Back update:)!

I am happy to report that a visit to the chiropractor and some rest days helped and now my back is back :)! I never realized how important my back is and how much more careful I will treat it from now on!

Dave's Work Christmas Party

We had a fun time at the party with all the kids getting their pictures done by the artists.

They had a coloring contest and Amber won 2nd place for her age group.


This last picture was done right before we went home. Lindsay was yawning (wish I had got a shot of that) and trying to smile in between.

Injury, ugh!

Okay, so now that Dave and I are thinking about the St. George Marathon in October, I am trying to train seriously (for me anyway). Dave has been lifting weights (small ones in our home) for the past couple of months. I have learned that running well involves building up muscles in areas that you don't think that you use in running, like arms and stomach muscles. So Monday morning I got up earlier with Dave and had him show me some of his routine. When we were finished I went to put the weights away, and the stupidest thing in the world happened! I hurt my back! I didn't even pick up the weights all the way, I just started to and I could tell they were too heavy and put it back down. I could tell that something was a little off, but I thought it would just go away, but as the day progressed it got worse! What a bummer and for hardly anything! Oh well. I broke down and went to the chiropractor today because all the ibuprofen and ice were helping, but it felt like I needed something more. That was an experience in it self! My new years resolution is to always use my legs when lifting cause this lower back stuff STINKS!!! I am actually pretty functional, just a dull ache until I move the wrong way and then comes the sharp pain. Hopefully it will heal quickly.

The Aflac Iron Girl Run in Tempe

I guess that I have been hit by the running bug. A couple of weeks ago I got an email about a race that was going to be on Saturday, December 6th (somewhat rare...lots of races on Sunday) that was open only to women. It got my attention until I realized that my kids had a performance that same morning. Then Monday we got the message that the show was bumped to the next week and I started thinking about the race again. I tried to sign up online, but it wouldn't go through and so I went and signed up on Friday. It was a nightmare trying to find parking around the Tempe Town Lake...but it finally worked out!

This is before the race.

Dave and Amber came with me for support and to cheer me on. I tried to ask some other women if they wanted to run, but I guess the 10 mile course sounded a little daunting to them, or maybe the late notice was a factor. Dave was sweet to come and later told me that he was happy that I was now a runner of my own free will. Remember he is the one that got me into this sport.

I set my goals (3 different times...slowest time (I can live with this), medium time (I would be happy to achieve this), and the fastest time (this will push me to my limit)). I ran the half marathon averaging 10 minute miles. So my slowest goal was to match my pace from the 1/2, my fastest was to run 9 minute 30 second miles (which really doesn't sound that fast, but it is fast for me! Well it was a beautiful day and I felt good.

Right before the start.

It was fun to have a cheering section and I reached my goal within just a few seconds! I ran the 10 miles in 1 hour and 35 minutes and 12 seconds!

After crossing the finish line.

It feels good to have some goals and start to be able to accomplish them! Our next race is London's Run in Queen Creek on January 31st (it is a Saturday), come join us. They have a 1/2 marathon, a 10k and a 2mile fun run. Just google London's Run Queen Creek.

Officially Over the Hill

The big day finally arrived...my 40th birthday. So I decided to celebrate with a nice easy run with Dave in the morning followed by a visit with the family to Krispy Kreme donuts. I had found the coupon card for "buy one dozen get one free" that I bought from the PTSO at our school two days before they went out of business. That of course is a whole other story for another day.


I figured that it was my birthday and one donut would be a great treat to start the day off. Dave had made arrangements for several of my friends to get me out of the house for most of the day. We spent some time at the Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, then we went to lunch at Joe's BBQ in downtown Gilbert (where they give you a free meal on your birthday). We chatted and ate and then off we went to watch Twilight. After the movie I went shopping for a while by myself to kill a little more time before the big birthday shindig that Dave had planned for me.

I came home to a decorated house and this birthday cake and chocolate chip cookie. I freshened up and soon people started arriving.

I thought the saying on the cookie was clever!

Okay, I put this in the right way, but something turned it around...technology...I seem to know just enough to get in trouble, but not enough to fix things when they go haywire! Dave had made a questionnaire about me to see how much everyone knew. It was multiple choice, which could make it easier or harder depending on how much information you knew. Some of my friends brought me some gag gifts. See that big red package below...you know that saying...beware of the big ones? Okay so maybe there is no saying like that, but there should be!


We played several games including, name that tune...which ended up being harder than Dave thought. He had gone through our old cassette tape collection and cued up the songs and had people guess the song and the artists. We played another game that he called "Big 40" which is a clapping game like "Categories" that we, as a group, struggled to figure out. It made me laugh so hard that once we figured the game out it wasn't nearly as funny to me.

Here I am with the gifts open. The glasses are part of the gag gifts (hopefully I won't need them for a long time:)!) I can't tell if you can see, but the plunger has an electric cord coming out the top! Someone has a good sense of humor, or too much time on their hands...just kidding...it was hilarious! Yes, that is a real commode. There is a story behind that one too. If you really want to know, just ask me.

We ended the evening with a PowerPoint answering the questions on the questionnaire. Dave had gone through my old photo albums and baby book and put together a great presentation. I really appreciated the work that Dave put into making my birthday fun for me...I hope the other people had a good laugh at least.

Christmas PJ Tradition

PJ's with Grandma Hugh

Every year for the last 5 years my mom has come to our house and made pajama pants with my kids. She is very patient and lets them do the sewing with her tutelage. It took a few years to figure out the best pattern, but we have it down now! Here are some pictures with everyone except for Amber who was playing at a cousins house that day.

As you can see the instruction becomes more advance with those that have some experience!

It is a great tradition and it is fun to look at our pictures and guess the year by the pj pants that we have on on Christmas morning!

Turkey Trot & Thanksgiving 2008

Here we are before the race began. It was a little chilly and had rained off and on, but the most rain didn't come until we had finished the races!

Check out Lindsay, Kent & Amber "stretching" to get ready to run the one mile fun run. My dad ran with the kids, he was a great sport! He said that Lindsay would run and then stop and walk and just as he would catch up to her she would turn around and start running again! She was determined to beat Grandpa to the finish line!

We met up with my niece Kourney after the race (she also did the 10k). We took a friend from our ward with us and he came in 2nd in the 2 mile run. My mom took 1st in her age division. (If we would have stuck around she would have taken home a turkey...but we had a timeline:), sorry mom!). It turned out to be a great day. Both Dave and I improved our times from last year! Dave came in at 47:37 and I came in at 57:23.

We went to Thanksgiving dinner at Dave's brother Richard's house...we affectionately call it the "Garner Resort". There were about 45 people there including my parents and several other "in-law" parents. It was quite the group and we all had a grand time.

My sister-in-law took our family pictures with her nice camera and they turned out really nice and will be on our family Christmas Card. While we were waiting to get our pictures taken one of my other sister-in-law took this one with our non-fancy camera with my mom and dad in there with us. I thought they turned out pretty good too.

Sunday Happenings

This is an example of Kent's artwork during Sacrament Meeting. Each week he creates a detailed design of whatever has caught his fancy. This week it was space. I am amazed at the details that he includes. I just wonder what he is thinking about when he is creating these masterful pieces.On the other hand, Lindsay goes through about 5 or 6 pieces of paper with lots of color, flowers, rainbows, stars and whatever names or words she can remember.

Lindsay cracks me up. Today while we were waiting for our turn to meet with the Bishop for tithing settlement, a large man walked up and as he walked away Lindsay said to me, "He ate a lot of food, because he is really fat." Maybe we have been watching too much Biggest Loser!

Update on Lindsay

I kind of fell off the blogging wagon once Lindsay got better and so I thought that I should post a picture of her without the eye issue. Even though she doesn't look too happy in this picture (remember how I said ice skating was MOSTLY fun) her eye does not bother her anymore. However her legs have been bothering her on and off for the past three weeks. I kept her out of school last Friday because she wouldn't even walk. She started complaining about it on Thursday afternoon and by Friday morning I had to carry her where she needed to go. After a day of nearly no movement, and cries of pain when she did try to move her leg, she did improve by the end of the evening and was generally okay by Saturday morning.

All week she has been fine until she woke up from a nap yesterday screaming that she couldn't move without pain again. As I have been talking to people I wonder is it growing pains or could it be something left over from all the antibiotics that she had with her eye problem. I am open to possibilities. I looked on the internet and couldn't find much...other than growing pains, and other stuff that I am not sure about or maybe don't want to think about. Motrin seems to be helping a little. Anyway...if you have a thought let me know! Thanks!

When is my hard work going to pay off?????

I just looked at the picture of us ice skating and got frustrated that after over a year of running and trying to eat healthier...I STILL have huge thighs! Now, I don't want any comments that it is not true to try and make me feel any better, I just want to vent today! I told Dave this morning..."With thighs like this you think I would be a super fast sprinter right?" I say that because when I watched the Olympics this past summer I noticed that all the distance runners are SUPER thin and all the sprinters are muscular and powerful. In my heart I want to be like the distance runners in build, but I am built more like a sprinter (that is if I were really in shape the way they are)...the sad part is I can run farther than I can run fast. I think there is something wrong here. What do you do??? I guess I will just keep running and hope that maybe someday I will really look like a distance runner :)!

Dave's Birthday

When I asked Dave what he wanted to do on his birthday and he replied that he didn't really care, but it would be fun to do something physical...I don't know if ice skating was really what he had in mind. He was a good sport and for the most part (at least when we were taking pictures and smiling) it was fun!


Lindsay was a good sport except when she decided that her feet hurt, but she did last for about an hour!


This was the second time Kent had gone ice skating and at first he thought he was an expert...that is until he actually got on the ice and then he was happy to hold onto someone who could help him keep his balance.

I think this is my favorite picture from the whole experience. The shot of Dave and Paige skating was just very sweet.

We didn't have a fancy cake, and the pink icing might be a little tacky, but Dave loves us all anyway and made a good show of loving everything about the day! We are so blessed to have such a great man as the dad at our house!!

No School

Who decided to have a holiday in the middle of the week? Oh, yeah...it is to honor those who have served our country, not that I am not eternally grateful, I am, but couldn't it be a Monday or a Friday?

Yesterday started out okay. My kids are getting older and I am generally under the impression that they can do a lot for themselves...unless it is a holiday and then suddenly they become incapable of getting their jobs done, or entertaining themselves. These kinds of days turn into, "Mom, I'm bored", or "Mom, I don't have anything to do".

Then again, maybe it is me that is out of the mode. I used to plan fun things for us to do...parks, bike rides, the library. So yesterday I had had enough (and it was only 10 AM), and packed up everyone who would go with me (Amber, Kent, Lindsay and Rex) and we went and explored the Riparian. After an hour we came home and picked up the rest of the crew and headed over to the Rec Center. I think Samantha summed it up best when she commented as we drove home, "That was actually fun".

Halloween

I think that my kids growing up is helping me to get some of my sanity back...well maybe a tiny bit. I always wanted to make Halloween fun for my kids, but it always ended up stressful for me...figuring out costumes, make up, school parties and trick-or-treating. I have always ended up grumpy with a BAD headache despite my efforts. For a few years I kept hoping that it would get better, but it didn't...until this year! I let my kids choose their own costumes (from our overflowing dress up box). I told them if it wasn't in there they would have to figure something else out. To my great surprise they did it! I didn't even mention make up and no one asked! Yeah! So far so good. My two oldest did their own thing with their friends...so they took care of themselves. I only had to take the 3 youngest out trick-or-treating and I didn't even mind that Dave got home later than he usually does. We went around our neighborhood with some friends and the only glitch was that Kent got REALLY thirsty about 1/2 through. My friends came through with some water bottles and we went on, until they didn't want to carry their candy anymore because it was too heavy. A sure sign to me that we have had enough! On to Dave's parent house and home to bed!!!

Schnef Farm

I try and go on at least one field trip with each of my kids (not every year, just ever...and Amber has informed me that I have not gone on one with her yet..."Soon" I told her!). Lindsay's Kindergarten class went to Schnepf's Farm on Friday. I was just hoping it would be tolerable and not too hot. Her teacher tye dyed everyone t-shirts. I was in charge of these three cute girls. Gabriella's (the one in the middle) mom ended up coming so we had an easy little group. It turned out to be okay! It did get HOT, and it was DUSTY, but overall a good time.

Paige on the news!

Tonight is my catch up night:)! On Friday afternoon, Paige and her best friend Haley went to High School Musical 3 at the San Tan Theater. About 5pm or so I get a frantic call from Paige saying, "MOM, TURN ON THE TV RIGHT NOW, HALEY IS GOING TO BE ON CHANNEL 12 NEWS! I have to call her mom, just TURN ON THE TV!" I tried to ask her some questions, but she was gone before I could get any in! So we turned on the TV and sure enough (after a few minutes) the anchor says they are going to Gilbert for a live shot. The weatherman is reporting from the San Tan Mall and there are Paige & Haley as the camera pans around. They were shown several times and because of the quick thinking on Paige's part we were able to record it! FUN memories!

Tenderhearted Kent

Living in a household of girls, you might think that my only son would be a softie, and in some ways he is, but in most ways he is not. This kid is built like a tank and appears pretty tough. On more than one occasion can have all of his older sisters begging for mercy. Other times he is painfully shy. He loves rough and tumble playing and constantly has his toys at war with each other (literally!). But, tonight he had a very tender side and I just have to record this so that I will remember. We were at Dave's parents house with most of the cousins (there are a lot). It can get a little crazy and often there are tears because someone gets hurt, or someone won't share or take turns...anyway you get the picture. I had just given the kids the 5 minute warning, when Amber runs in from outside crying that Kent hurt her "on purpose". Now Amber can be a bit dramatic and is our resident hypocondriac...so I always approach her crying with caution and try not to jump to conclusions either way (sometimes she REALLY is hurt, but more often it is emotional rather than phsyical). Kent came in behind her, with tears in his eyes and biting his lower lip. Now, on most occasions he is vehemently denying any wrongdoing (especailly if he is really guilty), but tonight was different. I could tell that he thought he had really hurt her and he was truely sorry, but didn't quite know how to process this newfound...I guess that I would call it guilt and remorse. It was one of those moments that I really wanted to comfort Amber, but mostly I wanted to acknowledge that what Kent was feeling was a good thing. This is the point that I wish I had a handbook so that I could say the right thing, because I KNEW it was one of those teaching moments! UGH, the pressure! So because I didn't want to blow it, I just held them both for a few moments and waited until they could both talk. I can't remember (or maybe if I block out exactly what happened, I will be able to believe that I said the right thing and did the right thing!) what I said, but I do know that it was a moment that I wanted Kent to remember and to know that other people and their feelings are important. We don't have a lot of these moments at our house...mostly just me telling my kids that they should be nicer to each other. After tonight I think there is some hope!

On the Flag

If you want to read a great commentary on the flag and the importance of putting our hands on our hearts when we say the pledge, link on my friend Lena's blog. She really puts into words the important symbol that our flag has been and should continue to be in our country!

We DID IT!

Today Dave & I ran our first 1/2 marathon. That is 13.1 miles. I wasn't sure that I would ever want to run one. Last year after running my 2nd 10k I figured that maybe I could do it in a year. When we found that the YMCA 1/2 marathon was on a Saturday and was sooner than the one we had originally planned on. We decided to do it and it was at that point that I got a sick feeling...what had I gotten myself into???? It wasn't until I ran 10 miles a few weeks ago that I really had any confidence that I could really run that far. Of course the last couple of days I have been nervous. I am not really competitive, but I wanted to finish and I wanted to run the whole way.

The day started early this morning. We were up at 5:40 and left at 6:15 am. Here we are at the starting line. It was a little bit chilly before the race started, but that is a good thing and the day couldn't have been better!

Dave's sister ran this 1/2 last year and was back again this year with her friend and running partner Catherine. She joked at the end and said, "I just spent $50 to torture myself!"
Here we are at the end, not too much worse for the wear:)! The last 2 miles were mostly up hill. The last mile included a steep dirt hill that was a killer, but we still did it!

Dave, Me, MaryAnn, Catherine
(after all that and we can still smile!)

Dave came in with the best time at 1:51:07. MaryAnn next with 2:04, Catherine at 2:07 (if my times are off they are pretty close). I came in last of crew at 2:11:38. My goal was to run 10 min 30 sec miles which would put me at a time of 2:17. So I beat my time. I ran with MaryAnn and Catherine for the first 3 miles until they pulled away. There was another gal that was running about my pace and we introduced ourselves (Laurel is her name...didn't have time to catch the last name) and ran most of the rest of the race together, keeping each other motivated.

The last two miles I just told myself that I run this all the time and from here on out it is all in my head and I can do it! I am so glad that Dave got me started running and that the rewards of feeling better keep me going. I am not an elite runner, but I am a runner nonetheless!

Back to normal???

Above is Lindsay on Tuesday. Looking better :). I kept her home from school a couple more days. Below is the picture I took on Thursday after she returned home from school.

I think her eye is looking better. However, there is still a great big scab and it is not very pretty. She came home and said the kids kept looking at her and pointing to her eye. She handled it very well though and said that they were happy to see her back. She had gotten used to staying home and took a little extra snuggling and encouragement to get her moving on Thursday. No problem today!

Today I went with Samantha to "Shadow your Student" day for the 8th graders at Highland Junior High. I went last year with Samantha and she wanted me to go again. I actually think it is a great program and it is fun to see her with her friends and to get a feel of what her day is like. Lots of parents came. We carpooled with the Smiths and Camille (the mom) said after 4th hour..."Is it time to go home now?" My thought was, "Look at how old those parents look. Wait I don't look that old do I?" I still feel like I could fit right in with those kids. When did I become middle age? I guess I am only as old as I feel...right! With Paige in Junior High next I will be doing this pretty consistently with only a little break for a few more years. Probably by the time Lindsay is in Junior High...people really will look at me and think the same thought that I had today. I better keep running so that I look younger than my "real" age:)!

We are HOME!!

Here is Lindsay when we first were admitted to the hospital and Dave brought the camera. Looking great, eh? Now the test is....does she look any better in the last picture? (It was taken when we got home. I just had her lay down and close her eyes...she is not asleep).


They have a great program at Banner Desert that is called...Child Life, I think (my brain is mush). They come to help answer any questions the kids might have and provide some activities for them. Anyway they came in and brought Lindsay a teddy bear and showed her how they had put the IV in and had her do it to her new friend Mrs. Teddy Bear. It was great because Lindsay really went crazy when they had to take off some of the tape covering her IV to make sure it was okay. Lindsay's comment was, "It gave me a freak out, mom."


We all came for a quick visit on Sunday evening to swap and so everyone could see where she was. Amber and Dave spent most of the day at the hospital with Lindsay. Dave was glad to have Amber there who entertained and played with Lindsay. Who by the way felt great except for the crazy IV in her hand and some sometimes uncomfortableness on her eye.


That is my "comfy" cot that you see in the background (with the blue blanket). I spent both nights with Lindsay and I knew before that I didn't really like hospitals, but I thought it was because every other time I have stayed in one I have just had a baby and didn't really feel great myself. However, after two nights there I didn't fell great anymore so I came to the conclusion that it is the hospital itself that makes me sick:). I am SOOOO happy to be home and sleep in my own bed tonight I just might never get up tomorrow:)!



Here is our last picture at the hospital and the next one is one that I took at home shortly after we settled in. Now feel free to compare to the first picture from this post and let me know what you think. Was our hospital stay helpful??


Tomorrow we go and visit an ophthalmologist to have her eyes checked. Just to make sure that whatever it is that is affecting her eyelid is NOT on her actual eye. The jury is still out as to exactly what has caused this problem. Choice A: Impetigo, Choice B: Herpes Virus (like the one that causes cold sores). One is caused by bacteria and the other by a virus. The pendulum is leaning toward choice B because Lindsay has been on 4 different antibiotics for nearly the past week (she now has a fifth one that she is taking). She is also on an anti-viral medication that according to the Dr. might not do anything, but then again it might. Dave reminded me when I called him as I left the hospital a bit frustrated that we really and truly weren't that much better off than when we got there, that there is a reason that Dr.'s call it "Practicing" medicine. Hopefully they got a lot of "practice" out of us.

It has been an interesting journey. We sure have appreciated everyone that has offered to help us and prayed for Lindsay. It is comforting to know that we have an army behind us! Thanks to all!

Update on Lindsay

Yesterday, Lindsay's eye didn't look any better. She also had developed a fever of 101 degrees in the night. I called the Dr. on call and they sent us to the ER. We went to Banner Desert and I was surprised at how quickly she was taken back and examined. It was determined that she needed to be admitted and given intravenous antibiotics. They also ordered to have blood work done to see if the bacteria had entered the bloodstream and a CT scan to make sure it had not entered her actual eye or the bone surrounding the eye. The CT scan showed that it had NOT gone into the bone, but it showed that it had gone into the cells and was now Cellulitus as well as Impetigo. She also has a sinus infection. The Dr isn't sure if it happened simultaneously or if it was a result of the impetigo and a weakened immune system. The blood work came back positive this morning which can be bad, however they assured us that it may just be because the sample was contaminated when it was taken so they wanted to retake it and retest it. Lindsay was not happy about being poked again. In fact she has been her FUNNY self and when I have more time I will have to share some of the silly stuff, but right now I will stick to the facts. The Dr was not too concerned because she said if it was really in the bloodstream she would be acting a LOT sicker. Her eye is still red and swollen and now all crusty and because they want to retest the blood, we will stay one more night in the hospital. When we get home I will post more pictures (the camera is still at the hospital). Thanks for your prayers on Lindsay's behalf!

New PR

That is a running term for Personal Record. I ran with Dave on Thursday morning and he always pushes me! We ran our regular 3 mile loop and the last mile I ran in 8 minutes and 8 seconds!!! That is my fastest time EVER! The fastest I had run one mile before that was 8 min and 26 sec. I ran the whole 3 miles in 25 minutes and 55 seconds. Now someday I am hoping that I can push myself that hard on my own. I do have to say that the last mile there were times that I thought I would throw up, but I didn't and I made it.

Update

Okay so Lindsay's eye is not looking better and I called the Dr.'s office twice yesterday. I even told the nurse, "I don't want to sound paranoid, I mean, she is not even my first, she is my fifth, but I have never seen anything like this before." Fortunately she agreed that it seemed unusal, but they wanted to give the antibiotic a chance to work. So this morning, when I saw that it was even worse and called and got an appointment.


The Dr. was glad that we came in and said it looks like the bateria is resistant to the anitbiotic and she put her on a stronger one. Don't ask me the name, unless I am right by the bottle. I just don't have a good memory for those kinds of things. So she is taking the new one starting today and the doctor said that if it doesn't start to show signs of improvment by tomorrow that we should take her to the Emergency Room and have them give her intrevenous antibiotics to take care of the infection. It is a staph infection that can become serious if it enters her bloodstream. So far it is just on the skin, so keep her in your prayers. I found this website that is very informative:

http://kidshealth.org/teen/infections/bacterial_viral/staph.html.

So we are kicking back at home again today.

On a happier note, Samantha is having her birthday party today and fortunately we planned it for night games at the park! She is so excited because she invited boys to come too! Also she turns 14 on the 14th so she is thinking she needs to make it memerable!

Lindsay's Eye

Well on Sunday Lindsay looked like she had a patch of dry skin on her eye. Well by Wednesday it looked to me like it was cold sore on her eye or like impetigo (Paige had it when she was little, but it was around her mouth). I didn't know if you could get it on your eyelid. I did some research and sure enough you can. Since it is a bacterial infection it can be treated with antibiotics. So off to the Dr. we went and sure enough she agreed that it was impetigo. However she has to take the antibiotics orally because it is on her eye. Here she is yesterday afternoon.


That is marker on her lip, not anything related to the eye problem.



Now she has had 4 doses of the antibiotic and this is how she looked this morning:


Maybe it is supposed to look worse before it gets better. UGH! Today is picture day at her school. So I kept her home again. She shouldn't be contagious, but .... plus she is having a ball staying home, coloring and watching tv. Maybe it will be better tomorrow....I had such plans for today, oh well I am learning to be flexible:)!

Paige's Concert

Paige had her first Strings concert on Tuesday night and all went well. She is doing great! I don't understand how playing the violin works so it is fun to see her enjoying it!


Paige and most of the 6th graders in our ward had played for our Primary Program that was on Sunday and one of the mom's (Carrie Ekberg) had invited the Strings teacher to come. She ended up being sick on Sunday so Carrie arranged for the kids to play for her after the concert. They did a great job.