Veterans Day Parade

I took the older boys to the parade today while kristy slept off an all night shift. Boy did they have a blast. Not sure who was more excited to see the big army vehicles and guns them or me. ;0)
Here are some of the pictures. God Bless. - Moose

Halloween

The boys had multiple costumes this year! We went to the kids' school for a Halloween Hi-Jinx event. Jax was supposed to be this...



But it was way to warm. So instead we was this...



This was a hand-me-down from the older kids. Here was Payton...



He was Batman then and on Halloween night. And here was Logan...



A "Power Wanger"!!! And Logan on Halloween night...

And Jackson...

A fire fighter (calendar style!) That kid would not keep any costume on! Once he got the hint as to how trick or treating works, he left it on. Sorry ladies!

ER

I never thought I'd be blogging about my ER visit! On Saturday I was having such horrible stomach pain that I headed to the ER about 8pm. I was supposed to work graveyard in the NICU but they sent me home. Luckily, my parents were helping with the kiddos so they were able to stay with them. The pain felt like my insides were twisting around each other and ibuprofen and Pepto didn't do anything. They did an ultrasound to rule out problems with my pancreas and gallbladder and it came back normal. So they ruled severe reflux or gastritis. I have my doubts on this theory, but for now I am taking the prescribed reflux medication and have an appt next week to follow up on it. For now, I am eating mostly just white rice. I am afraid the pain will come back! I am slowly venturing out to other foods in moderation so wish me luck!

This One's Gonna Be Trouble...

Here's the scene...Payton and Logan are eating lunch at the dining room table. I am in the kitchen trying to figure out what I am going to eat and Moose is with me getting ready to go to work.



Me: "It is hot in here!" (We had cooked a pizza for the kids for lunch). I took off my sweater leaving just my cami on.

Logan, with huge eyes says, "Wow!"

Moose and I crack up laughing.

Moose, to Logan: "You are going to be trouble!"

Logan: "No I not! I'm awesome!"



Like I said, this one's gonna be trouble!

God forgive me for wasting trees...

Have you ever seen what happens to a regular diaper when your child goes swimming in it? It will get so heavy that it will tear and soggy crystals pour out. I must have put a defective diaper on Jackson because when he wet in it, he began tracking pee soaked crystals all over the house! There was a trail from my bedroom, through the hallway, dining area and living room. It looked like small piles of yellow snow! It took about 20 minutes of crouching to pick up these piles, which seemed to repel the paper towels. Then I vacuumed up the rest of what I couldn't see. I washed my hands and sat on the couch with a fresh diaper in hand. "Come here Jackson. Let's put a diaper on you." Jackson gave me that playful, come and get me smile, squatted and peed. OMG! That did not just happen! So I got the paper towels and carpet cleaner. Just as I had finished and was washing my hands, Logan ran in, "Mommy! I pee peed in your bed!" Sure enough, there was a large wet spot in the middle of my sheets. Back to the paper towels and Spot Shot...

Getting my shoes on to go to my first full shift at the hospital after 3 days of orientation...

Logan: "Where you goin Mommy?"
Me: "I have to go to the hospital to take care of the little babies."
Logan pondered then said, "But we have Jackson Bee-bi (Levi). He's a big baby."
Me: "I know, hunny. Daddy's gonna take care of you and Jackson today."

I met Jesus today

I went to Discount Tire today (twice actually) to have one of my tires checked out. My TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) registered low pressure in the front driver's side tire. The first Discount I stopped at had a 2 hour wait, so I had them put air in it to make it last til I could go to the Discount near where we live. I got home and called them and made an appt. Anyways, later at Discount as I was waiting for them to do their thing, Payton and Logan were looking through their "Jesus book" aka a kid's bible. They got up and started playing David and Goliath. But of course neither one wanted to be Goliath, because if you know the full story (not the kid version), Goliath doesn't just get "hit on the forehead" with a rock, isn't that right Mama! :0). They went back and forth arguing who was going to get to be David when Logan says, "Well, I'm Jesus." He said it several times, "I'm Jesus. I'm Jesus!" I can't even begin to imagine what the rest of the people in the waiting room where thinking! After 1/2 a bag of mini Chips Ahoy cookies, they pulled the car around. We'd picked up a nail somewhere and they were able to fix it for free. Thank you Discount! We've had too many car repairs in the last 2 months!

On another note, Payton had another appointment with his neurologist today. Some of the "tics" were were seeing 4-5 months ago when we had his first appt have subsided, like his obsession with the word "applesause" and making funny noises with his tongue which is good. However, this was the first he'd heard about Payt's fainting/seizure episode which he got stitches in his chin from. He said fainting/seizures are rare for a kid his age and ordered an EEG. I don't know much about them other than it is a non-invasive procedure similar to an EKG and monitors brain activity. That should go well (hint: that was supposed to be sarcastic). I guess it is better safe than sorry and it won't hurt him, so we should be able to talk him through it. Hopefully the person who performs the test is familiar with the challenges of kids like Payton.

A final note, we finally got our computer back from Staples. Would not recommend them, at least not the one near us. It took a full month to get it working again! I called them at one point for an update and they said it was done. So I asked if they had put the operating system back on and if they were able to retreive any of the data. She had to put me on hold, then she came back on to tell me nothing was done in the week they had the disc I brought to them because the person who took it in didn't say anything to the tech department. Then I got a call with an apology saying it would only be another day and that the data retrieval was going well and that they'd put it all on a disc for me. Later that same day, he called back to say there was a "complication" and that all the data was gone. I don't know much about computers, but taht doesn't seem right. He said there was nothing they could do and it was expected to be done the next day. Ugg! Three days later and no call. So I called them, and it was done. Apparantly their phone only takes incoming calls. Maybe I should pray. Apparenly I have some bitterness against Staples :0)

Hope all is well with all your families...

New Job!!!

I was officially offered the Patient Care Tech position at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea campus today! Yeah!! I will be working in the NICU where Jackson stayed after he was born. It is perfect timing! I have 4 shifts left in my externship which ends on Oct 5th. On the 4th, I go to human resources to fill out paperwork and my first day is Oct 12th. This is where I hoped to be after my externship, but was afraid to hope for it. Even better, we have full medical benefits as of November 1st and the job is part time, (3) 12 hour shifts every 2 weeks. So we won't need much childcare. Yeah! God is so great! He answers prayer and provides for our needs!

"You can pray for anything and if you have faith, you will receive it." Matthew 21:22

Ugg! Electronics...

Well, I guess my family is hard on electronics, which is unfortunate since they tend to be expensive. We are without a computer (at least our own computer..thanks John and Sarah for lending us your laptop! You guys are lifesavers!). Staples has had it for 6 days now, since last Monday. I was told when I dropped it off that they would call in 24 to 48 hours, so when I hadn't heard from them in 4 days I called them. "It is still going through diagnostics" I was told. Doesn't sound good. Can we pray for electronics? I'm sure He thinks we will be okay without. It sure feels like I'm being deprived :0) We are so spoiled! I just hope we can save our pictures and documents. My budget spreadsheets for the year are in there! That's a lot of work not worth trying to re-create, but would be missed. Hope everyone is doing great...Later

K

Payton and Logan have started school and really like it. Their teacher, Wendy is really good with them. We were really lucky to get them both into a class with only 2 other kids, so they get lots of attention. And Logan is liking the bus just as much as Payton did last year. Here are some pictures of them being silly.

Jackson has aquired a new nickname, Monster (said in love of course!). He is into everything and doesn't understand hitting, pinching, grabbing, taking toys, etc... And his other name should be Garbage Disposal, because this kid eats SOOOO much! He frequently eats his portion then finishes off his brothers's. Here is a cute video of him making elephant noises...

This one is only 24 seconds but explains all those complaints I've been posting about my camera!!!

One down, one to go...

So I finished my phlebotomy extership today and it feels great to have finished that! I really enjoyed St. Joseph's and meeting new people and patients. I have so much respect for those patients! Most were there for brain surgery and they were all in such great spirits despite the gravity of their diagnosis and nature of their surgery. I felt bad I had to poke them, but I know that was the least of their worries. I get a week off before starting my next extership at North Valley Internal Medicine. I should be done at the end of September...Yeah!!

Nothing too new at home. Jax is just getting over some sort of stomach bug that gave him diahrrea for 6 days, and now Moose is feeling it. Wonderful. I told him to make sure and wash his hands so Payton and Logan don't get it! It's miserable when they are sick!

I'm working a graveyard at Gainey tonight because I can't say no. But that's okay...it's always nice to have a little extra money.

I think that's all I have to say...Bye for now

D-backs vs. Giants

It was a lot of fun last night. I took Logan to his first d-backs game. I shoulda got some pictures of him with his cherry snow cone cause he was going to town. No spoon just face to cone. He did really well and loved it when the balls would "go real real real high to the woof."

Stitches

So this was our Friday...




Payton was the first of the boys to get stitches. I guess that is fitting since he is the oldest... Anyways,on Friday Payton either had a seizure or fainted or something. We and the ER doctor aren't sure, but either way his chin met pavement and he ended up with 4 stitches in his chin. He had a CT and bloodwork and everything came back normal so we will follow up with his doctor and see what else is recommended. He has been the same little boy, so we are not too worried about it. Let you all know if we get any new info...

July 4th Camping

As usual, I am behind posting...You'd think I'd do it more often since I've been out of classes the last 2 weeks. Anyway, here are the highlights...




I took Logan a little longer to be comfortable with the Rhino, but once he got going he was all smiles!



We taught the boys to "water" the trees. Payton refused, but Logan fully embraced the idea...although he had no modesty and often chose the trees in the middle of camp! At least he hasn't peed on any of the trees here at the apartment!



Payton LOVED to cook marshmellows on the fire...although maybe burn is a more appropriate word. He just wanted to catch them on fire, then blow it out. And then repeat that until the marshmellow was no longer recognizable. Then get a new marshmellow...

Here's my Dad and one of my parents' three dogs, Shelby.

These last two pictures sum up the before and after of the trip...By the end, we were all exhausted and very, very dirty!

I Love This Car

Not to be confused with "I Love This Bar"... Anyways, I went on an adventure today. I bought an armoire for our bedroom TV. Yesterday, Payton somehow caused our bedroom TV to fall. Payton is okay, but it scraped his foot a bit. I wanted to make sure that it didn't happen again. Hence the new armoire. Here are a few pics...

The lady I bought it from is moving to Pennsylvania tomorrow morning and gave me a small dresser for free! But you can see how packed my car was! It was me, the 3 kids, the armoire in the back and a dresser in the passenger seat! I love this car!

Funny Side Note: I had to delete 42 pictures off the camera from Payton and Logan playing with it this morning (they woke up before me and Moose) !

Okay...now back to studying...

Catching Up

Finally! We have our camera back and are able to post some pictures for you...here goes!

Jackson found the fireplace. I wish I would have gotten a pic of him in it, but here are the bath pictures! Gray water came out of his hair when I rinsed!

I made a cake for Father's Day and the kids decorated cupcakes.

Enjoying the pool!

Playing in the pantry

A Chapter Closing

February 2009 began a new chapter of our life. A time of learning and growing closer to God and to each other. Many of you know the story. Moose's store closed leaving him unemployed and we had the unexpected early arrival of Jackson, our third child. Well, that chapter has closed. Our house was auctioned off to the highest bidder today. It's hard to believe the journey we've made over the last year and a half. There is no way we could have done it without our family and friends. Thank you to all of you for the counseling, advice, prayer, help with the kids, moving, finances, and transportation. There is so much that all of you have done to get us through all this even stronger than we were before. We are excited for what's ahead of us! I will be getting back into the workforce in a few short months and the kids will be back to school soon. We look forward to saving for a vacation and in the long run, a down payment for a house. God has blessed us and given us new pathways to bring glory to Him. Praise be to Him, our Lord and Savior! He knows every thought we think and every action we do, and loves us more that we can imagine. Nothing on earth comes close in comparison.

We've Moved!!

So we've been in the new apartment 1 week now. As I predicted, the boys have been in the pool everyday if not more! So far so good on the noice level (coming from us, I mean!). No neighborly complains yet. Lily's found a good home....with Bert and Stephanie. They got attached to her since moving in with them last weekend and lucky for us that means she is staying within the family! Still slowly changing our address with everyone...I'm sure I will miss someone. We upgraded our phones a few days ago to new touch screens, which I am still trying to figure out (so sorry if I miss your call or hang up on you!). Our other phones were over 2 years only and were barely functional anymore. So many changes!! I should have pictures up next time I post. The camera is ready at Best Buy, but since it is at the location near our old house, I haven't made the time to get over there to pick it up. I will post pics of our new living room furniture! I was lucky to get a new (to us) couch, chair and 2 ottomans for only $15 more than what I sold the red sectional couch we had! And I love my new living room! More to come...

K