An Attitude of Graditude

I have been really frustrated lately with all of the medical issues we have had this year and I have been stressing about them. We have been really trying to read the scriptures better as a family(we haven't been very good about it in the past) and we were reading about Nephi and his family, specifically when their bows were broken. It hit me, I need to stop complaining and stressing and be grateful for the things that I do have. I feel blessed to have a wonderful husband and 3 beautiful children. We have had some medical struggles this year, but everything has been minor and we are all still here. I am grateful Jared has a job that he can go to everyday. I am grateful for wonderful parents who have helped us and taught me the gospel as a child. I am thankful for my brothers and their families and the love and support that they show us. I am thankful for friends who have shown their love and support. I am thankful for this gospel and the knowledge and peace it brings to us. I am thankful for Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and the sacrifices they have made for us. I AM BLESSED!!!!

Summer Fun-Sorta!

This is a long time in coming. As we all know, I am just really slow. We had a good summer. Well, the beginning was good. We started out by going to the Cherry Festival in Emmett. We do this every summer with most of my family. The kids have a lot of fun riding the rides and watching the parade. This year, Emm and Andrew were actually in the parade. My brother, Todd, is a volunteer firefighter in Emmett and was driving one of the fire trucks in the parade. The kids were able to ride with him. Andrew had a good time sounding the horn. He was inside with Todd and one of my nieces. Emm didn't have as much fun. She was on the outside and ended up getting wet. We told her before that she was going to get wet, but she still had a minor meltdown.

After that, Abbie and I did a mom and me swim class. She really liked it, except when we tried to put a life jacket on her or when we were singing songs as a class. She just wanted to jump in!

Jared and I's 9th anniversary was in June. We had a good time. We were able to go to dinner all by ourselves! It was wonderful. Thanks Christy for watching the kids!! I can't believe it has been 9 years. It was been a wonderful 9 years, not without struggle, but still wonderful!

Then the fun really began!!! On June 29, we went to Roaring Springs with some of my family. Emm had earned a free pass for reading a certain amount of minutes during the school year, separate from her reading for class. We had to use it by the end of June. Our cousins also had the same passes so we decided to all go together. Jared was planning on meeting us after work. We got there between 12 and 1. We got ourselves all situated and then went to the lazy river. After that, we headed to the kiddie area. The younger kids were having a good time playing. Abs and our niece that is the same age weren't having as much fun. I decided to go see how much the little tubes were for babies. I took Abs with me and we decided to get 2 of them. We got them back to where we were sitting and started blowing them up. One of them didn't work, so I left Abs with my SIL and went back. I wasn't far at all from where we were when I felt my left ankle slipping. I turned to look at it and try to catch myself, but it didn't happen. I fell on my arm. I thought I was ok, but I could get myself up. The whole time I was thinking, "Oh no! Not again. My finger was just getting better!!!" Well, some random people stopped to see if I was ok and to help me up. Then, two lifeguards came by and took me to the first aid station. I couldn't move my right arm at all. They told me I needed to go to the hospital for an x-ray. I thought I had broken it between my wrist and elbow.

They found my family. We were in 2 of the cabanas that they have there, so my family was easy to locate. And, I am just grateful that I left Abs with them and she didn't get hurt too. My brother came and we called Jared. We decided he would meet us at St. Luke's in Meridian, but we needed to decide what to do with the kids. My dad was at work and my mom was coming over to get him. They were trying to decide whether to come see everyone at the park. Well, they ended up meeting us at St. Luke's too. My brother took me and the kids to St. Luke's (I was still in my swimming suit!) and my parents brought them back so they could still have some fun.

When we got there, Jared was out front waiting for us. He started walking over to the car and was laughing. Can you believe it!!! I think there wasn't much else to do, but laugh!! He wasn't sure what to expect. My SIL wasn't sure what exactly happened to me because she hadn't seen me, so Jared wasn't sure what to expect. I figured we would go in and I would get a cast on my arm and then we would leave. Not the case. They took an x-ray, which hurt like you can not believe and we found out I had broken my elbow and would have to have surgery! Not what I was expecting at all!!! They wrapped up my arm and put it in a sling and then we actually went back to RS. I didn't want to just go home and sit, plus we needed to get the kids.

The next day, my mom took me to the doctor and we set up my surgery for that Thursday. The doctor said what happened was typical of a break seen in a 10-11 year-old because their growth plates haven't grown all the way. What happened was a piece of my bone chipped off and was floating around where the bones meet to make the elbow. The doctor actually said he would take this break over a normal adult break because the adult break would be much worse and so would the surgery. So, I had the surgery on that Thursday and here's what my new elbow looks like:
If you look closely, there is a white line. That is were the piece chipped off. The doctor told Jared after the surgery that it went perfectly.

We were suppose to go to IF for the 4th of July. The doctor said I could still go, but we decided it wasn't a good idea. So, Jared took Emm and Andrew to IF and Abs and I went to stay with my parents. The whole month of July consisted of people taking care of me because I couldn't do it myself. The kids got really bored. They did get to take swimming lessons, so that helped a little. I started physical therapy at the end of July and I am still going 2x a week at least until the beginning of October. Who knew a little slip would be this involved!!

1st Day of 1st Grade

I can't believe the first day of school was yesterday. I will admit I was glad to have Emm go back. This summer was hard because of my injury. We really didn't get to do anything. The kids did take swimming lessons, but that's it. I had great plans of doing the library reading program, going to parks, and just having fun, but that didn't happen and Emm was bored and ready to go back. I do miss having her at home during the day, but the house is much quieter and there is NO fighting. That's the best part!

On Monday, we went to our friends' house and Emm got her haircut. She wanted it super short, shorter than mine. We had to compromise though. I knew she wouldn't like it if it was shorter than mine. It turned out super cute and she loves it. And, she thinks it's shorter than mine, so that's all that really matters. Tuesday was meet the teacher night which was very crazy! There were so many people and we didn't get to say much to the teacher. Emm ended up being in a class with several friends, so we were grateful for that. Last year, we didn't know anyone. Yesterday was the BIG day. Emm was so excited. She even woke up before Jared and me. That is a big thing-she likes her sleep. She got all ready and then wanted to walk all by herself. She is a big 1st grader and that's what they do. I told her not on the first day. Andrew, Abbie, and I dropped her off. She decided she wanted us to stay until the class went in. After that, we came home, went to a dr's appointment, and then had a quiet afternoon at home. I was actually able to get the house cleaned and even better, Andrew actually helped. Then, it was time to get Emm. Andrew and Abbie were so excited to see her walking across the field. In fact, they both went running to her. It was pretty cute. She said she had a fun first day, but she was tired! She wanted to know why I wouldn't let her take a nap when she got home. I told her that would be a problem because she wouldn't want to go to bed! She also said she missed me during the day. I sure missed her, but I am excited(and a little sad) that she is growing up!

Where has the time gone?

WOW! My last post, Emm had been out of school a couple of weeks and NOW she is starting school in 1 day. I can't believe how fast the summer has gone. It probably doesn't help that pretty much the whole month of July I was on pain killers. That will be another post shortly along with a lovely picture of my elbow! Just wanted you all to know we were still here and I will post more soon.

Kindergarten Graduation and Field Trips

Now that Emm has been out of school for about 3 weeks, I thought it was time to actually post the pictures of her last week of school. I'm a little slow, but I think we all new that. It was a busy last week of school. On Monday, they had field day, which I helped with, but didn't get any pictures. I actually helped the other group from Emm's class, so I didn't even get to see her play the games. That's alright though, she had a good time.

Wednesday, she had a field trip to the Zoo. She was so excited about it because she got to ride the bus. She has wanted to ride a bus all year and finally got the chance. Andrew, Abbie, and I met them at the Zoo. Once everyone was there, we split into groups and got to do whatever we wanted. I was with Emm and Zach(the boy she has had a little crush on all year). They had a fun time together looking at all the animals.

Friday, the 5th, was Emm's last day of school. She was excited to be finished and to be a 1st grader. Here is a picture of her on the 1st day of school and one on the last day. Apparently this is the official school pose.She has grown up so much this school year. She had a lot of problems last summer that she has been able to work through and we are very proud of her. She has also started reading and can do simple math problems. She loves to be able to write and sound out words on her own. She does a very good job. She had a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Atkinson, whom she loved so much. In fact, Andrew loved her too. We found out she will not be at the school next year and Andrew said, "You'll take me to her new school and she will be my teacher." It was pretty cute.

That Friday, her teacher planned a little graduation. It was really cute. They walked into the library with their little graduation hats on. Emm was really excited to wear that. The kids then sang a couple of songs. It was fun to listen to them. I had actually already heard them sing them when they practiced when I was volunteering. They all did a great job. Then, they each got their diploma from Mrs. Atkinson. Once all the kids were done, Mrs. Atkinson showed a video she had prepared of the kids throughout the year. It was a lot of fun to see how much they have grown. I have to say, I was a little emotional during the whole thing. I didn't think it would affect me like it did. I'm too much of a cry baby! Well, I actually didn't cry, but almost. My mom was able to come and surprise Emm. She was very excited when she saw her there.

Abbie is 12 months!!!!!

Happy Birthday to Abbie! I can't believe the year has already gone by. It's been such a fun year and we feel so blessed to have Abbie in our family. She went to the Dr on her birthday and weighs 18lbs 9oz and is 28 1/2 inches long. She turned 1 and thinks she is the biggest girl ever. She has to walk every where she goes and she doesn't want help. We walk Emm to and from school and I try to hold her hand, but she won't let me. She has a mind of her own. I was at a friends' house yesterday and she was climbing up the slide. She would get about half way up and then slide down. I was getting very nervous. She loves to eat too and she wants to eat everything. She has the best laugh ever and we all love hearing it. She also loves Emm and Andrew. It is so fun to watch them together. She lights up when she sees them. WE LOVE YOU, ABBIE!!!!
Her birthday was last Friday and we had her party last Saturday at Settler's Park. I was so glad we had it at the park. It was nice to be able to go there and not worry about entertaining everyone at our house. Besides, what do you do for a 1 year-old birthday? The kids all had fun playing in the water squirters and all the other play equipment. Abbie even loved the squirters! Friday night, some friends came over and we made a bunch of cupcakes and then a giant cupcake for Abbie to have all to herself. Thank you Chirsty for decorating it. It turned out so cute! Abbie loved it and stuck her face right in the frosting. I was expecting that. Actually, I figured she was going to grab the whole thing with her hands, but she didn't-just stuck her face in. It's much easier that way! She even had frosting in her ear! Andrew helped eat the frosting. He had been waiting all week to have her party and was very excited for her.

The next post is a slide show of our year with Abbie. I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoy her!