Decking the Halls

We pulled out the Christmas decorations on December 1st this year. The kids were so excited to get them out and up. Noah helped Scott put the lights up on the outside of the house while I started to put up the tree. (Harley wanted nothing to do with either of those). Once the tree was ready we left the kids to putting on all the ornaments. They love it and I really don't care about the picture perfect tree (besides the fact that I could never get it that way). I also love all the homemade items from the kids masterpieces to the hand-me downs of my Grandma Turner and Scott's Grandma Hatti.  By the end of the day it was mostly set up and now it feels like Christmas around here (I just need to find the other box of decorations). Please forgive the pictures, I have a long way t o go on my picture taking skills :)

November Update

A quick update of this month.

Things seemed to fly by once again. We were lucky enough to spend time with Andrew and Stephanie for a little bit. While they were on their trip to Ireland we were lucky enough to get to spend many dinners and lots of time with Mikael, Eva, Leighton and Dean. The time just flew by.

Mikael was sweet enough to let me help in giving her a baby shower (we can't wait to meet the little guy).

Before we knew it it was time to head up to Utah for Thanksgiving. We had a ton of fun with the family and Harley loved all the shopping she got done.  We are ready for Christmas.

While we were up there I was able to meet with a new doctor I have been working with to go over some more blood work and other tests. I have officially be diagnosed with Hashimoto's (an autoimmune disease). So now we are on our journey to figure out how to move forward and hopefully send this beast into remission. Basically it is giving me hypothyroidism by attacking my body. Diet will be the key factor and I am ready to learn all I can so I have the energy to keep up with my family. I am so happy to finally have answers and excited to move forward on a new journey in life, even if I have to give up some of my favorite foods (good-bye gluten).  I am excited to see what the next month will bring and what memories will be made. I just hope to be better at capturing it in pictures.

October Update

Well maybe a once a month update is all I am going to get to do but here goes last month...

Once again we kept busy with the kids activities. Harley's UTI finally cleared up after three different antibiotics. The Dr decided to go ahead and have an ultrasound of Harley's kidney's and bladder. The good news is everything looks good. I had a moment of panic thinking of how I would manage her if she had to get kidney surgery like her dad. Thankfully we don't even have to go there.

 

I was able to go on a field trip with Harley, probably the most unnecessary and pointless field trip ever, but it is always nice to get to spend one-on-one time with the kids. We went to Chaco canyon and spent more time in the vehicle then we did there, the roads were awful. Unfortunately I didn't have any knowledge on the sites so we pretty much ran around and looked for 30 mins before the kids had to hop on the bus to head back to school. I luckily was able to take Harley home with me and the were able to get back MUCH faster.

We also went to a choir concert for the kids st their school. and before we knew it Halloween was here. The kids couldn't wait to carve their giant pumpkins.  Harley's was eating a little one.

And Noah's had four faces.

 

We then had our Ward's Halloween party, where I took no photo's because I forgot my phone and camera at home. (Harley was Batman this night).  Then on Halloween we went to 5th Ward's party to see all the cousins and I actually remembered to take a couple pictures. Noah was a Zombie riding an ostrich and the second night Harley was a Spanish Dancer with two of her good friends, Kaylee and Kecia.

September update

I'm a bit behind, story of my life. Here is what has gone on this month....Hanging out with Family over Labor Day at Purgatory and enjoying all they have to offer. The kids had a blast and played hard. I was able to catch up with friends, Jason and Katie, and have fun with most of my family.

 Scott was off on a hunt the first 9 days of September, but it payed off. He shot and elk that will soon hang in the living room and our freezer is restocked with meat. Yum!

 

Harley officially became a teenager. With Dad gone we had a small party with dinner, cake and Shaley. Best part was getting her Kindle I believe. She also was able to party with the family in CO, because we have 6 birthdays in about a weeks time.

 

The rest of our time has been consumed with school, dance, football games (Harley loves to watch her friends play), sewing lessons, sickness, more sickness and I can't remember what else, oh yeah jury duty :p

 

A pretty good month minus the sickness

Back to School

It is that time of year again and I am a little late on getting this up. The kids started back to school over a week ago. It was a rude awakening with a hard adjustment from staying up all night and sleeping all day (one of the joys of having older kids).

 

Noah is in sixth grade this year and Harley is in seventh. They both are loving it so far and can hardly stand waiting to get their laptops. Noah enjoys having many teachers and getting to move a lot more often. He is making new friends and getting to know his second cousin Kody Farley a lot better (they hang out and eat lunch together). Let's hope the good year keeps going. He is currently going to ABQ once a month, but if he continues to do well he will start staggering that off to every couple of months. This year he also will be participating in Hip Hop class and two Hip Hop competition pieces. We are also looking in to gymnastics (or gnastics as he puts it). He is also in Scouts.  Harley is loving the fact of being back with all her friends and can only describe school as a love hate relationship (love the social, hate the work). She seems to be much happier and at peace this year. She will be participating in ballet, jazz, lyrical, private lessons and performance group. She also has mutual one night a week. We are busy and happy around here.

 

Great Weekend

This weekend was so much fun. On Saturday Harley and I went to Albuquerque for her first Temple Trip. I must admit I wasn't looking forward to making the drive once again, but I knew it would be worth it to get to be with Harley her first time in the temple. She was a little nervous. Grant was able to do the baptism's for her. That made it less nerve racking and a more special. I am so happy that I made the drive I hate to go and do baptisms with her. We arrived back home around 6:30 and headed to dinner with the whole family. After we decided to go see Avengers with Gramps and Susan (they were down visiting for the weekend). Despite it being late, we had a blast.

Sunday we got up and got Gramps and Susan off. We went to church at our new Ward. What a great day. The kids were a little nervous (more Harley then Noah, she has so many good friends in 5th Ward and they are hard to leave). It was so nice to go and enjoy church. It hasn't felt that good in a long time. Afterwards the kids were happy to see that they new quite a few people in the ward and started to make new friends. It was a great day and a great step in moving forward.

Then last night we went out and watched the eclipse through Scott's welding helmet and in the awesome box Harley made. A good end to the weekend. As I sat and enjoyed so many parts of this weekend I realized I have never been so in love with my entire family. I couldn't be happier or more in love with them.

It's Offical

What you ask......I am getting old. How do I know? Well lots of reasons, but mostly I can't deny anymore that I am starting to get lots of white hair. The solution....Hair dye. I guess I am going to have to start coloring my hair again. Sigh. I just can't keep up with pulling out all the white hairs. I find several new ones daily.

Proud of the girl

I am constantly amazed at this girl. She is such a strong girl. She has had so much to deal with in her short 12 years of life. Through this she has a strong testimony that I wish I had a fraction of at that age. This past Sunday she gave her first talk in church and did the best of us all. She stayed up until midnight the night before making sure she had it just right. She wanted little to no help, mostly just to sit next to Scott and I while we wrote our talks and she wrote hers. I am proud to be her mother and hope I can live up to the high standards she sets for me. I love her so much. I love our one on one time, our chats, and even trying to help her work through the heart ache of life (unfortunately I can't hide her from it, but I am happy she will let me walk through it with her). I love you  my Har-Bug, don't ever change the wonderful person you are.

Changes are on the way

In the past couple of weeks Scott and I finally made a decision that has been plaguing us for the past year. The ever burning should we or should we not. I feel we have tried every other imaginable route the the one we are about to embark on. We have felt temporary relief if any in the previous decisions, but they were not enough to help heal a lift a heavy burden that has been so buried and festering in our souls. I few weeks ago I finally hit my brick wall. The fight left my body and I completely broke down. Unstoppable tear and little comfort came, but with that a huge decision was made. We will be making some changes in our lives until the time come for us to fully heal and hopefully move soon.

With this change I have had a heavy burden lifted from my shoulders. I can feel myself re-awakening like the flowers after a long winters rest. Slowly pushing my way back and opening up again. I have not felt this free and light in a long time. We have yet to make the change, it will come after this weekend,  but the relief from knowing we are moving forward is immeasurable. It was the little nudge I needed to help me remember that Heavenly Father is still there and is aware of every difficult step we take. This is an answer to a prayer that has been long running through my heart on a continuous loop that never ends. Finally the clouds are parting and the sunlight is starting to burn its way through the clouds and back into our lives. Peace is filling my soul once again.

Almost there

The school year is almost over!! I am so ready for a break. We have one week left of dance, four more of school and then the fun can begin. It already looks like a fun and busy summer and I can't wait. We will be moving on from the Elementary School stage of life and be all in on the Middle School experience this year. I am ready for the independence for my kids (an myself, to have of Mom not being involved in everything) but at the same time it is sad and a bit nerve racking at the same time. Harley is doing great in Middle School and I hope Noah will be ready for it next year. Harley just did some testing and in Math is 2 1/2 years above grade level. She had to decide between pre-algebra or just going into straight algebra. She pick the pre-algebra. She wants to make sure she understands and gets the basics. Noah also tested high in Math, so we will see what they do with him. New and exciting things to come in the next year. Hopefully some new beginnings too.

LIttle Man

This last Tuesday Noah was diagnosed with ADHD. Not really a surprise to those who know him well. He gets to start yet another medication. The nice part is that it lasts for 10-12 hours, we don't need to give it to him on weekends or during the summer. I hope it helps in school to keep him focused and just make life a little easier in general. I hope that we quickly find what works for him best and that we can even teach him the skills that he needs to not have to be medicated the rest of his life. The doctor said ADHD and OCD tend to go hand in hand, so he happened to get both. Scott and I got a good laugh when we were filling out the questionnaire to help determine if Noah has ADHD because Scott get frustrated with me (and my family) because we tend to have quite a few of the tendencies of ADHD. I blame it on 8 kids fighting for attention, still today (we all want to be heard). I love how comical things are thrown into our life at times. I just told Scott not to say a word about me when we filled out the form. I already know my  problems ;)

Easter

 I believe the kids had a pretty good Easter this year. Nana and Trent came down to help out with the house for the weekend. On Friday I let them decorate eggs while we worked on the yard. I was able to snap a few pictures. The Easter bunny was barely able to make it, he was pretty tired. We even were able to stop by the Allred's for the cousin's egg hunt (I believe this will be our last).

Crazy Busy

Life has been crazy around here lately. We are trying to get the house all in order to get it up for sale and hopefully moving this summer.I just want to know who snuck in all the crap I am going through and when did they do it?!?! I can't believe how much we have accumulated over the past however many years we have lived in this house. We are getting there and I am getting SO excited and ready. I have my moments of sadness and doubt, but then I get hit over the head with a big moment of "Hey stupid, you are moving in the right direction." I know the draw backs of leaving don't even come close to the benefits of moving. I am so ready to move forward. I am tired of my sad, bitter and lonely times (granted they aren't all that often anymore, but I think the loneliness is the worst). I can't believe how much my outlook on life has changed in the past year. I have learned many hard and humbling lessons. My faith has been shaken to it's core and I struggle to get it back and keep it afloat. I realize it must mostly be pride in my way, but it is hard no matter how much I pray. I guess sometimes when we feel so utterly abandoned by everyone including God and religion, the two things I always thought I could lean on, it is hard. I am grateful my kids are healing and I see their happy selves coming back through. I am grateful for the help family has given to us through this hard time and the help they continue to give and we get ready to move on. I have come to realize that I have to not care what people think about me, especially those who don't know what we are going through and as other spread lies that hurt deeply. I just have to be confident in who I am and in my journey in life and know that I am doing my best, despite how meager it is. I am trying hard not to judge, for I have not walked in others shoes. They are probably doing the best they can too, thank goodness I am not the one in charge of judgement. All I can do is try to create a healthy family and home. I look forward to being done sorting through the piles and piles of junk we have in this house, finishing the many projects, and getting the house on the market.

Noah's Competition

We went to ABQ for a dance competition for Little Man last weekend. I was pretty fun to watch all the dancing and Noah's dance the most (of course). It did get long and overwhelming, so we ditched out for a few hours and went to the Melting Pot. The kids loved it. Unfortunately Harley ended up having a stomach bug while we were there and was sick that night. Noah's group did great. They took second in Hip Hop for the 9-10 year old and scored a Gold Medal.They took 8th overall for all the groups entered in any of the advanced dance categories of any style. We are proud of him. Harley wants to do it next year. We also get to look forward to another one in a few weeks.

Noah's Birthday

Noah had a great Birthday this year. Three days of partying! ON Saturday we took two of his friends, Gunn and Cade, to see "The Lorax" and the for some Coldstone. On Sunday we had a family party at Mammy and Pappy's house. It is always so much fun to get with everyone. He was spoiled with great presents, had stir-fry, egg rolls, homemade egg drop soup and best of all a red velvet and cookie dough Coldstone cake. Since most of his partying was done before his birthday and Monday's are insane at our house, we decided to fill his room with balloons (he has an obsession with balloons right now). Harley and Scott filled them up and transported them home, this took a couple of trips. When we were filling his room up they kept on bursting. I couldn't quit laughing. He woke up one time and I was able to get him back to sleep quickly. The second time, after about five "gun shots" went off and woke him up again I tried to get him back to sleep. I just couldn't quit laughing long enough though, and that only woke him up more. At least it was officially his birthday at that point. He had a great day.

UGH!!

I just have one thing to say...Health Insurance and Medical bills!! I don't believe I need to say more. I don't think I do. Everyone gets it. I just hope my hubby can handle it. The stress is making his blood pressure crazy and the doctor is worried he is going to have a heart attack or stroke.

Refiguring Out Life

We are working on new routines, new cooking, and pretty much a new style of life. We are trying to figure out Scott's food allergies which are, oh let me see, everything. We have taken things out and decided to try his beloved cheese on Sunday. It didn't work out so well, I am still waiting to see how cheddar is. So it is looking like dairy will be out. I am pretty sure wheat is going to be out, just from looking at the past. We know apples aren't good, but will try it in the juice form to see. Hopefully that works out because he is limited on drinks and doesn't love water all the time. I bet oatmeal is out too. I really hope eggs are ok. I am learning how to cook all over again and everything from scratch. This isn't the easiest with my crazy schedule lately but we are making it work. Thank goodness I found a great website that has gluten and dairy free recipes. They also give alternatives for eggs. The two recipes we have tried so far have been a hit. so here we go into yet another adventure of life!

Still Kicking

We are still alive and kicking. I am not sure how good I will be at this for a bit. I am low on any extra energy. We are dealing with a down right now, taking it day by day. I still head to Albuquerque once a week, with no signs of slowing. Harley is now going twice a month with us. We are trying to find a family counselor here in town. I am constantly meeting with the school to help Noah out the best we can.He is very angry at this point. I let him beat me up with pillows last night to try and help get his anger towards me out.  I am trying to work out and eat better, but let's face it candy and bed sound so much better for rushed of energy and hard crashes. I know healthy. We just found out that Scott is pretty much allergic to everything, but not dogs. We have to see how milk, wheat, oats, and eggs whites bother Scott. So a new menu to eliminate these and introduce them to see if they bother him or not needs to be made up. This will be interesting. So we are more insane then ever, if that is possible. Hopefully life will get a sense of normal back.