~Family Pictures~

This is not our family picture ;)- - Dave went to China. He was so excited to go, but was ready for a home cooked meal after the second day :) The Jet lag was really hard on him! He will probably be traveling there a few more times before the end of the year, to train some people his company hired over there. The kids and I made some crafts to welcome him home! They each painted a wall hanging on their own with what are supposed to be chinese letters :) Jahde just started 11th grade. Brandon is in 9th. They are such awesome big brothers!!! Jahde and Brandon were so fun when we got our pictures taken.... here's a glimpse Jahde also turned 16! We haven't officially celebrated his birthday yet, so I don't have any pics or details yet, they'll come soon :) But DJ and Lily sang him happy birthday :)

Kyle is now in the 6th grade. He is playing flag football and doing quite well! And Let me tell you how sweet Kyle is.... Kyle, Jahde and Brandon all ran to the store. When they came back, the only thing that Kyle had purchased, was a clone trooper for Toby, because "he knew Toby would love it!!!" :) Kyle doesn't have much money to spend, so it really touched me that he would do that!

Lexi is now in second grade. She is a social butterfly... friends with everyone. She was sad in this picture because she had just hurt her ankle, so it doesn't show her typical smile and the twinkle in her eye.


Toby is now in first grade! He loves school (and school lunch :). Ever since he started steroids, he's had an interesting appetite. Sometimes he'll eat twice as much as an adult, and other times he'll have a few bites and be done. He also hates breakfast. More often than not, he's eating ramen noodles for breakfast. So this morning as he gets his noodles fresh off the stove, he says "Oh Blessed Steam of Victory" hahaha He was asked to give a talk in primary. He cut out pictures of good things (praying, reading scriptures, going to church, bapstism, prophet, temple etc...). He found and cut out the pictures himself. He was going to show the pictures and talk about all the different things he could do to make Heavenly Father happy. When primary started, I opened the folder and there were 2 pictures left.... TWO! I went around the entire church, but couldn't find the missing pictures. I know they were in the folder, cuz we went over the talk a bit during the sacrament. Crazy. He did a great job anyway, but it was a bummer that all his preperation was in vein!



Lily will be starting preschool next week! She's been looking forward to this day since Toby started preschool 2 years ago! I know she'll do great. She said something yesterday which made Dave comment "you've GOT to put that on the blog" but a day has passed and that's as far back as my memory goes! So just know that she said something very clever/cute and it was blog worthy :) She also told me about the Holy Ghost. How we have the Holy Ghost... he helps us when we're lost or scared, he comforts us, guides us, helps us choose the right. He's a tiny ghost in a box that we can't see. Wait, what was that last sentence?... Evidently her primary teacher used an empty gift box to speak about the gift of the Holy Ghost :)



DJ... red eyelashes and all! :) DJ copies everything anyone says now. He makes us laugh a lot. Some of our favorites... "I DO", "Hey, Hey, HEY". As he holds an umbrella and dances around the living room, "It's raining". Or, he'll crouch down and bend his knees....standing really awkward, and then shout "HIKE!". haha We love it when he runs, and when he screams and pretends to panic when the blender goes on, or he's using his imagination with blocks!

Kyle, Toby, Lily and I will be singing in sacrament this Sunday. We are going to sing 'I Pray in Faith'. The kids sound great and I'm excited for them to share their talents. hmmmm I should get it on video as well :) Then after we sing, we will head up to Pleasant Grove so Dave can ordain Jahde.... awesome :)

*bruised head*

When you read the title of my blog *bruised head* I'll betcha you wonder which one of my children is spending a day in the dr.'s office...right? But you're so wrong! It's me! Nothing serious....no need to panic.... but totally retarded that my head is bruised. In Relief Society (church) on Sunday, I had the cutest little girl crawling around me. :) She kept reaching under my chair and bumping against my legs and such. I finally realized that she had lost a little toy ball under my chair. I quickly thought to myself 'I don't want her to get hurt and bump her head on my chair or anything... I'll get that for her'. Without a second thought (obviously lol) I leaned forward and BAM! Whacked my forehead forcefully on the chair in front of me! It was loud enough that I was suddenly the focus of the room! The crazy part is, I had been teary eyed through the lesson, and no doubt, some of those women thought I was crying from my bump lol hahaha




Jahde, Brandon, and Lexi are here with us right now (for 10 days). Lexi is constantly saying things that make me laugh. She told me that she was born in the year 2012. I kindly told her that that wasn't possible. She reassured me that she was indeed born in the year 2012. I then explained that the year 2012 hasn't happened yet, and maybe it's the year 2002. She told me to call her mom if I didn't believe her, because she was, in fact, born in the year 2012. I didn't call her mom :)
She also said, while thoroughly enjoying her Doritos, "I wish I was a chip, that way I could lick myself". haha

Toby lost his first tooth! He's very excited about it!!! The tooth fairy keeps forgetting to come (I told him I'd spank her when she finally dares shows her forgetful face)!




My mom and I went to the little local airport the other day with my kids and their cousins. I know I mentioned before that DJ loves airplanes, so I thought this would be the perfect outing. The kids got to sit in the driver seat of both an airplane and a helicopter. They learned about them....how to make them fly, and why/how that works. Then we got to watch some small aircraft take off and land and walked around and looked at some of the planes that were parked there. It was pretty cool

And last, but not least :) DJ followed me out in the garage the other day. I came in and left the door open, assuming he was following me. It had been a couple of minutes and he hadn't returned, so I asked Kyle to please check on him. Kyle was laughing and told me to grab the camera and come check it out. :) haha.

Well I'm off to take Brandon to his orthodontic appointment in AF! Tomorrow it's SLC/PCMC for Toby's clinic visit. Thursday it's Lehi for family pictures, then the YW stake sports night ...... I really need a nap! Oh, and Dave is flying to China on Saturday for work (the same day his kids head home). If anyone wants to come over and force me to take a nap, I wont stop you. :)

~old fashioned photos~

We went to the Hopekids (www.hopekids.org) old fashioned family picnic! It was out at Antelope Island. We had a lot of fun! It was soooooo windy though, it was nuts! So on our drive out there, we told the kids to watch for Bison. Evidently Lily missed that part of our conversation, because as we approached one of these mangy animals, Lily shouted out in pure excitement "WHAT THE! A MOOSE!!" We all laughed so hard! :)

Since we were already up North, we swung by the Hill Airforce Museum. DJ LOVES airplanes, so we couldn't pass it up. :) Ever since Hopekids provided us the opportunity to see the Air show up there, DJ has been obsessed with airplanes, helicopters and jets.
We Love Hopekids!!!
Besides the awesome opportunities they have provided us, we have met many wonderful people/friends. Hopekids sends out a daily inspirational message that I so often need. I find myself quoting them saying "Hope is a powerful medicine".... I truly believe that!
Recently I read an article about T-cell ALL and the 'very high' rate of relapse, of which is not treatable/curable. It got me so sad and scared. But I wont give up hope.

~My pity party~

I officially declare myself to be a "lemon" (comparable to an item you buy that just doesn't work like it should). Some people are prone to buying lemons. I feel like I AM a lemon.
It all started a couple of days ago when I got an invitation to my 15 year high school reunion. They want updates on everyone, and sent out a questionaire that asked for the highlights of my life for the past 5 years. I didn't know what to write because my life has just been crazy. Then this afternoon it went into a spiral. I headed up to Primary Children's Hospital with 4 kids in tow for Toby's appointment. On the way home, I stopped at Costco to get some milk. Lily had to use the bathroom, so she and I went in the store. I left Kyle in charge in the car, as DJ was taking a much needed nap. When I came back out to the car, it was surrounded by police officers and Costco employees. Now keep in mind, I have done this before, and Kyle knows all the rules. I left him my cell phone. The car was running with the AC on. Kyle locked the doors after I went in. So my thought is (Oh noooo something bad happened!!) But no, it was just a grandma and bunch of Costco employees who decided I had abandoned my children and they were in grave danger (despite Kyle telling them I would be right back and they were fine). I was so embarrassed (still am) and felt horrible. Come to find out, it's a law that I can't leave my children in a running car until Kyle is 12 (he will be soon, but that doesn't matter ugh). But not knowing this law doesn't matter, because despite the crowds and gossip and drama of it all, I got myself a nice ticket! Ok so that goes on my list for my highlights along with....

*My son nearly died and was diagnosed with Leukemia

*My husband left me

*I had to move from AZ to Utah because I couldn't take care of my ill son and my other children alone

*I moved into my parents basement

*I met a wonderful man and married him, gaining 3 more children, and sending 2/3 of our income off to his x-wife. Hospital bills and mouths to feed (thank heavens for his savings....and thank heavens she'll marry soon so we wont lose our home).

*My best friend since the 3rd grade writes me off completely because 'we are on different paths'

* I got pregnant and threw up every day for 5 months..... DJ was born making "Yours Mine and Ours" and uniting our family (what a blessing he truly is)

*My daughter got kidney reflux and spent a year on antibiotics

*I broke my right ankle

*My son finished chemotherapy treatment! YAY! (with 5 years left of monthly blood draws before he's considered in remission)

*My daughter lost 2/3 of her kidney, and had to have invasive surgery to correct the problem

*My son had surgery to remove his port-a-cath

*My sister got upset with me and wont speak to me

*I got a ticket and watched people gossip and imply that I am bad mother :(

Now, I know that there are more pleasant hightlights and of course many blessings, but out the big things that have happened in my life, the traumatic/bad outnumber the good. And it seems neverending now. :(
I know I shouldn't be so negative, and I really do know that I have been blessed even through the crappiest days of it all, but I just want a normal life without all the drama. Ok enough whining.


Happy Birthday to my amazingly wonderful husband last month!!!!

Don't you just LOVE DJ in this picture.... I think it's hilarious!!!

Dave, thank you for being one of the positive highlights in my life!!! You are such a blessing. You are a wonderful husband and father!!! You are talented and smart and occasionally funny ;) I love you!!!!!

Happy Birthday Brandon!!!!!!!!

Brandon got a 'super pickle' cake (design by Kyle lol) Brandon, you are 1 of 3 of the best children to have entered my life. You are growing up so quickly and becoming such a handsome young man (mushy cheesy, but nice to hear nonetheless right?) You are a great brother and a great son. I love you.

Now here are some pictures that we took on our trip to AZ last week. We didn't take many, but the ones we got were cute. I sure do miss AZ and my friends there. Everytime I go back I feel like it's my home and I cry. Maybe someday we'll be able to move back.Duck Pond (or something like that lol)
Trees in Kanab when we stopped to stretch

DJ napping in the car
Red Rock Canyon


Arizona Science Center.... Knight DJ

~Fun, Education and Religion~

What is it with kids and their parents' bed?!?! Seriously?! I don't even remember why, but me and all the kids ended up in my bedroom and then they were all having SO much fun climbing in and out of the covers. I guess it's true with almost anything "If it's not yours, it must be better (or more fun) than yours"(this is my proverb for the day lol) . :)




Kyle received an award from school, which, to me, is quite impressive. :) He ranked in the top 10% in the nation in reading, math, core total and total composite!! Woohoo! Way to go Kyle!!! :)


Our family went to the Oquirrh Temple open house last Thursday night. The kids were SO excited to go. I of course knew it would be a cool experience, but I had no idea how much it meant to them and how badly they wanted to go through the temple. We got all dressed up and then went out to dinner first. I was really hoping to make it a night that they would always remember. As we were leaving the restaraunt, we saw a rainbow! It was so vivid and beautiful!



It was a sweet experience. The kids were very reverent (except at one point when DJ tried to dodge through a crowded doorway and Dave stooped down to his level and Lily took that as an invite to jump on Dave's back..... momentary chaos :) DJ loved all the lights, and said "hi" and waved to pretty much every usher.... it was so blasted cute! The kids really were good, and Kyle was learning as much as he could as he went through. He asked on the way out how old one had to be to go to the temple. We told him that he would go through before his mission. He asked how often he'd be able to attend at that time. We explained he could go as often as he wanted. His 'make your mother proud' reply was, "Wow I am going to go to the temple ALL the time!". He really loved it... loves it...it's awesome.