Blessings

I feel as though the last six weeks, since I posted last, my life has been richly edified.  In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I feel it is my duty to share these blessings with my readers, who ever you may be. It is hard to believe it has only been that long.

I would start off by saying that my husband is amazing, but I think I have elaborated on that enough for the time being.

Back in June, I had surgery.  They implanted what is called the baclofen pump in my abdomen.  I call it my puck, because it is about the size of a hockey puck.  My puck has a catheter that goes directly to the spinal cavity, at which it disperses a muscle relaxant directly to my spinal cavity, then to my muscles.  The reason for the puck is to relax my muscles and help eliminate my spasticity due to my cerebral palsy.

Since June, I have been going to rigorous physical therapy.  With the elimination of most of my increased tone, I am now able to move my leg muscles individually instead of firing them all at once.  My goal in PT has been to retrain my brain, and learn how to fire these muscles.  With a lot of work, I have made immaculate progress.  Though, most people may not see how much my body has changed from the outside, I can see the positive effects this has on my life and daily tasks.  My muscles are stronger, my body more flexible, my stamina is higher, and my gait is straighter. I feel rejuvenated, and young again.  Though I still have a long road ahead, I feel like I can conquer anything God may put in my path.

My second major blessing is that of anti-anxiety medication.  I am much less irritable and worrisome. I have found it easier to enjoy my family without being stuck on the little things.  My mood is stable, and life is easier to handle. It may be weird for some people that I share this on a public blog, but it is not something I am ashamed of.  I am proud of who I have become, even if it required help from science. It is the Lord that gave us the knowledge of all these medications.  If it is used properly, and it works, and I am okay about it, great!

I am grateful for my weight loss.  I have lost over 12 lbs since August.  I am feeling a lot better about myself.


And then there is Kolo...


Bryan and I have been playing with the idea of getting me a service dog for a few months now. After doing some research, I found out that the law doesn't require you to go through an agency to get a dog.  I have wanted a service animal for most of my life, but I always dismissed the idea because the service dog agencies, such as Canine Companions, have a 5 year waiting list for a dog match. We have the right to train our own dog ourselves.  When I learned this, we decided to contact the University's Disability Services office.  Because we live in campus housing, I needed special permission and approval in order to have a dog here.

I set up the initial interview and talked to the Director.  I was really nervous at first, but then decided, they really can't deny me.  My disability is obviously there, and the things a service animal can help me with are undeniable also. He said approval would take 1-2 weeks.  I got my approval 3 days later.

It was November 1st when I got the okay.  I called Bryan immediately and let him know.  Then I went to the local online classifieds to start searching for the perfect dog, with the right price range.  Bryan's dad being a vet, he recommend the golden retriever as the most docile temperament. I knew I had to be picky, I couldn't just get the first cute dog I saw.  It had to be one eager and aware, ready to learn, and calm too. I saw an ad online for two black lab muts. Females.  I wanted a female dog. Bryan liked the one on the left with lab style ears, and I liked the one on the right, with golden retriever style ears(such a little thing, I know) I set up an appointment to go meet these two sister dogs that evening.  We went, very sure we were being picky.  The lady introduced us to both of them, and they were adorable. They were six month old black lab muts. I wanted a lab so bad. They were 50% purebred Golden Retriever, and 25%/25% Black Lab and Collie. Well we loved both, but couldn't have both, and didn't know how to pick.  I explained to the lady our plans for the dog, to train her as a service dog, and she recommended the one with shaggy ears, saying that she was the calmer of the two and she would be perfect for that. So we took the first dog we saw, free of charge, kennel, leash, and brush included.

We took her home, and she has been perfect ever since.  I have thouroughly enjoyed having a little companion to be by my side.  She has adapted well, and has yet to have an accident! She is very calm and just lays at my feet all day.  When I first took her on public transportation, she was very afraid of the bus, and now it is just routine.  She has also adapted well to her vest, and walking beside me in my chair, almost always aware  every time I turn or change direction and does well at not getting run over.

She has also done well with training.  She knows the following commands already:

• sit
• stay
• come
• lay down
• off
• kennel
• go potty
• up (climb on my lap)
• down (get off my lap)
• climb 
• bed (move outta my way by getting on a nearby bed)
• chair (move outta my way by laying down on my recliner)
• no bark
• don't lick (this one is still hard, as it is instinctive as a puppy)

When we first got her from the owner, her name was Neytiri.  We kept it a couple days, but then decided to change it, because no body had any idea what it was from, or how to say it.  It is from the main female character in the movie Avatar.

We changed her name to 'Kolo." Kolo comes from a book by Brandon Sanderson(our favorite author) called Elantris. In Elantris, "kolo" is used by the character Galladon as a softening interrogative tag. Similar to our language when we say, "Eh?" or, "Understand?"  Like, "Pizza sounds good, kolo?"  She seems to be a very understanding dog, so I think Kolo is perfect.

Kolo has changed my life for the better.  Even if she is not completely trained as a service dog yet, she has been my companion since that following Tuesday.  She sits or lays at my feet whatever I am doing.  She even has been known to lay on my bed when I am folding laundry, and lay her head on a folded pile ready to fall over. Even right now, she is laying right behind me while I am typing at my computer. She definitely is a very special dog, and I am grateful we found her. 

Life with Kolo...

After her bath

On the bus

 At therapy.  She has discovered that my chair is more comfortable than laying on the floor.

 

I put text on this before I found out she was actually six months old, not seven.

Watching movies with Laci.

Kolo and her number one fan.  My best girl friend ever!

 Saying cheese for her morning belly rub.

Listening to Samantha read to her!  Yay!  Sam now has no problem reading every day for twenty minutes.

I am grateful for this time of year.  I am glad for the opportunity to count my blessings, even knowing, we should do it all year round.  The blessings are everywhere.  It helps to point them out.

Crazy, Busy, Happy Life!

Life has been pretty much a whirlwind since school started! I am grateful for so many many things.

A Few Minor happenings in the last few months:

• Bryan turned 30! We had a lot of fun celebrating his birthday! In fact, his balloons are still fully inflated and floating in our kitchen even 2 weeks later!
• Samantha read her first chapter book from beginning to end. She has a talent show tomorrow. Look what she made. It is called, "Samantha's Rose" If you don't know, her middle name is Rose.

• Laci stopped having accidents!

• Bryan was ordained an Elder
• We went to a Buffet for Thanksgiving and Bryan’s birthday dinner a week later. Samantha tried sushi!

• We went to a Voicemale/Jon Schmidt concert at the mall, and Samantha got herself a free CD by making friends with the members of Voicemale. Oh, and Laci smashed her finger in the car door as we got out of the car. That is why she is showing the world her finger in this picture! Luckily, I had a first aid kit with an ice pack and a bandaid in my bag on my chair!

• My mom and stepdad came to visit and we had an exciting birthday dinner for Laci at Winger’s which included a popcorn fight.
• Bryan’s last final is tomorrow!! Wish him luck

As we have ventured into our first semester as a family unit in college, I have noticed more and more what extraordinary children we have been blessed to raise.

When Samantha was born, I remember in a blessing I was given that she was to be "my gift from Heavenly Father to show how much I am loved" She has definitely proven that year after year. Samantha has grown so much this year. I believe she is wise beyond her years. I believe she knows what a special life she has. She knows her mom is different, and I believe she knows her divine role in our family. More than any other child I know, Samantha is concerned about her family, and things that a child should not be concerned with. She has overcome so many emotional battles from her past. She has handled her life with grace. She will not give up! She has jumped an entire reading level in a matter of weeks! She helps take care of mom, and our home. How many seven year olds do you know who offer to make dinner on a regular basis just to help out? How many do you know who, after working with the family to clean the house for an hour (rather than play Barbies, or whatever else a little girl does) cheerfully says, "This is fun mom, we should do it more often!"

Bryan said the other day how he can see glimpses of who she will one day become. Samantha is going to be a very kind person, who is watchful of the people around her, and would swim through fire for the ones she loves.

Laci is a pure joy to be around! She has a raw sense of humor and a tiny little voice. I cannot believe she is now five years old! Laci is extremely smart! She comprehends more than your average barely 5 year old. Not to mention she is a smart-alec too! She is full of funny things to say, along with lots of love. She is finally 5! She made her own birthday cake. It was a lava cake made in the microwave! Then we decorated it with Tinkerbell!

Though it may seem surprising, Bryan and I are still extremely happy! It is hard to believe we have been married for almost 7 months already! My husband is so good. Bryan has grown so much since I first met him. He was ordained an Elder in November! We have seen so many blessings from that! (I don't know if he sees the difference as much as I do)

If you would have told me two years ago, that this life was coming my way, that there was a Bryan out there needing me just as much as I needed him... I would have called you insane! I cannot believe my own personal nightmare was just two years ago. I think I have lived and learned the meaning of the song "Hope Hiding There" by Michael McLean. http://meloduckpond.blogspot.com/ For added effect of my entry please go listen to song #7 on my old site playlist :)

"Around every corner, though you're unaware
Protected by grace in the face of despair
There is hope hiding there"

And right around the corner, there he was :)

We are going home to Arizona for Christmas this year! I am so excited to get out of the cold!

What an amazing year we have had. I feel extremely blessed. I hope everyone else has a happy and blessed holiday season.




Oh yeah, and to those of you wondering....

Good Times are Ahead!

It seems like more often than not, I start my blogs out with, "I have not blogged in forever.." or something similar to that. Way to go Melody for pointing out the obvious!

We have been sooooooooo busy as of late. Bryan and Sammie started school the week of August 24th, and I have yet to find my balance(no pun intended) with the new schedule. Bryan has a night class four nights a week, and also a class every Saturday morning til noon. Needless to mention, that on Wednesdays, he leaves at 8am, only to return sometime after 8pm.

Life is good though, we are being blessed, and a very happy little family. Laci started preschool yesterday and has yet to complain about that. She also started a dance class last Tuesday, went to her second class tonight, and is loving that! I cannot believe how grown up she is becoming. We are even noticing that her eating habits are changing, and that she is starting to finally get meat on those little bones of hers! The location is so nice(dance and Headstart), they are right down the hill from where we live, here in our complex, and she could practically take herself if it wasn't for the fact she must be signed in by an adult. I did enjoy the past three weeks with her alone all day. But this year isn't so bad since she only goes half day, so I get the afternoons and all day Friday with her.

Sammie is also doing well in school. I feel as though she is going to make a lot of progress this year. Her teacher has a huge emphasis on reading, and it has been very good for Samantha. Her teacher is also very organized, which is very good for mom and dad! She is also settled in special education and getting the help that she needs. She has already progressed leaps and bounds in just these few weeks. She has a fieldtrip to the State Fair tomorrow, and she is way excited!

Bryan is enjoying being back in school. He has a busy schedule and enjoys being able to come home to his family after a hard day's work. He is such a GOOD dad and I think he has a lot to do with how much success the girls are having in school. It is nice to have the reinforcements in getting homework and reading and chores done.

I am doing great too. I am enjoying the peace and quiet in the evenings while Bryan is in class. I keep busy on my hobbies. Plus, I have become a huge sucker for hot, deep, bubble baths with aromatherapy from Bath & Body Works. For the last 28 hours, I have been without my power wheelchair. It was in the shop getting fixed. For the last several months, I have not been able to use it but in the house. The batteries were fried, and would show as dead on the power meter just minutes after unplugging it for the day's use. But, tonight, my wheelchair is returned, with new batteries and a few simple repairs. I now have my freedom to come and go throughout the area as I please!

Sorry there haven't been pictures, I am in need of a new camera, and it will be my belated birthday/Christmas present when the proper money for it is saved up.

We are so blessed. I feel as though Heavenly Father truly knows what he was doing when he placed our little family here. It just keeps getting better and better. I suppose all I have left to say is what has become our family motto - Good times are ahead! (In so many ways)

Our Big Move to Salt Lake City!

We have been so busy and I fell behind on blogging again. Sorry! This has been a busy two weeks(as usual). The girls left for Arizona on the 12th, and Bryan started packing shortly after that.

Saturday, the 18th was our moving day. We planned on leaving Ephraim no later than 12pm. Check out of the Ephraim apartment took longer than we planned. The landlord was way more nit-picky than we expected. By the time we got to our new apartment it was just before 4pm. Well, apparently when we told and verified our moving date as the 18th with the complex, they failed to look at a calendar and inform us that they are not open on Saturdays! So here we are with a full moving truck, friends to help us unload, and no keys to get in.

After doing enough asking around, we were able to find out who our Resident Assistant was for our building, and she was able to get special permission to give us our keys! (sigh of relief) Thank heaven for on-campus housing, and the grand idea of RAs.

By the time we got our keys, it was after 4pm, and everyone who was planning on helping us unload had to go by 5pm at the latest! So, in a rush to unload the truck we were massively blessed! Random people from our court(each tripod of buildings with their playground in the middle is called a court) started offering their help unloading. We were being helped by complete strangers! What a great first impression, and we knew we were going to like it here. We found out later that the ward we would be attending for church is made up of only the people in our court. 30 families! Everyday when we go outside, it's like there is a church gathering in our front yard. Last night we went out and all ate homemade ice cream. What fun!

Once we got everything *in* the apartment, the next challenge was to get everything to fit. The front room was completely packed with stuff, and it was then time to get everything in it's place. After a lot of trial and error we found a perfect setup for the front room, and everything actually fits! I should probably mention, that includes the kitchen and all the appliances that were once in my china hutch in Ephraim, now completely fit in my kitchen!

Unlike Ephraim, the girls actually have tons of room in their room, and since they weren't home, we were able to get rid of a ton of unimportant stuff. Plus, we also made a huge box of toys and books to send home with Russell when he brought them back home. We got them new matching comforter sets courtesy of Target, and partly paid for with two year old, wedding gift cards from my previous wedding. (I found them when I switched out my old purse for a new one) We went to one Target across the valley, and they only had one, but I fell in love with it, so thanks to Russ calling and asking to take them out to dinner before bringing them home, we rushed to another Target and hoped they would have two! They did! We were even able to get it all done before the girls got home. So the girls now have new comforters with butterflies! (Not to mention how excited I was to actually get to go to Target and pick these out, and I didn't have to settle for Ephraim's mini WalMart and it's selection) Oh and another bonus to new bedsets, we were able to get Laci excited enough about her new bed, that she is now completely off her baby blanket!

I was so nervous to move here at first. Actually, I was petrified! The first time I came to the complex and was shown an empty apartment, I left in tears. The doorways were so narrow, the bathroom tiny and the kitchen cupboards I could barely reach. As time went on, I began and get over it and have faith, and hope Heavenly Father would work it out. We were blessed to see when we first came in, that everything in this apartment is in pristine condition. The carpet brand new, and very taken care of! We also found out that ALL our utilities (water, electric, trash, phone, internet, cable) is included in our monthly rent amount. That will truly help us out, and with everything we get(the community, maintenence, campus affilation) it is such a steal of a deal! Oh, and not to mention, the doors here are actually wider than the unit I first saw, and I am able to get around and function perfectly fine!

As hard as it was to leave Ephraim, we truly love it here, and feel as though we have been put here for a reason. Bryan and I have enjoyed putting together our first apartment together, and it truly feels like home!

Sparklers, Bowling Balls, and Bed-head!

We have had a busy couple of days. Here are pictures from the 4th of July, bowling, and our haircuts we got today!
We had a great time as a family for the holiday. We did all our cleaning on Friday, so all day Saturday we got to play. As you can see, the girls really have gotten into helping clean lately, and we all work together as a family to really clean the house about every two weeks.
On the 4th of July, we spent time as a family watching movies, and then after cooking up some tasty burgers(compliments of Bryan), we went outside at dusk on the grass and played games til it was time to set off fireworks. The girls had a lot of fun with a few sparklers(that were hard to light at first because of the wind), and then us ladies sat on the grass while Bryan did all the work to give us a fun little firework display in the complex parking lot. The girls got to bed late, and were more than cranky the next morning for church, but it was sure worth all the fun.
Sunday was fast Sunday, and Sammie got up and bore her testimony all by herself. I wish I could remember what she said, because there was just one thing that was so sweet. but I am sure you can imagine.
Laci even wanted to bear her testimony so I got up to take her. Now, a few months back I totally fell in the middle of Sacrament Meeting(you may remember that story) and so as you may guess, I was so paranoid to walk up. But of course, I knew it was so unlikely I would fall again so I just went ahead and got up(taking my shoes off first to make it less risky), knowing if something happened, Bryan was right there. So I got up and guess what? I totally tripped over my own feet and caught myself by grabbing on to the pew(which caused me to do a 180) and hung on for dear life with one hand inches from hitting the floor! Of course, Bryan was there in seconds to help me up, and it happened so fast from the time I stood up to when I fell, and got up and walked up to the front, that I don't think very many people even noticed! But oh my word! What luck!
When I got up to the front I realized Laci was being shy and didn't follow, but with a little coaxing she joined me on the stand. When I took her up, it being her very first time, I whispered in her ear, "I would like to bear my testimony," she then responded with a very audible, "What?" into the microphone. After a few attempts of getting her to repeat that, I finally gave up and had her just say three things, and her testimony officially started with "I love my family" It really was the sweetest thing ever. I am really glad I finally have the opportunity to do testimonies with the girls, now that I have the spousal support in Sacrament Meeting!
Yesterday, my good friend Karin came down from SLC for a visit. We decided to go bowling! Of course the girls had a blast, and I even got a strike on the 10th frame! Sammie did so good, she bowled all by herself and got a bunch of frames with only one pin left! I guess playing on Wii really does pay off! Bryan is the genius bowler in our family(or claims to be ;) ) but he complained the lanes hadn't been greased in forever, and made it impossible to bowl with accuracy. He scored under 100 the first time in his life with a final score of 99! Karin scored right behind Bryan. She claimed she is usually horrible, but usually she plays "normal" people. I argued I was normal, apparently normal people don't use a crutch when they bowl. :)
I have been so looking forward to today! I went and got my hair chopped off and highlighted, and I absolutely love it! I have had long hair for two years, and I was ready for a change and a non-itchy, light-weighted head again! The girls have been struggling with brushing out their hair(Laci gets the rattiest bedhead!) so we went ahead and got their hair cut too. Actually, we all got the same one, except Laci was given bangs since the front of her hair was so whispy.
Life goes on in the Clayton Household, and we are excited about the future! Bryan has been doing shadowing, and gets to shadow a surgeon in surgery tomorrow for the second time. He registered for classes today, and he is looking forward to starting school up again in the Fall. The girls are headed out on Sunday to spend two weeks with their dad in Arizona while we pack everything up and move to Salt Lake in 9 days! Thank goodness, Bryan has agreed to do most of the packing. He remembers from my Mingle Profile that one of my 3 pet peeves is "packing to move" I absolutely hate it! What a good husband!

The Merry Month of May!

I started this post and decided to redo it. I had so many pictures and content, that I decided it is easier to make a slideshow, then explain all our happenings with it, rather than post all the pictures to blogger seperately.
Bryan moved to Ephraim at the beginning of May. This little family has been so busy since then! The girls finished up school, and then we had Scandinavian Festival Memorial Day weekend. Of course, the 27th, Bryan and I got married and went on our honeymoon. There won't be any pictures of the wedding in this post, as I do not have all of them. After the honeymoon, the four of us stayed over night in a hotel for two days, as Laci got her cast off on the first. Some of these pictures are from our trip to the Children's Discovery Gateway that afternoon.
I am also posting a video of Sammie's 1st Grade May day preformance the last week of school. Look for it in the next post!

Oh! I forgot! I look really really tired in these pictures! I found out why the day before we got married. I found out I had MONO! Yes, and I am not sure how I got it. Needless to say, the honeymoon and family vacation came just in time. I am doing much better now, though, if you were wondering.
I think that is it for the month of May, I cannot even express to you how happy we all are. I love my husband so much. You will probably get so tired of reading that! I am going to say it a lot. The girls surprise me everyday. They are such amazing kids, with very entertaining personalities! Life is wonderful!

Our Trip to Arizona

Three Antibiotics, Two Crazy Kids, and One Month Later...

Well, it has been a crazy month! I got sick around the 4th of July and was sick for the entire month until about a week ago. It started out as a fever and sore throat for about a week. I was given antibiotics. After that it turned to a sinus infection and I was given new antibiotics. Apparently, those did not work either, because I did not get any better, just worse. Finally, with a third antibiotic they started working. I guess the third time is the charm!

In July, I considered going to school in the fall. I got all registered, and changed my mind. I decided to put it off until my kids were a bit older, and just focus on our home for now.

Yesterday, I found out Sammie has Ms Jordan for school next year. I am so excited. As is Sammie. Janet Jordan is in our ward and Sam already knows her, in fact it is who she wanted. She has a very loving demeanor and will be great for Sammie. Plus, Sammie and Sidney are in the same class again. That is great news! These best friends may be double trouble, as they are both friendly, energetic little girls, but it is great they will be together for another year.

I got to go to the temple yesterday morning. That was so great. I go with my friend Melinda, who is actually Sidney's mom. We have been trying to go once a month. It is so nice to get away from the kids for a few hours and get spiritually refueled. It was a nice reminder of what is important of what is important and what I need to be doing.

You know my neighbors that I always talk about? Well they are so awesome. We have been wanting to go have a mom's night out for quite a while now. Earlier this week we planned to go to Olive Garden for dinner. So I asked Cass to watch the girls and we left at 4:30pm to get to Provo by dinner time. It was so much fun! We will have to do it again soon. I really love the neighborhood I live in, even though it's an apartment complex and so many people moving in and out all the time. Thank you Cass for watching the girls, and I hope you guys enjoyed the food we brought back for you!

It has been a busy busy summer. Though I have enjoyed having the girls home, I am ready for them to go back to school! I look forward to being able to go through a lot of clutter around the house, reorganizing the house, and just being able to do some things for me. Today I went down to the institute to register for class. Had a good chat with my former bishop who works there. He was bishop when I first moved in. I plan on taking two institute classes so I am there every day. I am so excited for school to start. Sam starts on the 19th of August, but Laci doesn't start until the 8th of September. I am going to try and see if Laci can have an hour long play date on those days so that I can still go to institute and not have to miss until the 8th.

I suppose that is pretty much it. Thank you all for your on-going support, and we hope you are all doing well!

Spring Slideshow

These are from the last few weeks. I am sure I will add more as time goes on.

Gotta love the gorgeous weather. The girls play outside pretty much everyday now!

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Recovery Update

Apparently, it has been too long since I last updated my blog. Things are going well in our little home.

Last week I went down to the Institute and started taking the last 4 weeks of the Book of Mormon class. I have really enjoyed being back in that environment again. Plus, it gets me out of the house twice a week for an hour. I have been trying to figure out what I want to do next with my life. The librarian at Samantha's school found out I enjoy libraries and has offered to have me come over and volunteer anytime. Maybe I can do that next year when both the girls are in school til two. I could do it now, but I have institute Monday and Wednesday, and Physical Therapy on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

It has been VERY frustrating that I have not been able to walk without pain yet. In fact, I completely forget I can't walk, until I go to do something and I think, "Oh. Ow." That may be confusing, but I just have a very hard time moving my muscles when in any pain. My legs are very tense. I only have 3 more visits of the physical therapy left. Today was the first day I got up on my crutches instead of the walker. After walking for about a minute or two, the pain in my abdomonal muscles magically went away! I am able to move so much better on my crutches than the walker. It finally stimulated the right muscles! The therapist has also given me a theraband so I can do exercises when he isn't here. There seems to finally be some light at the end of the tunnel!

The girls are doing well. FINALLY healthy! They have gone a few weeks without being sick! YAY! Laci is on spring break this week, and though I have enjoyed her being home and not having to wake up as early(15 minutes), I am ready for her to go back to school. I had a meeting with her teachers on Tuesday. Laci has a hidden hobby I didn't know about. Apparently when they do play time at school, they can move to table to table and do what they want to do. Laci spends almost the entire time doing the puzzles! Who knew, puzzles! They believe she is a visual learner because of that and a few other things.

For those of you wondering. Tyler is doing really well. I received some pictures this weekend and he has a double chin and a big wide gut! Jen is still floating on air, and she is probably the cutest new mom I have ever seen! (Though that may be biased)

That is all I can think of. I hope everyone has a good week.

Here is a picture of Laci blow drying her own hair after bathtime. She now insists on doing it herself!

Our Holidays

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and still enjoying the blessings of the new year.

Here is a slide show of our happenings

Laci's Birthday 12/14
Gingerbread Houses 12/22
Sam lost her first tooth 12/30
The girls made crowns 1/1
Playing in the snow 1/1

All Aboard! The Christmas Train!

Samantha had her Kindergarten Christmas play last night! Here are some videos. This one is "All Aboard, The Christmas Train!" Sammie is in white. Don't get confused, her friend Cydnie has the same blue and black dress Sam wore to Val's wedding.

"Here Comes Santa Claus!"

I asked her about this afterwards. She said she was nervous because of all the people watching. I still think it is cute. There was one more video but I couldn't get it to load right, and well, I have other things to do! So this is a picture of Sam and her friend Cydnie before the play.

The End!

First Blog and Update

I can't believe how much my children have grown in just this short period of time. Samantha is in kindergarten and doing quite well. She just learned the last letter of the alphabet Friday, and now they will start writing words. Thats a lot in only 7 weeks of school. It is amazing how quickly children learn things.

Laci surprises me everyday. Although the last few days, she has been driving me absolutely bonkers. She is so full of energy and every time I turn around she is into something she knows she is not suppose to be into.

They both make me laugh everyday, entertaining me with the crazy things they do and say. They both are loving the season. They enjoy throwing leaves everyday when we go to the bus stop. Laci insists on bringing them home with her. Thats something we haven't experienced much of, leaves. It has been fun.

I haven't really heard from Ben. He is basically doing everything possible to detatch himself from the situation. It is amazing to me how a person can give up so much out of fear.

I am doing pretty well. I have my days, life isn't perfect, but I am happy. I am almost half way through this pregnancy and I can sure feel it. I find out in a couple weeks what gender the baby is (hopefully). It is really flying by. Cass is going with me, that will be fun. Baby is healthy so far and everything is going well with that. The pregnancy sicknesses are pretty much gone. I am dreading flu season. Ugh. We have all been sick a few times with colds and infections and such, (ok maybe just Laci) but I think I finally got that under control. Everyone is on vitamins regularly, and Laci now takes allergy meds which is keeping her congestion under control before turning to a virus.

I am so blessed. My family is awesome. I can't wait to live by my sister and to have our kids together to play all the time. They are best friends, other than Kasen beating on Laci (who is 3 months older than him) :) He doesn't beat her up, but he picks on her. Takes things from her and such just to get a reaction out of her. He finds girl dramatics so amusing!

I have been blessed with a strong support system of family and friends. I hope everyone is enjoying the season. Happy fall!