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!