Christmas Favorites

Christmas was a magical time! We enjoyed spending time playing and relaxing together. We celebrated the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ and we ate delicious treats! If only Christmas wasn't just once a year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Who Needs An Appendix Anyway??

17 hours of CRAZY!!

Sunday, December 18

5:00 am--Spencer arrives at my bedside complaining of a stomach ache. Vomitting begins!

8:00 am--Vomitting continues. He vomits alone in the bathroom with the door closed saying, "I got this, I got this."

10:00 am--Vomitting continues. He is keeping nothing down now, not even his own spit. He is throwing up every thirty minutes. He lets me sit with him in the bathroom while he vomits.

12:00 pm--He accepts a big pot, we call it a 'puke bucket' and lays in bed. He falls asleep and we are sure he will feel better when he wakes up.

2:00 pm--Spencer is awake and the vomitting continues.

I start to worry.

4:00 pm--Vomitting continues. Complaints of stomach pain increase.

6:00 pm--Stomach pain seems to be localizing to the lower right quadrant.

I start to seriously worry.

7:00 pm--Ben and I bundle up the sick boy and drive to the ER.

He really didn't want to go, he was afraid. He actually faked feeling better hoping we would turn around.

8:00 pm--IV is started, anti-nausea meds and fluids are administered.

He watched the nurse administer the IV and asked questions the whole time. He never once fussed or cried.

9:00pm--Morphine is administered and prep is done for CAT scan.

He has to drink 16 ounces of pink punch, which is actually contrast for his CAT scan.

11:00 pm--CAT scan is administered and diagnosis of appendicitis is confirmed.

The nurses and doctors were not the least bit surprised. His doctor called him a "text book case."

Sunday, December 19

12:00 am--Spencer is transported by ambulance to a sister hospital with a pediatric surgical team.

Riding in a ambulance was especially exciting for him. Not so much for me.

1:00 am--Spencer is prepped for laproscopic surgery and wheeled away.

I was frightened. Ben was calm and confident. We were both exhausted.

2:00 am--Surgery is successful and Spencer wakes up quickly from anesthesia.

He immediately wants a popcicle...preferrably chocolate.

4:00 am--Spencer and I are asleep in a hospital room.

Ben is on his way home to sleep for an hour and then to take boys to Seminary. Then to sleep for another hour and then get Emma ready and off to school. Bless him!

12:00 pm--Spencer is released from the hospital.

He pooped, he peed, he ate and he walked around he halls.

Now we all rest!!

Whew!!

Fun on Hidden Lake

September 2011

We moved to a small neighborhood way out in the country, nearly 20 minutes from the closest Walmart and 15 minutes from the closest stop light. Across the street from our little house in the woods is a lake. Is not a huge lake but it has a dock platform, a small beach and a fire pit. It's perfect for our kind of fun! We bought a couple of kayaks and the kids are loving it! Michael and Jasen are naturals at the kayaking, years at Scout camps, no doubt. We were pleasantly surprised at how well Emma and Spencer took to the adventure as well.

Now they can't wait to get out their fishing poles!

Halloween 2011

A Brisk Morning on the Lake

I walk around the lake and enjoy this view almost every day!

It's glorious!!

One Crazy Night in the Woods!

My new home is in the woods! We live on more than an acre and a large chunk of it is...well, woods. It's a beautiful and serene environment. Often I sit on my back deck and drink in the sweet tranquility. I love the wildlife and sometimes even the solitude.

Unfortunately, with the lovely comes the love-less. I am having my first experiences with some aspects of country life that I am not so taken with. The number one offender...the septic system.

We have a septic tank. I am not sure where it is because it is buried under the ground. I am not sure how it works, as I try not to think about that kind of nastiness to much. I do, however, know where the septic alarm is...as last night at 11:48, in a torrential downpour it went off, emitting the most heinous sound, waking up all the children and requiring me (Ben is, of course, out of town) to go out in the rain to hit the big, red, blinking button to turn it off. (Why the bright red emergency shut-off button connected to the side of the house never gathered my attention and curiosity before remains a mystery.) With the threat of sewage backing up into my house I am definitely more interested in the whole process. Now, as I await a septic professional to tell me whether or not I can flush...I pine for city sewage facilities in the worst way.

Second on the offenders list...trees. Now this seems like a broad statement. Let me be more clear. I am not a fan of falling trees. Especially falling trees that choose 3 am to make their loud and terrifying presence known. Even more especially after one has already been woken up not even three hours earlier by a SEPTIC ALARM.

Needless to say, we had a huge storm over the past few days. Literally, it rained for 40 hours. Roads washed out, river banks overflowed, trees toppled and I got very little sleep. We were fortunate to have no house damage. We lost two trees, a septic system and 2 beetles Spencer was keeping in his Critter Keeper on the back porch. We gained a huge appreciation for indoor plumbing, chain saws and sump pumps. (Just keep on pumping little friend!! Just keep on pumping!!)

Ahhhh, back woods livin'!! This is the life...oh, um, can I please borrow someone's bathroom?

Our Princess

Emma

is nine years old! She continues to bless our lives with her sweet smile and her spicy personality. How lucky we are to have her!!

My Backyard Friends

Sweet Sixteen!!

I don't know when it happened but my first baby is 16 years old!

He is charming and handsome.

We are just as smitten with him as the rest of the world!

We love you Michael!

Happy Birthday

Celebrating Jasen!!

JASEN

JASEN

JASEN

JASEN

JASEN

JASEN

Happy Birthday to our happy happy boy!!! We love you and thank Heaven for you in our lives!!

Questionable shirt??

Michael inherited a shirt from my brother Aaron. Brea was over visiting one afternoon and after getting wet with little kids she borrowed it to be dry! The shirt, which had always seemed innocently benign on my brother and my son seemed almost vulgar on my sister. What is your opinion??

Homelessness

We have had a fun summer! Let me reiterate...we have had a FUN summer. We have gone to water parks and National Parks. We have gone sky diving and diving board diving. We have ridden trains and trained frogs. We have hiked thousands of feet high and strolled a mile high. We have laughed and loved family and friends. We have played hard.

And through it all, deep down in an almost unreachable area of my heart, there has been a tiny bit of worry. A tiny prick of concern. When it's all over, when the summer ends and real life begins...we still don't have a place to call home. I know that we will. I know that the Lord has a plan for us. I know that Ben is in Virginia right now probably walking through the perfect place for our family to call home but in the meantime...until I get the A-OK we are, for all intents and purposes, a homeless bunch. We are gypsies, living off the love and hospitality of family and friends.

I am loving it mostly. Homelessness comes with very little responsibility. No one will ask for your help. No one will expect you to bring anything to a pot luck or babysit their children. No one will ask you to teach a church lesson or volunteer in a classroom. No one will want you to run a committee or even vote. People are very forgiving if your children wear clothes that don't match or if they come to scouting activities without the correct gear. However, hands down the best perk of homelessness is that I face no accountability for my own poor behavior or that of my children. Have a temper tantrum...blame it on the homelessness. Over eat.....blame it on the homelessness. Sleep late.....blame it on the homelessness. Pass gas, very noisily, in the middle of church.....blame it on the homelessness. It's been a very fun, irresponsible, unaccountable summer.

BUT, I miss having a home!

More Colorado Craziness!!