Ice Cream Soup

We closed our incredible conference weekend with our wonderful friends the Fitzsimmons Family. We had a great dinner, with a new recipe that EVERYONE actually ate, and asked if we could make again! Kaeli prepared an amazing FHE lesson that really seemed to bring sweet understanding and comfort to one of the F Fam boys. It was perfect. Kaeli ROCKS at FHE!
Then we got treated to a new surprise that I think is going to become a Conference tradition at our house - ICE CREAM SOUP!

Kat & John softened the ice cream to thick milkshake consistency. Kat had brought TONS of yummy toppings, and combined with ours, the table looked like it does Halloween night! :)

The kids had tons of fun adding their favorite syrups and candies and then....

Voila! Everyone created their own Ice Cream Soup! This was Miss A's - she really made a work of art! I think the adults and big kids had as much fun creating their concoctions as the little people did! Thanx Fitz Fam for sharing such an awesome idea with us!!!
Just as a PS, something I didnt get a pict of, was that since Kels and I cant have regular ice cream, she got treated to any of the candies she wanted AND a homemade banana choc-chip muffin. She was a pretty content kiddo and didnt fuss at all about not getting ice cream. Such a big girl she is becoming! I think she was happy to just be with all the big kids and all the candy chaos that was going on around her. :)

Going private

I am pretty sure only a small handful of people even look at this anymore...

Thinking I will put it back on private settings, and keep this for family and personal journaling only.

If you want an invite, lmk through email request. Thanx

Happy Helper

Kels has been a super helper this weekend. She is at that age where she thinkgs that chores are still fun, and it is still an adventure to get to help. She is also at that age where her attitude is all out there, and she gets VERY put out if she isnt allowed to do something for herself.

We have started a new chore "chart" program for the kids. She really wanted to help, even though vacuuming wasnt her job. Kaeli let her "help" in the library. I just couldnt stand it seeing them look so cute together, and had to snag the camera. Of course, Kaeli is camera shy, but she humored me by letting me get their pict together

Part of our helping this weekend included taking care of horses, dogs and cats for one of our HT families. We are always excited to help, and the kids love being around all the animals. We were thankful for this extra treat to help because it was a great distraction for Kels. The boys got invited to go to a playdate, without her. She was so sad and in tears as she watched all the bigger kids leave withouth her. I was able to take her with me, and help her forget about being sad that she hadnt gone with the boys. It seemed to have worked because when we got home she chattered excitedly about what we had done to anyone who would listen.

This is Kels giving Katie a treat for being good and for staying in her stall(another post to follow about our Peyton Petting Zoo adventure)

This is Kels and Drew. She is a sweet, old dog and she and Kels hung out together lots

Rejection

Well, I got a voicemail message today from the local dr office I was trying to get into. They said that the dr was not able to take me as a new patient. No explaination, no anything, just a voicemail message.

I am feeling more than discouraged today. Weather has me totally down. Back pain is increasing again without PT, Chiro or massage. I seem to have hit a wall, and there are not even any options out there.

At this point, we have exhausted all of the resources for recommends for new dr's from most of the people we know. There are very few dr's out there who will take TRICARE or that are accepting new patients. I guess we will go at the lists again, and start asking some of my specialists if there are other drs in Corvallis that can be recommended.

Really at a loss this time. I felt very strongly that this local dr was who I was supposed to get in to see. Not sure what to think now that has fallen through. I know for sure I am not supposed to pursue the other drs that were on my other list. So, all of my medical records are now sitting in an office that up until this point, will not let me hand carry them. I will probably try again, and see if I can gain access to them.

There has to be a dr out there somewhere for me. Just wish I knew where....

Officially Discharged

This last week has been very discouraging for me. I have been in a lot of pain because of my back, and because of an extra nasty migraine that hit me out of nowhere. I have also discovered yet another over the counter med that I cant tolerate in the process. I am down to just regular ibuprofen and tylenol. Neither helped with severe pain this last week/weekend, which left me struggling and the big girls in charge more often than I would have liked.

I met with my PT specialist today, and I was looking forward to getting back into the swing of things with PT at the pool. I was hoping to make a good plan, but it seems that plan is not to be.

I am still without a personal physician. I finally bit the bullet and filled out the paperwork for a local doctor's office. He comes highly recommended. My concerns are that he does not accept our insurance, and he works exclusively with Salem Hospital. Even still, I am being led in this direction, and today I decided to obey and stop procrastinating.

Without a physician, or a record of any PT progress in the last several weeks, I will no longer be able to go to PT. My specialist felt like we have done everything possible, and I think that he was as discouraged as I was today that we have not been able to make more progress or reduce my pain concerns. His recommend is to pursue a neurosurgeon or orthepedic specialist. Again, hard to do without a personal doctor to make the referrals. He is concerned that there still may be underlying concerns - things that didnt show up on xrays or the MRI. He is discouraged he cant make those referalls for me. So am I.

There seems to still be a lot of unanswered questions, and nowhere right now to turn for answers. So, I guess I will wait, and try to be patient. I feel like I am supposed to see this local physician, and I am trying to set aside my concerns and fears. There is too much change happening all at once again.....I am never good with changes.....just have to keep trying to do my best.

Baxter Beanery

A couple of weeks ago, we got the unexpected opportunity to go pick green beans. There is a local program called Salem Harvest. It is a community cooperative program. Farms invite/allow workers to come into the fields to pick. Half of what is picked goes to local food banks and shelters. The other half goes home with the workers.

All summer I have lamented not having a garden, and my one wish was esp for green beans. Imagine my surprise when I got a message to my phone that green beans were being offered through this program. I immediately signed up me and Preston to go. There are usually very few slots available, and they go VERY fast. We were thrilled to find out we got to slots!

We found a sitter for the little kiddos. This was our first experience with SH, and we didnt realize that we could have brought the whole family to participate. It will be something to be sure we do for next time. For this time, though, it was Preston & I and the 3 big kids. The field was at the Salem School For The Deaf. It was a HUGE field. We all learned many things that night, and very much enjoyed the chance to serve others in the process. We were devastated when the light fled and we were asked to leave the field. They didnt have as many people show up as expected and it left a good portion of the field unharvested. It made many of us sad, and we all hoped that somehow the field wouldnt go to waste.

I was so surprised when Preston emailed this to me - I apparently had my pict taken on site by the SH team and it was published on their FB site! Kind of fun.

Since it was an evening harvest, we left all of the beans until the weekend. We spent a very enjoyable evening together prepping beans and listening to the local high school football game. It was an away game, so John was there instead of here with us. The little kiddos tired out quickly, so it was just the older kids and us again. The big kids and I were in charge of cutting and snapping beans to get them ready for the jars.

Preston stood at the sink and the stove almost the entire night washing and processing the jars.

Colton had a blast swapping out the strainers of beans between us and Preston. He also had the job to fill the jars for Preston.

I mostly used the camera on my phone until I saw how pretty the jars were. All that lovely green just waiting to go on our shelves!

I forgot that once they are processed, that lovely green changes color. I also forgot that old jars can be fragile - we lost 3 quarts of beans because the whole bottom of the jars just completely broke off! I was so sad. All that hard work, just for beans and glass to go into the garbage :( We spent all that night, and most of the next day processing jars. We had lots of fun when we asked John to guess how many quarts we ended up with. He kept throwing out numbers, just for me to respond "higher" and to watch his eyebrows shoot up when we told him we got 80 quarts (minus the 3 we lost).

It feels so good to have one of our favorite foods out on the shelf. It was a good experience for all of us to learn and spend that time together. It also feels amazing to know that Heavenly Father answered a prayer I didnt even know that I had offered. He knew of my desire, of our need, and filled it to overflowing. I hope that those we served with this bounty were as blessed as we have been.

WOW!

I got the amazing chance to do a workshop last month in Utah with one of my FAVE photographers. It was a unique opportunity that I wouldnt trade for anything. Part of the workshop time was for me to have MY picture taken. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I really struggle being in front of the camera. I just knew that Angela works miracles, and if anyone could get good picts of me, it would be her. I was thrilled to see her package in the mail today, and to see these images of myself. I dont consider myself beautiful at all - and yet these images seem to prove otherwise.

I will ever be so blessed for having a husband who was willing to give me this opportunity. I am so very grateful to Angela for being willing to take time to teach me, and for working her magic just for me. These images mean more to me than words can ever express. They are truly WOW!

So fun to see picts of me taking picts. We both laughed about how we get into interesting positions to make sure to get the best shot. It is great to have funny things in common with other photographers.

Tenderhearted Boys

Last night we attended another CHS freshman football game. Several of the YM from our wards are playing this year. It is a great outing for the kids and I, and who can beat free and supporting our ward kiddos!

Last night during 3rd quarter there was a major pile-up, and a player from the opposing team was injured. After 10 plus minutes laying on the field with coaches and the boy's family, 2 medical teams finally arrived and took the young man (and his family) to receive medical care.

During this time (10 min can seem like forever) my boys were all in a dither. It was the first time they had witnessed a sports injury of this magnitude. I talked to them throughout the entire time, trying to explain to them what was happening. I thought all was being understood, and ok until the med teams arrived. Colton was very upset and wanted to do something to help. I asked him what he could do? He decided that he could say a prayer, right there in the bleachers, for the young man who was hurt. It was so tender and thoughtful. Ky was so upset that he was in tears. He climbed into my lap (which he NEVER does anymore) and cried for the young man who was injured. It touched my heart so deeply. I continued to talk with him and reassure him that the medical teams and doctors would do everything they could for the young man who was hurt. He didnt leave my lap until the end of the game.

Another explaination came when the crowd stood and applauded as the med team left with the player and his family. It was hard to try to explain to the boys that we werent clapping and cheering because we were happy that the player was hurt, but that it was in support for him, to let him know that others were proud of him for trying his best, and that we were sending our hope for him that all will be well. It was hard to help them understand. It is interesting that this experience went hand-in-hand with the multiple conversations going on in our home about the English/American language - how we can say or do one thing, but have it mean completely the opposite. This experience seems to apply to our odd way of doing things. I think it was as clear as mud to my boys even after multiple explainations.

When we arrived home about the same time as the girls (they had been at YW), the little boys immediately began to tell the girls everything that had happened. It was Caiden's turn for family prayer, and he was very sweet in remembering that young man and his family.

It has been very encouraging and has touched my heart in the last couple of weeks to see the kids' reactions to some difficult lessons and experiences. They have shown deep concern and compassion, no matter their ages. It continues to instill in my heart that we are doing something right, and raising our children, being immersed in the gospel is one of my greatest joys. They are learning great things, and it is shining brightly inside of them.

Miss B 8-2011

UT Workshop Fun 8-2011