Here's the scoop

Ok...so it took me a few days to wrap my mind, and heart, around this. I am going to have surgery. A not so fun surgery. I have been in denial about the seriousness of my heart going into A-fib. I have been having an "out of body experience", as a dear friend described it, telling myself this sort of thing doesn't happen to me. But it does...and it is.

The mini maze is not as avasive as having your chest cracked, but it is still evasive. They will make 3 cuts on each of my sides, one under my arm and two down each side and front part of my chest for cameras and tubes etc. They will deflate my lung, one at a time as they work on one side at a time to prevent the need (hopefully) for the heart/lung machine, and he will use this claw like device to go in and burn around the blood line leading from my lungs to my heart. The device wraps around the vein so it is a complete burn all the way around. This will prevent some of the wrong nerve stimulations from getting through. Then he will take another device and test the 10 pathways of nerve travel on my heart and stimulate each of them to 1000 beats per minute to see where some of the wrong electrical pathways are coming through. He then will burn those areas and then re-test to make sure the burn will accomplish it's job. This will give a 90% chance of a cure rate...meaning no more A-fib...and no more chance of a stroke because of A-fib. He also will staple shut a little pocket (lobe?) on the atria that is where the blood can pool during A-fib and cause the clots that can cause the strokes. This pocket is simliar to appendix, in that it doesn't have a *major* part to play in the body's function, however it does control a small amount of hormone production that Dr. Affleck said it is ok to function without. The surgery itself (not counting pre-op/post-op) takes about 3-4 hours. He said that for my hospital stay after surgery to plan on 3 days, but I could come home after one. It just depends on how I do and how the surgery goes. Recovery sounds like it varies as well. No lifting anything for a week, but he wants me up and walking often asap to get my lung function back. He said return to normal activity is up to me. (Though he said he had a Raider's team member going snowboarding a week later - dang I wish I were *that* in shape! A week recovery sounds good to me!)

I am starting to feel more like this is real. I am starting to feel the need to plan and prepare. I cannot get his office manager to answer the phone or return my calls yet...I wonder if she is out of the office for holiday... so monday I am calling again like crazy. The funding is going to be the tricky part I think. No insurance...with no one willing to take us because of Jess' diabetes, my heart & thyroid, and the kids asthma sucks. I keep holding to the faith that Heavenly Father wanted Jess out running his own company...that we are doing the right thing... and so He must have a plan to make this all work out as well. I know it must be so. The kids getting on CHIP this summer was HUGE... but still almost $600 each month just for Jess and my regular meds is tough. Like I have said before...others go into debt/spend money for fun stuff... we just do it to stay alive! :D

A dear friend of mine called this morning. She wants to have a Chocolate Fest fund raiser. I could not stop crying! What a fun idea! What a sweet idea! (literally) It's all sureal.... One day at a time... that is how I have to process all of this. Lots of Prayer.... and one day at a time.

Dr.'s Appt

I am a really good cadidate. He was very informative and thorough. It is an evasive surgery, so not a simple as Dr. Hwang's procedure, but it has a 90% cure rate. I LOVE the thought of this being able to be prevented from here on out. It's a long story, not very fun procedure, so I am still digesting, but I know many of you asked me to post an update when I had one. We didn't schedule a date however because he wants his office manager to try some hoop jumping and see what we can come up with to help cover the cost. With no insurance, on best case scenario, we are looking 40-60k out of pocket. So she and I are pow wowing tommorow and we shall see....

I am going to go crash. It has been an exhausting, both physically & emotionally, couple of days. I will try to post more details later...Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We sure did! My kids were spoiled rotten and the time with family was so nice...

Update on my heart

Dr. Afflecks office called. He reviewed my records and believes he maybe can help me. He wants to see me the day after Christmas! I am so relieved/excited/apprehensive! Should be interesting....

You'd better watch out...

You'd better not cry...

Tonight in the car, Caleb was throwing a major fit (he had had enough) over multiple things... and at one point he was begging Emma to turn on his light above him. She kept telling him no because we were driving.... and he was pitching a fit. All of a sudden he stopped crying... got a quiet... and then said to Emma:

"Santa Clause's watchin' you!"

Bwahahahaha!! We laughed and laughed! Man this kid figures things out quick! For 2 he is quite clever....

Tired...but happy

So...my good friend Amy braved an afternoon with me and took me to get a couple of Christmas gifts I still needed. It was nice! Our Father in Heaven was so sweet to us...we found front row parking everywhere we went so I didn't have to walk more than necessary. It was so neat! I could barely move last night I was so worn out...but I only have a half a dozen or so loose ends and I think I will be done shopping! WAHOO! I am starting to get a little excited...

I am in awe that Christmas is just 11 days away. I was complaining to a friend about how sad I feel about this holiday season, that I can't do all the things I had, in my head, planned to do, and she was very kind....she said "But you are here to enjoy it with your kids". Hmmm. I think I needed that. I think, at least for me, I get so caught up in "making the moment" into something spectacular, that I dont notice the little things... so here are a few of the little things I am thankful for:

* Emmalee home again today with pink eye (this is her 2nd bout) because she is helping me to wrap gifts.
* Caleb, who plays quietly and watches Super Why in the morning so I can snooze a few minutes longer.
* Quiet moments of "oh! I am so dizzy and tired...I gotta sit" that gives me time to enjoy the beauty of the snow out my window, or the lights on my tree.
* For not allowing myself to be too proud to hire someone to help me disinfect my house so I can focus on just dishes and laundry.
* A job I can work on when I feel up to it...for the most part both Realtor hat & Office Manager hat have no set time requirements.
* Having Aunt Jeannine come to my home to color my hair to help me feel not so frumpy
* Cody, who is an early riser, to get the kids going in the morning.
* Wonderful neighbors who stop in to check on me, make sure I have what I need, and devote their own precious time to make things a little easier on me & my poor overworked hubby.
* That Jess has so much work when we need it most...and time off when it seems we need it most too...Heavenly Father is so mindful!
* Journals to vent to, friends to sound board off of, and the medical profession in general for making it so I *am* here...and I can enjoy each day...and I do get to have Christmas with my family and little children. :) What a wonderful life!

Out of the mouths of babes

Today has been a rough day. I am really worn down. Caleb was up every 15 minutes or so until about 3:30 am last night crying in his sleep. We finally gave him benedryl and some ibuprofen to cover all our bases and get him to sleep. (which worked good ;) ) So add that to everything else...and...yea...sure...I have been draggin all day...

Cody has been worried about me all day. Tonight as we said his prayers he said "Please bless mom's heart, that it will not do funny things and scare everyone anymore and she will feel better..."

Amen.

Doing better...honest!

Hello! I just wanted to post a thankyou for all of the sweet concerned phone calls and love I have received! I am doing better each day. I think this time has not been quite as hard because I took 2 days and really laid low. I still get winded, and a flutter or two here and there...but I am well! YEEHAW! I can tell that I am on steriods for the hives (the ER doc insisted) because I feel extra energy I know I dont really have...Bwahaha...but the pamphlet said I would have an "increased sense of wellness". TEE HEE!! My darling MIL (Mom-in-law) has been invaluable as far as catching up my laundry for me and taking the boys for me so I can rest. Dad went shopping for me and Ma cleaned Sophie's bathroom ((blush)) Then I have had dear friends popping in to check on me, blessing us with dinner and just making it so I dont get mired down sadness and discouragement. And my sweetheart brought these home to make me smile....

I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful line of support and I just wanted to say thanks!

Sweet Amy came over and made me sit down and call the Cardiologist at Timp Hospital. I have a tentative appt with him in 3 weeks, 2 days after Christmas. The nurse had me fax over all of my medical reports that I had received and she called and retrieved the rest. Dr. Affleck is going to read through them and if I am a good candidate for the Mini-Maze procedure then I will still attend my appt. If not then I will go see Dr. Hwang about a repeat of the last one. I was very impressed that Dr. A would do that for me to save me the $ and the trip. That is an AWESOME Dr. who has the patients best interest at heart. (literally! LOL!)

A Rotten Expensive Drive...

So I had an expensive ride the other morning. It was about 6 am and an ambulance had to come to our house. Can I just say that for the cost...that was the crappiest ride I have ever taken! You'd think for that price it would be the ride of a lifetime! Tee hee!

I woke up Wednesday morning from some scary dreams about 4:45ish. My eye was glued shut. Oh yes! Lucky mom caught the Pink Eye ;) . (dern!) I got up to wash it out and felt my heart flip/flopping in my chest. I got teary eyed, but then I was caught up in a wave of nausea. I went down stairs to see if I could take some Tums to make my tummy feel better. My heart was going erratic. I got to the kitchen sink, got a drink, and my heart did a hard "flip" and then it felt like it stopped. I stood there counting the seconds...it seemed like an eternity...it was likely less than 20-30 seconds. I felt my body screaming for air (like when you are under water too long) and I started to go numb everywhere. I pounded on my chest with my fist and felt my heart "flop" really hard, and then I blacked out. When I came to a moment or two later I crawled upstairs. Jess' alarm was going off so I went to his side of the bed, hit snooze and started crawling in. He was startled and confused so I took his head and laid it on my chest so he could hear and feel the crazy way my heart was acting. It was sweet...he pulled away and looked so sorrowful and said "oh no sweetheart!" He tucked me into bed next to him and I told him what happened downstairs. We decided to wait a little bit and see if my heart would calm down on it's own. I couldn't even lay there long enough for the alarm clock to ring again. It was so violent in my chest and I was scared to death remembering my experience with this in June. Jess gave me a Husband's Blessing, saying something to the effect that the facilities will know how to help me. We knew I had to go to the ER. :( (with no insurance...)

We called my sweet MIL to come sit with the kids, and I went and laid under the Christmas tree waiting for her, and for Jess to get his shots, meds & something to eat. He skipped eating and came to check on me. He sat on the couch and asked how I was. I sat up and leaned against his legs and told him this one was bad & way out of control. My heart did the really hard flip thing again and didn't flop. I waited much less time this time and started pounding on my chest. It flopped and I passed out on Jess' knee, then to the floor. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called 911. He was done! LOL! I was breathing and laying down again, fighting the urge to puke, so the ambulance was kind and had no lights and sirens going when they pulled up so the kids did not get woken up. (or my poor neighbors either) MIL pulled up right behind the paramedics. They came in and checked everything out and brought in the lovely bed thing. It was lowered as low as they could get it and they asked me to crawl onto it. This sweet older paramedic took my hands to pull me up to sitting position and I passed out. They said my heart rate went from 160 beats a minute to 260 and I was out. So I wasn't allowed to sit up any more! LOL! My little ticker was just too tired.

After I was loaded in the ambulance, the older paramedic and Jess gave me a blessing. Then we were off. It was the worst ride of my life!! I was facing backwards & strapped to the bed with my arms down. My heart was out of control. I wanted to puke. They kept tying off my arms in hopes of finding a vein for an IV with no luck because my extremities were slightly numb (and then the cut off of blood that they were doing was making me even more ill) They put a huge oxygen mask on me and it was thick and stunk horribly. My eye was still glued partly shut and running down my cheek into my ear. The driver kept yelling "right!" "left!" "bump!" "stopping!". It was LOUD and rattley and the lights were blinding above me. And wouldn't you know my nose was itching. The female paramedic kept me talking, and I had to yell so she could hear me...which took air...which was wearing me out...blech!. (I finally asked her about her kids and grand kids and luckily got 5+ minutes to just concentrate on my breathing and not puking...bwahahaha) We arrived safely with Jess just behind us...and OH! was I glad that was over! Sheesh!

I was rushed into the ER and straight into a room and I had my own little crash team there waiting. I had an IV attached (they hadn't done it yet because they couldn't find a decent vein that they trusted on such a bumpy ride), an EKG done that was so not pretty, they stripped my shirt off (which was funny cause I had put a bra on and it got caught on my chin, I had to try and unhook the front latch while telling the two nurses pulling it off to hold on! hold on!...it was humorous to say the least!) but I got to flash the whole room...and they had been so quick to get me in that the curtain was not closed to the door out into the ER either! oh well...life or modesty...I mean really right? Bwahahaha! They were really concerned about the hives all over my body to which I laughed and said....I take zyrtec everyday to prevent hives...my body attacks itself for no real reason...and they are always worse when I exercise! LOL! (too bad my workout was doing nothing for my figure!)

Luckily I had the same ER Dr. that saw me in June and he double checked my records and was sweet enough to say (if it is sweet to offer such a thing) that he would forgo all the med courses that failed so miserably last time, and just de-fibrillate my heart. I was not happy about the thought of it again, and yet I didn't care because I wanted my heart to quit what it was doing. I kissed Jess goodbye (he looked so scared...and I wondered if I was looking brave enough for him) and he left the room. They injected my IV with the meds to slow my heart way down and put me to sleep...and as I felt myself swirl into nothingness I heard the nurse say "should we start with 50?" :0 What the heck? That was not so nice....LOL!

It was hard to come out of the sleep this time...and I was terribly nauseated, but I survived! My heart was back to a normal rhythm. YEA! The ER doc gave us a strong talking to. He thinks we should let go of our upset with Dr. Hwang and get my surgery re-done since the wrong electrical impulses are breaking through. He told us that being de-fibrillated twice within 6 months of each other is not really acceptable. He said that the type of Afib/de-fib my heart was in will cause blood clots in the upper chamber of my heart and that they can cause strokes. And he was worried, I think, because I am *on* meds for it and it was this severe this time. *sigh* We will try to talk to that Dr. at Timp Hospital that does the new "Mini Maze" procedure first...simply because it is suppose to be a better procedure that will last longer, but if not, I am not too bullheaded to not consider enduring Dr Hwang to keep this scary experience from happening ever again...

I was home by 9:00 am. It was nice. I am really sore (electricity will do that to ya! LOL!) and I get tired easy, but I am well. (To be completely truthful I am very scared that it could happen again, but I am taking it easy for now and holding onto the blessings I was given.) It could have been the Pink Eye that set it off...Dr. F (the cardiologist I love) said that infections might do that, but we don't know for sure. (and I think the bad dreams were because my heart was struggling...) I told Jess it was because I ate Chocolate Cake before bed! Bwahahaha!! He laughed and said "no more chocolate cake for you!" Who really knows... All I do know is I am glad it is over. I am SO glad for modern medicine....and even for rotten ambulance rides to the hospital. :)

p.s. I guess I get to slow down now whether I want to or not! Bwahahahaha

Seeing pink...while making red and green...

What a nice break for our family... :)

Sadly, the males of the household all contracted "Pink Eye" this last Sunday...

...but it gave us the rare chance to slow down and enjoy a quiet day at home together...

...so the kids wanted to put up our tree...

They worked together...

Played in the boxes...


ate our "traditional" chocolate orange sticks...

Counted lights under the tree...

Caleb got to put up the star this year...
A tradition from my childhood is everyone gets a new ornament each year from something significant in their lives...


Emmalee got a guiter, as she got one for her birthday, and will be starting lessons soon...

Cameron got a snowman that is praticing addition because he started kindergarten this year and blew us away with his ability to do math...

Cody started Scouts this year and has almost read his entire Scout book front to back...he loves it!
(if mom could ever remember that it's at 6 pm on thrusday nights! ack!)

And of course Caleb got a tractor... well duh! LOL!

It was such a wonderful day! We laughed and played and listened to Christmas tunes. We sure missed church...but it was such a blessed quiet unscheduled day that this busy mom is tucking in her heart as a day to remember!

Post Thanksgiving Bliss....

AHHH!!! Cold duck and full tummy...what more could a guy want?

I am giving up being a mom of babies

really...I am. Caleb wants to potty train. No more bottles. No more diapers. No more nursing. No more burp cloths. No more tiny clothes or even tiny shoes. No more napping in the afternoon with a warm soft head of baby hair tucked under my chin. It is all ending. I am not sure why potty training is what is throwing me off...but it is.

I dont enjoy diapers. Believe me I don't! But there is this little part of me that is having a little breakdown inside at the thought of my baby leaving babyhood behind. *sigh* I have done diapers for almost 10 years straight. ((shocker!)) You would think I would be singing praises....but alas...maybe I will another day. I need a newborn to cuddle....you know....like after an emotional day one needs chocolate? I need a soft fuzzy headed little one to console my weeping mommy heart....

On a brighter note...Caleb is thrilled to be a big boy! He loves to wash his hands and flush the toilet. He has had no wet accidents all day...and both times he was messy he wanted it fixed "NOW!" LOL!! Pull ups are not as "secure" for him I guess... thank heavens for smart marketer's who thought of putting Car's characters on Pull-ups. They are brilliant. He loves them.

Anyway....I am going to go cuddle my baby blanket now. Have a great night.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hello!! I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving!! Our weekend isn't quite over yet...we have Thanksgiving dinner with my family tommorow night....

But! It has been a wonderful weekend so far! Jess put up Christmas lights in the morning on thursday, while I made 6 dozen of my family's favorite rolls. We went to Grandma Pat's for dinner. It was so nice! We were all crammed in her little basement familyroom, but wowza she is a genius when it comes to utilizing the space she has! And everything is always perfect! She cracks me up! I can't believe her talent when it comes to making a party complete! The decorations were awesome, the atmosphere calm, and well...she just rocks at party throwing! After dinner we went to Grandma Ewell's. Everyone had dessert and we visited and laughed. I sure adore Jess' family! Even with all the differences, they are still so loving and accepting and make you feel so important. It warms my heart. We are so blessed.

We came home and I scoured the ads until after midnight. I got up at 3:30 am and picked up my good friend Jill and we hit the sales! It was so much fun! I love going with Jill! It is always so low key and relaxed. We gather one or two more of the "hot items" than we need and then as we wander the store looking for other items we need, it is a blast to have a frantic mom or grandma who may have slept in, rush up and ask you where you got the item...only to say we have got an extra that we don't need and give it to them with a "Merry Christmas". The joy on their faces is priceless! I love it! :) We played late into the afternoon and when I got home Jess had wired up two sets of eve outlets for the lights. (he is such a doll!) We had the kids favorite for dinner (homemade pizza) and bundled up and went to Main Steet here in town to enjoy the Nighttime Christmas Parade! What a blast! I love this town!! The kids were thrilled with the adventure of it and Caleb was in awe at all the lights on tractors and trucks! That boy was in heaven! We think JWD Electric should put in an entry next year....

AH! Thanksgiving is hands down my favorite holiday! There are no pressure for gift giving, and we get to gather together to eat and visit and it's cozy and fun! I LOVE IT!!

Neighborhood Halloween Party

Ok...so I found this in my drafts! I feel bad for not posting it sooner! We had an absolute BLAST!! We had a neighborhood Halloween Party! A couple of neighbors brought chili, my in-laws came and made hot scones, Amy Sorensen took photos of all the kids in costumes, we decorated our garage & set up tables on the driveway. Everyone dropped in when they could to visit, eat and then trick-or-treat! It was perfect! We SO want to do it again every year!

Jessie making hot scones with his Dad

Such fun costumes!

I think everyone enjoyed themselves...

Treats! Wahoo!!

Jestin & Grandpa Ewell

Mark your calendars for next year.... this will be an annual event!

Rilee Sophia - Glam baby! Glam!

Our Pretty lil' Princess Sophie all groomed and proper! She is such a doll! She just turned 1 last month and all of sudden she gets it! No accidents! (knock on wood) She is so much fun and really a good little dog! We are so glad to have her! Oh...and for those of you I told that she had not barked since we had Sara put to sleep...it took about 3 months...but she has found her bark!! YEA! Sometimes she scares herself...but it's in there! Bwahahaha!

Emmalee's B-day

Emmale had a wonderful 10th birthday! Aunt Millie took her shopping for new clothes, Mom took her and two of her best friends to Build-a-Bear & then out for icecream, Aunt Jenny then took her shopping for clothes for her bunny and out to dinner, her family all came over for cheesecake and chocolate icecream...and man was this girl spoiled!

An art kit from Grandma Annie & Papa

A new CD Player from Gram & Papa

A beautiful hand stitched pillow made by Great Grandma Ewell

Here's her bunny she made all dress up...

And besides the money to buy clothes on her trip with Millie, Dad & Mom got her her dream...

...a new guitar with lessons to boot! She was thrilled! She received many other gifts as well...however the best gift is all the family that loves her!

HOLY CAMOLEE!! MY BABY IS 10!!!!!!!

This gratitude girl is counting her blessings. There are many in need around me and I have been in a position to help many of them in many different ways. Being an instrument in the hands of the Lord has been an interesting and wonderous place to be. I am feeling very grateful for that the last few weeks. My life was so difficult and depressing just such a short time ago...it felt like it would never change...and now look! We are not only employed...but we are both successfully self-employed, our kids health has been amazing...it's been over a year since one of the kids has been in the hospital with asthma/pneumonia stuff. My health, even though it has given me a run around lately, has been so much better. We own a new home that we love! We are in a busy active ward where we are making new friends everyday! Our kids have many friends and can go outside safely and play every evening if they want to! They are all doing quite well in school! Fences are being mended with family we have missed. The whirlwind has died down for us...and I am so immensely grateful and humbled that I get to enjoy this small window of peace...or maybe now I can enjoy this chaos enough because of past trials that it feels like peace? Who knows? I am just very content and completely full of thanksgiving for the blessings and miracles in my life!

It's crazy but be are in desperate need of electricians. Jess is still a one man band, but he has 11...yes you saw that right...11 jobs going on right now...and they all have dealines looming. And the phone just keeps ringing with more...which is GREAT! I am so not complaining...I am so thankful...it is just hard to see Jess so stretched thin with no one to really help him. I am hoping to find the phone number for the employment specialist here in the stake and get the word out...someone close that Jess could pick up on the way out would be perfect!

I am doing amazing! I am loving having some sense of control back over my life. I got a wild hair yesturday and decided to paint my one kitchen wall yesterday about 5 pm. I was done in 10 minutes! (I love my new little edgin' paintin' device...it's SLICK! I did the whole end of the kitchen with it!) So then I did the second wall too! Love it. It is not as brown as I was hoping for...but even the color that it is it adds so much character and warmth! I love paint! And colors!

I am starting to think about Christmas. I am wondering what I am going to do. There are many things I could do...but I am feeling an unbelievable urge to simplify, and to make it not as extravaggent as it has been in the past...even from/for family and friends. I want my kids to cut down on the "gimme"s. I am tired of the holiday being about "things" I want it to be about feelings, family, the Spirit, and the meaning. Whether or not I can accomplish this...we shall see....

Anyway...randomness...but these are the things I am thinking...bwahahaha

Happy Birthday Emmalee!

My baby is 10 today!! I cannot believe it! She is growing into quite the little lady too! I am taking her and her two best friends to Build-a-Bear for a new teddy bear and then ice cream. Tommorow all her Granparents that are close are coming for cake and icecream and she wants pulled pork sandwiches for dinner. (I was really surprised by that answer...) She is my right hand girl...and it so doesn't seem possible she is 10! That is half way to 20! Where did that time go?? FLEETING! Anyway...had to post...I will share pics later...

Carving Pumpkins

Carving pumpkins was a blast! Gram, Papa, Aunt Katie, Uncle Greg and McKenly came over & we had chinese take out and watched The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and then got to work...Caleb was not so thrilled with the guts....if he thought his pungkin was shucky before....well...really!!

Emmalee wasn't crazy about it either!

Baby McKenly thought it was TASTY!!!

Cam had a blast! He even drew his own face free hand! Pretty darn cute for a 5 year old!

Cody was very much like his dad when it came to his pumpkin...perfection perfection perfection....


Are the guts all gone Gram?

And the finished products were awesome!

And here is Mom's favorite thing to carve...
I love how it turns out...and how it takes the dark side out of the holiday for me :)

Happy Halloween!!

Update on my heart...

Hi! My Dr. appt went so well I kept tearing up! Dr. F. said that the Holter Monitor showed that I have a form of Super Ventricular Tachycardia. What my sister saw on the MRI was the slow period. Basically the lower chamber of my heart doesn't pump properly...so then it races to catch up... he asked if I often felt tired and worn out. LOL! I laughed! I said "My whole life!" What I understood from his explanation is that I can't always feel this dilema of my heart except for un-expalined fatigue. Now it is explained. He told me that the meds that he put me on (that Dr. Hwang never should have taken me off of) will control that. He said I also have some atrial fibrillation (which are the "flip flops" I feel and what sent me to the ER in June & Sept). They can be controlled with this med too. He said I can have surgery for the AF, but the SVT likely is not really repairable like the AF and since they are both controlled by the meds it's up to me.

I have been feeling so much stronger everyday...which he said would continue because my body is adjusting to the meds...so I am going to stick with the meds for now. He said it is not life threatening right now. (yea!) He wants to see me every 6 months without fail, and as I get older we may have to discuss other options or doses...but for now all is well! He was so kind and patient with me and my questions! Because of my arrythmias I cannot have caffiene at all (chocolate is ok in moderation...thank heavens! bwahahaha!) and I want to keep up my low (not "no") sugar diet just because it is good for arrythmias, but it's all good! I am not scared to have another episode "any minute" like I have been...& he was just so kind and thorough! My meds also will help with my low blood pressure and should help even things out all the way around! WAHOO!! I am so stinkin' grateful!! SUCH good news!! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers! I am so thankful to have such wonderful family and friends in my life!! ((HUGS))

Helping My Dad

In case any of you have questioned how much Caleb is a Mini-Jess... Here is more proof....

What are we doing Daddy? Jess was changing the oil and Caleb climbed right under with him...

Then he had to go bang on the some stuff underneath...'cause that is what Daddy does...

SO STINKING CUTE!!!

Scouting for Pumpkins...

In between coats of paint on the dining room wall...Gram (Mom-in-law) took us to the Pumpkin Patch to find some Halloween projects and to burn up some energy...

Who knew that picking a pumpkin could be such an ordeal! LOL!

Emmalee found hers quick!

Caleb...whos' favorite color is dirt...did *not* want a "pungkin" with dirt on it. It was "shucky"!

Maybe this one isn't so "shucky"?

Cam kept finding one...only to change his mind...again...and again...and again.... (sigh)


Cody found the perfect one for him!

He even carried all the way to the car by himself!

No! See Emma! There's dirt! This isn't the right one!

"there *has* to be one here that is just for me!"

Baby McKenly found hers! 'Course bein' a hick and eatin' straw was lots more fun!

In the end we had a wonderful time...everyone got "just the right one", and as an added bonus McKenly had herself a good dose of fiber for the day! (Just teasing mom!)

It was quite fun! We were tickled to find a "pick your own" patch with hay mazes and everything over here in Springville...just like the one in American Fork that shut down. We can keep our tradition that they love so much! There is just something nostalgic about picking it outta the patch yer'selves!!

Can't wait to carve!

The plans are being forged!

(and changed...and changed again...it continues...)