aLDER

a cHILD'S cOMPREHENSION

2009-09-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

As I was driving Riley to pre-school today he was asking about the lines he could see on the road. He asked what the yellow lines meant. At that point we were driving beside a turning lane right by my Aunt Zada's house so I preceeded to tell him if I wanted to turn onto her road to go to Zada's I would get into the middle of those yellow lines. Talking about Aunt Zada opened up a new conversation. I told him that Aunt Alta lived there now cause Zada got to go live with Heavenly Father. This was the conversation.

Riley-Why does Zada live with Heavenly Father?
Me-Cause she was old and sick so she went to live with Heavenly Father to feel better.
Riley-Where does Jesus live?
Me-In Heaven.
Riley-Is Heaven in the sky?
Me-Yeah sort of.
Riley-Does Jesus reach down and grab people?
Me-(wanting to laugh cause that was too cute) No sweetie that's not how it happens.
Riley-How do we get there?
Me-Well when we die our spirits go to Heaven.
Riley-How long do we die for?
Me-I get to live with you, daddy, Aiden, and Cheyanne forever and ever!

I guess that must have satisfied him enough or we were just about to school that he stopped asking more questions. This conversation was too cute and it is so hard to try and explain things to a child so they can comprehend what you are telling them without them totally thinking you're looney.

mY mUSICAL bOYS!

2009-09-02T15:46:00.000-07:00

My little boys love LOVE music. They each even have a favorite song. Riley has always loved music and he has a new favorite song every couple of weeks. A few weeks ago it was Sweet Home Alabama! He got all of Hope's kids singing(yelling) it the other night. His new song is from Taylor Swift "You Belong With Me". Only he calls it stinkers on the bleachers. It is so funny. He calls it this cause she sings, She wears short skirts, I wear SNEAKERS, she's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers! He gets it a little confused but it is way cute. Aiden's fav. song is "Poker Face" from Lady gaga. When he wants to listen to it he will say, "Face mama Face". So adorable. Then when he can hear it starting he'll start dancing his little dance. It is too dang cute, I just love it! I wish everyone could see him. The boys will fight over which one we listen to when we get in the car. I'm so glad they enjoy music, maybe they'll grow up being very musical!

mY LiTTLE hELPERS!

2009-08-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

I was baking bread the other day and my boys were just dying to help me! So I decided they could help and gave them each a little bit of their own dough to knead! They sat there on their stools for quite awhile and played so good! They had such fun too! You can't really tell it in the pictures but they were covered in flour.

MY aIDEN IS SO CUTE!

rILEY IS GETTING SO bIG! AND HE IS SUCH A GREAT BIG BROTHER!

mY TWO CUTIE PIES!

BY THE WAY THE BREAD WAS YUMMY EVEN THOUGH I DIDN'T STIR MY YEAST WHEN I FIRST PUT IT IN THE WARM WATER AND SUGAR TO ACITVATE IT. IT ENDED UP TAKING FOREVER TO RISE, NONE THE LESS IT STILL TASTED GOOD!

i lOOKED oUT tHE wINDOW

2009-08-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

AND WHAT DID I SEE?????

TWO LITTLE NAKED BUMS ON THE TRAMPOLINE!!!!!!!

I walked into my kitchen one day while the boys were outside playing in the sprinkler I noticed out of the corner of my eye the boys on the trampoline. Well I had to take a double look cause they were NAKED! It was so funny cause at that instant I thought of the popcorn song. Only instead of seeing popcorn popping it was little naked bums bouncing. I ran for my camera and just about didn't get a pic. They ran around for just a minute then Riley got down. You can see him trying to help Aiden down too. This was too cute, I just had to post it!!

rILEY'S 1ST dAY OF pRESCHOOL

2009-08-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

Riley's 1st day was July 18th. He is going to Laura Walker's preschool with cousin Parker. Riley was so excited to go and show Parker his new backpack. When he got there it was so cute watching the two of them show off their bags to one another, with their backs to each other actually.

I post this pic cause I wanted Riley's bag. After I took it I noticed Aiden trying to sneak in the picture. Too stinkin cute!

ALL READY TO GO!

I can't believe my baby boy has gotten so big already. Where does time go? It seems like yesterday when he was just a wee little one in my arms! Love you so much Ry!!!

hAPPY bIRTHDAY TO mY lITTLE, bIG bOY!!

2009-08-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

Just want to wish my Riley a very happy birthday! I love you so so much and life wouldn't be the same without you! You are such a fun kiddo and you are so full of smiles. You are one of God's greatest gifts to me and I couldn't love you anymore than I already do!

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY!!!

Riley had a great party and was so excited. He keeps asking how long he will be 4.

hAPPY bIRTHDAY kATIE!!

2009-08-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give a shout out to Katie Jane and wish her a Happy Birthday! Hope your day is great and filled with laughter!

iN tHE fRIDGE pLEASE!

2009-08-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

Since I had little miss Cheyanne I thought it was only fair for Mr. Steven to get up in the night if our little boys woke up. Steven has been totally awesome and does it. A couple Sunday's back we had finally made our way into the kitchen to make some breakfast and this is what I open the cupboard to...........

I totally died laughing. Babe just for future reference the milk goes in the fridge and the cups go in the cupboard!! I just had to take a picture. I told him I was going to blog it thinking he would get all bent out of shape and he didn't! He's a trooper:)

tHREE MONTHS!!

2009-08-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

WOW! My little Princess is already three months, time flies by. Here are just a few cute pics. This last month has been exciting. We went to cousin Kyle's wedding and on the way home the AC went out in Steven's truck at Gonzales Pass. Not a fun experience:(

Yes it was blazzin' hot that day. I sat in the back with Cheyanne and stripped all her clothes off to try and cool her down. We had the window's down but that didn't help matters much. I was not feeling too hot I guess cause I was just so worried about my babe, BUT I must have been heated cause it seemed like it took two weeks for me to cool down. Cheyanne was cranky a few days, probably from all the wind with the windows down.

We got her little ears pierced on July 22nd and they are so dang cute! I was going to have to wait but Steven was all about getting them done. He found Julie at Priority One who would do them. I was hopping he would hold her but he chickened out and I had to. She did really good though and they have healed awesome. For Pioneer Days we went to the family rodeo they had here in Pima. Riley and his daddy did the rescue race and did pretty good. Riley also did the stick horse race and the greased pig race. He was really excited. Thank goodness he didn't come home with a pig. Aiden was a crank box all night and Cheyanne just chilled out with Aunt Wendi most of the time. All in all it was a good month.

WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE!!!

sWEET bLESSINGS!

2009-07-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

Cheyanne was blessed by her daddy on June 28, 2009. She looked like such an angel. It was a very special day for us! All her uncle's, and grandpa's were there to help bless her! After sacrament meeting we had a luncheon at our house. We have such a huge immediate family we just about didn't get everyone fed. Thanks to all who could come and be a part of our little girls special day!!

She always makes this face. It is so funny!

I just thought this was a cute picture!

This is what she thought about it all I guess

Such a cute smile

cATCHING UP!!

2009-07-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

Just trying to catch up!!

forgive me

We took Riley to Duncan in June to his first Rodeo that he got to participate in. We had a lot of fun! He ran the barrels. Steven has to lead him on the route since he doesn't savy the whole thing yet. Riley didn't want to leave! Aiden of course had fun also. Cheyanne made a mess of her outfit and it was a good thing I had a spare!

Riley practicing at home!

Aiden practicing too !!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The boys heading out to Cedar Springs to ride 4-wheelers with Dave and Hope's family

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The boys had so much fun coloring eggs. We went pick nicking with Steven's family and it turned really cold so we had to wrap that up much earlier than planned. We colored eggs the night before Easter so they would be nice and ready for the bunny to hide them!

Aiden looking so cute!

Riley all ready to color them!

My three boys:)

Really concentrating

Daddy showing Aiden he should use the wire dipper instead of hands!

Did he just throw the egg in?

Hunting for eggs at Grandma and Grandpa Hawkins'

What cute boys ;)

Where's an egg?

oNE mONTH!!

2009-06-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby girl is already one month! Time flies by so quickly! Cheyanne is such a good baby! I couldn't have asked for anything more!!!

I LOVE THIS PICTURE AND THE NEXT!

This was just a fun picture of what it's like to have a baby girl around the house.

PINK LAUNDRY!

oNE wEEK lATER

2009-06-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

So Cheyanne is a week old when Audra comes to visit us. I notice while she's there that I am getting a little cold. Well by the time she leaves I tell Steve that I am starting to get really cold. We decided that we would go for a ride just to get out of the house. I wanted to feed the baby first so she wouldn't get cranky for our ride. Well as I was feeding I am getting REALLY cold and put a blanket on. I start to shiver I am so cold. Steven is getting Cheyanne in her carseat and I told him I was going to go sit in the sun and to pick me up out front. I was sitting in the blazing heat outside and was just SHIVERING! We start heading up town and I decided there was something wrong and we need to go to the doctor's office. So the air in the dr office makes me shiver more so I ended up going outside to wait. I finally get called back and my temp was 103. How crazy!! He asks me if I was having any pain anywhere in my pelvis. No! But my breast is a little tender! He takes a look at my incision and it looks totally great! Oh and by the way I had been in the office 2 days earlier because I was having an allergic reaction to the stupid sticky stuff on the tape! Allergic enough to cause my skin to break down and start oozing. I thought my wound was opening up! Ok back to my shivering! Everything looks ok so he asks if I burn when I urinate. No! What the heck is going on? So he gives me an antibiotic to take since obviously SOMETHING is going on. He says if my temp gets to 104 to go to the hospital. Well the next morning guess what my temp is! Yep 104 so we call the dr and head on up. When I get there they were ready for a bazillion tests to run. He tells me it's not the flu, that test was ok. Oh yeah I had a bad headache too. So he tells me he's thinking maybe menengitis so we may have to do a spinal tap. Oh great! They have me start drinking the nasty junk for a catscan of my pelvis to check for an abcess, take my back for a chest x-ray, start doing dopplers on my legs to check for a clot, start me on blood thinners and start me on 3 different antibiotics! Ask if I'm having any pain. No, but my right breast is still tender and today it looks red! Dr. Christensen comes in and relieves my anxiety about the menengitis theory. Yeah, no spinal tap! ALL tests come back normal. This is so stupid! The next morning I am not feeling well at all. I tell the nurses I am getting itchy and red. By mid morning I was a strawberry!! I was allergic to one of the stupid antibiotics. It had caused a rash over my entire body. The supid benedryl pills were NOT HELPING. So they decided to give me benedryl thru my IV and start me on prednisone. I was so out of it on Saturday I didn't know which way was up! Sunday morning I was feeling pretty good and hadn't had a fever for quite a while. The doctors told me I still had to stay another day. That shot my spirits down and it was a horrible, emotional day. They were trying to figure out my antibiotics and I still had to get shots to thin my blood. They did decide that I had mastitis. I was still pumping so I would still be able to nurse my precious little girl when I could return to her. My mom is so awesome to take care of my little ones when I keep returning to the hospital after having a baby. Thanks so much. Anyways, like I said, it was anemotional day and that evening I think I start to have a panic attack. Steven decided to stay the night there with me. The next day (monday) I am feeling way better and they decided I could go home!! Yeah :) I was worried about Cheyanne not wanting to nurse but like I said she is the BEST baby and she latched on like we never skipped a beat! I was still itchy for about 2 weeks especially where I would sweat more. But it was all over with and I am home and doing well. We decided though that I am now allergic to penicillin. Definitely will never forget this experience! Thank you all to our families. Thanks so much for taking care of my kids when I couldn't. Mom, Joyce, Sas, Katie, Marlo, Carol, Shar thank you so much. Thanks for the food and all the prayers. Thanks to anyone who I may have forgotten. I can't express how thankful I am for our families!! Love you so much!!

hAPPY & fRIGHTENING

2009-06-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

So I had an appointment with Dr. Tran about 9:00am on the 7th of May. I had been going twice a week to the hospital to get my NST's to monitor the baby since I was contracting and it was early for me to be doing that. That Thursday was the day I was needing to go in after my appointment. When I was in with Dr. Tran we were all excited about me making it to 37 weeks. He started laughing and said "watch you'll go over to be monitored and start really contracting!" Steve and I decided that would probably be the case. We head over there and I told him it most likely was going to happen cause the walk over I could feel the contractions more. I get hooked up to the monitor and layed there awhile. Can you guess what happened? Just as we all predicted so Lisa, my nurse, called the OR and Dr. Tran to get it all arranged for my c-section. They said it would be around 1 or 2 when they could sqeeze me in. I started to get nervous I guess cause my heart beat started to rise. We got to get one last look at her in my belly with an ultrasound so Dr. Tran could see where the baby's head was. Then we were off to the OR. Dr. Tran and Dr. Harrison were the ones doing the surgery and Lisa Taylor was still my nurse. I had gotten to know her pretty well from going in for my NST's. Well they delivered the baby and in the mean time I was pretty nervous cause she was early. It took them awhile to get her to cry. I could see Lisa and the baby off to my left side. I asked how she seemed to be doing and she said good. Well they were still trying to get her to let out a good cry. Lisa's body language totally drooped! I started to really worry then. She had to put a bag on Cheyanne to get her to breathe. Steven was over with them the whole time and was trying to tell me things were ok but I knew better! I could read him like a book. They got her stable enough to take her to the nursery while I was still being sewn up. I tried so hard to be brave but my worry got the best of me. Another nurse could see that so she came and sat with me and tried to reassure me all was going to be ok. I was taken to recovery and in comes Dr. Christensen. I told him it was too soon for him to be here and that there was something wrong wasn't there?! He told me they had Cheyanne in an oxygen tent and things were going to be ok now. Steven had come in after Dr. C and said they were trying to draw Cheyanne's blood and couldn't get any so they kept digging and digging. He couldn't take it anymore so he had to leave. This whole time Steven was trying to act like things were all good but like I said I could read him like a book. While I was still in the OR the respitory therapist had come in also, Cleve, who is my friends little brother so we all knew him. Steve straight up asked if things were ok or if she needed to be flown out to Tucson. He said things were going to be ok. I was finally taken to my room just after 5:00 pm and Cheyanne got to come in about 6:30pm. She was such a cutie pie. She was doing great and only had to wear a little thing on her toe to tell us what her oxygen levels were and what her heart rate was. She hadn't wanted to wake up to eat so they checked her sugar level which was ok. About 8pm she decided she would wake up and try to eat. She did so good. She has been the best baby ever!! It was such an emotional day for us. A little miracle was given to us but she just had to give us a little worry first.

SHE'S HERE!!

2009-05-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

Ok so I am going to post pictures and then tell the WHOLE story later!! (yes of course there is a story!)

Meet Miss Cheyanne Alder born May 7, 2009

Weight- 7lbs. 4oz

Height- 19 in.

Our first picture with Cheyanne!

Under the oxygen hood!

Under the hood also.

All ready to go home!!!

Sweet little thing!

FUN OB VISITS!! Maybe not

2009-04-10T10:19:00.000-07:00

So I went in for my regular OB visit last week and now just have this big ol' lovely list of fun things! First off I do try really hard not to complain while pregnant. That's just being pregnant right, all the lovely things that come with it. Well I get there and Dr. Tran has gotten a new partner in his practice which is really awesome cause this town needs it. After the whole fun thing of peeing in my cup which everyone knows is so easy to do with a basketball sitting in front of you. I go to my exam room and Dr. Tran's wife comes in to let me know about the new doctor. She tells me all his credentials and bla bla bla. She asks if it would be ok for me to see him instead of Dr. Tran. "Well" I said. "If I wasn't having a c-section that would be totally fine and I wouldn't mind, but since my last c-section my uterus was a little weird I would really rather stay with Dr. Tran." She said as a woman she totally understood. As I wait for the dr to come in I can hear his staff complaining about giving these women choices. They shouldn't be able to choose. Ok so now I feel really bad about my decision. Dr comes in and I ask if it was bad of me. Of course he says no bla bla bla. I feel better. If I go into labor early and he is not the one on call I can deal with that!! So the nurse tells me I have a low grade fever and I have no idea why, I feel just fine not sick at all. I tell dr that I am cramping all the time and if I get to doing too much my belly gets all hard and uncomfortable. He says I'm having contractions and not to do much. Well ok, already been doing that. I am still measuring big and now he wants an ultrasound to see why. I remember doing the same thing with Aiden also. By the end of the pregnancy I started measuring more normal. So I ask dr about my fever and he says I need to get a UA to see if maybe I have something going on there. Ok, how about my c-section date? It will be on May 21ST. Yeah, I'm so excited other than that's the last day of school for my parents and Steven's mom. It is going to be a wonderful day! I go to check out to leave and they tell me I have to go to the hospital to leave another urine sample. I asked why I couldn't use the one I just left but they had already dumped it. Yeah! I get to go pee on my hand again:)
Ok I am now off my soap box and can now return to not complaining!!

oUR little mONKEY

2009-02-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

I've known for awhile now that Aiden was going to be a monkey when he got a little older. He was always trying to lift his little leg up onto things to get on top. Of course he was only TRYING. He has already accomplished climbing the coffee table to get on the couch. Well yesterday while Riley was playing with his play dough at the kitchen table he decided he wanted to check it out. I walk into the room and he was already up on one of the chairs so I just watched him. Yep, he went right on up to the table. LITTLE STINKER! I go walking towards him telling him he needs to get down. So he hustles back to his chair and tries to get back into it. He's only 14 1/2 months old! He shouldn't already be climbing on the kitchen table!! :)

wE'RE eXPECTING #3 AND iT'S a.................

2009-02-09T15:47:00.000-08:00

GIRL!

I am due May 28th! Before we knew what we were having Riley insisted he was having a baby sister. I kept telling him it may not be a girl. He then would proceed to say that he already had a little brother that he didn't need another one. I had my ultrasound scheduled for Dec. 31st but we told everyone that it wasn't until the 7th of January. We wanted to do something fun if it was a girl, so we decided to have our families over for New Years Eve and say we were having cake and ice cream for my birthday. It was going to be so fun! Well it wouldn't be one of our kids if it wasn't stubborn! Yep, you guessed it. The baby was not cooperating. So we had our cake and ice cream with no fun news. We ended up taking Aiden with us to the appointment and it was a nightmare. He cried to whole time cause he wanted me and didn't want that lady doing whatever it was she was doing to me. We waited for my dr appointment the next week and gave Dr. Tran our sob story. He said he would do and ultrasound in his office to see what the sex was. Steven was all excited, so was I but as we walked out I told him "yeah right it is probably still a BOY!" February 4th I had to go back to the ambulatory clinic and have another ultrasound cause the first time the baby wouldn't even show her face or her heart so we got to go back. I was excited cause that meant we got to take another looksy at her gender. We got the best u/s tech and she said her heart looked great and no cleft lips. She also said it was a GIRL!! We are so excited and can now officially start SHOPPING!

hAPPY bIRTHDAY sTEVEN

2009-01-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

To my wonderful husband I would like to tell him HAPPY BIRTHDAY! You are such a great person with a sweet heart. I love the way you love your boys and how excited you are about having a new baby. You are such a sucker when it comes to your boys. Riley comes and asks if you can play with him or if he can have something, of course most of the time you say yes. You are so tender with them, well me too. Thank you so much for being YOU!!

mERRY cHRISTMAS

2008-12-29T15:46:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was so much fun cause Riley actually understood the whole Santa Claus thing this year. He was so excited and he wanted a baby drum (a small drum) and a trampobean(trampoline). Santa came thru and got him what he wanted! Aiden was just like eh'whatever! He does have fun with his toys. They both have fun with each others toys too. Steven got me a wheat grinder I have been wanting along with some bread pans. Hint, Hint for what's to come! Joyce got all of her children's families a BOSCH! I love it. I haven't bought bread from the store since then. Steven absolutely loves that part. He has been begging since we have been married to bake him bread. My excuse was it took to long and was too hard. Now it is so simple. Thanks Katie for your awesome recipe.

hAPPY bIRTHDAY aIDEN!!

2008-12-29T15:06:00.000-08:00

Aiden turned one year old on December 4th! I can't believe it has already been a year since the little stinker was born. Just like last December, this one didn't go real great either. Aiden and I were both sick on his birthday. I got over my sickness in a couple of days. Aiden, however, wasn't as lucky. His lasted 2 weeks. Let me tell you, 2 weeks of vomiting and diarrhea are NOT fun! We finally got to have a party for Aiden. He was so fun! He would open a present then we would all clap cause Aiden would get super excited and start clapping also. He is such a cutie even though he can be a handful! Love you so much sweetie!

hAPPY hALLOWEEN!

2008-10-31T21:15:00.000-07:00

The boys were so dang cute! I decided we were going to have a more traditional Halloween this year and not buy costumes. I was going to do with what we already had laying around and be creative! Riley was going to be a pirate and Aiden was a scarecrow! Aiden's was way easy. I just got overalls and a flannel shirt. He was suppose to have straw coming out of his hands and feet but of course good ol' Wal-Mart was out of rafia. So he went without. Riley, I just cut some sweat pants and got him white shirt. We had some old pj's that had a hole in them so I made a belt and head-band out of them. I did buy him a sword to complete the costume though. Riley had so much fun! That's what counts right!

pEACOCKS

2008-09-08T21:21:00.000-07:00

So Steven and Riley were driving down the road where we lived in the trailor, heading to the arena. The Cluff's who live down the way have A LOT of peacocks. They are always in and around the road. We even have to sometimes wait for them to move out of the way before we can keep driving. This particular day one was out by the road and had his feathers all spread out. It obviously was the first time Riley had seen, or noticed, them. He got all excited and was like, "Look daddy look!" Steven asked "what is that Riley?" Riley responded, "It's a FLOWER CHICKEN!!" Steven loved it. He had to call me and tell me what he'd just said. This is too dang adorable!

tIGHT sPACES

2008-09-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

Britt came to play last week and the boys were having so much fun playing in the back yard. I had Riley's little pool out there with just a little water in it but it was starting to get really nasty and the toys were a bit slimmy. I asked them not to get in it yet, that I would clean it out and refill it with clean water. I got them all squared away and then remembered I bought Aiden a tiny pool too. I blew it up and put the water in it and he LOVED it! The bigger boys thought that maybe it would be fun to get in with Aiden. They all barely fit! It was too dang cute!

aIDEN LOVES TO SPLASH

CHEESE:)

nOT mUCH rOOM tO sWIM

wHO kNOWS?

bYE, bYE! i'M oUTTA hERE bOYS!

bIRTHDAY pICTURES!!

2008-09-08T15:01:00.000-07:00

hERE ARE A FEW PICS FROM rILEY'S SPECIAL DAY!!

Getting ready to blow out the candles

Good job Riley!!

I like this cupcake!

Here's my new belt

Look at my new, cool chaps!

bLOGGING sLACKER

2008-09-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

OKay Okay I have been such a slacker. Everytime I would even think about getting on the computer something would happen or Steven would be in here working. So that's my excuse for being a slacker. It's all Steven's fault. A lot has happened in the last month. Aiden now has two cute little teeth and his grouchily working on two more. (is grouchily a word?) He crawls like a little super hero and is starting to cruise around the furniture. He has let go a couple of times and has stood on his own for a couple of seconds. He is Mr. independent when it comes to feeding himself. He will no longer let me feed him. AT ALL! HE has to do it all himself, so I have been trying to find things that are ok for him to eat. He is still a little mama's boy, but is now starting to cling to daddy also. It is hard to be a good housewife and keep the place clean you know, he is always wanting me. But I do try!! Aiden is such a sweet little thing. When he is not mad he is always smiling and is very ticklish! Riley has now turned "3" he is such a big boy!! We had cake and ice cream with the family and he loved it. Riley is such a little character. He is my little mr. personality! He says the cutest things and I know I should be writing them all down. I tell myself I'll remember and write it down later but then I seem to forget. I am trying to be better at that. It seems like yesterday when I was in the hospital having him. He gave us all a little scare. Well Steven and the rest of the family anyway. I was the only one staying calm and collective. I knew it would all be ok. I was right! We were all ok and I had the most perfect little boy in the world! Now I have two of the most perfect little boys! I am not biased at all! Since I missed posting the day of his Birthday I'd like to tell him now HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEY! I love you so much! You bring such happiness in my life, I wouldn't know what I would do without you. You are such a contagious little boy!

rOAD tRIP

2008-07-31T18:09:00.000-07:00

We decided it would be best if we headed up to Showlow and pick up Riley after he asked to call us and tell us that he still wanted to come home. Soooo we left Wednesday morning about 7 am. Stopped in at my moms to use her car and hit the road about 8:15am. We got to Showlow and Shar said start heading to Sunrise Ski Resort. We finally made it and I was surprised to see how Riley's eyes looked. Not just the eye part but actually around them. He had these red bumps and some looked liked they had some pus in them. Well I really did not like the way they looked so I called my doctor's office and scheduled him an apointment for that afternoon at 4:30pm. Steven wanted to visit a few places for insurance and then we were off. We mad it back by about 4:35pm and got to see Dr. Kartchner. He looked at his eyes and asked if he had any of the bumps anywhere else on his body. I wasn't sure cause we hadn't looked. He left the room awhile and we didn't find anymore on his body. Dr. came back in and as we were talking his pager went off. He said he needed to answer it cause it was about Riley. He came back in again and said he wanted him t0 see Dr. Walker at Southwest Eye and that he was on his way back from Wilcox. He'd be at his office in about 30 min. Dr. Kartchner gave us a prescription for antibiotics cause he thought on his forehead was impetigo. We dropped that off at Wal-Mart and then went and waited outside Dr. Walker's office cause it was 5:30pm. Dr. Walker finally got there and Riley sat on my lap in the eye exam chair. He asked Riley to put his chin in the chin strap and his forehead up on the band. I thought we were going to have a fight. To my surprise Riley did totally awesome. I was so proud of him!! It finally all came down to Riley having basically fever blisters coming out around his eyes. How stinkin' crazy! We had to go back to MGFP and find Dr. Kartchner's window and knock so he could give us another RX. We finally got home after picking up Aiden at about 7pm. It was one crazy long day and was so glad for it to be over!!

uPDATE

2008-07-29T10:31:00.001-07:00

wE CALLED sHAR THIS MORNING AND rILEY HAS NO MORE FEVER AND IS PLAYING AND HAVING FUN. hE SAYS HIS EYE HURTS BUT i SENT UP SOME EYE DROPS i HAD FROM THE DOCTOR SO THAT SHOULD HOPEFULLY START GETTING BETTER. i AM JUST GREATFUL HIS FEVER IS GONE AND HE IS PLAYING. hOPEFULLY IT STAYS THAT WAY AND DOESN'T GET ANY WORSE!

sO sAD

2008-07-28T19:04:00.001-07:00

Well I posted this morning about my little Riley being so excited to go camping with Roni (Seth), and now I am so sad for him. Shar called and asked if I knew his eye was red, I said "yeah, but I figured he had gotten dirt in it and it was just irritated." Today I guess it has gotten quite worse and now he is complaining about it. She called again this evening and now he is runnin a fever. Poor little guy, I am so sad for him. We may be taking a trip up North to pick him up in the morning. I already have asked my mom if we can borrow her Beetle(great on the fuel dept) and have gotten Aiden a great babysitter.

hAPPY bIRTHDAY gRANDMA

2008-07-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to tell my Grandma Aileen Happy 80th Birthday. She probably would not be happy if she new I was posting this. All the family got together to celebrate at Bush and Shurtz. Here are some pics of the great day.

The Birthday cake

Steven and Aiden

Great Grandma Aileen and Raeleigh Aileen

Katie and Karlee

Grandma and my mom

Riley-Parker-Kayla

Parker-Riley-Britt

bATHTIME

2008-07-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

Aiden is growing so big now. He has been sitting up now for well over a month. It is crazy how time is just flying right on by. It makes me think of how I need to enjoy every minute while my kids are still little. I finally got the two little munchkins in the tub together the other day. Well actually I was giving Aiden his bath and Riley wanted to know if he could get in with him. So of course I had to take a few snap shots taking their first bath together!

"i aM a bIG bOY"

2008-07-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

Sharleen was heading out to her family reunion up north and was going to borrow our camping trailer. The boys needed to fix a couple things on it first so they were out in our garage doing so. Seth told Riley they were going camping so naturally Riley wanted to go. Shar asked if that would be ok. Steven and I didn't mind since Riley was sooo excited about it. I think dad was trying to talk him out of it cause he kept telling him that he wouln't see mommy and daddy for a long time. He would also tell him he would miss him so much and Riley would just reply "ok". After packing they were headed out Sunday afternoon. Riley still was so excited. I could tell daddy still wasn't too excited. He waved good bye and they were off. Shar called to tell us they had made it. Riley was doing great. Shar asked him if he was going to cry and he said, "NO I'm a BIG boy and I'm Strong"! What a little character we have. Last night was a little odd not having him here. Mommy and daddy miss him already!

Riley waving bye!

hAPPY tHIRD bIRTHDAY sETH

2008-07-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Better late than never right? Just wanted to send a Happy Birthday to Seth-a-roni!! Hope your day was awesome!

hAPPY 40TH mOM & dAD!

2008-07-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

July 18th was my parents 40th Wedding Anniversary! I just wanted to let them know how much I love them and wish them a happy anniversary!

eAR iNFECTIONS

2008-07-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

Ok so last Friday I took Aiden in for his shots. He did really well and I knew he would be cranky for a day or two. Well lets make that SEVEN!! That Sunday he started hanging his head down to the left. That's when I suspected he had an ear infection. He also had a runny nose. He didn't have a fever so I didn't want to take him in. I have taken him twice now when he has had a fever and there was nothing they could find wrong or anything they could give him. So he has been the crankiest ever! Wednesday evening he started running a slight fever. The next morning I was going to call and make an appointment for the little guy. We got in at 3:10pm with Carolyn McCormmies. I was right. He not only had an ear infection but he had TWO, and an upper respiratory infection. So needless to say he got some meds and now we are on our way to healing! Yippie! He is already acting a little better!!

hAPPY iNDEPENDENCE dAY

2008-07-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

We went to Alpine for the big Fourth of July weekend with my family and had a lot of fun. We left Wednesday night and didn't get there until 9:30 am. The plan was to leave Thursday morning but Steven got an itch and decided at 3:15pm that we should leave Wednesday. Grandma Joyce had just picked up Riley to go watch Wall-e. So we packed the Trailor in a mad dash. I thought I had all afternoon and evening to pack before leaving the next morning so I wasn't in a hury. Well we finally made it out of town about 6:30pm. My parents, Travis and Wendi and their boys and Kolby, Sas and their kids all stayed in the cabin. The first day of fishin' was not successful. We went to Big Lake and Travis is the only one who caught a dang thing. Steven was not happy about that. Saturday was the best day for fishing waswhen they went to Nelson's Lake. They all caught the fish and the boys were so excited to eat them that night. That afternoon driving from the lake to the cabin Steven saw a herd of elk so after we ate Steve and I took the boys for a ride to see if we could find the elk again. Well we did and Steven was so excited. It was about 15 bull elk that were huge!! We didn't have the camera so we went back to get the camera and everyone else. We were talking about getting a picture and Riley blurted out that he didn't want to stand by the "milk" for the picture! It was so cute he kept calling them milks then he finally caught on saying elk. After watching them for quite a while we decided to leave and Riley was mad. He said he wanted to take them to the arena and rope' em. The parade in Springerville on Friday morning was good. Riley was really excited that the were throwing candy at him to have. He thought that was a pretty cool thing! We made it home Sunday afternoon just in time for the big rain storm! We got about 2 inches down here at our house. We thought we were going to float away. So now today is the joy of unpacking! Yippie!

pRINCESS

2008-07-01T18:01:00.000-07:00

So Katie did this and it seemed fun!

You Are Cinderella!

Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.

Which Disney Princess Are You?
Cindarella? Way too funny!

lAST oF tHE vACATION

2008-07-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

I thought I would be able to post daily on our vacation and I started out great but then we got so dang busy. Wednesday we went back to the beach and the boys rented surf boards. They had a ton of fun trying to learn how to do it. Steven even stood up on the board a couple of times. They didn't go out as far as all the other experienced surfers, but they still had a blast. Thursday we traveled about 45 min. to San Dimas to go to a water park called Raging Waters. They had a ton of slides and different things to have fun on. We as couples all took turns watching all 6 kids while the others went and had fun. I went down the stupidest slide ever. My brain had a relapse for a moment. It was SEVEN stories high and went straight down. How stupid huh! Well I can say I did it but will never do it again. Like I said my brain had a relapse! All the other slides were way fun. Friday was another day at the beach and since it was the last day I had to get sun burned of course. It was overcast and quite chilly so laying on the sand with your towel felt so good. I guess we didn't reaply the sun block as often because of the weather and we all payed for it. The ride home the next day was miserable cause the back of my legs killed. But after 12 LONG hours and several stops we made it home. We stopped in Mesa to help Jodi move into a really awesome house. I am excited for her!! All in all it was a great vacation and we all had a fantastic time. Thanks Joyce and Scott for the wonderful vacation! Here are alot of pics!!

tUESDAY, sEA wORLD

2008-06-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

Well we were off to a late start and didn't make it to Sea World until 11:00am. We all had red shirts so we could find each other easier. It really did help! We had to drive almost 2 hours to get there, but it was worth it. We had so much fun and the kids loved it!! Riley loved the Shamoo show and the pet show the most I think. He also was so excited to see the sharks! The day flew by so fast cause we wanted to watch most of the shows so when one was over we would head straight to the next one so we would have a seat. Riley was too short to go on the Shipwreck ride and was upset, but that's ok because we got DRENCHED!! Riley would have hated it since he hates being splashed in the face. So instead we went and found him a prize. He was happy about that. The ride home was really hard trying to stay awake. We made it in one piece, put the kids in bed then fell into bed. As soon as our heads hit the pillow we were out, that was about 11:20pm. A really long day, but also a really FUN day. Will post all my pics when we get home!

mONDAY

2008-06-23T20:40:00.000-07:00

Last night was a much better night. I got more sleep and the kids did great. Steven and I had the days meals so we got up, oh wait my dad called Steven at 5:56am to tell him it looked like the dogs were already fed, and started breakfast. We had french toast and scrambled eggs with bacon. Steven was all mad about the syrup I bought, he said it ruined all the hard work of making the meal. Oh well he'll get over it. Then we headed to the beach about 10:00am. The boys rented surf boards and the girls set up our beachside umbrellas or whatever you want to call it. Riley was mad and didn't want to swim in the big water again but once we get going and playing he has a good time. The lifeguards came and told us there was no more surfing where we were at and needed to move to the other side of the pier. Well, that was a long ways away and we had gobbs of "STUFF". So the boys took the boards back and we just boogie boarded. We all had a great time even though the ocean did give us all a pretty good beating. We got home and ate lunch about 1:30pm-2:00pm. Half of the crew was ready to head back and half wasn't. Marlo and I went with our babies and did a little shopping. Of course we had to get a little of that in! By the time we got back the boys were back from the beach and hurtin'. Steve and I made Football Captin Special and it was a hit, or everybody was just really hungry. All in all it was a great day and we had lots of fun. Half the kids are already asleep and hopfully the rest will follow. Can you believe it, my two were the first ones asleep, that's the first! Maybe we can play a few games later!!

cALIFORNIA hERE wE cOME

2008-06-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

Joyce rented the Alder Family a beach house on Huntington Beach from June 21st to June 28th. We loaded up 2 SUV's and a trailor for luggage on Friday evening. We made it to Mesa where we stayed at Rich Crandall's(joyce's nephew) beautiful home. We woke up and went to Jodi's where she had a great breakfast awaiting us. We finally started our trek to Cali. With a few pit stops we made it to the house about 4:30 pm. The house is really nice EXCEPT there is no AC or even a swamp cooler, NOTHING! The owner said we hit a heat wave. It is really humid, not as hot as AZ but we are used to a dry heat. We unpacked and headed to the beach. We were all so excited! Riley could hardly wait. He wanted to swim in the big water. After being there and him running in. He was not liking the water coming up and chasing him. Mommy got wiped out by a couple of waves. It was still really fun besides drinking the salt water. The night was long but my boys did ok considering Aiden has been sick and running a fever just before we left. His fever finally broke during the night at Richard's. So here we are on Sunday just chillin around the house. Can't wait for tomorrow to go back to the beach. Then on Tuesday it's to SEA WORLD. I can't wait to see Riley there with all the sea animals.

hAPPY bIRTHDAY bRITT & pARKER!

2008-06-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

oK SO I AM REALLY LATE ON TELLING bRITT HAPPY BIRTHDAY SO i AM TELLING bRITT AND pARKER AT THE SAME TIME. i CAN'T BELIEVE IT HAS ALREADY BEEN THREE YEARS SINCE YOU TWO WERE BORN. iT IS SO FUN SEEING YOUR LITTLE PERSONALITIES COMING OUT. rILEY LOVES PLAYING WITH YOU BOTH AND HAS SUCH A FUN TIME. hAPPY bIRTHDAY!

bRITT AND rILEY AT THE PARK!!

pARKER AND rILEY WATERING OUR BACK YARD!

hAPPY dADDY'S dAY

2008-06-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

dADDY AND aIDEN

dADDY, rILEY AND aIDEN

Steven, I just wanted to tell you how much I am so thankful for you and for the great daddy that you are. Riley absolutely loves and adores you. It was so cute when he made the comment "When I get big like daddy I can ride Saucy!" That is Steven's horse by the way. He wants to be just like his daddy! Aiden is growing so big so fast that he too will soon be out there with his dad wanting to be just like him also. I love you so much, Happy Daddy's Day!

mY FAVORITE PIC OF dADDY AND rILEY

dADDY, rILEY, mILLY, AND sAUCY

cANNING

2008-06-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have really been on this kick about canning food. I am trying to be a good little homemaker. With the price of fuel and everything going higher in prices there has been a little scare of the truckers going on strike. So Steven and I went to Wal-Mart and stocked up on canning jars, band-aides, hydrogen peroxide, neosporin, shampoo, toilet paper, clorox, and maybe a couple of other things for our year supply that are not food. Hey even if the strike never happens we will have the things we need and not have to run to the store. Plus we are doing what the prophets say we should be doing and working on our year supply.We bought 50 lbs of beans and 40 lbs of chicken so I can start canning them. This is the first time I have done this and am totally obsessed with it. I was able to get almost four dozen pints of chicken canned and lots and lots of beans. I have done just a couple of jars of pork and beef but plan to do more as they come on sale. We have tried a jar of all the things I haved canned and they have turned out great! Steven loves the beans when I have made chili beans. Oh how fast and easy they are to whip up. They taste great. I must say I LOVE to hear the little seals "POP" after being taken out and sealing. It is such an awesome thing to hear. It gives me such a feeling of accomplishment.

sHINNERS!

2008-06-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

On Thursday I was watching Sharleen's boys while she went and did some stuff for her mom. I was in the Kitchen making lunch when I heard a "KABOOM". I hurried into the living room to find my little boy on his hands and knees crying. He was next to his little red chair that was tipped over. I got to him to find his nose all bloody and already turning black and blue. Poor little guy. I carried him to the kitchen to get a wet wash cloth to try and clean the blood so I could asess the damage. It looked pretty nasty! He cried a little for a couple of minutes and that was it. He was being so brave. I got a blanket and his pillow and layed them on the floor so he could watch one of his favorite shows, Caillou. I finished preping the gourmet mac-n-cheez and the Bushes baked beans. He didn't want to eat and he didn't want to drink anything. So I just let him lay there. Finally later he decided he was hungry enough to get up to eat. He LOVED the beans and didn't touch the mac-n-cheez. I don't know why not, they were gourmet afterall. Later that afternoon I decided to take him to the pool for a treat. He was so excited and loved it! I kept asking if his nose hurt and he kept saying "no". He's my tuff little boy! Needless to say the next day my 2 year old little baby showed off a shinner!

The dirty little culprit!

iMPRESSIONABLE

2008-06-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

Well I have to write a little something about the things you think your kids are NOT paying attention to. The day little Karlee Jane was born we had Britt over for the day. They played and played and were having a great time. The boys were all excited about having a new baby girl in the family. Steven and I were in the kitchen getting lunch and the boys come barreling in saying something about Heavenly Father. We paid no attention to them at the time then a few minutes later we did. The boys were each taking turns sitting down and the other would put their tiny little hands on the others head and start to say a prayer. Then they would switch and the other would do the same. I was in awe. These little boys are only two years old and they have seen their daddies give blessings to their moms. They know that it is something special. I didn’t think they were even paying any attention at all because we as moms are always trying to get them to sit still and fold their arms. After having Aiden and getting my gallbladder out I was starting to feel better and Riley came up to me as I was laying on the couch and put his hands on my head. I could hear him say “Dear Heavenly Father.” Then a bunch of jibberish followed and then an Amen. How amazing are our little ones. I know they can feel the spirit even when they are so little. They watch us everyday make choices and do things. They follow our example and we better be ready when they do the things we are doing. I only hope I will be a great example to my children as they watch me. It makes me want to do so much better. Remember when they are running around, don’t think that they are not aware of what is around them. They are very aware and very impressionable!

pARENTS wHO bRIBE

2008-05-09T10:07:00.000-07:00

Well I have to admit that I am a parent, or should I say we, are parents who bribe our children. It just started with trying to bribe Riley with candy if he would go pee pee on the potty. He decided one day in Mesa that that would be the day HE wanted to start going on the potty. Well that was fine by me. Although we had to go in the parking lot at Target since I was changing Aiden's diaper. He got the peeing part down and now all we needed was the other part. After making him help me clean the many messes because I refussed to put a diaper back on him, we had to make the reward a little more enticing. I told Riley if he started to go on the toilet we would buy him a tractor. Just basically meaning a toy tractor. Well somehow that got turned into a big, riding tractor. It has almost been two weeks now since he yelled at me to come to the bathroom cause he went on the potty. I was feeding Aiden and wasn't sure I wanted to go see just what he had done. I took the long walk to the bathroom and he had climbed up to the toilet and really did go. I was so excited. Daddy and I took him to the store later only to find they were out. Try explaining that to a 2 1/2 year old when he can see the display right there. Well we did it. We called Globe Wal-Mart and they had two. Steven was going to haul copper to Miami on Tuesday the 6th. Steve and Riley went and got it. After QUITE awhile the next morning Daddy finally got it put all together. (daddy tried to skip a few steps but mommy was luckily there to keep him in line) It was adorable watching him take off and ride!

Here he is just driving it like a pro!

Must have had to fix something!

Looking ahead for the turn.

Look at me Mommy and Daddy! I am having "loads" of fun!

He hasn't gone in his pants since that day and we are so proud. Congratulations Riley for crossing one of the many bridges that are laying in your path of life. We love you!

yUMMY

2008-05-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

Aiden was really upset and thought he was just starving so I layed him on the floor and went to the kitchen to make him a bottle. He was totally throwing a fit. I noticed while I was waiting for the water to get warm he stopped crying and wasn't making a peep. I just thought he decided to calm down. Well finally the bottle was ready and I made it back to the living room to find that big brother decided to share his candy necklace!! Nothing like a little sugar to make a kid happy. He really seemed to enjoy himself! Just getting started!

Hey, this is pretty good!

Oh yeah! Now we are talkin'

Yep mom I think I like it

Yum, Yum! Thanks big brother

cHEYENNE fRONTIER dAYS

2008-05-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

i CAN'T BELIEVE IT HAS ALREADY BEEN 10 MONTHS SINCE WE WERE ON FAMILY VACATION AND WENT TO cHEYENNE, wy. wE LOADED IN THE CAR AND DROVE THERE THE LAST WEEK IN jULY. hE STOPPED SEVERAL PLACES ON THE WAY VISITING FAMILIES sTEVEN KNEW ON HIS MISSION. wE HAD LOTS OF FUN AND rILEY LOVED THE RODEO. i WAS LOOKING AT PICTURES AND DECIDED I HAD TO POST THIS ONE.

gIRLS, gILRS, gIRLS

2008-05-08T18:45:00.000-07:00

a GREAT BIG CONGRATS TO MY BROTHERS AND THEIR WIVES ON THEIR FIRST LITTLE GIRLS! oUR FAMILY IS REALLY SHORT OF GRANDAUGHTERS, BUT LAST WEEK IT GAINED TWO MORE. bRADEN AND kATIE HAD kARLEE jANE ON aPRIL 29TH WEIGHING IN AT 6lbs. 10oz. kOLBY AND cATHIE HAD rAELEIGH aILEEN ON mAY 1ST ALSO WEIGHING IN AT 6lbs. 10oz. tHEY ARE BOTH ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE. aIDEN IS GOING TO HAVE SO MUCH FUN WITH THEM!! CONGRATS!! i WILL POST PICTURES WHEN I CAN TAKE A SNAP SHOT OF THEM TOGETHER

oUR fIRST cAMPING tRIP oF fOUR

2008-04-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

We went on our very first camping trip as a family of four. We had a great time. After purchasing a camp trailor from Mitch and Tamara we had to go test it out. We headed out to Cedar Springs conference weekend. Thanks Mitch and Tamara it fits us just perfect! Riley posing for the camera!

Our cute, dirty boy!

He had a lot of fun!!

Here is our set up. It is just perfect for us!

Steven getting the fire ready for grillin' time!

gRANDPA cEREAL

2008-04-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening Riley and Daddy went to rope and the wind was horrible so Aiden and I stayed home. After roping Steven was going to haul a load of copper to Miami for Scott and Riley was going to go with him. Well it was a quarter after seven and someone comes walking thru my front door. It was Aunt Marlo bringing Riley home and he was covered head to toe with mud! Needless to say daddy didn't want to take him. Well he didn't have a nap during the day so he was about to fall asleep on the floor. I decided we better take a fast bath. He got all cleaned up and put his jammies on and wanted something to eat. I didn't make dinner because no one was going to be there so I suggested cereal. It's low in the pantry so Riley can pick out what he wants. I had just gotten LIFE cereal that day. On the side of the box is the quaker oats man. Riley saw his gray hair and must have known he was older because he said he wanted the "grandpa cereal".

cAN yOU cOME pLAY?

2008-04-08T15:53:00.000-07:00

Wednesday April 2nd the phone rang in the evening and it was for Mr. Riley. It was Britt calling to ask if Riley could come over the next day to play. Of course he said yes. Aunt Katie & Britt came about 9:30am and off they went for a day ful of fun. They went to the park and then to Britt's house. They must have had way too much fun because when he came home he was sleeping and took a long nap. Thanks Aunt Katie and Britt for such a fun day!

Here I go again

Swinging was a BLAST!

LOOK OUT BELOW!!

mARK yOUR cALENDARS

2008-04-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

April the third was the day my little boy got just a little bit BIGGER. He rolled over for the first time and I actually had my camera right by me and captured the precious moment. I am so proud of you Aiden!

hOW fUN iS tHIS?

2008-04-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

Aiden's first bath in the big boy tub! As you can tell he really enjoyed it!

Riley couldn't be a better BIG brother! I was worried before I had Aiden but he has been awesome and loves his little brother so much!

What great stuff! This really makes for a MUCH happier baby and we are so grateful!

sILLY bOY

2008-04-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

Chillin' with my popcorn and watching my movie! What else could a little boy ask for!

How can you resist ever saying no to this cute smile?

Practice, Practice, Practice. That's was daddy says if you want to get something right. Riley runs around trying to rope everthing and anything. It doesn't even have to be a rope to rope something. A string works just as well!

Riley found a great place he thought would be fun to play! He did fit quite well I must say!

A whirl wind December 2007

2008-03-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

Aiden was born on December 4th 2007. He was 7lbs. 14 ounces and 19 inches long. I was really worried about how big brother was going to react to the new baby but he has done amazingly well. He loves him so much and always wants to hug and kiss him! He shows his love for him at the cutest times. The first week Aiden was here one day he was crying and I wasn't able to get to him as fast as he would have liked. I step into to hallway just in time to see Riley running into my room where Aiden was yelling "I'm coming baby Aiden!" It was the cutest thing to witness, big brother wanting eagerly to help his baby brother! Oh yeah, he is also always trying to soothe Aiden with his toys by trying to share them when he is upset! I was very surprised at how well I started feeling after the c-section. Life was wonderful with the four of us!! That was until Aiden was two and a half weeks old and mommy started having horrible back pain. I was up all night(when Aiden finally slept great)trying everything to soothe my own pain. Finally at 7:30am I gave in and called the dr. He said to come in as soon as I could. We made it up there and Dr. Smith told us he thought I had a pulmonary embolism!! Talk about freaking a person out. I went and had a CT scan STAT!! The scan was all clear except my gallbladder looked enlarged. I had gallstones. What a bummer. The doctor wanted me to keep popping pain killers to get me thru the hollidays. Well that didn't last. That Saturday I couldn't handle it anymore and neither could my dad seeing me in pain. He called Dr. Carter(who was hauling cattle). He got me admitted and on Monday(which was Christmas Eve) I went into surgery and had the gallbladder removed! I got to come home Christmas afternoon. My little boys didn't have a very merry Chirstmas and neither did mommy and daddy. My wonderful mother stepped in and was the mommy. She had to stay a whole week after Christmas to help poor me. She did an awesome job and couldn't have asked for a better mother!