The Hershey's Games

Kaylee competed in the Hershey's Games on Saturday and had a really good time.These games are only held once a year for young kids interested in clean competition. She ran the 100m, 200m and the softball throw. She amazed herself for throwing a longer distance than last year and actually placed 2nd in her division. That means....she qualified for State.
Last year Kaylee also went to State for throwing and placed 8th overall, competing against all the kids from around the state. It was such a great opportunity for her to compete and learn sportsmanship. She loves meeting other people with the same drive and ambition. We figure with this record she really needs to play softball, its just a matter of getting her to believe in the sport itself.
We never know what we are competing against until we show up. This year Kaylee got bumped up to the older division because of her birth date. So basically she competed against girls 2 years older and 1 ft taller than she is(not to mention they are all team athletes). Even with all the bets against her, she still wanted to run against them. She actually didn't do too bad. She didn't come in first, but it didn't bother her non-the-least. Our neighbor competes in just about anything and everything. You can call him "Mr Athletic". He also competed in 4 different events and placed 1st in all his categories. I wouldn't have expected any different from him. Good job Darian!
I love Kaylee for just going for it, no matter the cost. I think she gets that drive from her mom...me. We are like energizer bunnies who go and go and go.
Congrats Kaylee!

Student of the Month

Kaylee was chosen as "STUDENT OF THE MONTH" at her school this week. She was caught off-guard when her teacher walked up to her before the morning flag raising ceremony and said that she was the student of the month. Kaylee's teacher e-mailed us to let us know a few days before the event so we could come and take pictures. This is such a special acknowledgement at her school and only a few kids get chosen. This month it was for "Compassion". Her teacher wrote up a beautiful paper about how Kaylee shows compassion to others by helping them when they are in need.
I am so grateful to have such willing and special child. You can't go wrong with anything when Kaylee is involved. Kaylee is my super sweet special star!

"Fight For Air" Asthma Walk April 2nd, 2011

Yesterday we participated in the "Fight For Air" asthma walk to support the ongoing need to help fight those battling asthma and lung disease. It was a very inspirational day and not to mention a very fun morning. The event was held in Scottsdale, AZ. It was so moving to see every one show up to donate to a common cause. This is the 9Th year the American Lung Association has put on the event and every year it gets bigger and better.
Delia's doctors came out to walk, along with most of their staff. I decided to have t-shirts made for the day to honor Delia. She was walking as a team captain for "Team Crazy" and was representing her pulmonologist docs, but I really wanted her to know how much we were in support for her specifically. I called on a neighbor who happens to do shirts and we had some made for those family members who showed up. It was so nice to see how much attention we got. It really was amazing.
One of the teams, that had over 164 people show up, came from the north to honor and walk for a girl who died from asthma last year. It was very touching and moving. That team alone raised over $6800.00 for asthma prevention. Just goes to show how much one person can touch the lives of hundreds or even thousands.

We hope that next year will be even better and bigger for "Team Crazy". We look forward to walking, donating and supporting this event. It was great to see Delia see many other people who struggle just like her. I hope this day will stay with her and she will be more open to sharing her disease with others. We love and honor her!
We love you Delia Brown and you are our ASTHMA WARRIOR!

Our Garden is in!!!

Another season arrives and a new garden is in for the spring. This year we were running a little bit behind on our planting, so I took matters into my own hands after work one day last week and planted the whole thing myself with the girls help of course. I just love a yummy garden when it all starts to grow and you can walk out our back door and pick off an entire salad with fruit for dessert. This year we also decided to plant sunflowers against our back fence and decorating squash in between the sunflowers for the fall season. I can't wait to post the pictures when it all starts to come along.
We also are in a transition with our back yard because the grass is a huge trigger for Delia's asthma, so we have to tone it down a little and not have an entire back yard full of grass. We are going to put in some fruit trees and planter boxes along the edges and make a few other changes. Redesigning a large backyard is such a painstaking task, but must be done.
This year we planted:peas, green beans, onions, carrots, spinach, leaf lettuce, radishes, asparagus, romaine lettuce, zucchini, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, buttercup sqaush, peppers, squash, cucumbers, watermelons, strawberries and a rasberry bush. Whew, I think we got a lot of work ahead of us, but most importantly the girls enjoy the process and learning along with us!

Fight for Air Walk 2011

Delia has struggled her whole life is asthma, not just any old asthma but allergy asthma. After her most recent hospital stay in November, the insurance has been on our backs about getting Delia more ready and prepared for recognizing her systems and treating them sooner. What they don't understand is that this is something we have been doing her whole life. Every time she goes into the hospital, its not that we didn't treat her, its that she doesn't have time to react with her asthma and everything goes downhill real fast...within a few hours. So, our insurance asked us to have Delia be more involved with the asthma community and do more to help others be more aware of the disease. She can go to an asthma camp in the spring and she has decided to do the asthma walk with the American Lung Association. We talked with her doctors at Crazy About Kids Pulmonary Services and we have decided that Delia will be team captain for the walk and work with her Pulmo doctors and get a team together to raise funds for asthma prevention.
If you are interested in joining us, the walk takes place on April 2, 2011 at 9am in Scottsdale. If you would like to donate to our cause, you can do so at http://action.lungusa.org/site/TR/LungWalk/ALASW_Southwest?company_id=10871&pg=company&fr_id=3320
We are walking under "Team Crazy" and can't wait to see how many people join us!

The Mayo Clinic

I have to say that I am thoroughly impressed with the Mayo Clinic and how they run their operations. A few months ago my new Primary Care Provider recommended me to go and see the doctors at the Mayo Clinic. I hadn’t really thought about it, but she did all the work and referred me there. My first visit was very nerve-racking and I didn’t know what to expect. The doctor we met with was simply amazing. He was ready and waiting to tell us exactly what is going on and why, which is something no other doctor has been able to do. All other doctors I have seen all tell me to have my thyroid removed and by not doing so I become a liability for their practice and ask me to find someone else to go to. I knew in my heart that surgery was never the answer. If they remove my thyroid then I will have to be on medication the rest of my life. So I opted out every time, fully aware of what risks I was taking with a possibility of a metastasizing cancer or potential cancer. The biopsies I have received a few years ago indicated a carcinoma nodule on my right thyroid and was growing ever so slightly but not enough to be alarmed about.
Now with Dr. Argueta’s help at the Mayo Clinic we have re-biopsied and re-dissected the slides of my cells, redone the ultrasounds, new blood workup and with great in depth discussion we now have the conclusion to all this mess. My diagnosis goes as follows…A thyroid adenoma which is a benign thyroid tumor. YES! This means that we just sit and watch it and make sure it doesn’t turn into something different. See people, not what everyone originally thought. No worries for me. I am happy with the work they put into my case. Now some ask if there is potential of it growing more or becoming something bad, of course there is always the alternative, but for now there is nothing to worry about. The only way to get it out would be surgery and that is not what I need right now. It’s not really causing harm and growth has pretty much stopped. I do have to go in once in a while and check it, but I am ok with doing that since I won’t have to be on meds the rest of my life for this one little thing. Now I can move on to bigger and better things and quite worrying about what the doctors will tell me next….well at least with my thyroid.

Every year we look for opportunities to serve the community we live in and this year, as one of our first volunteer jobs we helped out with "London’s Run". It’s a great way to meet new people and help those in need. This year one of the recipients of the proceeds went to a young 13 year old in our stake who is battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia. We volunteered last year and had a really good time, so I thought it would be a great way to start the New Year. We had a wonderful time and the girls actually enjoyed themselves. This year there was well over 1500 runners and sure was a sight to see.
I believe it’s important to get involved and show your children that there is more to life than our little family. We are now putting a team together for the “Fight for Air Asthma Walk” to raise awareness of asthma. Since Delia has had many life challenges with her asthma, I think it would be wise to get her more involved with her own disease and open our eyes to others who deal with this as well. I am hoping to get a large group organized and look forward to posting the upcoming event. It doesn’t take place until April 2nd, but there is still a lot to do before then.
Here is a little pointer to life. If you’re feeling down in the dumps and can’t seem to get out of a rut, go out and find a way to serve others. I am sure your spirits will be lifted and your heart will be filled with the joy you bring to others!

It's Been A While....

It's amazing how life goes by so fast. I can't believe it really has been this long since I have posted anything. So I will give a quick synopsis of our lives as we see it thus far. Keith is still working at the clinic as an MA (medical assistant). He loves what he does and is a very caring person. He is looking into going back to school to further his education, but how and where that all fits into life… that is a different story. He currently is serving as the 2nd counselor in Sunday school. I am still working for the school district as a sign language interpreter. I have been freelancing on my time off and still awaiting results from my national certification test (NIC). I am serving as the ward choir director, which is actually more challenging in this ward than any other ward I have ever served in. Delia is working on her last semester as a freshman and serves as the mia maid president. She finds this time in her life very challenging put is looking to move forward. She is looking forward to getting a job, driving and dating. I remind her that all those things come as a privilege and not a right. Having 2 teens in the house can be such trial, but then again our only goal is to teach them so they can make those right decisions on their own. Kaylee is anxious to move on to junior high. She is way excited that she has managed to keep up her grades this year by getting all A's. She is learning to love being a young woman.
I recently went to the Mayo Clinic to continue treatment with a new Endocrinologist and I have absolutely been blown away by the vast knowledge this man has. When we walked into our appointment he was already in there waiting for us with charts and graphs to show us what is going on with me. I was stunned at the information he gave us, considering most of which I have never heard before. It was promising and I am very grateful to have found him. I look forward to working with the Mayo Clinic. They are a true answer to my prayers. As I learn more about what is going on, I will post and keep you updated.
Our family got together a few weeks ago to do baptisms together since it was Kaylee’s first time. It was a very neat experience to have both of my girls and Keith in the temple together. I was happy that Kaylee got to experience that time with her family. She was so nervous, but loved every minute of it.
Until I blog again…

School is in session

So all of us have gone back to school finally. Delia started school in July. She is a freshman attending a fully functioning digital school. There are only 10 in the U.S. and they just so happened to build one out here as well. She is excited for this new way of learning and moving forward. She is attending seminary and is getting used to starting before 6 a.m. everyday. There are about 1300 kids enrolled in her school and yet only about 60 attend seminary. I told her that it will be hard finding the right kids to hang out with, but I have no doubt she will do fine. Afterall, she takes after mama and is very fun and friendly to everyone.
Kaylee started 6th grade this year. She is so anxious to be in her last year at the elementary school. She got the same teacher from last year and wasn't to thrilled at first, but after some consideration she is really happy. Kaylee also finished her "Faith in God" and got her OK to move on from primary. I am a little sad because my girls are growing up way too fast. Kaylee is be 12 soon and that means no more little kids and no more primary. My heart aches a little, but I have to realize that means I am getting old too.
I finally started back to work. I am still at the Junior High and enjoy the teachers I get to spend time with. I work with some amazing deaf kids this year and I am totally thrilled to see them mature and progress in life.
We are all just pluggin away at life and wait for the next big adventure.

Catching up

It's been such a long time since I have taken the time to put anything on here. There is so much that has happened these past months. So let me begin with Delia. She started High School last week and I am completly beside myself. I can't believe she is that old and that means I am that old. She loves her new school. She is attend a fully digital High School where everything is online. Which means they walk around with laptops instead of books and notebooks. Everything in the school is all connected to her laptop and so its a whole new world all around for her. It's a new adventure and she is more than happy to get aboard.
Delia also has had some breakthrough with her asthma. Due to some very incredible doctors they figured out that she has "Allergy Asthma". This means that her lungs are full of IGE's and thats why she continues to have problems. We are on a new drug that is simply amazing (we hope it works) to help her lungs clear out those IGE's and allow her to breath. We wont know for a while but we are hopeful that this will stop all of her hospital stays and lung collapses.
She was lucky enough to attend girls camp this summer. She wasn't able to do everything the others girls were able to do, but at least she got to go. Her lungs weren't doing so good and we were advised not to let her go (because her lungs were bad), but it was girls camp and we knew she was in good hands.
Kaylee has been enjoying the summer. She is going into 6th grade and can't wait to begin again. She is looking forward to her birthday because she will be 12 years old and that means .... young womens. YIKES. I can't believe both of my kids will be in mutual. It does scare me a little, but I will get over it.
Keith is still working for MyDR.Now and enjoys the staff. He is really good at what he does, but Keith is anxious to go back to school. So we'll see where that takes us.
I am getting ready to get back to work at the school. I took the summer off and have enjoyed being with my girls and hanging out with them. This summer we worked on our geneology and found some amazing finds. My mom came up for a few days to help us work and its amazing to know who our ancestors were. I can't believe how many of our family lines include those from written history and scripture heroes. I am so blessed. My health is pretty much the same old thing. Before summer my doctor worked and found out that I have some kind of adrenal disease or mishap which could be the reason for all my endocrine system going downhill. I have more appointments scheduled and more ultrasounds to go to, so its never a dull moment. After my last surgery in November, I signed up with Anesthia Awareness group to do a study on why people wake up during surgery. I am pretty fortunate that I am able to recall most of the surgery and help give them answers to why this happens. Its been a real eye-opener.
We took a trip to Utah to see the Browns side of the family and had a great time. We really want to go back so we can work on doing some geneology work with Keiths dad. We always love it when we can head up north and get out of the heat here in the valley.
Well, that is our family for now. I will have to get better at keeping you up to date on how the family is doing and how things are progressing. For now....

Health Update

Just in case you were wondering........here's the story!
A few weeks ago I went into my OB/GYN for a routine ultrasound checkup and they spotted a black mass at the top of my uterus. A litte over-reactive they sent me for some tests to make sure that I didn't have cancer. Needless to say that weekend was a little nerve-racking and all my cancer markers came back just fine and within the "normal" range. Which means that there were no cancer proteins running through my blood. YEA ME! Still concerned about this mass that has been increasingly causing pain and getting larger, they sent me for some MRI's, ultrasounds and more blood work. After an agonizing few days, everything came back great. I have a 6cm cyst coming from my right ovary. This is the same ovary that has continually caused me problems for a long time. Regardless of the medication to stop me from forming cysts, my body continues to make them. Why you ask? Not sure just a stubborn ovary I guess. Unfortunatly, this cyst didn't rupture and just kept growing out of control.(typical)
So, what this means is that I am fine (within reason) and NO, they don't have to do a hystorectomy which was the original thought. I do however go in the 25th of this month to remove the cyst and my right ovary. It's really not a big deal and pretty routine these days.All they do is cut me in 3 different places and do a laparotomy through those incisions. Two of the incisions are for for the tool and camera, the third incision will be there simply to take out the cyst and ovary. Its a simple few hour procedure and a week recovery and whala, I am back to normal.
Luckily I will still be functioning with one ovary so that I don't have to be medically dependant for hormone production. This really is no big deal and everyone has been wondering what was going on. Of course, that does mean that I will be recovering for Thanksgiving this year and not on my feet (persay) to make a big meal. Thats how life goes.
If it's not one thing, it's another. The good thing about all this is that I found another Endocronologist that seems promising to work with and I have formed a greater relationship with my Gynocologist. (Not in that way) I love how she is so on top of what is going on and calls me at home often to check up on how things are going. It's nice to know that there are still some very caring people in this world and that their job is not all about the money. Anyone interested in their names, give me a holla. I don't mind giving out their info, in fact I think I keep them in business!!!!

Our Garden

The one thing Keith really wanted this year was to plant a garden. We missed out on the summer garden because of timing when we moved in. Keith was not about to let another season pass by. He attended a gardening conference and read up on how to grow a flourishing garden in the winter. He is so proud of the outcome and can't wait to start eating his accomplishments. He decided on two box gardens. Believe it or not, but these two garden boxes will produce as much food as planting half or our back yard using the traditional methods of gardening. People ask what he did while he was out of work, and this was one of his most promising projects. Keith is very passionate about being self reliant and learning to garden with a lot of success. Go Keith!

Down on the Farm

It has been such a long while since we have posted anything. School is back in session and things have picked up for the family. Everything is always so busy. Because I work for a different district than my kids, its always a wonder when we both get the same time off for breaks. The girls and I got to be off the same week for Oct break, so we decided to go down and visit the folks down on the farm. My parents have decided to go back to making this farm a working farm once again since my sister and her kids live there now. It's good to teach them responsibility and work ethics while working the farm.
The farm is now flourishing with goats (that are milked morning and night), chickens, kittens, dogs, gardens galore, and not to mention the pool with loads of fun. Next spring they will be adding pigs to their everyday routine. It sure does bring back memories of when I was a teenager having to get up everyday to milk the goats and skinning chickens.
The girls got up to help with the farm chores and loved every minute of it. Kaylee got bucked by one of the goats and spent a lot of time in the corn field with the kittens. Delia loved the chickens and has a slight fear of the goats. Very entertaining to say the least.
I am so glad to be able to spend this time with my kids. They are so wonderful and full of life. It was a joy and a wonder to see life on a farm. Sometimes you forget the very nature of what it means to work for what you have, and this was a great example of hard work and how it pays off with good food to eat that came from all that hard work.


The girls can't wait to go back! They are actually excited to see the goats again and maybe even get a milking in this time (without fear)!

Delia's Softball

After a rigorous tryout week, Delia made the softball team at her school. Several girls were cut and sad, however Delia made the team. Her skills are not that bad even though she didn't grow up playing softball. She did a wonderful job keeping up with the practices and being a part of the team. With great effort from the whole team, her school placed 4th during play-offs. Valuable lessons were taught and learned. Now she can't wait until Volleyball season in a few weeks. Delia has learned a new respect for keeping in shape, exercise and being a part of the team.

Wow, what a summer!

It’s amazing to me how life throws out trials and how we deal with them. Just a little background on our lives so far, Keith lost his job in May. He was working for a company that has seen better times. We knew that this would be approaching us, but didn't take heed; hence he has been working odd jobs until he can get back into Banner Health. He has had interviews and the people want to hire, but according to them policy is to hire from within first. So, we just go day to day. We are doing OK. The bills are getting paid and we are so lucky to be where we are.
Now that said, we have figured out ways to keep ourselves busy this summer. We have had small projects stored up for summer fun, so we are delving into them in hopes of keeping ourselves busy. Delia recently got a makeup lesson from a friend who is famous in the makeup world (that’s right folks, she won a Zoni award) and then we took some pictures. It seems just being girls and hanging out is a lot of fun.
We feel blessed at this time because this situation has given us a new perspective on life. When both of us are working, we tend to just keep going (I am like the energizer bunny and good full steam ahead 100%) and we don’t enjoy the moments we are given. Our family has come up to a new level of love and understanding and we all seem to be on the same page. Of course, I get summers off and will start up the chaos again in August, but this pause in life is great.
Some of you are wondering how we are making it all work…..well somehow the Lord provides and we make due. One of the interesting things I have been able to do is get off all meds and see how my body reacts to not being pumped full of hormones and westernized drugs I had to be on daily to keep going. I seem to be more tired, but it actually feels good. I might consider a different route with herbs and natural healing. I am telling you this is probably what my family needed most and it just feels great. Not that I am recommending it to anyone, but if you are in this situation, enjoy the moment because this too shall pass. As Joseph B. Wirthlin said, “Come what may and love it!”

Very, Very Sad News

So Kaylee has had this pet rat for a while now and she has become very fond of him. His name is Sam, but we always call him "Sammy", anyway, recently Sammy has not been doing very well. We noticed he started itching a lot and thought that he had mites, which is something they get and so you just treat it. We then noticed he had some blood around his eye and thought it was coming from all the itching. Well, by the time we researched it......it was too late. Sam had gotten a respiratory infection and it was too far to do anything about (there really isn't a cure). It said that about half of all rats have this Mycoplasma and it doesn't become noticeable until the immune system becomes stressed. Well, Sam has been struggling for quit some time and today at 10:41 am he lost his battle and took his last breath.
Kaylee is beside herself and cried all day long. She played with him everyday, to the point where Sam recognized her and would come to her. He was such a good rat and we are really going to miss him dearly. He became a huge part of the family and was treated with such love.
You are probably reading this thinking that I am completely crazy, but we loved that little rat.
So a moment of silence goes out for Sam today.

Whew, it sure has been busy

It has been a very busy few weeks. We are finally settled and getting things set up. We finally bought all new wood blinds for the whole house so it looks uniform and we also installed new fans and lighting in all the rooms. We are also in the process of getting the screens taken care of with solar screen so it will save us on our bills. Keith has been working on the grass and watering system in the back yard and we were able to get weeds taken care of in the front and back. I can't believe all the work that comes with getting house of this size, but we have enjoyed every minute of getting the opportunity to putting it all together.
Keith and I both got called as the CTR 7B class teachers (no surprise there over half the ward is i there). Those are the kids that are 6 turning 7 this year. There are two classes of this age group, but we claim to have the best of them all. Keith is so happy in this calling and loves being around the younger children. Because our primary is so big (180 kids) it is so fun to sit in sharing time and not be able to hear a darn thing, but to watch all the interaction with the kids. We also got called to speak in church 2 weeks ago and well.....lets just say it was not the most spiritual or reverent talk I have given. I spoke way to long that they had Keith share his testimony and we did without our rest hymn. OOPS. Oh well, I love relating life and real experiences to the gospel, it just seems to make it more tangible.
Delia is doing so much with the girls in this ward. She has finally gotten to a place that I have been longing for, for such a long time. Last week she stood up in church and shared the most beautiful testimony I have ever heard. It truly came from her heart. The reason for this moment was on Friday and Saturday the youth partook in a "Book of Mormon Marathon". The goal was to read it in 24 hours. My hope was for her to appreciate her leaders and gain appreciation for the gospel. They started on Friday at 5 pm and then accomplished this goal on Saturday around 10:30 pm. She was so excited that it motivated her to read on her own everyday. It also gave her the opportunity to hear the stories related close to one another instead of weeks apart or lessons apart. This ward does so much for their youth. There are activities every week, mutual and sometimes on Sunday with a "Bishops night". She feels so at home and is finally wanting to get her goals done and be up to date with completing them. I knew that by moving into this ward she was finally going to get that foundation that has been missing for the past 3 years of her life.
Well, school is out in a few weeks and Keith's parents are coming down on Mother's Day weekend to visit. Keith is really looking forward to seeing his dad here and being able to spend time with them. This move was the best thing we could have done for our family, and we look forward to all the many wonderful things we get to do in the coming days, months, and years.

Our Home, dr. appointments, NIC test, and Spring Break!

So we finally did it and moved into our new house, and we absolutely love it. We don't have it all decorated and everything is not in it's place, but it sure feels like home. We attended church as official members and love having a place to come home to. We were recruited into choir and because our ward is only 1/2 mile radius, Delia and I walked to choir and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Delia loves, loves, loves her new Young Women and leaders. She just raves about all the activities and things they do as a unit and just can't stop talking about how much she loves everybody. There are 19 girls and 2 more are getting the discussions right now. I am so glad to see her happy. Kaylee still isn’t sure about her situation with the ward. She is shy and so it might take her a longer time to get used to being the new girl among the 12 girls in her class.
I have enjoyed just going to church and being able to sit with Keith and listen to the lessons.
Eventually we are going to have a house-warming party and invite everyone who is willing to drive the distance to have a great time.
I do want to thank all those who have supported us and helped us to get where we are today.
This week is Spring Break and my goal was to get the whole house done, but between all the doctor appointments and one day to drive into Phoenix to take a test, I can only say that things just didn't get as far as I wanted.
I do have to let you know that I took the written portion of the National Interpreter Certificate (NIC) test to be certified nationally and lo and behold.....I passed. I don't know how, but I passed. I am not going to question the good graces of blessings so I will leave it at that. I am now able to get my provisional license and start terping for agency to get community experience so I can get fully certified when I am ready. Once again, blessings for the family.
We have found time to relax and enjoy this week. The girls spent all day swimming at Marks house and didn't put on sun screen and got burnt really bad. Next time, I guess they will learn their lesson. Swimming can be fun, but your skin can't take all the Arizona sun and needs to be protected.
Wow, now that I have talked your ear off. I will write more often that way you won’t see these huge blogs that completely bore you to death. Until then......smile.

Busy, Busy, Busy

After being so busy trying to get our lives in order, you would think that things would slow down a little. I am here to tell you that life keeps going whether you are ready or not. To start off this week we attended our new ward in Queen Creek and absolutely loved it. Delia is so happy to have more than herself in young women's, and to make it even better, they are all book lovers. She is in heaven, and I am so happy to see her excited to be a part of what is going on. Kaylee loves her class. This ward does things a little different and they separate all the 11/12 year old boys and girls. She walked into a class with so many girls, she didn't know what to do.
Keith loves the people so much. Everyone just has a different sense of life and outlook. I think its the small town mentality (there is no problem with that), it makes it feel more genuine. We are so excited that everything came back from underwriting this week and we are only awaiting the Rural program to go through our paperwork.
Besides both of us working, we have managed to start packing up the house, take the girls to all after school activities (including the ward we attend now for their last hurrah), cook all the meals, take Kaylee to her yearly eye appointment, get a pedicure, wash the dishes, do some laundry, go to my own doctor appointments and still keep on top of bills and our house duties. Man, I am sure tired from all this.
I don't want to make it seem like I am a super mom. I am completely tired. My meds are not working right, but finding time to see the doctor right now is not a priority for me (I really don't like her), and I have to admit to having the worst birthday ever last week. Which was by no fault of my family, that's just how the cookie crumbled that day.
Other than all this, I am trying to keep my head above water. People keep asking if they can come and help me pack and I have told them all "No". I need to do it myself, however I am hoping for a good turn out for people to help us move because that could potentially kill me (literally).
So here is wishing me luck with the move next week. If all goes well, we should be closing on the house Wednesday. We are hoping to start moving small things in every night, Friday and then have people help move everything for us Saturday. I am almost wishing I hired a moving company, but I know I can handle this part. It's all such a great adventure, at least that is how I am looking at things right now. Until later....auf Wiedersehen.

Happy Valentine's Day

Today was so busy. We have had such a busy week and it doesn't seem to be slowing down. Keith got the girls a rose and a card for "V" Day, and then surprised me with Tulips and a card when I got home from work. Yes, that's right. I woke up real early in the morning to show up to interpret for a student at7:15 am. I finally finished at 10:45am and rushed home.

We had (had to...or got to!) to go back out to our house to do a walk-through so the seller can fix anything before we move in. Needless to say, there wasn't anything to put on the list to have fixed. We got to spend most of our day going through every inch of our new house. We also met our neighbors, who can't wait for us to move in. After spending most of our day out at the new house, we went around to Lowe's and other stores to dream and make lists of what we want to add to the house. Most of things we want to do require good money (as opposed to bad money?), but I am not worried.....all in due time.

I have to let you know that Kaylee accomplished her goal of passing her spelling tests for two weeks in a row with 100%. There is a reason for the story, so hold on. You see Kaylee has dyslexia (which she doesn't know she has, because we have never told her. I don't want her to use that as an excuse) and struggles with spelling, especially when there are 30 words a week to memorize and spell correctly. She was failing and so we told her if she passes with a 100% for two weeks in a row then we will buy her Heelys. Well she has tried at this for the past year and finally got two 100%'s in as row. Here is where I tie it all together, so we spent the rest of our evening going around trying to find some Heelys for her. She got them and hasn't taken them off. I am so proud of her for never giving up on her goals. You see, my girls are in an accelerated school and sometimes struggle with the amount of work they have to do just to keep up.

So, that was my "V" day, very busy, but oh so wonderful. I just love being married to a guy who just goes and goes with me. I must be very special to have found him. Have a great Valentine's Day.