Children's Sacrament Meeting Presentation

The Eustis Ward Children's Sacrament Meeting Presentation is scheduled for November 23, 2008. Please come if you can and support our Primary.

I promise that you will NOT leave without feeling the sweet spirit of our children. We will testify of our knowledge of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ through songs and talks. The children are looking forward to sharing their testimonies.

Another visit

Papa and Greyson

Yoo-Ma and Papa with the kids

Mom and me

Yoo-Ma and everyone minus fussy Greyson.

Yoo-Ma and Aislinn

Mom and Dad came over this afternoon for a quick visit. It was great to see them, as usual. I snapped quite a few pictures of Yoo-Ma and Papa with the kids.

I believe that we have the Children's Sacrament Meeting Presentation rescheduled for November 23. As I stated in an earlier post, it was scheduled for December 14 which is only 3 days after Aislinn's surgery. I was very worried about that. So, we got it written and worked on it today with the children. I think the children will do great. It will also allow me to not have the worry during Aislinn's surgery. The weeks up to the Presentation are usually quite stressful, so I look forward to doing it and being done with it, until next year, of course. :)

A quick visit

I drove over to Cracker Barrel in Sanford this afternoon to have lunch with Michelle. It was a very nice visit and is always wonderful to see her.

The rest of the day was just visiting with friends in the neighborhood and letting the kids play. What a nice relaxing day!

This is the way

Yes, I have a picture of the Second Coming in my laundry room. I need perspective, a LOT! Also, I have a 'thing' that I worry about running out of supplies, so yes, there are 3 or 4 of everything up there. Laundry detergent, stain remover, Clorox 2, paper towels, you name it, it's there.

See, one load is washing, one is dry and sorted and more will be coming tonight!

This is the way we clean our clothes, clean our clothes, clean our clothes. This is the way we clean our clothes, every day of our lives! And sometimes several times a day!

As I was folding and sorting the laundry a few minutes ago, I thought that I would do a post on it. Only because I know that one day I will miss this.

I divide the clothes when clean, by child and in age order. When I am done, I call the children to the laundry room to take their clothes to their room and put them away.

I spend quite a bit of time in this room, therefore I thought it appropriate to document... :)

Surgery is coming

Chris and I took Aislinn to the nephrologist and the urologist this afternoon.

They took a urine sample when we arrived for our appointments and the urine tested good. No more blood, protein or a skewed white blood cell count.

Good news.

With that, the doctors are encouraged that the infection is getting better and that we can move forward with surgery plans.

As the urologist explained his plans for the surgery, he stated that it is important that we make sure that the infection is gone, but with time, we have an increase in the chance that the infection can come back. So, Aislinn will stay on antibiotics until the surgery and we will monitor her closely. I have to take urine samples to the lab weekly for testing and we should call immediately if she shows any signs of the infection returning.

They will be removing what they believe to be about 1/3 of her right kidney. It will be done with one incision that should be about 2 inches long under her rib cage on the right side. They are hoping to tie off the extra ureter, but if they see when they get in there that they need to remove it, the will make another incision on the lower part of her right side. They will just have to see what the ureter looks like when they get in there. The urologist hopes that this surgery will put an end to our troubles.

She is scheduled to go in to Arnold Palmer on December 11. She should be able to come home Saturday evening, December 13, if all goes well.

Chris and I know that she is doing well healing right now because we listened to the spirit and got her the help that Heavenly Father needed us to get her. There are no words to express my feelings of love, humility and appreciation to my Heavenly Father for that!

As I was driving home, I realized that the Children's Sacrament Meeting Presentation is scheduled for the following Sunday, December 14. I don't think that that is going to work for me. I called the Bishop and left him a message. Help! It just doesn't seem possible that I have Aislinn in surgery just a few days before the presentation. We'll just have to see how it all plays out.

I watched history

Chris, Brennan and I witnessed history last night with the election of Barack Obama.

I stayed up until midnight and Chris and Brennan were up until 1. The other children watched until about 8:30 and then we sent them to bed. It was fun to watch with the children as they soaked up all the different things going on and to answer their questions.

I hope that this "change" will be for the good.

A good thing here is that there will be NO MORE political ads on the television or radio! I am so tired of hearing them.

I was also glad to see many people get out and vote. I wish it was that way every time we had an election.

Tagged, again! :)

I was tagged by Jennifer Porter:

10 years ago I . . .
1. Was getting ready to have Kerstyn in 20 days!
2. Working on my Master's degree in Elementary Education.
3. Was 10 years younger!
4. Living in Tallahassee in our first house.
5. Had only 1 child and 1 on the way. (As evident by my answer to number 1.)

5 things on my "to do list" today . . .
1. Pick up all the children from school.
2. Help the kids with homework and sign agendas.
3. Try not to yell when I get stressed.
4. Cook dinner and feed everyone.
5. Get everyone bathed and in bed on time, including myself.

5 snacks I like . . .
1. Dorito's with melted cheese on top.
2. Ice cream
3. Reese's pumpkins, christmas trees, easter eggs, etc.
4. Movie theater popcorn with so much butter that it almost slips out of my fingers.
5. Diet Coke! I know it's not really a snack, but I like to have it, a LOT!

6 things I would do if I were a millionaire . . .
1. Invest it so I would not worry so much about money.
2. Help my family members that need it so they wouldn't worry so much about money.
3. Provide for my childrens' college education.
4. Donate to good causes.
5. Run away?
6. Shop, shop, shop!

3 places I have lived . . .
1. Dunedin/New Port Richey/Hudson, FL
2. Tallahassee, FL
3. Mount Dora/Sorrento, FL

5 jobs that I have had . . .
1. Wife
2. Mom
3. Student
4. Counter staff at The Loop, Tallahassee
5. State of Florida employee

8 favorite TV shows I love to watch . . .
1. Boston Legal
2. Survivor
3. The Amazing Race
4. ER
5. 17 kids and counting
6. Jon and Kate plus 8
7. American Idol
8. So You Think You Can Dance

8 things I did yesterday
1. Got out of bed! Wahoo!
2. Fed the kids and got them to school.
3. Lost my temper with Lauklan and Greyson because they decided to play in the sprinklers before school and were soaking wet!
4. Went to work.
5. Cried
6. Picked the kids up from school.
7. Homework/dinner/baths
8. Blogged, then slept. :)

8 favorite places to eat...
1. Cracker Barrel
2. Outback Steakhouse
3. The Cheesecake Factory
4. Sonny's
5. Chili's
6. Carrabba's Italian Grill
7. Lampu
8. Fiesta Grande

8 things I am looking forward to...
1. Aislinn getting well
2. The holiday's and getting to see family (HOLLY!!!)
3. Brennan receiving the priesthood
4. Lauklan's baptism
5. Summer break!
6. The children not fighting as much! (I probably shouldn't hold my breath on that one...)
7. Watching the children grow. (That's a bitter-sweet one.)
8. Growing old with my eternal companion.

8 things on my wish list... (not necessarily in order)
1. An eternal family.
2. A less-stress Chris.
3. A better economy.
4. To endure well to the end.
5. Happy, HEALTHY children.
6. A self-cleaning house!
7. No yelling?
8. A skinny, wrinkle-less Melody! (come on, we're wishing, right?) Oh yeah, no gray hair either!

3 people I tag . . .
Holly, Karen, Laurel
Love you :)

Picture of me

I think that when I'm dead and gone, my posterity won't know what I looked like from about the age of 19 until 33 or 34.

Now, I'm making up for all those years. I must be going crazy!

Did you know that when I was young, I looked very similar to how Aislinn looks?

Kerstyn, looks just like me as an adult. I hear that ALL the time. But, I was a tow headed little girl until about 7th grade.

I also had board straight hair that was very thin. Very similar to Aislinn's hair.

I now have hair that is turning quite gray. It is also very wavy. I now wonder how I would live without my straight iron. Thank you Holly, for turning me on to that one!

So, here I am. Now you have some odd facts about me too!

Fast and Testimony meeting

I got to share my testimony today during sacrament meeting.

I knew from the middle of the week that I would stand this morning and testify of the truthfulness of the church.

I knew that I would stand and testify that I KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT that the priesthood has been restored to the Earth.

I knew that I would testify that I KNOW that my Heavenly Father knows me individually. That He knows my heart, that He knows my needs, wants, my everything!

I knew that I would testify of my knowledge that families can be together forever.

I knew that I would testify that I KNOW the power of prayer. I know that He LISTENS to our prayers and that He ANSWERS our prayers.

I knew that I would cry.

I knew that I would cry before a single word even escaped my mouth.

I knew that when I testified of the things that I had experienced this week, that I would feel the spirit. AGAIN!

I did.

I know.

Halloween happenings

Brennan - I'm not really sure what he was. He made up his own costume.

Lauklan was a clone trooper, or something like that.

Kerstyn was a physician.

Greyson decided to be Darth Vader, again.

Aislinn was Strawberry Shortcake. They gave her that costume at the hospital. The Child Life specialists went around to the rooms in the morning and gave all the children who wanted them costumes so they could go downstairs to the Atrium to Trick or Treat. It was really nice and Aislinn had a good time.

We had planned a few weeks ago to have a nice pot luck get-together here on Halloween night. But, it didn't happen given the week that we had. Maybe next year?

Aislinn is having a good day today. She hasn't run a fever since Thursday morning, so that is a really good sign.

Aislinn update

First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers. Chris and I both know that they are being answered.

Aislinn and I arrived home this afternoon around 1:30 p.m. She has to stay on antibiotics until her surgery and we have an appointment with the nephrologist and the urologist on Thursday, November 6. They will be discussing her upcoming surgery and monitoring her infection.

The nephrologist told us that Aislinn was a "very sick little girl" on Wednesday morning after running a battery of tests. There was one specific test that the normal reading was "1" and Aislinn had a "36"! This is what triggered the doctor to know that this infection was very severe. She told us then that she was almost positive that the infection was in the right kidney, but that she wasn't sure why.

About 5 hours later, we had a diagnosis. I believe that those 5 hours were pretty much the longest that I have EVER had!

They believe that she has 2 kidneys on the right side with a ureter draining from each. However, the smaller of the right kidney's ureter is draining somewhere to her urethra. Through time, when Aislinn holds urine and the pressure builds up in her bladder, the urine goes up this extra kidney's ureter and into the extra kidney, which is dead tissue. That starts a major infection. That is why we ended up in the hospital. It took 3 days of 2 different kinds of antibiotics to get her to respond. We are now going in the positive direction, heading toward less of an infection. They are optimistic that after surgery, she will not have any further problems and the the other right kidney will function fine.

They sent us home with 14 days of antibiotics and iron supplements (because they also found out that she is anemic).

Please continue to pray for her. Like I stated earlier, I know that those prayers are working.

Love to you ALL!

You can see updates that Debbie Carter did for us while we were in the hospital on her blog. She was kind enough to be ME for most of the time we were in the hospital. She kept Brennan, Kerstyn, Lauklan and Greyson. She fed them, helped them with homework, had them take showers and loved them for me. I know that I will NEVER be able to repay her for that.

Prayers requested

Most of you know that while Aislinn was in utero, they detected an issue with her right kidney and the ureter that left that kidney and went to the bladder. The doctors did ultrasounds frequently through my pregnancy and on her right after birth. We followed up with the nephrologist, did tests, etc, etc. Until we got to the point where they said that it looked like everything was fine when she was about six months old.

Out of the blue in July, you might remember when I had to come home early from Ft. Myers Beach because she had a UTI. That UTI was resistant to the antibiotics and she was really sick. It took us 3 or 4 different medications, IV antibiotics and other things to finally get her on the mend.

When we finally got her "well" they sent us to Florida Hospital for them to do an ultrasound and another test to see if her bladder was draining correctly. They found that the bladder IS draining correctly, but it looked like she has TWO, yes 2, ureters that are coming out of the right kidney. They couldn't see where one of the ureters was draining, and they suggested to us that we needed follow up with the nephrologist.

I called and got an appointment in July for the end of August (which was the first available appointment). I had to cancel that appointment because of Tropical Storm Fay. The next available was in September, they canceled that one and then the next was in November. I have been worried that something might be wrong and that this appointment was too far away.

Well, Saturday afternoon, as I mentioned in earlier posts, Aislinn started running a fever. The fever has been persistent since and I have to give her Motrin and Tylenol constantly. When the fever returns, it is quite high, getting higher each time. It's now around 102.6 when it spikes.

I took her to the pediatrician this morning. She couldn't find anything really wrong with her. The urine sample showed an off white blood cell count, some protein and blood in her urine, but it wasn't what the doctor said would be an obvious UTI. Dr. Soto did start her on an antibiotic, given her history, and said that she would send the sample to the lab and let me know the results.

About an hour later, Aislinn was shaking and crying with another high fever, and she said, "I'm not getting better yet because Daddy hasn't given me a blessing."

I took her to Chris as soon as I could and she asked him for a blessing.

Now for the reason that I am asking for prayers.

The blessing was not what Chris wanted to say. He wanted to tell her that she would be ok, and he said he just "couldn't say it". When he finished the blessing, he fell to his knees and cried while he held Aislinn.

We now have an appointment with the nephrologist tomorrow at 3. Please pray that all of this will work out and that Aislinn will be healed.

Her little body is fighting and it must win.

It must!

It's been one of those days

I woke up this morning to Kerstyn screaming at the top of her lungs. I went to where she was screaming, the bathroom in her room, and found her standing, that's right, STANDING, on top of the counter.

She saw a spider.

Seriously, has she forgotten that we live in central Florida?

I then had a rough morning because Aislinn woke up with a fever and so Chris and I had to decide who would stay home with her. We decided on Chris, but of course, I was preoccupied and worried about her all morning.

I had another tense discussion with Chris regarding work/finances. Well, maybe tense isn't the word, but I got upset, we'll just put it at that. I calmed down in a few minutes, which I always do, and loaded the non-sick children in the car and headed to church.

They, meaning the children, were actually quite good today during sacrament meeting. Thank goodness!

The talks were just amazing this morning. Now, I know I am partial to Debbie, but she did an amazing job.

The closing speaker was Brother Wise and he spoke on tithing. My 'earlier in the morning breakdown' had been right after I finished writing the tithing check. Not because of the tithing check, but I guess it just caused me to think about some other things. I just knew that it was NOT coincidence that there was a talk today on tithing. I know that I was supposed to hear that talk to remind myself of things I already know to be true.

Tithing is an opportunity that I have to show my faith. It is not something that is to burden me or to cause stress. Another tender mercy, perhaps?

Pictures, family and fun

Ryan and Mom this morning.

Chris and me yesterday afternoon after we got to Mom's and before we left for dinner at Outback and the concert.

Mom and me. Isn't she pretty?

I'm such a goof!

When we got home, Nana was there with Kenney waiting to visit with you. Our visit was short, but great. Can you tell that Aislinn really likes Nana?

She's so cheesy!

Chris and Lauklan in their FSU attire.

Ryan and me. I'm sure going to miss him, he's moving to California in one week to be a recruiter for the Army.

Ryan, Mom, me, Logan, Noelani (Logan's girlfriend)

We (Chris, Mom and I), got together this morning with Ryan, Logan and Noelani for breakfast. I wanted to see Ryan before he moves away. He and Logan are like brothers to me. We grew up together and I think a lot of them. They are great young men!

After breakfast, Chris and I came home. I commented on the ride home that I sure had a good time, but it was not relaxing at all! We were on the go constantly, but I am glad that we had the opportunity to be with Mom and go to Neil Diamond.

I must admit that I was surprised at how much I really enjoyed the concert. Neil sounded just as good in concert as he does on the radio. I can see why he has such a fan base and why Mom loves him so! We listened to his songs on the way there and got a few chuckles out of memories I had through the years of hearing the songs in the car.

I look forward to when he comes again.

I think we're ready

We're headed to the future!

Well, not really, but we, Chris and I, are headed to Neil Diamond tonight with my mom. She is so excited and I have to admit, so am I! For those of you that are confused by my "headed to the future" remark up there, it's one of Neil Diamond's songs.

Kenney is on her way to watch the children.

She's a brave soul!

I hope all goes well. But as far as I am concerned, I'm going to try to relax, enjoy my husband and mother and sing, sing, sing...

Running around

So, here's life with 5 kids...

Wake up in a rush because I oversleep because I HATE mornings!

Feed the kids, pile in the car. Drop off Kerstyn early for music practice then take Brennan downtown to school. Hurry home, put Lauklan in the car and then drop him off. Come back home, pick up Greyson and Aislinn and take them to school. Go to banks to make deposits if I have them.

Go to work. Work in a CRAZY, stress-filled office until the last possible moment.

Drive quickly to pick up Greyson and Aislinn. Stop at banks again, if needed.

Go home, do chores and try to relax.

Load back in the car. Get Brennan, then pick up Kerstyn and Lauklan if it is my day to do so. (Suzy and I share the responsibility. I pick up our kids on Tuesday and Friday, she picks up Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.)

Home with all 5 for homework. Try to manage that chaos, funny.

Fix dinner, give baths, have them get showers, etc.

Back in the car if there are activities or meetings.

Go to sleep!

Try again the next day.

Today, I voted

I voted today.

I have to say that I wasn't happy with either the Republican or Democratic presidential nominee this time. So, I did my best to vote for who I thought would do the best job, according to Melody.

I also filled in the Amendment 2 'Yes' circle with eagerness. "Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan," states A Proclamation to the World. I know that to be true, so I stood for it again, today. If you aren't familiar with what I believe as a Latter-day Saint, please click on "A Proclamation to the World" above to read it.

The day has been quite crazy. Kids off to school (and almost late, because I overslept), me to work, leave work, take kids to check-ups, pick up other kids, homework, dinner, scouts, meetings.

Will I make it?

Yes, but I'll sure be tired.

Is this the end?

Brennan decided to get in the fun. He squeezed himself into Lauklan's costume. Funny.

An accident waiting to happen...

Fun, fun, fun.

It's cold, watch out!

She's a brave one.

Each time the kids get in the pool lately, I take pictures because I think it will be the last time they get in this year. Well, we keep on jumping in. I am so glad. So, for today, it's not the end.

Pre-Halloween fun

Today the kids are off from school because it is a teacher planning day. We took a trip to Target which ALWAYS results in me buying WAY TOO MUCH!

Today was no different. We came home with Halloween costumes and the kids were so excited that they put them on right away and have been playing ever since.

A trip to Lakeland

Chris's mom and me

Melody, Nancy, Kerstyn and Aislinn

Krystal and Karen

Melody and Karen

Aislinn and Kerstyn

We decided to take a quick trip to Lakeland this afternoon after church. We got to visit with Nancy/Grandma, Bronko, Ricky/Uncle Ricky, Karen/Aunt Karen and Krystal.

It was quick but a bunch of fun. We need to do that more often.