KATE'S FEBRUARY

As I mentioned in the earlier post, Kate had a very busy month of February.

Her speech continued to worsen, which greatly concerned us. She only had 2 sessions left with the Infant/Toddler program before she turned 3. Molly, our speech therapist, did an evaluation on Tuesday the 16th with a student that lasted over an hour. Really, I wanted more than anything to tell her to just stop talking. (That is the last thing that you should do in that situation.)

Kate turned 3 years old this month! I remember her when she was born. She weighed in at 8 Lbs. 2 oz. and was my biggest baby. She was so very sweet and loved before she was born!






Now turning 3 I can't believe how big, yet small, she is. She had a family birthday party and really enjoyed opening presents and blowing out the candles. She was truly spoiled this year by cousins, Aunts and Uncles, and Grandmas and Grandpas.






Her birthday cake was made by mom with Valentine M&Ms. It was very simple, yet fun for her.




On Monday the 22nd, we had a meeting at Lincoln Early Childhood Center. They take children who qualify in several areas or are severe in one area. Molly's evaluation stated that Kate was considered 'severe' in the State of Idaho and would qualify for preschool and individual speech lab. This meant that preschool would be paid for and they would transport her as well on a bus. Such a blessing because she really needed the speech and social environment that they would provide.

Tuesday, the 23rd, we headed down to Utah for Kate's check with Dr. Finlayson. He has been the best doctor for us! Her problems had continued and persisted through all of the treatments we did. He wanted to replace the tubes and do a touch up on the sinus surgery that we did in May last year. I asked about taking out her tonsils. It was quite a unique conversation where I was able to remind that this would be surgery #5, she had just turned 3, and we were still having the same chronic infection. He listened and agreed that since she was 3, we should do it! Usually when we schedule surgery, we get to pick anytime available in the next 2 weeks or so. Because she had an infection, he wanted to do it that week, or we would have to put her on antibotics.

Wednesday, Kate started school. Here are pictures by the door getting ready to go to an early day of school. Kids that attend there have to have a full sized backpack. You'll notice that it is as big as she is. (Try finding a backpack at the end of February.)



I dropped her off and she seemed very hesitant. I know that she cried a little, but overall did very well. Her teachers this year were Miss Sally, Miss Lori, and Miss Tracy.

So Thursday night, we headed down with the whole family for Kate's surgery. We needed to be there at 6:15 am. The kids did not have school on Friday, so we decided to make a family trip out of it and leave the kids with Amy and Justin.


Unfortunately, the Utah Jolleys had strep throat and we knew that no one in the family could be exposed, so we went to our favorite hotel - the Crystal Inn.



We watched the Olympics (women's figure skating that night) and relaxed. On a side note, Olympics are my favorite and something that I truly enjoy. Kim Yu-na was amazing that night.


That morning, I got lost, but arrived in enough time to still do surgery. Brandon stayed at the hotel. He told me that surgery would be 45 minutes. The surgery center told me 1 hour. It took almost an hour and a half. Time passed so slowly and it really got to me that time. It was also hard because I was waiting by myself.

Dr. Finlayson told us that she did great and that her tonsils were so infected, pitted, and that they really needed to come out. It was great that we were able to have a doctor who listened to a mother's intuition. Road to recovery was filled with popsicles!


Pictures after surgery:, still recovering a week later:





Video of Kate showing where it hurts. You'll also notice how extremely skinny she is. We attribute that to all of the sickness, antibotics, and surgeries that she has gone through in such a short time. She has been gaining steadily since this surgery.

FEBRUARY IN REVIEW

The month of February flew by for our family.

I continued to scorekeep for basketball for kids city ball.


My calling also allows me to visit wards during their ward conference. We visited the 2nd, 1st, and 10th ward that month, though I did not attend the 10th ward (single's ward.)

I had the opportunity to be Faith's room mother this year. It was really a lot of fun and didn't require that much work. Valentines Day I helped the kids do a matching game, but did not put them in straight rows. The kids enjoyed it and then got a small treat. I know that they also wrote letters to someone they loved, and enjoyed their treats. Most of the classes didn't have parties, but we were able to because of parent volunteers.



I also went to 'lotion training' in Salt Lake City for my other job. I work at Sunsations, which is a tanning salon, day spa, and med spa, a pretty unique facility for Pocatello. I enjoy my work so much. We received so many tanning lotion packets it was crazy. One of them, shown below, was Luminary (bottle retails at $120. Crazy, huh?)


Faith did her usual stuff. She is always the best helper and older sister. We love her so much!

Dawson continued to do his usual stuff too, which included these faces before church:


(He really enjoys church.)

I am going to post Kate separately. She had a very busy month!

All the kids participated in service club where we donate a flag to the scout troop in our neighborhood.

Then they played service bingo. We are so lucky that our kids get to give service to the community on a monthly basis.

JANUARY IN REVIEW

January was a great month for us. (This is going to be a long post - I apologize in advance.)

For starters, we were able to do a kick start on our emergency savings buy selling things that we didn't 'need.' Hard to do? Yes, but SO worth it. Then we started working on our first debt to pay off. And while money still does not grow on trees, we were definitely feeling like we got a raise! January 23rd we celebrate 30 days on the program!
I also helped put together the baptism preview fireside for our stake. Each year we learn something and add or take away. This year we had an activity days leader set up a table and a scout leader set up a table full of things that they have done. It was really fun to be able to visit with the children in our stake that will turn 8 this year. The baptisms each month are definitely a highlight of my calling and something that I enjoy going to each month.

Brandon worked throughout the month. He went to Animal Farm, a funny name for training where he learned how to splice fiber optics.
I worked and did a few basketball games. Visiting teaching was a huge highlight for me. It was all about Self Reliance. I printed off a planner for the year. (I am still using it.) The planner had space for to write goals for each area: knowledge, education, and literacy; manage money and resources wisely; spiritual strength; prepare for emergencies and eventualities; physical health; social well-being goals; and emotional well-being goals. Since I was so focused on debt, I had a lot to talk about.


Here is a quote from the lesson:
"Self-reliance means using all of our blessings from Heavenly Father to care for ourselves and our families and to find solutions for our own problems. Each of us has a responsibility to try to avoid problems before they happen and to learn to overcome challenges when they occur."


Faith continued in her piano lessons and excelling in school. She also had activity days. Faith asked Grandma Cindy and Grandma Kelly to come Grandparent's Night. They did a booklet of crossword puzzles in Mrs. Collett's classroom. Then Faith got to ask them about their favorite things, with pictures. For example, when Faith asked what Grandpa Kelly liked to do, he drew a bike. Grandma Cindy drew a grand piano for her hobby. Faith had such a good time, though Miss Kate had to tag along.

Dawson brought Grandma Kathy to Grandparents Night. Their night was based on a book "Harold and the Purple Crayon." The kids colored pictures with a purple crayon. (Dawson now informs me that he hates everything about this book, BTW.)

They concluded their night with juice and a crunch chocolate bar. (Dawson always remembers the most important stuff.)

Kate continued having sicknesses and was at the doctor a few times. She also continued with speech therapy, but started having quite a few disfluencies (meaning stuttering.) This is a problem that all of our children have had. It must be a genetic thing with our genes together. What are the odds?


The kids participated in service club. They went down to our favorite trainer Carol's place, James Barrett Pilates and learned about fitness. I was unable to come, but the kids really enjoyed it. If you want to watch the video, here is a link. Otherwise, here are a few pictures:

Warm up:

Yoga (one of Carol's favorites)


Finishing up:

I went to a baby shower for Tracy thrown by her mother-in-law and sister-in-law.

6 days later, my Mom, Robyn, and myself threw her a baby shower. We played a quick matching game on paper with items and candy bars. Then we had a quiz for Tracy where she had to answer newborn questions. If she got the answer wrong, she had to chew a piece of gum (the big kind.) It was shocking how much stuff you don't know. Right, Tracy?

Tracy and I and the pile of presents:

Robyn made these cute blue tissue balls for decorations.


Our desserts included homemade oreo cookies with blue frosting, snickerdoodle blondies, a new favorite recipe), regular and vanilla tootsie rolls (brown and blue), cinnamon rolls with blue frosting, and oreo dipped in white chocolate and sticks with blue frosting decorations as favors. It was amazing!

FAVORITE ADULT CHRISTMAS STORY

The Christmas Coat

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so.

It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" She snorted...."Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let's go." "Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun.

"Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car. "Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, and the people who went to my church.

I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!

I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that. "Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby." The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it. Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa's helpers.

Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk.

Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going." I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.

Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering beside my Grandma in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team. I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95.

CHRISTMAS IN JULY

Yes, here are the last of my Christmas pictures. I figure that it is fitting for Christmas in July!

Colt trying out his present from Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandpa trying on his helmet that we went in on. Those things are not cheap!

Kate showing off 'Pip-lup' for the camera.

New socks and a precious smile.

DORA! You mean to tell me that Grandma knows I like Dora?!?!

Yes, I really like it!

Whatcha doing there Dawson?

Thanks for letting us show you our wonderful Christmas! Hope that this brings a happy memory to you too!