Week of July 8th

Monday
Brent wasn't feeling well so he stayed home from work.  I ran errands and then had a girl in my ward come over to practice doing a Cutco demonstration (she just started).  I love Cutco and was happy to support her.  I even purchased a new cheese knife and vegetable peeler and got a free pair of scissors.  I am so happy with the knives my mom is letting me borrow.  I don't know what I'll do when she wants them back.  Because of the oddness of the day and the fact they hadn't been for a week, I forgot to take the kids to Karate.  =(  We had a nice dinner and I did our FHE lesson.  The brownies I made for our treat were too thick and crumbly.  Kinda disappointing.

Tuesday
I took Daniel to his yearly check up with his Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon to check how his feet are doing.  I've been concerned about how his feet fall inward when he's sitting but he is well within the rang of normal for having had clubfoot correction and the doc said he looks great.  Phew!  Sigh of relief there.  Tuesday is our library day.  So we did that in the morning and then picked up Brent and we went out to lunch together at the new Tigard Burgerville, I love that restaurant and I'm glad we have one in Tigard now.  They use only local, and seasonal, foods and take great pains to be "green" have use compostable containers etc.  You pay extra for all of this but I think it's worth it.

I spent the afternoon researching nursing chairs and found one I liked.  I found one being sold on craigslist for a fantastic price.  I was weary of it though because the last two chairs I bought were craigslist ones and they weren't good.  But I went and checked it out and it was in great condition and she was the original owner.  So I got it.  Rocking Lydia to sleep that night was heavenly and I've been enjoying it since.  I should've invested in a good nursing chair years ago.  The main reason I wanted a new chair is because getting up out of my old one really bothered my hip.  I don't hurt at all getting out of my new chair.  I am so happy with it.

Wednesday

We joined friends in our ward's playgroup at the Wilsonville water fountains.  That park is fantastic and I was excited to take the kids for the first time this year.  We've been many times.  When family has come to visit I've taken them there because it is free and it's so fun.  Alex and Ian, the boys I used to watch and my boys' best buddies, were there and they played their little hearts out.  We ate a picnic lunch and came home and crashed for quiet time.  I AGAIN forgot about Karate.  Sheesh.  I am losing my marbles.  I joined up with some of my friends after the kids were in bed for an impromtu ladies night out.  I ate a lot of popcorn, held a cute new little fellow (4 week old Oliver) and fell in love with him, and had a great time.  I'm so grateful for my friends.

Alex and Jacob

Daniel with his bucket

 
Thursday
Found out my mom and grandparents are coming for a visit (yay!) and they are coming on Monday!  So I've started making my to-do lists and cleaning to preparing for that.  I love it when company comes because it gives you the extra motivation to deep clean and to finally get to those items that have been sitting around and waiting to get taken care of.  It feels good to accomplish a lot.  Brent went to a stake priesthood meeting in the evening.

Friday
I spent the day at home with the kids.  We played and didn't do much else.  When Brent got home we went in search of a curtain rod for our huge back window and found what we needed.  We went to the mall and I managed to pull into a parking space where someone had previously, and recently, got sick on the asphalt and I drove through it.  I didn't dare park in our garage because it stank so badly.  Looks like I'll be adding a car wash to my Saturday "to-do" list.

Week of July 1st

Monday July 2nd
I went to my third PT appointment.  I am now having some pain on the front of my hip in the ligament that connects to my thigh.  The doc said it is because the exercises I'm doing are overworking that area, so she overhauled my regimen.  I've continued to see slow improvement and I know that if I was more diligent with my twice daily exercises that improvement would be faster.  (I can't believe how hard it is to carve out two 10 minutes sessions for myself where I am not needed at all by somebody.)  So in all, a good report and I feel good about the progress I've made.  I can now weight bare enough on my left leg to be able to put my pants on without sitting or holding the wall.  Yay!

For FHE we tried lighting some fireworks.  Daniel literally freaked out!  We even put earphones on him to see if that would help and that wasn't even enough.  He is so sound-sensitive.  I made him stay out with me but didn't make him look at or hold a sparkler.  I've never seen a kid be so afraid of sparklers!!  But then this is the kid who was also scared of the candles on his birthday cake.  Poor kid.

Tuesday July 3rd
The morning was spent visiting teaching with my companion, Priscilla.  She is moving at the end of this month and I am so sad to see her go.  This will be our last month vt'ing together.  =(  We went out to lunch afterwards.  I am going to really miss her.  It is friend's like her that have made my life without family nearby bearable.  We've celebrated holiday's together and shared so many memories.  We've spent countless hours talking in my driveway.  I watched her daughter Kiara for the past few years and I just love her family.  She is so thoughtful and selfless and such a wonderful mother and example to me.  I've never had such a wonderful vt'ing companion and I know it sounds bad but I almost don't want another companion assigned to me.  She was the best.  ::sigh::  First Jenae, then Nicole and now Priscilla... God must be trying to shake things up by taking away my friends.  I wonder what He has in store.

Wednesday July 4th
Independence Day!  We had BE-U-T-FUL weather.  In the morning I had my friend Nicole's boys, Ethan and Henry, over to play.  This was the last little playdate for our boys and they had a grand time together.  Ethan and Jacob are only a month apart.  Daniel and Henry are only three days apart.  Lydia and Sam  (not pictured) are only 6 weeks apart.  Nicole and I have bonded over having such similarities and going through some of the same things at the same time.  We've spent many a Sunday in the mother's lounge, exhausted and completely overwhelmed and found comfort knowing we were both going through the same things.  Nicole is also one of my running partners and we will forever be bonded over running our first half marathon's together.  Her husband, Dave, has been a great friend to Brent and he is also my birthday buddy (we were both born on October 10, 1980).

We will miss you Hardman's!

I had a nice day at home and prepared for the evening festivities.  Lydia looked darling in her festive shorts with red white and blue stars.  She's trying so hard to crawl and it's just so cute so I had to take a picture.

 Priscilla invited us over to their block party and we had a nice time.  Daniel did better than I expected him too and fun was had by all.

Click here to see a slide show of our 4th of July pictures

Thursday July 5th
Summer has arrived in my part of the world so I put up our kiddie pool during the day an the boys had so much fun playing out on the deck.  We spent the evening packing the van for camping and preparing our talks.

Lydia also sat in her high chair for the first time.  Must she really grow up?!

Trying to grab a piece of cantaloupe

Friday July 6th
We left to go camping after the kids woke up from their afternoon naps.  We went to Mt. Hood National Forest.  We stopped for dinner on the way because traffic was terrible, it was getting late. and Lydia had been crying/screaming almost the whole way and our nerves were shot and we needed a break.  We stopped at and A&W.  Man do they have good root beer!  We went on our way again and Lydia continued her scream fest.  We scouted out campgrounds and we weren't finding anything open and started getting a little nervous.  But the clouds parted and heavenly angels chorused when we pulled into Fish Creek campground (the same one we stayed at with Brent's parents last September) and the only spot available was the exact same spot we stayed at with them.  So crazy!  We were happy to finally get out and set up camp.  The boys had fun climbing some big rocks in our campsite and Lydia was content in the pack-n-play staring at the new surroundings and playing with her toys.  We got the tent up and then went for a walk.  I put Lydia down for the night while Brent started a fire and we roasted some gigantic marshmallows.  We tried to enjoy the moment and sing songs but the boys weren't having it and just wanted to go to bed.  So put them to bed too.  Lydia had a hard time sleeping and by the time we came into the tent she wasn't going to sleep in the pack-n-play.  So I slept with her in my arms and nursed on and off all. night. long.

Saturday July 7th
Lydia was up with the sun and I entertained her as long as I could before everyone finally got up around 7 am.  Brent was not too happy to get up that early.  But, that's camping with kids.  We got a fire going and warmed some water for hot cocoa and had breakfast.  Then Lydia went down for her morning nap while Brent took the boys on another walk.  They came back and played cards while I tried to rest with Lydia.  After only a short 25 minutes a really loud diesel truck rumbled past and woke both of us up.  Then the ranger came by and yelled at us for being there.  The campsite sign said it was open but apparently on the other side of the card it was reserved.  No one had showed up but they told us to leave anyway.  So we started to break camp.  The boys were being difficult.  Then Daniel hurt himself and got a huge blood blister.  While I was tending him and all our stuff was scattered around the ranger came back to tell us the people had taken another site and ours was open after all.  She apologized and told us we could stay.  A little too late don't ya think?!  We finally got packed up and drove off just after 11 am.  We stopped at a day use area and walked down to the clackamas river to throw rocks in.   Brent and I were about had but we figured we'd come that far and wanted to make the most of it.  Lydia blessedly fell asleep as soon as we got back in the van and we drove home.  I made our sandwiches in the car and fed everybody while we were driving.

We came home and everybody crashed.  We took it easy in the evening and finalized our talks.  I don't think Brent and I were prepared for how hard this camping trip would be.  Makes me wonder if we should even bother going to the ward campout.  I love being in nature and away from the city where you can actually see the stars.  Listening to the river all night was wonderful and staring into the glowing fire while Brent held me was so nice.  Getting a few moments like that almost make all the work worth it.

Sunday July 8th
The morning was nice.  The kids were all doing ok.  I was still not nervous about my talk but poor Brent could've been on the brink of death.  I think God was buoying me up so I could handle everything while he was out of sorts. Brent gets physically ill at times like this.  We arrived at church early, sat close to front and braced ourselves for the meeting.  My awesome friend Vikki took Lydia while I talked and even got her to sleep (I love you Vikki!).  I think our talks went well.  I pretty much read mine straight through so my nerves never had a chance to take over.  I loved that our topic was so broad.  It was Eternal Families.  I chose to focus on the sealing power because that's what makes an eternal family even possible.  Brent talked on parenting and relationships and did a great job.  I like hearing him teach/speak and I wish it wouldn't make him so sick so he'd be comfortable doing it more often.  I enjoyed preparing for my talk and finding all the neat quotes and scriptures that I used.  The spirit was with me and it felt nice.  I liked taking the time to study and prepare.  I wish I had the time/ability to study more often.

Week of June 24th

Sunday June 24th
Lydia is now six months old.  I find it amazing that one half of the year is already over.  She is trying to eat everything and is so anxious to eat more foods.  I'm not so anxious.  I'm content just nursing her.  I give her rice cereal and little bits of fruits and veggies but I haven't done more yet.  ::sigh:: I guess I'll have to let her grow up sooner or later.

Somebody loves to eat!

That spoon is sure fun to teeth on

Daniel was still sick so Brent stay home from church with him.  I teach Sharing time for one month every 3 months and June was my month so today was my last sharing time for awhile.  My wonderful friend, Vikki, takes Lydia for me almost every week while I take care of my primary responsibilities.  I'm so grateful to her and the other ladies that so generously tend her.  It makes my life easier. I made a super yummy pot roast for dinner and the rest of the evening was low-key. I enjoyed the quiet evening with Brent and the kiddos.  It was needed.


Monday 25th
Had another round of Physical Therapy this morning.  I didn't cry this time, even though I wanted to.  One of the workers there showed me some exercises to do, as we talked she told me she also had also had an SI joint injury.  She's the first person I've talked to that has had the same problem as I.  It was so nice to talk to somebody that completely understood how I feel and could suggest things that had helped her.  I have more exercises to do than I have time for, but I'm doing all I can.  I don't see any running in my near future but I do have hope for pain-reduced days soon.

Daniel was well enough today so after naptime we went to Karate.  He was so much better today!  He participated 30 of the 45 minutes.  I was so pleased.  I have hope for him after all.

Brindy and I went to our second class of hot yoga.  This time I sweat more and I was dizzier.  I followed the modifications my physical therapist suggested and I didn't hurt as much afterwards.  It felt great.  My lungs feel so open and clean.  It was an easier class and the 90 minutes felt faster to me.  Good times.

Tuesday 26th
The boys were climbing our maple tree in the backyard.  They do this often.  Jacob got higher then ever before and wanted me to see.  I snapped  a picture while I was at it.

Lydia got whatever Daniel had and today she was one unhappy girl.  She didn't sleep well, has a runny nose and is constantly sneezing.  On top of that she's teething.  Poor girl.

I had a really hard afternoon and evening and fled to cooking group as soon as I got Lydia down for the night.  I stayed up too late talking with Brent about how we should be parenting (especially Jacob right now).  We are struggling with him right now and our normal discipline tactics aren't working.  I feel like I am warning him or disciplining him most of the day and that's exhausting!  What do you, my few readers, suggest for disciplining?  Specifically, he is experimenting with spitting and he has spit on several people but mostly Daniel.  He also uses inappropriate talk about his body, like pretending to pee or hold himself and wiggle.  It sounds innocent enough but when he did this in front of the mirrors at Karate yesterday I was so embarrassed by his poor behavior.  We currently use time outs, or he looses game/tv privileges, and with "potty talk" he gets hot sauce.  None of these methods are solving the problem nor do they seem to be enough incentive to keep him from doing these things.  I'm worried because I see him getting worse.

Wednesday 27th
Lydia slept the night through (though fitfully at times) and finally woke up to nurse just before 6 am.  She was so congested that nursing was difficult.  After 10 minutes she lifted her head up and threw up all over me.  It was like a waterfall flowing out of her!  I couldn't believe she could possibly have that much in her tiny stomach.  I called for Brent to come in and clean her up so I could shower, it was THAT bad!  She was up for another hour after that and then I spent the next hour holding her, walking with her and trying to get her to sleep.  She'd fall asleep and then wake up and whimper or look around to make sure I was there.  So I just held her.  After a long while of that my arms were tired, I was tired and so I put her down praying that she'd stay asleep.  She did and I was able to get another hour of sleep.

I declared a sick day and we didn't go anywhere.  I took care of only the minimum around the house and we just hung out together.  I made some delicious banana bread and the day went ok considering all.  It was such a beautiful day (after several days of rain) that it would've been nice to take the kids to a park.  I hope we get more days like that soon.

Thursday 28th
Lydia had her 6 month well-child visit and round of immunizations.  She did so well.  She is growing and developing perfectly.  She is now 2'2.5" and 18 lbs.  I was sad to hear they are closing our pediatricians office and I will need to find a new doctor unless I want to drive 20 minutes to follow our doc. to his new location.  Sad times.  Having the kids' doctor only 1.5 miles from our home has been so nice.

After lunch while the sun was still shining I packed up the kids and we went to, what we call, the "Dump truck Park."  It's a 10 min. drive but so fun.  The boys had a blast and Lydia enjoyed pulling all grass out she could reach.  It started getting cloudy when we got home so I'm glad we went when we did.

I went to hot yoga tonight and enjoyed it.  I can already see improvement (though small) in my flexibility.  The modifications I am making keep my joint pain to a minimum.

Friday 29th
I started feeling like I was coming down with what Daniel and Lydia had.  My throat is sore and I feel tired.  So I took it as easy as possible.  We had a going away party in the evening for some good friend's of ours and we had a great time.  Three of my good friends have either moved or will move all in this past spring and upcoming month.  I feel so bittersweet about it.  The moves were all great for each of them individually but I am so sad to not have them around any longer.  They have made my life here in Oregon, without family nearby, easier.  I know friends come and go but it is still hard.

The bishop called today to ask us to speak in Sacrament meeting on July 8th.  Topic is Eternal Families.  Oddly, I am not nervous about it.  However, Brent might be getting an ulcer.  Poor guy has a lot on his mind and this being added to it doesn't help.

Saturday 30th
We did a lot of errands and projects around the house.  I continued to take it easy.  We have been looking into finding a shed and it's proving to be a lot harder than I anticipated.  We purchased fireworks and the boys got to go down and gigantic (20' tall?) inflated slide shaped like a shark.  Jacob thought it was the coolest thing ever.  Daniel not so much.

Sunday July 1st
Today was a nice, laid-back day.  I made meatloaf for dinner.  It was awesome.   Another week gone.  This upcoming week is going to be another busy one and we hope to go camping at the end of it if the weather stays nice.

Readers: Do you mind this journal style of writing on my blog?  Would it be easier to break it up vs. having one week all in one chunk?  Thoughts?

An attempt to start blogging again...

Hello friends and family.  I've been feeling for a while now that I should return to blogging so I could keep you updated on our lives.  I hope to blog once a week or so (ambitious, I know) maybe on Sunday nights reporting about the previous week and what we have coming up.  We are so far away and I want you all to feel like you are still in our lives.  We love and miss you.

Week of June 17th

Sunday was a lovely Father's day.  The boys were so excited to give Brent the cards they made and their gifts.  Daniel made him a fun tie in his primary class.  I made him fried chicken for dinner.  Our friend Polly joined us.  Her hubby was out of town and, like me, she has lost her father.  After dinner we all went over to another friends house for smores.  The kids had a great time and the adult conversation was entertaining.  It was a great day.  I am so grateful for Brent.  He is a wonderful father.

Brent with the kids before church.  Too bad D's eyes weren't open

Monday

(Most of you know about my sacroiliac joint pain.  If you don't, email me for details.)  I started physical therapy on Monday morning.  It killed to have my joint worked over and it brought me to tears.  As of today I am feeling some improvement already and have hope that this just might work. I can't wait for this trial to be lifted from me.

Monday night mom and dad Turner came to stay the night on their way home from Canada.  We had a lovely time chatting late into the night.  Brent was feeling unusually under the weather and went to bed early.  So unfortunate for him to feel that way on the rare occasion of his parents being here.  They left bright and early Tuesday morning.

Tuesday was an average day.  I went to a relief society service night in the evening.  I enjoyed the hour I was able to spend there sewing pillow cases for the local children's hospital.

I love finding my boys playing together.  I often find them sitting on our deck rail staring off into the distance.  I had to capture the moment.

 

The boys started Karate this week.  They go on Mon/Wed.  Jacob did great.  Daniel was a pickle and a half!  I wanted to thump him on the head.  His antics were embarrassing!  I think this was the first time I've been truly embarrassed because of my child's poor behavior.  He isn't ready for that kind of discipline yet and has a difficult time following instructions.  So I've decided to still take him (since I paid for it) and have him just sit on the side and watch and participate as he chooses.  With that in mind Wednesday went a lot better.  I had high hopes for him but he just isn't ready yet.

 
Thursday was a gorgeous day.  We had Jacob's friend Kiara over and we all went to the park to have a picnic lunch and play.  It was fun to swing and let Lydia pick at the grass.  There was a friendly Mexican family there and the dad was very active running around with his kids.  Pretty soon my boys were chasing him around too and it was so fun to hear their constant laughter.

That night my friend Brindy and I tried Bikram Yoga for the first time (also known as hot yoga) 90 minutes of fast paced yoga in 108 degree heat was intense!  I was hurtin' by the end of it though and I thought I was taking it easy.  Gotta go even easier next time.  I can't wait to be able to get back the exercising and it felt really good to work my body last night.  It was quite an experience.

Today was pretty low key at home.  I cleaned and made lots of cookies for tomorrow.  We're hosting a BBQ/baby shower at our home tomorrow.  We have a covered deck and rain is forecast so it got relocated to my house.  We'll have 40+ people in our home.  It will be crazy fun.

UPDATE
Saturday was spent continuing to ready our home for the party.  We had a wonderful time with our local friends and the pot luck spread was one of the best (variety wise) we've had.  The kids had a ball and fun was had by all.  Except poor Daniel.  He was greatly anticipating the evening with friends and then woke up from his nap with a fever.  He spent the evening cuddling with Brent or I and went to bed early.  =(  Poor "little D".

Lydia cut her first tooth yesterday.  She is six months old tomorrow (Sunday the 24th) and is fussier then normal but otherwise unaffected by the teething.

31

Yesterday I celebrated my "baskin robbins" birthday. I am sad to see 30 go - I had a wonderful year. I worked so hard before turning 30 so that I would be in the best shape of my life and enter this new phase/decade head on and strong. I achieved that goal. I was in a great place as a wife and mother, planned for baby #3 and I look forward to having a girl. I will always look back on this past year as being one of the best years of my life. I hope to continue strong and make every year a good one.

We took some pictures before going out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. I am 30 weeks along (7.5 months) and feeling great. I can see the weight gain in my face now... hopefully I can start running again after she's born.

HALLELUJIA!!!

This day has been 3 years in the waiting. Daniel saw his surgeon this morning and was cleared to no longer wear braces! His feet look fantastic and he is expected to do well long term. He doesn't need to be seen for another year or 2. I am all smiles and beyond happy. This has been such a long journey and to see it end is thrilling. Of course will still have issues to deal with (mega wide shoes, low muscle tone, etc.) but that is all nothing compared to where we've come from.

Take a look at the before and after of his feet.

1.5 weeks old

3 years old (taken today trying to recreate baby pose)

sitting normally

And to top it all off, my brother called me on Monday and while he and his family were in Brazil they learned that Vanessa's cousin has an infant born with clubfeet and they are struggling to pay for the shoes/braces and clothes to fit him. Plus, they are using the old style Dennis Brown Bar and Daniel had the far superior Ponsetti style brace. So I am going to donate Daniel's shoes and bar plus some of his baby clothes to this family. It makes my heart happy to know I'll be helping out another mother going through this journey and making life more comfortable for her little one.

Can you think of a happier ending?! We've had so many prayers on our behalf along the way that have helped lift us up. To be at the end vs. the beginning of this is an incredible feeling and I couldn't be happier on this day.

24 weeks Preggo

Hey everyone. I've had several people ask me for a preggo pics so I had Brent take these of me this morning. I hadn't put on makeup or done my hair yet... so just look at the belly. :o) I am in my 24th week (6 months along) and for those who don't know yet, we are expecting a girl. I'm feeling good and all is well. Can you believe I still have 3 more months?! I'm going to get as big as Jupiter I'm sure.