Rachelle update V

FYI, I am home. I am sore where they made the incision but I feel really good. Thanks for all your prayers they have definitely helped me in more ways than physically! I got a call at 7 AM yesterday telling me they could do the surgery early so I was done before noon! That was a tender mercy! I didn't sleep well last night but I attribute a lot of that to the sleeping I did during and after surgery! So I pondered a lot about the things that I have been learning during this experience and I watched some talks on BYUTV that inspired me to really tackle my sins and repent--not that I haven't been trying but I have set backs. Every talk focused on things I wondered like How do I start? Or where? It's nice to know that there is good programming at 1 AM!

Amber and Keith

I copied this off the blog of their photographer--beautiful! I was just so excited that I had to share! (My brother and his wife Sept.30th). So I couldn't wait another day to post it!

Blogging Blunder

 

This is what happens when you are trying to figure out how to post things on your blog and you haven't checked on your children! Zane ran off before I could get him in a photo because he wanted to wash his face once I saw them!

Our Walk

We went for a walk on a path near our home, there is a cute little creek that runs through it. Zane rode his bike and Gwen mostly walked--she got tired at the end and got in the stroller. That same day Gwen wore her new shirt Granny bought her because she picked it out at Wally World (Wal-Mart)--it has a flashing pumpkin. (You can guess what I thought of that!) Anyway, after wearing it a couple of hours she had to change into a skirt but didn't want to keep the shirt on so I changed her into a different shirt too. So these are all included in the slide show. Too bad I can't keep this with the slide show! Anyway, we had a lovely time. We love fall!

Rachelle update IV

Okay, I psyched some of you out with my fall post that I never posted but I am trying to figure out the Picasa Web books. Anyway, I will get it done by Monday!

So I went to the back surgeon today and I am having surgery Monday. Time is still unknown--the hospital will call me this afternoon to tell me. I have a fragment of my disk on the nerve. They will go in through the back bone--yes they drill a hole and go in an take it out. Risks are: bacterial infection, so I will be on an antibiotic and neuropathy--if they touch the nerve and damage the thin membrane around it, it will cause inflammation and it is very painful (this could last 3-4 months). I can't become paralyzed from the surgery because the spinal cord is not in the area--this the area where the lumbar meets the sacrum. It is an hour and a half surgery. I will only be in the hospital one night but I will be down 10 days. After the ten days I can resume normal activity except the lifting and bending. I am SOOO excited! I am so glad that I finally get to do something about this!!!! Please keep me in your prayers--they have helped me tremendously! We'll let you know after I have the surgery how it went!

Beautiful Fall!

I am finally sharing some photos I took at the Thanksgiving Point Garden.(we bought a family pass in July.)I tried to make a slideshow with Picasa and I gave up! Not many photos of the kids though I took some nice profiles there, owell! The Garden closes on the 25th of October so we wanted to go one more time until spring. It was so quiet and beautiful. I love fall, the colors are so intense and the air crisp it just stimulates my senses with it's amazing beauty! We went for family night the last day of Fall Break and we splurged and rented a golf cart. Taran and Timo had fun practicing driving.
We found the "secret garden" they have made there and a water feature we hadn't seen before and then we enjoyed the waterfalls with the beautiful fall leaves on the trees and bushes around it!

They have a huge hill the kids like to roll down as you get back up to the top where the entrance is--Tim got the action on film!
We are truly blessed to have this beautiful world!

Standing For Something . . .

So I ranted and raved and lost the post while trying to get this video downloaded! I am fed up with our media and how they are so biased. I don't watch the TV much-too busy and it's not worth it. Some people said that Reagan was scary. I'll tell you what is scary:

higher taxes, abortion, limited energy, socialized health care= unavailable and incompetent (I've lived where they have it), judges that interpret the law instead of standing for the Constitution, instilling fear into the masses and a Republican Party that has forgotten it's principles!

So even though I am not thrilled with McCain, he won my party's nomination and I respect that. He has a great running mate who has the principles that Republicans have been looking for in a candidate. Less government, MORE freedom. Some think it's scary to let people have so much freedom and accountability in their lives but that is part of preserving liberty. So I am posting this great YOU Tube video I found on another blogger's blog (Pikes Pickles). It reflects the values of all people of faith.

Family is what this crisis in our nation is about. Are we parents teaching our children the core beliefs that stem from the Constitution? Do our children understand the value of work over getting something for nothing? If parents had been teaching these principles around the dinner table we would have less trouble now. We are in for a difficult time. So get out there and let your voice be heard. We must do all we can to elect those who will help strengthen families through freedom and our nation in the process.

Halloween Ideas

Last Monday for Family Night we made these paper pieced pumpkins for my nephews and a cousin who are serving missions. We split up into groups since we had 3 pumpkins to make and 9 people. I drew a pumpkin shape on the paper with a pencil so they had a guide and we had glue and ripped paper to use. I should have used black paper but I was just using what I already had at home. I think it worked pretty well and they were creative! I am including a giant pumpkin I have on my mantle that I paper pieced a few years ago--I had extra paper left from an art project I did with my son and his friends. I love it and it turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself. I keep it up until Christmas. I know paper piecing isn't anything new but it is a different way to be creative!

Zoo trip!

Since our kids were out of school for Fall Break we took them to the zoo Friday--we have a family pass and it pays for itself with our brood! Taran and Timo didn't want to go so we didn't make them. The weather was fabulous and we got to see a lot of animals that usually hide--like the Tiger. As we were getting to our car to go home, Tim's sister Amy and her family drove up so they took our parking place! I haven't down loaded the photos yet so I will post them later!

Birthday Girls!

Gwen and Emily have birthdays one day a part! Gwen was just short of being born on Emily's birthday--not a bad early birthday present for a girl with 5 brothers! Gwen's birthday was the 15th, the kids were still in school and Zane in preschool so Tim and I took Gwen to Thanksgiving Point's Animal Farm. She loved it as long as none of the animals got too close! It was fun. We had chicken nuggets for lunch and pizza for dinner. She likes singing happy birthday so she enjoyed that especially! Emily's birthday was the next day but the kids were off for Fall Break. We opened presents after her crepe breakfast and then Tim took Gwen and Zane for check ups, which they did well. Emily played on her karoake until Granny came and picked her up for lunch. They stopped at Justice "on their way" so she could spend her gift card from her local cousins and aunts and uncles. Then they went to Tucanos, a Brazilian restaurant that specializes in Brazilian BBQ--amazing, this was all you can eat buffet. She got a free meal for her birthday with a paying meal. She had creme brulee for dessert and loved it!
Later she had roadshow practice then we had Panda Express for dinner. We also sang happy birthday and served up her cheesecake and an Oreo pie before heading to Tim's parents' for the sad BYU game. Emily watched her Camp Rock DVD she got for her birthday while we all suffered.

Rachelle Update III

Okay, I haven't meant to blog everyday but it's something I can do and maybe I am thinking too much! But this is actually about my nerve test today. I had the first test 2 weeks ago but he couldn't finish it since it was too close to when I started having symptoms. So I went back this morning and finished it. I do have nerve damage and that is what is causing my numbness in my toes and back of my leg. I am fine with that I rarely notice it anymore. Hopefully this will help the back surgeon know where my fragment is lodged. Yesterday I saw the Neurologist and he thought that was an important part of the testing, so the surgeon should get my results by the time I see him and with the MRI know what to do. Anyway, keep praying for me, it has helped so much. I have more I could write about the blessings but I will save it for another day--I need to rest!

Trying Times

I am reading a book called An Ordinary Man. It is about the man who harbored refugees during the Rwanda holocaust--the movie Hotel Rwanda was inspired by his story. I had to put it down after a bit--it's not terribly graphic just very sad. He is an amazing man and I really like the book. But I was also pondering on our current economic and political situation and thinking about how discouraged a lot of people are, me included. But what gets me through or have hope in the future when there are people being harmed senselessly and times are uncertain here and abroad? It is my faith in Jesus Christ. It doesn't mean bad things aren't going to happen to me because I have faith. What it means that I know he will be there to guide my life and carry me when I can no longer walk on my own (and that might mean literally right now). It means I can be comforted when my heart breaks at the inhumanity or lack of charity in the world because these victims will be compensated, "Every tear will be answered." (Elder Q. Cook). It does mean I need to try to make a difference in my part of the world like Christ did (of course not on that scale) and try to reach out in the ways I can and hopefully my children will help change the world for the better.

Here is a quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley (Emily brought this home from church and it has been on our fridge), "If as a people we will build and sustain one another, the Lord will bless us with the strength to weather every storm and continue to move forward through every adversity."

A favorite scripture he used to quote a lot was from 2nd Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of a love and of a sound mind." This has become a favorite of mine as well. Fear and faith can not co-exist but we must choose as we have heard. But it can be a challenge to choose some days to have faith, but we can and it frees us from worry and unnecessary stress (Tim, my husband is a great example of this).

President Thomas S. Monson's talk at the end of last conference he said that Heavenly Father is mindful of our challenges and that we would be blessed as we strive to keep the commandments. He also asked us to work together to alleviate pain and suffering and to think of the lonely and lost and be mindful of the needs of those around us--I wonder if that might mean those within our own family as much as those in our community!

Anyway, those are my thoughts on trying times, hopefully this makes sense if not blame the pain meds. Please know that you can always pray and ask Heavenly Father for you to feel his love and the love of his son Jesus Christ and I promise they will bless you with it if you truly desire it!

Pumpkin Soup Recipe

We had a super Saturday were we could put meals in a brown gift bag ready to make--we paid for the meals. They had given us samples at church so we could order the ones we liked. I loved the Pumpkin Soup so that's what I bought and since it fits the season I thought I'd share it. We had it tonight and my family mostly chose the broccoli cheese soup. It's got a squashy flavor but it's mild and tasty. Give it a try if you want something different!

Pumpkin White Bean Soup
1 large can pumpkin
1 can coconut milk
2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
1 can vegetable broth
1 tsp. sage
salt to taste

Combine ingredients and heat through. One variation is substitute a can of pumpkin pie filling and omit sage for a sweeter soup. Serve with bread or crackers. (6-8 servings)

Halloween Traditions . . .

I know it's late but I commented on another blog, which was very cute Pikes Pickles about our annual Spooky Tales party and thought maybe others might like to know about it as well. This all started when we went to a local "Spooky Tales" at Thanksgiving Point for family night. They gave us donuts and hot chocolate--all you can eat yum! And we could look over the children's garden before. Then they had 3 storytellers 2 amateur and one professional. They weren't too spooky but more fun. One of the storytellers was a child and he was amazing! We loved it so the next year we were going to go with our friends the Durtschis but the weather was so cold we kept putting it off. We finally decided to do our own. We have done it every year and I am not sure about this year with my back but we have invited other families, had a potluck soup dinner and we potluck the refreshments as well. We have soup at one house and then the stories and jokes at the other house. Each family brings at least one story to tell. Then kids usually get up and tell silly Halloween jokes. We give the storyteller a flashlight and dim the lights. It's very fun and the kids love getting up we have to limit it to a couple of jokes a kid. We started ending with Jerry Seinfeld's Halloween Book which is a riot and we have the CD of him telling the story. FUN! Another tradition we have is making caramel apples and taking pumpkin bread to widows. I have heard of pumpkin caroling but we haven't done that yet. We try to visit a pumpkin patch and get our pumpkins if we didn't grow any. These are getting pricey so we may not go anymore. We also decorate our house for October on a family night but alas we haven't done so this year because of my back. Owell. Post any of your fun traditions! I am putting together a binder of Halloween Ideas, recipes etc. If you want some fun ideas Family Fun always has great holiday ideas. (These photos are from last year's Spooky Tales).

Happy 40th Suzette and Georgette!

Tonight my sister Teresa and I went to a party for our friends Suzette and Georgette (maiden name was McKinney) who just turned 40. Suzette and Georgette were in my ward (our religious congregation) my second year at BYU. Later Georgette served a mission to Michigan (Lansing Mission) and was companions with my sister Teresa. Georgette lived at my parents for a little while before she got married, I was already married and Teresa was just home from her mission. So our whole family got to know her pretty well then. Tim's twin sisters were in the twin study BYU did with Georgette and Suzette and other twins. It's a small world! I love these ladies, they are so fun and kind. They are funny and genuine. It was great to see them and reminded me of how blessed I have been to know so many awesome people!

Emily & Gwen in the scaredy cat shirt

We bought Emily this shirt 9 years ago and I remembered I had this photo of her. Tim convinced Gwen to wear it with jeans the other day and I thought I'd better get a photo of it while I can! If you haven't read any of my older blogs Gwen will only wear dresses now. Gwen and Emily look more a like than I realize even though one is blond and one brunette. Our cutie girls!

Short update on kids . . .

Since I don't write a weekly family letter anymore I am more random than usual--it may also be the meds! Anyway, we have had our parent teacher conferences the last 3 weeks. I was holding my breath with all of them since Taran is now in high school and in honors classes but they are all doing very well. I wouldn't say they are perfect, we have things we need to improve--I say we because I am not doing a couple of things I should be like listening to kids read and asking them questions to inspire comprehension. The problem is that most of them that I am suppose to do this with regurgitate the whole story instead of summarizing, anyway, I ramble. My mom actually went to the high school one for me since I was just out of the hospital. Tim and I went to the Junior High. And last week was the elementary school and I went all by myself, Tim dropped me off and picked me up. He was at a soccer practice at the school.
Soccer season is finished except for Taran who has 3 more games! Hopefully this cold front that came in will leave and go back to nice cool, fall weather instead of FREEZING wind! Izak's team has struggled, half the kids have never played before and some are highly distracted but they won today, yeah!
Taran, Timo and Izak are in flag football and they are really enjoying it. I enjoy watching it so I hope I can go to a game now that I am doing better.
I am excited for the fall break next week. It is also Gwen and Emily's birthdays. I wish I could say we are going somewhere fun. But it's good we couldn't afford to go since I probably would not have wanted to go in my condition--I don't know maybe I would! Last year we were in sunny San Diego--a nice change from here!
Today Tim took Taran, Timo and 2 of Timo's friends (Tyler and John) to the BYU vs. New Mexico football game. Our friends the Thomases gave us 3 tickets, because of the weather Tim thought it best not to take the little kids. They had fun and it wasn't too cold. Everyone's got BYU football fever, it's fun that they have done so well--they have looked sloppy lately. That's it for now!

Kids pictures . . .

I stopped buying the school pictures a few years ago after almost all my kids needed retakes for strange things like being diagonal in the photo! So we buy the class photo and Tim and I try our hand with our old digital, nothing fancy camera. It works, most of the time! I actually did a little more cropping and I turned them black and white when I made prints.

I like to ride my bicycle, I like to ride my bike . . .

This is Zane's theme song! He borrowed a bike from little girl down the street his age. And taught himself to ride that day--in a couple of hours! He picked up scooters really fast so we knew he had a good sense of balance. So we bought him an inexpensive bike from Wal-Mart. He was wobbly the first day but now he is a maniac and wants to ride his bike every day all day! It's very cute.

Rachelle update II

So I have gone down to 1/2 a Percocet and the pain is manageable or almost obsolete, I still take ibuprofen and gabapentine (a nerve painkiller, non narcotic). Physical Therapy is good, I love the electrod stuff and massage they do. I don't like the exercises they have me doing at home since some hurt to do but the PT says to do what I can. I am enjoying my elliptical again and I have no pain when I use it, yeah! I have an appointment with the back doctor who did Tim's dad's surgery, on the 24th. I feel I will not be able to get off the narcotics until that bone or piece of the membrane, whatever of the two it is, is removed or moves so I am looking into surgery. It is not as evasive as other surgeries so I am hopeful that if I choose that route I can have a good chance of a positive outcome. We'll see how I feel after the visit! Thanks for all your prayers, they have made a difference in many ways. Please continue to pray that I will know what I should do. Thanks!

Gwen's birthday dress, nightgowns and her new bed!

I know this isn't super exciting but it gives a little update on our happenings. Tim's mom made Gwen this darling panda jumper and shirt for her birthday--she made me take her other dress off immediately.
She is so obsessed with dresses that we had to buy her some nightgowns--she wanted to wear dresses to bed and she would kick and scream when we got her dressed in normal jammies. Here she is wearing the princess nightgown, she barely knows who they are but she thinks they are pretty so she is okay with them. We also bought a Tinkerbell nightgown but she screamed when we tried to put it on. She will wear it now, Emily and Timo told her that Tink is pretty. So here is proof that I have mellowed out, I never would have bought Emily those. But Emily was more laid back. I figure if it's not immodest or obscene I can give a little. When Taran was just starting kindergarten he came home and said, "I want shirts with pictures on them." I asked him what he meant and he said something like Power Rangers--which he never had watched. He did have some t-shirt with pictures but I was pickier then about it!
So we bought the bed from Ikea (it can expand into a twin) since it would help me with naps and bedtime when Tim is not here to lift her. She really likes it but hasn't slept well since the change so it's been the hardest on Tim since he doesn't have med induced sleep all the time like me!

Enna Burning

I finished the book Enna Burning last week when I was totally flat in bed. I loved it. It is by Shannon Hale, who wrote Goose Girl and is based on one of the characters from that book and includes many others from the Goose Girl. I am reading River Secrets now and I am enjoying it but I am having nausea because of the pain killers so I get worse reading--bummer. If you like a good story and loved the characters in Goose Girl you should read it!

Wedding Day Memories

It was a beautiful day in Salt Lake City on September 30th. Keith and Amber were stunning. The temple sealer was a hoot but spoke so low I only caught half of what he said. He didn't say too much as it was and commented that he gave up giving advice since his kids never listened to him! He also made some funny comments about how his mother dyed her hair red until she died at 100 and that his dad had pink hair! Like I said he was a hoot! I had no pain really, I was fine sitting. After photos outside the temple--notice Teresa, Katie and I have matching skirts we bought in the slide show. I wish I had worn a more fitted shirt because that shirt did not flatter me at all! But it wasn't about me it was about Keith and Amber. After photos Tim, my dad and I went to Connie Nelson (a friend from Chico who attended the wedding) her parents live near the temple and so we went there and napped until the luncheon. I am sure that helped my leg and back. The luncheon was at the Lion House near the temple grounds. The food was amazing. It was fun to hear Keith and Amber introduce their families and friends to the guests. Then we raced back to Amy (Tim's sister) to pick up Zane and Gwen and head home to get ready for the reception. The reception was yummy and great fun ending with a dance. We visited with family and old friends. Keith and Amber had fun, Keith sang along with "Raw Hide" which was a kick and sent us all home. I am not sure if Dancing Queen or Stayin' Alive were my favorite songs. Taran was a true gentleman when he danced the only slow song with me since Tim decided to drive the littlest kids home. Dancing felt good, it was a miracle day when I think of how debilitated I was just less than 2 weeks before!

Wedding Day Photos!

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