Updates of Sorts....

Once again I find myself behind in blogging, I'm not sure where the time has gone. Lately I find myself mentally and emotionally drained. I've had a lot to think about these past two weeks and a lot to process. A lot of events have occurred, some good, some not so good, as well as some that are very shocking. Basically I feel like I have experienced a lot of highs as well as lows these past two weeks. I'm hoping the next few weeks get better.

As I previously mentioned my Dad had emergency surgery while on a business trip to Vegas. He had his gallbladder removed and when his bilirubin count skyrocketed they went back in to remove sludge that had been trapped in the bile duct of the liver. He also had some low potassium issues. Needless to say it was a long week of waiting and hoping all would be good news. He seems to be recouping well and even went on a business trip this past week to Minneapolis.

My friend Brenda, a lady who I greatly admire and respect, lost her husband Dirk very unexpectedly, just over a week ago. I had the opportunity to work with Brenda in Primary as well as in Young Womens. My heart aches for her and their 5 daughters, two of which I worked with closely in YW, and the youngest is about 6 months older than Zoe. I am truly sorry for their loss, He was one of the nicest, most generous people I had the privilege of knowing. He was always so supportive in all his wife's endeavors. He made a great "girl" dad - very involved in what ever his girls were doing. I unfortunately was unable to attend the funeral, but was told by my mom that it was a very nice service. One of his daughters spoke and the other wrote his obituary, one of the nicest that I've read (http://mtdemocrat.com/obits.php?id=901.12).

On a happier note, here is an update on what our garden looks like. The seeds have all sprouted and Noah is getting very excited to plant them outside. He and Dan have got all the wood out in the garage to make the raised bed boxes. I guess they even plated more seeds last night while I was at book club. Noah gets very excited to check every day to see if, "Our garden is almost growing."



Here was March's book of the month: "Saying It Like It Is" by Sheri Dew. An easy, quick read this month. The book is full of beautiful pictures and quotes that I found truly inspiring and motivating. A lot of the quotes had to do with our roles as "women" and "mothers" in the home, world, and gospel. I admire Sheri Dew as she is so passionate and positive about motherhood, even though she hasn't had the opportunity to have children of her own. You can tell by a bunch of the photos in the book, that she takes her role as "Aunt" very seriously, as she pictured all of her nieces and nephews at least once. As the group decided last night it would make a great gift, especially Mother's Day gift.

At the suggestion of Zoe's doctor, I started giving her Miralax to help with her constipation problems. I've only given her one dose, but it seems to be doing the trick almost too well. I'm loving the fact that she's not in pain when she has to poop. I'm hating the not making it to the bathroom in time. I guess next time I won't give her as much.

Dan's at an Elder's Quorum Temple Trip tonight. It has been a very long time since either one of us have been to the temple. I'm glad he is there tonight, I'm just not enjoying the long day and evening I'm having with the kids. Thank goodness it is almost bedtime.

I guess my health update is the last thing to include with this post. Well, I got good and not so good news at my appointment last week. My blood tests came back good - I'm not a diabetic (one of my biggest fears), I'm not even in the pre-diabetic stage yet. However, it looks like my goal of adding to my family in 2009 is not going to be attainable. My doctor's suspicions were confirmed by an ultrasound. All my ailments can be attributed to PCOS. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. In a nutshell PCOS is a hormonal imbalance that affects your whole body. It has a number of signs and symptoms including: infertility, insulin resistance, acne, irregular or absent cycles, high cholesterol, thinning hair, and unexplained weight gain. As a result it puts you at greater risk for: Diabetes, Obesity, Cardiovascular Disease, High Blood Pressure, and Cancer (uterine, endometrial,ovarian, and breast) just to name a few. Needless to say all of this has been a little bit frightening and overwhelming, not to mention discouraging. I'm just thankful it was caught and diagnosed in time to prevent the above mentioned diseases. I am also glad to finally have an answer to my infertility problems, as well as my other symptoms that I have been suffering for years, I also got an answer as to why I got gestational diabetes with both pregnancies (a high occurrence in PCOS patients). I feel very fortunate and blessed to be the mother of a two beautiful kids that keep me very busy. On a positive note I was able to get pregnant on my own once - so the doctor believes it can and will happen again, it will just take some time. So, I guess we will just have to wait and see when it comes to adding to our family. It's not that we don't want to, or haven't been trying too, it's just not that easy for us.

California and more Family....

With Grandma Lynie in town and Dan's Aunt Kelly being in town and his Uncle Jon committed to attending a dinner at Aunt Charlynn's house (debuting her 1st grandson Bannock) - we decided to make a quick trip over the hill this past weekend. We even got to see Auntie Tiffany as she was on a weekend "home" visit.

Here are some of the highlights we managed to capture on film:

Zoe getting a kiss from PeeNut (Great Grandma & Grandpa Woffinden's dog)....
Grandpa Woffinden playing with Noah and Jakie (Uncle Jon's youngest).....
Great Grandpa Woffinden and Noah sharing a fun moment I think it had something to do with the penny Uncle Jon gave him.....Auntie Charlynn sharing the last "Lava Cake" with Zoe. (I couldn't correct the red eye - so I know she looks scary)

Giving Great Grandpa Woffinden a hug goodbye and showing off the candy Auntie Charlynn gave her. There was a competition to see who the kids would like better - Auntie Charlynn or Auntie Kelly. Kelly claimed to have cupcakes in her car, but never produced them, so at the moment Charlynn wins with chocolate.

Here is Noah with one of his favorite people - his cousin Trenity. They've always had a very special relationship. I think it is becuase she was one the first people to hold him. I think she even got to hold him before I did.

Zoe and Chelsea enjoying Sunday morning cartoons....

Coloring Chelsea's hair, trying to get rid of her lice....

Noah filling the car up with gas......

Showing Pumpkin Pie (as Noah insisted) the eggs we gathered from Auntie Charlynn's chickens. I wasn't quick enough to catch him when he was really interested.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Here are some pictures from our latest Story Time Adventure.

In honor of Dr. Seuss' s birthday, we read "Green Eggs and Ham" and then of course cooked them.

The kids were very interested in the whole process.....

Zoe loved them, Noah decided without even trying them that he liked "yellow" eggs not "green" eggs.

However, on the way home he decided "blue" eggs might be nice.

My Thoughts...

It's taken awhile to update my blog. I guess things have just been a little crazy around here. I haven't felt like I've had the time to sit down a write without any major interruptions.

This was the book for February. "Forgiving Ourselves." I really enjoyed it after struggling through the first section. The book did a real good job of defining and separating "sin" from "human weakness." I learned a lot about myself and different relationships that I've created. I realized how hard I am on myself and how I manage to repeat patterns of negative "self talk." This is an amazingly positive self-help book and a good read, however it does require a lot of concentration. It has been fun trying some of the techniques from the book.

Noah and Zoe are sick with a cold and are driving me crazy. They fight over me and whine about random body parts hurting. This morning Noah was complaining that his eyes hurt. All because he wanted to lay by me and not have Zoe in the middle. When they cough you ask if and what hurts and their reply is "my leg."

My dad was in Vegas this week for work, but ended up in the Desert Springs hospital. He had his gall bladder removed this evening and seems to be doing well. I guess he started having severe pain Monday night and one of his co-workers rushed him to the hospital Tuesday morning. My mom flew down there last minute yesterday and they finally determined what the cause was and operated this evening. Kind of crazy. It's nice being from a larger family with people spread out and able to help on both ends. In Placerville to watch Chelsea and take my Mom to the airport and in Vegas to be willing to pick my Mom up or do what ever else is needed. I was kind of stuck as the road conditions were not in my favor yesterday or today.

I finally went to the Doctor this past month for a physical as a result, I think I've found the answer I've been looking for, when it comes to the medical abnormalities I've been experiencing these past few years. I had blood work done earlier this week and more tests next week to be sure. But I have faith in my new Doctor and his initial diagnosis. I am really confident that he can figure things out and help me get healthier. With the little research I've done this past week everything is starting to make since, I just hope we have caught things soon enough.

We Are Family

I love that kids are so accepting when it comes to people, especially family. They love their aunts and uncles so much as well as grandparents and cousins. We've had a lot of fun these past few months adding to our extended family as Dan has found his bio family.

Noah and Zoe love their Aunt Tiffany and don't understand why she makes "bad choices" or why she's not at Grandma Sandi's house right now. But that doesn't matter to them, they love her all the same and talk a lot about her. They can't wait to see her. They even include her in their nightly prayers.

Noah loves his Uncle Cameron, even though he's only seen him once. But everyday he asks for a bunk bed so he can sleep on the top and Uncle Cameron can sleep on the bottom. I'm not sure what Uncle Cameron thinks of that, but we are hoping he can spend some time at our house this summer.

Noah also loves his Uncle Matt, even though they have never met. But to hear Noah talk they are best friends. Currently this is Noah's favorite CD:

This is Matt's band. Noah insists on listening to it every time we get into the car. This is the only CD that doesn't get an "I hate this song!" Noah's face also lights up every time he watches video's we've found of Matt on the Internet. He can't wait to see Matt on stage and hopefully he will get to take a look at Matt's tour bus. Here's Zoe channeling her inner rock star:Noah also can't wait to go see Grandma and Grandpa Woffinden again. He loves their dog Pee Nut. He also loves that his Grandpa marries people in the Sacramento Temple. Noah also wants to go back to Aunt Charlynn and Uncle Ed's house as they have chickens and a swimming pool.

Random Stuff

During a recent ward activity (Spaghetti feed/ dessert auction) The ward raised over $2400 for "Friends of Scouting." Noah had fun imitating what he's seen me do a few times. Lead the Music. Zoe of course had to get in on the action. One of Noah's many strange sleep poses. Doesn't it look like he should be laying in a coffin?

Noah dressing up his favorite Teddy Bear in a "white shirt" and underwear.

Zoe didn't want to be outdone.
Zoe's photo shoot before church. She wanted to show off her striped tights that we had to talk her into wearing. While putting the towels away the cat decided to climb into the closet. Noah noticed him about an hour later when I was putting more things away.

I Love Garbage!

Noah finally earned his Garbage Truck by sleeping in his bed for 30 nights. As you can see, he loves his truck, even while he is asleep. Now we are trying to figure out what and how long the next goal should be.

Can We Grow......

Noah is really excited about planting a garden this year and has a ton of questions about what we can and cannot grow. He is very anxious and doesn't understand why we can't plant things outside yet. To try and satisfy his curiosity and eagerness we've planted a few seeds in an indoor greenhouse box. Hopefully things will start sprouting soon.

A few pictures from the planting party the other night:

Seeds included several varieties of tomatoes, zucchini, basil, cilantro, broccoli, beets, and green beans.

Too Many Mice

We've been having a lot of fun at our local Library's story time. This particular day the stories were "Too Many Mice" and "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." The kids are finally making progress and will actually sit on their own carpets during the stories and I now get to sit in a chair like the other parents.Here is Zoe with her Mouse headband....

Noah in his Mouse headband....

Listening to the story and waiting to climb under the table with the other mice....

Looking at the mouse hole and pictures in the book.....

Other fun stories have included "If you Give a Pig a Pancake" and "There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly."

Besides our local small Library, we've been taking the kids to the much bigger and nicer Spanish Springs Library. In fact Noah has decided he doesn't like the little library any more, just the big one. I'm so glad they love to read.