fall i was called to be in the YW's. i love it! i had most of the girls years ago when they were in activity days.

well, laundry needs to be switched and i am headed to the pool. it has felt so good to think about the past year and to count my many blessings.

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.

my little princess

on saturday we had a fabulous girls day! baby "H", the aunties, nana, and i went on the trax to see the disney princesses on ice. "H" was all decked out in her princess attire--black velvet dress, tights, black shoes, and a lovely tiara. she was the belle of the ball (and i might add received several compliments). she is such a sweet little girl--and ALL girl i might add! she absolutely loved the princesses--especially ariel--she went crazy during the little mermaid portion of the program.

i am so thrilled to finally have my baby girl--and her gorgeous brothers of course! how blessed "K" and i are to have these 3 wonderful children in our home.

side note--my sister made the mo tab!!!!!!

our little miracle!

this past week we had "M's" post surgery check-up to check if the prostetic hearing bones allowed him to have any hearing. after the first surgery he was left with no hearing at all in the ear because the bones had all been shattered. well----he can hear!!!!!!! he actually has better than normal hearing now!!! miracles happen! my favorite thing is when he tells me "mom! my ear is working today!" how blessed we are!

i'm still here

i really need to keep up on my blog. it is a great way to journal. things have been absolutely crazy over the past little while. i will give a little recap.

*both boys are in school and loving it!

*i am the pta president so baby "H" and i spend a lot of time at the school.

*baby "H" won 2nd place in the city baby contest.

*"M" is learning to read and loves it!

*the males (including daddy) are doing great and continue to progress in tae kwan do.

*after a few years of serving as elders quorum president my hubby is being released and moving on to another organization--should be fun!

*i am the den mother for the bears and wolves--so fun! "A" will be 8 in Dec. so i get to be with him. i am also helping with the music in primary--loving that!

*"M" had his prostetic (sp?) hearing bones put in--we will find out soon if there is any hearing. he was a champ with the surgery! (he has for all of his surgeries!)

*i had surgery on both of my legs--lovely veins after pregnancies!

*my sister-in-law is having a baby in a couple months--i'm excited to hold him!

all in all, things are going great! i feel so incredibly blessed to have the family, friends, and neighbors that we do!

2 in school!

i cannot believe that i have two children in elementary school! "A" started 2nd grade last week and loves it!!!!!!!! "M" started kindergarten today--he was all smiles! he has the same teacher that his brother had--she is wonderful! i was so strange today to just be with my sweet little girl! we sure missed the boys!!! i feel so blessed to have the wonderful children that we do!

happy birthday "M"!!!

my sweet boy turned 5 today. i cannot believe how fast the time has gone! he is such a sweet boy. he is my funny, crazy, always smiling, lovey boy. he is so excited to start kindergarten and to be at school with his brother. we had a fabulous party for him yesterday. it was a pancake and pjs party. papa told a "pop-up" story, decorated pancakes, gave awards, and played a game. everyone had a great time! happy birthday "M"--thanks for letting me be your mama. love you lots!!! xoxoxox!

summer 2009 highlights

here are a few of the things that have made this summer so great!
*daddy had 3 weeks off! that has not happened in years (or ever, now that i think about it!)
* 10th anniversary trip to lava hot springs!
* summer school (for"M")--he loved it!!!
* bright ideas camp for "A"
* thanksgiving point camps for both boys
* swimming, swimming, swimming at nana and papas!
* having our neighbors home from hawaii!
* weekly library trips
* playlands
* sleep over at the aunties
* being with family!
* stadium of fire!
* ice cream
* popsicles
* tae kwan do

we have had a marvelous summer! we will continue to play, play, play until school starts!

my sweet girl

i cannot believe that my little "H" is one! her birthday was 6/29. she is such a joy. we love her so much! we had a fabulous little party for her. it was a princess party/pinkalicious party. she loves the book "pinkalicious" so we played off of that. she had the pink cupcakes, purple cake (from purplicious), etc. it was so fun to watch her with her cake. she is a lot like "A" where she was very careful at first, but then she really dove in! thank you all for spending her special day with us!

vacation!

my cute hubby and i leave tomorrow for our long awaited anniversary getaway! for christmas my sisters surprised us with a trip to lava hot springs. thank you! my wonderful parents also surprised us with "trip money"-how great! thanks! we are sooo excited to play! it has been a long time since the two of us went somewhere alone. i absolutely cannot wait! we will miss the kids dearly, but they are so excited to play with their aunties!
happy 10th anniversary honey (on the 25th)--love you so much!
thanks for asking!

last day of 1st grade

summer is officially here! today was "A's" last day of 1st grade. before he left for school this morning he said to me--"don't tell me that you are going to cry"--does this kid know me or does he know me? he has had a fantastic year. i have loved, loved, loved his teacher. she has a very similar personality to "A" so they really jived. i feel so blessed that my hubby, mom, dad, and i were all able to volunteer in his classroom. i will miss that group of kids. i am so proud of my sweet boy. he is such a joy--he loves learning and life. i am so blessed to be the mother of these 3 amazing children.

last day of preschool

today marks the end of preschool for "m"--my sweet boy. i cannot believe that he will be off to kindergarten soon. it has been so exciting to see the changes and growth that he has experienced over the past 2+ years. he has come such a long way. i am so grateful for the many speech therapists, teachers, aides, and bus drivers who have made his experience so wonderful. no on to kindergarten!