December 2012: End of year

Right before we left for our trip to CA prior to Christmas, the insurance company of the young woman that rear-ended J-rod's truck back in November, called to say they were declaring the truck a total loss. They had two offers for us, one offer for if we chose to keep and repair the truck anyhow, and another if we decided to accept their declaration of it being totaled and "sell" it to them.  The amount offered for "selling" it to them was considerably more than if we chose to keep and repair it, as well as much more than the truck was worth so it was not too difficult a decision for us to make.  While we hadn't planned on shopping for a second car at this point, the weeks we went back to being a one car family were enough to convince us that we'd need to quickly find a second car between Christmas and the New Year before J-rod returned to work.  Fortunately it didn't take long and now J-rod has a nice used, commuter car that uses up very little of our gas budget. 

Two days after Christmas, we said our last goodbyes to the trusty truck that had served us well for so many years and watched as it was hauled away to it's final resting place. Sigh. A few days after having said goodbye to the truck, we welcomed home a new car. It's good to be a two car family again.

Goodbye old friend. Hello new friend.

One of our favorite days of December is Li'l J's birthday. This year he turned 8 and was super excited that he would finally become a Cub Scout after SO many years of waiting and watching as his big brother M got to attend. Li'l J was also definitely looking forward to his baptism and sharing that special day with all his family. Li'l J adds a lot of joy to our family with his spunk...though to be honest, sometimes he infuses a bit more spunk into our lives than what J-rod and I are prepared to handle!  Regardless, we LOVE Li'l J, we are grateful he is a part of our family, and we enjoy celebrating him!  

The day before his birthday, Li'l J let us know that he wanted to open his birthday presents first thing the morning of his birthday so that he could do it with J-rod present before J-rod left for work. Oh boy. Opening presents first thing in the morning on a work day means getting up before the sunrise--that's even earlier than we get up on Christmas morning--a tough request to grant for those of us that aren't morning people, but we did it and Li'l J was thrilled that we did. 

Since we are creatures of habit and we love our traditions here, Li'l J got to open his birthday presents under the Christmas tree before J-rod left for work--at 4:45 in them morning--yay!  Then he spent the rest of the day enjoying his gifts and looking forward to another tradition, birthday dinner at Red Robin with two deserts afterwards: the complimentary sundae at Red Robin and then at his request, a chocolate silk pie instead of birthday cake when we returned from Red Robin. Yum!

It is great to be 8!

New Year's Eve 2012 found me and the kids celebrating at a friend's house while J-rod worked night shift.  At our friend's house we enjoyed board games, a bonfire, and sparklers. We had a fun night bringing in the New Year!

Happy New Year!

Stayed tuned for our adventures in 2013.

November 2012

Waiting for C's meet to begin.

November was filled with lots of ups and downs.  The first weekend of the month J-rod's sister C qualified to run in her State Cross-Country meet, so with just a couple of days notice…off we went to cheer her on!  Yay-we LOVE it when we get to visit with family! Luckily the meet was in only about a three and a half hour drive for us (minus any necessary stops). We drove up Friday night, spent almost all of Saturday with family, and then returned home Saturday night.  

Run like the wind Aunt C!

O'Callaghan-Tillman Memorial Bridge

The meet was Saturday morning and then that afternoon we all went to see and walk along the “new” Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge that spans across AZ and NV.  It was completed in the Fall of 2010.  We had so much fun together and learned a lot about how bridges are built.

On the Bridge Plaza

Even though Mom, Dad, C, and N were staying one more day, we had to get back home Saturday night because J-rod had a plane to catch the next afternoon for a business trip to the California Coast.  He had asked me to go with him and I wanted to go SO badly, but it just wasn’t to be this time around!  J-rod left Sunday, then very early Wednesday morning I dropped M off at school so he and the entire 6^th grade could board a bus headed to the mountains outside of L.A.  They spent the next three days at AstroCamp where it hailed and even snowed on them for a bit.  M had such a blast zip lining, being challenged in team building experiences, science labs, and taught in the great outdoors!

There were a couple of highlights the following week too.  First, I attended my final opening night party for a Twilight movie. I again went with my friend H to the theater her co-worker D rents out for the premiere of every Twilight movie—always such fun!  Next, we began our Thanksgiving Day celebration about a week early with two Thanksgiving Feasts—one for C-sta's class and one for Li'l J’s class.  They were both on the same day, but thank goodness there were a couple hours in between the two!

The following week we packed up the car with what little “winter wear” we have left from our days in NY and headed north to spend the week with family, lots and lots of J-rod’s family.  Fortunately the week of Thanksgiving is also a week long “Fall Break” for M and Li'l J, so they didn’t even have to miss any school for our travels—yay!

We spent Tuesday and Wednesday at Dad and Mom S’s house.  We had a great time visiting with them and watching Christmas movies.  Everything went well until…Wednesday afternoon.  Wednesday afternoon while out riding ATV’s, M had a bad accident (that could have been a lot worse), and ultimately broke his arm.  M and Li'l J went out riding with their favorite 15 year old Uncle N.  M was riding an ATV on his own while Li'l J rode on one with N.  The blessings poured out upon us during this entire experience are undeniable and I’m so grateful Heavenly Father saw fit to bless us so! 

First, where the boys were riding was on a hill directly in front of Dad and Mom S’s house.  Because of where they were riding when the accident happened, N was able to carefully and quickly get M home to us.  Next, the way the accident happened itself was a BIG blessing as it meant that M’s life was spared.  N and Li'l J rode up the front-side of the hill to the top and waited as M tried to maneuver his way up what turned out to be a very steep side of the hill.  Because N and Li'l J reached the top first, N saw exactly what happened to M and (relying on his first aid/Scout training) knew how to best help him immediately once it had happened.

M’s ATV got stuck, rolled back, hit a rock, flipped (which is when M got thrown off and landed on his right arm).  Then the ATV rolled over and past M, rather than onto him.  Once the boys got home and told us what happened, our minds went directly to a family Dad and Mom S know that just the weekend before lost their 31 year old son in an ATV accident that did not turn out as well.

We were also very fortunate that Dad S had just returned home from work for the day.  He was able to look at M’s arm, recognize that it was indeed broken, and directed us to take M immediately to the hospital which is literally right around the corner from their house.  We spent a few minutes in the waiting room, then a few more in triage before they were able to take us back and have M seen.

The ER doctor said that if you were going to pick a spot to break your upper arm, the spot where M’s break occurred was the perfect spot to pick because: 1. he just barely missed the growth plate and 2. had the break occurred any higher or lower he likely could have sustained major and lasting nerve damage.  Um, wow!  The ER staff was impressed at how tough M was, all said they couldn’t believe that with the kind of break he had that he was able to walk into the ER of his own accord and that he wasn’t crying.  After reviewing the x-rays, the orthopedic surgeon at the hospital suggested that because of where the break occurred, the kind of break it was, and because of M’s young age, that all he would need was a splint and a sling.  A splint to help keep it immobile while the swelling went down and then we could follow-up with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon once we returned home.  The doctor we saw here at the children’s hospital concurred with that diagnosis, and then cut the splint off before our visit was done.  He instructed us to have M keep his arm in the sling while out and about, especially at school, but other than that to slowly begin using his arm as normally as possible until M's follow up appointment after Christmas.  I am SO grateful that our M is still here with us and that he is healing well!

Thanksgiving morning we caravanned with J-rod’s family (parents and all his siblings that had arrived the night before and early that morning) “over the river and through the woods” and up the mountain to California where we gathered with more family at J-rod’s Grandpa and Grandma S’s house.  The scenery on the drive to their mountain home was amazing! Crystal clear lakes reflecting snow capped mountains, blue-blue skies, deliciously crisp fresh air, lots of deer roaming about, beautiful pine trees, trees ablaze with color as the leaves changed over from one season to another.  All of that, plus we got to be with lots of loved ones?  We couldn’t have asked for more! (Well, maybe M without a broken arm and a reaction to his pain meds, but…overall, things were good up there).

Thanksgiving at Grandpa and Grandma S's

While most everyone travelled back to Dad and Mom S's house after Thanksgiving dinner, we stayed and visited with Grandpa and Grandma until Saturday morning when we began our drive home via California.  Because of the direction we choose to travel in, we were able to meet up with my Mom and A for a late lunch/early dinner outside of L.A.  While our lunch stop took a number of hours out of our travel time and delayed us getting home, it was totally worth it as we realized we hadn’t gotten to see them in over a year and boy did we enjoy those few short hours together!

As we were traveling home that day we noted that the brakes on my car didn’t sound good and decided we’d take it to be looked at first thing Monday morning.  Good thing we did, as it turned out we were very fortunate my brakes and my steering system didn’t give out on us somewhere along a lonely stretch along of one of the many roads we had just travelled over throughout the previous week!  Sheesh, when it rains it pours right? Well, I wish that was the end of it, but…NO!  Add to M’s arm and my car, a few more challenges with J-rod’s truck just for good measure.  Monday morning one of the rear passenger windows on the truck would not roll back up…the motor had gone out!  Then after we picked C-sta up from school and were heading home to put away all the groceries we bought on our “date” while she was at school, we were rear-ended in Jrod’s truck as we were slowing down to a four-way stop that had a number of cars ahead of us!  Just what we needed while we were already down to one car for the week, awesome, just awesome.

Fortunately we were all okay (as was the very scared 18 year old girl who hit us) and were able to avoid a chain reaction by not hitting any of the cars ahead of us.

So ya, I spent much of the last week of November arranging rides for the kids and I to get every where we need to be while J-rod drove his “smooshed” truck with his hazard lights on since the tail-lights wouldn't work after being rear-ended.  All of this because we were still waiting for my car to come out of the shop and were dealing with insurance companies and our claim so that we could get estimates on the repairs necessary for the truck.

Guess what preferred to be doing the last week of November?  Putting up our Christmas tree and outside lights; decorating said tree and the inside of our house for Christmas; finishing up our Christmas shopping; wrapping gifts; mailing out packages to family; and baking!  But no, life had other plans for us that week.  I kept my fingers crossed and stayed optimistic that we could get a start on all that by the end of the first week in December until we got word that J-rod was needed back on night shift because someone retired early/unexpectedly. J-rod got pulled off of his day job indefinitely.  Added to the change in his work schedule, the first Saturday in December J-rod was scheduled to be at the church all day doing tithing settlement and a wedding that night, so, I was once again reminded that my plans aren't always the ones that we end up living our life by.  It’s okay though because if nothing else, the last two week of November helped me keep things in perspective.  I know we are loved and I’m grateful we are all safe and together!

Thanksgiving decorations

At the end of November we attended M and Li'l J's Fall piano recital. M of course was unable to play, but Li'l J did a fantastic job!  Li'l J played "Luke's Theme" from Star Wars and the Primary Song "Families Can Be Together Forever".

Fall piano recital

September 2012

When Fall arrives everywhere else in the country, it just barely begins to dip below the 100 degree mark here.  It's during this time of year where I feel like we'll NEVER cool off, and I really begin to miss the beauty of the Fall in New York.  The silver lining is that this is when the pool cools off from temps in the high 90's to the low 80's--perfect for swimming and cooling off!

AZ: the land of eternal summer.

Alright, September 2012.  What is there to report?  Not as much as usual.  Everyone settled right into the school routine, including me.  Once a week while C-sta attended preschool I spent the morning helping in in Li'l J's and M's classrooms.  The other mornings I would spent getting caught up on things at home and sometimes would even sneak in a craft or two, which of course I LOVE!

One special occasion that J-rod, myself, and our ward choir director prepared for for months finally took place this month.  For the first time ever, I sang a duet in Sacrament Meeting (with our ward choir director).  I'm still not sure what possessed me to say "yes" when she asked me I would, but now I'm glad I did and that I didn't give up when I was struggling to learn the song.  It was a good learning and growth experience for me, and I'm not just talking about the physical learning of piece.  

I've never really had the confidence to do something like that, but after having done it and survived (I was fully expecting for my nerves to take over once I got in front of everyone and that my voice wouldn't work, plus I was sick that week), I think I could do it again. We sang a beautifully arranged "paraphrase of the 23rd Psalm" (as it says on the music) by Henry Smart called simply, "The Lord is My Shepard".  I sang the soprano part and learned that, even after all these far removed years since the basic vocal "training" I was lucky to enough to receive through my middle school and high school choirs, I have a pretty high range.  I went home after Sacrament Meeting because the kids and I were all sick, but J-rod reported that throughout the block of meetings ward members kept coming to him and asking where I was so they could congratulate me.  One sister that has PERFECT pitch (our Primary chorister) even told him I should be singing in the opera--wow! What a nice compliment! I'm very grateful that J-rod worked so hard with me at home to prepare for it and that we could perform together.

Early on in the month M got his first rank advancement in Scouts so we got to attended our first Court of Honor.  A few weeks later he and all the Scouts in our ward (and two other wards) got to spend a Saturday out at the power plant that J-rod and a few other Scout leaders work at, learning all about how it works in order to earn there Nuclear Engineering Merit Badge--it was such a neat experience for them!

Such good YM!

While out hiking with some friends one weekend, Li'l J lost another tooth and now looks like a cute Jack-O-Lantern, just in time for Halloween. : )  

Probably the biggest news is that towards the end of the month, C-sta and I had our hair chopped off!  C-sta had been begging since June to have her hair cut to her shoulders.  We kept asking her to wait until I cut mine in November for my biennial cut for donation.  C-sta just couldn't wait that much longer! Then I found out that with highlights I wouldn't be able to donate my hair until the highlights had grown out, so we made it happen in September.  Even though the cut had to be above C-sta's shoulders to get the required 10 inches for donation, it looked absolutely darling on her and we were all very happy with it.  It sure makes her look so grown up though, I guess that isn't too bad since she has been acting grown up for quite some time now. : )  

Before: Just like Rapunzel.

During: Excited, but a little nervous too!

After: We LOVE it!

May 2012

May 2012 was filled to the brim with activity—lots of the usual and lots of firsts too—and by the end I was a little worn out. I have a friend who says that we live an "active" life...too true. Better busy and active than not, I suppose.  I guess I’ll start with the big-ticket news items that began and ended the month for us.

First, I must ask, are you sitting down?  At the beginning of May we surprised even ourselves and got a...KITTEN!!! Super-duper adorable! Can you believe it??? Yes, you did read that correctly--we not only have a dog, but we now we also have a cat!  Have you recovered from your shock yet?  I'll give you a minute. Thought you'd never see the day?  Yeah, neither did we!  Ha, ha!  We brought Jeffery home with a very specific purpose in mind.

Part-way through 2011 our good neighbors moved and took their cats with them: an indoor hairless cat named Chowder that was so ugly, it made him endearing, and their black outdoor cat named Elvira that would keep the birds away from their house and ours.  On a side note, Elvira is the same cat the snuck into our house a couple years back one night as I was rushing Li'l J to the ER--good memories!  

Anyway with the cats gone, the birds (pigeons, doves, sparrows, black birds, etc) began to call our backyard home eating Copper's food and drinking his water. Copper would chase them away in the mornings but then in the afternoons when he naps, it's a free for all and our back deck, table, and chairs are covered in bird poop. I quickly grew tired of it all!

I tried only putting Copper's food outside for him at night, but all it did was make him grumpy and bark...A LOT. Seeing that his food bowl is full, even when he is full and isn't going to touch the food, is a comfort thing for Copper. When he has finished eating and his bowl is empty, Copper comes to the back door and barks incessantly until someone comes back out and refills it, only then will he quiet down. Funny dog!

J-rod's dad suggested putting Copper's food and water bowl in an enclosed area, thinking that would keep the birds away. So...we put the bowls in the doghouse Copper refuses to use. Doing that kept the pigeons, doves, and sparrows away, but not the big black birds. All it did for them was move the problem and make them LOUDER. The black birds would congregate in front of, above, and inside of the dog house squawking at each other as they fought over which one was going to go in next to get food. It was incredibly annoying!

So...my friend has a cat that was having kittens. This mama cat is a known hunter and was teaching her kittens to hunt too, so my friend suggested we take one of her kittens. The kids and I went to check them out when they were 5 weeks old and immediately FELL. IN. LOVE. with the one kitten that came right too me and snuggled up! Wait, what? Me??? But I'm not a cat person! Yes, yes, it's true. That kitten tugged on my heart strings and when it was 7 weeks old we brought it home and introduced it to Copper.

Our kitten is the SWEETEST little thing with only half a tail! He and Copper are best buds. They sleep together and both complain when we bring the kitten inside so it can eat. Copper barks and howls until we bring the kitten back out. We keep them separate during feeding times since J-rod's dad warned us that the kitten's food will upset Copper's tummy. Plus the kitten tries to eat Copper's food, which is too big for it and would probably not be good for him either. When we take the kitten back out, Copper picks him up like a mama cat, by the scruff of the neck and carries him around for a bit. It scared us at first, but he hasn't tried to hurt the kitten and he just wants to move him away from us to check it out and then lets it go. We keep a close eye on them when Copper is doing that just to be safe! I have given it a bath almost everyday because when Copper does that, it leaves the kitten coated in dog slobber and it ends up sporting a big Mohawk.

The kitten came to us as Jeffrey, but we think he might actually be a she so we are still trying to agree on a name everyone likes. J-rod and I like "Skittles"--skittish+little+kitten. Too bad the kids are not fans of that name! Li'l J wants to call it "Furry" because it is definitely one fluffy and furry little thing with all of its long hair. C-sta is still upset that we didn't bring home the other one that looks similar to ours that was named Lily. M suggested: Fur-mione (pronounced like Hermione from Harry Potter...of course).

J-rod has accepted that we have a kitten and loves that the rest of us are happy, but thinks that with our allergies that I'm CRAZY to have brought one home! To be fair, he just might be right. So far our allergies haven’t been any worse, so we’ll see.  Hopefully as our little addition to the family begins to grow, it will start to “earn its keep” and keep the birds away!

Isn't he darling???

At the end of May as J-rod and I were headed to the temple for a brother in our ward that was going through for his first time, we took a little detour. Every May the ASU Music Department teams up with the AZ Piano Co. to hold a sale of used pianos.  The school hosts the sale, the AZ Piano Co. brings in used and/or demo piano’s from it’s store, plus a few that have been used on campus by ASU and then donates some of the proceeds from the sale back to ASU to help the Music Department purchase new pianos.

We went with the same intention we always go with when looking at a big purchase: “just to look” and that is exactly what we told the salesman.  Ha, ha, famous last words!  J-rod had been researching baby grand pianos: makes, sizes, prices, etc. so he had an idea of what would work for us.  J-rod “test drove” a number of the available selection and noted that the prices were far below what we expected, so we asked the salesman for a few minutes while we discussed whether to wait a year (as originally planned) or go for it.  Decision made, we called the salesman back and totally made his day by signing on the dotted line, setting up delivery, and walking out about 20 minutes after we had walked in.  We were probably his easiest sale of the weekend!   Not that we could have spared more than the 20 minutes we spent there as we had a temple session to get to.

Baby Grand's first picture in our home. (Grainy cell phone pic).

So there you have the stories of how we ended up with two new additions to our family in the month of May.  We are thoroughly enjoying both of the new additions and have no regrets as to welcoming them into our home.

Now let’s see, what else went on in May?

C-ta danced in her first ballet recital the day before Mother’s Day.  All three little girls in her age group looked beautiful and performed very well!  They danced to “You Are My Sunshine”.  One of C-sta’s favorite parts of the day was getting to wear full “performance” make-up for the recital!

C-sta living her dream!

Mother’s Day was wonderful.  Since breakfast in bed wasn’t an option with early morning church, Li'l J made me my favorite sandwich as soon as we got home and served it to me with chips and string cheese while I lounged in J-rod’s recliner. It’s important to note that he did this all by himself. For dinner J-rod made yummy BBQ beef sandwiches.  Everyone showered me with great gifts!  The one that made me smile the most was Li'l J’s  “Top Ten Reasons Why I Love My Mom”, and the gift that surprised me the most was J-rod’s: a brand new sewing machine!  The nearly fifty-year-old machine we inherited when we got married (a family heirloom that belonged to J-rod’s mom from when she was a teenager until she passed away) finally quit working back in February, so it was time for a new one.  I was neither expecting one, nor one as nice as the one I received.  I am indeed blessed!  Now I just have to schedule a tutorial at Jo Ann’s Fabrics so I can learn how to use the modern model.

Mother's Day 2012

Both M and Li'l J participated in their school track meet and had a lot of fun doing so.

M at the shot put, with his teammates looking on.

Li'l J running like the wind with the baton.

M and friends. Ready, set, go!

M neck and neck with his buds J and I.

M and his friend J in the hurdles race.

Li'l J and friends.

After all the races, there was a fun relay for everyone to participate in.

Li'l J rocked the hula hoop!

Ribbons: Li'l J, friend J, M, friend I.

Mid-way through the month, preschool for C-sta ended for the year and she missed it like crazy once it was over.  Truthfully, so did I.  Once C-sta finished with preschool, the count down until the boys finished school began so C-sta could have someone to pal around with throughout the summer.

C-sta with her class and teacher Mrs. B.

With preschool over, what is a girl to do while she waits for her brothers to finish up with school? Why, spend a fun filled afternoon at Build-a-Bear with one of your besets friends of course!  B, one of C-sta's friends from preschool invited C-sta to go to Build-a-Bear with her to celebrate her birthday (and Zippy got to go along for the fun afternoon too).  This was C-sta's first experience at Build-a-Bear and she couldn't have been more excited to be there!

C-sta and B got matching bears. 

C-sta named her bear "Elizabear" 

(in honor of one of her favorite YW from our ward).  

By the middle of May, the swim season was in full swing with team practices for both M and Li'l J, as well as fun swim days with friends in our pool.

Time for a haircut? 

Both M and Li'l J performed in end year concerts and were recognized for their hard work and academic achievements at awards assemblies.

C-sta wanted to pose for a pic too!

Li'l J moves on to 2nd grade and was given

 "The Jolly Rancher" Award for his 'jolly' attitude.

October 2011

Let's review the craziness that was October 2011, shall we?  October was filled with the usual: soccer and baseball practices and games for M and Li'l J; a few pretty involved projects for various classes for M; piano lessons, allergy shots, and Cub Scouts as well.

~Campfire inspired Cub Scout Pack Meeting~

Keepin' Real

The first Saturday in October, I discovered too late in the morning that I hadn't written down something important in my calendar and Li'l J missed out on being in his baseball team picture but was still able to have his individual pictures taken (M's were at a different time so he didn't miss out on either of his).  I may have mentioned this last Fall but, having our boys involved in Fall sports (as opposed to playing sports during any other season) really stresses me out and this was just one of those moments that really overwhelmed me.  Thank goodness J-rod was not working that day and was able to help get the boys where they needed to be!  He did have to work the next day in preparation for the month long outage at work (shut-down and maintenance on one of the reactors), so the kids and I stayed home, stayed in our jammies, enjoyed watching General Conference and some of the great shows that followed it on BYUTV, and just basically regrouped for the coming week.

~So true~

The first week of October I scheduled in some fun time for me: I hosted the monthly gathering for the Card Swap group I have been a part of for the last three years.  I also began attending a monthly craft night with a group of ladies in the area, I came home with two neat vinyl "subway art" canvases: one for Halloween and one for Thanksgiving.  I am definitely looking forward to future fun nights with both groups.

The Kids

The second weekend of October, it was Li'l J's turn to bring home his calls "mascot": Mr. Moo, a plush cow.  Mr. Moo came to us in his overnight bag that was complete with two books to read ("Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type"--a favorite of ours!--and "Two Cool Cows") and a journal.  In the journal Li'l J had to add a page to where he told all about Mr. Moo's weekend stay with us, as well as a page of pictures.  Mr. Moo sat on the piano with Li'l J during his piano lesson, went with us to In N' Out for lunch (though he didn't eat with us since he isn't a cannibal!), held Li'l J's hand during his allergy shots, cheered Li'l J on during his baseball game the next morning, kept watch on our house while we went to church, and listened intently as we read the two stories for bedtime.  Li'l J was SO happy to have had Mr. Moo home for that weekend and was really excited to write the journal entry, print out the pictures we took, and then share it with his class the next day!

~C-sta with Lucky and M, always with a book.~

~We sure had fun with Mr. Moo~

The second week of the month I took C-sta in to have some portraits done at JC Penney and the boys brought home their school pictures.  It's good to have updated photos of all three kids on the walls!  At the end of that week I also finally got all three kids in to see their pediatrician for their annual well-checks...a bit over due for the boys, but better late than never.  M had been having back pain for a long while which we've always attributed to growing pains, but his pediatrician wanted to rule out the possibility of scoliosis (as he detected a slight curve in M's back) so at the end of October we took M in for x-rays.  It breaks my heart how M's body presents him with so many challenges and has never quite done what it should, but I am grateful that overall M is healthy and happy.

Family News

It was also during the second week of October that we got some sad news.  My half-sister J, who had been in remission for about a year from breast cancer, began having unbearable headaches so she went in to see her doctor.  As it turned out, she had a brain tumor that he doctors felt could be surgically removed and then she would be treated with chemo and radiation.  Her surgery was scheduled and the weekend before her surgery she began having seizures, difficulties maintaining her balance, and began needing help to do things for herself.  That same weekend she also ended up in the ER for a night because she couldn't keep anything down and was quite dehydrated.  While in the ER an MRI was done to check the condition of her tumor.  Her condition was deemed stable but another tumor was discovered on her back.  My brother-in-law and my three nephews were like warriors by her side helping her through all of this.

~J and N~

The morning of her surgery, the seizures continued so things were delayed for a couple hours until she was deemed stable again.  During J's surgery when her doctors when to remove the tumor, they discovered that it was not solid as they had thought but a tumor filled with hundreds of little tumors and that a portion of it had attached itself to her soft tissues making it impossible to remove the tumor completely.  When J was in recovery it became apparent that she has lost her hearing.  Her eyesight was unaffected and by the next morning she had regained movement of all her limbs.  At first he doctors were hopeful they could still help her with chemo and radiation, but once she stopped responding well during rehab she was sent home earlier than anticipated and she spent the remainder of October at home quickly deteriorating.

All my siblings were able to visit with her and her family, but since it all happened so quickly, we were unable to do so.  Going through this has been more difficult for all of us than when we went through it with our Dad.  Partially because our Dad had the blessing of living such a long and full life and partially because we had three years to get used to the idea of not having him around and to prepare for the day when his time came to leave us.  With J being so young (44) and with such a young family, this has been very difficult for me personally because it out right scares me!  The cancer-prone genes on my Dad's side of the family seem run strong.  We lost one of my Dad's younger brother's at the end of August to same type of cancer that my Dad battled.  My uncle M was diagnosed three months before he passed away, while my Dad lived for three years following his original diagnosis.  That brings the total of the C family members affected by cancer from 2007 to 2011 to five (a cousin, two sisters, my dad, and my uncle) plus my Dad's mom who passed away years ago, also from cancer.  *Sigh*  

Okay, time for the rest of our news from October.  

Family Fun/Traditions

One week before Halloween we made our traditional trip to pick pumpkins at the local pumpkin.  M, Li'l J, and C-sta all went in their costumes.  We had fun taking lots of pictures, picking our pumpkins, and watching Li'l J enjoy himself on the little train ride.  After we picked our pumpkins we kept with tradition and took the kids to dinner at Carraba's--yum, yum!!  Everyone in the restaurant LOVED that they were dining near "Mario" and "Rapunzel".  M made a quick change out of his costume as soon as we left the pumpkin patch because well of course he's now too grown up for that kind of stuff...sniff, sniff.  At least M was willing to humor me by going to the pumpkin patch in costume this year, who knows if he'll want to do it again next year.

~Getting ready for Halloween~

The Boys

The three week of October was Spirit Week at school for M and Li'l J.  On Hero Day, M went as Clark Kent/Superman (so did his Social Studies teacher) and Li'l J went as Batman; both boys accessorized their costumes with capes I made them from an idea I saw on Pinterest (I LOVE that site!).  On Nerd Day M dressed up and Li'l J decided he didn't want to dress up this time around.  On Jersey Day both boys were happy to wear their BYU Jimmer shirts.

~Spirit Week Fall 2011~

~C-sta is excited for Halloween!~

Mom's Thoughts

Also the third week of October, we had to get our four years young dishwasher repaired.  The previous week it quit working and despite J-rod's best effort to get it going again, it was done.  Fortunately it was repairable for a reasonable fee and though all the J-rod had tried to get it working turned out to be correct, the repairman said the problem was ultimately in the wiring behind a panel J-rod couldn't access.  It was nice to get it going again and be able to use it for more than just a giant drying rack!

Along with Spirit Week and dishwasher repairs, during the third week I attended for the second time a "blanket bee" started last month by a really neat gal in our ward.  When we gather for the "blanket bee" we teach each other different blanket making techniques, help one another finish projects started and abandoned long ago, as well as encourage each other to try new things.  I'm so glad to be a part of this group as I'm finally making progress on a quillow I started for Li'l J shortly after C-sta was born, um three years ago!  Once I finish off Li'l J's quillow I have a rag blanket for me that I started wa-ay back in NY and haven't touched since then.

~A monkey quillow for "our little monkey", Li'l J~

Date Night

The third weekend J-rod and I attended our ward temple night as our date night.  It was so nice to go together again, it had been a while since we were able to do that.  We didn't know if it was the State Fair, the Taylor Swift concert, or ward Halloween activities going on around town, or just what but we were very surprised that the temple was so unusually empty for a Friday night!  A special treat for us was getting meet up with our friend K for a few minutes.  We passed along C-sta's toddler bed for K's daughter R to use and in exchange K surprised us with a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts for our long drive home--nom, nom, nom!

The morning after our date to the temple, bright and early our Stake participated in the National Make-a-Difference Day.  J-rod and many members of our ward worked hard all morning long to help clean up our town.  C-sta and I took Li'l J to baseball while M stayed home to recover from having spent 5 HOURS the day before at the allergist.

Fall
Yes, you read that correctly, 5 LO-ONG hours with an hour in the middle for lunch and to break up the day.  We went in the morning for M to have what we expected to be a simple skin test done to see if he finally qualifies to have a flu shot (after having been told all his life that flu shots are out of the question for him).  The skin test went well and the good news was that he does now qualify for a flu shot.  The bad news was that the asthma he had been seen and treated for two weeks earlier began to worsen so once the skin test was done, the doctor wanted to address the asthma and tried a number of different in-office tactics to get M some relief.  We were glad we didn't end up in the ER that day!  As much as I like our allergist and the staff at the office, hanging out there for that long with 3 kids was not how we had planned to spend the day!  Monday after school we went back for a follow-up to be sure the course that finally provided some relief had continued to work throughout the weekend.  All of this to help M stay healthy so he could enjoy the last weekend in October in...Catalina Island with the entire 5th grade!

Thursday night/Friday at 1:30 am, all the 5th grade students and teachers going to Catalina had to report to the school and check in baggage and any meds.  Any meds?  After what we had just been through with M?  The mother in line ahead of me lamented, "I feel like such a dork because everyone else ahead of me in line is turning meds in a little sandwich sized zip baggie and here I am turning in my son's meds in a gallon sized baggie."  I tapped her on the shoulder and held up the Hefty JUMBO sized zip bag that contained ALL of M's necessary allergy and asthma meds, the nebulizer, and a letter form the allergist detailing the unfortunate regimen he had to follow while on the trip.  I asked her, "how do you think I feel?"  She apologized for her earlier lament when she realized how bad poor M has it!

~M and his buds, I and J on the bus, ready for adventure!~

By 2:15 am the three busses full of excited students and trepidatious teachers finally pulled away from the school and made their way towards California.  Later that morning they arrived at the port of Long Beach, boarded the boat and headed off for a weekend full of adventure, amazing and positive ways to challenge themselves, and lots of fun on a beautiful island.  While on the island, they stayed at Toyon Bay in dorms at the Catalina Island Marine Institute where they snorkeled in 60 degree water, dissected squids, climbed rock walls, received lots of instruction in oceanography and marine biology labs, and were kept very well fed by an amazing staff of chefs that worked well with us beforehand in regards to M's food allergies.  The school did a good job of keeping up parents informed by posting pictures and regular updates on their Facebook page throughout the weekend.  What an amazing experience for them all.  I'm so grateful J-rod and I looked past our fears and allowed M to go on this trip!  M returned late Sunday night and we were so happy to see him again and hear all about his wonderful adventures.

~Pictures courtesy of M's school FB page~

More Traditions

While M was gone, J enjoyed play dates with friends and also attended a birthday party.  As a family, we carved pumpkins while watching the demise of BYU at the hands of TCU, made new Fall pillow cases for the kids, dressed up and attended our ward Halloween Trunk-or-Treat activity where we had lots of fun.  Li'l J went as Mario his favorite character from his favorite video game, Mario Kart Wii.  C-sta went as her favorite Disney princess, Rapunzel, complete with a Pascal at her side (a chameleon puppet we've had for years).  J-rod was a dressed-down clown (curly-rainbow wig and a BIG colorful bow tie) and I went as a blue bath scrubbie/loofah.  I carried a shower caddie filled with bottles of shampoo, conditioner, a bar of soap, a wash cloth, and a shower cap.  Much to my surprise, I won "Most Creative Costume!"  Woo-hoo! 

~Pumpkin Carving~

~Boo!, from us to you!~

~Trunk-or-treat games~

Since Halloween 2011 happened to be on a Monday, the boys got to wear their costumes to school (C-sta wore her costume to her preschool party the week before).  As soon as the boys got home from school, Li'l J changed into his third costume of the season (a Jedi Padawan) and was ready to start Trick-or-Treating immediately.  Yes, that boy was lucky enough to have three costumes available to him...all which he received as gifts from his many adoring fans.  

~C-sta and her school friend B: Rapunzel and Aurora.~

Anyway...even though Li'l J was ready to head out the door, we had to wait for some friends to arrive and then wait some more for J-rod to get home from work.  Usually trick-or-treating in our neighborhood begins around 5:30, but this time we didn't get our first knock until almost 7pm and after that it took another half-hour before the steady stream we are used to finally began.  The kids had lots of fun passing out candy while waiting for their turn to trick-or-treat, though Li'l J was chomping at the bit the entire time!  Between the birthday party Li'l J went to the previous Saturday, the ward trunk-or-treat activity, and Halloween, by the end of October we had WAY too much candy in our house!  Good thing our thoughtful Bishop keeps two bowls full of candy (chocolate and non-chocolate) stocked on his desk for the youth and Primary children that come looking for candy each Sunday as soon as church is over!  Hee, hee, hee.

~Excited to go trick-or-treat~

~Happy Halloween!~

Li'l Sis

While getting C-sta ready for bed Halloween night, I noticed C-sta felt warm.  Taking temperature revealed she had a very high fever.  Then in the middle of the night C-sta climbed into our bed and I noticed she had a croupy cough.  She stayed home from school the few days to rest and get feeling better.  Poor little one!  What a way to end October and begin November, huh?