Diegle Family Blog

Love/Hate Relationship

2010-03-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

It is SPRING which means that SUMMER is quickly approaching, and when you live in Phoenix SUMMER comes with a definite love/hate relationship. It is always this time of year that....

I LOVE cleaning and fixing up our house,

I HATE the money it takes to do these things,

I LOVE having all of the doors and windows open,

I HATE all of the dust and pollen that blows in with the fresh air,

I LOVE the warmth of the sun,

I HATE having to sleep in a room that can't get any cooler than 85 degrees because our thermostat is on the North side of our house,

I LOVE my husband for buying me an air conditioner for our room so that I won't have to go through that again this year,

I HATE how big the air conditioner is and that I can't close my blinds all the way,

I LOVE going out and buying new bathing suits and good books to read,

I HATE having to face the few extra pounds I have put on since last summer.

Definitely the good outweighs the bad and I am looking to a fun filled summer with my kids. This will be the 1st year that we are NOT enrolling them in a summer program. It will be up to me to keep them busy!

Fun in the Snow

2010-03-27T18:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a LONG time and since I last posted we have been very busy! Life is good and somewhere amongst all of the stuff we have to do, we found time to play in the snow!!!! There did not turn out to be as much snow as we had hoped, but it was enough for Collin to try some pseudo snowboarding (and he was good), also for us to enjoy a nice fire all weekend long, and most importantly it was enough for Chad and Ryan to get our trucks stuck.

Lately, we have been busy with soccer, work, school, and more soccer. The weather this time of the year in Phoenix ROCKS and we are taking full advantage of it. My mom and I have been eating lunch outside every chance we get.

We also celebrated my 33rd birthday last Saturday! We went to the melting pot with 3 other couples and had a blast. It was nice to see everyone let loose -- including me =).

More to come soon.....

Inspiration

2009-12-17T12:51:00.000-08:00

It is funny how even the smallest things can inspire us. Recently for me it was the movie Julie and Julia. The first time I saw this movie I blogged about, and I recently re watched it at home and once again felt inspired both to blog and to cook! Mainly to cook. I thought about what an interesting challenge it would be to pick a cookbook and cook my way through it, so that is exactly what I plan to do.

My mom, Jenn, and I all went to Barnes and Noble today and picked out new cookbooks. Jenn has agreed to partake in this challenge with me (FUN). We both picked cookbooks with approx. 115 recipes and will make our way through them within one year starting January 1st. My mom lives by herself and didn't want to make that big of a commitment, but she picked out a cookbook and has agreed to try one new recipe from hers every week for the next year. I am both excited and nervous. It all could turn out to be a big disaster, but I am hoping I will be a better cook for it. I am sure there will be many stories (and hopefully great recipes) to come.

Let the cooking begin....

Deep Thoughts

2009-11-09T04:01:00.000-08:00

For some reason, I have recently been thinking about things I would go back and change if I could. To be honest there are not many. I think part of that is because with time comes some sort of clarity as to why we have gone through the experiences that we do. I think that, in time, we start to understand the lesson we were supposed to learn or realize the great people we met because of a certain situation. God truly works in mysterious ways....

The one decision that I made that I still struggle with on a daily basis is having LASIK surgery. I am hoping that time does prove to bring some clarity, but for now I am left frustrated for many reasons.

I feel bad that Chad gave up something that brought him so much joy (his quad) to help make my dreams come true.
I feel bad that and frustrated that not only was my end result not what we expected, but that, even with correction, I am not able to see well out of my right eye.
I get frustrated every time I am tired and try to read or see a movie because I am unable to accommodate for my vision problems like I was able to prior to the surgery.
It is frustrating that there is no way to truly make people understand what it is like for me now.

If I could undo one thing in my life, I would have to say that it would have to be my LASIK surgery. I know someday I will see the good that comes out of this situation, but for now I am just praying for patience.

Nothing too interesting

2009-11-03T07:50:00.000-08:00

This was officially the first year that my boys did NOT want to dress up for Halloween. To be quite honest, I am okay with that. Instead, we went to Golfland for "spooky golf" as a family and then had some friends over for pizza. Everyone in my house was sound asleep by 10:30. It was great!

Then, on Sunday, we got up and went to the Cardinals game! Those of you who know us know that this is NOT a rare occurrence, but what was different was that our next door neighbors bought tickets in our section and showed up to surprise us! We had a great time despite the terrible game that unfolded. We really have the BEST neighbors!

On a sad note, my High Risk OB class has come to an end. I have REALLY enjoyed the class and have enjoyed not having to work 1 night shift a week even more. I am not looking forward to adding in that extra night again, but at least I had 7 weeks of additional sanity. Until you have had to work true night shift, you can't understand to hard it can be.Otherwise, life is good! I am enjoying the cooler weather by taking nice long walks with my husband and by having the doors and windows open ALL the time. I have started my Christmas shopping, and the boys are doing great in soccer and more importantly, school!

Kristi's Baby Shower

2009-10-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of my wonderful co-workers, Kristi's baby shower went off without a hitch. Regina and Lisa got this wonderful cake, Brittney made the center piece which was this super cute diaper cake,

Kim brought the balloons and bought all of the cute decorations hanging around,

and well, all I did was cook and clean. We had a great time and Kristi got some wonderful gifts. Thanks everyone who was able to make it. We missed you night shift girls that had to work the night before.

Long Time No See....

2009-10-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

It has definitely been a while since I have taken the time to post pictures. For those of you who are out there and are wondering what we have been up to....

I have officially been introduced to Chipotle, and I LOVE IT!

I have been introduced to paint ball guns, and they HURT!

I was able to throw a baby shower for one of my co-workers, and it turned out GREAT!

This is just a small glimpse of what we have been up to in between work, soccer, and Cardinals Football!

Creepy!

2009-10-04T14:56:00.000-07:00

This is a bark scorpion. I am sure that you are all wondering what it has to do with our blog. Well, it looks just like the one that was crawling up the back of my neck 3 nights ago while I was sleeping. When I went to bat it away (not knowing yet what it was) it stung me on my right hand. I do have to say that it was much more painful than I expected, and it caused numbness and tingling up to my elbow as well as muscle spams. Yuck!
We have officially removed the bedskirt from our bed and now keep a black light on the night stand. Every night and/or day before I get in bed, EVERY layer of the bed and pillows gets checked with a black light.

Soccer

2009-09-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Well, soccer is back in full swing and the boys are loving every minute of it! For the 1st time in 3 seasons, Dylan is on a skill appropriate team for his abilities. He is not the best on his team and he is definitely not the worst. He is only 10 and is playing on a U13 team. His coach is awesome! We are so happy that he is excited about soccer again.

Collin is on the same team as he was on last year with his dad and another Chad as their coaches. Their first game was brutal. It was 106 degrees out, we had no subs, and we were frankly outmatched, but the boys worked hard and still had fun.Here is to an exciting year.

Good luck boys!

Dylan

2009-09-14T09:51:00.000-07:00

Lately is seems as though all of my posts have been about Collin, so I decided that it was time for Dylan to get in on the action. Over the 4th of July my boys flew out to Albuquerque to stay with Chad's parents. Chad's mom then flew them to Austin, TX to visit their aunt, uncle, and cousins. They took a day to drive in to San Antonio and go to Sea World. They had a blast! Well, Dylan is typically my serious child. He is an introvert who does not like to have his picture taken, and he is STUBBORN. The one person he is completely relaxed around is my mother-in-law. While in Austin, she manage to catch this great picture of him. I love to see him being silly and having fun, as he does it so infrequently...

2009-09-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I know you have all seen this picture of me and my youngest son, Collin, but not in this way. Yesterday, Chad got a call from one of the college aged kids at our church, and she sent him this picture. This is a picture of one of United Blood Services blood donation buses that travels around the valley. This one was parked at Mesa Community College at the time and she thought it would be funny to send a picture of it to Chad.
Since Collin and I took these pictures I have had coworkers get postcards with this picture sent to their house, and numerous people have seen us on the UBS website. It is too funny. They tell you that they might use these pictures in this way, but I never really thought they would choose ours :)

I am Back!!!!

2009-09-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

Well, thanks to numerous requests from friends and my cousins, I AM BACK to blogging. Just in time to share a story with all of you.

It seems at though my sweet little boy, Collin, has been growing up before my eyes....complete with an attitude to boot. It happens so subtly that you don't even realize it is happening until you look back at pictures, etc...

Well, the other night, Chad and I came home at 10pm after getting together with friends and we went to check on the boys and kiss them good night. When I walked into Collin's room I made a very precious discovery. He was sleeping with the baby blanket I made him when he was just a year old. It was light blue and covered with little rubber duckies. Keep in mind that he had not had this blanket out in approx 2 years and I don't even know where he got it out from.

Here is a picture I took of it in his bed the next morning after he left for school. It is so nice to know that there is still a part of him that is a sweet little boy. I feel like he has grown up so fast and HE thinks he is MUCH older than he is. Maybe he will still need his parents a little bit longer. I don't know what inspired him to get it out and he has already put it away, but it gave me a little glimpse at my little boy. He is still in there somewhere. It is silly, I know, but sometimes us moms can't help but to be a little sentimental...

Last Post

2009-08-26T15:46:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a fun year of blogging, but I think it is time that I wrap it up. That right - - NO more blogging for me. I find that it has kept me from calling family members and friends because they all already know everything that is going on in our lives. I love the whole blog idea, and I love reading other peoples blogs, but I think I am done.

Thanks for everyone who has cared enough to read our blog!

Blast from the past

2009-08-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

Today when I checked my e-mail, I had a new message from my father-in-law titled Memories. It was just 2 pictures and it made me realize just how fast time really does fly by. Here are a couple of old pictures of my family. The 1st one was taken when my boys were ages 1 and 3, and the 2nd one was taken when they were ages 2 and 4....

A Movie that speaks to my heart...

2009-08-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday my mom and I went to see Julie and Julia! We have been waiting for its release and we were NOT disappointed. I think I liked it even more than my mom did! It made me want to come home and start cooking and blogging immediately. I am not sure I have ever seen a movie that I can relate to so well. I LOVE to cook, and I LOVE to eat! I know it is silly, but I loved this movie. When I go into my kitchen it is sort of an escape from real life and it is a way for me to express myself. I love experimenting with new recipes and I rarely leave them as they are. I enjoy adding my own flare.

When I got home last night I decided to make one of my old favorite recipes - Homemade Salisbury Steak and mashed potatoes with brown gravy! It is one that always makes me think of my childhood and especially of my dad. It was his favorite meal. I had to add some mushrooms sauteed in garlic, butter, and soy sauce; some toasted bread to serve with the baked garlic I made to spread on it; and some white wine.

To finish off the evening, I decided to try something new...I made my 1st homemade peach pie with crumb topping, YUM! I will list the recipes for both below.

Salisbury Steak

1.25 lbs ground beef

2 slices white or wheat bread torn into little pieces

1 egg

1T. Worcestershire sauce

2T mince onion

season salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and form into 5 patties. Place patties into an electric skillet that has been preheated to 400 degrees. Brown for 1 minute and flip patties. Turn down heat to 250 degrees and cover with lid. Cook without turning for 45 minutes.

For gravy, whisk 2 cups water with McCormick brown gravy mix. Remove steaks from electric skillet and poor gravy mix into the skillet. Turn up the heat to 300 degrees and stir constantly until thickened. Turn down heat to warm. Return the steaks to the gravy.

Serve with mashed potatoes.

Peach Pie - preheat oven to 450

Filling

2 cans sliced peaches in juice (not syrup), drain all the juice from 1 can

1 cup sugar

1/2 teas. ground cinnamon

1/2 teas. ground nutmeg

Mix all ingredients together and set aside.

Crust

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teas. salt

1/2 cup canola oil

2 T. milk

Mix all ingredients together and press into the bottom and up the sides of a 10" pie plate. Fill with peach pie filling.

Topping

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

6 T. cold butter cut into cubes

Mix all dry ingredients together and then use a pastry blender to cut in the butter. Sprinkle over the pie filling making sure to cover completely.

Bake at 450 for 45 minutes. Let cook for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Cardinals Training Camp 09

2009-08-12T08:37:00.001-07:00

Last week the boys went up to Flagstaff for their 4th annual tradition of Cardinals Training Camp! Once again, I was stuck working, so I missed out on the fun. The boys went up midweek this time in anticipation of the huge crowds the team would have, and even though it was a Wednesday, it was much more crowded than the years prior. The boys were a little disappointed because in years past they were able to throw the ball with some of the players and actually get to talk to them. This year they only had the opportunity to talk to a few of the players. Fortunately, Chad was able to get these moments on film:) My favorite pic is this one of them with Anquan Boldin!!

My Tough Guy

2009-08-04T15:49:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, our family took our yearly camping trip this past weekend. We had a blast! I will post photos soon. What most of you don't know, is that the night before we left to go camping, Collin wrecked his bike. He was riding home from a friends house after just having gotten out of the pool. When he jumped on to ride home, his but slipped off the seat and his face and upper arm hit the handle bars. The next thing he knew he had face planted on the asphalt. This kid is SO tough that he hopped on his bike and rode the 3 blocks home before totally falling apart. Adrenaline is amazing. He almost put several of his top teeth through his lip, got road rash on his lower lip, ribs, mutilple spots on his arms, and a few big bruises to boot. The worst of it was his mouth. The swelling and pain has been incredible. Here are a few pictures of my baby - definitely not at his best. The pictures don't even do his injuries justice. Poor guy. He is a trooper, and had a great time camping.

Our Adventure

2009-08-02T21:28:00.000-07:00

Every year our family takes a trip up to the woods and we camp together. This year we went with our friends Matt and Shannon and their kids.

As you can see we truly camp. No luxuries, just a tent and a camp fire. This year we did have a grill :) This first picture is a view of our campsite from the boys tent. This year they had there very own, brand new tent. They loved it. I thought it was too far away. This next picture is one I took while I was standing in the stream by our camp site. It gives great perspective on just how close to the water we were. The stream was filled with crawfish and rainbow trout. We spent hours everyday fishing with homemade fishing poles that Chad made.

This picture of our family was taken after we had been hiking for approximately 40 minutes on our way to a waterfall we were told about. We spotted this abandoned mine opening across the stream and thought it would make a great picture.Here are just a couple of the numerous great pictures I got of my boys this weekend. I love memories like this. They love being outside. They don't even fight...

Here is a picture of the waterfall and swimming hole that we hiked to. It was a bit further than we anticipated with a 2 year old and a 4 year old in tow (our friends kids), but everyone did great and it was worth it.

The road that leads in and out of this particular camp site was a little rough. It was not emphasized enough to me ahead of time just how rough it was. We really should have had 4 wheel drive. We had to move some fallen trees along the way. I tried to snap some pictures as we were driving out of our friends truck in front of ours hoping that it would help give perspective, but these don't really do it justice.

One of the best parts about this trip was seeing my kids get truly exhausted and then enjoying the silence all the way back to Phoenix. Here is a picture of them crashed out in the back seat.

2009-07-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

Here is my little camera hog, Collin, being silly as usual. Both of my boys are as skinny as can be, but for some reason Collin thinks that he is HUGE!!!!! Dylan is much mor camera shy and not so much of a show off in general, but I did manage to catch a few shots of him night swimming too.

A Night Out...

2009-07-19T22:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I must say that it has been quite a while. We have been very busy, kind of boring, and to be honest it has been so hard for me to read (especially on the computer) ever since I had my eye surgery that it has taken all of the fun out of blogging for me. I finally have some blog worthy pictures though, so here goes...

Last night Chad and I had the opportunity to get all dressed up and join some good friends at our friends wedding. It was a night filled with laughter and tears, but mostly laughter. Everyone looked great, especially Jami, and we had a lot of fun.

Here is a picture of Chad and I getting ready to go.
Here are a few pictures of me and my fellow night shift nurses all dressed up.

This next picture has got to be the funnest wedding picture ever. I called Chad over to take a picture of me, Jami, and Lisa when all of the sudden, Jami calls her photographer over and tells us to show our "fives". Definitely L&D humor and totally Jami.Finally, here are my two favorite pictures of the night. I just felt like they really capture the mood and the happiness that both Jami and Mike were feeling. I took them both while they were cutting the cake.

I guess I am very sentimental when it comes to weddings. I am just so happy when I see someone else experiencing this wonderful blessing that I have had now for 12 years.

Congrats Mike and Jami!

Dylan and Collin

2009-07-01T09:38:00.001-07:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Some times it's okay to be silly...

2009-06-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

So, the truth is out - Even I can be silly sometimes. Here was cute little Collin trying to take a nice picture for some friends of ours and I had to go and ruin it. Too funny!

Romania Pictures

2009-06-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

Here is just a quick post with a few of the pictures Chad has taken in Romania. I think I picked 5 out of the hundreds he has taken just to give everyone an idea of what he is seeing.

This 1st picture is of Chad and Matt D. It looks cold there...

The next 2 pictures are of kids that Chad has been working with. The little girl must have made an impression on him because he took several pictures of her. This next picture was taken at what Chad calls the "transitional home" and the 3 girls on the front left of the photo used to be orphans.

These final pics are just some good ones Chad took. I love the open window. It looks like the picture was taken by a professional photographer.

Hmmm...

2009-06-22T21:21:00.001-07:00

I was thinking today about the fact that I haven't talked to my best friend, Tarah, or my sister-in-law, Michelle, for a long long time. I used to call them regularly. I have to wonder why that is......

When Chad and I started dating, and really even into the first several years of our marriage, it used to drive me crazy that Chad didn't like to talk on the phone. It would now seem as though I have adopted his feelings about it. I often get frustrated when talking on the phone, especially cell phones. I hate that I am always distracted while I am on the phone. There TRULY never seems to be a "good" time. I hate that, when talking on a cell phone, I will be talking and can't hear what the person on the other end is saying because it cuts them off. Finally, I have a hard time "reading people" over the phone. It is funny how I have changed over time. I also feel like I don't have anything to talk about with them now that I have started blogging. We truly lead boring lives and anything big that happens makes it on the blog, so what is left to talk about?

On that note, here is an update on what the boys and I have been up to while Chad is away - -

We have done the usual cleaning (that is a must in my book)

We have been swimming

I have been working, and sleeping, and trying to figure out what to do with the boys while I was doing these things.

The boys have been spending lots of time playing baseball at the park

The boys have been staying up too late

The boys went to the batting cages for the first time with some good friends of ours, and they LOVED it!
The boys talked me into taking them and their friends to the batting cages on what might have been the last of our nice cool summer days (it was only 85 degrees at 4pm)

I had to take the family cat to the vet for emergency surgery to drain a large abscess on his neck, YUCK

I have been checking 2 to 3 times per day for updates from Chad.

The boys have done exceptionally good while Chad has been gone. I wish I wasn't tired so much of the time so that I could enjoy them even more. We are all looking forward to Chad coming home. I think that Diesel, our family dog, is ready too.

Romania Day 6

2009-06-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

Chad's e-mail about his 5th day in Romania was only moderately interesting so I decided not to post it. Day 6, however, is a different story. This is a VERY long one, so I will just post part of it. It will be enough to give you a picture of what he is experiencing.

The orphanage is actually located in a Castle. The castles here don’t look like those I have seen pictures of in western Europe, they aren’t made with large grey rock, but otherwise they look like castles. Unfortunately I was not allowed to take and pictures, the Romanian government got burned a few years back by people showing the worst pictures and got tired of the bad publicity. I was tempted to snap away, but restrained to not cause a riff.

Okay, let me tell you what I saw and then I will share my feelings. We pulled up a dirt road with greenery almost tunneling the road. We passed through a gate and I could then see the castle clearly. It was painted a soft Spanish orange color with white trim. It looked pretty good from a distance. Gorgeous trees surround the property and there is plenty of grass everywhere. I could see children ahead playing on swings and sitting on concrete. We were forewarned that the kids would be much more affectionate and likely treat us like celebrities. As we open the doors to the cars they came running. These kids ranged in age from 6-22 years. 22 doesn’t seem like a kid, but unfortunately the system hasn’t served them well enough to act like adults. I saw clumps of older kids sitting reluctantly under some trees. The younger ones reconnected quickly with the team that they already knew and then moved on to us newbies. It seemed they all wanted to speak all of the English words they knew but they were as limited in their English as I am in Romanian. They did apparently watch enough TV to pick up on ALL of the WWE wrestlers name. They all wanted to be called “Big Show”. It made me laugh and I decided I would often refer to myself as “Big Show”. We settled in after 20 minutes of standing in the parking lot meeting 40+ kids and then decided to get on with the games, crafts and stories.

The kids were obviously not the kids at the CDC. I thought the CDC had “rough” kids, but this place was the real deal. We had 2 deaf girls, 1 girl had a broken arm but just had some heavy gauze wrapping it, plenty of the kids were obviously larger than they were educated, the older girls that huddled were dressed like street girls in the 1980’s, one boy was the obvious wild child. He honestly resembled a kid that was raised by animals, often running while flailing his arms. He was likely 13ish but behaved as a 3 or 4 year old. There were kids in dire need of dental care as well. One girl’s front teeth and gums jutted ½ an inch forward making her look tragically awkward. Many of the youth were dressed carelessly. Girls needing bras but were not aware and boys were wearing shirts that were made for girls. It was sad.

The inside of the building was also described to me. The kids abuse everything. They have broken any remote controls for tv’s and dvd players. The furniture is a wreck. The rooms sleep 15+ kids when fully loaded and no less than 12. They do have some belongings, but the other kids constantly steal anything of value. They can’t even keep silverware in the kitchen due to the kids taking it. It is a mess.

The rest of our conversation was mostly about trying to find some silver lining. There isn’t much silver in it, but hope can be found. If they didn’t have any interaction with outsiders, they would be in orphan prison. Something is better than nothing. Playing rock-paper-scissors with me is better than not. Hugging one of us is safer than 30 seconds away from us. Someone looking them in the eyes and talking with them is better than 10 minutes inside fighting over the remote control. God bless these kids, they have it more difficult than you and I can ever comprehend. They are victims of life in a broken world.

Romania Days 3 and 4

2009-06-18T19:59:00.001-07:00

Here are some excerpts from the past two e-mails from Chad. He is having a great experience and amazingly, and thanks to great friends, I am not to stressed out either...

Romania Day 3

Today started by waking up at 6am, not because I had to be anywhere but because I simply couldn't’t fall back to sleep. I still had plenty of sleep and didn’t really feel tired throughout the day. I ate breakfast at the hotel. Breakfast in Romania is very weird. This is no joke; I honestly at some fresh salami, a piece of bread, a few pickles, cheese and a hard boiled egg. It is more like lunch than breakfast, which is fine with me because I really don’t like sweets in the morning.

Throughout the morning I was reminded how cute children are. During the games you could spot the jokesters, the dumb kids, the smart kids, the prissy girls and the tomboys. They are simply children when they are in this environment. But just as soon as I was getting comfortable with these kids I looked out the window at the kids that are not in the CDC and I saw where these children come from. Outside in the fenced in area in front of the CDC children had jumped the 8ft fence and 40 kids were literally running wild. There was NO supervision from ANY adult. The kids at first glance just looked like they were on recess, but after watching for 10 seconds you could see kids beating one another with their feet and fists. There were boys wrestling each other to the ground and punching, kids chasing each other and shoving the victim into walls. I saw one child lying on the ground writhing in pain for 4 minutes before a group surrounded him. Once the group arrived they did NOTHING to console the kid, they just continued to pummel him. When they got bored they would move on to the next victim. At one point a man in his 20’s who was obviously mentally delayed (at best) knocking kids down by the dozen. He would then drag the child by their feet for 20 feet and then move on the next kid. The child would often hit their head in the process of being drug and lay their holding their head while crying. After a minute they would pick themselves up and start running around as if nothing happened.

I have never actually seen such a display of human chaos in my life. Come to find out that many of the kids that were out front were the kids we were to be working with in the afternoon. I was worried to say the least. The younger kids in that we worked with in the morning have older siblings who attend public schools. School was out so all of the kids in the community gathered outside the CDC to hopefully get in for the afternoon activities. What the kids didn’t know is that unless they had a younger brother or sister in the CDC they would have to leave and watch the activities through the fence (which a few dozen did for 3 hours). So here I am with 10 of these kids being asked to run 30 minutes of games. Believe it or not they were awesome. Once they were given some order and structure they were fine. They felt safe enough to behave civilly. They want that kind of structure, but cannot find it outside the fence. I was literally watching Lord of the Flies before my eyes.

Romania Day 4

Alright, last nights email was a long one and tonights will not follow suit. I had a great day today, but it was VERY similar to yesterday (and tomorrow for that matter). I will share a bit more about the food and some about the children.

Okay, priorities…the food. ; )

I ate the normal breakfast of salami, pickles, boiled egg, bread and coke. It was good. Lunch today at the CDC was good too! It was another chicken soup but with rice instead of noodles. The main course was mashed potatoes, and fried chicken. The fried part doesn’t really do it justice though. It was fried in a light breading and the chicken was pretty thin. It was tasty. I skipped the peas and corn mix, but ate some sort of cabbage and vinegar. I loved it. I had two servings and the gas to prove it. Dessert were these awesome cookies. They are simple, vanilla sugar wafer things dipped in chocolate. I ate too many to count. Fat Chad is back! Dinner was okay. I had a grilled white fish (one I have never heard of). It was a tad overcooked, which is better than undercooked, but didn’t do much for me. I also had some fries with salty cheese shredded on them. They were good but nothing to write home about…

A few kids stand out in my mind after today. Their names are not important it is more there beautiful faces. One of the boys has the most amazing smile. He will be handsome as an adult and has the personality to match. One of the girls is also blessed with a beautiful set of blue eyes (not very common here) and pretty dark brown hair. You can pick them out of a crowd because they are both striking. Other kids may not look as “pretty” but are cute and ornery. Alex is one that makes me smile because he has such a mischievous grin. He often puts his arm around me like we are buddies and always sits next to me during the games (even when there isn’t room or reason to). His head is shaved close, just a bit shorter than Collin’s after a short cut. He is dark skinned and skinny as a rail. I will try to get some pictures of these kids in particular. Many of the other kids crack me up too. One fat kid with a mullet type of mess for hair always laughs when he runs. One kids can’t run for shit because he moves like he is covered in body builder muscles (he is skinny as a rail too). One of the girls is blond (1 of 2 blond kids) and she look so AMERICAN that I sometimes get freaked out when she doesn’t speak our language.

Sorry these postings are so long. I am not even posting everything he writes to me about...just the highlights.

Romania Day 2

2009-06-17T16:47:00.001-07:00

So here is a quick update on Chads trip to Romania before I head off to work. I will include a few pictures and an part of his e-mail. The 1st thing I noticed when looking at the pics is how small the beds are...

Now for part of his e-mail. He is great at making me laugh even when he is so far away. I guess that is why I love him so much!

Well, it is now 10:30 and day 2 is ending. I am not tired and really feel pretty acclimated to the time/travel. I know it sounds too soon for that to happen, but I feel normal. Somewhere in the back of my head I feel like a bit of a badass for not being more jetlagged =).

I woke up today at 8am and had an hour before our “in country training”. That meeting consisted of learning quite a bit about Romania, Buckner, and the orphanage. Really, it is not an orphanage at all; it is a day school for kids. There is an orphanage that we will visit, but we are not working at it until Saturday. The kids are apparently dirt poor and behind in their schooling, but not technically orphans. Most of the kids are in fact Gypsy. I learned quite a bit about the Gypsy communities and am not particularly impressed with them. There are three classes of Gypsy. There are “traditional” gypsies that are permanent residents. They are rich, due to their ability to trade goods, and live in tight nit family units. The second are the “traveling” sort. They are the real black sheep of the group. Witchcraft, theft, and lacking of moral value are their strong points. Then there are the final group which are a bit more of an oddity. They seem similar to our white trash. They have lost most of the Gypsy traditions in their lack of traveling and they certainly aren’t rich. They live in the slums on the outskirts of town, in isolated communities. They don’t seem to contribute to society in any positive ways, but enjoy living off the goodness of others.

After the training we headed to a local pizza shop for lunch. Amazing. I ate at least 4 pieces and only stopped so I wouldn’t be the only person still shoving food in my face. After lunch we rested for an hour and then headed over to the CDC (Center for Child Development). This is the “day school” I mentioned earlier. This place was a trip. The building is three stories and looks like most of the buildings in Romania, run down but not tragic. Upon entering I thought of you. I though that you might not be able to do this trip due to the smell. It reeked of bug spray and the opening stairwell had 1000 mosquitoes flying around. The school is on the second floor, but it was such a strong odor that I almost didn’t even want to see the school. I bucked up and proceeded up the stairs anyways. We opened the doors to the school and I was impressed with the cleanliness and new conditions. I will get pictures for you to see. It was decorated just like a preschool in the U.S. The smell was still present, but a tad less potent. After a short tour of the second floor, we headed upstairs to the third floor. Honestly, I don’t have words to describe the smell, but it was far worse than the chemical smell downstairs. It was more like death and rotted cheese with a scoop of ass mixed in. The 3rd floor is a mess. The building used to be a hospital 50 years ago, and then was abandoned. It had been abandoned for decades and was looted and virtually wrecked over the years. It is as big a mess as a building can get. Though they have “picked up” a bit, the walls look like they have been hit with a bomb. It blows my mind to think they turned the second floor into such a nice area having started with such a mess. Someone was very busy in order to make such a drastic change. The hope for the third floor is that it will someday be renovated…I pray for the people that have that job.

Romania update

2009-06-15T13:14:00.001-07:00

This is part of an email sent to me from Chad when he first got to Romania. He is not sure that he will be able to blog, so I will try to keep everyone posted --

We left JFK at 6:30pm (eastern) and arrived in Bucharest at 10am (Romania time). We then piled in a car and drove for 2.5 hours and stopped for lunch. After lunch we drove for an additional 4 hours and finally arrived at the hotel Iris in Tarnaveni. I didn't sleep much on the plane, maybe 4 hours total. I slept for 1 hour on the drive. I am tired.

Okay, about the trip. We were met by two guys (can't remember their names) and they drove us. 1 was the rep for the mission organization. I rode with him. He is a really nice guy and speaks English (with an accent). We chatted about many things as we drove through the country. I estimated we drove about 200 miles so we had time to chat. Lunch was great. I had some sort of wiener schnitzel (not a hot dog) and liked it alright. Most of the group ordered a chicken with feta and stuff and it was awesome! Steak fries to boot. I can tell that the food will not be an issue for me. The country is gorgeous. We drove over the Carpathian Mtns and I could have just been dropped off with my camping gear and disappeared for several days. The town I am in is mostly rolling hills. It looks like what I imagine Ireland/Scotland to look like. The architecture is quite cool. The first thing I noticed were the cool roofs. The look SO...European! I am taking quite a few pics of the countryside. I can't do it justice with words.

The travel went flawlessly. I feel great (other than tired). I am looking forward to having the energy I need to explore and learn.

Scrapbooking Fun!

2009-06-14T21:59:00.001-07:00

I had so much fun at scrapbooking this weekend that I had to share. Recently I found out that several of my friends LOVE greeting cards. They love going to Hallmark and picking out the perfect card for people. I am absolutely the opposite! I don't see the value in them (that doesn't mean that I don't give them). I sometimes get sucked in by a great card and pay the OUTRAGEOUS $2 to $5 for them and then the receiver reads it and throws it away.

Hmmm....maybe I should have given them a $5 gift card somewhere instead....

Anyway, back to scrapbooking, this month we made cards! It was super fun and I was able to make 12 cards for like $2!!!! Granted, I had to pour a lot more of my time and energy into them, but that it was makes them so great. Here are some pictures of a few that I made.
I made 36 total. The last set I made was a set of "male themed" cards in browns and greens, but I didn't get to photograph them because my camera is currently traveling abroad with my honey.

Chad...

2009-06-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

Made with My Cool Signs.Net

Romania

2009-06-11T12:57:00.001-07:00

Well, the time has come for Chad to start his summer whirlwind of traveling. His first adventure will lead him to Romania, yes, Romania. While there he will be working at an orphanage running recreation programs for the kids. It sounds at though the group will only be working approximately 5 hours a day at the orphanage, so this should leave them with some time to do some sight seeing. I am excited for Chad to explore the local sites, castles, and food. He has promised to keep us all posted via the blog. I will be as interested as everyone else. Our only form of communication while he is gone will be the computer because of the time difference and the expense of international calls.

The kids and I will miss you! I can't wait to hear ALL about your 1st trip to Europe :)

Memorial Weekend

2009-05-25T13:03:00.000-07:00

Well, as usual, I took what could have been a quiet, relaxing weekend and turned it into chaos. Ok, not really. I did jam pack the weekend full of activities, but to be honest, that is the way I like it. I am not good at being still.The weekend started off with Chad's parents arriving on Thursday which was also the boys last day of school! We played a little Wii and had a nice dinner. I don't even remember what we did on Friday, except that I worked. I came home Saturday and only slept for 3 hours. Then it was off to lunch and the Desert Botanical Gardens. It seemed like a great idea the day before when it was nice, cool, and overcast, but to be honest it was a little HOT. Here are a few pictures from the dozens that I took.

Next it was off to a surprise 40th birthday party with some great friends.

The weekend then continued with a Memorial Day cookout and swimming party at our house on Sunday. We had kids, music, food, and fun. Here are a few pictures from that.

Now that I am exhausted from my weekend, it is time to go back to work tonight and try to figure out how to sleep with the kids home all day. I have got to be the worlds lightest sleeper...

And the Eye Saga Continues...

2009-05-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

I am soooo tired of having to write about my eye problems, but it seems as though they are continuing. After my last visit with the cornea doc, and the good news of 20/25 vision - I truly thought that would be my last post about this.

This past week I started to notice an all too familiar feeling of not being able to see "quite right". I let it go for a couple of days thinking that I was just tired, but when I got called in to work on Tuesday night I realized that I REALLY am having trouble seeing again. I have to admit that in my mind I went into panic mode. I insisted that my surgeon work me in on Wednesday (which he was very happy to do) since my cornea doc was unavailable. They tested my vision and it has gone from the wonderful 20/25 in the right eye back to 20/60!!!!!!! OMG, is this ever going to end? Here is the real kicker...this time they can't tell why I have lost my vision in that eye. I am just hoping that I am experiencing the vision loss before the doctors can visually see what is going on. I am going to see the cornea doc tomorrow. My sight has definitely NOT improved over the last 6 days, if anything it has gotten worse.

Living Room Makeover

2009-05-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems that Chad and I have officially started a tradition of doing something to fix up the house EVERY two years. Four years ago, we painted the outside of our house and got new living room and dining room furniture. Two years ago, we put in our pool, bought all new patio furniture, and tiled the bathrooms. This year it was decided that it was the carpet that needed to be replaced. Then, we decided that we should paint BEFORE we got new carpet while all of the furniture was moved out. Chad and I spent last weekend painting the living room and hallway, the new carpet was installed on Tuesday, and then we decided that the new pain looked so good that we should paint the entry way and dining room too. Here are some before and after pictures....

I especially love our new wall of crosses in our living room. It looks great with our southwestern style.

Here are close ups of the ugly old carpet and the new carpet...

Finally, here are the before and after pictures of the entryway and dining room.

I just wish the pictures did our hard work justice.

In the past year, we have painted the kitchen, boys bathroom, both boys bedrooms, the hallway, the living room, entryway, and dining room. That only leaves our bedroom and bathroom. I can't wait to get it done, but we have decided to wait until Chad finishes all of his traveling. He will be gone 21 days in June and early July.

Baby Shower

2009-05-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

I am so behind on blogging that I am not even sure where to start...

I was lucky enough this past weekend to be able to attend a baby shower for one of my co-workers, Kippy. Even more exciting for me is the fact that I got to be involved in throwing the shower by being in charge of the cake, but didn't have to actually plan it. Here is a great picture of Kippy. It is hard to believe that she in her third trimester of pregnancy. The other great part about the shower was the food, the decorations, and getting to spend time outside of work with my co-workers. Here is a small collection of pictures from the shower.

My good friend Shannon made this cake possible :)

Everything was just perfect and Kim's one year old twins were the hit of the shower. Just look at how big and handsome they are...

Great News!

2009-05-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well, for the first time in a long time, I received GREAT news from the cornea specialist this morning!

The first time I went to see him after my LASIK surgery I was only seeing 20/100 in my right eye. As many of you remember, his first reaction was not good. He was initially talking about the possibility of doing a cornea transplant, and at the VERY best that my vision would end up at about 20/30 and I would need to wear a contact in that eye forever. (Not something you want to hear after you just spent thousands of dollars so that you wouldn't have to wear contacts anymore)

At my last visit, things looked good, but we were still only hoping that I would eventually get to see as good as 20/30 (I was still 20/40 at my last visit).

When he tested my vision this morning I am seeing 20/25!!!!! That is better than he EVER expected. He was so excited that he tried to call my LASIK surgeon on speaker phone in the exam room:) I am so thankful that this has all turned out as good as it has, and I am happy to be sharing some good news!

Catch of the Day...

2009-04-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

I often talk about our AWESOME neighbors Rich and Nora, and today will be no different. I am not sure if Chad and I can EVER move because we would be leaving them behind. This weekend Rich came over and offered to take our boys fishing! They were sooooo excited. Chad and I have tried to take them, but neither of us knows much about fishing and have NEVER caught anything. So, Rich picked the boys up on Saturday at 4pm, loaded all the gear and a cooler full of sodas and snacks, and off they went. We expected them back in about 2 hours, but they didn't arrive back home until after 8pm (the boys bedtime) and they still had to eat dinner.

As it turns out, it was well worth it. Dylan caught his 1st 4 fish and Collin caught 3. They had a blast. Her are a few shots that Rich took of the boys...

It turns out that they had so much fun that Chad is getting his fishing license and they are all going fishing again on Thursday evening!

Bugs!!!!

2009-04-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

Well, lately, I have been reading one of my co-workers blogs about her problem with LIZARDS being in her house. While I feel for her, I would much rather have lizards in my house than what I found sitting right behind me while scrapbooking this weekend at my dining room table.

Brit, these pictures are for you...

These are pictures of a Tarantula Hawk Wasp! We had one that was as big as they get. It was HUGE and DISGUSTING!

Tarantula hawk stings are considered to be the most painful of any North American insect.

One researcher described the tarantula hawk’s sting this way: "To me, the pain is like an electric wand that hits you, inducing an immediate, excruciating pain that simply shuts down one’s ability to do anything, except, perhaps, scream. Mental discipline simply does not work in these situations.rantula hawk stings are considered to be the most painful of any North American insect.

We were very fortunate NOT to get stung because, at the time, we didn't even know what it was. I hope I NEVER encounter one of these again. AHHHHHHHHHHH!!

The Pool Is OPEN!!!

2009-04-20T19:18:00.000-07:00

While I absolutely DREAD our endless days of over 100 degrees, I am looking forward to spending time in the pool.

The pool is still too cold for me, but today was our first 100 degree day and the boys went SWIMMING!

It was fun to watch. They couldn't help but to smile (even under water) they LOVE it so much.

Even our little dog, Diesel, got in on the fun!

Okay Summer, ready or not, here we come...

2009-04-14T09:21:00.000-07:00

So I decided it was about time to post a picture of my good friend Shannon. I have known Shannon since high school and our husbands have been best friends since then as well.

I am sure you have seen pleanty of pictures of her husband, Matt, because that is who Chad spends all of his time with. They go hunting together, they used to go quading together, and they hang out several times a week.

Matt and Shannon are our kids Godparents and Shannon makes the most amazing cakes. Thanks to her, my kids have had some really fun birthday cakes. She and I scrapbook together, and every now and then, when we have time, we love to grab dinner or a coffee together and just chat. We are lucky to have them living so close.

These are her adorable boys, Josh and Ryan. We spend holidays with them and Chad even cuts their hair.

Easter

2009-04-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

From dying easter eggs,

To preparing for a picnic at the park,

To enjoying a church service out in the sun,

To perfect kite flying, water balloon throwing, bike riding, easter egg hunting weather,

To an afternoon nap and waking up to Tequila sunrises on the back wall (courtesy of our neighbors),

To an Easter dinner made by mom,

To playing scrabble with my honey once the kids were in bed,

To a back rub and a great night sleep...

I would have to say that we had an EXCELLENT Easter!

Another Reason NOT to Work Night Shift

2009-04-09T15:11:00.000-07:00

I once had a friend who titled one of her blog posts "Bad Mommy Moment", well, this is definitely my worst. I am not sharing this because I am proud of it, I am only sharing because I have hopes that at least someone out there can relate.

Two days ago Chad and I were going to rent a movie. The movie store is just down the street so the kids usually stay at home while we run this quick errand. Well, Tuesday, Collin wanted to come with us and hopped in the back seat just as we were leaving. He didn't say a word the entire way there (a miracle for those of you who know Collin). When we got to the movie store, Chad and I returned our movies and started looking at the new releases while Collin went over to the Game Crazy side to look at and play video games. When we were done, we ran across the street to Fry's and then home to our neighbors house to visit. When we finally got home, Dylan looked at us and said "Where's Collin?". We were confused to say the least. We told him Collin was with him, what did he mean where is Collin...but then it clicked. "OMG honey! We left him at Game Crazy" I yelled. Chad honestly didn't believe that we had done that. He was sure we had left Collin at home, but sure enough when he was on his way to Game Crazy Collin called and said "Dad, where are you?" Chad is too funny and simply answered, " I am on my way to pick you up, duh."

Fortunately, Collin was NOT scared or traumatized. I gave him a big hug and we laughed about it A LOT that night even though it is not funny. My excuse is that I don't get enough sleep. Chad didn't have one except that Collin was too darn quiet so he forgot about him.

Poor Collin. Mom and Dad really love you and we are soooo sorry!

Eye Update

2009-04-09T09:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here is the latest on my eyes....

I followed up with Dr. Kahn yesterday. He is the physician that actually did my LASIK surgery. He says that my right eye (the one with DLK) looks 95% better than when he sent me to the corneal specialist! Yeah! So, the treatment is working, however, the prognosis still isn't great. I am not expected to regain all of my vision back. In fact, I will probably level out at a point that is worse thank where I started in that eye.

I asked my corneal specialist about the option to repeat the LASIK surgery in the right eye so that I can still obtain my dream of perfect vision (crazy to even think I know)....his answer " I wouldn't touch you"! LOL I can't say that I am surprised. I guess the chances of getting DLK a first time are 1 in 5000, but once you have had it the chance of it recurring is much much much higher.When I saw Dr. Kahn yesterday, he assured me that I would still one day have the vision I desire. He says that the corneal specialist is right I CANNOT have LASIK surgery again, however, I can have PRK done because there is no lifting of the flap. This is something I am going to have to REALLY think about, but it is nice to know that the option is out there :)

A few things I love about spring...

2009-04-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

Spring is my favorite time of year!!! I love the weather. I love the cool breezes. I love all of the flowers that are blooming. I love getting the backyard ready for the summer. (ok so I let Chad get the backyard ready for the summer - thanks honey!) Most recently, Chad has been installing nice outdoor speakers so that we can enjoy music while out at the pool. (I can honestly listen to music every second of the day. It is another thing I love)
While I am NOT looking forward to the heat of summer, I am looking forward to reading by the pool, hanging out with our neighbors, and swimming EVERYDAY with the boys! I am sure there will be lots of posts to come.

2009-04-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

One afternoon after a rough week, I arrived home to find this beautiful and thoughtful gift on my door step! I have the most amazing friends that surprise me when I least expect it. Thanks Britt :)

2009-03-31T16:08:00.000-07:00

I feel like all of my posts lately have been negative. I think it is so much easier for us to focus on and talk about the frustrating or bad things in our life and take for granted the good ones. I may not be having the easiest time the past couple of months, and I may have spent thousands of dollars on the dream of perfect vision only to end up worse off than I started, but...

Chad and I both have good jobs that we LOVE!

I have the BEST husband who reminds me on a daily basis how much he loves me.
I have two HEALTHY and HANDSOME little boys that are responsible, loving, and are both getting straight A's in school.
I get to witness the MIRACLE of life every day!
I have met some of the most AMAZING people throughout my ordeal and have learned A LOT from them. (one of my physicians even called to check up on me from his vacation in NY)
I have a BEAUTIFUL home with a backyard that I love.

I have EVERYTHING I need and more...

Thank you to everyone who has shown us support. You all know who you are. We love each and everyone of you.

DLK Update

2009-03-27T16:29:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that the damage to my right eye from the DLK has stabilized and I am no longer facing having to have an urgent surgery. I will need treatment for several months, but there IS hope that most of my vision will eventually return in my right eye. The left one is absolutely PERFECT! Right now I am thankful for the little things.

DLK

2009-03-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

Diffuse Lamellar Keratitis (DLK) : is a postoperative complication of Lasik and All-Laser Lasik that occurs when foreign cells (infiltrates) are introduced into the interface between the corneal flap and underlying stroma. DLK can occur with any flap manipulation including initial surgery, enhancement, removal of epithelial ingrowth, etc. There is often pain, blurred vision, foreign body sensation, and sensitivity to light but some patients have no symptoms other than rapid onset of hazy vision. DLK most often is present within one to six days after surgery however DLK has occurred months and years after surgery and can threaten an otherwise successful visual outcome if not properly treated.DLK causes the creation of fine white grainy cells that when viewed through a slit-lamp appear like waves of sand, hence the nickname Sands of Sahara. Although the infiltrates are sterile, the cornea attacks them and if left unchecked will destroy itself causing serious damage and permanent reduction in visual acuity.

DLK is defined in four stages beginning with Stage 1 where DLK is first present through Stage 4 where the cornea is destroying itself.

Stage 1 consists of infiltrates in the periphery of the flap without involvement of the central cornea. This stage most commonly presents on the day after surgery.

Stage 2 occurs as a result of central migration of cells to involve the visual axis. Stage 2 most frequently presents on day two or three. Progression to stage 3 occurs when dense clumps of cells aggregate in the central visual axis. Relative clearance of the periphery is also seen.

Stage 3 usually appears 48 to 72 hours after surgery, and can be associated with a 1- or 2-line loss of visual acuity. Stage 3 has been referred to as "threshold" DLK because many of these eyes will develop permanent scarring if not appropriately treated.

Stage 4 is severe lamellar keratitis resulting in stromal melting and permanent scarring. Central tissue loss causes a hyperopic shift. The incidence of Stage 4 is estimated at one in 5,000 Lasik cases.

Those of you who know me know that I can't do anything the easy way. This is a description of the complication I am currently suffering from after my LASIK surgery last week. I am already at stage 3 and am facing having to have an urgent eye surgery this week to open up the surgical flap and irrigate my eye out with steroids. I have been unable to work these past couple of days and feel like crap. I am hoping that the corneal specialist I am seeing today will have some good news for me.

On the other hand, I am happy to say that the vision in my left eye (the one that was injured ) is perfect. I am seeing better than 20/20 out of it. At least I have one good eye!

Thank you everyone for all of your prayers and support!

2009-03-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

My boys are growing up so FAST! Just sittin here thinking about them made me want to post a couple of my favorite pictures. Most of these were taken while we were at Disney Land for their birthdays a year and a half ago....

I can't believe how much they have grown even since these pictures were taken.

I LOVE YOU BOYS!!!

SHE CAN SEE!

2009-03-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that Kris finally gets to check off one MAJOR event from her "bucket list": LASIK eye surgery! Today at 2pm I drove Kris to Scottsdale where we met Dr. Kahn. You would think after all she has been through this past couple months that she would be nervous, but in fact she was simply excited...as was I.

By 3pm she had been fully prepped with a gamut of eye drops and was booted and netted for action. I was exstatic about the fact this particular office openly displays their surgical room! I got to watch from just a few feet and some glass away! AMAZING! The process takes around 20mins. and is simply magical to watch.

Here is the basic rundown of the Lasik process:

-Lay down and have your eye just about sucked out of your head.

-While trying to keep your eye in your head they zap it with something that cuts a "C" shape in around the coloring. Something call a "flap" is the result.

-After it looks like they burned all of the eye, they stick a metal pick in under the burned skin and peel it back like skinning a grape.

-The Dr. puts what appears to be a yellow/orange wood stain around your eyes.

-At this point, I asked for a vomit bowl.

-Now, the Dr. projects some sort of crop circle type of image on her eyeballs and yells "Everyone, stand back!".

-Loud noises and blinding lights flash violently around the entire room.

-Within a short amount of time the noises and bright lights shining into Kris' eyes ceases.

-Kris sits up and vulua; PERFECT VISION! ;o)

Okay, so maybe that isn't exact...but pretty close from my view. Bottom line is Kris has beautiful eyes and we no longer need to view them through a lense, of any type. We love you Kris! Enjoy the new look on life!

<--- Eye after flap.

Aireal photo of ocean...

Crop circle

It is done...

2009-03-12T08:34:00.000-07:00

It is done, the quad is sold, and my LASIK surgery is scheduled!

I guess there is no turning back now. I wish I could say that I am SUPER excited, but the truth is my recent eye injury has stolen some of the JOY from this experience that I have been looking forward to for years. The thing I feel the worst about is that Chad sold his quad to make this happen for me.I would do the same thing for him, but it is MUCH harder to receive than to give. This will definitely be the BEST birthday present I have ever received. What an AMAZING husband I have :)

Javelina Hunt 2009

2009-03-02T13:00:00.000-08:00

So as many of you already know Chad went on his second annual Javelina hunt a couple of weeks ago. I finall got the pictures and thought that I should share some with all our friends and family... I definitely don't need to keep them all to myself. Lol. This year Chad went with his dad, Matt Fossett ( a long time friend and our boys godfather), and Matt Dobyns (a Pastor that believe it or not, was in Chads youth group when we first moved here).

Not the best picture, but it is the only one of all 4 of them on the hunt. Last year, Chad did not get a pig, but this year he got one on the 1st day. Here are a few pictures of his prize.

Later that same day Matt Fossett got a pig too. The other guys didn't have any luck, but still had a great time. Here are a couple of shots of them hanging around camp...

The last set of pictures are the ones of the pig heads when the guys brought them home. For some reason, they decided it was a good idea to store them in MY freezer until they work on them. YUCK!

Back to work.

2009-03-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

I am happy to say that I have FINALLY been released to go back to work!!! I can't wait to experience all of the little miracles that I am fortunate to see on a daily basis.

I love my job, I love my coworkers, I love sharing in such special moments with my patients, and I love that we work with some of the best doctors. Being off for 6 weeks really puts things into perspective...

To Be Next...

2009-02-21T19:59:00.000-08:00

I have been reading a book over the last few days, and other than just enjoying what I am reading, I don't find that I think much about the books I am reading. There is one line in this book that I just keep thinking about and have gone back to read several times. It pretty much sums up how I feel like I have been living my life lately...

"It is some sort of perfidious human desire to never be where we are, but to be next, to be the next minute forward, to escape the present."

I have especially felt like this with all of the eye problems that occurred with my surgery. I am truly tired of dealing with it and more than anything want to get to the point where I can pretend that nothing ever happened. For those that are wondering and don't already know, I will not be getting my LASIK surgery for now. It does seem that it may happen eventually, but for now it is a no go. Soon I will be in my contacts again and everyone will forget this ever happened.

When was the last time you truly lived in the moment? When was the last time you had a day where you weren't thinking about the next day, or what your schedule was for the next week, or when your next vacation was? I honestly can't remember the last time for me...

My Sweet Little Angel

2009-02-15T07:52:00.001-08:00

This is a picture of the Valentine that our son Collin made for us. I am sure every kid did something similar in their classes on Friday, but I thought that I would share this because Collin obviously put a lot of thought into it. It is nice to see that they really do appreciate us. I know the candies on the page are impossible to read so the note reads like this... (I will change the font and the color of the words that are on the candies)

Happy Valentine's Day mom & dad. Mom you are top chef in the house. Please don't call me lover boy. Only kiss me at bed time. Love you mom. Mom your an angel. Dad I love when you play catch with me. Dad get real. I love your jokes. Your son Collin
Collin is the sweetest, most compassionate little boy. I am so blessed to have him as a son!

Chad's First Post - My Princess

2009-02-13T13:44:00.000-08:00

I am about to get as sappy and open as I am capable, but I can't resist sharing a peek into my own heart.

My first post (EVER!) needs to be about nothing more than my deep love and admiration for Kris. If you follow this blog you have seen the amazing amount of love Kris has for people; her kids, her family, her friends, her patients at the hospital, and even me. We are blessed to be loved by her and better people for it.

If you have ever tasted her food then you have been blessed. I get to eat it EVERY day!

If you have ever seen how beautiful she is when she smiles then you have been blessed! I get to see this almost everyday (there is some correlation to sleep with this one)

If you have ever been encouraged by her loyal friendship, you've been blessed! 13 years and counting!

If you have ever seen how much she loves her children then you are blessed! Yes, even when she isn't happy with them.

If you have ever seen Kris care for a patient at work then you have been blessed! Okay, I am going off of her stories which sound legit. =)

If you have ever been the recipient of a gift from Kris then you have been blessed! Most of the western hemisphere falls into this catagory.

I could go on...

I love you Kris. I look on our past together as the best years of my life. I look towards our future life together as a gift from God. As for today, well my heart tells me that I am more in love with you than ever.

For the times I have let you down; I am sorry. For the times that I didn't listen; I am sorry. For the times I have forgotten your love for me; I am sorry. For the times I have failed to make you smile; I am sorry. For the times I have taken your love for granted; I am sorry. I want to be the best for you and I will stop at nothing to make that happen.

You are my Princess,

Chad

Love of a Lifetime

2009-02-13T12:37:00.000-08:00

With Valentine's Day coming up, I have been reflecting on my relationship with Chad. I realize just how lucky I am to have found my TRUE LOVE so young. So many of our friends were skeptical. They all thought that because we married so young that we would never last. I think Chad and I both knew early on in our relationship that we were meant to be together. So....today's blog is just a quick journey through the 13 years that Chad and I have spent together. The songs that are now on our blog are songs that either have some significance to our relationship or that make me think of Chad. For example the song "For the First Time" is the song Chad and I had our first dance to at our wedding (our first dance ever), "Your Still the One" is a song that was playing when we drove into Arizona for the very first time. The song made me think of how crazy our lives had been until that point and I think that it was the first time I realized that I was growing to love this man that I had married more and more every day. Every time I hear the song "Lucky" I think of how I am truly blessed to have married my very bestfriend. Finally, "Head Over Feet" always makes me think of Chad he has always called me his PRINCESS. I used to listen to this song all the time when we were first dating...

Chad and I met at the University of New Mexico, on campus, with 30,000 other college students. He happened to walk by a bench I was sitting on and that is how it all began.

This is a picture of us at 18 & 20 years old. Chad wasn't sure that he was going to call and ask me out until he heard my last name and realized that we had something we could talk about. That one thing was my brother. Who would have guessed that 9 years after my brother was killed that I would meet someone who knew him and that HE (my brother) would bring us together. We quickly found out that we had gone to all the same schools since kindergarten, but we never met until college.

By our second date, we decided not to see other people. It was only about 3 months later that Chad flew me to Minnesota to meet his sister, and only about a month later that I realized that Chad was in this forever...

One night we were driving home from a date and he randomly started to laugh. When I asked him what he was laughing at he just looked at me and said "I just think it is funny that I am sitting next to my wife". I was shocked that he felt that way so early in our relationship and VERY glad because I felt the same way.

So even after all of these years, we are still going strong. Chad may not be the most romantic guy I have ever met. He doesn't believe in flowers because they die, but he does the things that matter to me the most. He is BY FAR the best at giving back rubs and he gives them to me way more than I deserve (even if he doesn't want to), he makes me laugh more than anyone, and sometimes I think he knows me better than I know myself. I am so happy to be married to him! We now have our two beautiful kids to share our love with, and I hope that if we can't teach them anything else, that they will get to see a good example of what a marriage is supposed to be like from watching me and Chad.This is us as a young family (probably 4 years ago) This is us this past Christmas in Albuquerque, NM where our life started together as a couple.

I LOVE YOU CHAD AND I ALWAYS WILL!!!!

Admiration

2009-02-11T18:35:00.000-08:00

Admiration: Ad`mi*ra"tion\, n. [F., fr. L. admiratio. See Admire.]
1. Wonder; astonishment. [Obs.]

2. Wonder mingled with approbation or delight; an emotion excited by a person or thing possessed of wonderful or high excellence; as, admiration of a beautiful woman, of a landscape, of virtue. Every now and then, we meet special people in our lives. I have had the pleasure to meet and to work with Erin B. I have been asked on several occasions throughout my life to tell about someone I admire, and for as long as I can remember I always picked the same person. I was sitting her thinking recently about who I know that I admire the most, and Erin came to mind immediately. I may not know her that well (really just as colleagues), but I can't say enough good things about what I do know. She is an amazing mom, a loving wife, a dedicated nurse who loves what she does, and a woman of faith. She ALWAYS has a smile for everyone. She works nights and lives for her kids. I honestly do not even know how she can function sometimes, but she does and she does it well. I would very much like to be more like her This is for you Erin... You AMAZE me!

Life is FULL of disappointments...

2009-02-07T06:17:00.000-08:00

Some are just BIGGER than others!

So, yesterday was the big day. I had my preop appt for my LASIK surgery and after they did the scans of my corneas I was told that I am NOT a canidate for the procedure. This was disappointment #1.

*I do have to clarify that we knew that there was a chance this could happen after the corneal abrasion I suffered while under anesthesia more than 2 weeks ago*
The physician then went on to explain to me that the damage done to my cornea was so severe that she feels that we could check for further healing in 2-4 weeks, but that her recommendation was to wait for 6 months to a YEAR. Disappointment #2

*We thought that if the procedure had to be delayed that it would be by a week or 2*

The physician further went on to explain that, in her professional opinion, there is now a chance that I may NEVER be able to have my LASIK procedure done. Disappointment #3

I WILL be getting another opinion, but in the meantime it looks like I will be wearing my glasses. After being given my bad news, I tried wearing my contacts for 3 hours and after taking them out my left one was painful and inflamed all over again. Disappointment #4Who knew that one could sustain such a bad injury while they were ASLEEP????

My Newest Creation

2009-02-04T18:17:00.000-08:00

Well, the other night I thought that I should make dessert. I decided on BROWNIES, because who doesn't love chocolate? For some reason, simple brownies just weren't enough so I made a sort of brownie cake! Here are pictures of it when is was done. It was sprinkled with cut up Reese's Peanut Butter Cups...

Don't worry my work friends... I already bought all the stuff to make it again and when I am back to work I will bring one in YUM!!

OOPS!!!

2009-01-31T09:09:00.000-08:00

This is a PERFECT example of why my kids should not EVER leave their toys, clothing, etc... in the kitchen. I have absolutely NO idea how this happened...

The other night when I was baking cookies I noticed that something did not smell right so I opened the oven only to find that one of my sons new, EXPENSIVE, UnderArmor receiver gloves had fallen into the oven and was ON FIRE!!!!

Needless to say, Collin cried and cried, but I assured him that while I did feel bad about his Christmas present getting ruined, that it was definitely NOT my fault. Sometimes kids just have to learn lessons the hard way!

Sorry Auntie Micky :(

Check out the new addition to my blog...

2009-01-29T12:37:00.000-08:00

If you scroll down to the bottom of my posts you will find a fun jigsaw puzzle that you can put together. I will try to update it with a new one every week. I love this stuff.

Good Times with Great Friends

2009-01-28T20:32:00.001-08:00

Finally, I am starting to feel like myself again.

The house is clean (for the most part, at least the beds are made and the laundry is done)

I have cooked 2 nights in a row!

I am planning to bake cookies for all of my coworkers tomorrow and drop them off tomorrow night

I was actually able to read a magazine!!!

I met up with Brittney, my other recovering friend, and we went to see a movie. (we figured that this would not take too much energy)

Britt and I went to see "Bride Wars" today and we really enjoyed it. It was a total chick flick that Chad would have hated!

It was defnitely good for me because it kept me down for a couple of hours. I have to admit...I am not great at this recovery stuff. I am only down if I absolutely HAVE to be.

Where have we been???

2009-01-24T15:55:00.000-08:00

Trachelectomy: Surgical removal of the cervix, the lower portion of the uterus that protrudes into the vagina.

Well, my surgery is done and I have to say that I am NOT bouncing back as fast as I did 5 years ago when I had my hysterectomy! Aside from the first day, I have not had any surgical pain - it is other things that are keeping me down.

Here are a couple of shots of my abdominal incisions.

The biggest problem I have faced is that when I woke up from anesthesia, something was wrong with my eye. It hurt so bad and the tears were just pouring out! I was sent home with some numbing drops that enabled me to open my eye, but 3 hours after getting home from the hospital I found myself in the urgent care (per my surgeons request) to make sure that there was not something in my eye. I was diagnosed with a severe and large...

Corneal abrasion: A scratch or scrape on the cornea, the clear front window of the eye that transmits and focuses light into the eye..

The doctor said, "it is the worst one I have ever seen". It was approximately 1/2 inch long and directly across the middle of my eye. I was given 2 more types of eye drops and told to follow up with an opthamologist the following day.

This is me trying to open my eye that first night so that Chad could get a picture of me. This is NOT the happy smiling Kris you all know.

This is what it looked like when I finally got my eye open. It took everything I had to get this picture. The light made it so hard. That is why we didn't try for a clearer one. Notice my hand on the side of my neck trying to brace myself for the pain. Who would have known this would be the worst part of my surgery???

NOTE: This may not seem like a big deal to all that are reading, but please keep in mind that I am scheduled to undergo LASIK surgery on 2/6/09.

So, on Thursday, the day after surgery, I had to wait at another doctors appt for almost 2 hours! The news there was that it will heal eventually and that I will probably have to postpone my LASIK surgery for a couple of weeks. Here we are today, Wednesday, and I still cannot see out of my left eye. This has definitely been the biggest complication of my surgery. I think I would have recovered quicker had I not had to spend so much time dealing with this eye problem. It absolutely exhausted me.

This is my sweet little dog who laid by my side for 3 days when I wasn't at the doctors office. Here is the pile of magazines and a book I was planning to read while I was laid up, but have yet been able to do thanks to my little eye problem. Finally, on the right is a picture of my home for the last week, my bed.

Ronald the Bruce!

2009-01-17T12:59:00.000-08:00

Today is a very special day in the Diegle household as we celebrate the 62nd birthday of my farter-in-law, oh I mean father-in-law, Ron! Okay, so we are not really celebrating, but we do want to acknowledge what a great guy he is. He is super intellegent, he is a wonderful father and grandfather, he is superburb at creating adventure stories to tell my boys when he comes to visit, and he still runs several miles at least 3 times a week! The list can go on...

Happy Birthday Ron....We Love You!

New Year Renovations

2009-01-04T11:40:00.000-08:00

Well, Chad and I brought in the new year by making some much needed updates to our house. The first thing we did was put up a rod and curtains so that we can separate our bedroom from our bathroom. It hasn't really bothered us in the past, but with my middle of the night wake up calls for work, Chad prefers not to have the lights blaring in his face while I am getting ready. The boys are also getting older and we are needing some extra privacy.

Then on New Years Eve while I was working, Chad surprised me by starting on repainting both of the boys rooms. It was in our plans and he was in the mood so by the time I got home on New Years Day - Collin's room was completely done. We spent New Years Day painting Dylan's room and then that night after a nice dinner at my mom's house, we put all of their furniture in place and everything on the walls. (Including their new "Fatheads" that their Nana got them for Christmas) I must say...their rooms look GREAT! Go Cardinals! Here are the pictures of Collins room...

Now here are pictures of Dylan's room....

It is hard to give you a full picutre of what their rooms look like, but we painted them a light gray which looks great with all of their Cardinals gear.

Christmas Vacation

2008-12-29T14:31:00.000-08:00

So, for the first time in almost 9 years we went home to Albuquerque for Christmas. It is weird to call ABQ home, by now Phoenix feels more like home to us. We were joined in ABQ by Chad's sister, her husband, and our niece and nephew.

The best part about the trip was that Chad's parents got a hotel room for the week (with 3 beds and 2 baths) and they stayed there with all 4 of the grandkids at night. Thats right....Chad, Michelle, Clint, and I had their house all to ourselves after about 8pm every night! We took advantage of it by having fires everynight and either visiting with Mic and Clint, or by watching movies. It was very relaxing.
I had also forgotten how much the cold weather puts me into the Christmas mood. It some how just feels more like Christmas when it is snowing. Unfortunately none of the snow that came down stuck, but it was still beautiful to see. I think I got a picture of some of it on the mountains.

We spent the rest of our time making cookies, decorating the Christmas tree, eating mexican food and Dions (our favorite pizza place), and going to the light show at the Botanical Gardens. This is me, Mic, and Maia!

One of the funnest things we did was meet up with a group of friends that we have known since high school and go bowling. Everyone brought their kids and we had a blast! The next morning we got up and met Matt and Shannon for breakfast at a place down by the University. We really managed to fit alot in. I only got a picture of the guys, but here they are: Mike, Scott, Matt, Mitch, and Chad :)
In the picutre below it is Matt, Shannon, me, and Chad. It was taken by one of the kids at the house Matt and Shannon were staying in.

When we get together with Chad's family, we tend to get a little out of control. One of the funniest things we did this year was to play a joke on Chads mom by messing with her lighted reindeer in the front yard.

WARNING...the picture below may not be suitable for young children

Family Pictures

2008-12-12T15:59:00.001-08:00

Finally, the daunting task of getting some family pictures taken is DONE! I decided with the overcast weather, a new hairdo, and a night off of work that today was the day. The boys were good for the most part. Now all that is left to do is print them out and send off the Christmas letter. Here are a few of the pictures we took this afternoon.

Not too bad for the 5 minutes it took for me to get them done. I just set up a tripod in the street and begged my kids for some smiles.

A New Meaning to A Midnight Snack!

2008-12-12T15:48:00.000-08:00

I finally went to see Twilight for the second time! I decided that it had been far too long since I have done anything fun with my boys, so after I found out that I was not at all likely to be called into work, I suprised them by taking them to see a movie. They have been asking to see Twilight for a while now. Then we came home and it was straight to bed for them since it was a school night.

So, after dozing off on the couch for a while, Chad and I went to bed to watch TV. This sums up a typical 1st night off for me. Too tired to do anything productive, but afraid to go to sleep at 10pm for fear that I will be wide awake in the middle of the night. Anyway, at about 11:30p Chad realized that he had never eaten dinner, and being on the crazy night schedule that I am on, I decided to eat with him. He called a bar/grill by the house and before you know it we were eating hot wings and fried jalepenos with ranch in bed! It made for a late night and some bad heartburn, but I think we will always remember those types of moments together.

Christmas Baking

2008-12-06T21:18:00.000-08:00

While I have not yet made the effort to decorate the house yet, I did finally start my Christmas baking. Tonight was the first night of 3 and so far we have over 100 buckeyes, over 50 snowballs, and a HUGE bowl of munchie mix.

Several more cookies, and brownies are yet to come as well as homemade posole and red chile enchiladas, YUM!

Nothing says Christmas like red chile for those of us that are from New Mexico.

Blog Slacker

2008-12-04T07:28:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a slacker I have been. Today is my day to catch up on everything! From grocery shopping, to cleaning, to ironing, to blogging, it will be a busy day.

I have been working like crazy and work has been so good. I am constantly reminded why I decided to do this for a living.

Chad and the kids got back in town on Sunday. They had a great time in ABQ. It has been a hectic week, but my kids are growing up and have been understanding.

I better get started on my hectic day. I will post new pictures soon.

Thanksgiving Week

2008-11-23T19:40:00.000-08:00

Things I am Thankful For....

1. My wonderful husband of almost 12 years!

2. My two very handsome young boys who are turning into men before my eyes.

3. My job! I love every minute of it.

4. Our beautiful house/pool.

5. My friends

6. Music

I am sure there are many more, but that is probably good for now. As we approach Thanksgiving this week I have been thinking a lot about all that our family has been blessed with. We are so lucky. I will be alone again this week as Chad will be taking the kids and visiting his parents in ABQ for Thanksgiving, but one thing I will be thankful for is not having to cook a big Thanksgiving dinner and not having to clean it up! As for me I will be working and sleeping and I didn't feel like Chad and the kids should have to suffer too.

Facebook and old friends

2008-11-20T09:28:00.000-08:00

Well, thanks to my husband, I now have a facebook account. I don't understand it completely yet, but I do love that it has put me in contact with some old friends. In high school and my first year of college I had a really great friend named Tomi Morris. She is someone I have always been sad that I lost contact with. Every year on her birthday in January I think about her and have wondered for years what she has been up to. Well, thanks to facebook we are now in contact again. Here is a picture of her and her beautiful family.

Alone Again...

2008-11-14T21:42:00.000-08:00

So, here I am alone again for the weekend. Chad left Thursday for his annual Mens' Mexico Trip. They are in Rocky Point building houses and having a major testosterone fest:) Chad looks forward to this trip every year.
Today, for Dylan's birthday, I let him skip school and have a day with Mom. The original plan was that I would pick him up at 11am and we would go to Amazing Jakes for lunch, mini golf, and ski ball. However, I was persuaded to let him take off the entire day if he helped me do chores first. It was great. I had free labor all morning without any attitude and then a great afternoon. I love to see the more relaxed side of Dylan.

For those of you who are wondering, where is Collin? Well, he got into a little trouble at school and instead of telling Chad and I what happened, he lied about it. We talked and HE decided that his punishment should be not getting to miss school to have a "fun day" with Mom. (He is really much harder on himself than I would be). It was extremely difficult for me to not let him stay home with us and I was tempted to pick him up on our way to Amazing Jakes, but Chad reminded me that lying is the one thing we cannot tolerate, so I stuck to my guns.

Monday Night Football

2008-11-13T13:11:00.001-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHAD!

2008-11-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I don't want to forget my wonderful husband who shares a birthday with Collin. For Chads birthday I contacted several of the couples we are friends with and arranged for everyone to meet a BeniHana's for dinner. Tepanyaki and Sushi are Chads favorite foods!

My mom and I got Chad a new grill to use for hunting, camping, and most importantly TAIL GATING! (more pictures to come on that topic)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHAD... WE LOVE YOU!

Happy Birthday Dylan and Collin!!!!

2008-11-11T11:38:00.000-08:00

I am truly amazed at how fast the years pass by. When I first had my precious little baby boys all I wanted to do was sit and hold them ALL day long. It used to drive Chad crazy:) Then they started to grow up and everyday since then they grow more independent. They are super smart and they impress me everyday.

This year is the first year that we did NOT have an official birthday party. Instead we gave the boys the money it would have cost us to throw the party (or close to it). We decided they would get $10 for each year of their life, so Collin got $80 and Dylan got $100. Needless to say, they were thrilled with this idea. As their birthdays approached I couldn't help but to feel a little guitly about not celebrating their birthdays, so Chad and I each went out and shopped for a kid. I went shopping for Collin and got him a Beta fish that he has been wanting and the tank, food, etc... Chad went shopping for Dylan and got him a new football, kickball, and a bag full of tennis balls (afterall, he is our sports fanatic). Then, on Saturday the 8th which was Collin and Chad's real birthdays, we let each of the boys invite one friend to take bowling. We had a blast!

Here are a few photos from that day. Unfortunately, Dylan was in a mood and would not let me take any pictures of him. But Collin, Keegan, and Diego were more than happy to pose for the camera:)

Growing up too soon...

2008-11-05T12:31:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday morning I was sitting in my recliner reading while waiting for the boys to get ready for school. All of the sudden I realize that I am watching my baby boys, who will be 8 and 10 this month, put on deodorant! For some reason, it made them seem so grown up. They have even started brushing their teeth without me having to ask them repeatedly. It is so fun to watch them grow up, but a little bittersweet. Here is a recent picture I took of them hanging out on the couch (actually getting along).

Halloween

2008-11-03T08:33:00.000-08:00

Well, my boys really didn't get into Halloween this year, but my neighbors sure did. Here are a few pictures of their crazy house. It was really pretty cool. The best was the talking gargoyle statue. I don't think you can hear what he is saying on this video because their other sound effects were soooo loud.

Is Anybody Out There??

2008-11-02T15:13:00.001-08:00

I am beginning to wonder why I am continuing to update my blog as it would appear that no one is reading it. I haven't received any comments on my blogs in a long time. If anyone out there cares, let me know.

Dizzy Dog

2008-11-01T16:44:00.000-07:00

Every now and then mydog gets a little "wound up", and this time I caught it on tape. He is so much fun and I thought he would provide a laugh for everyone. Just in case anyone is wondering...he did keep spinning after the video stopped.

Kids Say The Darndest Things

2008-10-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

This is too cute! My sister-in-law, Michelle, sent me a picture of my nephew (Jaden) because he was student of the week at his school. Along with it, they included a little bio that Jaden "wrote" about himself. Okay, so he didn't write it, but they seemed to have typed it out verbatim. It is so cute. If only we could all be 4 again...Mrs. Hendley’s Featured Student
4 Year Old Class MWF
My name is Jaden and I am four years old. I live in Texas
with my sister, my mom and my dad, by the guy. I play with
Reagan, he’s three. I’d have to look on my dinosaur bookmark
to tell you how to spell his mane, but it starts with an
“R”. My mommy works a lot, but my dad works even more.
Every family day he works on the computer. He’s not coming
back until night because he has a big dead line-big, big,
big, huge! Soon, until March 1st, I’ll be five. I have a lot of
favorite food, pizza, macaroni, and pizza rolls-that’s really
good. The pizza sauce is squishy in the middle and I can
handle the spicy. You mom has GOT to learn how to do
them for you! When I grow up I want to be a fireman because
I want to help people from the fire. You already
know what I’ll be for Halloween-Batman! Unless the costumes
are too small then I’ll be Spiderman.

Fall Break

2008-10-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

So, this year, I was all geared up for Fall Break with the kids. Chad was going to be gone Elk hunting, so it was to be all me. I made sure that I wasn't scheduled to work, and I bought some fun activities for the boys and I to do together at home. About 1 week before Fall Break was to begin, my mother-in-law (Cheryl) called and asked me if she could come take the boys to Ohio with her for the week.

I don't have any pictures of their fun trip to Ohio, but I do know that a great time was had by all. Cheryl took the boys to stay with her sister on a farm where the boys had tons of room to run and play. Chad's cousin Doug made a trip out to see them as well and took the boys to see his old tree house and then wrestled with them for hours. He is a big guy who can handle my boys and is tall enough to be able to pick them upside down by their feet. On Friday of Fall break, Cheryl took the boys on a 3 hour car ride to the FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME! Any of you who know my Dylan know that this is a trip of a lifetime for him. I am convinced that he will become a sports broadcaster someday:)

While the boys were gone and I was home alone, Chad was Elk hunting with another buddy of his, Chris. Chad did not get the opportunity to kill an Elk this year (thank goodness for me), but Chris did. Chad got to help skin it and says that he had a great time. Here are a couple of picutres from his trip....

You probably can't see it, but in the picture on the right there is a squirrel on the branch in the center of the picture. Good thing that squirrel hunting season is over.

Annual Squirrel Hunt

2008-10-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

Every year, Chad and his buddy Matt, go squirrel hunting up on the Mogion Rim. They stay at a camp that they fondly call "CAMP SNOW" because they have been caught in snow storms more than once while camping here (even in October). This year they were not very good about taking pictures for me but they had a great time. The pictures included are not for you animal lovers out there. (Sorry) It seems as though the guys filled the time they were not killing squirrells by building as big of fires as they possibly could. I miss him when he is gone, but I love that he has the time to go out and have some fun.

Thank You!

2008-10-22T09:31:00.001-07:00

OK, so a thank you that is long overdue goes to my good friend Brittney. One day when I was performing the daunting task of curling my hair, she showed up for a surprise visit! Not only did she surprise my by stopping by, but she brought me a wonderful gift as well. She got me a basket of bath stuff that is lavender and chamomile scented and a sleep mask that is SUPER soft. It was such an unexpected surprise. I honestly can't remember the last time I got a present from someone for no reason at all. Thanks Britt...YOU'RE THE BEST!

Where are the pictures??

2008-10-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I have tons of things to blog about, but unfortunately Chad and I have been fighting for the camera. He just got back from his annual squirrel hunt Sunday (he goes every year with his best friend Matt), and when he arrived his mom was here. We had a crazy 3 days with his mom that were busy but good, then, on Wednesday morning I dropped her and the boys off at the airport for a trip to Ohio for the kids Fall break. Chad left today to go on his first Elk hunt with another of his buddies, Chris, and I am sure I will have stories and pictures from that trip as well. So, don't give up on me...tons of updates and pictures to come at the end of next week.

In the meantime, when I am not working or sleeping, I plan to have lots of girl time. I am going to watch girly movies with Jami and Brit, Brit and I are going to make dinner together one night, and then we are all going to have afternoon tea on Monday. I will have to coax one of the girls to bring a camera on monday since Chad has ours in the mountains.

Sleep Deprivation

2008-10-08T22:48:00.000-07:00

Narcolepsy: a condition characterized by frequent and

and uncontrollable periods of deep sleep

No matter how hard I try, or how long I sleep on my first day off of work, I can't help but to fall asleep even if I don't want to. It is only almost 11:00pm (I'm usually up until 8:00am) and I have already fallen asleep 3 times! It doesn't matter how bad I want to stay awake, if I sit or lay down, I instantly fall asleep. This night shift stuff really messes with a person. This is how I feel...

Tagged Again...

2008-10-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

So, I have been tagged again. This time I have been asked to list 3 of each:my joys, my fears, my goals, current obsessions, facts about me. Here goes...

3 Joys

my boys - Chad, Dylan, and Collin

Being a nurse - Ilove taking care of people

my new friendships - you know who you are

3 Fears

Spiders

Public bathrooms - they are soooo gross!

Spiders

3 Goals

Getting out of debt

Travel with my husband

Lose more weight

Current Obsessions

Iced tea - I can't get enough of it

Taking pictures - to fill all of my scrapbooks

Blogging - my husband made me put this

Facts About Me

I went to 3 different schools, in 3 different states, and was in 3 different nursing programs prior to becoming a nurse (I was moving a lot to be with Chad).

I had a hysterectomy when I was only 27.

As much as I love cooking, I HATE to make sugar cookies because I am too much of a perfectionist to frost them.

I tag Tarah, Tiffany, and Nancy W.

2008-10-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have been asking...here is the photo that United Blood Services selected for their national campaign. Attached you will find the e-mail that was sent to me that explains how this photo will be used:

Hello Kristin,
Thank you once again for agreeing to be photographed for our new donoroutreach campaign. I am pleased to tell you that you will be one of thedonors featured in our national print materials! I will send you a copyof the final print material you will be featured in. As of now, you andyour son will be featured on a postcard (that will be mailed tothousands of potential and existing blood donors) and a table tent thatwill be at blood drives in 20 states. Your photo may also be used in buswraps (for our bloodmobile), billboards and our web site. Attached isthe photo that we selected of you (we're going to add a park-likebackground). As you can see, the ad copy is not on there yet. I'll sendyou copies once I have. Thank you for helping us to encourage people tofind the hero in themselves by donating blood regularly. Please contactme if you have any questions. ...Liz

Obsessed??

2008-10-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

So, my son, Dylan, is just a little bit obsessed with football. This is a picture of his desk. No matter how often I pick it up, it is constantly covered with football cards. Ahhh! If Dylan isn't looking at football cards, playing with a football, watching football on TV, playing Madden 08 on the playstation, then he is at least talking about it.

A person can only take so much football talk in a lifetime and I think I have met my quota. You can ask Dylan about almost any player in the NFL and he can tell you what team the player played for in college, their height, weight, and multiple other stats. While it is a little annoying at times it is also truly AMAZING. I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes a sports broadcaster someday. I'd like to say that he could be a football player, but I'm afraid he just doesn't have the right genes for that. (he is going to be small)

He are a few more pictures that demonstrate just how obsessed he is. One of his room, one of him throwing the foot ball, one of a recent football injury that he is currently being treated with antibiotics for.

The Blacks

2008-10-01T14:17:00.000-07:00

My husband and I are friends with a couple and their names are Sharon and Jason Black. Chad and I had plans with them this past weekend and at the last minute found out that we would NOT have a sitter for the night and the boys would be joining us.

All week long, Chad and I had been talking about going to the Blacks. So, when the time came to go...we told the kids that they would be coming with us to the Blacks house for dinner. As we were driving there Collin was sooo cute. He said, "so Mommy, the people we are having dinner with are Brown people, right?"

All I could do was laugh. I then explained to him that the couple had the last name of Black, and that I wasn't referring to the color of their skin. I guess I need to be more careful about the way I refer to people:)

Soccer fun

2008-09-28T08:43:00.001-07:00

Soccer Updates

2008-09-27T12:40:00.001-07:00

Here are the boys getting ready for their second soccer games of the season. I am relieved that they are smiling because both teams got off to a rough start.

Both boys have been playing for several seasons and while Dylan is only 9 he is playing up on a U11 team; Collin is only 7 and he is playing on a U9 team. We do this to keep them challenged and working hard (not to brag about how good they are). My boys get bored VERY easy!

Collin is on a good team with some buddies he knows from school and he is having a blast. Dylan, however, is having to think about soccer in a whole new way this year. Even though he is playing up this year, he is the best on his team. He got placed on a team that does not have anyone he knows, all but 3 of the kids have NEVER played before, and he has a couple of special needs kids on it. One of the kids has Aspergers syndrome. He is a great kid and is NOT the worst kid on our team. Dyl's coach is very good and recognizes that Dylan is having a hard time with being on a loosing team so he has been letting Dylan help coach and encouraging him in anyway he can. (Dylan's team lost 17-0 last week)

Anyway, this week, Collin's team won!!!!! The score was 5-3. Dylan's team did not win, but the score this week was only 6-1 with Dylan being the one to score our only goal. Way to go Dyl!!!! I am so proud of my boys and I am glad that Dylan is being patient with his other players. Dyl has become friends with the coach's son Mason who is also really good.

Religion

2008-09-24T20:46:00.001-07:00

This has been on my mind ALL week so I really feel like I should share....
I was FINALLY able to go to church on Sunday after way to long. (my work schedule has been preventing my going for a few weeks) I always feel guilty about not being able to go. I have never been able to put into words how I feel about this topic until this past Sunday when our senior pastor was preaching.
He was talking about world travels and meeting new people, and he was talking about going to church and the way we live our lives when all of the sudden he says..."The worst thing we can do is become RELIGIOUS". I thought to myself...did I really just hear that right? Well, I did. He went on to explain that if we are ONLY spending time with other Christians, if we are ONLY listening to Christian music, if we are ONLY reading Christian books, if we ONLY see Christian movies, if we are ONLY participating in church activities that we are indeed missing Gods point and we are isolating ourselves. I do feel like my beleif in God defines who I am, however, that being said, that may not be the FIRST thing someone learns about me. The FIRST things that I want someone to learn about me is that I am kind, caring, nonjudgemental, compassionate, trustworthy, loving...and then I want them to further explore why that might be. Then they will find out that I live this way because I feel that that is what I feel I am called to do. On occassions where someone has found out that I am a Christian or that my husband is a Youth Minister before getting to know me, I feel that it actually keeps them from being who they REALLY are. They either avoid me altogether or act differently around me. That is not what being a Christian is about. It is about seeing Gods work in the world. If I ONLY surrounded myself with people who are "like me" then I would have missed out on a lifetime of blessings. God works through all of us whether we are Christian, LDS, Buddist, Athiest, etc... and I truly feel that it is important to just be accepting of people and to try to see what it is that God is trying to teach us from the people that come into our lives.

Saturday Mornings

2008-09-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

I love Saturday mornings when we get out early and watch the kids play sports. Collin just finished skate class and now soccer has begun. It is always a little bit hectic, especially since Chad will be out of town 4 out of the next five weekends, but I still LOVE it! The best part about it is seeing my kids be active.

On this particular Saturday I even made Chad get up extra early and come to the skate park with us. He and Dylan played some catch while Collin learned how to go down some bigger ramps.

Here is a little video footage from Collins 2nd skate class. Unfortunatley, I won't have any from his final class because I was busy carting Dylan to his first soccer practice of the season. The other moms probably think I'm crazy for snapping so many pictures anyway:)

Finally, I saved the best for last...I am sure my boys will kill me for this one day, but they just looked so cute in their camo boxer breifs that I had to take a picture.

Sick

2008-09-08T09:23:00.001-07:00

I hate to complain, but I have to say that I have had the crappiest 5 days off EVER. My first day off started with a migraine that lasted for 4 days and was accompanied by a stiff neck. I had one day back to feeling normal and then I woke up at 5 am Sunday morning with what turns out to be a kidney infection and a UTI. I started antibiotics right away which apparently make me throw up and I still have 6 days left of taking them. It is going to be a long week...

Skater Dude!

2008-08-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

After much anticipation and a very long wait, Collin finally started his skateboarding lessons today! He got his skateboard and helmet for Christmas last year and has been on a waiting list for lessons ever since. It was harder work than he anticipated, but we were NOT disappointed. The instructors were GREAT with the kids.

Even I was getting excited and was tempted to try it myself, but I decided for Collins sake to wait and try it when we got home so that I won't embarrass him. I will have Chad take a video when I do get out there to try so that you can all have a good laugh. In the meantime, here is a quick clip of Collin skateboarding for the first time.

The funny thing about the instructors is that before the class they are skating and really just tearing it up, but they are NOT wearing helmets. When the lessons start they all put on helmets to be a good example to our kids...As soon as the lessons are over, you better believe that all the helmets come off - too funny!

A Good Laugh

2008-08-29T23:02:00.000-07:00

When we were on our recent trip to Heber, my father-in-law and the boys started playing with Dylans glasses. Dylan wears a VERY strong prescription that, when held just right, will make your eyes look huge. Keep in mind that we were doing this at a restarant (yes, a public place). Here is what Dylan looked like...

But wait, it gets better, because then Collin tried his luck too...

Don't worry, I saved the best for last. My father-in-law will probably kill me for this, but it was just so funny that I have to share. We laughed and laughed because my father-in-law looked so hillarious. I love that he is willing to truly relax and have a good time with his grandchildren. My boys will never forget him and I appreciate him more than he knows.

For those of you who are wondering, I did NOT join in on the fun, but I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. It still makes me laugh every time I see the photos.

Tid Bits

2008-08-26T23:05:00.000-07:00

It is always great to get cancelled from work unexpectedly. I was rushing around this afternoon to prepare a nice dinner for Chad and the kids when the phone rang. I was sure they were calling to ask me to come in early, but instead I was aked if I wanted to be cancelled. Not only did I get to make dinner for the family, but I got to eat it with them too. What a nice surprise.

I would just like to give a shout out to my neighbors, Rich and Nora, they are the best neighbors anyone could ask for and it just doesn't seem like a weekend with out spening time with them. They are great with my kids, layed back, they love my cooking, and they are just so much fun. I called them on Sunday (my one day off this weekend) and asked if we could come hang out and swim. Nora and I were hanging out chatting while watching the boys swim and the next thing I know Rich has made us each a Tequila Sunrise. We spent the next 2 hours swimming, sipping our drinks, doing crazy jumps into the pool, playing football in the pool, and snacking. What A great way to spend a day off.

ROUGH'N IT!

2008-08-17T18:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, so maybe not roughing it...but we did stay in a cabin in Heber, AZ this weekend and it was so much fun! We definitely hope to make a return trip with in the next year.

Our weekend started out by meeting up with Chad's parents in Payson, and then driving to the cabin. While we were getting unpacked I warmed up the homemade mannacotti that I had made that morning, made a salad and garlic bread, and poured some wine. We had a fabulous dinner and a nice relaxing evening. On our second day we went to check out some sights recommended by Erin B. We went to Black Canyon Lake and let the kids wade in the water. Here is a picture I took of the actual lake. There was really no one else there - it was great! From there we headed to a fire tower that I don't remember the name of and we all climbed to the top to see the sights. It was truly beautiful. The end of the night was probably the best. We had dinner at Casa Ramos (also recommended by Erin B.) We were NOT disappointed. We finished off each evening by soaking in the hot tub. It was especially nice the last night because it was cool and rainy.

I finished off the trip this morning with a special horseback riding adventure with my boys. We got up early and were riding by 8:15am while Chad and his parents were packing up the cars so that we could head home at 9:30. It was a perfect way to end this trip. This was the first time the boys rode horses and only the second for me. (I was definitely more scared than they were:)