Daniel

Where to start? Where to start? There's quite a list of updates for Dan . . . but I guess we'll start with his own words:

"I have atrial fibrilation. Even as a kid I noticed my heart would race from time to time, but it was rare and mild. In the last several years it has become more regular and more severe. It is not life threatening, but it is annoying to be sitting still and find myself out of breath and light headed as though I'm about to pass out. So I came in for surgery on Thursday [February 28] to have ablated the errant electrical cells causing the irregular rhythms. During the surgery, the doctor was successful at mapping all the bad cells, but he mapped them in all the worst places. Some he found in my pulmonary veins, others he found in my right atrium and most he found in the left atrium. The bad cells in the right atrium are easy to fix. The rest are complicated. First, ablating the cells in the veins will likely cause scar tissue that occludes them. That's no good because then oxygenated blood doesn't get from my lungs back to my heart. The alternatives for dealing with those cells as well as the cells in the left atrium have a high risk of piercing my heart. If that happens, my esophagus could also be pierced (fatal), or I could bleed out into my chest (fatal) or I could have a blood clot (stroke). None of these options appeal to me in my early thirties. So rather than surgical intervention, I am now on a nice little drug regimen. The drugs are bad enough in a high enough percentage of people, that they administer them for the first three days under observation in the hospital. So rather than day surgery and being back to normal Thursday, I have been in the hospital for three days just sitting around waiting for a negative reaction to the drugs. None so far . . . "

So - that's the very wordy explanation for why he was in the hospital for three days and all havoc broke loose in the ward with people concerned for my husband's heart! I was grateful for the concern and the offers for help - but most of all, I was grateful it wasn't an issue where I needed more than minimal help. He's healthy and fine - and that's all that matters!

He's the Priest's Quorum advisor - for those who aren't LDS, that means he hangs out with the 16 - 18 year old young men - "being a good example" and "teaching" them . . . last two activities they had here at our house were filled with lots of food, the air hockey table and a couple video game set-ups. I know he really enjoys this responsibility. Plus - he's good at it!

Work seems to be going fine - I mostly hear about it when he's telling friends and I happen to be in the same room. He doesn't go overboard boring me with work details, that's for sure. To be honest, I would like to hear more about the crazy reasons people are suing in the final frontier - some of his cases have been rather interesting. Like plane accidents, oil rig explosions, boating accidents and that sort of thing. I know he enjoys what he does. He also loves the firm and people he works with. We're really glad he found this opportunity - and I'm pretty proud to tell people I'm married to a hot attorney!

35 years old?

Really? Is that how old I am today? Let's see . . . 1973, 83, 93, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08 . . . yep - I'm 35. My lil' sis Taisley tells me today, "You're half-way to 40." Gasp . . . and I say, "No, hon . . . I'm HALF-WAY TO 70!!!" YIKES.

No - it's not so bad. I don't feel old. How can I with 4 young kids? Plus - people are always surprised by my age - since we got married and had kids a {little} later in life than friends our age - people think we're the typical age of Mormons that have kids the same ages as our kids. It works to our advantage.

So - here's a list of things that I'm most proud of up to 35 years old.

*Elementary School "Reflections" Writing Contest winner

*Voted into the top 10 in the running for Homecoming Queen after 2 months at Chaparral HS

*Superior rating at Solo & Ensemble for a solo I sang

*Made it in Honor and All State Choirs (both audition choirs)

*Spent my College years as a Resident Assistant then a Residence Director

*Served an LDS mission in Uruguay

*Married the most wonderful Idaho boy in the world (wouldn't matter what state - he's still the most wonderful!!!)

*Named Alaska's Weight Watchers Leader of the Year

*Delivered all 4 of my children without meds of any kind

*One of the 25 Most Meaningful Albums in the Chatterbox contest {2 years in a row}

*Bought a home bigger than our dreams sooner than we ever thought possible

Currently, I'm most likely found at home with my kids - I LOVE being a stay at home mom. There is no job that I've ever had or could even dream up that I'd love more than being here with  my kids. Other than that, I've got my own "scrap" room now and I spend some time in here working on projects for More Than A Memory - things that I create and display in order to try and "inspire" others. I also teach at least one class a month. I absolutely love making our memories into beautiful albums. It's an obsession that I may talk about quite often . . . besides my husband and children, it's my passion next in line. 

So between being a wife, mom, teacher and designer, I LOVE to find ways to make this new house our home. I've painted a few rooms and made some progress in filling the walls and windows. Some people wonder how I come up with those "extra" hours in the day . . . are you kidding? I WISH there were a few more hours in the day . . . maybe then I'd be a bit better at meal planning and consistent dusting - but we have to prioritize, right? 

All in all, I'm an extremely happy girl. I have a husband that is a dream. Sometimes I wonder how this happened that {I} got so lucky . . . not all of my friends are so lucky. He loves me so much and I am head over heels for him, too! I have 4 absolutely beautiful and wonderful kids. I have the ability & support to engulf myself in something I love doing - and feel justified because it's all memories we make as a family. We have family we feel close to even through the distance. I have a beautiful home - in a beautiful place. I have friends who care about me and take good care of me. We have a ward we consider family. What more could I ask for???

Breaking the Silence Part IV

AIDAN:

This sweet kid-o was born August 2 - so he's now 8 months old. It's amazing how time flies. You'd never know he started out skinny with little frog legs cuz he now matches the other 3 in the chunky baby category. You just wanna squeeze those cheeks! (Both sets of them!)

Aidan is a VERY social baby. He has craved eye-contact from a very young age. That's all it takes to get a big, wide, slobbery grin from him. He's a momma's boy, but that's to be expected at this stage in the game, right? He does hang out during late-night sports recaps with daddy. He's sitting up and a nudge away from crawling. His legs are (and always have been) strong - so we wonder if he'll skip the crawling all together. 

All the kids are in love with Aidan. Even with the transformation Jackson went through when Aidan was born, there was NEVER an ounce of jealousy. Jack's never had anything but kisses and hugs for him. That has been a serious relief for me and Dan. Could you imagine if he was upset to have another baby around? I don't even want to try. But now that our family is complete, it's fun to see all the kids interact. Harrison and Emery are HUGE helpers. Short of changing diapers and nursing, they take great care of Aidan. 

So - the final tally is:

Brown hair (as babies) 3 / Blonde hair 3 (Tie)

Brown eyes 3 / Blue eyes 3 (Tie)

Girls 2 / Boys 4 (Girls win - girls ALWAYS win!!!)

Breaking the Silence Part III

JACKSON:

Hmmmmmmm - where to begin? I'm exhausted just thinking about it. This little bug is running me into a frenzie! Since I got pregnant with Jackson, I felt like there was something special about him. I knew he would be my little buddy. When he was born, I was so enamored - enchanted - absolutely smitten! He was a GREAT sleeper. A happy little guy. A sweet baby. THEN . . . somehow when Aidan was born, this quiet, docile child turned into a tornado. His two-grunt vocabulary turned into more chattering than I can keep up with. His patience and gentility turned into hyper, crazy, hysterical Jack Jack!

It's not that I'm enamored any less - he still has me wrapped around his finger. But he makes for plenty of entertainment - and quite often a declaration of "What did we get ourselves into?" People love him - he's VERY social. And he comes up with honestly the most crazy things I've ever seen or heard. Yesterday after church he came up to me, pointed in his mouth and says (with a bit of a raspy voice), "My have a frog in my froat." Really? "Yep." Oh! "My O.K. now, my o.k." He's a favorite of both the Young Women AND Young Men in the ward. Some of the boys taught him early on to "pound" them . . . you know, pound the knuckles - and he thinks he's such a stud. And let me tell ya'! He's got the deepest-down-from-the-toes dino growl!

There's a lot of high-pitched squeals coming from this 2 1/2 year old. I was pulled aside by the nursery leader at church because apparently, I have a bully. But he's never got any mal intent. He's curious and emotional and just wants to play . . . and when he realized he's done something to hurt someone else, he's VERY remorseful - he says sorry a lot AND he means it! So now, every Sunday before Nursery he says, "No pushing, no hitting, no kicking." You'll never meet a sweeter tornado!!!

Breaking the Silence Part II

EMERY:

This little beauty is almost 7 years old. I, for one, am glad to have another girl in the house. We have been doing a lot of "girl" outings lately. We love to go to Bed, Bath & Beyond, Starbucks (for the white hot chocolate and baked goods of course!) and the place she asks to go to most of all is the scrapbook store. I design for the store (meaning I scrap & create stuff and display what I make) so she's ALWAYS up for a quick run there. Without fail she asks for "just one" piece of paper - then it usually blossoms into two, then three - and how can I say no when she's picked out beautifully coordinated patterns and colors all on her own??? I think I've created a monster!

Emery is one of the sweetest people I've ever known. At our Parent/Teacher conference last week, her teacher just kept repeating, "Emery is just a delight!" We're so proud of her. She makes friends easily and has an eye out for those who might be lonely. She has the greatest laugh - very contagious!

So her days are filled with a wide variety of activities - she's got her closet organized with glitter body spray, nail polish and make-up . . . but she can also be found playing Star Wars Wii with her brother . . . or toughing it out in the snow longer than him. She's not afraid of playing rough - and it usually bites her in the butt . . . literally. (She's more accident prone than anyone I've ever met!!!) She's a great helper in the kitchen for me, but due to her accident prone status, it always makes for an interesting event. We're into cinnamon rolls lately - between the baked goods and scrapbook supply purchases, we'll be poor and overweight in no time - but at least we'll have each other!

Breaking the Silence

Between a new baby in August, moving, holidays and life . . . we {that is - I} have neglected our blog - probably when it would serve it's purpose better than at any other time! How ironic. It'll take some time to get up to speed, and I may never be able to fill in all the gaps, but I'll do my best!

I'm starting fresh on our blog - mostly because our iweb was not as simple and basic to deal with - I'm hoping this is easier so I can do "quick" updates instead of dreading the time that would go into one little post. If you'd like to read previous blog entries - 

click on the "Our Family Website" link and it'll take you to our scaled-down version of our old site. I'd edited in hopes that it would speed up the blogging process, but in retrospect, I wish I hadn't - since I'm still starting over here. REGARDLESS, there are a handful of posts and our past couple years' in review.

I'll start by updating you on each of our kids . . . then move on from there.

HARRISON:

We had parent teacher conferences last week, and it calmed some of my own personal anxieties about the kids attending a new school. Harrison is not keen on change - (For YEARS after we sold our Passat, he'd mention how he missed that car.) So in the spirit of holding on to the familiar, he hadn't taken to the new environment nor his teacher like Emery had. Eme's so laid back and can go with the flow a lot easier. But both Dan and I felt more comfortable after meeting with his teacher. Another reason for our relief is that Harrison tested into the Ignite program because of his seriously advanced reading level. He'll be bussed to another school twice a week with other kids who are in the program. They will have more challenging curriculum, activities and topics. I think it will help him with the boredom factor that adds to his difficult transition.

Scouts has not only become an integral part of Harrison's week, but mine as well. Wish I'd paid more attention when I was stuck at my brother's pack meetings! I have to cheat off my neighbors when a cheer comes along. With three boys, I'm a bit fearful of all the scouting years ahead of me . . . I'm beginning to understand that they aren't kidding when they say the mothers earn the eagle!

Harrison's full-blown 8 years old. I just don't get it. Dan tells me it's "normal" but are you kidding me? Are they all this goofy? In all seriousness . . . he's a great kid - and we're really proud of him.

He just got a new bike . . . and since we live in THE most fabulous culdesac on the planet, it's gonna be a great summer. We also live next to an Alaskan "park" which pretty much means a completely wooded section of nature right in the middle of civilization. They're everywhere and we're lucky enough to have one right outside our door. That'll make for some great adventures. The kids have already found the path they take to get to school on the other side. He's gonna have a sweet childhood!