First week of Spring?

Day 22- Cold Tangerines. It took me a while to read this book, but it is a must read. It's about the amazing things we find in our every day lives, if we look for them. It's inspiring and you can really relate to the writer, Shauna Niequist. She also wrote a book called, "Bittersweet" that follows this one. If you are looking for a great book recommendation, this is it. Oh, and she talks about delicious food all the time so it may make you hungry. Just warning you.

Day 23- Pizza Dough Hands. This is what I call Jason's hands. They are amazing. My back or feet or something is always hurting and his massages are the best. We figure its from kneading pizza dough all day. I joined Do Terra a while back and their essential oils are the very best. It is so therapeutic. One of my favorite oil blends is called "Deep Blue" and it smells wonderful and really relaxes me. Lavender also works great on restless kids at night. If you are interested in any essential oils you can link to my site from the blog or just talk to me. I love you Pizza Dough Hands!

Day 24- Just Relax. I felt like I needed some soothing music to listen to and so I got these today. I'm excited about the Healing Meditation one. They are all good so far. Music is powerful and I need all the help I can get to heal and relax.

Day 25- Grandpa. My dad is the best. My parents added time to their trip back from St. George to come visit us. We had dinner and then as always, Grandpa loves to play with the kids. He is always so much fun! I love the look on Aaron's face as Grandpa tosses him in the air. It is priceless. Thanks for being such awesome Grandparents! We love you guys!!!

Day 26- Temple with Friends. It's been a while since I've been to the temple and we got this trip put together at the last minute. It was so nice to be there. It was emotional for me and I made all the old ladies cry because 2 out of 3 asked when my baby was due and I had to tell them that it's not a baby at all. I wish I could figure out how to get the swelling to go down in my tummy. It is worrisome. We ate lunch in the cafeteria and had a great time. I am so blessed to have such amazing friends!

Day 27- Potato. We ate these huge baked potatoes for dinner and Davin started eating his like an apple. (gross) It was pretty funny. I've noticed the boys appetites are increasing quite a bit. It surprises me what they can eat at a meal. I think this is nothing compared to how they will be when they hit their teen years. Watch out!! I love Nathan's face mimicking Davin taking a bite. So funny!

Day 28- Spring Break? Well, it is officially spring. You wouldn't know it by the snow storm that came through last night. I guess it doesn't last long this time of year though. I hope I can keep these boys busy the entire week. We plan on going to Grandma's for part of it and hitting an indoor pool and aquarium just to break up the week. The boys love to jump on the trampoline and it gets out some much needed energy. Love Nathan's face on this one too. What a character. Hopefully we get some SUNSHINE soon. We are all so ready for spring.

Weekly Happenings

Day 15- Chores. We've tried to get the boys to do more chores around the house and have given them an allowance. This is one of the twins jobs. They love this motorized sweeper. I'm not sure if it really helps me or not. I think they may just have fun pushing crumbs around. At least they are learning to work- sort of.

Day 16- Chicken Soup for the Soul. We had a Relief Society dinner and the theme was Chicken Soup for the Soul. My friend Erin was in charge so she had me speak on the biggest trial of my life and how it has strengthened me. There were so many good speakers and it really was inspiring and makes you realize that we all have trials and that this is really the purpose of this life- to see what we become when we get through them.

Day 17- Leprechaun visits. The kids awoke to the leprechaun leaving a box of Lucky Charms and some green milk for St. Patrick's Day on our doorstep. They thought that was so much fun! Here is Nathan with his Lucky Charms and the little paper Leprechaun that sat on top of the box. He has a sign that says, "Top 'O the Mornin' to ya!" Sneaky little Leprechauns...

Day 18- Tulips. A sweet lady brought dinner for our family tonight and she brought these too. I just love fresh flowers in my home. I know they die, but they bring a piece of the outdoors inside and make it feel like it may really be spring.

Day 19- Scrapbook page. So... I am really behind on my scrapbooks. I have tried to do a page a week, but so far it hasn't happened. I got a page done today and was so proud of myself. This is from Aaron's book and he is, um, two. I have a lot of catching up to do!! It's something that I really want to do for my boys though.

Day 20- Pudding Cookies. My friend Ann makes these amazing chocolate chip cookies that have pudding in the recipe and Jason made them tonight. (Despite the fact I'm not supposed to have any sugar, darn him!) Here is Davin enjoying one of them. They were sooooo good! Jas is becoming quite the cookie expert since I don't make them anymore.

Day 21- Easter toes. My cute friend Steph came over today and cleaned my house and painted my toenails this fun Easter egg purple. It's always so fun to hang out with her. We always have something to laugh about! She is another of my angel friends. I don't know what I'd do without them. She totally brightened my day, and my toes!

Health Update:

I have started a new protocol that consists of lots of vitamins and nutrients and vitamin C. It tastes like orange flavored vomit just in case you were wondering. I am also supposed to adhere to a pretty strict diet of whole grains, vegetables and... well that's it. No dairy, no meat, no sugar. Ugh. I can add fruit back after a while but wow... it is hard. I'm not sure how I am going to subsist on a lettuce leaf and a kidney bean but... whatever. I will follow my gut and do what feels right for me. I feel okay but lack energy. My stomach hates me which is why I am scheduled for a colonoscopy soon. (Can't be more thrilled) I will also have an MRI on the same day and I am terrified for that. I guess it is what it is though and there's not much I can do about it. I am trying to stay positive and get lots of sunshine, because that makes everything better. I will continue to post updates here so look for more after the beginning of April.

Taken to Paradise

I was shocked to find out that our friend Jeff who my sister did the benefit concert for, passed away on Saturday, March 12th. It was just two weeks ago that I sat and talked with him while he drank his smoothie. He seemed to be doing so well and I was impressed with his energy to find a solution. My heart goes out to his wife and their children and his parents and siblings. I know that God is in charge of these things and that He has a purpose in it, but it just seems so unfair. I hope that Jeff is doing well and is so happy where he is. I hope that the angels take care of his sweet family. I hope that we can put aside greed and deception and find a cure for cancer, for real. Too many people are leaving too young. We will miss you, Jeff.

Week in Review

Day 8- Little Patriots. I had an appointment with a GI doctor today. My digestion is not working properly and I need answers. Well, to get answers I guess there must be lots of tests first. Now I have a colonoscopy and and MRI scheduled. Needless to say, I am terrified. I know lots of people want to know what everything is doing inside their body, but it just scares me. It brings up a whole slew of old emotions and fears that I get to deal with... again... and again. Anyway, on a lighter note, I hurried home and was able to watch the twins Patriotic program at the school. They did such a good job on their parts and we almost lost it when we saw little Collin's head hanging out of a hole for one of the Mt. Rushmore Presidents. It was so funny. Way to go, boys!

Day 9- Silence. Today wasn't the best day. I stayed in my pajamas and I did not want to talk to anyone. I hung this sign on my door and locked it, and ignored every phone call. It was so nice to have a day of complete silence. I'm sure all of us have had days like this where you just want to be left alone. I didn't want to explain anything or tell how my GI doctor visit went 300 times. I just wanted to be alone. I knew the next day would likely feel better, but today I just wanted to allow myself to feel bad and not have to make any excuses for it.

Day 10- Rain boots. Are these not the cutest thing you have ever seen? Nathan loves his new fireman rain boots. This way the kids can clomp around in the mud and then I can just hose off their boots, no ruined school shoes! The sunshine today definitely made a positive impact on my mood too.

Day 11- The Sun. You'd think we've never seen it before. It is only 50 some degrees and we are just about ready to get our swimsuits out. The winter has been especially long and cold this year so we are SO ready for spring. Here is my friend Kristi and I soaking up what rays we can get. Maybe next week we will have to get out the pina-coladas!

Day 12- Celebration. We celebrated one of our good friends birthdays and another friends Master's graduation with ice cream and brownies. The kids ran around the gym and pelted each other with balls. They have endless energy. Wish I had some more of that. We are so blessed to have such great friends here. Its always fun to get together. Way to go, Shane! Happy Birthday, Clint!

Day 13- Blessing. Jesse David was blessed today and it was such a fun day. He is so cute- and chubby! My sister is such a good mommy and has everything so organized and put together. We had a wonderful breakfast after the blessing and then spent the rest of the day hanging out with my family. I love relaxing, no agenda days like this. The kids went to the park with Grandpa and ran of limitless amounts of energy, again. We chatted and sat on the comfy couches and ate too many Cadbury mini eggs.

Day 14- Girl Scout cookie therapy. I have been waiting for these for weeks now... Girl Scout Cookies! Sometimes its the little things in life that bring little moments of joy. Chocolate usually does that for me. I think the Samoas are my favorite.

365 days

A friend of mine did a digital book of 365 days of random life and I loved it. I wanted to do it myself, but January 1st had already passed. I decided it was still worth doing, so I just started on March 1st instead. The idea is to take a picture each day of what you did, what you loved, what made you laugh, cry... you get the idea. It's been really fun so far. I don't know if I'll put it into a book or just blog it here, but I know it will be fun to look back on and remember the day-to-day things we did that make up our lives. Often times I think we get caught up in the celebrations and trips and forget to make a note of the every day things that make our lives, well, our lives.

Day 1- The first sign of spring. My tulips peeking up in my back yard make me happy and let me know winter can't go on much longer. I have even been able to sit on my deck and get some genuine vitamin D when the sun is out like this.

Day 2- My Bonko girls. These are the girls I play Bonko with each month. It was my month to plan it, but since I haven't' been feeling 100%, we opted to go out to dinner instead. It was so fun to visit and laugh. The scone with honey-butter was SO good too... until later that night when it punished me severely. I just can't eat like I used to anymore. I love these girls and that we can talk, laugh and understand each other.

Day 3- Reading time. I am so proud of my boys. They are all so smart! Here is Aaron reading to Jason. He is doing such a great job and all of them love to read and do math. How did that happen? I love to snuggle with them in bed and listen to them read to me.

Day 4- Angel Erika. When I say I have "angel friends", I truly mean it. So many of my friends do SO much for me. They bring meals, movies, books, tend my kids, and just pick me up on days I need it. I've had a few friends come over and clean my house. It is entirely humiliating to let them do it, but I am so grateful. They all say I'm banned from operating my vacuum. It weighs like 20 pounds, but hey, it works good. Here is Erika vacuuming my house. I told her she earned exaltation for cleaning my toilet.

Day 5- Food Storage. As with most of you, after Christmas my storage room looks like a bomb hit it. I just kind of chucked things in there to be dealt with later. Well, it was later. We bought a few items at Costco to add to our food storage. We have worked on it off and on for years so don't think I did this all in a day. It feels good to see everything in it's place and to know that if times get tough we will at least have some kidney beans and mac 'n cheese to eat. I was pretty proud of my efforts for the day.

Day 6- Marble Works. Saturdays and Sundays are always challenging days at our house because the boys are all together and seem to FIGHT all day long. Rare moments like these when all the boys are playing together in peace are so nice. They got this Marble Works from my mom a few years ago and love it. You can build the track in multiple ways and then race the marbles down the different contraptions to the finish line. Hours of entertainment, sigh.

Day 7- 1st Coconut. So you may think it's funny, but I have never opened a real coconut in my life. I started doing this bountiful baskets thing and they give you a large variety of fruits and vegetables to try. I had this image of the coconut being a sweet and tropical fruit. I was dreaming of the amazing pina-colada green smoothie I would make for my kids in the morning. As Jas clocked it with the hammer and pried the fruit open, I was surprised at how bland it was. And hard to chew. It was like chewing on bark. Not what I expected. I still made a delicious pina-colada with almond milk, spinach, frozen banana, pineapple, shredded coconut I had on hand, and ice. Yum! I doubt I will ever buy another coconut. Sorry tropical-looking, but not so sweet fruit.

Passion for the Possible

Jeff and Am

Collin and Aaron with their "alien" balloons

I was so incredibly proud of my sister Cassidy when I attended the benefit concert she spear-headed for a family friend of ours that is battling cancer. She was inspired by the softball tournament that was done for our family and wanted to do something. There were two live bands, a silent auction, raffle tickets, face painting and balloons for the kids and lots of delicious food I could only look at. I was in awe at all the work she had done and the generosity of so many people donating time and money. They had a really good turnout and raised a considerable amount of money to help broaden his treatment options.

I just wanted to be there and give our friend Jeff a big hug and talk to him. Cancer has really become a 4-letter word around here. It's nice to talk to someone who truly understands what you are going through. We laughed about all the crazy "voodoo" things you are willing to try when that ugly "C" word is before your face. He reminds me so much of myself when I was first diagnosed. He was drinking his smoothie and juicing and being so good to do his regimen. I am so tired of pills and drinks and juices and the things that look best to me are inherently evil for my body. (in other words, it's sugar, chocolate or deep fried).

I pray for him and his little family, he has young kids too, and told him not to forget who is in charge. The doctors only know so much, but the spirit and mind are powerful and you can either get swallowed up in the word "prognosis" or march on believing that anything is possible, because it is. We love you Jeff and Cindy and your family. Our prayers are with you and if anyone else can offer a pray for this family, it would sure help a lot.