I made a yummy salad to take to work for lunch today but I forgot a fork. So I guess it is a good thing no one is here to watch me eat it! Haha... . It snowed this weekend and the kids got to build a snowman. I was as tall as Sarah and they pretty much used all the snow from the front and back yard. Dustin was out there in shorts and flip flops! Crazy kids! Sarah was the last one in. She had to finish her snowman. The boys only lasted about 20 min. It is all melted now. Bummer.
I am still working on Sarah's quilt. I am hoping to get it the rest of the way tied tonight and pin it for binding tomorrow. We are planning on leaving here Friday to head up north around 1:00. Hopefully that gives us enough time to make it to the party. C-ya all then.

Everything has been so depressing lately and it just seems to never get any better until an angel comes and rings your door bell at 10 at night and then flies away before you can get to the door. We were blessed with such an angel last night. Everyone was in bed and Troy and I were in our room getting ready for bed when our door bell rang. It took me a minute to answer because I had to find my bathrobe. When I got there they were gone and there was a small package on the door step. I brought it in and thought to myself.....do I open it? ....or maybe place it under the tree?.....should I wait until morning and let the kids open it?.......I brought it to my room and asked Troy what he thought. He said OPEN IT! So I did. There was a beautiful card with Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus on the front and on the inside it simply said, "You are loved!" Hum I thought to myself....who left this?.....next I opened the small box and to our surprise there was three $100 dollar bills inside! I broke out in tears and immediately went to my bedside and thanked Heavenly Father for sending this angel and asked him to bless whom ever it was that had left us this gift.
I have so much to be thankful for. I am so blessed in so many ways. Thank you Angel, thank you!!! I just can't say it enough. God bless you!

So yesterday wasn't so fun when I came home from work.... Cameron and Dustin had gotten into Troy's new contacts and solution. They managed to ruin four sets of contacts and pour out part of the cleaning solution before they got bored or something. Needless to say Troy was not very happy. So they are pretty much grounded for a while. No T.V. or video games. No playing with friends or riding bikes. No going swimming with Kevin and Alisha tomorrow. Bummer for them.
Needless to say we are buying a doorknob with a lock so when we aren't home nobody can get in our room!!
Sarah's bed also broke right under Alisha. Troy glued it last night but I don't know if it will hold together. So for now Alisha is sleeping on the floor on a mattress. Not the most comfortable place to be.

What next............

Yesterday was so nice. I came home from work and the house was clean, dishes were mostly done :) and dinner was cooking!!! THANK YOU !!!!!! I know everyone pitched in and helped. It really made my day. I am so glad it is Wednesday. I have so many things to do this weekend I want it to get here fast so I can get everything done. Christmas is creeping closer and closer. The kids of course are very excited. I am not sure when we will get to go up north because I have to work until 4:00 on Friday the 18th but we will get there eventually......I am hoping I will get off early but I won't know until that day what the schedule will look like. Dr. Allen is a great guy to work for. He is super nice and very easy going. So work is going good. I am getting better every day. Hopefully I will get a raise in February :)

TTFN

Troy's Grandpa Merrill gave us tickets to see the Handel's Messiah music performance last night. It was really good. They had some very good singers. Sarah's favorite was a girl who sung soprano. She was very good and very high pitched! It was nice to see a live performance that was wholesome and centered around the life and teachings of Christ. It's not every day you get to enjoy something like that. Although maybe it should be.........just a thought. :)

Things have been so crazy since I started working. I have no time for anything! I am enjoying my job though don't get me wrong. We have been cooking alot lately and that has been fun. I have found some really yummy recipes online that we have been trying. Some good some not so good. I found one that is a pizza casserole that the kids went nuts over. And who would have guessed my kids like cabbage.?. Well they do. I made a soup from a dry soup mix starter and it had cabbage, celery and carrots that I added. They all loved it. Of course I think the alphabet noodles helped a little.
Sarah made a slide show of all the pictures she has taken of her rat, Abagale, and put music to it. It is so cute! She is a very good photographer!!! I am sure she will bring it to the Christmas party for everyone's viewing pleasure. She is so funny!!!
I have two quilts done, one pined and one still in the bag. Next weekend!!!!! Big plans!!!!

We had a great Halloween. The kids got a ton of candy!!!! I can hardly believe it is almost gone!!! O'well the faster it goes away the less tempting it will be, right. :) I remember as a kid bringing handfuls of candy to school and the kids haven't done that (that I know of). Kinda funny. We have our Halloween decor down and our Thanksgiving decor up. I want to put our Christmas tree up but Troy voted not to. :( I guess I can wait a few more weeks.

Today has been pretty fun. Dustin and I went to the elementary school and helped in Jimmy and Cameron's classes. They had their Halloween parties. Lots of junk food and crafty things. I was pretty tired after. Dustin was on a sugar high though. Then at 2:00 we picked up Sarah and went over to the high school and trick or treated through the halls. It was pretty cool. For some reason Jimmy is being a butt this year and wont dress up. I did get him into a costume before we left to go to the high school but be wouldn't get out of the car when we got there. So there he stayed :( I guess he is just to cool for Halloween. Of course he is not to cool to mooch candy off his younger brothers when we all got home. I told them not to share but they are nicer than me because they did anyway.
I am trying to talk Troy into taking us to the dog park so the dogs can burn off some of their energy. But he just got home from work and is pretty tired. Maybe later........

Okay so our new dogie, Sadie, needed a hair cut. So being the cheapo I am I decided to "groom" her myself. She did great, me not so much. I got her half way done and decided I needed a break. It took me 1 hour to get this much done. You can't see from the picture but the other side of her back is still fluffy. I got her back legs, belly and one side of her back done. YEAH ME. Poor her.

Today is my birthday!!!! I am 32 years old! I am having a pretty good day so far. Troy sang happy birthday to me this morning and Sarah crawled in bed with me after Troy went to work and said happy birthday with her fabulous morning breath. :)

Sarah told me yesterday I needed to update my blog because it had a fourth of July background. So this is for her. I feel like I haven't posted in forever. I have been taking classes online and that has consumed alot of my time. The rest of my time goes to cooking and cleaning and being a wife and mom. PHEW......no wonder I am tired all the time!!! O'well it is worth it!!!

We have a new dog to. This one is actually staying. haha. Troy found her while we were in Salt Lake a few weekends ago. She is pretty cute but alot of work. She can't stand to be alone so night time is extremely hard for her. We are also having to housebreak her. Not fun, but she is doing pretty good thanks to Daisy. She has showed her the ropes and what to do when outside and all that good stuff. She must still be in mother dog mode because she disciplines the puppy when she gets to rowdy. Kinda funny. The new puppy is a Lahsa apso. We named her Sadie. I gave her half a hair cut yesterday so she is looking super funny. Poor dog. Hopefully I can finish it today.

Well Cameron finally lost his first tooth. He has been wiggling it for several days and really wanted to loose it at school but it didn't happen. Friday after school he kept asking me to pull it out for him so I would sit and wiggle it for a while (until he made me stop). Then we made a deal. I told him if he lost his tooth today I would buy him some ice cream. He thought about it for a while and finally Friday evening he came up to me and told me to pull his tooth out. It was pretty easy. I grabbed hold of it and twisted a little and it came right out. He really didn't even care. Then he went an announced to Troy that we had to take him right now and get some ice cream! We took him to Lin's and let him choose what he wanted and he ended up getting stuff for root beer floats. He also made sure he had the biggest serving because it was because of him that everyone got to have a root beer float! Pretty exciting I know!

Piggy Babies!!!!

Our pig finally popped! She had four little pigs this morning when I checked on her. She must have had them in the middle of the night because they weren't there when we went to bed last night either. I have to say they are the CUTEST pigs I have ever seen!!! They all have crazy hair and cool colors. They are so small to! I can't believe she had four. Well I can because she was SO huge. Poor thing :( Four must be our lucky number this time around. The kids were excited they all said, "Now we can each hold a puppy and a pig." It was so cute.

The puppies are doing good also. Their eyes are starting to open and the kids have been able to start holding them. They are two and a half weeks old now. I need to post new pictures of them they have grown so much and are getting cuter and cuter. Daisy seems alot happier to.

We survived the first day of school! They all had a blast! No tears! They all came home and talked my ears off :) Sarah did have a slight incident but everything turned out fine. She miss understood that I would pick her up after school and got onto a bus. I was totally frantic after about 20 min of sitting at the school waiting for her. I drove back home to see if she had walked and she wasn't there. I called Troy and told him what was going on and he suggested to just go back to the school. So I did. i was headed into the school to look for her and my cell phone rang. It was Sarah on the bus drivers cell phone. She was at Dixie High School, which is about 10-15 min from our house! I had a holly come apart! I went and picked her up and drove back to the school and talked to them about the confusion. Apparently I wasn't the only one who had the problem. There were a few other parents in the office looking for their kids also. SCARY!! But for the most part she had an awesome day. I am so happy they are all happy with their teachers. They all looked so cute in their new clothes and backpacks :)

Sarah got a cute new haircut for school.

Puppies

Well we have our puppies!!! Daisy had FOUR healthy puppies this morning. We have two boys and two girls. They are so cute. The colors are not what we expected but I think they are cute anyway :) The dad was red with a white patch on his chest. None of the puppies are red but both girls have the white patch on there chests. We have one dark brown male, one black and tan male, one female that's darker brown with a white stripe on the chest and one female that is light brown with a white stripe on her chest. Daisy is doing so good and being a great mama. She seemed to have had alot easier time with this litter than any of the other ones. Which is good :)

We took the kids to the splash pad Saturday. They needed something to cool them off. It was lots of fun. We went at about 7:00 at night and by about 8 it was nice enough outside to actually breath. The kids ran and splashed and layed in the waterfalls. It is a cool place to play. They have water that sprays up in a circular design and then in another area there is a "river" with rocks to climb on and waterfalls to lay under. Troy and I even got a little wet :)

Well we are back in St. George and holy cow it is so hot!!!! I got out of the car and thought I was going to melt!!!! We have got most everything unpacked and are trying to get it arranged how we want it.
This evening after dinner the three boys pulled out some paint and paper and Dustin said,"Mom I need to do some painting." It was so cute! I miss being at moms house and just being able to go into the craft room and paint and work on my journal any time I wanted to. I miss everyone so much. It was nice to be so close that we could just get together at the spur of the moment.

I will try and post some pictures of the house and give everyone a virtual tour!!! It is a pretty nice house with plenty of room and a big back yard. But the nicest thing is that it is right next to the elementary school so the kids can just walk down three houses and go play on the playground. The neighbors are super friendly to. We have had so many people over at the house! I have never had so many people knock on my door ever. It is very nice!!!! Cookies, bread and limeade are good treats!

Daisy and the guinea pig are both getting fat. The pig has about 3 weeks left and Daisy has about 4 weeks left. We will have animals for every kid in the neighborhood!!!!!

Everyone is feeling better. Hope fully we are on the mend and wont have any more sickness. All I hear now is an occasional cough. Which is great!
The weather has finally perked up so we can be outside for a change! It has been really nice to go and play on the soft green grass and not have to worry where the kids are and who they are bugging!
Troy is really missing us so we will probably be going back to HOT St. George in a few more weeks. I think I can hold him off until the fourth of July:)
Sarah is getting restless for school to start. She is very anxious about starting a new school. I think she will do great but she has her doubts.
It will be just Dustin and me at home all day when school starts back up. That will be kinda weird but kinda nice.

This is not what we feel like !!!!!!

I took Cameron in to the doctor last Sunday because he was coughing uncontrollably and had a hard time breathing. They gave me some medicine to help him with his breathing and sent us on our way. Then throughout this week we all got sick with stuffed noses and coughing. Sarah started in with a fever for two days but she is feeling much better now. Jimmy and Dustin both just have stuffed noses and are coughing. Same with me. Cameron, who started the whole thing, got a little better with the medicine the doctor gave him and then Friday he started getting a fever. He has had a fever since then so this afternoon I took him back in to the doctor and they tested him for the flu virus. He tested positive for swine flu!!! So now we are all under quarantine for a week. They told me it could spread by him coughing on us or not washing our hands and his. So I am trying to keep it as sterile as possible. I have Lysol, hand sanitizer and antibacterial soap to bath with and wash our hands with. It really sucks being sick and trying to take care of other people that are sick.

So please do not come and visit us for at least a week!!! Unless you want to get sick!!!!

Mom is thrilled..........by the way!:(

We spent some time with Aunt Teresa and her family swimming and playing with the goats and chickens. The kids went swimming with there cousins, Amanda, Whitney, Ethan and Amy. They had so much fun and used up alot of energy!!! We had a barbecue in her backyard and the kids ran and played in the yard and playhouse while we sat and visited with each other. Then of course we had to venture out and visit the goats and chickens! The kids loved it! Dustin right away caught a chicken and not a few seconds later he had another one. One in each arm!! He was so funny!! Cameron and Jimmy on the other hand could not catch them and had to have Dustin's help. Sarah and Cameron walked the baby goats on a leash around the yard and thought that was pretty cool!

Dustin

Cameron

Jimmy

Dustin and Sarah

Sarah is moving on to a new phase of school. No more elementary!! She will go to an intermediate school next year. It is for 6th and 7th graders only. She is very excited to say the least!!! She is growing up so fast!! For those of you who talk to her you know what I mean. She is a very amazing girl and I am so proud of her and the choices she is making in her life. She has a very special and strong spirit and I know she will do great things in her life. She is such a good example of love and service to everyone in our family. I love her so much!!! I couldn't make it without her!!! I thank Father in Heaven for letting us have her in our family!

Sarah and Mrs. Bringhurst

Solome and Sarah

Best Friends!!

Here is an awesome picture of my scar from surgery. Where there are no sterry strips that is part of the scar from the first surgery and the rest is from the second one. They did have to recut some of the old scar for the second surgery so that part is more tender than the rest. We measured it and it is 6 inches long. WOW!!!!! But for the most part I am doing really good. Walking and doing a little more every day. Kirsten is here and we had cake for her birthday yesterday. She is so funny!!!! She cooked us spaghetti one night and couldn't figure out how to use the electric can opener. And then she was serving up dinner she put some on my plate and asked if I wanted more. I told her yes so she was trying to scoop more but every time she scooped could only get four or five noodles on the scoop. I was laughing so hard! Mabye you had to be here but I thought it was funny!!!

Daisy thinks she is a cat!!!!

Everything is going great! Mom and Michele have been great help and doing awesome. We have been visiting a lot and doing a few little craft projects with the kids. I am excited to see Kirsten and Missy on Tuesday. I hope Troy doesn't drive her nuts to fast. I haven't been doing to much. Just trying to walk a little every day and take it easy on the couch or in my comfy chair. It is getting pretty hot down here. I think it was in the 90's today. Hot Hot Hot!!!!!
I hope everyone had a great mother's day! I did! I got a new set of sheets. Two pillows, shams and comforter that all coordinate. I will take a picture and post it when it gets made.

Happy Mother's Day!!!!!!!

I am sure you have all heard by now that I had a little accident Saturday. But I can tell you my side of the story at least so here it goes..... I slept in Saturday morning and Mom and Michele called to see if they were needed right away or if they could go get Michele a hair cut. So I told them we were all fine for a while. I was still in bed, the kids were in watching t.v. and Troy was around the house doing I am not sure what. About five minutes later Troy came in and asked me if I wanted something for breakfast. He brought me in a yogurt and I laid in bed and ate it. Then a few more minutes later I decided to get up and go see the kids in the family room. So I sat up and grabbed my trust old walker and off I went down the hall to say good morning to everyone. It was about 9:30 by now. I sat in a very comfortable kitchen chair that we borrowed from Great Grandpa and Grandma Merrill. I sat there for probable 15 min then decided I was going to get in the shower. I called for Troy and off we went back down the hall and he set up the bathroom for me to take a shower. Towel on the floor so I wouldn't slip and one hanging up for me to dry off with. Then he started the water. I got in and washed my hair and then my face. Then my ears started to ring and I knew from experience that was not a good sign so I sat down on the bench in the shower and called for Troy to come in. He came in and started to talk to me and I just told him I was going to pass out and I wanted to get on the bed. So he started to help me out of the shower and I just got weaker and weaker, so then we went to the floor. I don't recall much of what happened in between that point and actually getting on the bed but I do remember yelling at Troy to get me off the floor because I was sitting with my feet under my butt and it was hurting the muscles in my thighs really bad so he picked me up and then I woke up on the bed with a blanket over me and Troy on the phone with the 911 operator. Seconds after that an ambulance pulled up and I could hear the kids yelling,"its here, its here". The two EMTs came in and started taking my vital signs and then I got a nightgown put on me and carried to the gurney that was in my family room. Then they rolled me out to the ambulance and my neighbor poked her head in and asked if we were all right and then started talking to mom. We went to the hospital and were checked in at about 10:30 am and didn't leave until about
5:00 pm. It was a very long day but they did take x-rays of my back and my surgeon came in and looked at them and said nothing looked out of place. So that was good news. They also drew blood and found I am very anemic and have very low blood pressure. The combination of those two things and the warm water is what made me pass out. I am doing fine now and am taking it very easy. My right leg has some muscle pain in it from the position I went down on it when I passed out. But other than that I am doing good. My two moms and making sure I don't move a muscle without assistance and I have also received a few threats of butt kicking if I do anything to injure myself again. So with that all said(if you got this far) I am on the road to recovery and will take it a little more easy from now on.

Here are some fun pictures of the kids at Disneyland this year!

Cameron, Dustin, Shayah, Keegan, Jimmy and Sarah

Cameron, Jimmy, Dustin and Sarah
Dustin, Jimmy, Sarah and Cameron

I had lots of fun at Disneyland taking pictures of the kids and the kids had lots of fun riding all the rides with cousins, aunts, uncles and of course grandpa and grandma.

I am sort of reluctant to post this but everyone will find out eventually anyway. As you know I had a cat scan upon my doctors request because I have been having major leg pain in my right leg. Well he called me today and told me he looked over the results and he feels it is necessary to go back in and adjust one of the screws and chip some more bone away from the nerve. YEAH ME!!! He feels that will take the pain away. So off I go to surgery again. Thursday. I should be able to go home either Thursday night if he can do the surgery in the morning or if not I will be home Friday. This surgery will not be as involved as my last one but none the less it still is not what I wanted to do. God bless you all and lets hope this is my last surgery to fix this problem.
Love You All!!!!!

O.K first of all cat scans are not my friends any more. I got to the hospital at 9 a.m. and didn't get home until 4:30 p.m. I am so not kidding!!! It has been a very long day. It was painful to get the contrast dye injected into my spinal fluid and then I had to wait 1 hour until I could actually get in to do the cat scan so the dye could get down through the entire length of my legs. I was crying so hard I could barely catch my breath. Not to be graphic or anything but that is the truth. It flipping hurt!!!!! I am doing much better now. I have to drink a lot of fluids to flush to dye out. I have to sleep on the couch tonight because the dye is still in my veins and spine and it will be very bad if it gets to my brain. It has a slight risk of causing seizures. So I have to sleep with my head elevated at at least a 30* angel. I will be so glad when all of this is over and I can just move on with my life. I am getting so bored just sitting around or laying down. I have had a lot of time to think about what I do want to do when I am feeling better and going to school is one of my goals. I have been considering several career paths. But need to do a lot more research before I decide on anything. Here are a few of my thoughts....pharmacy tech, phlebotomist, paralegal, web page design, announcement design like wedding, baptism or baby births etc..., and medical billing and coding. Just to name a few. I want something that doesn't require a ton of school but will pay fairly good in the end and is enjoyable to do. If there is such a thing I am going to find it!!! Wish me luck!!!

I am going in to have a cat scan tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. It will be a five hour long process. Wow huh. I was kinda surprised to find out it would take that long. Troy is going to take me but I am not sure if he is going to stay with me the whole time. But he will be there to bring me home. I sure hope the doctors can find out what is going on with this leg pain. I am getting pretty worn out. Thanks for fasting and praying for me. I really appreciate it. I don't know what I would do without everyone's love and support! Love you all!!!

Well here is the latest news. My legs have been extremely painful to walk on or lay or sit. So I went in to see the doctor today and he wants me to have a cat scan to see if everything is doing o.k. I am going in tomorrow to get it done. I will let you know what he says about it. But for now I am taking my pain meds every 3 to 4 hours instead of ever 6 hours. That is alot of meds. I have been sleeping alot because they just knock me out. I will keep you posted. Love you all!!!

Well I survived surgery and I am doing better. The first few days at the hospital were some of the worst days of my life! No kidding!! I was so sick and every time I got up to use the bathroom I either passed out or felt like I was going to pass out. I had at least three nurses to help me up and down and pretty much wait on me hand and foot. I couldn't do anything. Including wiping my own butt!!! Nothing is sacred anymore!!! It was good to be home but I have less help. Lynda has been my savior the last few days! She has seen and done it all. Except the butt wiping thing I can do that all by myself! It was quit the accomplishment! It is amazing how many things you take for granite that you can do on a daily basis until you cant do them any more. The journey has just started and I feel that it will be a long road ahead. But with my family to help and my faith that I will get better everything will work out just fine. I send my love to everyone and thank you for all your prayers and telling me you love me over the phone! It really lifts my spirits!!!

Surgery Day

Well Surgery is looming closer and closer. I think everyone is thinking about when they can come and help. So I am trying to coordinate dates with everyone. Lynda has said she can come any week or all month in the month of April but not any in May. I herd Michele wants to come the first week from mom but I would love to hear from everyone and mabye the weeks or days or whatever time frame you want so I can let everyone know so plans can be made all around.
I love you all and really appreciate everything you do.

Well my Dr. Visit went good and I got alot of information about my back problem. The Dr. seemed very optimistic that surgery would go very well and I wouldn't have any further nerve damage. He does want to do surgery right away. I am scheduled on April 9th for surgery. I know it is not very far away and I really need to prepare alot of things before this happens. So many things are running through my head right now. I am not sure how we will get through this but I have faith everything will be fine. After all the Lord wont give you more than you can handle...right.
I have another appt. tomorrow for something not back related. The Dr. wants me to get a brace for the leg I had surgery on as a child, My right leg for those of you who either don't remember or have no idea what I am talking about, anyway it will just help my foot stay in a good position and make it so I don't trip and fall when my leg gets tired. Which could hurt my back even more.
To much fun!!!!

After my surgery I will be down pretty much flat for 6 weeks and 6 weeks after that I can get up and move around but no lifting anything that weighs more than a gallon of milk. For the first 6 months I will have limited activity and range of motion and not much lifting.
We wont know if the fusion has fully taken hold until after a year. Then if everything goes good I have to go to follow up appointments once a year for three years. This is going to be quit the process. My Dr. gave me his web site and it has links to several other very informative web sites . If you are interested here is his web site www.coraldesertspine.com I was very impressed with this Dr. he sat with me for almost an hour talking to me about my options and how the operation would go and what to expect after surgery. His name is Dr. Stephen Hansen.
Anyway....I will have to stay in St. George until the kids get out of school the end of May and then do some recovery at moms house in Salt Lake.
I send my love and hope everyone is doing well. God Bless!!!!

Well the day is almost over. YEAH!!!! It has been a long day for me. I ate breakfast this morning and couldn't eat or drink anything until about 3:00 this afternoon because of the shot in my back. They won't let you have sedation if you eat anything. Bummer. But everything went well. I am a little sore at the injection site but other than that I am doing well. Sarah and Jimmy helped with dishes tonight and I think Jimmy washed the table after a little persuasion. Dustin has been a big help today to. This morning while I was getting ready to go to the doctors he took the clothes out of the washer and loaded them into the dryer!!! Without even being asked!!! So cute!
Now I just need to teach him to start the dryer and we will be doing good!!!! Cameron knows how but he was at school during the time. Well tomorrow is another doctors apt. for me and I will let you know how that goes to.

I am going in for another shot tomorrow afternoon. I have felt some relief from the last one and hope to have full relief from this one.
Troy and I are revamping our backyard. We have put in two grow boxes and cut out alot of grass. I am hoping it will work out better for planting and growing. I am hoping we will get it all put together this weekend.

Tomorrow morning I am going to get a current MRI. 7:00 A.M. Yuck!!! Then Thursday I am going to see another neurosurgeon because the one I saw only does surgery in Vegas and that is to far away to drive home after just having surgery!!!! I also have an appointment for a shot in my back on Wednesday.

To much fun!!!!! I picked up my pain meds this afternoon and paid $72 for them. I about pooped my pants when she told me how much it was going to be!!!! I really do hope we are going to get this fixed so I can get back to my life!!!!!

I love you all and really appreciate your prayers and support.!

Thanks for all you do!

(And will be doing:)

My four angels(most of the time) at Disneyland

March of 2007

Cameron had a pirate birthday cake and we went to Pirate Pizza for dinner.

He is officially 6 years old.

WOW!

Hey everybody!!! I felt I should update you on my life. Any who. I do have good insurance now and have started the long process to get my back in good working condition. The first thing was to see a spine specialist. Dr. Court Empey. He is great. He actually gave me my fist shot for free when I didn't have the insurance to cover it. I saw him again on Feb. 18 for another shot and today I am feeling pretty good. I have started to cut back on my pain meds and that is always a good thing. Kevin made it possible for me to get that shot done. It was kinda crazy. I got the message to be at the hospital 15 min before my appointment was scheduled. I had to find someone to watch Cameron and Dustin, drive me home and get to the hospital all within 15 min. Kevin luckily had the day off and saved my day!!! Thanks Kevin!!!

He even sat with me until Sarah and Jimmy got out of school and then he picked them up at the bus stop. It has been hard not having Troy in town when stuff like this happens. I was out of it for pretty much the rest of the day because of the sedative they gave me. And Jimmy reminded me he missed scouts because of it. Sorry Jimmy. My next shot is scheduled for March 11 .

We are also planning on going to Disneyland March 15th through the 19th with Troy's family. I am so excited. Cameron asks every morning,"Is this the day we are going to Disneyland?"
We had so much fun last time we went. That was two years ago. The pictures are still on my computer. Sad....

The kids are all doing good and are growing bigger and bigger! Our house keeps getting smaller and smaller. I would like to move but I don't think we will be any time soon. O well love grows best in little houses. ?? Right??

So I am thinking about getting a sewing machine that has embroidery and quilting features. I have a singer sewing machine and surger. They have both been really good brands for me. What I want to know is those of you who have the embroidery machines what do you like and dislike and what brands are they or any other info I might need to know to make a good choice for purchasing one. Thanks!!!! And happy sewing!!!!

So the power went out the other day and it reminded me of when I was little and our power went out. I remember it happening a lot. I also remember sitting around candles or a flashlight and telling stories. I remember it feeling like we were camping and how bummered I was when it did come back on. I like to think about how the pioneers lived without power and had to tuck there kids in by the light of a candle. I love camping and rustic life. Hiking, cooking food on the fire and bandannas on your head so your hair doesn't look to ugly! That is some of my favorite childhood memories. Camping on the beach at Lake Powell is my favorite...Definitely!!!! Thank you Heavenly Father for no power sometimes. I probably would not have spent the evening talking to my kids, telling them stories and singing song with them if the lights were on. Enjoy the simple things in life.

It is much more better!!!!