MCKENZIE GOT GLASSES!

McKenzie got glasses this past week. She was so excited to finally have them. I kept telling her that they aren't all that fun. They get in the way, they fall off, and then there are contacts......! I honestly thought that she may have just"wanted" them, just because she thinks they are fun, and look cute. Well....... we took her to the doctor and her eyes really are bad. I've been holding off her appointment for about a year. I know, I know "mother of the year award" coming my way. I felt horrible that I've held off for so long, and that she really couldn't see the chalk board at school. OOPS! I think she looks pretty cute in them. She doesn't like them as much as she thought she would, she said,"mom they kind of get in the way". She's finding that it was a lot more fun pretending that she had glasses, then really having them.

PREGNANCY PICTURES!

Alright! Alright! So many of you have been asking to see some pictures of the pregnant Tanya. Last night I figured I needed to take some pictures because we only have a few days left. My Doctor will not let me go past Thursday, (just to be on the safe side). He is going to induce me Thursday night. I'm not so sure how I feel about the whole induction thing. I'm a little nervous.... We are glad that Doctor Park let us go this long, he wanted to take the baby at 36wks. I've really enjoyed these extra weeks. 

Anyways, Enjoy the pictures! It's kinda sad to think that this will probably be our last. And yes, I know I'm rather huge! AND...... I realize that I'll probably be like this for a few more months. I've really been pregnant for almost two years.. Crazy, I know!! But we're soooo excited!

37wks and 3 days..

BABY SHOWER!

With this being my 5Th pregnancy, I never in a million years would have expected, or thought anyone would throw me a baby shower.  My girlfriends were so kind to give me a baby shower. What a surprise! It was wonderful....! I have never been to a more beautiful baby shower, the decorations were beautiful, the food was great, and so elegant, the atmosphere was perfect. I felt like a princess!  I was surrounded by so many great friends, who have loved and supported us through so much.  I got so many wonderful, and much needed items for the baby.  I think we're all set for the baby now! Thanks so much everyone. Here are some fun pictures of the event... Thanks so much everyone! 

Just "some" of the Beautiful decorations.

Chocolate Fountain Bar...

Beverage Station...

Salad, Rolls, and Pasta...

Friends enjoying each others company, while eating the "Great Food".

Playing Games...

A "Really Cute" Door Wreath, that.......was given to me as a gift. Loved it!

Snow Day!

The kids had a snow, or DEEP FREEZE day today. They actually already called school off for tomorrow as well. It was nice to have the kids home. We all (except DAD) slept in, and just hung out all day. It was quite nice. The kids enjoyed playing games together, building things with Lego, and Lincoln logs, and of course creating many CRAFTS!!!! I think we had a craft room set up in every room of the house. The mess.....Not my cup of tea! But it was fun! Taylor even braved the weather, and went and played with his friends.

The kids, just hanging out, doing kid stuff!

I'm proud to inform you all that after almost 12 years of marriage I've FINALLY organized my recipe collection. Thanks to my sister, who gave me a recipe binder (organizer) for Christmas. She made it at a church activity, isn't it cute? That's what I did for a good part of the day was organize my recipes. I can't even tell you what a load has been  lifted just by completing this project. It's been one of those projects that makes the project list every time I think of random projects that need to be done. It just never makes the top priority section. It sure feels good to have done. YEAH!

My kids and DOGS !

I don't know what it is with my children,  they have become obsessed with dogs. That's all they talk about.  They've made charts up about who's going to take care of feeding, playing, and cleaning "The Dog"! It breaks my heart every time we tell them that there is no dog. I can't stand them, especially in the house. I tolerate others dogs, just don't want one for myself.  A lot of our friends have recently bought a dog, or got one for  "Christmas".  We laugh because they are all getting dogs, and we're having a Baby. As far as I'm concerned they are both a lot of work. Brian and I keep making excuses for not getting one. We are running out of excuses very fast. One good thing is, Jackson is actually allergic to them, so if, and when we get one. It will have to be an outside dog!  

Check out this picture! McKenzie's expression of love for this dog is very evident. She is so in love with our friends dogs. Poor little girl! Okay, so Brian loves them too! HELP!!!! 

What's REALLY been going on...?

We are so blessed! A few ( sorry for not informing everyone, kind of a private matter) of you know what our holiday season has REALLY been like. Let me back up a little. When we were out of town for Casey's funeral, Brian got really sick. I mean really sick.... He had blood in his urine,a back ache, high temperature, and many other symptoms. We thought he may have had a kidney stone. He talked with Nate( my brother in law), who is an ER Doctor. Nate also gave him a blessing. Brian started on antibiotics. Things started to clear up , so we thought. Sometimes you can have blood in your urine and it isn't always  visible. A week passed by, and the blood came back visibly, really strong. Brian was feeling fine, other then that.  He went to his Doctor, they ran a few tests, the doctor ordered a ultrasound. The Doctor told us that if anything abnormal showed up that they would contact us. He started Brian on a really heavy antibiotic called Levaquin(I think that's what it's called). It's the same antibiotic that Casey, and Brian's Dad had been taking to keep them from getting sick. ANYWAYS, It kinda worried us. The Doctor told us if we didn't hear from him that everything came back clear, and that it was probably just a UTI. WEIRD! Especially for a man. We didn't hear anything, and Brian was feeling great. A week passed. The day before Christmas eve we get a call from the Doctors office saying that they found an 8mm density in his prostate, and that they wanted to see him back ASAP. They wanted to check to see if he had cancer, or what was going on. The soonest they could get him in was the Monday after Christmas. It seemed like an eternity! I called my sister Lani and asked her some questions. When the Doc. says the word cancer, how do you prepare for such a thing. Of course we think the worst, especially because so many loved ones are struggling with their own cancer battles right now. We fasted, and prayed very hard... 

We decided to inform Brianne and Nate about what was happening because we had questions for Nate. They had been trying to decided if they were going to come for a visit before all this happened. I think it helped them make the decision a little easier. My family is very close to each other. We all talk all the time, and pretty much know everything that's going on in each others lives. We can read each other like a book. Without saying much we can usually tell when something is not right. You all know I don't hide my feelings very well. Good and bad, and it's very hard for me to hold back from speaking what's on my mind! Needless to say I had a bit of a breakdown and Nate and Brianne came for a visit. We are so grateful for Nate and Brianne for once again being there for us. We know we have been very needy the last few years. We feel we've even run some of our close friends away by our neediness... We feel horrible about that! Usually in a sisterhood the older sister is the one that kind of looks out for the little sister. Not in this case. Brianne has been such a big support to me. It breaks my heart at the distances she will go to help us out, and be there for us. She's amazing! Thanks Sis! We had a great time with them. We all get along so well. It was nice to have them come visit because we were forced to rest. Brian and I were both down with colds, and stuff.  It was perfect. Brian loved the fact that I had no projects for him. I think Brian and Nate watched a total of 8 movies. They were loving life.

ANYWAYS, Monday came. We went to the Urologist for a friendly visit. He did his examinations and wanted to do more testing. He ordered a CT urogram. Brian went for this on Wednesday the 31 of December. Just after he left for his appointment I got a call from the Doctor saying they will need to do more intense testing because his urine showed up with more blood in it from testing done a few days prior, and that there was no bacterial infection showing up. Which caused for more concern. Meaning the problem may be deeper. We then had to wait a week for the results. Meanwhile we have been stressing out. Making sure everything is in order, and preparing for the worst! Thank goodness we do have life insurance. 

Yesterday we went to the Doctor.  We were both feeling pretty good about things. We  had a few weeks to think about things. Everything Brian said or did was, " This may be the last of this.... (what ever the situation may be) I'm dying". What a tease he is. It got really old fast. I've definitely had a lot of sympathy for him.  The Doctor sat us down, rolled his chair up close to us, put his head down... (At this point my heart was pounding, my eyes started to tear up). He looks at us and said, "Everythings fine. Your not dying. Your alright".  The density in the prostate is a cyst! They aren't sure why, or where the blood is coming from. They aren't too worried. If it continues to show up then they will do a more invasive procedure, but as for now he is fine. As for the cyst, nothing needs to be done.

Talk about a life altering situation. Everything went through our heads. Not a fun experience! A growing experience? Yes, very much so!

We are so very grateful for the power of the priesthood, and for it's healing, and comfort. What a blessing it is to have. 

We feel we can now move on with our future. It seemed like our lives were at a stand still for a few weeks. We are right in the midst of making so many decisions. Trying to decide what, and where we want our future to be. We are preparing for the arrival of our 5th baby. These are exciting times. We feel so blessed to be watched over, and guided and directed by the holy spirit. This is kind of a weird blog entry, I know! However, we thought we would let our close friends and family(and according to Brian "the whole WORLD") know whats really been going on.  We love you all! 

    P.S. This picture is for you Brianne.

Tis The Season...

I'm not so sure on how to do this post. We have had many things happening, and going on. I have been really bad at posting.  I have a lot to update you on. Here's the run down.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT... Kenzie performed in her school program. She did a great job. She was even asked to sing in a trio with her friends. This was big for her because she doesn't really like this sort of attention. The girls did great!

SNOW,SNOW,and MORE SNOW... Brian and the boys were out shoveling the snow for a good majority of the month of December. It was so cold outside that the kids had a hard time even enjoying playing in it. They still managed to do so, just in very small increments.

 BREAKFAST WITH SANTA... This is a tradition that our ward has. The families in the ward get to have breakfast at the church, and then Santa comes and visits with the kids. Our kids look forward to this each year. They love visiting with Santa. Most of all they enjoy trying to guess who Santa's helper is. I didn't get a picture of Taylor. I don't know how I missed that. Sorry Taylor!

CHRISTMAS PARTY... Brian got a to try on a buddies white elephant gift. I had to post this because it was so funny. We found this mullet wig, and had to purchase it for a whooping $0.75.     (with a white elephant gift in mind). Maybe it was one of those things that you just had to see in person.

CHRISTMAS EVE...The kids favorite Christmas tradition is opening their Christmas PJ'S. I always wrap them in matching gift wrap, as well it's always the soft wrapped gift under the tree. This makes them easy to find. Once again I was able to find time to make the Christmas PJ'S. They loved them. I was glad because it wasn't easy this year to find the perfect fabric for each of them.  

I love the expression on each child's face as they open their PJ'S.

We also went to some friends house for a little while. We ate, visited, and even decorated Christmas cookies.

Another tradition we have is reading/watching the Nativity. We try to make this special to help our kids know, and learn the true meaning of Christmas, and the importance of it.

After the kids set out some cookies for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer, (don't ask) off to bed they went. They were so excited, and could hardly wait till morning. They actually went to bed really good.. around 9:00pm. AMAZING!!  Brian and I were in bed by 11:00pm.

CHRISTMAS DAY...The kids woke up around 7:00 am not to bad. Everyone was really surprised, and loved, and enjoyed their gifts. 

Here are a few random pictures of the family.

All Jackson wanted for Christmas was " That Popper Thing" a Pixos Machine. He waited so patiently as Brian put it together. 

Jackson loves this game. He will play it for hours when he goes to grandma's house. He wanted this so bad that when he saw that we were giving one away for a gift he cried. He really had a hard time with that. Little did he know that we had one for him wrapped under the tree. 

Discovering all his toys.

 Taylor made me the sweetest nutcracker. He was so excited to give it to me. He even took the time to explain to me how he made it. He said "the hat is a chocolate milk container, the hair is carpet". It was precious...I loved it!

Taylor got lots of books, and lots of games.

AND an IPOD NANO....( he wanted this as his main gift. We don't have the money for such a thing, especially for a 10 year old....Sooooo Brian wrapped up his and gave it to him. Taylor was delighted, and so was Brian.) The things we do for our kids.

Ever since we went to Disney World McKenzie has really wanted a Cinderella dress. She was so surprised when she saw that Santa had brought her one.

Now this was a funny sight. Brian has made the comment to Brianne and I before that he loves the tops of muffins. You know how Brian loves bread, and pastries. So the hunt began. I searched everywhere for a muffin topper. He loved it! And they are really good!

His home theater is once AGAIN complete. He got a new receiver.

As for me... I was spoiled! Brian and the kids did a lot for me. Most of all I wanted a new pair of boots. My sister in law Jordan ( soon to be, we hope) has a pair of these boots. They are really cute. I told Brian to get me a pair that looked like hers, the generic brand, only because I'm cheap.  Of course Brian got me the real thing. UGG Boots!  

You will notice that I fell asleep on the couch . I started this cold thing on Tuesday, so I was pretty wiped out. It hit me pretty hard Christmas Day. I fell asleep on my stocking I was so tired. When I woke up I had chocolate melted all over me. Brian had fun with the camera while I was sleeping. ( by the way that cold turned into a sinus infection. It was horrible, and lasted a week, and a half).

The wigs..... They were a hit! We got them on clearance, and decided to wrap them up for McKenzie. They really were  the favorite toy for everyone......

We enjoyed many phone calls from family, and friends, and then headed to our friends The Kjars for the afternoon for Christmas dinner. It was so nice. Rob, and Minda did such a nice job. It was just our two families so it was pretty kicked back. Minda always does such a wonderful job. She's an outstanding cook. We visited, laughed, and played games. Yeah!!! Finaly someone who will play games. I love games. We taught them how to play  " Ticket to Ride". It was a blast!

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! ( sorry we're so late)

Baby Update

For many people who have been wondering. Things are going well.  We are so excited for our baby to be born. We're not so sure when that will be.  My Doctor has wanted me to deliver around 36wks. I'm not ready for that... We will meet with him on Friday to talk about things. 

Every Tuesday I go to the perinatologist. We get to see 3D pictures. Really weird but fun. It's crazy to know what our baby looks like already.Its been a lot of fun to see the baby grow week to week.Three weeks ago he was 4lbs 10oz. On Fridays I have to go do a NST (none stress test). Now these are not fun. They are sometimes really long.

 I'm glad the Doctors are keeping a close eye on things. We will update you more when we learn more.  So as for baby and I, we are doing great. I feel really good. He keeps me awake most evenings/nights, just kicking around.  I can't tell you how many hours of my nights go by that I just watch the clock, and feel him kicking around inside. However, this just makes me excited. What an amazing little miracle. How blessed we feel.