No more ingrown...

Well the anxiety was so high as I woke up on Monday morning.  I have been dealing with ingrown toenails for a long time and I decided it was time to get them permantely removed.  My sister Tara had told me it was pretty much the most awful experience she had ever endured so I was terrified.  Thankfully I went to a great podiatrist, Dr. Hoyal, and he made it so manageable.  He sprayed a freezing spray on my toe before the shots and I could barely feel the shots.  It was not bad at all and after about 40 minutes I walked out of the office.  I have to keep them wrapped for a while and soak them 3 times a day for the first week.  I am so happy that I did this and I have talked Luke into getting his done on December 21.  Here's hoping it is as painless for him as it was for me.

When I am a man...

Tag has become quite the little talker.  He is always talking and I love how everything thought is spoken.  This morning he told me: "When I am a man I want to be a crosserguard.  I will help kids cross the street.  I think I will be good at that.  When it's day I will sit on the grass and relax.  When it is night I will drive home."  I love it!  He will be good at whatever he decides to do.  So grateful for all of the progress that has come over the last few years. 

2017 School Pictures

We finally got all of the school pictures back and I could not wait to get them in the frames down in the basement.  I keep the pictures from the years passed in the frames and it was so fun to see how much they have all changed.  They are growing up too quickly!  I so wish that I could stop time.  I love them all so much and feel beyond blessed to be their mom.

Leadership Conference

Today Harlee got to go with all of the House Leaders to a leadership conference at BYU.  She had to get to the school by 7am and she was so excited to go.  She took a bus to BYU and spent the day at her parents old stomping grounds.  She went to many classes on leadership.  She said she learned to not use her popularity to be popular but to spread it around and be an example.  Harlee is such an amazing example and is very likeable.  I could see her being a student body president.  So excited for these opportunities she is given.

Another artist in the family

Following in the footsteps of his older brothers, Tag has taken an interest in drawing.  He is really good and could spend hours drawing each day.  He brought home this painting from kindergarten and I was so impressed.  I could easily tell that it was Mario and Luigi!  What a talented little guy!  Love to see what he creates.

41 years

 Turning 41 is a little difficult but my family sure made it wonderful.  I got up early to go take a workout class and came home to a card and cd from Joey.  It was honestly one of the nicest cards that he had ever written and the cd is amazing.  He found one of my favorite songs, Kathy's Song with Gregory Alan Isakov and Passenger, and started the cd with it.  Choked me up a little bit.  The rest of the day was busy with carpool and work.  We picked up dinner for the kids and Joey took me out for a little date.  He took me to Los Hermanos for dinner.  I have been begging to go there but Joey doesn't really like it.  I was so excited that he would forget about his own tastes and take me to one of my favorite Mexican restuarants.   When we got back we had cake that Joey had gotten and cheesecake bites.  So so good!  Then they all showered me with presents- clothes, jewelry, and my favorite perfume.  It was such a nice birthday.  I am so grateful for my family and their willingness to make me feel special on my birthday!

Testimony of Fasting

I like to keep this blog going not only for the memories but also it is an opportunity for me toh share the spiritual experiences that I have with my five blessings.  This post is about the opportunity that I had to fast this last fast Sunday.  I always try to take the opportunity to fast on fast Sunday but this Sunday I was fasting with a very important question I needed answered.  Here is a little background...Tag was seeing a doctor when he was in the Giant Steps program that perscribed propranolol to help with his anxiety.  It has been so great to help him feel calm.  The plan was to keep him on this medication while he is doing ABA therapy and learning the tools to work through the anxiety without medication.  Dr. Marsha wanted to keep him on the medicine for the first few months of kindergarten and then take hi m off around the holidays.  I loved this plan since it did not feel like a permanant thing.  Since Tag is no longer in Giant Steps and we do not have medicaid, we can no longer see Dr. Marsha.  I contacted our pediatrician and he does not perscribe anxiety medicine until a child is older.  He recommeneded that I go to the mental heatlth dept upstairs from our pediatrician. We went to see the doctor and she told me that they do not perscribe the medicine he is currently on.  She suggested that we put him on Zoloft.  Zoloft would be a medicine that he would be on most likely for the rest of his life.  I left feeling conflicted.  How do we make a lifelong decision for Tag when he is 5?  Joey and I decided to fast about this decision.  In preparation for the fast I called the owner of his therapy clincic and his pediatrician.  They were both unavailable.  I felt discouraged but was hopeful an answer would come from fasting.  We both fasted and I still did not feel like I knew the answer.  I was super disappointed.  How was I to make this decision?  Monday morning while I was working I received a phone call from Anika at ABI.  I was telling her the predicament that I was in and she said "You already know the answer.  Do not put him on Zoloft."  I was so grateful that she prompted to call me back and so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who answered my prayers.  I then felt prompted to call Dr. Marsha's and ask if they could give be the names of a few doctors that would perscribe what he is currently on.  She got back to me and he has an appointment in a few weeks with a doctor who will keep him on the same medication.  I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to fast and to receive answers.  It is such a blessing to know that I am not alone in the tough decisions and I have a loving Heavenly Father that will help guide me.  He has guided us all along this journey with Tag.

Our favorite UPS worker

We were so excited to dress Ike up for Halloween but with all of the craziness that day brought we did not get to dress him up.  So a few days later Harlee put him in his costume and he couldn't be any cuter!  He did not love it but he was a good sport for a few minutes.  I think that we will be getting him another costume next year!

Starting off the celebration...

Monday is my 41st birthday and the festivities began today!  My mom invited Jenna and I over for breakfast this morning.  She made us the yummiest crepes with nutella, vanilla pudding, and berries.  They were amazing.  She also made scrambled eggs.  I was so stuffed but did not want to stop eating.  It was nice to spend some time with her and so nice of her to do this for us. 

Our Birthday Boy

We cannot believe Ike is a year old.  Or is it 7 years??  Whatever it is we were so excited to celebrate our favorite puppy.  We made him a special birthday hat that he could not wait to take off and we gave him some new toys and treats.  We seriously love Ike and cannot remember what it was like without him.  He sure loves the kids and me and wants Joey to love him!  He is so a part of our family and we were so excited to spend a little time making him feel loved.

Spendy Diagnosis

Around 11am today Gray called from school in tears saying his stomach hurt.  I brought him home to rest.  He drove with me to pick up Tag and to take him to therapy.  After dropping off Tag we came home and I suggested that Gray go upstairs to rest on our couch.  He made it up half of the stairs before falling in pain.  His stomach hurt so bad.  I made the decision to take him to Urgent Care.  We got to Urgent Care and they immediately told me to take him to the ER because they were worried about appendicitis.  On the way to the hospital I arranged Tag to be picked up by John and Darolyne, cancelled flu shots, called the kids at school, and arranged swim carpool.  They got Gray in quickly and they first took his blood.  They then did an ultrasound and then some XRays.  The conclusion was that he had a lot of gas in his tummy.  He came home and was in so much pain again that he actually threw up.  It was so sad.  Luckily by the morning he was feeling so much better and was ready to get back to normal life.  So grateful it was not anything more serious.