great day!

the boys are on spring break. i love having them home (even though it is a lot noisier then "H" and i are used to. but--she is sooo happy when they are around (so am i)! daddy had the day off--so we planned a little outing. we took the trax (an adventure in itself) downtown. we had so much fun making up stories, looking at landmarks, and playing "i'm thinking of a number." we went to the downtown library. this is one 0f our favorite places. there is just something magical about libraries. after checking out a million books we grabbed some lunch and then took the train to the end of the line and then home again. it was such a perfect day! how blessed i feel to have the little family that i do. they are my life--my joy.

surgery update

we are home! we had planned to spend the night--but are home. i think that he slept better being home and being with his family. thank you mom, dad, aunties, and grandma "R"--we sooo appreciate all of your help and sacrifices to help us today! the surgery ended up taking longer than planned and was more intense than hoped. the cholesteatoma shattered the hearing bones and went 2/3 of the way through the mastoid. the doctor could not believe how big the cholesteatoma was and how strange it was that there were no signs of it. how grateful we are for our excellent pediatrican who found this!!!!!! at the moment, he has no hearing in the left ear. in 4-6 months they will go back in again--check for more cholesteatoma and put in prostetic bones. how grateful i am for modern day science! this is definately not the outcome we were hoping for, but i am know that the Lord is watching over him and that he is going to be just fine--of course he will--it's "m" we are talking about!
now off to snuggle with him!

surgery

my sweet "M" is having surgery tomorrow. he has a cholesteatoma in his ear. basically that means that he has normal cells growing in an abnormal place. it grows like a tumor and has wrapped around his eardrum. they will have to lift up the eardrum to get it out. i am trying so hard to be calm and to put my trust in the Lord. i don't know what i would do without the gospel or the priesthood in our home. i feel so blessed to have such amazing priesthood holders in our family--"K" and my dad. i am waiting by the phone for the hospital to call to let us know the details for tomorrow. i am curious to see if once the cholesteatoma is removed if we will see any changes in his speech. i cannot believe that he has lost 30 decibels of hearing. my poor sweet boy. please keep him in your prayers.

love is in the air!

this past weekend i attended a little get together that my friend tiffany hosted. it was a "mama's romance night." it was great! we talked about little things that we can do to improve our marriages, ate, chatted, and just had a great time! tiffany is amazing and put so much into this night! she even had goodie bags for us to put together for us to bring home to our husband (his favorite were the chocolate dipped strawberries!) thanks tiff!!! it was great and really helped me to remember how fun marriage can be!
when we first got married we decided to hold a "companionship inventory" (much like on our missions) each sunday night. we have done it off and on throughout the 9 1/2 years that we have been married. it is a time where we review the calander, set goals, talk about things to improve, and pray together. at tiff's party one of the girls mentioned a list that she and her husband made for one another. it was a list of 101 ways to show love to them. we decided to do this last night--it was awesome!!! we each wrote our own list--mine was "101 ways to love diane"--it was really neat. we then took turns reading our lists. it was such a neat way to be reminded of the little things that he likes.
5 minute rule--the 5 minutes before your husband leaves and the 5 minutes when he first gets home--make it pleasant!! don't throw the kids at him, etc. let him unwind.
this is something that i sooooo need to work on!!!!!
creative dates, love notes, etc.
i am really excited to take things from his list and try to serve him more.

nightmare of a weekend!

i am so glad that it is monday. i hope that this week can go a little better than the last one. here is a little recap of our weekend. friday--took "M" to primary children's hospital because he could not breathe or stop coughing. the doctor sent us there because he had progressively gotten worse throughout the week. sunday--i took "A" to church while "K" stayed home with the little ones. in his primary class they were learning about joseph smith and his leg operation. it is a very graphic story, but one of my all time favorites! i guess that it was too much for "A"--he turned white, slid off his chair, and started jerking around on the floor. by the time i got to him he was still white/green but completely alert. our good friend took us home and he helped "K" give him a blessing. in the meantime my amazing family dropped everything that they were doing and came to be with him and help us out. the doctor ran some tests--on his heart and a cbc. everything looked good. after a complete exam and the doctor speaking with his primary teacher on the phone he thinks that it wasn't a seizure, but that the story was too much for him. i pray that that is what it was! then to top it all off--baby "H" was in the kids care 2X last night with RSV. her stats were very borderline. she did sleep great throughout the night--so hopefully things will turn around soon! i feel so blessed to have the medical care that we do, the priesthood, wonderful friends, and the most amazing family in the world!

blasted u.t.i!

ever since i had my second child i have been battling urinary tract infections. it got so bad during my last pregnancy that i was put on a maintenance dose of antibiotics. i still cannot seem to get rid of these awful infections. i always know when i get one because my back kills! i have been on meds for a couple weeks, but knew that the infection didn't clear. after a crazy night (thanks dad! you are the best!) of 3 tests (don't ask!) the dr. informed me that the infection had not cleared and that they would have to give me a different antibiotic, but that i would have to pump and dump for the 7 days that i take it. that broke my heart. first of all, i hate pumping!!!! second, i feel so badly not being able to nurse "H"--she just looks at me like i have abandoned her. i just pray that she will want to continue nursing. i went to prague for 10 days when "M" was 7 months old--he wasn't a great nurser, but didn't have a lot of interest when i got home. i just have to remind myself that this is important for all of us!

2008--it really was great!

i have decided to take a break from taking down the christmas ornaments/cleaning and jot down a few thoughts about 2008. when i think about this past year i am flooded with wonderful memories, feel so blessed, and have seen the Lord's hand in our lives so many times. the highlight of our year was the birth of our beautiful daughter. she, along with her brothers bring such a tremendous am0unt of joy to our lives. i am also very grateful for our wonderful families. we love them and feel so blessed to have the friendship with them that we do. i am also grateful for the many, many dear friends that we have. (jess, we must have a pizza making party with non-alcholic pina coladas--heehee!!) our membership in the church is one of the main things that brings our family peace, joy, and a sense of hope. how grateful i am for a testimony and for the opportunity that i have to strengthen it on a daily basis.
i am excited for this new year! "A" and i started the day with a brisk walk--boy was it cold and i am feeling the pain now--which is a good thing!!
here's to 2009!