Stressed!

Well, mom got out of the hospital two weeks ago tomorrow.  She fell and fractured her pelvis and is now in rehab in American Fork.  She is slowly making progress, but progress is progress.  I hope she starts feeling better soon.  I do not know how I am going to do it, but soon she will be living with me and my family and I will be taking care of her.  I am really scared.  I am hopeful it will be a good thing for her and for my family to learn to serve and care for someone besides themselves.  I think it will require a LOT of prayer and a lot of PATIENCE!  (Which I need to pray for.  I sure don't know how I am going to do this.)

I love my mom and am thankful for all that she has done for me.  It is my turn to love her back!  :)  

Robbie is still having seizures.  I don't know why and neither does the doctor.  So, I guess we just take it a day at a time and a seizure at a time and keep plugging away at life.  This IS our life.  Some things "suck", this being one of them, but what do you do?  Press forward!

We may have sold our house.  We are under contract and have inspection tomorrow.  If all goes well, we will be renters, come November 3rd.  As part of the contract, we will be able to rent the house back from the buyers until just after the first week of June.  (Or, we can leave sooner if we so choose.)  That way, we don't have to disrupt the kids' school schedule and have plenty of time to figure out where we want to be.  

 Today, they showed up to see the house.  I told the Realtor "no", but they still came.  I was really ticked off, so much so that I had to leave the house.  I was trying to tell the Realtor that they could wait until tomorrow.  But, apparently, I need to clean out my ears or need to take a communication skills class.  (Perhaps that would not be a bad idea anyway!)  I did not tell the Realtor they could come.  I told him that I was busy and didn't feel like I wanted to rearrange my schedule just to accommodate them.  I understand their excitement, however. 

Zachary has not yet received his mission call.  Due to some mis-communication issues, he will have his interview this Sunday with the Stake President and then if all goes well, he should get his call in the mail within just a couple weeks.  I am so excited for him!  It will be very interesting to see where he goes.  I cannot really explain it, but I think he will go foreign.  Like:  Taiwan, Cambodia...some place like that.  My Aunt Dianne thinks he will go Asian too.  Like Korea even.  So, we shall see.  It is just a few short weeks away until we know.  I will post it here for those that are following.  

So with mom's health issues, Rob's health issues, Jacob's health issues, Doug's health issues, and mine, which I cannot discuss on here yet, and getting the house ready to sell and keeping it ready to sell and now selling it,  I am overwhelmed.  Not that any of this is  terribly life altering or earth shattering, it IS stressful none-the-less.  But, I do acknowledge the hand of God in my life and know that I received strength and help to endure these trials.  

One more thing...I cannot seem to understand certain people in my life.  I consider myself to be generally an easy person to get along with.  But what I cannot seem to understand is that there seems to be something "wrong" with me.  I don't have a lot of friends.   I never really have.  I wish I understood why.  What is it that I do?  What is it that I am not?  What is it that is so annoying about me that people do not want to associate with me? And, My kids? And, My family?  One cannot change what they do not know needs to be changed or helped.  Good thing I don't have many followers on here, I guess.  They'd probably be the ones to be offended.  I have offended a few people recently.  One in particular.  I did not intend to!  But boy is she pissed at me!!!  Oh well!  Soon I will be gone like a ship in the night.  I don't think I will be missed here in Utah.  What's to be missed?  Sometimes I wish I could go to a place where no one ever knew a thing about me and just thought I was the neatest person on earth!  One can dream...I don't even feel like that with my hubby any more.  I used to feel like I was the "apple of his eye"  Now, I feel like nothing more than a pain in his backside, his bunk-mate, housekeeper, cook, and childcare giver.    I wish I was better.  I guess I better get it figured out and get to work!  Time for the "pity party" to be over.  I just needed to vent, I suppose.  

Blah, blah, blah...

Papers and more papers???

As many of you know, Zachary is preparing to serve a full time mission for the LDS church and will be gone for two years.  Zachary turned in his mission papers to our bishop today.  He will be called in for an interview with the Stake President very soon.  It is getting really super exciting as we are closer to finding out where he will be sent.  It is probably just weeks away.  I can't wait!

Yesterday, we had someone come to look at the house.  It has been on the market for about three months, or thereabouts. While I was gone last night at the R.S. broadcast, they came by for a second look.  I am trying not to get too excited, but hope to hear something soon.  I guess we were one of two they were torn between.  The Realtor called to ask us a couple more questions about the house and he called back again to see if we would be flexible with the move out date.  Of course, Doug said yes.  So, now we wait and see if they chose our house or the other one.  Since we haven't heard anything, I am leaning toward that they chose the other house.  I am excited, but nervous too.  So...papers?  Will we be signing papers?  I don't know!  I hope we know by tomorrow sometime.  The anticipation is killer!

Whew! What a year!

I am not great at keeping up with a blog.  Life is busy and full and there isn't usually much time for writing.  The following is written as best as I can recall.

Last year, about this time, I moved my mother to Pleasant Grove, to be closer to me so I can help her.  Prior to moving her, I helped a friend pack up some of her house as she and her family were moving across country.  Not to brag, but I was a comfort to her mostly, helping her get through the stress of it all.  For about three or four days, if I remember right, I was at her beck and call.  It was a great experience and I was glad to help.

My sister came to help pack up my mom's house.  We got quite a bit done together, but there was still more to pack.  I was able to get it all done and organized by the time the movers came.  We got everything loaded, my brother-in-law, my sister, some of their kids, ward members, friends, and myself.  It went pretty fast! I believe it was the next morning that we left early and headed for Pleasant Grove.  We made pretty good time and things were pretty uneventful.  We got to P.G. and Wayne, Ben, Doug, some of my boys, a good member from our ward, Brother Washburn, and myself, unloaded mom's things into her apartment and into storage.  Then, Wayne and Ben had to fly back home.  I cannot remember all the small details, but they were big to me at the time.  I was and am very grateful for the help that was received at that time, by everyone who pitched in.

Mom has had some troubles and has for many years.  So much so, that many of us have had a hard time believing that there was anything wrong.  She was in the hospital in November, last year, and everything was found to be "normal".  With all the testing that was done, I kept trying to encourage her through it all. 

Month after month, trial after trial, plugging along... Doug and I decided that it was best to put our house up for sale and have her move in with us.  But, as to this day, our house still hasn't sold.  So, I am not sure what we will do at this point.

Over the course of months this year, things seemed to get pushed back further and further.  Doug had to rebuild the deck on our back porch.  It was in bad shape.  One day after inspecting it, he found that there was little to nothing even holding it up.  After much research, calculations, and hard work, that major project was finally finished.  It took much longer than anticipated.  Months!  In the meantime, I spent much of my time packing up each room of the house.  I tried only to include the necessary items that would help to "stage" the house to sell and put everything else in storage.  Because Doug had to work and the kids were in school, I did most of the work myself.  It was hard and draining, yet I felt very compelled that this was the right thing to do.

After painting some, getting new carpet installed in the family room, and cleaning out the wazoo, the house was finally ready and we put in on the market in July.  It was WAY beyond our goal, but we decided to go ahead with it.

During all the preparation to get the house on the market, our oldest son began having seizures again.  He had them when he was 12, but has been seizure free for almost 7 years.  This has been quite hard on him and very frustrating.  The first one came in April while he was at work.  During the seizure, he fell and hit his head on a table and his glasses slid into his forehead, gashing it open, and when I got to him, he was a bloody mess.  The paramedics were called and he was taken to the hospital by ambulance for a CT scan to make sure he didn't have a brain bleed.  Everything came back normal and he was stitched up and sent home.

The next week, he was seen by a neurologist and put back on medication.  But, that didn' stop the seizures.  He had his second one in May.  This time when he fell, he broke and dislocated his right shoulder.  So, off to the ER we went and his shoulder was set and we were sent back home.  It was about 7 or so weeks and an increase in medication later, that he had yet another seizure.  This time, it happened at home and he was found by his brother Joshua.  He fell in his room, on what-we never determined.  Doug got to him before I did.  I was at my mom's helping her.  I was called and rushed home to find that Robbie had landed on his face and had gashed his eyelid open, barely missing his eyeball, and also cutting open his forehead.  Once again, we were off to the ER to have him stitched up.  He was a mess!  (Remember, head wounds are very bloody!)

As a mom, you worry about your kids.  No matter how old they are!  Rob is 20.  He is 6 foot 9 and a half!  That is a long ways down to fall!  At this point, I was feeling like he should be wrapped in bubble wrap and wear a helmet!  Poor guy! 

Robbie is still not out of the woods.  He has since had two more seizures that have left him unscathed, thankfully.  But, it has been very frustrating to him and to me as all test results have come back "normal".  He has had his medication doses increased, another pill added, and we still don't have any idea why this is happening again.  We are told he is classified as an epileptic because he has had more than one seizure and basically to go home, take his meds, and deal with it.  It is his life.  This is not acceptable to me, but I don't have any other option than to do exactly that.  It is very frustrating!  As a mother, you want to give your kids answers to their questions, make their "owies" all better.  But, I can't! 

Speaking of "owies", we have also had three sprained ankles this year and little Jacob has had to endure several casts on his foot, for correction of his club foot that he has had since birth.  After several castings, hoping to stretch his achilles tendon, it was determined that they were unsuccessful this round and he had surgery 6 or so weeks ago to release that tendon.  He is scheduled to get his final cast off on Monday, next week.  I hope he isn't too tight in that heel now.  I guess we'll see. 

Back in July, Doug was going out to the fridge in the garage to get milk for dinner and fell down the stairs.  He broke his big toe and it required surgery.  A screw was placed as well as a pin.  He got the pin removed a few weeks ago and will go back to the doctor next week to check the healing. 

I guess it has been about three weeks ago now, I got a call one morning from my mom's in-home-health nurse to say that mom was being transported to American Fork Hospital.  She couldn't get up to let the nurse in because she was in so much pain.  And, as standard protocol, he had to have her sent in for observation.  It probably sounds bad, though it is not meant to be, that I thought it was going to be "much of the same" as in times past; where they would run a bunch of tests and find nothing.  So, I took my time getting to the hospital, hoping that by the time I arrived, they would know what was going on.  Doug was out of town on business and I had to get all the kids off to school.  So, once I was done with that, I got to the hospital.

After sitting with mom for a while, they finally came in and took her in for an MRI of her neck to see why she was having so much pain. They found that she had herniated discs in her neck, impinging on her spinal cord.  So, as soon as I knew it, they were transporting her to Utah Valley Regional for surgery.

I felt bad for thinking what I had.  Mom had a terrible fall about a year after my dad passed away.  (Almost 8 years ago.) She slipped on some black ice outside of her front door.  She said she had been knocked out for several minutes.  She went to her doctor and several other's over the years and no one would believe her or help her.  She has suffered for a very long time.  Back in November, she was told at some point, she broke her lower back.  I saw it for myself on a CT scan.  But, it had healed; improperly, but it was healed.  I had been taking her to the chiropractor this summer for several visits.  We had x-rays taken, but the herniated discs were never identified.  So, she kept going for treatments, hoping for some relief and sometimes feeling it.  But, at one point, it just kept getting worse.

As I was saying, finally, after being in the hospital for a couple days, she ended up going in for the surgery and had three vertebrae fused and a partial disc-ectomy.  After one day of recovery, they sent her home.  (That was a mistake!)  She wasn't very strong on her feet, which made me very nervous, and for good reason.  I stayed with her, thank goodness!  That night, she fell and I had to call for paramedics to come and help me get her up.   I was really scared that she hurt herself and had undone what she had waited for so long to get help to fixed.  But, as they got her up, it was apparent that she was fine and just needed to rest.  I stayed with her for two nights, on the couch, so she wouldn't be alone.  It was a couple of really long nights, but I was glad to be there with her.  She had a hard time sleeping and needed someone there, for love and reassurance.

It is interesting how soon there has been a role-reversal in my life.  I didn't imagine that I would be taking care of my mother this soon.  And, she is very dependent, like a young child who needs their mother.  She will call me early in the morning if she had a bad dream.  Or, if she needs me.  Most of the time I don't mind.  She is very lonely and needs to be loved.  She misses my dad terribly and loves the association of her family.
I am not sure what the future holds, but I love my mom and I am committed to do whatever I can to help her and show her the love and respect she is deserving of.

I am so thankful for the knowledge I have as a daughter of God and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Heavenly Father knows each one of us, by name, personally and individually, and knows what we can handle.  It has been quite a remarkable year!  There have been many tests and trials; physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  But, I am thankful for every one of them.  I know that they strengthen my faith and draw me closer to my Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ.  My trials are my own.  They have not been "earth shattering" or "life changing" too much, if you want to compare them to others' trials.  I will take what I have been given and be grateful.  And, I am.

Now, as far as what to do about the house?  That remains to be seen.  I think we are going to pull the listing and wait until the Spring.  Maybe.

I am having some health concerns that I am not legally able to define in this setting.  But, I hope to have some answers and some things accomplished to help them improve very soon.  Perhaps that is why we are not selling right now.  I don't know.

But, on the very bright side of things, Zachary is preparing to go to serve the Lord on a two-year, LDS mission.  He had his wisdom teeth pulled last week, fillings yesterday, and is awaiting appointments with our Bishop and Stake President to get those underway.  He could potentially have his call by the end of October.  I am SO excited and So very proud of him!

Oh, what a year this has been!  And, we have three more months to go!  It will be interesting to see what lies ahead and where we will end up.  Sometimes, the test is to see if we will listen and follow through with the promptings we receive.  Also, how we endure the test.  My perspective has been, that my life is in the Lord's hands.  He will help me and guide my paths.  Nothing we do in this life is wasted.  It all gives us experience and is for our own good.  So, I will plug along and do the best that I can, however insignificant I seem to feel, I must remember that my Father and my Brother know me and they love me, and are with me every step of the way.

Thangs that make you say...oops!

Well, yesterday, I finally bit the bullet and took Marissa to the doctor. She had an earring back stuck in the whole of her earlobe where her ear was pierced. I put those little rubber backs on her earrings, the ones that are probably intended to keep an earring on the little card. Doug didn't see that there was ANY back on the earring and pulled it straight through her ear. I told him that there WAS a back on it and he said, "Whoops!" So, I told him to let me see her ear. I checked the other ear, but apparently not close enough. I didn't see a back at all, and pulled out the earring. The plastic back, stuck inside! Oops! I hoped I could put the earring back in and push the back through her ear. But, no such luck. So, I waited for it to hopefully fester and work its way out. No. No such luck. So, after about a week and a half, I decided to take her to the doctor.

I took her to her pediatrician. He took a look and wasn't sure what to do. It was a first for him! So, he said, "Let me call a couple of my buddies". He sent us to a friend of his, who is an ENT doc. He numbed her up, made a couple of small cuts, and the thing popped out! (I got to help assist with the surgical procedure, gloving up...the whole works! It was cool!)

So, with a small circular band-aid and some antibiotic ointment and about $65 later, so far, she is on her way to recovery without growing old with a piece of plastic in her ear!

So stressed out!

The girl's went to their grandma's today. They had such a great time! Grandma's are so fun to have around! Julia learned how to make a grilled cheese sandwich! From her grandma! So...entirely...cool! I could have taught her, should have taught her...but what a great experience! This is good for me too! Not that I don't, but...It shows me that I can teach my children things if I put a little more trust in their abilities. Awesome! I love my mom! :)

Feeling a bit sheepish!

Mom's nurse was out and said that if the gas company and the fire department both said that everything is fine, then she doesn't need a blood test to determine if there is still any possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning. Well, don't I feel sheepish! I wanted to rule out all possibility of there being anything wrong, physically. I guess I better leave things to the professionals and not try to figure things out on my own!

Now the next step for mom is a visit to a psychiatrist. Maybe I need one too! Dang!

Things that make you go Ugh!

Dear Reader, if my blog is too depressing, don't read it! Just sayin'. This is my life and I can't help how I feel. I am not perfect and I have things in my life I am working on too. That being said, read it with that in mind. Thanks!

Got another call from mom yesterday, that she can't breathe and needs to go to the ER. Said she slept all day Tuesday and couldn't wake up and then whenever she tried to get up and do anything, she was out of breath or if sitting, couldn't stay awake. Of course this scared me! Then, she said, but I don't want to go for a couple hours because I don't have any clean clothes. So, then I realized it must not be too bad. Long story short-I think she is missing my dad and got depressed and didn't realize why she wanted to sleep so much. Her nurse had me go pick up anti-anxiety pills for her at the pharmacy last night, but then they gave her the shakes and a headache and now she has body aches this morning.

She mentioned to me yesterday that there MUST be something wrong with her apartment, because every time she leaves it, she feels fine; when she returns, she feels sick. So, before even going to her apartment, I stopped off at the office to talk to the manager on duty. I asked if we could call the gas company out again to double check and see if there is still a leak in her apartment. She was very nice to help us out. We got the gas company to come out, but the guy was a total ---! He was such a jerk! There was a very minor leak, but determined that the ambiant air was fine, no Carbon Monoxide, and everything was in proper working order. Mom had had the sliding door open, so if there was a problem, I don't know if it would have picked anything up anyway. I am not a scientist, but common sense would tell me that if there was a problem, it was aired out by then, after about 4 hours.

In the meantime, the fire department was called out and they brought their little monitors out to check dangerous gas levels, etc. Everything checked out okay. They went into another room of the apartment and it checked out okay too. One of the firemen suggested that maybe she has some allergies to something in the apartment, another suggested it is all mental, and that when she gets around other people, she forgets about how bad she feels; then, when she comes home, it comes back because then she starts thinking about how awful she feels.

I got kinda mad at her and we got into an argument. I told her that there is nothing wrong with her! I have taken her to the doctor and she has had so many tests! They have checked her inside and out! (Last week, she had a colonoscopy!) So, this morning, I asked her to tell her nurse I want a carbon monoxide poisoning blood test done, just to rule that out. I don't want there to be something wrong and find her dead or something! But geesh! I think she is fine. I think there is some mental stuff going on. But, other than taking other people's word for it, I had to discover this on my own and tried to give my mom the "benefit of the doubt".

I hated that we got into an argument, but some things were said that needed to be said. I left her on a positive note, however. I asked her to write down 100 things that she is thankful for and that I wanted to see her list the next time I returned. And I told her that I will get her a gratitude journal that she needs to write in every day and write down all that she is thankful for. The lesson for the day: Don't look back or dwell on the past. The future is bright and wonderful ahead. Look forward to it and be grateful for all the blessings in your life.

I realized from this experience yesterday, that mom and I are so much alike in so many ways. It scares me a bit, but it really should be empowering! Knowledge is power, right? Baby steps...and breathing exercises. :) ha!

Back in the Saddle Again

I haven't blogged anything in forever! Lots of things happening in my life. I might try this again and see what happens. :)

Let's see...2011 is coming to a close and as I look back, I clearly see the hand of the Lord in my life. I wish I was better at journaling, however. I can't remember everything, but the following are some of the major highlights.

Last school year, I had one child in College, one in High School, one in Jr. High, and the three little ones in elementary school. Talk about strange! But, this year, ALL six kids are in school! I thought I would not know what to do with my time, but I have managed to find plenty!

In August, I helped some friends pack and move. They had to pack up quickly and the mom wasn't sure what to do. They did not take much with them, but what they could fit in their RV and a tow behind trailer and small automobile. I did quite a bit of packing and tried to help the mom maintain her sanity through it all. They made their move and are doing very well, but are sorely missed.

A few weeks later, I packed my mom and moved her from Middleton, Idaho to Pleasant Grove, Utah. I am thankful for the help I had for the first few days, hauling, sorting, and tossing things. It made packing up her home much, much easier. (Thanks to my sweet sister and my uncle.)

Zachary had surgery in October. He had a cyst removed from his forehead and a lymph glad removed from his neck. Thankfully, there is no cancer and he is mostly healed up. He had the stitches on his forehead rupture on the outside, so he has quite a nasty scar. But, with time, hopefully it will minimize a bit.

We had a flood in our basement, that has been ongoing for the last while. It was finally determined that it was NOT the sprinkler system, but that we had the cartridge go bad in the upstairs bathtub faucet and as much water as was spraying out of the faucet, was spraying into the wall. JOY!!! So, when the girl's took a shower or a bath, the water was running down the wall and saturating the carpet in the room below them. Later, it was determined that in 3 of the 4 bathrooms, the cartridges were all bad! So, as a precaution, we had them all replaced.

After months of leaking, and inspections, and mold, and damaged carpet, etc. we had walls removed, mold removal and treatment, heppa fans running, walls replaced, carpet replaced, and the room repainted. Now, all the repairs have been made, a few items replaced, and a few more items still to be replaced, but looking on the bright side...we have a home, we have a roof over our heads, we have warmth and we are truly blessed. Sometimes, things happen that help remind us of what is truly important in our lives. Sometimes, those lessons are not necessarily convenient, but are teaching moments...that help us learn some of life's greater lessons. Count your blessings! And, be grateful!

The kids are playing hide-and-seek, in the dark, in our house as I write this. It is also 10:30pm, so I should probably go for now and get the little ones off to bed. Christmas break...staying up late, playing games, having friends over, having sleep-overs, and just having lots of fun! I love Christmas break! I love having my kids home and am glad to see that they really do love each other. :)

My poor momma...

We almost lost our mom today. She is having a rough recovery. Now she has C-div, a bacterial infection in her bowel. Her blood sugars dropped to 43 today. She should have been in acoma and/or died. Colleen and the nurse were able to get her blood sugars regulated for now. She is home resting, since Thursday. She fell Friday, had this set back today, but we are hoping for a good outcome If you are reading my blog, please pray for Sherry. Pray for Colleen and me too, if you would. It is a rather stressful time in each of our lives for different reasons, but then throwing mom's trouble's on top of the other issues, we are pretty emotionally taxed. Love and Hugs to All!!!

Pray...

So, after I posted the last post, I decided that I would like to add...

If you feel so inclined to keep me and my family in your prayers, please do. Prayer can only help. At times I have felt so alone, but know that we all struggle with something. Pray. Trust in the Lord and in our Father in Heaven's plan. Things will all work out.

A Yucky New Year...

So far, 2010 is turning out to be more exciting than I had anticipated. My mom has been in the hospital or rehab since February 7th. She had surgery on her throat/neck in January and it should have been an easy outpatient thing but has turned out to be quite an ordeal for her. I still don't know when it will be "over". My sister and brother-in-law have spent quite a number of hours serving mom and helping her through this ordeal, as well as my sister-in-law and I filling in a couple of times. She has a long road of recovery ahead of her and I hope she has the determination to get stronger and see it through.

Along with mom and personal family issues, Joshua slipped on ice February 13th, at Scout camp and broke his radius and cracked his ulna at the growth plate in his left hand. After two weeks in a splint, xrays showed that the bones were slipping and that it would require surgery to place a plate and screws in his wrist to stabilize the bone. So, two weeks ago, he had that wonderful surgery. Today, March 15th, he was able to get those stitches removed and got a cool lookin' cast on. He will be in the cast for three weeks and then will move to a splint. He probably could go without anything, but for the Doctor's peace of mind and mine as well, we will cast and then splint, just to protect his wrist and give it more time to heal up. He will get the cast off on April 5th and will get a splint for a couple of more weeks after that. He will have the plate and screws in for 6 months to a year. Then he will probably be in a splint for a few weeks following the removal of them, which is yet to be determined.

There is a lot more I could write. It has been a difficult few months. But, some things should be kept private, therefore the more part I would like to write will have to be contained in personal writings here at home. Things are somewhat looking up and I know the outcome will be okay. But, sometimes in the midst of trial, things look/feel much more bleak than they actually are. Trial is good and necessary and is a part of life. It is what we have to do here in this life. Trials should be viewed as opportunities. They help us learn about ourselves, others, and life, if we see them for what they are. They are here for us to make us grow and learn and especially turn to our Father in Heaven for guidance, wisdom, and love, and to grow closer to him and to our Savior, Jesus Christ. And also to help us understand His atonement better and to trust in Him. He has paid the price and knows our joys, our griefs, and our sorrows. He knows our sickness, pain, and suffering. He knows temptation. He can teach us. He can heal our hearts. That is the part I struggle with the most. Letting the Atonement work in my life. Perhaps that is why I am going through what I am.

Things will get better, they just take time. So, you take each day as it comes, each hour, each minute, each second if need be. This too, shall pass!

Fire, fire, fire! Not!

Today we thought our house was on fire. Doug called me to ask if I would go and check and see if our house was on fire, since he was at work downstairs. I quickly looked outside, checking to see if someone was maybe burning something. I couldn't smell anything. So, I went downstairs and checked all the rooms and couldn't find anything. I checked the place that made the most sense...the utility room where the water heaters and so forth are located. I couldn't see smoke, but it sure smelled of smoke. So, I went to tell Doug that I could smell smoke. He was in the middle of teaching a class. So, he told his class he had to leave that our house was on fire. His office smelled of smoke and the utility room smelled of smoke. We couldn't see any smoke or flames, so we didn't know what we should do. I was afraid of a fire in the wall or something. So, I called 411 to get the non-emergent number for the fire department. When I called them, they told me I should call 911. So, it was like I called 411 to get the number for 911! (Sorta! LOL) So, they told us to evacuate and wait outside until they went in to inspect and give us the all clear. They showed up with their HUGE new fire truck with the driver on back. They took their infrared equipment inside and checked everything out but didn't find anything. It turns out that some neighbors a few houses down were burning leaves and things and the smoke came in through an outside vent and in through an a/c in the window of Doug's office. So, it all turned out well and everyone is okay. It just made for some excitement in the Bassett neighborhood for a few minutes. I am thankful for our firefighters and their willingness to help. I felt a little dumb afterwards, but it is better to be safe than sorry!

Our Awesome Family Vacation-Summer 2009

I had intended to try to import a journal entry from one of my files into this blog, but with my limited knowledge, I am not sure how to do it. So, I am going to re-type my entry. Bear with me, as it is pretty long. I will try to expand on a little more detail later and also try to incorporate pictures at some point. Some days where little detail is given, I just tried to give the highlight of our day.

Journal Entry, Dated: Sunday, August 2, 2009

I had intended to try to journal events as they happened while we were in Hawaii, but we were having so much fun and were out so late every night, up early and going, that I didn't have the time to write down exactly what we did each day. Things started to meld together after a while, especially when you do so much in so little time and on so little sleep. So, with the help of receipts as reminders, and a few pictures we took, I am doing the best I can to remember our trip. Almost immediately following our trip to Hawaii, just Doug and I, we came home and left with our six children and went to San Francisco, California and then on to Wyoming. To the best of my recollection, here is a schedule of the things we did:

June 18th: Doug and I flew to Phoenix, Arizona in the evening and stayed the night in Phoenix.
June 19th: Doug and I caught an early morning flight to Oahu, Hawaii. We got our rental car and checked into our hotel. We went to Waikiki Beach, looked for shells, and enjoyed the scenery. We walked around Honolulu/Waikiki. We went back to our hotel and went for a swim and enjoyed watching the trade winds. Interesting! We spent a night out on the town walking around, window shopping and taking it all in.
June 20th: We went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. There, we took a boat ride where the different Island villages were represented. We ate Puoy, did the Hula, watched a show, went to a Luau where we were publicly recognized for celebrating 19 years of marriage. We watched a show at the Luau-Hula dancers, etc ate "Kalua Pig", rice noodles, puoy, puoy dinner rolls, a pina colada smoothie served in a Pineapple, and enjoyed a special show that evening of hula dancers, fire dancers, and were treated to an evening of fun and experiencing the dancers representing all the people of the different isles. It was great!
June 21st: While driving around on the Island, we came upon a Macadamia Nut farm. We decided to stop and check it out. They had all different varieties of flavors. They were all very yummy! We had to bring some back with us. My favorite were the wasabi coated nuts, the honey roasted nuts, and the regular roasted macadamia's. Later, we found some chocolate covered macadamia's. Yum!!! We continued up the coast of Oahu and drove up North Shore and stopped and ate at a shrimp shack. These were the best shrimp I have ever eaten. They were fresh, right from the shrimp farm beds about 20 feet away. Once you got past removing the heads and tails, they were great! (K, don't get too grossed out. At least we didn't get the prawns! They were scary lookin'!) After lunch, we went up the coast a little further and watched some surfer's for a little while. After that, we went to the Laie, LDS Temple and Visitor's center. The temple was under significant renovations inside and out, but is expected to reopen in the summer of 2010. (July, I think.) When we were through, we headed further up the island and drove to the Dole Pineapple Plantation, just in time for it to be closing in another 15 minutes. But, we had a quick Ice cream, which was very good, and bought a souvenir spoon, just in case we couldn't make it back.

June 22nd: We took a boat ride out to the Atlantis submarine. We went in the sub and dove down to 106 feet on the ocean's floor. We saw numerous fish, a white tipped shark, about 3 or 4 Sea Turtles, Coral, and had a great time. I didn't want to leave. I was hoping we could drive around a while.
June 23rd: We visited the USS Bowfin site, but didn't actually board the vessel. We toured the gift shop and saw various missiles, torpedoes, etc. that were typical of the 2nd World War era. We toured the U"SS Arizona Memorial and museum. This was a very interesting experience. I will write more about this experience later. We visited the Dole Pineapple Plantation again, and had some very yummy Kalua Pork Casadillas, salad, and a yummy pineapple ice cream treat topped with fresh pineapple. We took a train ride out on the active plantation, and went on an abbreviated garden tour. Then, we headed back to Honolulu and were back on the streets of Waikiki for shopping, people watching, and walking our feet off!
June 24th: We did some last minute shopping for souvenirs and then headed to the Honolulu airport. We flew to phoenix, Arizona and stayed the night, which was a short night. Only about 4 hours of sleep.
June 25th: After our short night sleep, we had to be at the airport by 8 am. We caught our flight home to Salt Lake City. We returned home to our children who were waiting patiently for us. We handed out some gifts and in our zombie like state, I started laundry and packing for 8 since we were leaving the next day for San Francisco. I got to bed at 2am.
June 26th: We loaded up the car and headed to the SLC airport with our 6 children in tow. Amazingly enough, we were out the door a little before 9am. We checked in curbside with all our baggage, which was a lifesaver. We checked into our gate and all was smooth sailing. About 11:30am, we all boarded our plane and were headed to Oakland, California. After a 2 hour flight, we landed, got our rental car (a 15 passenger van), got lunch and headed for Fairfield, California, where we used to live. We arrived at the Jelly Belly factory just in time for an early closing, due to a Newt Gingrich event that day. I guess we were not important enough to attend! We headed to McDonald's for an ice cream and potty break and then drove around Fairfield a bit. We saw the places we lived when we were there, including our first apartment there and a home which we rented. We had our first two babies there in Fairfield, and left just after our second son Zachary was born. We drove out to Travis Air Force Base and saw the AFB hospital where Rob and Zach were born. Then, we headed to our hotel located in San Rafael.
June 27th: We visited Six Flags Discovery park, in Vallejo, California. We had a great day! The kids had a blast riding the roller coasters. We stopped at Denny's and then drove the long ride back to our hotel after being so tired. It was all good!
June 28th: We drove across the Golden Gate Bridge. What a sight! We drove through Sausalito and drove to the Muir Redwoods, but decided since everyone on the planet had the same idea and there was not any parking, we would just drive up the coast. Apparently all the people on the planet that couldn't find a parking spot had that same idea too. So, we drove back towards the Golden Gate Bridge. We ended up taking a wrong turn, but it ended up to be a good thing. We were headed up a hill that took us to an amazing overlook of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. So, it was a good turn after all. We came down the hill and found parking and walked under the Golden Gate Bridge and then onto the bridge a ways. It was VERY windy and a little chilly. I must say I was a bit surprised by that. I didn't expect it to be so windy up there. The kids mostly enjoyed being on the bridge. They were a little cold and bored. But, when we looked down into the water, they saw a sea lion swimming around and they thought that was pretty neat. They also liked seeing their spit fly over the bridge and hit the water. What can I say, kids will be kids. After the bridge, we went to Fisherman's wharf, bought some coats for the kids since we left ours at the hotel, went to dinner and then decided to call it a day because everyone was pooped out and grumpy. So, we drove to the hotel and went to bed.
June 29th: We went back to Fisherman's Wharf and did a little shopping and then took a boat ride out to Alcatraz. It was very insightful! Interesting! & Fun! We came back to the wharf and tried a sourdough bread bowl with clam chowder. It was good, but not as good as expected. We did quite a bit of walking around, some shopping, and walked our feet off. Robbie went to the aquarium by himself, Doug, Zach, & Josh went to Rippley's Believe It or Not, and me and the little one's went shopping and to the Boudin Sourdough Bakery. They made cute little animals out of the dough. From little crabs and teddy bears and sea turtles, to alligators and larger crabs. It was really something. Their work was quite intricate. I just wished they wouldn't bake the bread quite so long. I like my bread soft. Theirs was hard. It was still yummy though!

June 30th: We visited the Jelly Belly factory again, and this time it was open. It was good fun and interesting to see the changes they have made since we last visited in about 1993. It was Robbie's 17th Birthday this day. We went to Six Flags again and Robbie got o go off on his own. He had a wonderful time and was able to catch all of the shows, ride some rides, and do what he wanted to do without everyone bugging him. Doug went with the older kids and I had Jake and Marissa. We got to see the shark exhibit, pet sting rays, and see dolphins. The kids rode several kiddie rides and had a wonderful time. After a long day, we went to Red Lobster to celebrate Rob's birthday. It was very good food and we were glad to sit down to a good dinner after such a long few days on our feet. We drove all the way back to our hotel. The kids and Doug were crashed out in the van all the way back.

July 1st: I dropped off the kids and Doug at the airport and returned the rental car and caught back up with them again. We got through security and waited to board our flight back to SLC. We arrived home in the evening, just in time to wash and repack our bags to head out to Wyoming the next day.

July 2nd: We got up and loaded the van and drove to Riverton, Wyoming. We let the kids go for a swim in the hotel pool and then stayed the night in Riverton.

July 3rd: Doug took all the kids but Rob, to Thermopolis Natural Hot Springs. Rob and I went shopping while Doug and the kids and our niece, Amanda went swimming. Rob wasn't interested and I was feeling under the weather, so we shopped and went and saw buffalo at a ranch/range behind Thermop, and then prepared lunch for everyone else. We then picked up the kids and Doug and then headed up to Sheridan, to see Grandma Wells. On the way, I got a speeding ticket! Yuck! I had forgotten what the speed limit was after passing a vehicle and had to reset my cruise control. I made a booboo and thought the speed limit was 75. I set it about 76. The speed limit was 65! Oops! I got a $15 discount since everyone was wearing seat belts. I still had to pay $63 and have that glorious thing on my now less than perfect driving record. Not to mention the embarrassment I felt and the wonderful mood I was now in. Fun! We finally reached Granny's apartment and she took us out to eat at a Chinese Buffet, which our kids love! We did a little shopping at Walmart and then checked into our hotel.

July 4th: We got up a little late, went to breakfast and then it was off to Gran's for a visit. We had a nice visit with Gran...it was short, but it was nice to be with her. I only wished we could have stayed longer. We drove to Buffalo and met Doug's half sister for the first time. Her name is Tracy Spratt. She met us at a park in Buffalo, and was there with her mom, Leona. We were supposed to meet up with Doug's Sister-in-law too, but we were too late and she had little ones she needed to put down for a nap. So, we missed her. Before leaving Buffalo, we stopped by the liquor store where Doug's half brother works and Doug got to run in and say a quick hello. I stayed in the car with the kids. I wished we could have spent time with them, but perhaps another time. We then headed back to Riverton in hopes of seeing some fireworks, but we were a bit too late and didn't know where the action was. So, we got checked into our hotel and bedded down for the night.

July 5th: We went to the "Trailhead" for breakfast and then headed back to Pleasant Grove. We brought our niece Amanda back with us. She was going to go to girls camp with our Young Women's group from church. We did some laundry, packed Joshua for Scout camp, and took Amanda's things over to the YW leader's home to get her ready for girls camp on the 6th.

July 6th: We dropped Joshua off at Terry Hunter's house at 5am for Scout Camp. Then, we dropped Amanda off at the YW leader's house at 8am. Then it was laundry, laundry, laundry time. And, I had yet to clean up our house from coming home and packing up and leaving again. With all our trips back to back, our house looked like a bomb went off! But, it was all worth it. We had a great time!!!

I am going to cut and paste a journal entry I wrote back in August, 2009 about our awesome summer vacation...

K, I guess that isn't going to work! Hmmm...

Long Time No See

Wow! It has been awful long since I last wrote. Much has happened in my life since. I will have to get busy and update everything. Life has just got away from me and I decided that I can't spend too much time on the computer. But, this is more like a journal. I really should keep it updated. But, I guess I figured for a time why I even should. It is not like I have a hard copy of this. And, who does it really benefit anyway. Me, I guess. I don't know. I am not up-to-date on all the current techy things people do or think they should do. I am a busy mom of six wonderful kids and have a husband and responsibilities at home and at church and in the community. I have plenty to keep me busy. I really would like to keep up my blog though. I just have to get back at it.

I am not good yet at remembering to post here as I should. Lots has happened since my last entry. I am not sure where to start...

I have been having some health concerns for the last several months. After many different tests and waiting to get in to see an Internist, I am hoping to have some answers soon. What started all my troubles was some right upper quadrant pain. I thought it might be my gallbladder and so did my family doctor. I had a

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the baptism's of two of my cousin's daughter's. It was a nice afternoon. My cousin's prepared some yummy soups and salads, rolls, and water and it was all great. I didn't eat any cookies, but they sure looked yummy too!

Later, I spent the evening with a few of my female cousin's and my Aunt Patricia. We went to Marie Callender's and had a lovely meal and I especially enjoyed visiting and remincing with them. We then went for a quick shopping trip to TJMax. I didn't buy anything, but I could swear I saw Prince's Grandmother there! (Lady in a purple hat, purple shoes, purple clothing, purple everything!) I also think I heard a baby elephant! :)

It was a fun evening, but short. We decided we had better head for home because it was getting late and was also the beginning of daylight savings time. It was a good thing. I got plenty of sleep, but am still feeling tired today.

My cousin's reminded me yesterday that the scrapbooking expo is coming in just two weeks! I can't wait! I always enjoy going because I get to have some time to do some things that I enjoy doing and don't have any responsibility. I just get to be me and have fun! It is fun to see how creative I can be and discover the inner talents I have been blessed with that I didn't know I had. It is a great time and I am excited I get to go!

You are my sunshine...

My little boy brings sunshine to my life. He was coloring on very small sheets of paper today. He would bring me a piece and ask me to fold it for him. He would go behind me for about 3 seconds and then come back to me and say, “I’ve got a surprise for you!”, with the biggest grin on his little face. He was so excited when I opened up the piece of paper that I had just folded and saw a “beautiful flower” on it, one was a butterfly. Little scribbles mean a lot, especially when mommy posts them up with tape next to her computer. I am so glad to be a mommy!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

My confidence in my husband's romantic side has been renewed. Ladies, there is hope!

Last night, my husband stole me away to the Hilton Hotel and surprised me with a Sweetheart Dinner and a night away from home and all the chaos. We enjoyed horderves, a nice spinach and cranberry walnut salad, rolls, bacon wrapped fillet minon, mashed potatoes, garden vegetables and cheesecake. There was also entertainment and dancing.

When we retired to our room, there were rose petals scattered across the bed, sparkling cider at the bedside chilling, a vase of roses, and chocolate dipped strawberries for our enjoyment. We had a very nice and relaxing evening!

The only drawback was a hard bed and a sore back this morning. Yes, it was from the bed!

If you ever have a chance to do something like this, go for it! It was amazing! I was a bit reluctant at first because of all the things we have going on this weekend, but I am glad that I took advantage of the opportunity for my husband to do something so sweet and special for me. Thank you Sweetie!

On Friday, the 13th, it was Zachary's 15th birthday. We threw him a very fun "Friday the 13th" party with about 11 of his friends. It was a blast! We did a superstion theme and had ladders up, black cats, the number 13, an open umbrella, and little mirrors scattered about. We served sloppy joes, chips, veggies, sodas, ice cream cake, and other fun sugary confections. They played a psychology game, Rock Band, another game-I can't remember the name of it, but is one that has been seen played on Drew Carey. It is the one where you have a host and he/she tries to figure out what is wrong with the party goers at the host's party. You might have one who thinks she is Hannah Montana or another who is some other character and it is up to the host with the help of the audience to try to figure out what is wrong with the party goer (what is their quirk). I probably didn't descripe that very well, but it was a really fun night. They also watched "The Blair Thumb", it is a spoof off of "The Blair Witch" movie. There are also other movies like that: "The Godthumb", "Thumbtanic", "Batthumb". They are pretty dumb movies, but I guess that is what makes them so much fun to watch.

Today Robbie and I played a musical number in church. He played Cello and I played the piano. We played "Our Savior's Love". Rob did a nice job! He was nervous and played a bit soft, but it was really nice. Several ladies came up to us afterwards a bit teary eyed and thanked us for sharing our talents with them. It was a great experience! Once we started playing, the tone of the meeting changed and it was total silence! No babies crying, no talking, just a calm, reverent, peaceful feeling. It was awesome! I was glad for the opportunity to do this. It was a special time for me and Rob and I am certain built his confidence and enabled us to strengthen our relationship as well. Awesome!!!

Busy, busy, busy...

Whew! Time flies!

Christmas is past and we are running full speed ahead into a new year. Already this month, we have lost yet another family member. Our dear, sweet, Aunt Afton passed away on the 8Th. (She is my Grandma Wanda's sister.) I recently learned that she had fallen and broke her hip in October and she just never recovered from it.

I had the pleasure of attending her grave side service in Nyssa, Oregon last Tuesday. It was very nice. I was also able to meet her daughter Jackie for the first time. It was a neat experience. Jackie is beautiful! She is older than I expected, but very nice. She seems like a very elite woman. I also got to meet her son Eric. He seems like a very nice individual; handsome and on top of things.

I've had a bit of tummy trouble in recent months. They are still trying to determine the cause of my woes. Tomorrow I go into the hospital for more rounds of tests. JOY!!! It is not a major big deal, just a colonoscopy. So, today I have to be on a special diet of tea, broth, jello, juice-YUCK! But, I have to do it. It is good that I am going in to have things checked out since my dad had colon cancer and pancreatic cancer. I just wish we didn't have to eat. It is such a pain! There are too many things to enjoy!

When I went to Idaho last week, I had the opportunity of visiting with my family. I especially enjoyed being with my sister, who took the day off work to spend time with me. We had so much fun! We laughed like a couple of high school girls, we did a little shopping, we cooked dinner together, took her daughter's to their activities, and laughed some more. We looked through photographs, talked about her missionary son and college attending daughter and her other children. The time went much too fast, but I greatly enjoyed the time we spent together. I was hoping we'd have more time together before I had to come home, but I hope we can do more together in the days ahead. I had such a nice time being with her.

I also had the privilege of helping my mom with some tasks around her house. I hung pictures for her, rearranged bedrooms and hung some more things, rearranged kitchen cabinets, swept and vacuumed, and visited with her. I wish I had spent a little more time visiting with her, but I was glad to help her get things taken care of that were bugging her for a while. It felt good to help.

I was able spend time with my brother too. We had him and his family over to mom's for sloppy Joe's and root beer floats. Later, we watched a video. He was in a music production in his Stake which consisted of 120 choir members. They did a nice production about Joseph Smith. It was a great tribute to him both in music and word. It was full of his personal history and songs that portrayed him, the man that "has done more for the salvation of man, save Jesus Christ, than any other man on this earth". (I put that in quotes because I need to go and look up who said that but don't want to take credit for those words myself.)

It was nice to visit with him and later spend time with his little girls. We had a sleepover that I am certain was much too late for them, but was fun nevertheless. The girls and my little ones after getting them bed down for the night, decided it would be fun to undo that plan. They made mountains out of all their pillows, blankets, and sleeping bags and then proceeded to jump onto them. The would run from the living room into the bedroom and jump on the pile. It was so much fun! Cute too! Then, they told stories, giggled, cried, and played some more. Just before midnight, we made up their beds and turned out the lights. No sooner than the lights went out, they were out too. Fun!

Though probably my brother was probably a little upset with me for keeping his girls up too late, it was nice to spend time with them too.

I also got to go out with my sister-in-law to a candle party, out to dinner, visit her grandma and sister, and gab a bit with her. It was nice to spend time with her and each of us vent. I was able to visit with her a couple of different times and days while there. It was nice to have a sounding board, but nice that I could be one too. You learn that we are all in similar situations in life; just at different stages. It is a good feeling to know that you are not alone.

I also had a chance to spend a few minutes with the sister missionaries that are living with my mom. They are some of the sweetest people I know. Their hearts are pure and spirits are strong. It was fun getting acquainted with them.

It was nice to get home to my own bed. When I got home, the house was trashed! There were dishes everywhere and it looked like a bomb went off in the family room and my daughter's bedroom. I still have yet to finish up the task of cleaning all that up. I tried "assembling the troops", but they did not "obey orders". They did not seem to like the consequence that were imposed, but I shouldn't have to clean up all that! I was still trying to get the house back together before I left from after Christmas! What a job! I also had piles of laundry to do. I made a good dent in that yesterday but there is still more to do and I also must clean MY room. When someone is coming over unexpected or otherwise, things inadvertently get tossed in my room to be dealt with later. Well, later doesn't come too often. Now my room looks like a bomb went off in it! At least I am spending time to blog today. :) Oh well. I guess my excuse today is to keep as far from the kitchen today as possible since I have to be on a special diet. Someone was right when they said that a diet is DIE with a T. This diet is yucky. Thankfully it is short term.

I better go. Hopefully it won't be so long until the next posting. Since I am new at this, I hope I'll quickly learn better how this works and be more consistent about it.

I hope my readers have a great day!

-TA!

STINK!!!!!

I started writing a post and my computer starting doing automatic updates and I lost a whole page full of blog! How frustrating! So, I guess I will try again tomorrow. I will get this stuff figured out one day.