Graduation Day!

It is official...Case has graduated from Pre-School. He has learned so much this year and we are grateful for the wonderful program he is in. He is excited about being in Pre-Kindergarten next year...which starts in seven weeks. We are so proud of our graduate. Happy graduation to Case!
A special thanks to Grandpa Chris for joining us for the big event. Case was thrilled to see you there.

Here are a few pics from Case's big day. Sorry about the pictures...it seems that our camera is not auto-focusing. eek

PS...A special "Shout Out" to my nieces Sarah and Kathryn for their high school graduations this week. Congrats Ladies!!!

Do you really need your Gallbladder???

Well, the answer to the question is no, but let me start at the beginning...

What a crazy few weeks that we have had. About 5 weeks ago, Wes began complaining of some very painful abdominal pains. Wes has a very high tolerance for pain and I was surprised to see him hardly able to stand it. He thought it would go away, but after a week we decided he should go to the doctor. I had read through our medical guide book and checked out his symptoms on the internet and told him I thought it was his gallbladder. When we couldn't get in to see our doctor (a huge annoyance), I suggested that he go to urgent care. When he agreed right away, I knew the pain was really bad.

Well, the brilliant medical professional at urgent care diagnosed him with a bacterial infection and gave him some pain meds and antibiotics and sent him on his way. Well, the problem never went away, and kept getting worse every time he ate.

Then the jaundice set in. How creepy is that to see. Wes's skin was totally yellow and his eyes pretty much would glow in the dark. Jaundice is another symptom of gallbladder problems. So, the next doctors appt was at the Gastroentinologist, where when given all of the symptoms and made aware of our recent trip to Peru, diagnosed Wes with Hepatitis A which could last for 6-9 months. Eek. Well after a full blood scan, they found no sign of any Hepatitis and with a CT scan they said they could not see anything wrong and that he was a mystery. Not really what we wanted to hear. But then wonderful Dr. Foutch looked at the CT scan and noticed a very large stone blocking his bile duct. Most people come in thinking they are dying with a 3-4 millimeter stone and the one Wes had was measuring over 6 millimeters. They could not believe he was standing. They scheduled him for the next day to take it out and they also wanted the gallbladder that produced the stone removed...ha, I knew it!

So, on Wednesday they did an out patient procedure where the stuck a tube and a camera down his throat, through his stomach and into the duct to remove the offending stone. This is a picture of the actual stone in his bile duct. While there, Dr. Foutch asked Wes when his appointment was to have his gallbladder removed. When Wes told him that he was doing that the next week because he was going on a camping/quad trip with his buddies over the weekend, the doctor gave him a look and said...you are not going anywhere. Wes was very sad, because it was the annual trip with his high school buddies and they had been planning it for a year. Plus he was the driver, and felt responsible to be there. But that was vetoed by the doctor and so he had his gallbladder removed by Dr. Rula that night at 1:00 am. It was a very long day for him and for me. Thank you to Christy for watching my kids all day, to Travis for watching my kids all night and to Travis and Stacy for watching the kids the next night so I could go see Wes.

I brought Wes home on Friday afternoon and he is doing great. He is very sore and will not even look at the five holes in his body, but he is enjoying the good drugs and doing too much already. We are hoping that his recovery is quick so we can be prepared for Case's tonsil and adenoid removal on the 29th. After that, I don't want to see a hospital for a long time...if ever!

Girls Weekend vs Boys Weekend

Last weekend was totally split between boys vs girls.
Wes took Case camping and they had a great time. They went to our wards "Father's and Son's camp out where Case loved hanging out with all of the other boys and Wes enjoyed chatting with the men. Someone found a knife and Bishop was having all the boys toss it at a tree. They went in order from the oldest boy to the youngest boy (which was Case). With a little luck, Case was the only one who tossed it and got it to stick in the tree. Evidently he turned to Bishop afterwards and said to him..."I told you I could do it". That's my boy! The next morning they met up with a friend and his two sons and went for a ride on their quads for a few hours. They came home filthy and smelly with smiles on their faces.
Madison and I had a completely different weekend. I went and rented three "chick flicks". These are no fun to watch with Wes, because he makes comments throughout the movie about how dumb they are...which is true, so it totally ruins the whole move. When I watch them without him, I look over all the dumb stuff and just enjoy the movie. I made myself an artichoke for dinner. I love them, but I am not sure I could even get Wes to try one. I made a simple lemon butter sauce for dipping and I was in heaven. This was followed by me watching all three movies in a row while Madi played with Mr. Potato Head and then she fell asleep on the couch next to me. The next morning we got up and got ready and headed for the mall. We did a little window shopping, looked at the puppies and bought a book for Case at the bookstore. I then got a salad at Paradise Bakery and it was yummy. Madi fell asleep on the way home so I just finished up some things around the house. Then when the boys got home, I went and got a manicure. Happy Mother's Day to me.
All of us had a great weekend, but I would pick a girls weekend any day.

Mothers Day

Here is a small tribute to all of the Mothers in my life:

First of all there is my Mom...she is the best Mom in the world.
Thank you Mom for all you have done and all you continue to do for me. I have learned so much from you and continue to ask for your advise on an almost daily basis.
Thank you for taking me to the zoo so much when I was little. I still love to go to the zoo.
Thank you for drawing the alphabet on my face and whispering the letters into my ear to help me to fall asleep...I do that to Case and he loves it.
Thank you for stressing the importance of a good education.
Thank you for helping me with my math homework...oh wait...that was me helping you. oops
Thank you for showing me how to serve others.
Thank you for teaching me how to cook and clean.
Thank you for taking me to church every Sunday and sharing your testimony with me.
Thank you for showing me how to be patient and how to get through the hard times with a smile.
Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful qualities and talents...there are just to many to name.
Thank you for teaching me that I can do anything.
Thank you for teaching me the the most important job is Mother.
Thank you for being such a great Grandmother and loving my kids!
I could go on and on, but I guess I just want to say thank you for the unconditional love you have always given me and for being my Mom and my friend...I love you!

Secondly there is my Mother-in-Law, Verna...I couldn't ask for a better Mother-in-Law
I hear from so many of my friends about their crazy Mother-in_Laws and it just makes me even more greatful for Verna. I actually consider her to be one of my good friends. I love to do things with her. We have done everything from trudging through the mud in the jungles of Peru to spending a day at the spa together...and I've loved every minute of it. I am so greatful to have a Mother-in-Law that I really like to be around. Thank you for being my friend and of course for being such a great Mom to Wes...He thinks you are the perfect Mom and always says wonderful things about you. You are an amazing Mom and Grandma. We all love you very much.

Last but not least is my sister Shari.
Shari is only two years older than me, but she has always taken care of me and has often times thought of herself as my Mother. I never really minded unless she got too bossy, but she has always been there to answer even the silliest of questions. She is the best Mom...what a great example to me. She is the best friend I could ask for. I love that we talk multiple times a day and we live so far apart...I can hardly make it through the day without her. Again I could go on and on, but Shari...You Light Up My Life. ha ha

Happy Mothers Day to the best Mom's in the world...I love you all!

Security

I've decided to add some security to our blog. If it was just me, I wouldn't care, but I can't take any risks with my kids. So...next week I am going to change the blog so that you have to be invited to read it. I can't think of anyone that I would not let read it, but I just want to keep the creeps away. Please add a comment here or send a quick email to my address above and I will invite you when I make the change. Thanks!

Back to Blogging

Well, it has been over a month since my last blog...and all I can say is I warned you that I am not always consistent on things. It started when I missed about a week and then got too overwhelmed to blog. There were to many things I missed blogging about and I did not know how to put it all in. But after some friendly advice from a master blogger friend of mine, I am starting over. This last month has been filled with family fun, friend fun and some pure insanity, but we will just have to move on.

My biggest project that I have been working on lately is our food supply. We have be counseled for years and years from our church leaders to get our year supply of food and I always came up with one excuse after another to start tomorrow. Well, finally Wes and I have decided that tomorrow is now and we really need to get it together. With a slowing economy, food shortages and gas prices soaring, who knows when we may need to rely on our food storage.

Wes has put together a wonderful 72 hour kit for our family and I am working on a 90 day supply of food. We can work up to a year but for now we are concentrating on 90 days. So I have been checking the weekly ads and sales and have been trying to stock up on things that we would usually eat at a good price.

However, the craziest part of it is that I have been obsessed with my pressure canner. Wes's parents got me one for Christmas and it is now well broken in. I have been getting good deals on meat and have canned (jarred) chicken, hamburger and roast...plus some pinto beans. We have tried all of them and they are fabulous. They should last at least two years on the shelf and since we like them they should be easy to rotate. It does look a little strange on the shelf, but it is actually very nice to just grab a jar, add a few ingredients and warm it up. You can have a great dinner in no time. I know there are tons of doubters out there, but we are pretty particular eaters and if we like it, I am sure you would too. We are down to our last jar of chicken, but I noticed that there is a great sale at Spouts this week on fresh chicken, so I'm thinking I might have to go and get some. Insane obsession I know, but don't come crying to me when all you are eating is wheat and beans. ha ha

It is a nice quiet day today...Case spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa Lueck and is still with them, Madi is down for a nap and I have actually cleaned my house pretty well. I saved bathrooms and floors for last because I hate to clean them. But I guess I should get on it.

I promise to try to be more consistent with the blog and I will add pictures of the kids next time. They are so adorable. Happy Wednesday!