Snow, snow, and more snow!!

We wanted to live in Utah....why? Utah is beautiful most of the year, but when we brave these snowstorms, I have to wonder why. We just had a snowstorm like this on Friday, although I think we may have gotten more snow today. This blog is for my out of town family who can't comprehend this much snow. I live here and neither can I!

Looks pretty from afar.


Chaos.


More chaos!

Are you out of your mind?

Sasquatch or a mean trick??

Ok. I've seen a million deer walking through my backyard and I know the tracks that they leave behind. I woke up this morning to find some pretty weird footprints right off my back entry. I think Big Foot has been chasing the deer through the yard. The weird thing is, that these footprints ended abruptly....also it looks like a two legged animal. Jeron said he thought they looked human. So which neighbor is walking barefoot in my yard. I wish I wouldn't have been too lazy and cold to take a close-up picture. Give me your guesses.





You have to click on the pic to enlarge it and look between the railing.




I wish you could see a closer picture. It looked like it had about three long toes.


We had our dear friend, Stephanie, take Christmas pictures of our family and our kids begged us do to a goofy one. Here it is.

My sister's triplets

I couldn't resist putting this picture up. My sister is my hero. Jessica has 5 kids -- twins and triplets- and all girls! It doesn't stop there. They are all 5 and under and Jessica is still perfectly sane. I don't know how she does it. She sent me this picture and I am in love.


From left to right: Whitney, Lauren, and Hannah

I finally updated!

So a lot of things have happened since I blogged last - many of which I can't remember. Life is a blur. Big news - #1: Jeron has lost 30 pounds. He is so dedicated to his low carb way of eating. I will never be converted. He looks and feels great.


Jeron and I at a my neighbor's Christmas party.



#2: My little Austin received an award for being so nice. He melts my heart.





#3: We hosted Thanksgiving in our home.



(Jeron's idea)




Lots of family




#4: An Indian moved in.


I thought this was so funny. Austin made this hat at school
and after he came home from school decided to have a snack. I found
him in the kitchen by himself wearing his hat.



#5: My boys were nice to each other.





#6: Decorated a tree - big accomplishment this year.





# 7: Saw a reindeer for the first time!





Thanksgiving point - eating grilled cheese
sandwiches with mom b4 seeing the reindeer.



I can't believe the year is coming to an end! My boys are getting big and are healthy. I'm still alive. My husband has a job. I have a lot to be thankful for.

I love/hate blogging

So I will never be this great writer who can entertain everyone with my blog, but today, blogging was actually on my mind, and I carried my camera around for a while so I could have something to blog about. Most days I would probably fill my blog with complaints about being too busy or feeling tired from taking care of kids by myself, but today was a pretty good day. Jeron is gone again (surprise!) and I'm trying to de-stress my life. I feel my life with appointments and running around, and I'm tired. Blogging probably isn't helping. I'm trying to figure out how to add pictures, add links, etc. It's one more thing to do -- or maybe it's stress relief. We'll see.

I got my little Austin a jacket on sale at Gap and he was so excited to wear it today. He came down stairs wearing the jacket (nothing under it) and some sweat pants. That was the combo he put together for school. It was hidious, but precious. So after we got him dressed, he modeled for me. After I got him off to school, I went to my neighbor's (Stephanie) house to get some grub. She's always feeding me and I love it! My neighbors take good care of me. I also snapped some pictures of the snow. I hate it already - 40 degrees today! I'm feeling pretty good lately. I thought my headaches had almost disappeared, but I was plagued with a few this last week. I'm working on managing my stress. Overall, I'm very blessed and happy to still be here.

Austin, my poser.

Delicious!

Chef....Stephanie.

This is how the city fixed the fire hydrant that is about to become a geyser. Yeah, that
plastic bag is really going to hold the water when it comes shooting out.

Our house in the arctic. The first snow!

Halloween Festivities

Jeron and I both are not big on "Trunk or Treat". The nice thing -- lots of candy, fast...the bad thing -- crowds and trying to keep track of kids. I spent the day rushing from Dr. appointments, to the store, to a school party, home to get kids ready for Halloween, and then on to trunk or treat. We even carved a quick pumpkin somewhere in there. Motherhood is not fair! I thought the Holidays were supposed to be fun. Well, they never are. We are too busy rushing to enjoy anything! So we made it to trunk or treat (the second picture is Jeron with our neighbor, Dave, dressed up as Joe Dirt) and then when the rain started we bailed and went to Kneaders for a warm meal. Then my kids trick or treated at one house (my friend, Cristina's) and came home. That's all Jeron and I could handle. We were in bed by 10:30. Seriously, we've got to up our game.

Beautiful vampire

Backwards again....and last picture.

Who likes this blogging thing anyway?

So you may have noticed, my pictures on the last entry were all backwards and some were missing, so I'm going to try this again. I do not like blogging so far because I haven't spent enough time figuring this out! I'm going to try to reattach some of these pictures. The weekend previous to San Francisco, I traveled across the country (alone -- yipee!) to West Palm Beach, Florida, to go to my brother, Mark's, wedding. After the wedding, I drove with my sister and her family up to Georgia. It was a fun, but short, weekend. It was good to see my family and my sister's 5 girls (twins and triplets)!! The first (if I can attach these right) picture is of one of my brothers, Jon, and sister, Jessica, and Mom and me at the wedding reception...and yes, I did do my hair, although you'd never know it from this picture. The one after that is of my nieces, Kendall and Bailey (Jessica's twins who were precious flower girls) and me at the wedding. The weekend before that (Yes, I live a busy, busy, life) we took our boys to Las Vegas while Jeron was working there. My boys were so excited the morning they woke up there, they were peering out the window to see the Las Vegas they forgot. We went to visit the lions at MGM and old neighbors who we dearly love! It was a fun, but also short weekend. Fun times.

FINALLY UPDATED

So I'm not so great at this blog thing yet. I'm struggling to keep my head above water when Jeron is gone. He had been gone for a week but he just got back yesterday! Yeah! My life is much more calm when Jeron is around -- in lots of different ways. He is a calming influence in our home and we greatly miss him when he's gone. So this first picture is of the golden gate bridge. I took my first trip to San Francisco to see Jeron for the weekend (he was there for a convention for a week). It was as beautiful as Jeron has been telling me. The homes were amazing and the view was breathtaking. The bay is amazing -- and a lot bigger than I realized. The picture of Jeron is of him at Union Square. We were waiting on our city tour bus to come pick us up. We took a tour of the city, walked around Golden Gate Park, and visited the sea lions at Pier 39. Apparently they docked themselves after the earthquake of 1989. It was a fun, but tiring day. The big gorgeous building is Town Hall. The building with the red roof was the view outside of our hotel -- fabulous!!

STROKE UPDATE

I finally met with the neurologist! Yesterday, (Tuesday) Jeron was kind enough to drive me to Salt Lake to the University of Utah to meet with our neurologist to evaluate my progress since my stroke. We received good news -- I'm doing great! I think "off the charts" is how he put it. And most importantly, he gave me the "ok" to drive. Thank you for all your prayers on my behalf. I know that they have been answered. I know that age is on my side also. I feel pretty normal now except for the headaches, which I hear are pretty normal for someone who has experienced a stroke. My head is getting more stable every day. I can actually bend over and stand up without getting dizzy. I tried to tell the doctor (and Jeron) that I still am not well enough to vacuum and clean toilets, but he didn't buy it, and neither did Jeron. So life should be getting back to normal. I know I need to slow down and enjoy the important things in life that are so easy to neglect. I'm so grateful to be where I am and so grateful to have great neighbors and friends, with all your help and encouraging words. You have no idea how much that means to me. I couldn't have done it without all of you!

Conference Sunday

Today is Sunday and we are watching the LDS General Conference on TV. Our boys have these little fun packets to keep them quiet. There is a picture of a CTR (choose the right) shield to color inside this packet. My boys colored them and decided to make rings out of them. So they carefully cut a little piece of paper to make a band and stapled them together.
I am happy to report that I have no head or neck ache and feel pretty normal today. Last night I was reading a stroke pamphlet that the hospital sent home with me and it scared me to death. I'm so blessed to be where I am and have no real issues that I can't live with. So many people have lasting damage - lost use of a limb, paralysis, etc. It says dead brain cells cannot be regenerated. I'm trying to figure out what major lesson I need to learn from this experience and I think I'm slowly learning that we cannot take our time here for granted and be caught up in things that don't matter. Technically, I know that, but it's still easy to be not so nice to our children in order to get the things done in the day that don't really matter. Hopefully, this experience can help me better my life.
Thursday night, my friend Cristina, threw a suprise party for her mom's 51st birthday. The picture I've attached is me and my dear friend, Cristina.

Boys, Boys, Boys!!

Between toads, salamanders, and funny feet day, I'm feeling a little worn out. Yesterday and today have been harder days. My headaches are becoming more and more common nowadays. I can't complain. I am really blessed to be doing as well as I am. It's just what I'm dealing with lately. I meet with the neurologist next Tuesday and am hoping to be updated on #1: my driving situation and #2: where I am in relation to where I should be. I usually feel pretty good and do too much. On days that I bend over too much, I usually regret life by the end of the day. I know I'll never finish all my thank you cards, but I just hope all of you know how much I appreciate and thrive on the support that you have all given.

Week Ending Sept. 27th

I keep getting in trouble for not blogging, and I keep explaining to Jeron that I'm the one that had a stroke and he should type it. He's insisting, so I'm trying. My left hand is still lagging a bit when typing, but it's getting better. It's really nothing to complain about anyway. I'm so blessed to be doing as well as I am and so blessed to have family members who love me enough to drop everything and come take care of me. I've posted a picture of me and my mom and my smile looks crooked, but it's not because of the stroke. My mom devoted three full weeks to come take care of me. Of course I was rude and impatient with her, but she was wonderful. First of all, I slept in every day (That never happens!) and she was my own personal slave. She made me food, got the kids ready for school, did my laundry, and put up with me. I can handle having strokes if it means lying in bed and having everyone take care of me! Mom left on Saturday, Sept. 26th. Our day was filled with soccer and football games. I hitched a ride with our neighbor, Kim, and Jeron took Spencer to his football game since they were at the same time. Austin is hilarious. He thinks it's really cool to dive to the ground just for the fun of it.

I'm feeling really good normally, although I do battle some form of a headache everyday. I have a meeting with my neurologist, next Tuesday, to evaluate the progress since my stroke. I just want to know....Can I drive? I could not be where I am without all of your prayers and help. I think mostly this stroke has taught me how we need to serve one another and forget ourselves. Thank you for all your support.

Week of Sept 15th

We've slacked with the blog this week. The good news is that there is no major drama to report. Heather has been sleeping in late every morning and has been able to get out and do more with her mom this week. She has been shopping a couple of times and even had a pedicure yesterday. There are days that she gets too worn out and ends up with some pain and insomnia as a result, but it seems that the good days outnumber the bad.

Heather's pain is much more tolerable now. She only takes pain medication when absolutely necessary, and there are days when she does not require any. Judith has been very dedicated to ensuring that Heather gets adequate rest throughout the day and has been known to confiscate her cell phone so that she can't stay up texting people.

On a few occasions Heather has attempted to do some weeding in the yard. Bending over really gets her dizzy and the effects seem to last for hours. This is a manifestation of the stroke. Her cerebellum was responsible for balance and fine motor coordination, so it may take some time for different areas of her brain to pick up the slack. She is very fortunate that the severity of the impairment is so minor. We were told that some who suffer this type of stroke are affected by severe balance impairment for years or even indefinitely.

The boys are still concerned about their mother. Spencer will say at times, "Mom! Please don't get upset or you will strain your neck again!" Austin tries to be a little more gentle around her, although he doesn't quite understand why. They are both doing very well in school and their respective sports.

I was in El Paso and Albuquerque for work this week. It is great to know that Judith is here taking care of Heather while I am away. She will return home to Georgia/Florida next Sunday. We're hoping that by that point Heather is able to drive and get around a little better.

Thanks to everyone for the prayers, meals, visits, and service. We feel so loved and are very grateful.

Sunday

Pictured: Jeron and Heather at the surprise birthday party last night!


We made it through the weekend without any major incident. We consider boring days a blessing now. It's funny how your perspective changes after this sort of wake-up call.

Saturday Heather went to Austin's soccer game. She said that it was fun to see little Austin trying hard to impress her. It made her very tired though, and she didn't feel very well afterward. She came home and slept a little bit, but she was definitely preoccupied with something. I found out later Saturday evening that she had been planning a surprise birthday party for me at the Dickson's home. We had a great time with friends, and everyone was ecstatic to see Heather out and about.

Days like yesterday make us almost forget that anything even happened. BUT, nights like last night remind us how fragile Heather still is. She was in a lot of pain from all of the activities of the day, and her pain pills didn't seem to help much. She tossed and turned all night, and we got very little sleep. She was able to finally get some sleep this morning after the rest of us left for church.

We went for a walk around the neighborhood today, and spent some time at the park chatting with neighbors. It was really good for Heather to get out and visit. She's tired tonight, and is in a good deal of pain, so we are going to bed very soon and praying for a better night's sleep.

Judith has been a huge help for the past week, and Heather's Aunt JudyAnn has stayed with a couple of days. Heather really looks up to her aunt, and loves to sit and visit with her for hours.

We have another busy schedule this coming week. Everything from doctor's appointments, games, work, and school. It has truly taken a village to get us through this and we will continue to rely on friends and family to balance all that we need to do.

For those of you who have seen her, you can tell that Heather has not lost any of her abilities or personality. She is strong, funny, and always concerned about everyone around her. We just take it one day at a time and pray for her continued stamina and endurance.