Growing Up

The kids are growing up so fast. Sometimes I just can't stand it.
Case gave his first talk in primary today. The topic was temples.
Here it is:
The temple is a beautiful place.
When I am older, I will go to the temple.
I will receive special blessings and make promises.
After I go to the temple for myself, I will go for people who have died.
I will help them receive their temple blessings.
Someday I will be married in the temple.
The temple is a blessing for my family and me.
That was it, short and simple. We went over it multiple times throughout the week, and he pretty much had it memorized. He just needed a little help with the beginning of each sentence and then he knew what to say. He spoke loud and clear and did a great job! Way to go Case!
It is great to see the kids grow up and start something new or achieve something.

We Love to Read

It will be very rare for me to post twice in one day, but I could not help it today.

We love to read books. Multiple time throughout the day the kids go and pick out books to read and we read them all together. These are some of my favorite times of the day.

While I was looking up stuff on the computer, I decided that I better check in on the kids because they were being too quiet. How happy was I when I looked into our family room and saw this site. Case reading a book to Madison. I don't take as much time as I would like to read for myself, but I hope I instill a love of reading for my kids.

Case Quotes

Case just cracks us up. He says the funniest things. Lately it has been during his night time prayers. Here are a few of them just from this last few days.
During Prayer: "Please bless Mommy not to take me to the Doctor anymore."
During Prayer: "I am thankful for Mommy making us the best dinner in all the land."
Coming into our room in the middle of the night: "Can I sleep with you? I am just not used to my bed anymore."
I will add more quotes as they come...he just makes me laugh.

Fun in the Sun

A big debate in our little family has been pool or no pool. Wes didn't want one because he was the "pool boy" growing up and does not want to do the maintenance. I have not wanted one because I have a huge fear of someone drowning in our pool. So, we have both been in agreement that there will be no pool for us.

Last summer we decided to put Case in swimming lessons. That was a horrible experience. He was very afraid of the water and would just sit on the side and cry. There were other kids his age that would just jump in with no fear. I figured out that they had pools at home and were used to it. To Case it was something new and scary. That is when we first started warming up to the pool idea.

A few weeks ago, our ward started a water aerobics and "mommy and me" class. We switch off pools of some of the sisters in our ward and do it twice a week. I didn't really want to do it because of my fear of swimsuits, but was talked into it. The first week was when all of Case's medical drama was going on, so I could not go. The next week I tried it. I loved it. I got some much needed exercise and I got to bring Madi in with me for the second part. She definitely has no fear.

Yesterday after water aerobics, most of the ladies were going over to another house for a swim party for the achievement day girls and their families. They tried to talk me into going, but we are about 8 years away from that and I didn't want to crash the party. Well, since we were down to only one car yesterday and I was getting a ride home, I was "told" that I was going. ha ha. (Thanks Christy!) Well, we had a great time! Tammy lent us some life vests for the kids (Thanks Tammy!) and that made all of the difference. Madison went right in, but it took some strong arming to get Case to go in. Once he did, it only took him about 30 seconds to just love it. The life vest made him feel so much more confident and the fear left. By the end of the day, he was jumping in from the side and even went down the slide a few times. Thanks Tammy for helping with him! It was great to spend time in the water and see my kids having so much fun. I had fun too!

Needless to say, I am hooked. We will definitely put in a pool in our next house, if we can ever get this one to sell!

Thank you Izabel for taking these pictures.

Happy Father's Day!

Father's day is always kind of bitter sweet for me.
I have a great Dad whom I love very much, but he passed away 15 1/2 years ago. I think of him every day and miss him very much. I am grateful to know that he loved me very much and that he knew how much I loved him. He was not only my Dad, but my friend. He was funny and laid back, a successful business man and well respected. I could go on and on, but it always makes me tear up and I am not up for that right now. I am sad to think that I may be forgetting some things about him, and want to make sure my kids know what a great man he was. I know he is pulling for me and watching out for me. I love you Daddy!
My Mom remarried about 5 years after my Dad died. Thank you Paul for being such a great companion for my Mom. You are a great husband, father figure and grandfather. We all love you very much!
I am so lucky that my father-in-law is wonderful too. He raised a great son who also loves and respects his Dad. Thank you for all of your great advice and for always making me laugh. You are a great Dad, father-in-law and Grandpa!
Last but not least is my husband Wes. He is the best Dad that I know. He loves out kids so much and loves to spend time with them. When Wes gets home from work it is all about hanging out with Dad. He is much more fun than me, is tons better at discipline and teaches our kids so much. He is a great example to our kids and gives them great experiences. Wes thanks for being the #1 Dad!
Happy Father's Day...I love you all!

Yuck, Yuck, Yuck

Why do I say "yuck"? Well, that is the best way to describe the last week. Case had bleed out #2. He fell back to sleep and I heard him mumbling about a half and hour later and asked him what he was doing. He told me he was talking to Jesus. At first I thought this was so sweet, and then I kinda started to panic so I woke up Wes and asked him to give Case a blessing. Eek.
The next morning when I took him to the doctor , he was mad that we didn't take him to the ER right when it happened. I told him that the doctor on call told us not to, but he was still pretty frustrated with the whole situation and I felt like a terrible mother. So, I had to take Case to get some blood work done which was not a great experience. After that, Case told me that he does not want to ever go to the doctor again and that they hurt him. Again, I felt terrible. Case's blood levels are extremely low and he is borderline anemic. We may have to start him on iron supplements in a few weeks.
Two nights later, Case began throwing up in the middle of the night. I was happy that this time is was regular vomit and not blood. Madison had been sick earlier in the week, so he must have caught that illness. I called his Pediatrician, and they thought that I should bring him in. I did and she noticed how lethargic he was and had me take him to the hospital to get another blood test. Not again! Well, his levels were about the same as before so that was good that they did not go down.
We have not been to any doctors or hospitals for two days, so that is a little blessing. We are hoping to avoid these places for quite a while. We are plugging along and all is well, but we don't want to repeat the last few weeks ever again!

Trauma and T-Ball

Last night was terrible! We put the kids to bed and about a half an hour later Case started to cry loudly. Wes went in to check on him and there was blood (a lot of blood) all over my bed. (Case has been sleeping with me since the surgery so I can watch him and Wes has been in the guest room) He then spit up blood again in the "potty". Wes called me in to help. We did not know what to do because the doctor had warned me about having a "bleed out" after having his tonsils removed. This is very rare, but can be extremely dangerous and they need to go to the emergency room right away. I wanted Wes to take him to the ER. The bleeding stopped quickly and Case actually fell back to sleep with in minutes. So, Wes called and spoke with the doctor on call. He was very nice and said that Case probably lost one of his scabs while he was sleeping and it bled for a while which upset his stomach and made him spit it up. Because it stopped so fast it was probably not a bleed out and to let him sleep and then wake him up in three hours to check him. Which we did and he is fine, but that was very gross and very scarry! EEK

Today was Case's last day of T-Ball. We were not sure he would be able to play, but he woke up this morning feeling great, so we let him. You really don't exert too much energy in T-Ball, so we figured it was okay. He got a troply and I was the snack mom of the day and brought baseball cookies to celebrate. Congrats to Case! Here are a few pics.

Recommendations

Okay all of you Chandler area folk...I need a recommendation for a good carpet cleaning company. I am also looking for discount tickets to Lego Land. Any suggestions?

Last Week

Well, last week started off fun. Monday was Memorial Day and we had Wes's parents and brother over for a barbecue. My Mom and Paul were on their way back from a graduation trip and so we got to see them for a little bit too. It was a nice day with pretty good food I must say. We sure do enjoy spending time with family.
Wes is starting to feel better and the doctor told him he can eat and do anything he wants. He just needs to ease back into it. He did over do it by trimming trees and bushes in our yard on Satruday. He took a whole load to the dump. He is paying for it now, because his incisions are a bit sore. Our big event of the week was on Thursday when we headed back up to Banner Desert Hospital for Case's adenoids and tonsils to be removed. He really needed it done. On a scale of 1-4 (a 1 is where you can't see the tonsils and a 4 is where they are touching), his were almost a 4. His snoring was terrible and he had sleep appnia. The doctor said it is almost like not sleeping because he was not getting any rest. Case was so brave that I think he did better than me. I faked it pretty well, but it was hard to let him go with the nurse, knowing that they were going to put him under and then afterwards he would be in pain.
When we got to go see him in recovery, he was still a bit doped up. He would answer our questions, but really just stare off at nothing. Then a little boy around 7 or 8 came out and he was just wailing. Case asked..."Why is that boy crying". I was so happy that it was not him. He just did so well. We came home and our biggest challenge is getting him to take his medicine and drink liquids. He likes the antibiotic, but hates the flavor of the tylenol with codine. But a little miracle happened this morning. He got up and asked for something to drink and then a few minutes later asked for his medicine. He took it willingly. He must have figured out how much it makes him feel better. Case should have a sore throat for another week or so and then be back to normal. His is a little swollen and talks a bit funny for now, but that will go away. I don't plan on setting foot in a hospital for a long time now.
I ended the week with teaching Relief Society on Sunday. It is not my favorite thing to do and beside the fact that I left my lesson outline at home, I think it went pretty well. It is true what they say...the teacher definitely learns the most.
Here are a few pics of the kiddos', cute as ever!