tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30992608889105962672024-03-13T00:38:36.030-07:00Of Me and MineKGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.comBlogger125125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-89604333322707530002012-07-01T21:45:00.000-07:002012-07-01T21:45:14.614-07:00My heart has been full of love and gratitude today, for my family, for my life, for my friends, and the opportunities we have to grow. This comes during a time of great stress and uncertainty regarding where our family is to go, what we are to do, and how we are going to survive the aftermath of school. In just two and a half weeks, Taylor graduates and becomes the proud owner of a very hard earned Bachelor's degree. He has not been deterred from accomplishing his goals during all 4 years, and we have tried hard to support him and help him feel free to do what he must to succeed.<br />
<br />
Now we are full of uncertainty, and no real firm feelings as to what we should do and where we should go, but I feel blessed to have struggled through these past 4 years with my husband and children. We have done this together, and Taylor is honored by the school for his accomplishments. I feel honored as well that he has taken this opportunity and turned it into something we can all be proud of. He is graduating with a 3.96 GPA, and has received the Newel K. Whitney award. His GPA will most likely get him the Summa Cum Laude honor, but we haven't heard the official word on that yet.<br />
<br />
The last 4 years have been the hardest I think I've ever lived. We struggled through intense stress on so many fronts and the level of emotions at times were at depths I've never experienced before. But never at any time did we question our decision for Taylor to get his degree, and never did we consider quitting. To have made it through what we did, with not only a degree, but with such high honors, has made the struggle worth it. This is not only an accomplishment for Taylor, but for our whole family.<br />
<br />
My gratitude goes to my Father in Heaven who surely sustained us all. But I'm actually kinda sad that it's over. It has been a wild ride, and we have come to love this place, the people here, and I will really miss it. This has become home to me and I had daydreams about my children growing up surrounded by the people I have come to know and love. I realize that we will be able to call another place home and good people will be there as well, I just wish I could keep everyone with me as we move on.<br />
<br />
I am positive that the Lord will continue to sustain us as we strive to do the right thing and while we struggle through our next chapter of life. The things we lived through these last 4 years has given us experience in shouldering our burdens with a righteous goal in mind, and I know that the blessings and strength we have gained from it will keep our feet on the path of hope and faith.<br />
<br />
Thank you to all who have supported us, whether through monetary means, through prayer, or by just being our friends. Much love to you all.KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-45182837052809117232012-06-25T20:28:00.000-07:002012-06-25T20:28:00.186-07:00Trials of MotherhoodJeriah and I used to be the best of buds. Then Lukas came along and we kinda got a little distanced from each other, but we were still happy together. Then he turned 4 and I felt like I didn't know him at all anymore. What happened to my sweet happy boy who loved me? The boy who didn't get angry at the slightest thing? I felt like he was more mature at 1 than he was at 4.<br />
<br />
This feeling hasn't really gone away over the past 2 1/2 years. It has been a real struggle to know how to deal with his intense angry fits, the seeming lack of communication and empathy for others, and his imagination that knows no bounds, even in reality.<br />
<br />
Our relationship has been consistently on rocky ground and the way we have treated each other has been shameful at times. For the longest time I blamed him. If he just wouldn't get so angry, then I wouldn't say the things I did. If he wouldn't throw and hit and scream, then I wouldn't feel the need to yell at him. If...then statements plagued me.<br />
<br />
I wanted a change. I needed a change. I have had to humble myself, realize that I am at fault here, and try to pinpoint where I am most lacking in my mothering of him. I still haven't gotten the full truth behind it all, but a few things have come to light that have caused me to seriously reconsider how I parent.<br />
<br />
I love structure when it comes to rules, discipline, bedtimes, and mealtimes. When my kids are babies, it's simple, easy, and satisfying to structure our lives and see the happiness that comes from it. My babies were happy. I was happy. We were all thriving.<br />
<br />
Now Jeriah is 6 and he's not a baby anymore. I can't control everything in his life anymore. Bedtimes and mealtimes are so ingrained in us that there is never any contest to accomplish them, but everything else is basically out the window. Rules are constantly questioned. Arguments abound, most of them completely based in his imaginary world. Feelings of entitlement require that everything else abide by his whims.<br />
<br />
Mother's previously firmly established authority is not firmly established anymore. And I have spent the past two years panicking about it. At my lowest points I have questioned my own validity as a mother, wondered if I am even capable of doing this job, and even had the gall to think that maybe he would be better off with a different mother.<br />
<br />
Control instead of love was what I was showing him. I realized that I was the main contributor to his anger, as he was trying to tell me all along by screaming at me "You are making me upset!" I ruled by fear and therefore I needed to keep everything in a nice tight box so I knew what to expect at all times.<br />
<br />
I realized that I have this sweet, highly intelligent, loving child who just needed me to let go a little more. I needed to relax and let him be who he is. If he breaks ten things that day in the midst of some project, pretend play, or angry fit, then it's OK. If he turns on the hose without asking and gets half the backyard and himself muddy, and then comes inside tracking mud, it's OK. If he doesn't listen to me for an agonizing 15 minutes when I tell him to get his pajamas on, it's OK. Everything is just OK. We can deal with it.<br />
<br />
The main things I've learned through this:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Love him. Even when he's angry and spouting hurtful things, love him. Be kind. Remind him that you are being kind and would like him to be kind back, but don't require it. (When I do this very consistently for about three days, his attitude changes considerably on the fourth day.)</li>
<li>If he tells you to leave him alone, respect that.</li>
<li>Show him random acts of love throughout the day.</li>
<li>Come up with new projects that he would enjoy and do them with him. Example: He's really into insects right now, so I have helped him catch quite a number of bugs to keep. We even caught a painted lady butterfly, did research about that particular butterfly, and then let it go the next day. He was thrilled.</li>
<li>Really try to understand him by asking how he feels and why he feels that way. Don't put your two cents in and try to teach him anything during those times. Let him just feel his feelings and talk about them.</li>
<li>And most important of all, stay close to the Lord and do the things that you know bring you lasting peace. This has always helped me to keep my perspective where it's supposed to be and understand what my children truly need from me. And feeling a deep sense of peace helps me not panic when I feel like things are out of my control.</li>
</ul>
<div>
I just had a thought. I have a little boy who is 1 1/2 years old, and he does not fit into very many of my structures. I have had to put some things behind me that worked so well with my other two, just to keep myself sane. For instance, Jesse has learned to climb out of his crib already (which was traumatic to me in and of itself), and we had no choice but to put him in a big boy bed. I spent four days desperately trying to teach him to stay in bed when he's put there, using the same method that worked so well with the others, but he never got it. Or he did get it but just didn't care enough to stay where he was supposed to.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Taylor suggested that we just let him get out of bed and play in his room until he went back to bed or cried. Jesse can't open doors yet so him coming out of his room wasn't an issue yet, but I had a really hard time with giving him free rein in his room. I knew it was probably the best thing to do right now, but I was having a really hard time coming to terms with that other side of me that wants things to be predictable and controllable. My point here is that this little boy, who has happily defied all my attempts at controlling his actions from a very early age, is helping me learn to let go.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Maybe Jesse came here to our family at this time to help me learn to let things be as they are and stop trying to fit them into some ideal I have in my mind.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I have tried hard to employ all those points I listed above during my interactions with Jeriah, and we have been having a great time together for the past few days. He has dealt with hard situations with ease, and what anger he has shown has obviously been tempered. He has told me multiple times a day that he loves me, and will come sit on my lap and cuddle. What has been most surprising is he has listened to me when I have tried to correct him.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's been like old times again and my heart is full to overflowing.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-37961041686349907442012-06-16T19:16:00.000-07:002012-06-16T19:16:00.654-07:00Teton Dam Half MarathonI showed up with my friend, Amanda, about 15 mins before start time at 7:30. We got our packets the night before, so this was plenty of time to get in our place before someone yelled, "GO!" It was kinda chilly, but not too bad. About 50 degrees. And the sun was out so that made the 50 degrees feel better. I was hungry since I had woken up at 6am to have a bowl of cereal, and I was shaking. I was so nervous and I still doubted if I could finish.<br />
<br />
Amanda and I got in the middle of the throng of people, someone yelled, "GO!" and we took off. About ten steps into it, Amanda said "Good luck!" and left me behind. In fact, the whole pack of half marathoners left me behind. I was alone not even a mile into the race.<br />
<br />
Starting out was really hard. Everything hurt for the first two miles or so, but it was relatively flat so I pushed myself. I told myself I'd walk at the mile markers, so at each mile marker I'd walk until nothing hurt anymore. I did this for the first 5 miles.<br />
<br />
At 5 miles, there was an aid station that had Gatorade, water, orange slices, and bananas. I ate two orange slices, and drank two paper cups of Gatorade. I was really hungry by that point and that snack got me through the rest of the race. While I was at that aid station, I saw the road stretching in front of me, and it was all uphill for as far as I could see. I was dreading it.<br />
<br />
I began my ascent since I couldn't do anything else by that point. The wind. Wow. The WIND! It was a steady 10-15mph wind in my face during that entire stretch of road, all the way up that 3 mile hill. I realized that I could walk up that road faster than I could run it, so I walked almost the whole thing. But even just walking, that wind kicked my butt. It stole my breath, and tried to push me back. It dried me out and left a stiff film of salt on my face. I prayed and asked that either the wind lessen, or I be given more strength to make it all the way. The thing that worried me the most was my breathing. I was having a hard time breathing in the face of the wind and I worried that it would affect the rest of the race.<br />
<br />
I stopped at the next aid station for just a cup of Gatorade, kept pushing on, and then a marathon runner passed me. He wasn't the first marathon runner to pass me, but he was the only one who stopped and peed in front of me like there was nothing to it. What puzzled me the most though was he had just passed a port-a-potty a few feet back and he would rather pee in public, in the wind, in front of a girl, than use a toilet. OK. Whatever floats your boat I guess.<br />
<br />
I finally made it to the top of that torturous road, and ran down the next hill gratefully. Stopped at the next aid station, and kept running. Just some rolling hills left, and then downhill for the last two miles. The wind was now at my side or my back and that made things a lot easier. But as I feared, I was having a difficult time keeping my lungs in check. I had to take more walk breaks than I wanted to, but I was going to finish and that's all that mattered.<br />
<br />
One final hill, and my husband and little boys were there to cheer me on! My spirits soared when I saw them. Jeriah and Lukas ran up the hill with me, gave me hugs and said "Good job Mommy!" Wow! I can't even express how that cheered me up and gave me the umpf to finish this race at my best. I was going to run the rest of the way! I only had two miles left and it was all downhill. I was almost done!<br />
<br />
So I ran, but had to take at least one more walk break, even downhill. The course goes right past my house, and when I got on my street, my neighbor, Charlotte, ran out of her front door, cheering me on and joined me barefoot to run the final 3/4 of a mile with me! She chattered and cheered, and kept me going. She ran ahead to the finish line at the last corner so I could run the rest of the way myself. Only one block left and then I could stop!<br />
<br />
That last block felt like it dragged on forever! I was so tired that I was barely running and I was having a hard time breathing again. But I ran all the way through the finish! Charlotte was there jumping up and down, screaming for me, and I knew my family and Amanda were around somewhere close by. I was DONE! I walked through the volunteers handing out medals and water bottles, went over to a tree, and bent over to catch my breath and cry a little in private.<br />
<br />
That's when it hit. I was so afraid it would hit me out on the course, and when it didn't, I thought I was safe.<br />
<br />
I couldn't breath in. <i>At all.</i> I was trying so desperately to get some air but my chest was caving in with each attempt instead. I was hit so suddenly with a massive asthma attack that I had no time to calm myself down before it got bad, and I panicked. Within seconds I was dizzy and I wanted to pass out. I feel fortunate that Charlotte was close by because she ran over to the paramedics tent (which just happened to be only a few feet away) to get some help. Then she ran to find my family.<br />
<br />
I was sat on a cot, some oxygen was stuck in my nose at full blast, and they prepared the albuterol. Amanda arrived to hold me upright while I swayed, and Charlotte went behind me to be sure I didn't fall backwards. With all the extra oxygen, the medicine, the coaching by the medical staff, and the support of my friends, I eventually made it past the dangerous part. I could breathe again. I had side effects from that asthma attack for a few hours afterwards, but all the tightness and coughing finally went away.<br />
<br />
Then I could finally come to terms with the fact that I had stayed in constant forward motion for 13.1 miles! I did it! I ran this half marathon in 3 hours and 7 minutes. I did something I didn't think I could. At the starting line I was still doubting myself, but...<br />
<br />
I DID IT!KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-42747346554696370702012-06-10T19:30:00.000-07:002012-06-10T19:30:25.722-07:00The reason for my half marathonFor the past 8 months I ran, and ran, and ran. I worked out. I tried to eat better. Over the last 8 months, I lost 20 lbs, and gained the ability to run much longer than I ever thought was possible for me.<br />
<br />
I was training for a half marathon.<br />
<br />
I may have mentioned before that I have exercise-induced asthma. As the name implies, the asthma doesn't kick in until the lungs are being strained through physical exertion. I don't have any other asthma symptoms at any other time. I was diagnosed with it in middle school and it has kept me from doing all kinds of fun sports for fear of triggering an attack. Running and prolonged swimming have been the two things I had convinced myself I'd never be able to do, because they seemed to always cause me problems. I do not have inhalers to control the asthma because the inhalers actually made it worse. I quit taking them and learned to control my environment. I have lived with this fear of my asthma for about 20 years.<br />
<br />
Last year, I went to a Relief Society meeting about walking and running. A man, who is apparently famous in this area (and of course I can't remember his name), came and talked with us about walking and running techniques, types of shoes, nutrition, etc. It was a fantastic meeting and I came away feeling like I was looking into a world I never knew was there. I realized I had been running wrong all along, and I began to see how running could be a reality for me. So, I began to walk and add a little running here and there. Before I knew it, I was running a whole mile! I had taken that step onto this new world of exercise.<br />
<br />
I have a good friend who trained for a half marathon last year. I babysat for her while she went on her runs and I was always impressed at how dedicated she was. I really enjoy participating in triathlons (on a relay team), but watching her as she trained and became a considerably better runner inspired me.<br />
<br />
That running man and my friend helped to create a question in my head I was itching to get answered. I had already been running a little (I was up to 1.5 miles) and I wanted to know how far I could push myself. How much could I handle?<br />
<br />
13 miles is so much more than I could ever imagine doing, which is why I wanted to try for it. I honestly couldn't see myself going that far. It was way beyond what I thought I was capable of and if I could complete 13 miles, even with asthma, I could see myself being a completely changed woman. The woman on the other side would know that she is strong enough to accomplish anything, in any part of her life. The woman on the other side would be closer to who she is than at any other time in her life. She would understand things about herself that she never had before. That is why I wanted to run a half marathon.<br />
<br />
I wanted to find that part of myself I felt had gotten lost.<br />
<br />
So, in a crazy burst of courage, I signed up for my own half marathon. Only later did people tell me that this particular race had a really hard course, and I was brave for doing this as my first.<br />
<br />
I ran and ran. I trained and ate better. I lost a little weight here and there. When I hit 3 miles of continuous running, I felt like a huge barrier had been broken. I was no longer the timid girl who hid behind the asthma excuse. I began to believe that 13 miles was possible.<br />
<br />
Sometimes, training was really hard. I fought with not wanting to go workout, or go running. My motivation would surge, and then wane. It was like going over rolling hills, and going up the next hill always made me want to quit. I wanted to be comfortable, and just go back to my comfortable life. But I pushed on and upward, and always made it through.<br />
<br />
After months of training, the day came, and I did NOT feel ready. My longest run was 9.5 miles (I am using the word "run" at this point pretty loosely. I walked some because I still could not ignore the asthma issue) and I could barely crawl home after that one. I didn't feel that I trained hard enough, I could have eaten better, I should have been more consistent, etc.<br />
<br />
One reason I didn't feel ready was the course itself. I finally drove the course a few days before the race, and realized that there is a solid 1 mile uphill, followed by another 2 miles of a little flat road interchanged with more hills. Kind of like rolling hills, except the downhill is replaced by a flat road. So, that equals 3 miles of going basically uphill. I was pretty nervous and I even contemplated switching over to the 10k race instead.<br />
<br />
I showed up on race day, ready or not, to do my 13.1 miles and that, in itself, was an accomplishment.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-67928365347188101072012-05-14T20:25:00.002-07:002012-05-14T20:25:39.975-07:00The Colon - Past, Present, and Future<i>*Warning: If you don't like to hear about the functions of the digestive tract, I advise you to move on to whatever else you were going to do today.*</i><br />
<br />
Here is the back story of why we have sent Lukas to SLC to see a GI specialist. Last year, we began to notice that Lukas would vomit randomly and complain that his tummy hurt. It gradually picked up frequency until he was vomiting almost once a week and complaining more often. I finally took him in to the doctor after months of trying different things to see if we could pinpoint what is causing this. They did a general blood allergy panel, which came back normal. Then, our family had a very small stomach virus. It was about 24 hours, and very minor. Pretty much just an upset stomach. When it was Lukas's turn to get it, it wasn't just a 24 hour virus. Lukas got violently ill for an <i>entire month</i>. We had a month of watching Lukas deteriorate slowly of what seemed like a violent stomach virus. Vomiting, diarrhea, pain, the works. No fever though. He was permanently set up in the living room with a throw up bowl and one of us with him all the time. If we went anywhere, we took the vomit bowl with us.<br />
<br />
He'd vomit almost every single night, multiple times a night. I watched his fat stores melt away, and his tummy become distended and bloated. I took him to the doctor multiple times, and they just took tests that all came back normal. I was blown off again and again about sending Lukas to a specialist. The only thing that kept him out of the hospital was he would not stop drinking. He was always thirsty, and even though he'd eventually vomit most of what he drank that day, at least he was keeping hydrated. I was convinced this had nothing to do with a stomach virus. Maybe the little virus had set him off, but there was something much bigger going on.<br />
<br />
When the sickness finally came to an end and he began to eat again, his tummy seemed to feel better and better over time. Even though his tummy appeared to feel better, I still felt that something was wrong. He would still complain of having a hurt tummy, and he wouldn't eat sometimes, but he wasn't vomiting anymore. So later, when Lukas vomited for a day and showed signs of being sick, I went to a different doctor terrified that we were going to have another bad spell (we didn't), and cried, begging to get a referral. I finally got one. What we went through last year with Lukas I never want to go through again, so if I could find out what is going on and treat it, then maybe we have a good chance of keeping him well.<br />
<br />
OK. Now that you know the past, here is the present and the known future regarding my little boy.<br />
<br />
I wasn't very thorough about the what the colonoscopy revealed in my earlier post. Yes, he has inflammation, a stretched out colon that has created extra loops, and swollen lymph nodes. What I didn't talk about was the bacteria overgrowth and the chronic gastritis that showed up in the biopsies. Mainly because I had no idea what they meant.<br />
<br />
After finding out what the colonoscopy and endoscopy revealed, I sat on that information for a while and wrote down the questions that came to me. I finally figured I had enough questions so I called the doctor back to get the answers to my page long list. Among them were questions about what bacteria overgrowth and gastritis mean exactly and what symptoms would show up because of those conditions. I also asked if his colon would ever go back to normal, if the inflammation (colitis) can cause illnesses to last longer, and many others.<br />
<br />
The doc told me that his colon would eventually get its tone back as long as we keep him from getting constipated again. If he gets constipated again, his colon will get stretched out again. He didn't express any concern about the stretching, except that it could cause things to move more slowly through his colon. Hence, we need to keep him regular as much as possible.<br />
<br />
The gastritis means inflammation of the stomach. He said it's usually caused by too much acid in the stomach and the patient usually suffers from acid reflux. I asked what obvious symptoms I would see in Lukas and he said mainly pain in the upper chest. Lukas has never complained of hurting there, so I figured this particular condition could wait until we take care of the things that are causing him pain.<br />
<br />
Bacteria overgrowth is too much bad bacteria in the colon. It can be caused by constipation, which leaves old stool in one spot for a while and a build up of that bacteria can happen. Yet another reason to keep him regular. So, this bacteria overgrowth can create gas, and therefore a bloated painful tummy. I've seen this lots of times in Lukas. This pain will keep him from eating, it will make him cry, and his tummy is hard and bloated.<br />
<br />
The focal active colitis is still in the "I'm not sure what to do about that" stage. But, when Lukas's tummy is hurting, and it's not bloated or gassy, I'll ask him where it hurts and he always points to the upper portion of his tummy, right below his rib cage. The doc said this is where they found the colitis, so it is causing him pain as well. He did tell me that this colitis would not cause his illnesses to last longer than normal, unless it was a stomach virus. Then he could potentially have the virus for twice as long, but it would not last for a month. The colitis needs to be addressed because if it is not taken care of, or if it becomes a chronic condition, it could potentially turn into a more serious disease, like Crohn's disease. The doc said Lukas will need another colonoscopy in a year to determine if the inflammation has gone away, and if there are any other spots where the inflammation has cropped up.<br />
<br />
So, based on all this information, we determined that we need to take care of the bacteria overgrowth first. We will put Lukas on an antibiotic for a period of time, followed by a probiotic to reset all the good bacteria in his colon. Then we will consider what to do about his inflammation. We don't know what is causing the inflammation, so this might take longer to figure out.<br />
<br />
What does this have to do with how sick he got last year? I have no idea, and I don't really care. We found things that were wrong, things that are causing him pain, and we can do something about it. I am still terrified that he will get a stomach virus and we will be dealing with another month of wondering if we should take him to the hospital, but at least we are getting somewhere in the meantime. And I do have my referral now so I have a specialist to call if things get bad.<br />
<br />
<br />KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-53317938379285500772012-04-21T18:44:00.001-07:002012-04-21T18:44:11.590-07:00Flu UpdateThat evening, after the last post below, I woke Jesse up at 10:30 to give him some more medication. He had two doses of the Tamiflu so far and I had kept up on the Tylenol/Motrin so I was expecting his fever to be better. Well, it wasn't. His fever had gone up to 105. And then I checked his skin again, and he definitely had hives. Silver dollar sized welts on his face, shoulders, arms, and bum.<br />
<br />
I called the doc, worried that I need to take him to the ER, and she talked me down, told me to give him the Benadryl (which I hadn't yet because I had just got it at the store), and watch him. She was surprised that he was allergic to the Tamiflu because that is very rare. Well, I did what she said and the hives slowly went away and his fever came down again.<br />
<br />
Thinking back on it, I should have just taken him to the ER. Things turned out OK, but because of how severe his reaction was to the medication and how high his fever was, taking him to the ER would have been the safest option. He's now doing just fine and has a lingering cough. No fever, and no hives.<br />
<br />
The rest of us are now dealing with the flu and some are having a harder time of it than others. My flu is centered in my chest. Coughing feels like my chest is going to explode so I do my best to not cough. Taylor is pretty out of it, but the boys are holding up pretty well. They even wanted to ride their bikes today.<br />
<br />
The doc prescribed Tamiflu to both Jeriah and Lukas, and after their first dose of it they also had a reaction to the medication. Not hives, but minor delirium, confusion, and agitation. Lukas would be asleep, and then his eyes would be open, and just staring. But he wasn't asleep. If I moved, he would focus on me and his eyes would follow me around. He wouldn't respond to me if I talked to him, and he just looked really confused. Then he would slowly come out of it and finally begin to respond to me.<br />
<br />
Jeriah would wake up crying and whining, and then talk like he was still dreaming. But he would respond to us like he was awake. He's never done that before. He was just really out of it, and it was almost like he was hallucinating.<br />
<br />
Both of their fevers were in the 101 range, so I couldn't blame it on a high fever. I didn't give them any more of the Tamiflu and they have been fine since.<br />
<br />
The flu hasn't been as bad as I feared so far. I can still move around and sort of take care of things. If I do too much then I start coughing and that's not good. Taylor has to sleep a lot before he feels OK to get up. The boys still have small fevers and they have watched movies all day long for two days straight. I've got a little setup on my kitchen table with medications, cups, thermometer, tissues, and clorox wipes. Since we've all got it at the same time, no one has been all that hungry so I haven't felt the need to make any meals. I just hope it goes quickly and never comes back.<br />
<br />
<br />KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-36595847030082604812012-04-19T19:19:00.000-07:002012-04-19T19:19:21.155-07:00The Colon and The FluLife around here has been pretty interesting as of late. Lukas has dealt with digestive system issues for a little while now and he was finally sent to a specialist in Salt Lake City. Since then, he's been doing fine, except for a little complaining now and then of having a hurt tummy. Nothing like we had been dealing with before. The doctor still wanted to do a colonoscopy and an endoscopy to cover the bases and because there is Crohn's disease in my family. Last week Lukas endured those procedures, which was scary for him and for me.<br />
<br />
The doc found some interesting things.<br />
<br />
His colon has extra loops that cross over his entire abdomen. He has swollen lymph nodes all through his colon. He also has a spot of inflammation that has been labeled as mild focal active colitis. We are still trying to determine what to do about that inflammation and it seems like we are still at a trial and error stage.<br />
<br />
He hasn't complained very much lately about his tummy, so I'm not sure how vigorous to be with this.<br />
<br />
That has been one of the things on my mind. This is the other:<br />
<br />
Last night, I read a some stories that families have posted online about children passing away due to whooping cough, influenza, and other diseases. They wrote about the onset of the sickness all the way to the death of their child. Some of the children just passed away while watching a movie and the parent thought their child just had a cold. Some had to go through a torturous ordeal of blood transfusions and other things until there was nothing else the doctors could do. Then they had to watch their child die when taken off life support. It was an eye opener to me and I went to bed with these stories in my head.<br />
<br />
Today, at about 2 in the morning, Jesse woke up with a fever and was breathing erratically. I didn't have any Tylenol on hand, and there are no 24 hour places in town so I couldn't go run to the store. I brought him in bed with me to keep watch over his breathing, thinking of these stories of children who just stopped breathing and died. This morning his fever spiked to 102.5 and I waited impatiently for the opportunity to take him to the doctor. He was moaning, flushed, drooling, and weak. I thought maybe strep throat because it seemed painful for him to swallow. Taylor came home from class and I quickly took Jesse to the doctor.<br />
<br />
After swabbing him and poking him, they determined he had the flu. But not just one strain of it. He has both Type A and Type B. She said that is very rare and is surprised to see it in him.<br />
<br />
What? Not 24 hours after I read horror stories about children getting the flu, and now my child has not just one strain of it, but BOTH? He's a year and a half. And I'm a little terrified.<br />
<br />
I was told it is highly contagious, so I needed to be careful. He was prescribed Tamiflu and a regimen of both Tylenol and ibuprofen to keep the fever down, and I was told to watch for dehydration or difficulty breathing. Then we were sent out the door by a concerned doctor who told me many times that she's on call until Monday and if things get worse, or I'm worried about something, to call her any time, day or night.<br />
<br />
Jesse stayed with either me or Taylor all day until about three in the afternoon when I was finally able to lay him down by himself. He slept for 2 1/2 hours and I woke him up to give him more Tylenol. I also checked his temperature and it had gone up to 103.5. I checked his diaper and was shocked to see all these mosquito bite looking bumps all over his bum. I then thoroughly checked the rest of him and he had a couple of them on his shoulder and jawline. So, I took him back to the doctor worried he was having an allergic reaction to the medication, or maybe something worse.<br />
<br />
She took a look at him and said it could be from the fever being so high, but I could give him some Benedryl just to be safe. Then she told me if he doesn't have a wet diaper by the time the office opens in the morning, I will need to bring him in to get an IV of some liquids. Again, she told me about her being on call, and to call her if anything changes for the worse. She then added that if she doesn't hear from me in the night, she will call me when she gets into the office in the morning to check in and see how things are going.<br />
<br />
Tonight, Jesse will not sleep alone. He will be hovered over until he is getting better. I cannot, after learning about what other mothers have gone through and hearing how concerned the doctor is, take this lightly. He is my baby, and it tears me apart to see him so sick. I am praying he doesn't get any worse.<br />
<br />
Life has certainly been a roller coaster.KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-22873230981419421822012-03-18T18:34:00.000-07:002012-03-18T18:34:16.011-07:00Adding the HoodJeriah needed a new jacket. It's spring, his winter coat was too small and I patched up a lot of seams on it already. So, we went to DI (Deseret Industries) to find a jacket for him. I looked and looked, and nothing seemed to fit right, or what I liked he didn't, or there was just something strange about the jacket. Until I finally found one that fit him, and he liked, and there wasn't anything real strange about it. Except it had no hood.<br />
<br />
Jeriah is very particular about what he wears. He won't wear long-sleeved anything, sweaters, sweatshirts, or certain kinds of pants. He also won't wear a coat or jacket without a hood.<br />
<br />
So, this jacket wasn't coming home with us unless I promised I could do something about it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6q4VD7u7tKH9vJUukF5pzaWjnfoKg0K4IKaOx5LSOmViIOfoy4Iohtm5eXXXvKz6pgVmJCGBJPWJyOMeGkM5CCVAJuEXUeohGGhIvsGW_02VhX_ur9K615r_kGmqR-Bcw75Kf4S-fbi9G/s1600/Winter+2012+037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6q4VD7u7tKH9vJUukF5pzaWjnfoKg0K4IKaOx5LSOmViIOfoy4Iohtm5eXXXvKz6pgVmJCGBJPWJyOMeGkM5CCVAJuEXUeohGGhIvsGW_02VhX_ur9K615r_kGmqR-Bcw75Kf4S-fbi9G/s320/Winter+2012+037.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
We have this green jacket, but the zipper didn't work anymore and it was going in the garbage. So, I cut off the hood.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQR9pPJ3om7G9V-xYDQmVhQ6v-psJ_YnvUbRYkFEB4T0UDWodLoaN9JyUBD2cKRc2uThFoS9Oa8pPjxVqjSC9RgrtxqJlSt0GovI8RY0-Xq8Bh97L6T0JiUTbNQIsvbrXIPhnkuvCmzRP/s1600/Winter+2012+045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQR9pPJ3om7G9V-xYDQmVhQ6v-psJ_YnvUbRYkFEB4T0UDWodLoaN9JyUBD2cKRc2uThFoS9Oa8pPjxVqjSC9RgrtxqJlSt0GovI8RY0-Xq8Bh97L6T0JiUTbNQIsvbrXIPhnkuvCmzRP/s320/Winter+2012+045.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">After some figuring, practice, and mistakes, I finally sewed button holes on the hood, buttons on the jacket, and then buttoned that hood on the new jacket. And guess what? He loves it!</span> </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybXLQ1xnTiBzwSC4-qEVg26A74rXvIYI_RKVT46Q4dtPUqIuqMHZpXI9qau9krBUCXU1aBUTt_m7T_vcAoGwYpxAsrggfrivM2AZKZcUBYlxFEfY3jSZrD5taae_PTQpNtqRhcq3EBKXF/s1600/Winter+2012+040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybXLQ1xnTiBzwSC4-qEVg26A74rXvIYI_RKVT46Q4dtPUqIuqMHZpXI9qau9krBUCXU1aBUTt_m7T_vcAoGwYpxAsrggfrivM2AZKZcUBYlxFEfY3jSZrD5taae_PTQpNtqRhcq3EBKXF/s320/Winter+2012+040.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKa2ECujXcVtz8JGlh4ooPXulbuXq__b0nAszE8DKBEZMESoZIEJ-Fo_1OSGNUibqRvGNBkyjnkm-GlAq3-wAroSfXBdIkFhNmcY9Wg6YWSND0GnuPsyo7AZKoDxChYQA7NOHQBudlrgjl/s1600/Winter+2012+042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKa2ECujXcVtz8JGlh4ooPXulbuXq__b0nAszE8DKBEZMESoZIEJ-Fo_1OSGNUibqRvGNBkyjnkm-GlAq3-wAroSfXBdIkFhNmcY9Wg6YWSND0GnuPsyo7AZKoDxChYQA7NOHQBudlrgjl/s320/Winter+2012+042.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-67854831602324266492012-02-18T10:51:00.000-08:002012-02-18T11:15:31.283-08:00"Time", a song by meOK, so this is terrible quality, but it's the best I have on hand. Plus, I'm not used to recording anything about me, especially my singing voice, so I got a little pitchy in the beginning. Just ignore it, K?<br />
<br />
This is called "Time".<br />
<br />
Lyrics below.<br />
<br />
Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<object height="94" style="clear: left; float: left;" width="422"><param value="http://www.divshare.com/flash/audio_embed?data=YTo2OntzOjU6ImFwaUlkIjtpOjQ7czo2OiJmaWxlSWQiO2k6MTY4MjQyMDQ7czo0OiJjb2RlIjtzOjEyOiIxNjgyNDIwNC0wZDgiO3M6NjoidXNlcklkIjtpOjI1MzAyOTI7czoxMjoiZXh0ZXJuYWxDYWxsIjtpOjE7czo0OiJ0aW1lIjtpOjEzMjk1OTA5MjE7fQ==&autoplay=" name="movie">
</param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
</param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always">
</param>
<param name="wmode" value="transparent">
</param>
<embed height="94" width="422" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" src="http://www.divshare.com/flash/audio_embed?data=YTo2OntzOjU6ImFwaUlkIjtpOjQ7czo2OiJmaWxlSWQiO2k6MTY4MjQyMDQ7czo0OiJjb2RlIjtzOjEyOiIxNjgyNDIwNC0wZDgiO3M6NjoidXNlcklkIjtpOjI1MzAyOTI7czoxMjoiZXh0ZXJuYWxDYWxsIjtpOjE7czo0OiJ0aW1lIjtpOjEzMjk1OTA5MjE7fQ==&autoplay="></embed></object><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Time</b><br />
<br />
Three kids following behind her<br />
I look for a smile and all I see is<br />
Two hands to do all she needs to<br />
All she wants is more time<br />
<br />
Moving neither fast or slow<br />
We plug along<br />
We hang on<br />
You tell me that time is beautiful<br />
You're beautiful<br />
<br />
He looks at the clock, it's two in the morning<br />
Why can't he sleep<br />
He closes his eyes, there's not enough answers<br />
He just needs more time<br />
<br />
Moving neither fast or slow<br />
We plug along<br />
We hang on<br />
You tell me that time is beautiful<br />
You're beautiful<br />
<br />
We've seen the hard<br />
We've seen the years<br />
We've seen each other<br />
And still you say to me<br />
You're beautiful<br />
<br />
Married ten years, so much has changed<br />
Is it really better now?<br />
Living as friends, not so much lovers<br />
If only they had more time<br />
<br />
Moving neither fast or slow<br />
We plug along<br />
We hang on<br />
You tell me that time is beautiful<br />
You're beautiful<br />
<br />
Still you say to me<br />
You're beautiful<br />
You're beautiful to me<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-34676559769070928142012-02-02T11:01:00.000-08:002012-02-02T11:05:07.532-08:00In such a short time...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">...he has gotten so much better. I introduced the black keys to him on this song, and he's picked up the idea already, exploring with them on other songs this keyboard offers. When things like this happen with him, I often think to myself, "What am I going to do with this kid?" I am constantly amazed at what he figures out by himself.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Oh, and since I took this video a few days ago, he can now play along with the music (at a slower tempo) with no mistakes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He's one fabulous boy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyCL4Z4Q1xYfeTE5UH7HdVQJti4p7_fHtLuWp8IwzrITS_GpLQ7UqpL49-mLKYmrQQrQZOM-5PCd34Uu1liww' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-87199127279888276992012-01-19T11:36:00.000-08:002012-01-19T11:36:58.537-08:00Beethoven<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We have this keyboard. It plays really fluffy samples of popular songs, but my kids love it. The latest and greatest thing to do with this fluffy keyboard is try to play along with the fluffy songs, so here you go...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxSF09XIJXASSSyS2vW_pRG9SSh3aFJ3O85ViC3SUMcstCHiQ4_FlSMVaImL-CdngL3vlQQQZ1CGJMohWYWnQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-22689772443906372312011-11-19T19:57:00.000-08:002011-11-19T20:04:18.448-08:00Life with my kidsIt's been a while, I know.<br />
<br />
Sorry, but life has been real busy, and it doesn't look like it'll be slowing down. It probably won't slow down ever again.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Jesse</b><br />
<br />
The first year of his life has been a whirl. He's a screecher, an eater, and a sleeper. He's totally engrossed with his motor skills, not very interested in his communication skills (except screeching), loves toilets, wires, trash cans, and pulling everything off the kitchen table, and so much dang fun to have around. I love one year old kids. From one to two years, my babies have all been dream children, and I fall into the trap of thinking this is how they will always be. Now, I'm just enjoying this time when he is peaceful, content, and really enjoys having me around.<br />
<br />
The other day Jeriah had requested a bowl of warm water to warm his hands up after being outside for a while. I put some warm water into a mixing bowl and put it on the table for him. He warmed up his hands and then walked away. A few minutes later, I hear splatting sounds. I look over and Jesse had pulled that bowl off the table. As a result, he was soaked, shocked, and screaming, and I had a flood quickly spreading in all directions. Before I was done cleaning up, Jesse immediately went back to pulling stuff off the table. I guess he isn't so quick to learn cause and effect. Oh yeah. And the next day he did the same thing with a cup of water that Jeriah had put snow in to make slush. I then had a screaming (and slushy) baby, who quickly went back to terrorizing items on the table, again.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Lukas</b><br />
<br />
He is almost four, and will very soon have his precious blankets taken away for good. It's a coming of age thing to my kids, and a ruse to get them to stop sucking their thumb to me. This worked like a charm with Jeriah. Lukas only sucks his thumb with his blanket, so take the blanket away, and fingers crossed, the thumb will then be left alone. He knows how to count to 100, knows his shapes, can write his name but not always in the right order, and almost always reads the letters of words to me, only he reads them from right to left. He is completely potty trained, including nights. He likes splashing excessively in the bathtub in almost cold water, lying around the house clinging to one of his blankets, getting his own cup and water when he's thirsty, folding towels, and deciding what he's painted <i>after</i> he's painted a picture. He still takes a nap almost every day. He does a fairly good job of keeping his interests separate from his big brother, even at the cost of being yelled at for not doing what big brother wants him to. He cuddles wonderfully and his huge chocolate eyes dance when he's happy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Jeriah</b><br />
<br />
He will be six very soon, and then very soon after that he will have the opportunity to get baptized. I'm realizing how quickly the next two years will fly by. He is in kindergarten and loves it, even though he does have homework almost everyday. It's fun work, and I enjoy doing it with him. He is working on his reading skills and tries to read signs as we go by them in the car. He still doesn't remember to write the lowercase letters smaller than the uppercase letters, though, but that will click at some point and it won't ever be an issue again. It's not really an issue to me, but his teacher cares.<br />
<br />
He tries desperately to create things in reality that his imagination tells him he can, like robots, cars, boats, remote controls, houses, fires, etc. This creates problems when he begs to be taken to the store to get wire, metal, wood, plastic, and whatever else he needs, and doesn't seem to understand how complicated these things are. After his requests are repeatedly shut down, he eventually resorts to making them with an exorbitant amount of tape, cardboard, paper, and toys. Sometimes household items are also subjected to his creativity. And then the family is required to step around his massive creation for days, or move it from place to place without disrupting it's zen, until Mom says she's throwing it in the garbage (sans toys and household items of course).<br />
<br />
Today, he decided he wanted to make a robot. He gathered a few items, taped them together, and then demanded that I give him some oil to pour in this hole because robots need oil. "Kitchen oil will do, Mommy." As if I am supposed to say, "Well, that OK then. Here you go." Sorry. No oil for little boy. Then the problem of how to get his robot to move puzzled him, and he decided he needed some wires for electricity. "Mommy, can I have some wires please?" Ah, no. "I don't have any wires to give you," shrugging my shoulders in defeat. "Mommy, we need to get some wires from that wood shop me and Daddy went to when we got those pipes." And, he got a no again. Seeing he was not making any progress with me, he fell back to the final tactic: "I'll just wait for Daddy to get home."<br />
<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Final Words</b><br />
<br />
Despite all the times I am in the depths of despair because I can't keep things and brothers from getting broken, spilled, hit, thrown, trampled, dirty, and bloody, I still find peace again knowing that these kids of mine are the most special, cool, intelligent, handsome, and loving kids on the face of the Earth (sorry everyone else, but it's true). I get to live with them every single day, all day long. How could I not feel privileged to be in their midst?<br />
<br />
It's when I realize that this moment is what matters, not what this moment could possibly mean in about ten years. It's when I can step back and personally revel in their accomplishments, see the joy they take in learning from their mistakes, and watch with my heart instead of my eyes. It's when they look at me in the middle of hot tears, and I know I love them despite all.<br />
<br />
That's when I glimpse eternity.KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-89330068256639114402011-09-10T10:27:00.000-07:002011-09-10T10:27:33.193-07:00It's Not Just For Girls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Who ever said this was only what little girls do?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw2txLw098UnmoESbnUun9r0T-mRFmz1_Zi_vAOS3_UpmuPbpCegsm4GHRMDhutb_Js7yLlOcZG2-XILmFeEw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Jesse is now officially 10 months old. This is his latest trick and as you can see, he's ecstatic.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx-LDcPAEGNMmyj2vf5eG1zQEi6LIGecr6tBFmnBnaLQtlUNL4HvX4mAXQajre1QmdntKRbjUQkTB5HaR_UAw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-69907201396673822052011-07-13T13:29:00.000-07:002011-07-26T17:31:51.141-07:00To Daddy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyrOD3IpY023gtsSNg7FRW6CFIRxVXWP7X_ZIbXxzvyHaOwVhayf8dTFk9OYh6RoJoZ4Q6scxJ1zxQ_eQoxRQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-69655481974144290352011-06-17T21:58:00.000-07:002011-07-26T17:30:20.997-07:00Videos!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Aunt Tatum is pretty scary.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dycm4LRFhy_nyTOwxntmExgUzpOE3HA2lNgZtrDWCqDlydY5oxJB6FiLBwl-44AJ_eiWq0JISWS5EBTGhG4HQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxoJfByVby42h6l9MctwPG9iZZ8TldXPS8nyjJpxm_mD6xiYiB6uoihhf9kCms0h5cM-7SyUT6BmPdI0hBmUA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And Lukas is pretty funny.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy4rwYx8pxzEMl4z61ZI3UumJiYWPMWKlLtYxZlwvT5Vjchf_u6eH528Kvlo6j_hLYeLESso_OKnwfN2gQdCA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-7507756634860078722011-06-14T12:13:00.000-07:002011-06-14T12:15:25.181-07:00Oregon VisitLet me just say, I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful family in Oregon! I went there about a month ago, just me and the kids, mainly to show off the latest addition to our family, and I always get itching to go on a trip in spring after being cooped up all winter long. So, we packed up and went on our way.<br />
<br />
The goal on the way there was to make it to Mary's (Jeriah's cousin) baptism. We had a very small window of error in how long it would take to get there, and I kept calling Taylor to see how much longer we had. Then I would adjust our speed accordingly. We made it there with 15 mins to spare! And how wonderful to be a part of such a special time.<br />
<br />
We crashed at Dallin and Tatum's house for the week, which was so much fun! They have a little girl, probably the most adorable girl I've ever seen, and she loved having little boys around to keep her company.<br />
<br />
Jeriah and Lukas had the opportunity to spend most nights having sleepovers with their Grandma and Grandpa. Then Jeriah went and stayed with his other cousins for the rest of the week. He had a blast! I wish we lived closer so we could have sleepovers more often.<br />
<br />
Here are a few pictures from our trip there...<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">At Aunt Charisa's for a day of play, and play they did.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2eoB8zw7efiwU5tMuzP-yDoBusd6q4CrXcS-QhUkuHFG99W4rLGtaLsHDtBvxNnVgXV0mv_mxFSlTiUN5iSKPejXcFS6UZikKwO5uYRV6IOUirNGKq1MG9WUg4UJ4rVoD3R14knmg7oN/s1600/Nikon+138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2eoB8zw7efiwU5tMuzP-yDoBusd6q4CrXcS-QhUkuHFG99W4rLGtaLsHDtBvxNnVgXV0mv_mxFSlTiUN5iSKPejXcFS6UZikKwO5uYRV6IOUirNGKq1MG9WUg4UJ4rVoD3R14knmg7oN/s320/Nikon+138.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqcbkJMNMrFL4ORxmigGOsHDHugaIxJ6j2nitxXENP5ncXQ7M89nF541MssIDhWpHUDZyiPwARYB78ufX4Me60xI7psMMT-S2OYckO_CMLJc1eUO7u-nxpPBo3T0fP3SLhHEncfxClVq9/s1600/Nikon+137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqcbkJMNMrFL4ORxmigGOsHDHugaIxJ6j2nitxXENP5ncXQ7M89nF541MssIDhWpHUDZyiPwARYB78ufX4Me60xI7psMMT-S2OYckO_CMLJc1eUO7u-nxpPBo3T0fP3SLhHEncfxClVq9/s320/Nikon+137.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">With Grandpa Gibb, they got to go on the train and go on this little ferris wheel. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJzRyZ3ynogWL16-8UXX0FEuJQB2Gj1vRhkuEpNVy0xV3QdoA90GU2sd0MKaYN95qitlSNlWZLpNLSHkblpHtgUZOX9bkuZguyY8bnpdRnHdPzzXQaFP_pPjG_L__Po8Kl0QPB2tJd9E9/s1600/Nikon+133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJzRyZ3ynogWL16-8UXX0FEuJQB2Gj1vRhkuEpNVy0xV3QdoA90GU2sd0MKaYN95qitlSNlWZLpNLSHkblpHtgUZOX9bkuZguyY8bnpdRnHdPzzXQaFP_pPjG_L__Po8Kl0QPB2tJd9E9/s320/Nikon+133.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">At Aunt Tatum's house.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2slG4C3VuEuOUNKU-s5Xw__KOPo0kzltyZkkwMXjGoQT5wFzOy3_Vo3M5cy-fLhDjRlPtQvKkf5tlNAUUNNp6LctbZy_HsCmuhqEaxo5QiQ8DfdgsJLh2hxpQVT3uq0vSW76gJxqhNpa/s1600/05-12-11+%25287%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2slG4C3VuEuOUNKU-s5Xw__KOPo0kzltyZkkwMXjGoQT5wFzOy3_Vo3M5cy-fLhDjRlPtQvKkf5tlNAUUNNp6LctbZy_HsCmuhqEaxo5QiQ8DfdgsJLh2hxpQVT3uq0vSW76gJxqhNpa/s320/05-12-11+%25287%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">We put these cuties in this little bike trailer/stroller, and they did not like it at all! At least until we started moving. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIO0YAKLERxwI9Oth1ujhGd2gv7xLUz5XQokUSCWHTVzNaPx6nln8JQE44HbALPlWqErtOxbVImr8D22n9Pec5mzmxmncnEXMahBuyYXgiCDVyUqEUs4iPNunhlQj48XgEt1rLjqb3Poeo/s1600/05-10-11+%252816%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIO0YAKLERxwI9Oth1ujhGd2gv7xLUz5XQokUSCWHTVzNaPx6nln8JQE44HbALPlWqErtOxbVImr8D22n9Pec5mzmxmncnEXMahBuyYXgiCDVyUqEUs4iPNunhlQj48XgEt1rLjqb3Poeo/s320/05-10-11+%252816%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFD8WCajwk1GnsjrU0NIIoEn5XvMHOjjRwFcr0Bq1l_fickYWLAoBqFL77YxMFtypUirClGwq4RTU2wE-VLPl2_8fvzl2cRsOf-nPRjuwj4sHFFicr64y0zJhSIk-lc_kz41s4TPfE_Wqc/s1600/05-10-11+%252842%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFD8WCajwk1GnsjrU0NIIoEn5XvMHOjjRwFcr0Bq1l_fickYWLAoBqFL77YxMFtypUirClGwq4RTU2wE-VLPl2_8fvzl2cRsOf-nPRjuwj4sHFFicr64y0zJhSIk-lc_kz41s4TPfE_Wqc/s320/05-10-11+%252842%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WFADwFOdzIaa5BVHbXO9PCp1kW5kylbssFyRffnRWpKM57kwUiDj_Cpto4E6hO0zgDXvK7S3Q_CwVyY82QDmjsKmsZzoMU6pExijC_qD6lC6r1ilNTnZ3-XODu4aM2XtEtWy9ZPUX9Od/s1600/05-10-11+%252844%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WFADwFOdzIaa5BVHbXO9PCp1kW5kylbssFyRffnRWpKM57kwUiDj_Cpto4E6hO0zgDXvK7S3Q_CwVyY82QDmjsKmsZzoMU6pExijC_qD6lC6r1ilNTnZ3-XODu4aM2XtEtWy9ZPUX9Od/s320/05-10-11+%252844%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGgka_uUnlK-JPC4XdfMlKh11UvEcMLrGvgmByTs1jucDF8-xseQ92UTKyOMdi_tfJETc-m_hzQwnpACBhzKx9rwS1L4ld6zTKm_JaNa1salMBq52L136JRpls8m7HRyDL2A3LTy0AtnB/s1600/05-10-11+%252846%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGgka_uUnlK-JPC4XdfMlKh11UvEcMLrGvgmByTs1jucDF8-xseQ92UTKyOMdi_tfJETc-m_hzQwnpACBhzKx9rwS1L4ld6zTKm_JaNa1salMBq52L136JRpls8m7HRyDL2A3LTy0AtnB/s320/05-10-11+%252846%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-9741153269851005872011-05-06T21:20:00.000-07:002011-05-06T21:20:57.566-07:00It's finished!I'm going to call this the Window Quilt. And I finished it today! And Jeriah is sleeping with it tonight. And I must say that I am kind of proud of myself for pulling this off. There are plenty of mistakes, but they aren't mistakes that will make the quilt fall apart or anything. They are because it's only my second quilt ever, and this is a whole lot better than my first one!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqH4fKNF_qwlyNNXaTx5XBtagngF08EFLp9SYcmgw8Z_ZJL_7tjzzlKifjAShhjdrmdsEVegxl_5y1yoAODdlWQ6ShOs-tZ-8-6cA7ih9lcMEw8KBJk5ASq19sOKcJWsVESknq0hWmRQUa/s1600/IMG_4562.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqH4fKNF_qwlyNNXaTx5XBtagngF08EFLp9SYcmgw8Z_ZJL_7tjzzlKifjAShhjdrmdsEVegxl_5y1yoAODdlWQ6ShOs-tZ-8-6cA7ih9lcMEw8KBJk5ASq19sOKcJWsVESknq0hWmRQUa/s320/IMG_4562.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bE0lFNvxY21fhMqN_YuWvcbJpqPCEGnNorjmzsuetMoIYIzxmM8Redjm_scxRU51VQj_SwTat4Oj9IxL7hcXDl3i9pXz2iRwFsB15BZh1RqKasz5-Oj_XfMuplOmX-cDq9ZnHjNbtFAD/s1600/IMG_4565.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bE0lFNvxY21fhMqN_YuWvcbJpqPCEGnNorjmzsuetMoIYIzxmM8Redjm_scxRU51VQj_SwTat4Oj9IxL7hcXDl3i9pXz2iRwFsB15BZh1RqKasz5-Oj_XfMuplOmX-cDq9ZnHjNbtFAD/s320/IMG_4565.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqH4fKNF_qwlyNNXaTx5XBtagngF08EFLp9SYcmgw8Z_ZJL_7tjzzlKifjAShhjdrmdsEVegxl_5y1yoAODdlWQ6ShOs-tZ-8-6cA7ih9lcMEw8KBJk5ASq19sOKcJWsVESknq0hWmRQUa/s1600/IMG_4562.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-5276898549070218032011-05-03T13:58:00.000-07:002011-05-03T13:59:33.312-07:00Artist or Scientist?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">Jeriah has moved on from learning about planets to learning about our bodies. He draws everything he learns, and I must say I am impressed with what details he remembers. The below pictures are the circulatory system and the skeletal system.<br />
<br />
(I'm sorry this first one isn't better quality. If you want to see his details, you can click on the pictures to see them bigger.)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qooY8mGGVme8Oj5KUFK_PRPdCbAGrm_e4xxlYtMu3K2jTMV_ct7MK5IqSF22Q9e8Y8gF5_qARpHEtE87WJhcyrd6hHrCLZ6z_SE6L7c5PzaLLr6Zt3R_AYcqUommdvmTEikib98WtJUB/s1600/Nikon+121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qooY8mGGVme8Oj5KUFK_PRPdCbAGrm_e4xxlYtMu3K2jTMV_ct7MK5IqSF22Q9e8Y8gF5_qARpHEtE87WJhcyrd6hHrCLZ6z_SE6L7c5PzaLLr6Zt3R_AYcqUommdvmTEikib98WtJUB/s400/Nikon+121.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGX0OnQMNYncLaFEBvhTitNfwzDn_XsGLUc-13VKJRxd0Ic7R6_TWG6ON0ysqxk_mEBxM3rxm_UnQnukEoa4-KhVxd46JWrT7044MX9LB6AnjIxtZrXEuG911fS9VF86Fg169sgqgkI38/s1600/Nikon+119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGX0OnQMNYncLaFEBvhTitNfwzDn_XsGLUc-13VKJRxd0Ic7R6_TWG6ON0ysqxk_mEBxM3rxm_UnQnukEoa4-KhVxd46JWrT7044MX9LB6AnjIxtZrXEuG911fS9VF86Fg169sgqgkI38/s400/Nikon+119.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Self portrait:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOS5KqOTJkFCG0cLy9WdYmXSQImjO8isjbZv2mqr-Lg2awoTq2xr4p6AnjvgLvsf8Sk2uuT2w6kN4eue6la7RYVzrkACheQgjm4sUIvPw1iiF6Qa9FG9b8xS7OqpQykbgHK4PYU8GGwKpu/s1600/Nikon+051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOS5KqOTJkFCG0cLy9WdYmXSQImjO8isjbZv2mqr-Lg2awoTq2xr4p6AnjvgLvsf8Sk2uuT2w6kN4eue6la7RYVzrkACheQgjm4sUIvPw1iiF6Qa9FG9b8xS7OqpQykbgHK4PYU8GGwKpu/s400/Nikon+051.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-91236640834005822752011-04-25T13:55:00.000-07:002011-04-25T13:55:36.341-07:00Do Unto Others...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The kids spent an entire three hours outside. Doing what, you say?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgLgEcB-EUSVcqmGvKrXlSdASGa2yAqw54IGGudbmgX3on0vS_QNgsQEhnPGL9L48w74V_oqfpdQmzW1l6clKxsOdR2bgTwrSR5PS8JNcksArAqej0FA5i08TPw3nOwurXG46_s6J9WpTi/s1600/Nikon+124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgLgEcB-EUSVcqmGvKrXlSdASGa2yAqw54IGGudbmgX3on0vS_QNgsQEhnPGL9L48w74V_oqfpdQmzW1l6clKxsOdR2bgTwrSR5PS8JNcksArAqej0FA5i08TPw3nOwurXG46_s6J9WpTi/s320/Nikon+124.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Crouching down in one spot torturing a poor ladybug. Oh, they didn't think they were torturing it. They thought they were taking care of it, much like their mommy takes care of them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Jeriah carefully pulled up a pile of grass and put the ladybug on top, giving it something to eat.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">He covered the ladybug up with a pile of dirt, so it could play in the dirt.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">He got some water and put the ladybug in it, to give it a bath.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When I told him that ladybugs don't eat grass, they eat bugs, he ran over to his dirt box and started digging. When he found a worm, he ran back over to his precious ladybug and said, "I'm going to kill this worm so the ladybug can eat it!"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I found out that there is an arsenal of ladybugs in that area of our backyard, so I'm looking forward to many more hours of uninterrupted time to myself, though I'm sure the ladybugs wish they had picked a different backyard to live in.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-63508676160340665342011-04-22T18:16:00.001-07:002011-07-26T17:32:09.834-07:00New Exercise Routine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/4r0Hwqw4wUU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-84382274531835301832011-04-16T08:59:00.000-07:002011-04-16T08:59:17.056-07:005 Months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He is big for his age. He is very happy when he's happy, and very angry when he's angry. He is loved by both Jeriah and Lukas and they are always aware of him. He always gets a good night hug and kiss before they go to bed. He has started solid foods now and loves it. I think he'd probably rather just eat solid foods instead of nurse. He brightens up the room when he smiles. He's working on getting more coordinated with his hands, sleeping all night long (two nights in a row now!), and rolling over.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is our Jesse. Adorable. Happy. Loved.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-T2ItWPiYUy3Jl9KLLQX5js-TCUMg-iJbIwrBKBO74FoeYusicCUhkU38GKZL0jLTozaFPVD1dMvMQ8bapeLebVOmhl2qjVj9V1bXzBX_sMabd0mH7IcNkTwUFvhMm5ipFYbit3N5qZsP/s1600/Nikon+078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-T2ItWPiYUy3Jl9KLLQX5js-TCUMg-iJbIwrBKBO74FoeYusicCUhkU38GKZL0jLTozaFPVD1dMvMQ8bapeLebVOmhl2qjVj9V1bXzBX_sMabd0mH7IcNkTwUFvhMm5ipFYbit3N5qZsP/s320/Nikon+078.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuS6wboNNcFJx5x_UmyPLzvtCxCNGntQoeCiQEz87vfnm9cpB2WuHk8Q4oy9bivPn_t7X_RWWCKQxOYn_Udd5HlKDQLF7zziqPXcF47JSEON9e_kScYn4-mGgjnQYv2yY9wYIXnWuBVHP/s1600/Nikon+099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuS6wboNNcFJx5x_UmyPLzvtCxCNGntQoeCiQEz87vfnm9cpB2WuHk8Q4oy9bivPn_t7X_RWWCKQxOYn_Udd5HlKDQLF7zziqPXcF47JSEON9e_kScYn4-mGgjnQYv2yY9wYIXnWuBVHP/s320/Nikon+099.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitinFMUi_A2fOOxlgzWFzUsvtYgF7B8PTeKQYWA6Twr5bWJsuZeNP1uw3Drhqw7iK7d4ITlKiqUfreRUqI1Y2ux48x_ZDpVas58JjG51wFEArJx1WHBht7jndbRVYYib5u7csDEWbeJxT_/s1600/Nikon+095.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitinFMUi_A2fOOxlgzWFzUsvtYgF7B8PTeKQYWA6Twr5bWJsuZeNP1uw3Drhqw7iK7d4ITlKiqUfreRUqI1Y2ux48x_ZDpVas58JjG51wFEArJx1WHBht7jndbRVYYib5u7csDEWbeJxT_/s320/Nikon+095.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-35332252669066788332011-04-07T23:18:00.000-07:002011-04-07T23:18:34.146-07:00Recent Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-ehk5HKhu1-Xc3aAAuWPDMgg_Gs01tdObUKPePhnRdRnUxNaANqz6KwAauxwZSDwPQpbdq2i6yv2RzkbS90szFJseYLzMt2UkOChyphenhyphen4Wuyd8SlqdNuCJdWbsewDAmsxrKIPhs1PjW1Ovv/s1600/Nikon+099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>This is my latest project. Jeriah really needs a blanket all his own, so I decided to just make one for him. This quilt has been pretty fun to put together so far and I am very excited to finish it. Jeriah is really excited for me to finish it. He has asked me multiple times if he could get under it, and talks about how much he likes it. I can't wait and apparently he can't wait either.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkUctFclqCkgkMJjNtdmgw-7ycbfYbatEyB7EsrkF4Js5UIkLmJpX1d9mYAmZ0mNi7UitfkRZfuJ4NoUS0Wnyb2Qav6lZnaUbonWREbt2kGrJXre0JXCi2XayOO7cJT-MluoStBooIQoJl/s1600/Nikon+100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkUctFclqCkgkMJjNtdmgw-7ycbfYbatEyB7EsrkF4Js5UIkLmJpX1d9mYAmZ0mNi7UitfkRZfuJ4NoUS0Wnyb2Qav6lZnaUbonWREbt2kGrJXre0JXCi2XayOO7cJT-MluoStBooIQoJl/s640/Nikon+100.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-70522227367769115842011-04-03T12:01:00.000-07:002011-07-26T17:32:27.876-07:00Squeals, Gurgles, and Giggles<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy7IOnSpjGJi9zzhNPWodWmwXW5HbZrqnIEhCA2lgIM9c08ZeN3wEEYTGw5oYh-gj8dfudzoghHcAp0_CDP9w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-30831072114539582242011-03-29T18:20:00.000-07:002011-03-29T18:20:00.336-07:00Where'd he go?<div style="text-align: center;">After looking around the house trying to find my little Lukas, I finally look at this pile of toys in the living room -</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4UaRol7NoJDJNdrBGfHxKo31YgNTRvO1-2gfgPiWFXDJtgehitnCgI9sm5kkHCEeLUqREzgYIT_d5nAD3UcSkxnC-lFZMDpSAaIgvDLk1icJUh-VCF3eHRwk8EqlyrHW0o97j1-c890T/s400/Nikon+063.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588935024220929826" /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBGaLGzhdJTy9HDmKZa3d8AXESj70wj29cSJAKYFiU1WdgNl_ruIgdgQDxwE0T3ZYlA2WHVfXCndvBNtYMvcgk10NbmMN06KG-02EWdrWB7xnro1d2_E8srQ1pu3z0naDgExx70r1SrhUv/s400/Nikon+062.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588935028811070418" /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizsTEas1WNEYlhgvg6tuASEL0edMKhvMDZibiJkHkQAT5k2kwuUXN8GVg0TNmfks8xGzYhLZB-RlZZVTZ1aYp4cGvx8MPnP_mB30v8MCKS5Vlcc8-AGn2VIJriXwFjrl5odXWg_SuzxVsI/s400/Nikon+060.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588935033456451186" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The things little brothers tolerate.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099260888910596267.post-80531773685728767522011-03-27T17:38:00.000-07:002011-03-27T17:57:47.467-07:00Dinosaur Tails<div>In my recent blog perusing, I found <a href="http://projectsbyjess.blogspot.com/2011/03/dinosaur-tails.html">this tutoria</a>l on how to make these adorable dino tails for little boys. They are just perfect and darling and I could totally see my little boys wearing them.<div><br /></div><div>I figured I had enough scraps from projects past to complete this, so I dug everything out and picked what fabrics I wanted to use. Then I got to work.</div><div><br /></div><div>My end product...</div></div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYtsprhSCZZUDugchXfj3FDuKOinPuw47SEk0bDeAYc3W73tU3ZrjueFV9rKl80EHyONPgESbC8fOKIw44ITvT_cpBHrfwgtfzTE1fWz4FTdGjLiFqBLxYvRglcAFQP4ks9Hp9DDmnVWDF/s1600/Nikon+076.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYtsprhSCZZUDugchXfj3FDuKOinPuw47SEk0bDeAYc3W73tU3ZrjueFV9rKl80EHyONPgESbC8fOKIw44ITvT_cpBHrfwgtfzTE1fWz4FTdGjLiFqBLxYvRglcAFQP4ks9Hp9DDmnVWDF/s400/Nikon+076.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588928513656631250" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Dino tails in action!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwct2Pojp0JPHNnYkL9bAc1-ajEw1_lIKpWlMJeH7L_Nh3W5wxReh08sIpN8wJqja7UAMRVC04iciL3Hi8mL17UYsFBe5GD6kQszs2YsGYUu4aKTR1alOEviwYtZ3YVfXjn7t-D13r9ipo/s400/Nikon+083.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588925501456327458" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">This is supposed to be their best dinosaur face. They may need to work on that a little.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2NRZuETu7jbuWwX76IoChhujauN0EU91R0lRJr77_1Qg5vvsw-pdqlxYaSBMmXCHGROlhH1h63o7HOhT_e_UeLLUwrKG0Nwwp7ORCuJDzTwscvR5igkM4GpgQYdkQDdMDuqQBCHMneAUJ/s1600/Nikon+086.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2NRZuETu7jbuWwX76IoChhujauN0EU91R0lRJr77_1Qg5vvsw-pdqlxYaSBMmXCHGROlhH1h63o7HOhT_e_UeLLUwrKG0Nwwp7ORCuJDzTwscvR5igkM4GpgQYdkQDdMDuqQBCHMneAUJ/s400/Nikon+086.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588925512844310930" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>It has been a blast watching these two with their tails. They wiggle their bums, roll around, shoot fire at each other, have tail fights, etc. I highly recommend finding some scrap fabric around your house and taking an evening to put these together. They have provided us hours of fun in our house.KGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01725530519964856947noreply@blogger.com1