Todd

I went to see Todd yesterday at LDS Hospital.  He always seems to be in such good spirits, despite the hell he is facing.  We talked about the purpose of it all and what growth is occurring in our family and his through all of this.  It makes the little things so insignificant when a loved one is hurting.  I think of the pain for Wendy, the struggle for the kids, the hardship for my parents of keeping a business going, and poor Toddy.  He is black and blue and scarred all over.  He is so strong and an example for me.  He likes me to come visit which makes me feel good.  I feel like if I can bring a smile to his face and feel closer to him, it's irreplaceable   I usually do well to keep my tears hidden.  The tears are for his pain.  I want to take it away, just for a day and let him rest.  He is always apologizing for the "hassle" he is causing everyone (nurses, family, doctors) but really he has truly been a great blessing to all of us.  We have learned to serve and feel blessed to be able to help in anyway we can.  Tim is a bone marrow match which is a huge blessing and reason to celebrate.  Onward and upward.

What am I doing?

So I'm in this process to become a therapist.  Didn't really know what that entailed when I signed up.  I have realized that this is going to be one painful growing process.  I had envisioned therapy to be simple in helping people get to a better place, but it is sssoooo not.  Oftentimes in your clients you will see that change needs to occur but what would be nice is if you could just tell them, "Hey, you need to do this and this and then you'll be happy."  That's the Jen way and that's what my mind wants to do but that isn't going to cut it.  I have to know how to help them get to the point that they come to the realization to change on their own.  It's a challenging process, especially for my brain that naturally wants to fix it and know what I'm doing and where I'm going.  No real plan to therapy and when you get comfortable in a plan, it will be ripped out from underneath you and you will realize You Cannot Plan.  Oh, I'm learning so much but am scared to death.  I feel like there are people to help but it's a very vulnerable and uncomfortable experience.  What's also hard is that when you say you're a therapist, people somehow think you are an expert or miracle worker when really you are just the same old Jen.  

Boston's School

 Boston's preschool had "Superhero Day."  He could choose to be a villain or a hero and was supposed to make a homemade costume.  We spent all morning talking about what he wanted to be and he decided on "Evil Joker."   He wore black, a mask, belt, and cape.  He fights people and sprays them with webs.  He lives in his "Jokermobile" and can sometimes fly, if needed.  It was a fun idea instead of just throwing on one of our costumes and calling it good.  I could see how much his little imagination was working.

Boston also went to the fire station with his class and Grandma Marie.  Cambree was pretty sick so Grandma was nice enough to take him.  I knew he couldn't miss this field trip because he had been talking about it forever.  He said they turned on the sirens and came down a pole.  Wish I could have been there but I'm sure we'll probably be doing it again in the future sometime.

Day of Love

 Happy Valentine's Day!  He really does have underwear on but wanted to be part of the Valentine's picture.

We got some flowers to bring a little cheer to the house.

 The kids and their new mailboxes (Dora and Spiderman).

 Showing some brother and sister love.

My attempt at heart pancakes.

 I still don't understand their desire to wear summer clothes in the winter.  Boston loves shorts and short-sleeved shirts.  Whatever, I'm picking my battles.  I love these guys.  I'm excited to have another baby to add to the chaos.  They are both happy to have a little sister or brother and already take such good care of the baby dolls in our house.  Boston says it's a boy and wants to name him, "Allwin."  Cambree and daddy say it's a girl.  Cambree wants to name her, "girl" and daddy wants to name her, "Shaneequa."  I don't know if I'm feeling any of those.  We'll see.    

Cambree's Hospital Stay

Cambree had been having a 103.4-104.5 fever for 5 days.  We had taken her in but they kept telling us it was a virus and she would eventually get over it.  After the 5th day of consistent temperatures I took her back in.  The Dr. ran a bunch of tests with an X-ray and discovered she had pneumonia and was extremely dehydrated.  Ryan came home right away and we took her to the hospital.  She was there from 1 pm to 9 am the next morning, and she really hated every minute.  She is like her momma.  I hate IV's and try my hardest to get them out as soon as possible.  She's doing good now and is happy to be home.  I have to try to keep her hydrated so we don't have to go back...that's the current challenge. 

 These are pictures after I told her we could go home.  She suddenly had a new lease on life and was ecstatic.  Grandpa brought her a bear and balloon that she loved.  

Cambree was doing so good with potty training when she was feeling good, without fevers.  We'll try again in a few weeks when she's feeling awesome.

Us

The update:  

I forgot my password for this blog and recently remembered it this morning, Woo hoo!!

Ryan is loving his new job, and not minding the commute.  He says it's worth it.

I'm learning tons at school and super busy with homework.

Todd is in chemo and struggling with all going on.  Please keep him in your prayers.

I'm 11 weeks pregnant and the baby is due August 31st.  School ends August 23rd so the timing is perfect.

I'm craving all sorts of things like sauerkraut, avocados, oranges, sugar cookies, and tonight it's chinese food.  The pregnancy is good so far other than exhaustion and being in bed by 9.  I'm hoping that will wear off soon.  I loved what a friend said the other day.  She said it's okay when you're pregnant to just be lazy.  Understand you are going to have to go out to eat more, the house is not going to be so clean, and you may watch more TV than usual.  Those words were comforting and I'm feeling better about all going on. 

I planned a trip to St. George for May because this weather is killing me.  Something to look forward to.

Today, I'm potty training Cambree.  I don't really know how that's going to go but I'm giving it a shot.

The other day I was in the van with the kids and Cambree says, "Mommy and Boston? Will you be a little bit quieter because I'm on the phone."  I look back to see her Minnie Mouse phone glued to her ear.  It made me laugh.

 This happens a lot at meals in our home.  Cambree insists that Boston feed her.  Sometimes he doesn't mind and obliges without a fight. 

 It seems no matter how hard I try, I cannot get them to smile at the same time for a picture.

  After breakfast there is usually a wrestling match.

 The other day as I was looking at various blogs I saw this idea for a sensory bin.  I ran to Smiths, bought a bunch of beans and 2 containers, added some toys, and they literally played for 3 hours.  It was awesome.  Sometimes it makes a mess but it's easy to sweep up and throw it back in.

Basketball

Boston loves sports lately.  He comes out in the family room, puts on his sports shoes, calls his boys on the phone to come over, moves the coffee table out of the way, and then proceeds to do his version of sports.  He also loves soccer and recently basketball.  I saw these basketball shoes at the store one night and begged Ryan to get them for him.  He loves them and loves being just like his daddy.  He even has the same socks as his hero and cousin, Jackson.  It's fun.

 Cambree got some new heart jammies she was pretty proud of.

 We went to daddy's basketball game for church last week and I wanted to get a picture of my basketball boys.  Cambree decided to join in.  Notice they both have to be wearing their "red"basketball shorts.  We're very particular around here.