Christmas 2010

Rachel really wanted a remote control spider. Santa had to look a few places to find one.

Anna was excited about all of her Polly Pockets.

Alex was so into playing his new leapster, that I couldn't get him to look at the camera.

Caleb with his new crystal growing kit.

Rachel got a camera for Christmas, and took this picture of me and Anna. Now, you might actually start seeing me in a few pictures. Can you tell I colored my hair? Its really just a shade darker with a little bit of red.

Rachel was a beautiful angel.

My boys were silly shepherds!

Anna was really excited to be Mary. She took it really seriously and was very solemn.

Being Grateful

Since Dan had the day off for Christmas Eve, we decided to go running together this morning. He hasn't really run much for a few months. I run a mile here and there. We decided that we would go 2 miles together. Rachel is old enough to be in charge at home while we go running for a few minutes.
I must say, the run really sucked. It has been so long since I've run that far. And about a year and a half since I have run with Dan. I was certain that I could keep up with him. But I could not. After about 3/4 a mile, my leg felt like weight-lifting to move. He stopped off and on for me to catch up. By the time we got back home, I was so discouraged, I cried. What has happened to me? I can barely shuffle along and call it running. My leg hurts so bad after a really slow short run. After a pity-party I started thinking of all I am grateful for.
When I was playing the piano today, I remembered how lucky I am that its my left leg that has problems. I use my right leg for the pedal. And for the gas pedal when I'm driving. I can go up and down my stairs so quickly compaired to what I used to. When I was at my worst, I kept missing the phone when it would ring because I could not get to it fast enough. Heck, I have legs!! I have a cousin who had to have both of his legs amputated. I can't complain. I've got it good!

I have a husband and four wonderful kids. How blessed I am! I know there are some that want to be married that are not. I know there are some that want children but cannot. I certainly shouldn't take this for granted.

A little while later, I drove past the Murray Cemetary. As I drove past, I saw two people embracing and crying at a grave. My heart ached for them. I was recently assigned to visiting teach a new woman in our ward whose husband died two months ago. As I visited with her, and she cried, I wished that I could make it all better for her. But I can't make it all better. My nieces and nephew lost their father this year. I've been thinking of them and their first Christmas without him.

How thankful I am for the plan of salvation! I am so thankful for Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for us. He is the one that can make things all better. He is the one that atoned for our sins. He is the one that truly knows all of our pain and sorrow. He is the one that makes it possible for us to be with our families forever someday.

The week before Christmas....

Time seems to be flying by so quickly this month!

Last Monday was my birthday. Dan bravely took all 4 kids shopping by himself and picked me out some nice presents. In the evening, we went to my parents house for soup and dessert. My mom always makes Strawberry Cream Cheese pie for me. I love it! I think our kids were more excited for my birthday than I was.

Tuesday we had Caleb's program at school. It was overcrowded, and by the end I bribed Rachel into going home with Anna & Alex and paying her to babysit. Dan had to leave early because he had to go to tithing settlement. (He's the financial clerk now). So, he took them home. I enjoyed it much more after Anna and Alex weren't there complaining and trying to run off. Caleb is so funny. He looked and me and smiled most of the time his class was up there. He told me that his music teacher told them not to look at their parents during it. He confessed that he looked at me at least half of the time. Funny boy!

Wednesday was Rachel's school Christmas program. She looked really cute in her reindeer antlers. Dan stayed home with Anna and Alex after how well the night before went. I was surprised that they sang some religious songs like Silent night and O Come O Come Emmanuel. Their school does not promote any religion. But they sang songs of all religions and cultures.

On Friday, I went with my mom, niece and sister to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert. We left really early, but traffic was terrible. Luckily, I got the bright idea that we should take 600 N. We parked and made in there in time to get in. Many people didn't get in, even with tickets. David Archuleta has a great voice. This is the 4th Mo-Tab concert I've been to. My very favorite was Sissel about 5 years ago. David Archuleta probably ranks second in the ones I've been to. I love hanging out with the girls in my fam!

Last night, we had the Marchant family Christmas party. I must admit that it gets a bit crazy. There's now about 25 grandkids. Add that to 8 kids, 5 spouses, 1 fiance (Becca's), and a couple of extras. That's nearly 50 people. My mom carefully picks out and wraps presents for everyone. She really likes to shop on Black Friday, so she can get cool presents for less money.
Becca's fiance Brandon is a chef. He made some really tasty garlic mashed potatoes. I think I'll like having a chef in the family. They both look so happy together.
I really love hanging out with my family. Usually Christmas is the only time the whole entire family is there. Too bad Christmas isn't in the summer, because we would have loved to send all the kids outside to play.
My parents driveway is significantly shorter than it used to be. When people were leaving, we had to play musical cars. I think everyone got to move their car multiple times. The driveway is missing half the cement and is quite a mudpit. Someday the road construction will be done.

Our kids are out of school the whole week. Its sure nice to have a break from driving kids everywhere.

That's about my week in a nutshell. :) No pics to go with it . Sorry!

Just a random blog update

Dan and recently celebrated our 12th anniversary. I can't believe it has already been that long! We had a wonderful night without our kids. (Thanks to my in-laws for taking them) The other day I ran to Walgreens late at night. I noticed an engaged couple on our street out kissing by their car. I had to smile. It reminded me of the good old days of kissing Dan by the car. We always hated to go to our own homes at night. I love Dan, and I am glad he's my husband.

We had a good Thanksgiving. We had a lunchtime Thanksgiving dinner with my family, and a dinnertime Thanksgiving dinner with Dan's family. Dan's mom make the best orange rolls ever! Both families make different items, and I like that.

On Saturday night, we took our kids to the live nativity in Alpine. (Thanks, Sinika for posting it on your blog.) Anna fell asleep on the way there. For those of you that know Anna, you know that she screams a lot when she wakes up. She woke up very crabby. She cried while we were waiting, unless Dan held her. Good thing she's not a heavy 5-year-old. They take you to the nativity from the church in a horsetrailer with hay bales. As soon as we sat down, the people in the trailer starting singing Christmas carols. Anna sure cheered up! She thought it was great. Our kids loved seeing the animals. Especially the camels.
The part with Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus was nicely done. They even had a real baby. It was actually very sweet. After the nativity, they served hot chocolate. I am already hearing, "When we go back next year...." from all of our kids. It was a great way to start the Christmas season.

On Monday, we had our Christmas piano recital. I combine my 5 students with the teacher who teaches my two older kids. They all did a great job! This was Anna's first piano recital. I don't normally teach kids so young, but Anna has really wanted to learn. S0, I started teaching Anna in September. She played "We Three Kings". She loves that song now, and always wants to hear it on my Ipod. I am proud of my kids and my piano students!

Today I am thankful for.......

HEAT.
It is cold outside today. As I drove through Midvale past our old condo, I thought back to when I lived there. It was a poor area. Dan said that at PEC, the bishop half-joked that they needed to set up two lines. One for welfare, and one for ex-communications.
One winter evening, I went visiting teaching to a middle-aged lady in our ward. Dan was at school, so I took Rachel with me. I did not have a VT partner that would come with me.
When I got to the woman's house, I was surprised. They did not have heat. They were poor and could not afford to have the gas on. They were trying to keep their house warm with just their fireplace. She mentioned that if I knew anyone with free firewood, they could use some. We wore our coats during the whole visit, and the fireplace did have a fire going. Rachel and I came home smelling like a campfire.
So, today I am thankful for heat. I am thankful that I don't have to smell like a campfire to stay warm. How blessed we are!!

Three

Alex turned 3 a few weeks ago. We spent his birthday at Aspen Grove for a family weekend getaway.

This picture turned out really fuzzy. But I liked how happy he looked. He blew out his candles before the birthday song, so we had to light them twice. He looks like such a big boy on my lap now!

Alex is at a really cute age. He gets excited easily. Yesterday, when we were driving past a contruction site, he exclaimed, "Wow, a crane!" Funny, the rest of us don't get that excited about a crane or a tractor. Before his birthday, he was pointing out all of the tractors doing road contruction, and mentioning that he wanted them for his birthday.

I asked him where he would put such a big tractor. He said, "In the dirt." He didn't get a real tractor. But he did get a remote-control tractor.

Lately, he likes Dan to read him a book called, "The Big Fat Cow that goes Ka-Pow".

Alex takes the time to stop and blow the dandelions.

Thankfully, Alex has mellowed out a lot during the last year. He no longer gets into things and dumps them on purpose. He has quit flushing everything he could find down the toilet. He actually watches tv and plays with toys now. I can almost sigh a sigh of relief that he has calmed down.

I am so thankful for Alex and the joy that he is to us.

5 Years: My little Anna!

This is just the start of all of October Happenings. This is my reflection on Anna. What a joy she is to our family!

Newborn
One year old

Two



Three

Four

Five

You can't see her eyes well in this last picture. But I liked how intently she was looking at her candles.

Anna has such beautiful curly hair! It is not very fun to fix though. Her hair is actually quite long. It goes halfway down her back. Since it is curly, you can't tell. She loves her hair in braids.

I love how Anna goes around singing a lot. Last week she was out in the backyard playing singing loudly about what a beautiful day it was. It was a beautiful day. It made me smile.

I love how she gives me such sweet kisses when I drop her off at preschool.

Her favorite books are "Froggy" books. She loves playing with friends. She loves Land Before Time. (That cursed movie with about 100 sequels)

I am glad I have this sweet little girl for my daughter.

Dan and the couch....

Anna and Alex had birthdays and I have a lot of pictures and stuff to update. But I haven't uploaded the pictures yet. So here's a picture-less story instead.

We had some dark green couches in the basement that really got on my bad list. Every day when I came downstairs, someone had pulled a handfull of cotton out of the inside of the couch and thrown it all over the floor. One guilty child admitted that it bugged him that it wasn't sewn up so he couldn't help it. I guess the devil made him do it. :) Two other guilty children pled innocent. Then two someones peed on the couch recently. The couch was disassembled and cleaned and put back together again.

After being sick with strep for a few days, and getting a few days behind on the cotton-picking-up, I decided the couches had to go. We convinced some neighbors to help us load them in the truck to take to DI. DI did not want to couches. So, off to the dump they went.

Dan picked up our new sectional in his truck, and came home with it. After we got it home, it got a bit tricky. First, Dan tried the side-door of the house with the first piece. It got stuck. After a bit of manuevering, we took it around back through the sliding glass door. This too was a tight fit. Dan was convinced if I squished the cussions down enough while he pushed that it would fit in the door. It did--sort of. It made a few little scrapes on the bottom of the brand new couch. And it took a lot of effort.

After the back door ordeal, I questioned whether it would fit in the basement. Of course it would Dan said. And we couldn't take them back now that we damaged them a little. I don't think a sectional on the deck was what we had in mind.

First, Dan took off the railing to get the piece of sectional down the stairs. Then, we pushed and shoved. And the couch got stuck in the doorway at the bottom of the stairs. An hour or two later, we got it unstuck and back up the stairs.

Then, Dan started a demolition project. He always hated the door and doorway that led into the basement anyway. So, off with the door and the door frame.

Next, another neighbor came and helped Dan get it downstairs. Then comes the second piece of the sectional. Did we learn anything from the first piece? Yes, it doesn't fit in any of the exterior doors. So, they removed the glass door from the sliding glass door in the back yard. This piece made it through the door without any damage. And down the stairs to the basement without getting stuck anywhere.

So, the moral of the story: If you are buying a new couch measure all of the openings on the way to where it is going. Otherwise, you might be in for a home remodel.

At least I hadn't painted the downstairs yet. I am slowly painting the whole house and I didn't get to it yet.

My weekend....

I'll post some pics soon. I am too tired to go upstairs and get my camera.
On Friday, my sister Angie (aka Ralphie) and I drove up to Idaho to Jenny's house. We left all of our kids behind with the husbands. That was the nicest drive. We didn't even have to stop at all for a potty break. We had a good long chat without any interruption.
We were actually going to watch Leslie and my mom do the Viking Man Triathlon. Mom did the Olympic and Leslie did the 1/2 Ironman. Afterwards, I think Leslie wished she would have done the Olympic instead. Mom swam 1 mile, biked 29 and then ran a 10K. Leslie swam 1.25 miles, biked 58 and then ran a half-marathon. Leslie didn't feel so well by the end. But we were proud of her for finishing. That takes a lot of guts!
I actually ran one mile of the run with Leslie. It was a really slow mile (like a 12 minute mile). But hey, I ran a mile!!!! After that, and a whole day of walking around, my leg felt really crappy. I think a mile is my limit right now. I really can't complain. I no longer limp. I'm not in a wheelchair. I am so much better.

Now I know how all of you non-runners feel. Running isn't euphoric or awesome right now. It feels crappy and I don't enjoy it. It still feels a little like weight-lifting to get my leg to keep moving like it should. But I know that it will get easier. Someday I'll get back to where running is easy and fun.

I totally love my kids and husband. But it was sure nice to get a break at Jenny's house. I didn't have to take care of anyone. I actually sat around some and watched TV. I love hanging out with my sisters. And I liked that Jenny keeps several cartons of cream in her fridge. She puts cream and milk on her cereal every morning. So of course we all did the same. Having grown up with a milk cow and creamy milk, most of us love cream.

Jenny is one of my best friends. She really is awesome. She is patient with her 5 kids. She does so many things. When we came up for breakfast, she was pulling a birthday cake out of the oven for someone she visiting teachers. We all packed in her vehicle so she could drop Ralphie and I off at the race while she went to Austin's football game. She lives out in the middle of nowhere. Actually what they call outside of town. As soon as we got into town, Ethan calls out from the back seat that he didn't wear any shoes. Its too long of a drive to go back for shoes. So, we stopped at a store while she ran into to buy another pair. Meanwhile, Spencer mentioned that he just mowed a pair of Ethans shoes when he mowed the lawn the day before. She didn't even seem upset by the shoes. She just moved on to the next task. Jenny is one tough cookie. She handles things well.
It was a good weekend. And some good R&R for me. And everyone loved me when I came home. Anna even wanted to have ice cream to celebrate. Really just an excuse for ice cream. :)

First Day of school etc.

Rachel all ready for the first day of school.

Caleb ready for school. He has gotten several teeth out this summer, in case you can't tell.

This morning I was hoping to sleep in, but I got woken up by two kids with a fever. After I got them Motrin, I looked out and saw the sunrise. The clouds were awesome, so I went and got my camera. I loved how I could see the sunrays. Maybe I should start getting up earlier. :)

Look at the size of this beet from our garden! It is as big as Dan's head. No, we didn't eat it. We cooked a few beets, and the rest got stuffed in the downstairs fridge. I need to throw them all away now.

Caleb's Baptism, Car crash and more....

Caleb was baptized on the last Saturday of July. He was very excited and nervous. I am proud of him. He is such a good boy. He was worried that the water was going to be cold, but it wasn't.

I got to fill in as the pianist in the chapel since the person who was supposed to play the piano never showed up. I thought they would make us go last since I was playing the piano, but surprisingly they let us go second and asked for any volunteers to play the piano.

Last week after I dropped Rachel and Caleb off at swimming lessons, I got in a car accident. It was not my fault. I was driving down the road after pulling out of the parking lot. I was only going about 30-35 miles an hour because I was still accelerating. A woman thought I was slowing down to turn, not speeding up. She pulled out right into me. It totaled my mini-van and hers. Nobody was hurt. Alex did end up with a seatbelt line on his neck. Anna cried a lot because she was upset that someone ruined our van. The police officer brought her and Alex a stuffed animal, and she immediately cheered up.

I really hated my old van, so I wasn't too sad to see it wrecked. It was a bit of an inconvenience. We've now purchased a newer van that I like much, much better. The lady who crashed into me (who just happened to be on her way to swimming lessons with her kids) felt really bad. She even sent me a note in the mail apologizing and thanking me for being so nice to her at the crash. I thought that was cute. I am thankful that we were all protected from serious injury.

Rachel and Caleb just finished up another round of swimming lessons. Caleb is really good at diving. Rachel is getting to be a very good swimmer. She came home so tired every day from swimming laps for nearly an hour. I can't believe how much Rachel has improved. Two years ago, I had to jump in and save her with my clothes on.

One day when I picked Rachel up from swimming, she was really annoyed. She said that a boy in her class was bugging her. I asked what he was doing, and she said that he keeps saying she is cute. I thought that was funny. Maybe in a few years she'll appreciate boys telling her that she's cute.

Rachel aka the bookwork, has read over 5000 pages this summer. I don't even know how many books that is. She was supposed to read 1000 pages. If she has a good book, she will disappear in her room for hours.

My leg strength and coordination is still slowly improving. I've started going to a chiropractor as well as physical therapy. I think the chiropractor is helping. For some strange reason, I still have a hard time with toe coordination. They always ask me to move my big toe up or down, and it is really hard. Its almost funny to me.

Rachel and Caleb are going back to school soon. Anna will be going back to preschool soon too. We are all looking forward to it.

July......

Briget with her baby Deklan, Ben, Becca, Me, Leslie, Jenny, Angie, Carrie and my Dad.

We took Caleb and some friends to Classic for his birthday. The little girl in this picture was his best friend through second grade. They got along so well, and both looked out for each other. She doesn't live near us and won't be returning to the charter school this year because of the long drive. She said to me, "Do you know that Caleb has a crush on me?" I thought it was cute.

I must say that it is so much easier to take the kids somewhere for a party. I'm just not the best entertainer.

This last weekend, we had the Marchant family reunion. My mom rented a place called Warm Springs Resort. We had a lot of fun. The cabins were much smaller than we anticipated. Rachel pointed out that the bathrooms were bigger than the cabins. Think of a Tuff shed, and that's about the size of the cabins. But we made do.

There were paddle boats and kayaks. I think kayaks are a little harder than they look. The paddle boats were fun. Jenny had the privilege of pedaling with Anna. She said that Anna was riding the pedals, so she was pedaling both the boat and all of Anna's weight. I bet that was a good workout. Anna threw a major fit because she thought she should be able to go out in a kayak all by herself. Even though she is almost 5, that's not old enough to kayak alone. We let Caleb go out in his own, and he rowed in circles and hit the bank of the pond a lot.

I made all of my siblings get together for a sibling pictures. My mom conveniently left to take grandkids on a hike right as we were taking the picture. She didn't realize we were taking a picture. So, only my dad was in it with us. Its probably not the most flattering picture of all of us. We were sleep-deprived and dirty. And some people weren't happy to be in the picture. But I still wanted a picture of all of us. I don't think I've had a shot of all of us as adults ever. I love all my siblings, and my parents.

No, I'm not the shortest. I'm the second shortest. :) Jenny is a half an inch shorter than me.

Funny Thing.......

Caleb went to his baptism interview with the bishop on Sunday. He talked to Caleb about the Word of Wisdom. He asked Caleb to name some things that were against the Word of Wisdom. Caleb gave all of the usual answers, but with one extra. He told the bishop that it was against the Word of Wisdom to swallow your gum. :)
I think I need to teach my kids that its against the Word of Wisdom to eat boogers too. Not that Caleb or Rachel still eat boogers.

Rambling

About a week ago when I woke up, all of the muscles in my leg were working again. I am thrilled. Before this, I was walking pretty well. But only part of the muscles in my leg were doing all of the work. So my leg felt crappy a lot of the time and stairs were still hard for me.

When I went to PT yesterday, the physical therapists were amazed. Then they gave me quite a workout.

I got to walk 9 minutes on the treadmill. Then I got to jog for 2 minutes. It was so slow I wouldn't even call it a jog. It was about a 15 minute mile. After that, they put me on the excercise bike for 5 minutes. After all of that, and a lot of other exercises, I was exhausted.

I am now allowed to run for 1 minute a day. Woohoo! 1 minute. :) I get to increase to 3 minutes when I can do 3 sets of 10 leg lifts.

Isn't it funny that I am excited about running one minute?

I can't express how thankful I am for being able to walk easily. It is the best thing!

The picture is a picture of all of my parent's grandkids. This was taken July 4th. That's a lot of kids!

Caleb and Dan had birthdays a few days ago. I'm gonna post pics and things about their birthdays--but I have to wait till I get my camera back. I accidentally left it at my in-laws house.

California Trip

We left last Monday for Anaheim and drove the whole way in one day. With a bit of junk food and a DVD player, the drive was pretty good.

We stayed at a hotel called Hilton Homewood Suites. It was about a mile from Disneyland. With 4 kids, we needed a larger hotel room than we've had in the past. We had two bedrooms, a bathroom, living room, and kitchen. We loved the hotel.

The first night after we went to bed, our bed started moving. Dan said, "Caleb, stop boucing on our bed." When he realized Caleb was asleep, he started saying, "Rachel, stop it!". After a few seconds he realized it wasn't the kids. It was an earthquake. I guess it was a 5.7. Nobody in California even gives it a second thought. But we aren't quite as used to earthquakes. Our kids were disappointed that they slept through it.

We got up and went to Disneyland on Tuesday. Because of my leg issues, I rented an electric wheelchair. My leg is doing very well, and I am walking very well. But I am still not able to walk around and stand in line all day. The good thing was that it got us on most of the rides much faster than usual. We were able to wait ten minutes for one ride that had a 65 minute wait. I would much rather have a normal leg though. We stayed clear until the fireworks ended at about 10:00. Anna and Alex were very tired and crabby by the time we got back to our hotel. We had a lot of fun. Next time we go, we'll go in January when its not so crowded. Anna loved "Its a small world". Alex's favorite was "Dumbo". Rachel loved "Splash Mountain". I'm not sure what Caleb's favorite was.

On Wednesday, we got up and went to the Wild Animal Park in San Diego. The kids especially liked the petting zoo.

Thursday, we went on a harbor tour in San Diego. The kids liked it at first, but were a little bored by the end of the ride. If we do this again, we'll try to go during whale watching season, so its a little more exciting.

We spent the rest of the day Thursday and Friday at the beach. We rented a little motel room on the beach. The location was perfect. We were able to walk to the beach from our room. The room was a little cramped, but it was way worth it for the location.

When we first saw the ocean, Alex said, "Mom, its too big for me!". He was a bit scared. He went in the water a little bit, but mostly played in the sand. The older three kids had a blast in the water. Rachel especially.

On Friday we rented a couple of boogie boards (or body boards). Rachel really took to it. She spent hours boarding in the waves. She is quite an adventurer. It didn't bother her if a wave washed over her head. Caleb liked it until he got water up his nose. I thought it was fun too. However, I don't really like waves washing over my head either. I guess I'm a chicken. So Rachel and Dan spent the most time on the boards. I thought it was funny when I was boarding with Rachel. She was instructing me, and saying things like, "Mom, you gotta catch that wave". I would highly recommed renting some boards, if your kids are old enough and adventurous enough.

The drive home was another all-in-one-day drive. It was pretty good until we hit road construction in Lehi. Then we inched along for a half an hour. We made it home, and had a great trip.

My sister Leslie keeps asking me when I'm gonna update my blog with the trip pics. So, here it is Leslie. :)

It was D day

Or doctor day. I had two appointments today.
The first one was with a doctor and University of Utah. I should have just skipped this appointment. First, he asked me if I had an eating disorder because I am thin. I don't! I love food. Then he told me that I was trying to help the weak leg when he was testing my reflexes in that knee. No I wasn't!! Why would I do that? Then came the diagnosis: my brain just forgot how to work my leg. He tried to explain it in technical terms, but he really didn't know what he was talking about.
After that lovely appointment, I met Dan for lunch. I always love to eat lunch with him. That was the highlight of my day.
Then I went back to the neurologist who sent me to the neurosurgeon. My regular dr said I should follow up with him. The neurologist thought the other doctor's explanation was absurd. He said, "You have a spinal lesion at L4". This caused the nerve damage to your leg. There's no damage still occurring, so there's nothing to fix. Work hard in PT to get your leg strength back.
So, back to PT I go.
That's it for the run-around. Hopefully in a few months I'll be running around. :)

Memorial Weekend

We spent a day at Dan's uncle's cabin with some of Dan's family. It is up near the Uintahs.

We roasted marshmallows, stayed up late, got dirty, played in the stream, and had fun.

We saw a moose and lots of squirrels. We saw a lot of cows too.
Anna liked the neighbors moose statue, so I took her picture with it.

Rachel said the cabin was her dream home. I thought that was kind of funny. Its not luxurious and is rather old. Its not my dream home, but it is a fun getaway.

Its amazing how long Alex could be entertained by floating sticks in a stream. Don't worry, we watched him closely. And as you can see, its really not very deep or swift.

The weather was quite cold. It actually snowed a little while we were there. Dan's brother Joe kept the fireplace going nice and hot.

The good old leg update......

Probably most of you are really sick of hearing about my stupid leg (I'm sick of my stupid leg, too). So, you can just skip this post if you're tired of the updates. I find it a lot easier to post things than tell the same thing 20 times to 20 different people.

Last week I went to PT for the first time. Really the first time was just an evaluation. The regular physical therapists weren't in. It was just someone filling in for them. She spent over an hour evaluating me, and then sent me home with a few exercises. When I went back this week, the regular PT looked at my chart. And then he did a lot more evaluating. Then he dragged in the other physical therapist to look at me too. I got a lot of "hmmms" and "this is unusual". They left me for a little while, and of course, I thumbed through my chart that they left sitting by me. (Who wouldn't look at their chart, if they're gonna set it next to you and step out of the room?)

After a lot of discussion, they physical therapists concluded that physical therapy was not going to help me. They think I need to pursue a diagnosis. Now, I have an appointment with another doctor at the U.

I am walking really well these days. I am quite thrilled with that. But I know there's still something wrong with me. My reflexes in my left leg are abnormal. I trip or stumble a few times a day. Luckily I haven't fallen down yet. My chart said "possible MS" on about every other page. It can't be MS though. The MRI of my brain came out fine. I don't know what in the world is wrong with me. I've spent a lot of hours online researching things, and haven't been able to find anything that matches exactly.

So, now I'm just in the wait until I see the next doctor. This makes doctor #5.

Alex is amusing......

Alex has started talking a lot lately. I must admit, he really amuses me. He comes up with different things every day.

He has renamed our cat "Twinkle". Anna decided to rename the cat "Sparkle" but he didn't want that name. Not that we were voting on it anyway. Our cat stays outside---at least it does if Alex is anywhere near. Alex calls it "my cat" and carries it everywhere. Tizzy (the cat's real name) is very patient and never scratches him. But she makes a beeline for the door as soon as he sets her down. Cats don't belong in my house anyway.

Alex loves lawnmowers. For a long time, he carried around the lawnmower section of the Sears ad. He called it "my lawnmowers". Whenever we go to my parents house, he always asks my dad where his lawnmower is. Dan recently bought a riding lawnmower. Alex always asks Dan if he is going to "play with his big lawnmower or his little lawnmower". We don't allow rides on the lawnmower. But Alex takes every chance he can get to sit on it and pretend to drive. He thinks any equipment that is remotely similar to a lawnmower is a lawnmower. Those big tractors working on the road are just really big lawnmowers.

At church on Sunday, Alex spotted someone in a wheelchair. He then exclaimed, "Look, a baby jogger!". Of course this was during the sacrament. And he said it many times.

When Alex says his prayers at bedtime lately, he roars a couple of times during his prayer. He is trying to act like a dinosaur. I don't laugh, but it is all I can do not to laugh sometimes.

Cars is his favorite movie. During the day, he goes around clearing his throat and making strange noises. Then he exclaims that he's starting his engine. If you've seen Cars, you know "Start your engines".

When we were driving down the street today, there was a truck in front of us. He yelled, "catch that garbage truck!". It wasn't a garbage truck. But he certainly loves garbage day. With 3 different trash cans, we get to see a lot of garbage trucks. He comes running to the window whenever he hears one.

Although Alex has been a challenging toddler, he sure makes up for it with all of the cute things he does. I love his mischievious little grin. Now that he's talking, I am really enjoying him.

Done with diapers!!!!!!!!!!

We started potty-training Alex on Monday. The first day did not go too well. But then, I went to the store and bought some cool new undies insteady of "tidy whiteys". I never knew how great Cars underwear were. After we got out the new undies, Alex turned over a new leaf. He has had very few accidents.
I was worried about him wearing underwear for bedtime. So I put a diaper on him for bed. A few minutes later, he was no longer wearing it. He was wearing his cool new undies again. Once again, I put a diaper on him. Once again, he took them off and put on his underwear. After he went to sleep, I put a diaper on him.
When he woke up in the morning, his diaper was dry. I tried to diaper him again for bedtime the next night. It was a repeat of the night before. So finally, I just gave up and let him wear his favorite underwear to bed. He has not wet the bed yet. I am thrilled! My other kids wore diapers to bed for quite a while after they were potty-trained.
Since Anna was still in diapers when Alex was born, I've had someone in diapers for 4 years and 7 months now. Diaper free at last!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now she's 10!

Rachel turned 10 years old last week. This was the first birthday that she didn't want all toys. It was kind of sad in a way, because she's getting old! The two big things she asked for were a bike and a globe. I thought the globe was kind of a funny thing to want. She looks at it every day and finds different places, and asks me where everything is.

We had a friend party on the Saturday before her birthday. At her request, we had a chocolate fountain. They all thought it was great. It actually wasn't as messy as I thought.

On her birthday, my parents came over for cake and ice cream. I made her a chocolate layer cake. Right before my parents came, I ran to the store quickly to get ice cream and candles. When I came home and put the candle on the cake, everyone got quite a laugh. I bought the wrong candle number. Of course I hadn't forgotten how old Rachel was! I don't know how I managed to buy the wrong number. We made do, as you can see.

I am thankful for Rachel. She is such a cute, sweet girl.

Mother's Day

I had a nice Mother's Day. I just thought I'd share what Caleb made me at school.

It says:

My mother's love means everything to me. She give s me hugs and teaches me not to eat drugs. She takes me to school and sometimes to the pool to cool. My mother's love means everything to me.