Happy New Years.....uggh!

So in a nutshell, I am not starting off this new year on the right foot. Last Friday I had an allergic reaction to an unknown enemy contained in a cocktail of heartburn medications. I have never had heartburn before and wasn't sure what to take. So I woke up in the morning with my tongue the size of an orange and my eyelids swollen. I was getting a little nervous, imagining the worst, that it would creep down into my throat and cut off my air way (not to be dramatic). I walked into the community care and the nurses came running with huge needles full of thick muscle aching steroids. I was ordered to stay for a while to make sure I wasn't going to get any worse. So I limped out of the office silently wishing that I could go home and sleep it off. I did, thanks to a fabulous husband who just let me lay in bed. In the meantime our sweet Mesa had been throwing up for about 4 days and I started to feel desperate to see her beautiful smile again. We bundled up and took the dreaded 8 minute drive to the Emergency Room. Mesa really looked terrible despite my efforts to keep her hydrated. I was so grateful that day for the ER doctor who attended to her. He felt she was in pain and he was right. He ordered for her to have some morphine. He showed me the xray and said knew how I was feeling because he had a son with cerebral palsy who died at the age of 5. Strangely that comforted me for a bit. She fell asleep long enough to get a picture of her abdomen and discovered she had a bowel blockage and it was causing her to throw up. They were sending her upstairs to admit her and resolve it. Things went fine and we left Wednesday morning, both of us crying from exhaustion and happiness to leave that place. Just when I think I am doing great on my own, I get a reminder that there is someone else in charge and that life experiences are essential. I look at my beautiful girl and wonder how long she is meant to be on this earth. When she isn't here, there is a noticeable emptiness. The only thing that would really make her smile is when I mentioned that daddy loved her and wanted her to come home. Sitting here I am quite relieved it's all behind us.

Birthday Bash

Mesa and Ashton's birthday has come and gone. We tried to keep it low key just because Christmas is around the corner. Ashton chose the cake this year and Mesa actually reached up on the table to grab a present. I think she was trying to open it but knocked it on the floor. Ashton had strep throat the day before his birthday and still wasn't feeling as chipper as normal. He was able to have his own little party with friends playing at the arcade, laser tag and games. It has been so fun to have them together in kindergarten, Ashton does such a good job with including and protecting his sister. Mesa is getting stronger every year and seems to be more interested in trying to communicate, I truly think she will get there but it will just take time. I look at these two kiddos and my heart just swells with happiness and gratitude!

camera...shmamera

We took a trip to SLC last Friday and of course, forgot the camera. We only stayed for one night but it was still eventful. We ate chocolates, swam in the hotel pool, drank hot chocolate, froze walking to eat Friday night and watched the depressing Boise State football game. Then I topped off the night with a solo excursion to Forever21 for 2 hours. I could have stayed longer but that would have just been pathetic. I ended up having to sleep on the couch because the kids REALLY wanted to sleep on the big bed! The sweetest part of the trip was on the way home in the truck. I looked in the back seat to see if Mesa was sleeping because she was being so quiet. She had a hold of Ashton's hand while he was fast asleep. I don't think he knew but for the time he was asleep she would reach out and hold onto his hand off and on. It was so sweet and I love watching her do things that seem so purposeful. During the trip, Ashton would turn on Mesa's favorite songs on Aaron's iPad when ever she would get agitated and a huge smile would appear on her face. Driving for 8 hours in two days with 4 kids crammed into a truck was definitely worth it after seeing Mesa do that!!

What are you doing?

For my adoring husband who sometimes thinks all I do when I am home in the day is nap. Why does it always seem to happen that I am napping when he decides to come home for 2 minutes to get something? Here is the proof that I do a little bit more than nap. Ten bags of leaves and more to go.....

Hallows Eve and Greyson birthday

Poor Greyson always has his thunder stolen a little since his birthday is the day before Halloween. He was very excited to go to the store with me and get his balloons and birthday cake. He felt pretty special that day. It was his 3rd birthday and physically he is a little bit behind but his mental quickness and communication skills put him about the same as a first grader. He keeps asking me when he can go to school and after going to nursery a few times he has complained that no one in there talks! I can picture all the nursery kids looking at Greyson like he is an alien when he says stuff like....Dad, that is just wonderful! He is so fun and already is dying to go to wrestling practice and wants to play catch with Aaron.
We had one trick or treater this year, HUH???? Well, our house is on a road that all the potato trucks use going mock speed and it doesn't have any street lights. It is kind of creepy at night. But Mesa and I didn't mind at all, we turned off all the lights and switched on our glowing pumpkin and sat in the dark listening to music and singing.

Mom, can I....

So during Marin's confirmation last Saturday as the prayer is being said Greyson says to me,
"Mom, can I choke you out?"
Me: Um....no Greyson fold your arms.
Mom, I really want to choke you out!
Great, maybe some other time...be quiet.
As I was about to say you aren't supposed to do that to your mom (only your dad) he reaches up grabs my neck and squeezed with his little fingers. I am trying to decide if it's the UFC fights he got that from or if Aaron planted the idea in his head. Maybe if I was a cool mom I would have let him do it!

The month of Marin

It has been an exciting month of big events for Marin. She finished her horseback riding class, had a birthday and was baptized today. She asked Grandma Withers for a "cowgirl outfit" for her birthday so she could wear it to her last horseback riding class. She has informed us that she would like to be a cowgirl and wants to know when her new horse will be coming! She also batted her big brown eyes and asked to have her ears pierced. I told her if she kept her room clean for a month, we would do it for her birthday. She had a fun party with lots of girls, games and got a pet dog that you can actually walk with a leash (since we can't get the real thing just yet). Today her dad baptized her and it is amazing how much she has grown. She is so kind and a great example to me of patience, meekness and kindness. We are so blessed to have such a beautiful girl!