a new year's resolution

i haven't actually written down my resolutions this year, but i have stated out loud that i am going to try to be better at blogging. i can't tell you how many people are constantly saying, "well, did you put it on your blog?" i can't promise anything amazing, but i will try harder.

so one of my new favorite obsessions right now is getting good shopping deals. being college students--still--makes our budget tight. being an eco-nerd--is that a word--makes shopping a challenge, so when i find a good deal i get excited. my new favorite website is: www.hip2save.com

i highly recommend signing up for their newsletter. i have gotten so many good deals and i love it when my savings is higher than my total.



riley quote for the day: Dad! She's dropping babies!

I found myself

so this past month has been an interesting one. if i were to take the time to write everything i would be here all night and i really want some time to watch the next episode of Lost. so i will just hit the highlights.

we made it through the first part of December with little or no problems. we were excited for the Christmas season. we decorated the house, finished shopping, made christmas cards and planned our treats. then disaster struck. about the second week of December i got hit with an extremely bad case of vertigo that literally left me bedridden for two weeks. after several days without improvement i went to the hospital hoping to find relief. all they did was confirm that i had vertigo and pump me full of all sorts of drugs, which did nothing for me. although justin tells me that valium makes me do funny things--thankfully nothing will be posted on youtube. after getting out of the hospital i went to several different doctors and found out that in addition to the vertigo i also had a hernia, which he put back into place for me--not a fun experience. i slowly got to the point that i could function by myself--up to this point justin had to help me do EVERYTHING. the poor guy had a lot to deal with. at one point, not only did he have to deal with me, but Riley had a double ear infection and Valen had the stomach flu. i don't think justin ever wants to deal with throwup again. by Christmas i was mobile and self sufficient, but not really better. we did have a wonderful Christmas morning. this was Riley's first Christmas where she understoond what was going on and was excited for presents. we don't do santa at our house, nor do we use wrapping paper--two subjects for another post--but she was excited for each present and was a little put out when we finished. then she realized she got to open each of the packages and boxes and play with the toys inside, and that took the rest of the day. Saturday morning Justin took me to the airport and i flew, by myself to Utah for my brother's wedding.

travel log: buffalo to detroit--flight was short and did not cause me to throw up. i was able to eat and keep down an expensive smoothie and bagel. detroit to kansas city--some trouble getting back on the plane, but again the flight was good and no sickness. kansas city--flight was cancelled so i had to stay the night. i also found that i lost my wallet with identification and debit card, which meant that i had to cry to the security guards to let me get through security. i did get to stay in a nice hotel all by myself and had two free meals. my step dad teased me when i told him that i ate a hamburger for dinner. i told him that since i didn't drink all the stress of my drove me to eat meat. kansas city to salt lake: a good flight, again without sickness.

i had a great time in salt lake and it was wonderful seeing my family and watching my brother get married--i only cried a little bit.

the trip home was uneventful--unless you count the delays i experienced in detroit, but i made it home safe and sound.

for New Years we had some wonderful friends from Salt Lake/San Francisico visit us and celebrate the new year.

now with valen in school and justin preparing to go back to school reality has settled in and we are slowly getting back into a routine--mean mom undoing all of the fun nice things that dad did while i was sick and gone.

as i said before it has been crazy but there are several things that i have taken away from this experience:

~i am grateful for a husband that was willing to drop everything to take care of me and the kids.
~i am thankful for summer graduation.
~i am thankful for all of those that helped us out while i was sick. i was amazed at how many people were willing to help us--babysitting, dinners, flowers, hospital visits, get well cards, phone calls, thoughts and prayers just to name a few.
~i am thankful for my health.
~i LOVE my cell phone, weekend minutes and texting
~i love seeing and reconnecting with friends and family.
~i LOVE food--the weight loss was nice, but eating is better!
~i really do enjoy being able to clean my house.
~i am grateful that the Lord teaches us through disappointment, trials, heartache and sadness. it makes all those happy moments that much sweeter.
~i am grateful for the detroit airport and their lost and found services, and the honest person out there that found and returned my wallet and made it possible to find myself twice in one trip.

I wish I would have brought my camera. . .

So Thursday night, or should I say, early Friday morning, was a very interesting time. It was around 12:30 a.m., and I was just headed to bed. The girls were asleep and Justin was on his way home from the school. Just as I lay down Riley started screaming and coughing. I ran into her room to discover her sputtering like she had just thrown up. I climbed into her bed to check for throw up, but couldn't find any. She continued to cough and her breathing was very labored. By this time, Justin had come upstairs to help me. He had turned the hall light on so we could see better. Neither of us could figure out what was causing her to have such labored breathing. Then, Justin picked up her sippy cup--it is a small Thermos with a plastic straw. Justin noticed that the top had been chewed off. I asked her if there was something in her throat. She opened her mouth and then began to claw at her throat. She still couldn't breath very well, and Justin and I began to freak out. He went downstairs to get a flashlight to check her throat. When we realized that wasn't going to work, I suggested calling an ambulance. We pulled her out of bed and took her downstairs to watch a movie until it came. By this time we were frantic and she was calming down. She wanted to lay down, but we told her she had to stay sitting up. We didn't want to risk having her choke on whatever was in her throat. When the paramedics arrived they checked her breathing and agreed with us that there was something in her throat, and that she needed to go to the hospital to have it checked out. So Riley and I got on the stretcher and they put us in the ambulance. The driver asked us if he could use the lights and the sirens. I told him sure. He was afraid the sirens might scare Riley, but the exact opposite was true, she thought they were awesome. She liked looking around the ambulance and thought the little finger monitor was cool. She liked the little red light. She was somewhat disappointed when the ride was over. They took us in the hospital. By this time Riley was completely calm and her breathing was somewhat normal. It was still a little off, but she was doing much better. In fact she was chatting and pointing out interesting things. They took us into the waiting room, since it no longer looked like an emergency; she was thrilled when she saw the TV. There was no rush to get us in anywhere, which was fine with Riley, she liked watching the George Lopez Show. She was a little upset when they took us into our room. She brightened up rather quickly when she saw a get well balloon in the room. "Look mom, happy birthday to me!"
For the next several hours we sat in the room watching the Disney Channel, which was exciting because we don't get that channel at home. Several nurses and/or residents came to check on her and decided that she needed and x-ray. She loved the elevator ride up to the room, but was not excited about the x-ray machine itself. When we walked in the room the machine was resting on the table. The technician moved the machine up and then moved the table up. I told Riley that she had to lay down on the table so that the big camera could take her picture. She yelled in response, "No mom! I don't want it to squish me!" I explained that she wasn't going to be squished, she was just going to get her picture taken. She didn't like the idea of me leaving the room either, but she made it. After another exciting elevator ride, we went back to our room to resume our TV watching. By this time I was exhausted and Riley was totally wired. She was running around our room, balloon in hand, and going crazy. Finally, the doctor came in and told us that the x-ray was inconclusive, because if she did swallow a plastic piece it wouldn't show up on the x-ray anyway. So her diagnosis was that Riley had croup. She said the only way to test the theory was to give her something to drink. If she could drink it, then it was croup; if she couldn't drink it, she had something in her throat and they had to put some fiber optic something or other down her throat to check things out. So, they offered her the juice. Riley was so excited for that juice box. She drank half the box in one gulp. The doctor concluded that it was in fact croup and recommended a steroid to help the swelling in the throat. When the lady that we hadn't seen before came in to give Riley the medicine she noticed that there were pictures of cake on Riley's pajamas. She asked Riley if she liked cake and if she would share a piece of cake with her. Riley "took" a piece of cake from her pajamas and gave it to the lady. Several minutes later the nurse showed up. When we first got there, Riley wouldn't even look at him, but when he came in and said that he wanted a piece of cake too, Riley wasn't sure what to do. She looked at me and then down at her pajamas and found a Popsicle and "gave" that to him. He ran out of the room yelling, "See, I told you she would give me something too!" Shortly after that we were discharged. We called Justin for a ride home. They had taken us to Women and Children's hospital, which for those that know where we live, is a good twenty minutes from our house, so we had awhile to wait. Riley and I sat by the automatic front doors and waited for him. Riley was still pretty wired, even though it was approaching 4 a.m. She would run past the door, which would open, laugh and then run over to me. When Justin finally showed up he drove right past the doors. We ran outside to wave him down. I was afraid he hadn't seen us and was going to keep on driving. Riley started crying and said, "No daddy, come back. I want to go to Riley's house!" Then we realized he was just turning around.
Riley talked the whole way home and told Justin about her balloon, watching cartoons and riding in the elevator. When we got home I told Riley that she had to go back to bed. She said she wasn't tired and didn't want to. She wanted to play or watch something downstairs. Again, she insisted that she wasn't tired. I told her to climb in bed and try to sleep. Thankfully she slept until 11:00 a.m.

Even though this was one of the longest nights of my life, and I was afraid that some terrible thing had happened to my daughter, I still found several moments that seemed magical in a way: my first ambulance ride, which I got to share with Riley; watching Riley run around her hospital room in her pajamas and rain boots, with the balloon in hand singing "Happy Birthday;" watching her excitement with each room we went into--"Look at THAT mom!" All of this made me realize how great my life really is and how grateful I am for the things I have and oh how I wish I would have brought my camera to capture it all!




p.s. the only other time that we went to the emergency room with one of our children was when Valen stuck a peanut up her nose. she later sneezed it out and there was no harm done. apparently my children don't know how to have a real emergency. . .thank goodness!

Pictures of Fall

We decided that we needed to take to opportunity of the beautiful fall colors and take some pictures of the girls. We went to the Amherst State Park. If you live here and you haven't been, I highly recommend it. It is set in front of an old monastery. There is a set of really cool stairs in front of the building that are really old and neat looking. We thought this would be the perfect place for some pictures. We were not disappointed.




This is our picture we took to capture the beautiful fall colors.


I swear I have the cutest girls in the world!


These are the steps. They look even better when adorned by two very cute girls.


This is one of my favorite pictures. It's moments like this that make me enjoy my time as a mom.


I love this picture because it shows Valen's cuteness and Riley's inability to focus more than three seconds.


This is their model pose.


Valen was trying to school Riley on how to pose properly. I think it worked!


Every time I look at this picture I can't help but laugh. I think Valen is sneezing, and I'm not sure what Riley is doing, but she looks kind of evil and it's just hilarious! I think this picture more than any of the rest of them capture the true nature of my girls!

Yellow Balloon

Dear Grandma Doreen,
The other day while Mom and I were shopping, Mom got me a yellow balloon and I was very excited. However, when we got outside and I tried to hand it to Mom, she accidently let go of it. At first, I was upset and I cried. But then, Mom pointed out that my balloon was headed toward a flock of geese. I think the flock of geese caught the balloon and began to head in your direction. I don't know how long it takes for geese to fly from here to Wyoming, but when they get there will you make sure that you get my balloon. I'll get it from you the next time I see you. Thanks so much.

Love,
Riley

P.S. Mom took me to the store again yesterday. I got an orange balloon. This time I held onto it.

Another Inspirational Thought

Highlights from the October Ensign

Blessings of the Temple

By Elder Robert D. Hales

The primary purpose of the temple is to provide the ordinances necessary for our exaltation in the celestial kingdom. Temple ordinances guide us to our Savior and give us the blessings that come to us through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Temples are the greatest university of learning known to man, giving us knowledge and wisdom about the Creation of the world. Endowment instructions give guidance as to how we should conduct our lives here in mortality. The meaning of the word endowment is "gift." The ordinance consists of a series of instructions on how we should live and covenants we make to live righteously by following our Savior.

Couples who maintain strong and vital marriages:

First, these couples know individually who they are--sons and daughters of God. The set eternal goals to once again live with our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. They strive to leave the ways of the natural man behind.

Second, they know the doctrine and the importance of the saving temple ordinances and temple covenants and their necessity in achieving eternal goals.

Third, they choose to obtain the eternal blesings of the kingdom of God rather than the temporary possessions of the world.

Fourth, these couples realize that when they are sealed for time and all eternity, they have chosen an eterna companion--their days for courting others are over! There is no need to look any further!

Fifth, these ccouples think of one another before themselves. Selfishness suffocates spiritual senses. Communicating with the Lord in prayer, they grow together and not apart. They converse with each other, thereby never letting little things become big things. They are willing to apologize and ask forgiveness if they have hurt the one they love. They express their love for each other and become closer. The lift and strengthen one another.

We voluntarily came from the presence of God the Father to this mortal probations with agency, knowing we would have "opposition in all things." Our objective is to take upons us the whole armor of God and withstand "the fiery darts of the wicked" with the shield of fatih and the swaord of the Spirit, to endure to the end, and to be worthy to stand and live in the presence of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, for all eternity--to achieve what is called eternal life.

Truths and Lies

By Jenifer Nuckols

President Boyd K. Packer said, "Restoring what you cannot restore, healing the wound you cannot heal, fixing that which you broke and you cannot fix is the very purpose of the atonement of Christ."

Spiritual Thought of the Week

Lessons From Liberty Jail

by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

~. . . you can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experiences with the Lord in any situation you are in. Indeed, you can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experiences with the Lord in the most miserable experiences of your life--in the worst settings, while enduring the most painful injustices, when facing the most insurmountable odds and opposition you have ever faced.

~. . .every experience can become a redemptive experience if we remain bonded to our Father in Heaven through it. These difficult lessons teach us that man's extremity is God's opportunity, and if we will be humble and faithful, if we will be believing and not curse God for our problems, He can turn the unfair and inhumane and debilitation prisons of our lives into temples--or at least into a circumstance that can bring comfort and revelation, divine companionship and peace.

~. . .when we promise to follow the Savior, to walk in His footsteps, and be His disciples. we are promising to go where that divine path leads us. And the path of salvation has always led one way or another through Gethsemane. So if the Savior faced such injustices and discouragements, such persecutions, unrighteousness, and suffering, we cannot expect that we are not going to face some of that if we still intend to call ourselves His true disciples and faithful followers.