Me and my harmonica

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was such a nice day. I will post some pictures later. We got some family photos taken and I'm excited to see them. Christmas is all about being with your loved ones and eating, of course. jk

I went to Colorado for my brother, Gary's wedding. It was so nice to be with my family and be there to see Gary and Emmalee get married. He is my youngest brother and now we're all hitched. I looooove weddings! getting dressed up, seeing friends and family and eating yummy food. It's the party to have. I want to post a few photos of that later as well.

After I flew back to Ohio, Eric and the kids picked me up and we drove home. The next morning Avery had her n-g tube replaced with a g-tube, going through her stomach wall. The procedure itself went well, but boy did she wake up mad. Last night and this morning she was still in some pain, but she was smiling before she fell asleep for her morning nap! hallelujah. Last night her blood oxygen levels were low, they even dropped at one point to 35 (she was 85 before the procedure). She's on some oxygen now and I'm certain it's the extra fluid in her that's bringing her levels down, and that will improve. Sooo, long day and night, but she's on the mend and hopefully we'll go home tonight or, and I really hope not, tomorrow morning. Happy New Year to us

Thank you to some friends for watching Zachery while we're here. I've thought a lot about Zach this year and how he's doing with everything. I feel that we all might be behind, but we'll make it just fine.
Happy New Year 2009!

I like it ah laut!

This was taken today. She was eating a little, I think, until I gave her a bigger bite and it all came out. Avery was happy til then!

This is Zach and Avery's great grandma Marie. She is wonderful and loves her grand kiddies. Avery loves her too. She's giving the "she's-number-one-sign".

Zachery has been trying to weazel toys away from Avery. It's kind of funny. He said to her, "Oh Avery, I think this is your favorite toy" as he trades toys with her (so sly). Toys he hasn't played with in years, suddenly he needs them. Sharing seems to be the topic these days.

I can't believe it's almost Christmas. 2 days really because Christmas Eve is just as much Christmas to me. All the anticipation of Christmas, family gathering, treats, lovely smells, music, lights and other traditions start on the Eve. :)

We changed Avery's appt. til Tuesday to find out if we'll go ahead with her g-tube here. We had a lovely icy storm and the trees are still covered in ice, I like it. I like it ah laut.

Digging Deep

My dear friend from childhood, Aryn, has started blogging everyday. I love it. While Aryn has always been a blast to be with, naturally her daily quips are delightful. I have gotten away from the daily posts and I think Aryn has the idea (I know there are many more who also blog daily and we followers do appreicate). If you write everyday, you have to get more creative and dig a little deeper to find something meaningful/amusing worthy of posting. Then you're looking for something during the day or whenever to share with the friendly folks out there. I'll try to dig a little deeper, for my own benefit.

Update on Avery: Avery continues to not swallow food/drink. She either gags and/or spits up. We had a consult about getting a g-tube placed in her stomach (to replace the feeding tube down her nose to her stomach). We are tentatively scheduled to have this done Dec. 30th (to get it done this year) here at St. V's hospital. Friday we have a pre-op appointment at the hosp. and we'll meet with the anesthiesiologist then. If the anest. isn't comfortable doing this on Avery, we'll have to schedule this at U. of M. in Ann Arbor. I certainly don't want to go up there, too much angst for me. I hope the anest. doc will feel confident in doing this here. If not, best to side on the safe side. Placing a g-tube is a minor procedure and she'll only stay overnight (if all goes well). Sooooo, let's all hope for the best and I hope the best means to do it in Toledo, but I'm not the boss. :)

Tangent: When I was about 10 years old, my mom forced me to participate in 4-H. Most of my friends were involved as well, so that made it all right in my mind. Anyhoo, one day after a class, one of the girl's mom came to drive us girls home. Aryn and I had walked to and fro all over the neighborhood for a long time (well I moved there when I was 9) and we knew where we were going and felt comfortable doing this. When the poor mom came to get us girls, I said no thanks, we'll walk home. The mom insisted we ride and so we got in. But I was miffed that I was being made to ride. The next stop, I nudged Aryn and said to get out, we were walking. The car stopped and I pushed Aryn out. This nice lady was upset and said we had to get in and I said, "No, we can walk. You're not the boss of me!". What a lovely thing to say to your friend's mom, (and she still is my mom's good friend). We walked to Aryn's house where she promptly was grounded and I slinked home and breathed a sigh of relief when I found out from my mom that no one had been by. I hurried and went out to play in the snow, just as the phone rang. oh uh. Sure enough, I was called inside and promptly grounded and Aryn and I had to take a flower over to this lady and apologize. In my defense to my mother, I smartly said, "Well, she's not the boss of me." Classy.
*I think I might have already posted this story. Sorry, it's still a good one.

Oh Zach

Today at church, Zachery looked so nice. Eric had gotten him all dressed up in a suit jacket his great grandma had given him. But just cuz you look nice doesn't mean you'll act nice. Zach wanted to yell during the sacrament and between me and a nice lady at church, we took him out 3 times. Hello! crazy kid. The nice lady must have a magic touch because Zach calmed down after that. I tried not to cry and enjoy the meeting. Ah well, it's over and the little dear is sleeping now. I always wanted a boy with some spunk and character, but not during the sacrament. :)

We went to our ward's Christmas party last night. It was a fun evening with breakfast, Santa and skits. Zachery decided to go on stage, but tried throwing basketballs off. Thankfully someone was there trying to stop the balls from going off stage, as I was yelling at Zach from off stage. Why can't he just participate like the other kids? Basketball is more fun than being a shepherd, but not when you need to just be a shepherd. Oh well, that too passed. I think I got another grey hair today! Oh Zach, I love you.

All of You

I couldn't bring myself to post much lately. I have enjoyed reading up on friends' lives via their blogs. There are so many talented, interesting, wonderful, kind, amazing individuals out there and I'm happy to know more about them and be inspired and uplifted by them. So, thank you!

Merry Christmas! It's coming, the goose is getting fat, please put a penny in the old man's hat.
The sound of bells ringing as you enter the local stores. I always feel a little guilty, even if I put a little in. Guilty that I have enough, not excess, but enough and many do not. I feel so bad for those who stand outside with signs, will work for food. Even if they make some good money that way, we still have more. We still are warm in our cars, or semi-warm, and it makes me feel sad for them and I wish I could fix it all. Instead, I'll give what we can.

I have had my fair share-o-treats this week and it's only the 2nd week of Dec. Mmmmm, but it was good. So, here is to holiday treats, giving what we can, and enjoying reading about all of you!

Dinner Party Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Dinner Party Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Birthdays, buckets and trees

I have had a lot of ideas for blogging this week, but there seemed to be something else to do. :)
Here is a list, because I like lists, of outstanding moments this week.

1) Zachery turned 4! Happy Birthday little guy. We celebrated a bit with my parents when they were here and he was soooooo excited! It was his birthday. :) Zachery is growing up fast and while I love it, a part of me is nervous that I don't know how to raise a boy/teenager... He is becoming more independent and a better helper, yay. We just love our little guy. He woke up miserable with a fever today; poor guy.

2) Our Christmas tree is up, lit and decorated (they happened at different times.) I love our tree, well, all decorated that is. I've collected ornaments over the years from places I went to and to represent things we've done, and the people who gave them to us. This way, it is memories and people we see when we're looking at the tree.

3) My bucket list. I was talking to some friends about bucket lists. I realized I had a longer list before I was married and happy to say I did most everything. The sad thing I realized is that I really don't have a list now, nor personal goals made. I want to go to Hawaii someday and I want to write a song for Valentine's Day, but that's it. Sooooo, come New Years, I'm determined to get a nice bucket list made. :)

Thanksgiving Holidays

Avery and my mom, she is tickled pink :)
Thanksgiving dinner with Eric's family. Avery is sucking on watermelon, then promptly spit up.
Eric toasting to the turkey bird :)
My mom took a picture of bedtime storytime. We stayed up way too late while my parents were here, but had a great time! We got into playing "Blokus" and couldn't get enough of it.

Lists of 7

Alicia M. tagged me for the list of 7's. This was very difficult for me to fill in answers, as you will see. Here goes...

7 Things I Can Do:
1- Whatever I feel like (Organize)
2- Make toffee
3- Place an n.g. tube
4- Play the piano, sort of
5- I like to exercise, mainly run
6- Clean
7- Quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail (very useful)

7 Things I Can't Do:
1- Swallow liquid Theraflu
2- Knit or crochet
3- Sew
4- Go to a calm, sunny beach right now
5- Let a spider live in my house
6- Watch "Steel Magnolias" or "Beaches" without crying
7- Do the pole vault

7 Things that Attracted me to Eric Marks
1- His smile
2- His steadiness & strength
3- Sense of Humor
4- His Blue Eyes and dark hair combo :)
5- He is very hard working when he wants to be
6- He liked me a lot, so his obvious intelligence
7- His ability to converse and be interesting

7 Things I Often Say
1- You're not the boss of me
2- Good Job!
3- Eric, will you help me?
4- Don't spit up, Avery
5- Zachery!
6- What the hoo-hah?
7- What? because I can't hear out of my left ear

7 People I Admire
1- My Mom (she not only is kind (she thinks of and cares about so many, and mostly, they don't know it), fun, helpful, but also my friend!)-and been out to Ohio 3 times this year to help us out!
2 - My Dad (straight arrow, hard working, takes time for his family)
3 - Institute teacher in Boise, ID ( I forget his name, but awesome teacher because he inspired me every week!!!!)
4- Amy Cedergren (she seems to be doing everything and handling everything with such grace)
5 - Sarah Forbush (she always seems so well rounded, grounded and knows the importance of a good hair cut)
6- Kim Thomas, Alisha Jeppesen, Beth Stewart - because they kindly offered and took my kids when I couldn't or when I was going out of my mind with this house right before Avery's 2nd surgery.
7- Tanya Taylor - she is willing to help and a great friend. She kept me sane and laughing when I did'nt think I could

7 Favorite Foods (easy topic)
1- fresh strawberry pie
2- juicy steak, almost well done
3- beef tips from Rodizio
4- chicken wrapped in bacon
5- avacado shakes
6- Hershey's kisses/Heath bar
7- my Grandma Christensen's cheese bread

7 People I tag
1-Aryn Fitzwater
2- Jenny Snow
3- Kate Cupps
4- Somer Christensen
5- Beth Stewart
6- Nickell Jones
7- Michelle Mower

Erie Street Market

We went to the Erie Street Market last Friday. It used to be full of stores/booths, but is rather empty, except for an antique store and Libby glass outlet. In this picture, Zach is playing the piano-bench. He loves to play the piano after church, and I can always find him at some piano afterwards.
The "Carmen Miranda" frog at the market. There are other various frogs about Toledo, I've only seen 2. Have you seen one?
In college my freshman year, we went to a midnight showing of "The Blues Brothers". It was my first time seeing it (it was edited for our BYU eyes and ears) and I loved it. My friend, Steph and I wrote "Jane" and "Elwyn" on our knuckles, and dressed in black, the next day. I love these little guys!
Who could resist? We are planning on getting a g-tube placed to replace Avery's ng-tube (nose feeding tube to a directly into her stomach tube). Hopefully before January. You'll miss her tube on her cheek, but we won't.
I walked into the living room the other night and this is what I found. :)

A day in the life

Avery is modeling a lovely frock that her grandma Marks wore as an infant. A little big, but cute!
Ignore the odd colored pants. Eric and I went to the store the other night and we parked next to....my old Honda! We sold it a year or two ago and I was sad to see it go. It warms my heart to see it going strong. We sold it with 248,000 miles on it. :)

Tis the Season

I've been trying to take it easy here at home, but it's hard for me to sit still. At the end of the day, I start hurting a little, but otherwise we're good. Avery lights up more when she sees Eric and my mom, than when I'm there. I think it's because they pick her up and I can't right now. I have to say that Avery is such a joy to have in our family. She is getting bigger and stronger all the time. I understand what she's trying to communicate, for the most part, and I love that she's so happy. Honestly, she's completely different from before her last surgery. This last one gave her some zip and we're all so thankful that she's been so blessed. I feel like it's been eons since last February and we're not the same people we were before Avery.

Things are going well here for all of us. My mom is a huge help and a great friend - I love having her here. :)

Snow is here and it smells of holidays coming soon. There isn't much else going on here and that's fine by me. Let's all be jolly. ;)

Weekend in Newark

Two weekends ago, we packed up for an overnighter at grandma and grandpa Marks's in Newark, OH. It was Avery's first time overnight, not at home or hospital, and we're happy to say it went well. Well, as in, spit up only one big time. :)

This is Eric's grandma Marie. We went to our neice, Lauren's birthday party. Lauren's dog just loved his grandma Marie!
Sue, sweet baby James, and proud mommy Leah Marks. James was blessed that day!
Happy and fun, Leah, again with J-Dawg. :)

It's nice to get away from home, if even for a bit. :)

P.S. Update: Renae's staples are out today and pain killers are working well.

Dermoid

Soooo, last Tuesday night I just wasn't feeling well, like when I had a cyst burst last Sept. I woke up in the morning and really didn't feel good. I still thought it would pass, or that it was another cyst and there's nothing I could do but go through it.

By ten on Wed. morning, I felt some impending doom coming, and when I couldn't really stand and was in tears I knew I had to go to the hospital. I also couldn't keep any food down. When I tried to call Eric, I kept getting his voicemail. I called around and got my wonderful visiting teacher came to my literal rescue (thanks Courtnee!) she was already babysitting another toddler, but got a neighbor, Jenny, to watch her so she could come. Bless Cortnee. I handed my chillen's off and drove to the UTMC E.R. I know this is going to be long, but bear with me.

My lower right abdomen was so painful and I'd have waves of nausea. Finally Eric came in, yay. I got checked in....everything seemed to move in slow motion. They did some tests, blood, urine, CAT scan, and ultrasound. Then, I got morphine, ahhhh. So, they said I had a dermoid cyst on my right ovary, about 8 cm long, and that it had to be taken out. Dermoid cysts apparently can have fatty tissue, oil, bones, hair and even (yuck) teeth! Mine had bone in it, no incisors :).

If this is too much information, please stop reading. If you're quezy, again, please move elsewhere.

Thursday morning they operated. The cyst was under my uterus and so it couldn't be seen by the ultrasounds before. This cyst floats around and can twist. It had twisted around the fallopian tube which had dead tissue on it. They took the cyst, ovary and fallopian tube out. There was also another calcified cyst on top of the uterus that they removed. I know, too much info., but you've been warned.

I came home Friday evening and have a nice row of staples keeping the gizzards inside. It's like another c-section, they went through the old scar. I am not supposed to lift anything over 10 pounds for 6 weeks (???) So, Eric's mom came up to help us out and my mom is coming this week to stay a bit. Crazy. I am just glad that a) it happened this year when we've met our deductable, b) our moms are able to help us out, c) Cortnee, Jenny T., Thomas's, and Jeppesen's have been so kind to help us with the kids. Thank you a million times over. (run-on sentence) And d) that the pain is gone and they were able to figure it out and fix it. I hope that's the end of my cyst adventures. I can't do this alone and may this be the end of craziness at least for this year. :)

Cheerio

The butcher, the BAKER, the candlestick maker. Zach refused to wear the hat, but Avery was all show!
Can you see the hair similarities? :) Avery loves her daddy and lights up when he's around.
Zach just wanted his picture taken. Our little big boy!
Oh the smile!

We're doing well here. Avery is coming along with her physical therapy, but food is another issue. We're going to a baby's blessing down in Newark this weekend. and celebrating a cousin's birthday, Lauren!

I got food poisoning last night. The sad thing is, I cooked, but... no one else got sick.??? At least I'm feeling better now.

New Neice

We have a new neice, born on the 24th! Steve and Jocelyn had Autumn Frost Christensen! She is so cute and I just wanted to share the news. Congrats Joce and Steve!

I Smell a Rat

Saturday night our church ward had our annual Chili Cook-Off and Trunk or Treat. As always, there was yummy chili, great costumes and fun trick or treating for the kiddies (and treats for mom and dad too, but we don't tell Zach we're taking from his loot).
The kids paraded across the stage in their costumes. Zach had first refused to wear his rat/mouse costume, but Eric persuaded him and then he came center stage and stayed there, basking in the small limelight. :)
I love this picture! Avery's expression is funny. She is a lil' red chili pepper and is so cute.
Halloween is a funny kind of holiday. I mean, I love candy, but you dress up, go door to door of strangers and beg for candy. Wait, sounds fabulous. Thank goodness we have kids to do our candy beggin. jk

Chili's, Costumes, Fabulous

Yesterday Eric came home early and we all went out to dinner, something we haven't done in awhile. We went to Chili's and sadly they no longer have "grilled caribbean salad" on the menu. Afterwards we went to Target and Eric and I each took a child in a cart and went our ways. We don't usually like to look at the same stuff at Target. Anyhoo, the point to this whole story is this: Avery had been sleeping in her carrier, but when she woke up I took her out and was holding her. As I walked around I noticed people, mostly kids, staring at Avery. It shouldn't have bothered me, but honestly it did a little. I don't notice the tube anymore, unless it needs re-taping. I know it's not a big deal, but it'll happen again and I can't be bothered by it. So, just smile and that may let them know we're okay.

Moving on. We did get Avery a costume. Zach has his already. I'll put a photo of them dressed up before we go to our church's annual Trunk-or-Treat. Fun, fun.

I would like to dress up as something cool and fabulous, like princess Leia of course.

Name the movie this quote is from: "and I would be hunted with only my cunning to protect me".

Marie Antionette

http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2008/10/marie-thrse-gown-giveaway.html

Check out this AMAZING dress. This woman is giving it to one lucky winner. Oh that I would be so lucky. :)

Be Happy Anyway

I'm stealing this from Jan's blog, only because it's completely wonderful. I won't do it again, Jan.



"People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It never was between you and them anyway." ~Mother Teresa


I love this quote and I did take it directly from Jan, who is and who has always been amazing. She was my awesome beehive leader and made us all feel so special. (maybe she was also very good at tolerating us). I wanted those who don't know Jan, to 1) read this and be inspired, and 2) know that Jan writes uplifting things all the time and don't we all need it!

Memories I have of being a beehive (12-13 yr. old) are: many, many slumber parties (did I ever sleep without friends on Friday nights?), celebrating each other's birthdays during basketball/volleyball practice in the boys bathroom at the church, going to (then called) Sunday night firesides and watching my heart throb, Chad, during the spiritual talks :); goal setting, planning activities with a priesthood purpose, and lots of other fun times I shared with my friends as we were that age.

Bedrooms

Too CuteSome built-ins in Avery's room.

Here is Avery's lovely room. Eric's mother, Sue, surprised me with having Avery's room all nice and painted when we came home from the hospital! It was such a nice surprise. It's hard to get all of the room, very angular, but this is the main part, with the main part in the crib all smiley. There is a sign over her bed that reads, "Such a big miracle in such a little girl". Notice she is sitting up :). Therapy is helping!!
Zachery is hanging out during Avery's therapy.
Avery at occupational therapy, and remnants of sweet potatoes on her clothes.
This is Zachery's room. Two angel painters, Alisha Jeppesen and Debbie Short came over to help me out. They did a wonderful job and Zach loves his room. They were awesome and I couldn't have done it without them! Thank you!

All Around

Today is my dad's birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!! I won't tell you how old he is, but I'll just write it, he's 66 today. When did that happen? He is a wonderful father and I am blessed to have him as such. He is "scheduled" to retire next March. What will he do? My dad likes having a project to work on and has a great work ethic. I wish we lived closer to my parents. Someday we'll move out west. There's a song from the 90's called, "Go West", "life is peaceful there, go west....". I forget who sings it, but that's the sentiment. Did you see how easily I moved on to another subject. Do you ever try and back track to see how you started talking about a certain subject?

I took Avery to the opthamologist today and she has a "nystagmus", or I like to call it, twitchy eyes. She also has an astigmatism (sp?) and so she'll likely need glasses later on. Glasses, hmmmm, wasn't expecting that one. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just hard to picture our little chubby cheeked Avery with glasses :).

The visit to the doctor's office today was awful as far as Zach goes. He misbehaved and I was so distraught by him, that when a little girl asked her mom why Avery had a tube on her face, I just stared at the floor. I've never done that. I am usually kind and say, "it helps her eat." A simple response, but today I was thinking something else. I've got to collect myself better. Zach and I had a long talk about listening and making good choices - I hope it sticks.

The fall leaves are all over our yard, and I love the colorfullness of it all. Our neighbors use their leaf blower weekly to keep their yard tidy, but I just love leaves all around.

Cheezits, Turkey and Chinese

My friend, Kareena Mullens has a link to quizilla where you too, can find out what font you are and personality. So I went and did and I am "arial" font, which is pretty normal. So, according to quizilla creators, I am pretty normal. Whew :).

Tonight I went upstairs with Avery and Zachery was supposed to be right behind me to go to bed. I got done with Avery and Zach was calling for me by his bed. After prayers, I looked on his nightstand and there were 3 Cheezits, all lined up. :) What? When did that happen? Apparently he hurried and grabbed, just 3, and came to his room, awaiting his bedtime snack, which we don't do. Anyhoo, he was really nice and said, "Hey mom, do you want a cracker?". :) Speedy gonzales.

I did it! Today, I cooked my first turkey. We had to be out this afternoon for appointments and there was a thawing turkey in our fridge (someone gave us one and we had no room in our freezer). I pulled it out, grabbed a cookbook and prepared our little turkey (no stuffing, no like). We got a new oven and I programmed it to turn on while I was gone and set it to cook, then turn off on it's own. cool beans. I did wonder if I'd come home to a burned down kitchen, but, success. I'm pretty impressed that it actually turned out, and that I programmed the oven too. I know it's no vcr, but it worked. The last time I tried using a new appliance, of any sort, I broked our pressure cooker, so I always seem to second guess myself there.

Blah, blah, blah. Today is not the day for pictures of the kids' rooms, maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow Avery is getting her eyes checked (they twitch around sometimes) .

Today is my lovely sister-in-law's birthday! Happy Birthday Jocelyn! Please to check out their cute family at Steve and Jocelyn Christensen.

I will leave with this last joke, curtesy of Schuyler Fitzwater:
Which would you rather be? Rich or Chinese?
Answer: Chinese, of course. Then you would likely be both. :)

Schuyler is my good friend, Aryn's youngest brother, and he told this to us when he was 10. Thanks Sky!

Crazy

Crraaaazy day. This morning after walking group, we stopped at the store just to get a few things. Zach was complaining and layed down on the floor at Wal-mart and I pulled him up by his arm and...I did something to his arm and he started crying. Now, I've done this many times as he has done this many times, but this has never happened before. So I've got an appointment and Eric came home and took Zach to the E.R. and Avery and I off to the doctor's.

At the end of the day, Zach was alright, I'd pulled his bones out of place and they just had to have him move his arm a different way and voila, fixed. All the while I was calling Eric on his cell and getting no answer. We're all good now. Too much angst for me.

I am going to post some pictures of Zach and Avery's room later this week. Prepare to be dazzled.

Nights, curtains and deer

Avery did get a good night's sleep and was happy today. Last night Zach woke up around 2:30 am and cried in pain and misery, til about 5:30 when he tuckered out. Long night. He has a minor cold, so we thought. Eric said it was the longest night ever. I just smiled, because it was one of my longest nights ever. I'm just glad he was there to take turns. Zach seems to be a little better today.
Avery's hair stands straight up. She gets it from Eric, and it looks so goofy, and cute.
Friday night Eric and I, and grandma Marie went out and bought some curtains for our front room, finally. I love, love, love them!
I no longer feel like a fish in the fishbowl. I love long curtains and the deep red color.
Thursday morning I took the kids to walk at a nearby park. There's a group that meets and after we walk, the kids play on a playground. Anyhoo, as we rounded our first curve, we saw this deer. It seemed much closer in person, but you get the idea.

It's the Small Things that Make us Happy

Today we had a small miracle. A miracle to me anyway. :) Zachery sat on the potty chair and went and later tonight did again, with better results and even got out of the bath tub to sit on the potty, with results!!! This is huge for him. I kept telling him how proud I was of him. We've been trying, really, for a couple weeks now and with 2 different tactics, we are seeing better results. The first is praying about it, with Zach. The second is using 2 of his teddy bears to cheer him on using a sort of hill-billy accent. He loves the bears and I think would almost eat vegetables for them. :)

I didn't understand the trials of the potty training, until one is in the midst of it. Hooray for Zach!

Fall Festivities

I tried to get a shot of them both looking at me, but not in this lifetime. :) They looked cute together. Sunday we got to watch General Conference at home! It was the first time for us since being in Ohio.
We went to an apple orchard here in the area, called McQueens Orchard. We bought a bag and headed out to try and gleen some nice apples. Their big fall festival was last weekend and all the low hanging apples were gone. It is so romantic walking through an orchard; so peaceful, even when people are talking and it reminds me of Anne of Green Gables.
Zachery showing off his fine apple. This picture does not do justice to the happy and excited little guy that was running around. He climbed up a ladder and picked an apple all by himself shouting, "I did it! I got it!".
We finished off the big to-do with yummy apple fritters.
Avery slept through most of the apple picking. A deer in the headlights.

Tagged

This is my friend, September Keyes and her daughter Ariel. Zach and I went out to visit them for a week last year. This photo was at a museum somewhere in Washington D.C.
September and I were missionary companions at the M.T.C. before we went to Brazil, opa! Anyhoo, Tembe and I have been good friends ever since. Tembe just had her second girl, named Aurora.

Kareena tagged me. Here is the 4th picture from the 4th folder:
This photo is of Eric's younger brother, Chris. We all went bowling over Memorial Day weekend and this is one of the shots taken. Sorry, Chris.


Kareena Mullens, ah Kareena...
(Kareena was in my ward (church congregation) growing up. I first remember her at girl's camp and we (my brood-o-friends and I) all became friends. As much as you can for her being a few years older than us. I loved that she referred to us as, "my little cherubs", (which we really were not, but more mischieveous than anything). Kareena even took us out to t.p someone's house. Who wouldn't adore someone who would take you out to do that at 14? I cried when Kareena and her family moved.

Happily, Kareena found Aryn who found me and now I can stalk as I wish. :)

I tag Kenna, Jan, Kim C., and Somer

We are Thankful

Yay, I think I figured it out. We'll see when I try to check in again. You see I've been trying to change my background and been messing it up. Cynthia was right, aquapoppy does make it easy. :)

It's been almost a week since our last update and so here goes, in bullet form.

-After intense pain, by my judgement, and an ultrasound to figure out why, I had a cyst on my ovary burst. This would be my first time with one of these and there's nothing one can do about them. At least I know what was going on, and now I'm pain free.

-Water and sewer extras started coming out of our basement drains, on Friday night. $337 bucks later it was fixed.

-Sunday evening, our garbage disposal broke. Eric found out by seeing water in the basement. Monday night Eric replaced it and by 11 p.m. it was fixed and even better than before (replaced something electric). Way to go handyman!

-Noticed water dripping from above the back door from under the screened in porch. I'm hoping this trend stops and this house is no lemon. please.

-Avery has continued to not spit up food and the feeding tube is still in! The tubes are good for a month and I'll have to pull it out to change it, which will be a first. Avery is doing well. She is usually all smiles and happy (except when she is tired or I try to give her a bottle - what was I thinking?)

-Zachery is becoming quite verbal and I love that he is seeming so grown up, in some ways. He still acts silly and I love it.

-Eric was called to serve in our ward's bishopric as second counselor. The only difference here for me anyway, is he won't be able to sit with us during sacrament meeting to handle Zachery. 2 Sundays ago, Zach threw crayons at the podium (humiliations galore). I am optimistic, because there are, likely, 15 other women in our congregation who sit with their kids and no husband there, and do fine (or recover very well). :)

-I'm thankful for all of this! It means we have a house, we eat, we clothe ourselves, we have running water, that's usually filtered, and we're all together. That's better than many in this world.

Help. I tried to change my blog "wallpaper" and ended up losing all my links. How can I change the template to another?

Chim, chim-an-nee

I haven't much to write about, and that's good. Here is a few things that have been happening at our house.

-Our basement was cleaned, professionally, yesterday by a wonderfully chatty cleaning lady. The guys who did foundation work left a nice layer of dust on everything, but on their bill, it's gone now. We can breathe easy down there and enjoy our basement again.

-A small miracle it seems. Avery's feeding tube has NOT come out in a week! (knock on wood) Even if/when it does, I am now empowered with a great tip on how to put it back in, in 30 seconds.

-Lots of appointments. I encountered an appointment-scheduler-nazi today. I didn't want and really couldn't do a certain day & time for this appt. and she kept at it, until I conceeded. A few minutes later, after fuming, I called back to cancel the appt. I will not be bullyed into a time frame I don't want! Anyhoo. Really I just got the answering machine and they'll get it tomorrow. :)

-My youngest brother, Gary, is getting married this December to a great friend of his, Emmalee. They have been friends since the first grade. Gary is deaf and Emmalee is as well, although she hears better than Gary. Gary has graduated from college and has a nice job in SLC working for a TTY/video interpreting type of business. I am very proud of him and hoped all along that he would be able to be successful and have great friends. He is and he does. Congrats Gary and see you in December.

-Avery is starting OT, PT and speech therapy to help get her to where she needs to be. (like eating from a bottle).

-Discovering DVR

Happy Wednesday! Wednesday is the day of the week where people are most likely to get into fights/arguments. So, in high school, my dear friend, Aryn Fitzwater, came up with this idea in order to avoid fighting and boost our friendships. Make Wednesdays "Share Day" and each of us would take a turn and bring something to share with our group (about 8 of us). We brought anything from yo-yo's to candy, all inexpensive stuff, but fun.
So, in retrospect, I narrowly avoided an argument with the nazi-scheduler, but I should have shared something nice with her, a joke perhaps.

Jesse Bear

What a cute picture. My mom with Avery, before she went back to Colorado.
Happy as a lark sitting in her bouncer, eating and spitting bubbles tonight.
I love putting Zachery to bed. The whole bedtime routine of reading 3 stories, brushing teeth (I don't actually like that when he's refusing to brush), prayers and a song. Tonight I picked the books and saved our favorite for last, "Jesse Bear What Will You Wear?". It's a cute little rhyming story ending at bedtime. Well, tonight Zachery piped in at the end and said the last two lines of the story. Then, after he said his prayer, he reached for a bear and said, "I'll wear my bear, that's what I wear tonight." Oh, it was so cute, that I came back in and took a picture of him in bed, hence the bewildered look of Zach.
If you have a little boy, we reccommend this book by Bruce Degen.