Wednesday January 31 (add pictures)

I worked in the office this morning.

Then my VT's came over.

Brent had to go back in to the dentist, but all is good now.

He also tore the floor out in the bathroom and replaced it.

He will need to replace some plumbing stuff too.

But I am excited to get going on this :)

It is gonna be so pretty!!!!!!!!

I went and got some supplies for the New Beginnings....which we worked on at YW tonight.

Then Brent drove the suburban to the shop to get fixed, so I went and picked him up.

Porter had scouts and then he went and hung out with the Hall boys until I got back from YW.

For YW, we painted houses for our New Beginning decorations.

Elsie and Dad got to hang out with each other tonight and get her spelling done and watch shows together :)

So, ya that was the day.

Tuesday January 30 (add pictures)

We are going out with Vern and Billy tonight, and it will probably be late when we get home.

I thought I would write now, so we can get to bed as soon as we get home!

After going to the gym, Dad h went t his tooth appointment.....that we thought was yesterday, but ended up being today.

Anyway....poor guy.

He had a tooth pulled and an implant started.

He is not feeling really well right now and is a good sport to still go out tonight.

He goes back in a week to see how it is healing.

I went Visiting Teaching while he was gone.

Then I picked Elsie up for her foot appointment.

She is doing really well!

They took new x-rays....which are way better than the last one.

You can see that there are two that were broken, she said she doesn't think the third one was broken because she doesn't see any new bone growth.

But on the two tows that were obviously broken show a good amount of new bone growth.

We will keep her in the boot the rest of this week and then use her real shoes.

If the foot starts to hurt, we will just go back to the boot.

It will take about 4-6 weeks more to fully heal.

But she is a rock star!

She and I had another coconut popsicle once we got home, sitting out in the car so no one would find us :)

Tonight, Cassi was in charge of dinner and she did a fantastic job!

She made us Shepherds pie and it was great.

Porter went with Madi to the basketball game and Cassi and Elsie are hanging out here at home while mom and Dad go out :)

They will have to put the little ones to bed, so I hope that goes smooth........

Monday January 29

Demo day on the bathroom!!!!

This is the main bathroom by the kitchen and I am excited to get this one done.

This room was actually the very first thing we re-did when we moved into this house.

We had the original ripped out and put back together within a couple day of moving in.

It was in really bad shape.

We knew that we would be re-doing it again eventually....and today is the day!!!!

So exciting!

Lots of work to do.....

This evening for FHE, Elsie led the music, with Cassi helping her.

We kind of did an evaluation of how we have been doing with our family goals for the year.

We also talked about the "I know" journals that they have been doing on Sundays and we all shared a bit of our testimonies.

It was pretty special.

And I wanted to write down how cute Elsie was when I put her to bed.

We read the Book of Mormon reader every night when going to sleep.

Tonight Elsie finished it again :)

She has also been saying her own personal prayers at night (which has been a BIG DEAL) and tonight she said this...

"......I have finished the Book of Mormon.

I believe it is true, please help me to know if I am right."

It was the sweetest thing ❤

I love watching my kids learn and grow :)

Sunday January 28

It was a nice day....and even better, we have Dad back home!

The girls went to choir.

The boy listened to his scriptures while I worked on the finishing touches of my talk.

The girls came home for lunch before we all headed to church.

The topic today in Sacrament meeting was Fasting and Prayer.

It was great meeting.

We got home from church, and about 10 minutes later, Dad got home!!!!

Yay!

We got dinner started and the kiddos called Gramps.

Something kind of fun....Elsie never talks on the phone!

But today, she talked to Gramps on speaker phone!

She was so proud after she did....and hopefully she will stay brave and talk with him every time now :)

This evening it was the Priesthood and Temple prep night for all the kids turning 12 this year....so that is Elsie!!!!!

And that was where I "got" to speak.

I think it went well.

I talked about the blessings of the Priesthood and the blessings of the Temple.

I think it went well.

But I am mostly glad it is done and over :)

Saturday January 27

I had to drag myself out of bed this morning, because I had an early meeting, but I knew I needed to get my run in so I could have a better day.

So I got up and ran.

Then got ready quick to go to a meeting for stake girls camp.

Justin came and picked Porter up to go to a basketball camp with Koy and Titan.

So that was fun.

I went to my meeting.....I was supposed to be there at 9, and then the YCL's (Madi) was supposed to come at 10.

Well, I got there and found out there was a miscommunication....and it was just a YCL meeting....not leaders.

Oh well, our camp director and I had a couple questions to ask the stake camp director anyway, so maybe it was a good thing.

I am hoping things go smoothly.

She seems irritated about having to figure out things for the girls with special needs.

Which is frustrating for us leaders, but also as one of the moms!!!!!

Anyway, we have 6 months to get it figured out.........so I am glad to start working out kinks right now!

Madi came, she was a bit late because she wasn't planning on being there until 10.

Hopefully the communication between wards get better as well......

I came home and started on laundry and got Cassi and Elsie started on some chores.

When Madi came home, she changed then went to lunch and to hang out with Kara.

Sweet girls....I love that after 16 years, several moves to different houses, different interests, and different schools, nothing changes their sweet friendship.

I can't wait to see their friendship when they are my {old} age :)

Cassi had a babysitting job this afternoon.

Me, I have been feeling kind of lousy today.....kind of feverish, but the thermometer doesn't seem to reflect that.

My face is still swollen, mainly the left side.

It doesn't hurt as much as it is pressure.

And just frustrating.

Anyway.....this evening, Justin picked up Porter again to go to the MVHS basketball game.

So he had a fun time there.

Madi and Cassi went to Tripps's basketball game at Colombia.

So it was just Elsie and me this evening.

Port's home now and hopefully the big girls get home soon so we can get to bed early.

Friday January 26

I woke up today, very tired......my sinus infection is back :(

My left side of the face is kind of swollen, the big girls said it looks like I have cotton stuffed in my cheek.

After I got the kids to school, I cleaned the kitchen and talked to Dad.

But then I had to go lay down....my head was killing me and my face hurt and I was so tired!

So I took a pretty good nap.

I woke up and decided I needed to work out or I would feel worse.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning up and working on a talk I have to give at the Temple and Priesthood Preparation meeting on Sunday....

Kids came home and then the evening was non stop.

Elsie got to go to a class party for her Sunday school class.

I took her to Sierra's house and they went together.

Picked up Avery and took her and Cassi to their friends house.

Madi went to the basketball game.

Then Port and I had a date night.....since my usual date is in Evanston!

We went to Hobby Lobby (which I found out Port likes just as much as his Dad does....which is not very much....ha ha ha)

Then we went to Freddie's for a hot dog and ice cream.

It was a fun time, just him and me.

I actually promised him ice cream a long time ago if he would stay in his bed at night for 7 days in a row.

But he is going on a couple months now, or something like that!

So that is pretty awesome!

Then we picked up Cassi and her friends and brought them back here, then Port and I went to Walmart to do some grocery shopping.

Sierra's mom brought Elsie back home and then Cassi's friends just left a few minutes ago......now I am waiting for Madi to get home so I can sleep!!!!!

Dad is enjoying his time there with Gramps.

He spoiled Gramps with a nice Herb crusted salmon with pilaf and acorn squash.

Again, I am thankful that he has this chance to spend this time with Gramps and help him get back into the swing of things.

But I do miss him........

Thursday January 25

Dad left early this morning to get to the hospital before Gramps was released.

He made good time and was able to take Gramps soon after he got there.

I got the kiddos up and ready for school then went to the gym.

I had to teach Elsie's art smart class this afternoon, but I hadn't planned anything yet.....

So after I got ready for the day, I spent my time planning that before heading to the school and teaching.

It was a fun lesson.

We talked about Walt Disney and the kids drew Mickey Mouse using a step-by-step method.

I was really impressed with how Elsie's turned out!!!!

That went until the end of school.

The kids came home and the boys came over for a bit then Vern invited us over for a pizza dinner.

So we hung out there for a little while before coming home and getting ready for bed.

I'm missing Dad here.....

I know he just left this morning, but something about knowing he is further away than just at work makes it a little harder :(

But I am glad he is there with Gramps.

I hope that they can get a good night sleep tonight and Gramps can recover his energy!!!!!

Wednesday January 24

So....got my CT scan done today.

Guess what......I have a deviated septum (that I didn't know about) and it is a complete blockage on the left side.

With both lots of trapped stuff that can't drain out.

My option is.....surgery :(

I have heard that sinus surgery is not very fun....but it will be worth it.

I am so sick of the pressure, headaches and sinus infections, so I think I am ready to take this surgery on.

Anyway, it won't be for a couple weeks.

****

Gramps has been in the hospital since last night :(

He's been having some blood loss, and we have been pretty worried about him.

While we were here, waiting, without being able to help in any way.....we decided to calm our minds and go to the temple.

It was quite a nice afternoon.

Just what we needed, I think.

It was still a few hours before we heard anything about Gramps....but all tests came back good!!!

Which is so great.

But, Brent is still driving up to Wyoming tomorrow morning to spend the next couple of days with Gramps.

It is so hard for us to be so far away from family, but especially at times like this :(

But we are beyond blessed that Brent has such a great job and is able to take the next few days off so he can be with Gramps.

We will miss him here, a lot, but so thankful that he can be there.

Tuesday January 23

Happy Birthday to my man ❤

This guy.

It's really not a secret how obsessed I am with him.

And today we got to celebrate his birthday!

He is not the kind who likes attention.....at all.

He'd rather this day go by without a fuss.

But, I won't let that happen!
My favorite (appropriate-to-say) things about him......
-He's always willing to help anyone.
-He can do anything! If he doesn't know how, he'll figure it out.
-He's so gosh darn smart, and loves to give his family mini-lectures.....
-His family comes first for him, and always will.
-He loves me, fiercely. More than I ever thought possible.

*****

We had a fun day together :)

We went to the gym this morning after sending the little ones to school.

Then we met up with Drew and Heather for lunch.

That was fun to hang out and talk.

ON the way home, we decided to catch a half-price movie.

Well, I decided :)

His one wish was to not have to make any choices today.......so I chose to go to the movies.

We went and saw 'The Post'.

It was a good movie......and we were BY FAR the youngest there at the movie :)

Madi picked up the kids from school, since we were still at the movie.

We got home and I made Madi take pictures of us, because he didn't get to choose anything today!!!!!!

But I do love having pictures of us together :)

For dinner, we all went as a family to Olive Garden.

And when we got home, we played a few rounds of  'Cover your Assets'.

It was so much fun!

Elsie started off as Dads partner......but then we convinced her to play on her own, and she rocked it!

I think we need to play more games!!!!!

Monday January 22

So Brent got me into the ENT today.

They scoped me and now I get to go get a CT scan on Wednesday.

He said that 9 out of 10 people get the results they need from the antibiotics and prednisone.......and Lucky me.....I am the 1 out of 10 that it just doesn't cut it.

So I guess we wait until Wednesday to see what the next game plan is.

This evening, the Leavitt's invite4d us over for dinner to celebrate Brent's birthday :)

The are just the sweetest!

We also gave them their very late Christmas gift....I painted some Russian stacking dolls for her....they are her and her kids and a watermelon, corn and strawberry :)

It is very late because the first set of dolls came broken, so I had to return them and order new ones then paint them :)

She collects Russian stacking dolls, so that is why I painted these for her.

Then they invited the neighbors over for a birthday cheesecake.

We sure lucked out with this neighborhood family of ours!

We spent the evening playing games, talking and eating.

It was a great time.

It is fun to celebrate Dad too....even though he says he doesn't like all the attention!

Secretly, I think he loves it :)

Sunday January 21

We had a pretty nice Sunday today.

No rush getting up.

The girls got up and got ready and went to choir.

The boy read his scriptures while I worked on the finishing touches of my lesson.

When the girls came home, they sat around and sang the Youth 2018 Theme song, 'Peace in Christ' which I used in my lesson.

It was the sweetest.

Elsie was singing it on her own at first :)

I love when she sings!!!!!

At church, the girls got up and sang with the choir.

In the meeting they talked about having Peace in Christ, which went a long really well with my lesson.

My lesson was about why Jesus Christ is important in our lives.

I had a bunch of pictures and I thought I had it all planned good.

I did have a great looking display :)

But I was just not meant to be a teacher.

I just cannot present what I want to.

All I can do is hope that something I said came out the way one of the girls needed......and they will understand.

We talked about what Christ offers us when we choose to follow him.

He offers us Joy, peace, rest, a way back home.

I tried to express to the girls how I want for them so badly to have a real relationship with Christ.

He is our Savior, without him we could not get back to Heaven and have eternal life.

I told the girls to think about being at the store, with a cart full of groceries, or clothes.

Then when you go to pay, you have no money!!!!!!

There is no way to get out that door with your cart of stuff.

That debt must be paid.

Christ is the one who comes in and says 'I've got this' and swipes his card in the card reader :)

He has paid the debt for us.

I also showed them a video about reclaimed land.

What once was a landfill that is now reclaimed and a beautiful park and airport in Idaho Falls.

What would people think if we went with a backhoe and tried to dig up our garbage.......the stuff that has already been reclaimed and turned into a beautiful park!

Why do we dig up old stuff and knock ourselves down for choices we have made, but repented for.

It is just ridiculous!!!!!

That trash has been reclaimed......by Christ.

Anyway, I am so grateful for the close relationship I have with my Savior.

Not only can my sins be forgiven, but even when I have been wronged, my Savior has felt that pain.

I am not alone.

We are not alone.

Anyway, I sure hope someone got something from my lesson.....maybe just me. :)

Right after church I had a meeting with my Beehive presidency.

Then later this evening I had a YW Pres meeting.

Sunday, a day of rest....I say, HA!

Anyway, I am thinking tomorrow I am going to try and get in to see an ENT.

This head/sinus thing just won't go away!!!!!!!!

Saturday January 20

Cassi was gone for the whole day at her Future City project at BSU.

She did a great job.

They did not place in the top 5, which was a bummer.

They worked for 6 months on this project!

It was a big deal!

Cassi was a presenter, and she did a fantastic job.

Bummer they didn't place, but she sure learned a lot during this project!

Bubble and Eldon stopped by to check her out.

That was so sweet of them to come by!

Port and I went for a few hours.

Cassi was supposed to be there 7:30-4.....

Port and I were there form the first presentation until about lunch time.
There was an hour break between her two presentations....so he and I went bowling :)

It was a fun little mom/son date!

He did not want bumpers, and he did a good job with only a few gutter balls.

It was a fun time.

After we left BSU, we made a stop at McDonalds for lunch.

When we got home, Elsie and Madi went on a 'girls day' together.

They went to Target :)

They had a lot of fun together.

Porter went with the Hall boys to the MVHS basketball game tonight.

I left about 3:30 to go pick Cassi up, then we stopped at Walmart where we saw some of her friends and ended up bringing them home with us.

Madi went to Tripp's basketball game.

And then tonight, Cassi and her friends went to the stake dance.

So I am just waiting for them to get home while I work on my lesson for tomorrow.....

I CANNOT get my printer to connect for some reason, and I need to print some stuff!!!!!

ARG!

Friday January 19

Kids had only half day at school today.

After school, Elsie went and hung out with Sierra.

Porter and Dad worked on the wall part of the bathtub.

Pretty exciting!

The hole for the laundry chute will have a lift lid, and also be a bench :)

I love when my boys work together!

When they were done, Port went over to Trent's house.....but before leaving he went up to Dad and said "Thanks for letting me work with you, Dad."

It was the sweetest ❤

Tonight Dad and I had a date night.

We went with Justin and Sherrie it to dinner and then we were gonna go to the shooting range.

Well, we went to the shooting range, and waited quite a while for our turn, but ended up leaving because it was taking too long.

We went out for ice cream instead.......

We will go back to the shooting range soon though.

Cause that will be a lot of fun!!!!!!

Thursday January 18

So I woke up not feeling so good.

So once the kids were off to school, Brent went to the gym and I went back to bed.....

I did feel a bit better once I got back up, but I was still kind of worthless today.

But Dad got stuff done :)

He made a heater for me in our bathroom!!!!!

We still need to make the wall around the tub to put the heater register in :)

When we did this bathroom, we didn't realize how cold it would get if either of the doors were left shut!

So he fixed that for me!

And he also cut me a hole for a laundry chute!

When Porter came home from school and saw what Dad was doing, he told me that I was really spoiled :)

I am excited to get this bathroom done!

But actually, we are going to move from this bathroom to the half bath before actually finishing this one.

But it will be so great to get BOTH of them done!

Madi and Cassi had half day today.....

Madi had a few of her friends over for a bit.

Cassi had practice for Future City.

Cassi goes for her presentation on Saturday.

Pretty exciting....but she is also feeling some stress!

*****

Tonight, putting Porter to bed, we had a pretty deep conversation.

Reading in our scriptures tonight, it was about the Plan of Happiness.

So I guess he got thinking about what happens after we die.

He's a tender soul, and doesn't really like the unexpected.

He likes to know what's gonna happen, what to plan for.

We had a good talk.

He also said he was worried that it won't all happen like we think it will.

Like there really isn't a heaven.

We talked about Grandma.

We talked about how he can still 'FEEL' her.

And I asked him if that would be possible if our spirits just stayed in the ground with our bodies?

That helped to comfort him......because he can feel Grandma with him ❤

He was also worried about when it will happen.

Lots of worries, that kid :)

But I talked to him, let him get all his questions out.

I think that was just what he needed.

My sweet tender boy!

Wednesday January 17

Elsie was beyond excited about going to school today!

I worked in the office this morning, so I walked with her to the playground before school.....and she got quite the welcome back :)

Everyone missed her!

And she was excited to show off her boot :)

And see all her friends!

After I helped in the office, I went and helped in Porter's art Smart class.

He's been having a bit of anxiety with going back to school.

So funny to have one kid crying because she had to miss school and one who was sad because he didn't want to go!

But him knowing I was gonna see him in Art Smart made it easier for him to go to school.

Dad had to go and get a tooth checked out......one of his caps came off while we were in Hawaii.

So today he had a consultation about getting an implant.

No fun!

After school, Elsie came home EXHAUSTED!!!!!

Her foot hurt her pretty bad, and then she told me that she walked two laps!!!!!!

Dang girl!!!!

I let her know that maybe the walking club should wait until her foot heals!

She decided she wasn't too tired to go to Activity Days.....so she went with Sierra.

Porter had Scouts too.

While he was gone to Scouts, we watched Everly here at our house, because Sherrie is Port's scout leader :)

Everly is like a rock star at our house!

Everyone loves that little girl!!!!

(Poor girl had a little black eye right now .)
We had a lot of fun playing while the kids were gone.

Madi and Cassi worked on homework and Dad cooked a yummy stir fry dinner!

After dinner, the big girls and I had YW.

It was combined with the YM.

The YM were in charge.....and we played dodge ball.

Which is fun, but also not fun.

Those boys throw so hard and don't play very nice!!!!!

But, at least we made it home with no bruises :(

Tuesday January 16

Elsie is doing great.

She's a touch chick!

We didn't have her appointment until after lunch and then we had to wait quite along time in the dr office....but she was so good while waiting.

They decided that the hard bottom shoe would work best for her......we will do that for two weeks and then do x-rays again and see how it is going.

The breaks are on the middle three toes and the pinky toe also has a little fracture.

It's hard to see, but you can see the swelling in the x-ray of the side of her foot!

She is excited about sporting her new look :)

And she is overly excited about going to school tomorrow!!!!!

Monday January 15

 Well, today didn't go as planned.

Cassi went to the school for more Future City Prep.

Madi worked on homework, all day.
Porter hung out with Graham and Cannon all day :)

I worked out and did laundry and then Elsie and I listened to her book that she is reading for her book report.

When we came downstairs, she was complaining a lot about her left foot.

She tends to have her feet hurt a lot, from falls etc.

She fell last week in Hawaii....the morning we went to the Road to Hana.

She got out of bed and was walking to the kitchen, and fell hard.

I knew it was hard because her cry was different than usual.

We put some ice on it and continued to get ready to go.

I mean, the girl falls often.....so we didn't really think much of it.

That was the day that her big strong Dad carried her on the hikes.

She complained every now and then about her foot....but again, not unusual!!!

Well, I checked her foot out and noticed it was swollen quite a bit!

I debated what to do......and I called Dr Allie and was able to get her in for a 1:50 appt.

I was so happy to be able to get into Dr Allie....because she is amazing and so great with Elsie :)

Well, she said that ya, it was swollen, but no bruising.

All we can do is x-ray and see what to do after that.

She wasn't too concerned about it either.

I took Elsie to the hospital for x-rays.

Poor girl had so much emotion build-up...she cried and cried before going in for the x-ray, but then when it was time to buckle down and get it done, she calmed down and got it done!

She is a rock star!

After that, we stopped at Walmart for a few supplies and she and I bought some secret coconut milk ice cream bars....then secretly ate then in the car before going home :) 

She was very happy about that!!!!

Then we came home and waited.

We listened to her book some more......

We had a lot of book to listen to.

I could never get it to load so we could listen on the plane ride, that would have worked out so well!!!!!

So we have a few hours to listen to before doing the book report!

We listened while driving to and from the Dr, hospital and Walmart.

Then we listened while I cleaned the kitchen up and did dishes.

We only have about 50 minutes left!!!!!

So we will get that done tomorrow!

We never got a call from the DR before it closed, so I figured, all was good.

About 8:30, we finally got a call.

Dr Allie said poo girl has three broken toes!!!!!

Broken along the edge where the toes connect to the foot bones.

So she must have just flattened them out and then fallen down straight on them!!!!!

I feel like the worst mom!!!!!

Almost a week this girl has been going around with broken toes!!!!!

I guess it shows ya how tough this little buffalo girl is though!

Oh man!!!!!

She cried and cried when Dr Allie recommend that she not go to school tomorrow!

She wanted so badly to get back to school!

She loves school!!!!!

But we will wait and get a call from an orthopedic tomorrow morning and go from there.

Sometimes this kind of thing can just heal on it's own, but like Dr Allie said, Elsie is a little bit more of a special case.

We don't want her to walk on it funny while it is healing because it could cause negative things to happen in her heel, ankle, knee and hip.

So we will just wait and see what happens.

I am glad it was swollen today, because I don't think I could have taken her in otherwise!!!!!

Sunday January 14

Happy 18th anniversary to my one and only ❤

We started as babies together.....and we were pretty naïve as to what life would throw at us!

But I could not be more proud of where we are now.

I feel like no one in the world could possibly love someone as much as I love him!

He is my everything.

He is my rock.

He drives me crazy, but keeps me sane.

He is a man dedicated to serving others.

He makes me feel safe, and warm, and loved.

He wants to give me the world.

This man was made for me ❤

It is too bad we didn't get to be together today :(

He had to go to work after we were able to have a long stretch of days together.

But at least got to give him a kiss this morning as he left to work :)

I did go back to sleep....and didn't wake up until almost 10!!!!!

Yikes!

I need to get adjusted to this time!!!!!

I woke Cassi, Madi and Elsie up so they could go to choir practice.

Our church time has changed to 1....which is nice and not so nice!

So the girls went to choir, and Port and I got ready for church.

Bro and Sister Burk spoke today....I love when Michelle speaks :)

It was mainly about service and she shared a quote that was given at President Monson's funeral.

He would call up his friends and ask,

'How would you like to paint a bright spot on your soul today?'

Then he would ask them to go visit someone who was sick or needed help.

I love that.

We are here on this earth to help each other along.

To make life better for others, not worse.

I want to be that way.

I want to know when others need help, I want to be aware of others needs.

I want to act on every prompting that I get.

Over the last couple of days, I have done just that.

Acted on any prompting I might get.

Hopefully I am doing something to brighten a spot on another's soul.

After church we had the Youth Family History here at our house.

We had about 15 youth show up, so that was good.

And for the most part, most of them were indexing......there are always a few chatters as well :)

But they are here, and they are getting things done.

So that is awesome!

While they Youth was here, Port spent his time making himself a Tie-fighter without any instructions.....or Lego kit.

He just picked out the pieces and put it together.

Pretty dang awesome!!!!!

I also started a new thing for the new year.

Since church doesn't start until 1.....and we most likely won't be sleeping in until 10 anymore!!!!!!

I wanted to find something that we could do every Sunday, as much as possible.

I bought all the kids a new journal and we made it an 'I KNOW...' journal.

This is where they can write the things they know for sure.

A testimony journal.

I just had to share Porter's entry for today.

It made me smile :)

'Even though I make mistakes, I can repent.

I know Jesus suffered so we can repent.

I know I am loved.

I know I am a child of God.

I know that Satan will tempt me at times, but I have the Holy Ghost to help me choose the right.'

Isn't that just the best!

These journals will be a treasure for sure ❤

*********

(His journal was bound upside down :)