LDS Temple video

Below is a link to a video that the Church has prepared in response to the Big Love episode's portrayal of the temple.
Please feel free to share this beautiful little clip quickly and widely.
http://ldsmediatalk.com/2009/03/12/church-video-on-purpose-of-temples/

BriAnn's Song

BriAnn has been sick. She started throwing up on Sunday about noon and didn't stop until that evening about 6:30. A relatively short time, I know, but it was hard to watch her be so sick that she was dry heaving and have a fever on top of it. She has another ear infection (only the second one this season) and is on an antibiotic. She didn't sing, talk, play, walk for about 36 hours. When she finally started feeling better, she started singing and talking again and I realized how much I love her little sing-songy voice! The other picture is of her doing what she likes best with a baby doll crib my dad made for me when I was little...sitting in it and rocking. She tucks herself in and rocks back and forth while making fake snoring noises or singing to herself. What a joy!

Trevor stayed home sick today, as well. He is looking pretty glassey-eyed, coughing and has a stuffy nose. This afternoon he came to me and said, "Mom, I'm feeling pretty lousy." "Oh, what can I do to help?" "Can I have some more of that medicine to make my headache go away?" So, I gave him ibuprofen. He wasn't interested in a decongestant, just pain reliever. Poor guy! I hope his doesn't last as long as mine...I'm still coughing and sneezing, but the aches are gone! Hooray!

Tyson seems to be doing ok. However, it is always a guessing game when he gets sick because he is pretty much always congested. He just keeps drinking lots of Tang so hopefully that will keep him healthy!

I meet with the orthopedic surgeon this afternoon to see what he says about my hands. I had an MRI on the right hand done on Thursday so we will be going over the results.

Helpers

Tuesday was a yucky day for me. I was on the couch in the afternoon with a fever, the chills, body aches, soar throat... Trevor had come home early not feeling well but seemed to be just fine once we arrived home. I couldn't get angry with him because he was a great help while I felt aweful. One of those hidden blessings from above. He and Tyson bundled BriAnn up and took her outside to play. When it was time to come in, they made sure she came in and helped her take her boots and coat off. They decided it was pretty cold and that they wanted hot cocoa. So, after giving Trevor some simple instructions, he used the microwave by himself for the first time and made warm cocoa for he and Tyson, with Tyson's help (BriAnn can't have hot cocoa due to food allergies: egg, nuts, soy, milk). They both were such good helps! It is fun to watch kids grow up and gain confidence in new skills as well as becoming more responsible. I love being a mom! I'm still under the weather with this cold, but know I'll be back among the healthy again soon.

Tyson's artwork

Tyson and I were coloring and drawing together. I drew a picture of a rainbow, clouds, tree, flowers, ... Then Tyson added his artwork: a cricket, Tyson, Mommy and BriAnn with a flower in her hair. He is very creative!

Woman was born to create

I loved this quote from someone else's blog so wanted to document it somewhere. I feel it describes me. No, I'm not a cute scrapbooking type, but I do love to create: blogs (as of recently), garden, testimonies, ... are just a few things that come to mind that I can still do with my hands the way they are. Love you all...especially the women in my life who have been good examples of creators, which is all of you!

"Woman was born to create...in creating she becomes herself, accomplishes her destiny. Her whole life is only an initiation into creative power. To create is not merely to produce a work...it is to give out ones own individuality."-Jeanne De Vietinghoff

March Madness

There is a whole new meaning to March Madness this year. Two days of snow in March is a bit unusually where we are. So, had to take pictures of the kids in the snow which resulted in Trevor being about 5 minutes late to school. He didn't mind at all. The other picture has 5 robins hiding under our big trees to keep out of the snow. You can't see them because of all the snow falling. They were really pretty, juicy, fat snowflakes. However, by 1:00 pm most of the snow had melted again.

Update on my hands: Bone cysts were found in both hands in January. After a month and a half of trying activity modification (no flute, no crochet, no sewing, limited vacuuming, mopping, sweeping...), physical therapy with an occupational therapist, and active release technique by my chiropractor, the occupational therapist referred me back to the orthopedic surgeon who found the cysts. Looks like surgery will be a strong possibility in the next little bit as the pain in my hands is not gone. :( I meet with the orthopedic surgeon on Thursday to determine what the next step will be. He originally mentioned possible MRIs if the pain had not gone away in a month's time. He also mentioned surgery, maybe another bone scan, more X-rays??? The occupational therapist (who has been wonderful and fun) said there is more than one thing going on with my hands (possible carpal tunnel, tendinitis, arthritis) but the cysts seem to be the source of the pain right now. If surgery is required, they will go in and scrape out the cysts from the bone, then pack the holes with cadaver bone (or graft it from somewhere on my body). Four to eight weeks later I should be able to have strength back in my hands. It makes sense that they would only do one hand at a time. But, we will know more on Thursday.

Humongous Cockroach

I woke up to a "humongous cockroach" next to my pillow the other morning after fighting with a migraine headache. Trevor had snuck into my room after drawing this beautiful picture of a cockroach and left the treat for me to see when I woke up. He just wanted to do his part to help me feel better. What a sweetheart! Thankfully, the cockroach was not real!!!!