14 Years

Today is our 14th wedding anniversary! Is that really possible??? What a year this has been for us, and I can say without a doubt that we have only grown stronger through our trials. I am married to the man I was meant to be with, one who loves and supports me through all of life's ups and downs. Greg makes me laugh, helps me to remember what is truly important, and still loves me, despite my many weaknesses.

We were talking the other night, remembering that before we got married, we told each other "We know life won't be perfect, but we'll support each other through the hard times." You have no idea what that really means before you get married. In theory it sounds simple enough. But in reality, marriage is much more complicated. Thank goodness I married such a funny guy, that has helped me keep my sense of humor when I feel like screaming!
Enough rambling. I am the luckiest woman on earth to be married to my best friend, and I am looking forward to what the next year of this adventure brings for us. I love you , Greg!

Happy Holidays!

I don't think I've ever gone this long without posting. Sorry. For the first 10 days of the month I was not feeling the best. Then the busyness of the holidays descended and before I could catch my breath, it was over. I hope to have some pictures of the madness known as Christmas morning up soon. I got a new camera (thank you Santa!) and am still trying to figure it out. I am not that tech savvy, so it might be awhile.

We had a wonderful holiday season and hope you did too. More to come soon!

Look who's 4!

Seth turned 4 last Saturday! He was very happy to get his Trick Track, along with some other cool stuff. He wanted a Speed Racer party, so he had 5 friends over for an afternoon of fun. We had an obstacle course, as well as a race track on the table, drawn by Greg. The kids were so cute to watch. They had a ton of fun. I wish I had better pictures, out camera has been acting funny lately.

How we love our Seth. His infectious smile is hard to ignore. He brightens our days with his good humor and easy-going attitude. 'Chill' is the perfect way to describe our little man. He loves his brother and sisters so much, and he is definitely Daddy's little buddy. We are so blessed that he came to us.

Temples and Tombs

Hailey recently finished an extensive study of Egyptian history and culture. She did an in-depth report on mummification, and created a sarcophagus to go along with it, complete with a toilet paper wrapped Barbie. They also made death masks, as well as wrote their names in hieroglyphics.

They concluded the unit with a fun night called 'Temples and Tombs'. All of the student's projects were on display, and each of them dressed up in Egyptian costumes. (Luckily for me I have a neighbor that is an amazing seamstress, and she let Hailey borrow her daughter's costume.) They then presented their program, which consisted of each class singing a different song about Egypt and it's culture, and Hailey even had a speaking part. There are over 120 kids in 6th grade, and it was fun to see so many kids that Hailey has grown up with. These are her good friends Caitlin, Lisa and Sydney. She worked very hard on her report and projects, and I am so proud of her.

No news

I apologize for not posting about my doctor's appointments last week. I have been quite down and haven't wanted to whine to anyone. After all of the tests, they still can't find a reason why I am nauseous so much. They tested me for Celiac, and I'm not allergic to wheat. The doctor suggested I try a gluten free diet. I don't have any indicators that I'm allergic to it, but he said I might be sensitive to it. Gluten is in everything, so I told him I would think about it. If I am still feeling ill by the first of the year, I will seriously consider it. I don't really feel like it's that, but they are grasping at straws now. We've ruled out a lot of things that it ISN'T, which is good. I really felt hopeful that the Internist would have the answer. I have been trying to focus on having a good attitude lately, and I am hoping that will help me through the hard days. It's easy to give in to the hopelessness, but I don't want to. Pulling yourself out of your personal 'pit of despair' gets harder the more you don't resist.

Otherwise, life has been busy and insane around here. Would you expect otherwise, with all of these kids running around?

John Williams is the Man!

We've watched this so many times, we almost have it memorized.

Yawning and waiting

Life has been crazy here, as always. Anyone have any suggestions for helping an 18 month old sleep through the night? We're trying the 'cry it out' thing and it's not working. It's just making for a very tired and grumpy baby AND mom.
I have had an interesting few weeks. I saw my GI doctor and he basically threw up his hands and said he didn't know what else to do for me. Since my white blood cell count was high when I visited the ER, my lymph nodes were a little swollen, and my grandpa recently died of lymphoma, he wanted me to see an oncologist. Yeah, nothing cheers you up like being told you need to see a cancer doctor.
Later that week I went to see an Internist, and I felt so much better after talking to him. He didn't think I had cancer, but there were plenty of other possibilities he wanted to explore. Based on several things that have been happening thislast year, he thinks it could be: my thyroid, my pituitary, or my adrenal glands. I went and had 6 vials of blood drawn on Halloween (which my kids thought was very cool), and he scheduled a lot of tests.
Before the tests I met with the oncologist, who confirmed that I don't have cancer. A few days before the visit I had been reading online about lymphoma and started crying, worrying about being that sick. Greg told me to not think about it, so I did my best not to. After we got the all clear, Greg admitted that he had been freaking out!
After I voted early on Election Day, it was off to Provo for an ultrasound of my thyroid. From pictures I always imagined it at the back of my neck, but it's actually right where an Adam's Apple is on a man. Mine is swollen, so that's why he wanted it tested. Then it was up to American Fork for an MRI. There was no way I could handle being put down one of those long tubes, so they sent me to have an open one. Which means it's open where your arms are, but they still place brackets right on top of your face and then raise you up so that your head is very close to the machine. For someone that's claustrophobic like me, it was hard, no matter how they did it. But I am glad I didn't have to go down the dreaded tube. I really think I would have had an anxiety attack.

I have no idea what the results were. I hate the waiting game. But I feel optimistic, even if these tests don't give us an answer. My Internist already told me he won't stop until we figure what's going on. Hallelujah for that!!!