don't look too closely

lately i have been wondering when the dreaded time would come. the gray hair. yes, ladies and gentlemen, i found some hair that didn't belong on my head. it didn't come as a shock really, since i have been wondering when and if i had any gray hair. (life has been stressful the past year!)

anyway, on saturday i had some time between luke's softball games to look and see if i could find some. i looked TOO hard in my opinion and found 2 silver hair. it wasn't gray, it was shimmery and beautiful. silver.

i can handle it. silver is the new brown, right? at least it is shiny and pretty....right? *nod your head in agreeance please!*

well, on sunday night i thought, "if i've found 2...maybe i'll find more." and i did. 2 more.

moral of the story? don't be so vain. STOP looking in the mirror!

note: if i come to Church or step out in public looking less than par, just know that it is because i no longer look in mirrors.

Picture overload

After we got the camera, we had to take it out for a spin. I realize that I am not a professional, but after my post about photography…a lot of the picture quality has to do with the fact that I was viewing the pictures ON the camera and not on the computer. That makes a HUGE difference.

In our backyard and misc.:

Isaac Morley Farm:

Father’s Day:

Mac being a big boy and getting off the bike by himself:

Walking around our town:

At the pool:

Much, much more to post. We’ve only taken 1400 pictures since we got the camera (and new laptop)…so….many more posts to come! :)

A little bit addicting...

I found this BBC show called, The World's Strictest Parents. From the website, "Unruly British teenagers are sent abroad to live with strict families in an experiment to find out the right way to bring up a child."

The following one takes place in Tooele, Utah (Anja!) with a Mormon family. Enjoy! Each part is about 10 minutes and the last one is about 7. Let me know what you think!

Part 1 of 6
Part 2 of 6
Part 3 of 6
Part 4 of 6
Part 5 of 6
Part 6 of 6

not much to post

Well, there hasn't been much to post lately. After the drama of last week, this past week has been a little more low-key. The kids are still in swimming lessons and having a GREAT time! The program they are in makes them feel confident and they come home happy every day. It's great.

In other news, we have a new laptop and camera. Hence, the lack of pictures...hmm, I think that should be the other way around, we should have LOTS of pictures to post..and we do..about 850+. Yes, it has been fun to take bunches of pictures. But I have a request: For all of you that are photographer connoisseurs please shed some light. I see your pictures and think they are amazing...so my question is this: is it YOU the photographer, the photo editing software you use, the settings, etc.

Our camera may be on a lower mp and that could be the problem...but I just can't figure out the lighting, etc most of the time. Ugh. I know, I know, read the instructions..and I have, but it doesn't really help. I must be direction illiterate.

Anyway, we have a Cannon Rebel and are really loving it. It's just the photographer that is having a hard time.

Cancer-free

That's what the Dr. told me today. I know, I know. Last week when I wrote about other things going on and to keep me in your prayers....that's why.

I found a lump in January. I didn't think much of it because I was nursing and thought it was a clogged duct. Fast forward a few months. It didn't go away and after a bit of nagging from Luke and some friends, I finally went in. The OB/GYN also felt something and referred me to a Women's Breast Center.

Last Tuesday I went in for an ultrasound. I saw the mass on the screen and asked the tech what they look for...she said that she was going to get the doctor. Hmm, it made me a bit nervous, but I waited. The dr. came in and said that there were some abnormalities in the u/s. Most cysts are balloon-like sacs filled with fluid. My mass looked like it had a few layers and was filled with debris.

They quickly ushered me in to talk to a nurse/counselor. She was there to be the go-between with the office upstairs and to help me sort out my feelings. I'll be really honest when I say, it didn't hit me in the office. I was just going through the motions of a regular dr's visit. After I got out to the car, I called Luke. Then I called my mom. Then I started crying. That's when it hit me that this was more serious than what I had originally thought.

Let's fast forward to yesterday. I met with a nurse who took my life history. Then the dr. came in. She was awesome. Very personable and very good at what she does. I'll save you all from the details. It's not pleasant to have a needle stuck anywhere, ESPECIALLY there...and I have quite the bruise to show it. Needless to say, after the aspiration, the mass was 1/3 of the original size and was filled with fluid. She said that was a good sign. She did say however that she wished the mass/cyst would have gone down to 1/2 the size, but she would take what she could get. After the 2nd needle aspiration, she hit a blood vessel and I started bleeding. It was a messy, yet controlled situation.

She told me she would call me in 3-4 days and to set up an appt. for 3 months.

Well, they called me today (24 hours later..wow!)and told me not to worry about anything. The aspiration was negative for cancer and the content was consistent with a cyst.

I'll just say, it has been a long week...and a long 24 hours. Yay for being cancer-free!

I will put a plug in there for self-examinations. Do them. I don't think I would have noticed if I weren't nursing..but I will be more consistent in them. Masses/cysts grow relatively fast. I went in to the OB/GYN in November and by January I had one. So..I'll say it again. Do the exam!

It's been a long week...

Well, in the interest of not sharing quite everything with the blogging work quite yet...it has been a long week.

A few weeks ago, I went in to my OB/GYN for several separate things. One of them was that I am overly tired. all. the. time. They took a bunch of blood..and the results seem pretty normal.

The second thing I went in for was because of my belly bulge. I wrote about it here. Note: Not belly FAT, but an actually bulge in my upper belly. I asked him if he also thought I had diastasis recti and he said that I didn't. He didn't really know WHAT I had, maybe a hernia. So, he referred me to a plastic surgeon.

I went today. I walked in and after lifting my shirt, feeling around on my stomach, having me cough, ect. He told me I DID have diastasis recti. I asked a few more questions about losing the bulge and here is what he said, "You could exercise for eternity and your stomach muscles will never come back together. They will get stronger, but never come together" The only thing he could recommend was getting a tummy tuck.

Now, I know most of you are thinking.."Of course a plastic surgeon is going to want to recommend a tummy tuck. Hello? Show me the $$." And yes, I would tend to agree with you, but this time..it was a bit different. It wasn't exactly a cosmetic procedure I would want to have done. My stomach is BULGING. Literally. There are exercises you can do to help strengthen it, but I am not sure that there is any way it will ever go back "in" unless I have it done. Ugh.

there are a few other things going on, so keep me in your prayers this next week!

It's been a long 2 days of dr. visits..and I want to thank those that have watched my kids and helped me out! Now, for a bit of down time...it IS summer, you know!

The Power of Fasting

There have been many times where I/we have fasted and seen answers to our prayers. Sometimes we have had to wait and sometimes the answers have come quickly.

This last fast Sunday (yesterday) we had the latter experience.

We've been having a hard time with Bella.

She was such a cute and energetic dog, but the past month or so, we've realized that something has got to give. We were cleaning up after her almost daily and we didn't know when she would have an accident. We couldn't leave her for very long and it just boiled down to: give up our kids or give up the dog (J/K!!) But really, the amount of stress was not worth it.

Luke talked to our neighbor, Kathy, yesterday. He was throwing some information out there, wondering if she knew of anyone that would want a dog. After talking a bit, we realized it might be harder than we thought for several reasons:

1.) The economy: there are so many people that are giving away animals right now because they can't afford them.

2.) Our attachment to her. Yes, it has only been 8 months, but we were starting to really get to know her and love her (minus the accidents).

3.) We didn't want to give her to a pound. Just the thought of her being put to sleep didn't sit well with us.

Kathy said she would ask around, but didn't really seem optimistic.

Well, Saturday night came. We let Bella out, she did her deed and we went in to watch a movie. 2 hours pass, we go back out and she had an accident. We took her out, let her run around. She went to the bathroom and we put her back in her kennel.

We were starting our fast and I decided that although it might not be the most appropriate thing to fast about, we needed to get some answers about her future in our family. It might have seemed a little silly, but it was important to us and to her well being. We woke up this morning and she had messed her kennel again. If that wasn't a sign, I don't know what was. :)

Needless to say, we were done. We didn't know when or how, but we needed to find a home for that dog. We went to Church and didn't think too much about it anymore. We came home and weren't home more than an hour when we got a call from Kathy saying she had found a home for the dog. Really. We talked to the couple and they said they would be over..in 30 minutes. WHOA!

We sat the kids down and explained everything to them. Livi was sad. But we told her that it was ok and that the lady was going to treat Bella better than we EVER could. She took it well and she wrote the lady a note thanking her. :)

I know this doesn't seem like the most sincere fast. It almost seems a little ridiculous. But for our family situation, it was getting pretty dire. Wow. I still can't believe it. After they took her, Luke and I just sat on the couch and smiled. It was sad, but we were in a sense..free. To top it off, the lady that took her doesn't live too far away . She is obsessed with dogs, loves putting bows in their hair and will dote on her. Bella deserves that..something that we couldn't give her.

It is amazing that Heavenly Father recognizes what we need. It isn't too small or ridiculous to Him. He just wants us to be happy.

I refuse to believe...

that you have gone from that...to this...

in such a short amount of time!

Happy 1st birthday Mac! We love you so much and are so blessed to have you in our lives. We can't imagine where we would be without you and your sweet disposition.

*********************************************

Some things for us to remember:

-You are so smiley. Really. You will smile for anyone.

-You are very grabby/like to pinch. The "pincher grasp" is an understatement.

-You are our 'SHOP-MAC', as our friend so lovingly named you. There is a reason for this: You are one of the mouthiest babies I have ever seen...and by FAR my most mouthy baby. EVERY SINGLE THING GOES in your mouth..everything. As frustrating as it can be it's part of who you are..

-You are walking like a champ..seriously cruising.

-You love to talk. You always say, "MA, DA and Day-ah". Usually it is at the top of your lungs. You definitely know how to yell. You also say, "uh-oh" and "burp" :)

-You eat all the time. All the time. It can get tiring, especially at night..but it has also been a great way to bond with you.

-You love your family. Whenever you see one of us, your face lights up and you can't stop smiling and jabbering at us.

-You take your pointer finger and touch it to our pointer finger..and wait for us to say, "Beep." Along those lines, you touch your finger to our noses and wait for us to say, "HONK!"

-You are always on the go, but on a rare occasion, you love to snuggle. As long as you have a blanket and binky, you are good to go.

WE LOVE YOU!

anniversary 3 months early!!

Luke bought the tix for this rockin' awesome show last month...I can't wait to see it in August. Thanks Luke!