In the Fullness of time

Sigh...

2011-11-19T20:48:00.000-05:00

Ok. I suck at blogging on here.
To catch up..... I am almost done with my 2nd to last term in school. In February I graduate with my bachelor's degree in Nutrition Science with a minor in Health and Wellness. I am so VERY excited about it. One of my classes this term required me to blog weekly. SO, that is where my efforts have been in the blogging world. I can't wait to graduate.

Justice just had surgery. Our good friend is his ENT. Anytime you can become friends with your doctor, I recommend doing it. Awesome is all I can say about that. So Justice, of course had fluid in his ears. Surprise... surprise... We also found out that he has a pretty good amount of hearing loss in his right ear because of it. His ear drum in that ear is pretty much dead. But, his cochlea works which is a good thing. Justice's ENT, Mark, suggested he have his adenoids and tonsils removed. He also wanted to put permanent ear tubes in his ears and flush out his maxillary sinuses.
It has been 2 weeks now since the surgery and my sanity has been seen. Justice has been in a lot of pain and crying a lot. The only thing that can make him stop crying is to have David give him a Priesthood blessing. I really hope the little guy feels better soon and that his ears stop giving him trouble.

Justice is Reading!

2011-10-12T21:47:00.000-04:00

Justice read his first few words tonight. He is so excited about reading all of a sudden. He is always asking me to help him read. It is so cute. The book he was reading from was One Foot, Two Foot, Red Foot, Blue Foot. (He loves Dr. Suess.) Well, I started reading all of it and he reaked out saying, "I want to read some!"

And so, it begins....
Just a matter of time before my baby can read fluently.
I am so proud.

A Place to Call Home

2011-10-12T13:18:00.001-04:00

So, David and I are getting pretty tired of living in this 3 bedroom condo with 5 kids, 2 cats and a dog. While I am extremely grateful that we have a place to live, it is cramped and just doesn't feel like "home". Know what I mean? A home just has a feeling about it.
Well, I was out the other night with some really fun girl friends I have made here. There was nothing to do in this town. And, since we are all new in town we decided to drive around and look at houses. We drove by one that I thought looked awesome. So, I took a picture of it and sent it to David. The next day we talked to a realtor and David and I went to go look at it.
We LOVED the house! We walked in and immediately it just seemed to fit. It felt like home. Both David and I got pretty excited about the house. This was the 1st and only house we have looked at since we got to Minot. We have never had such good feelings about a house on the 1st look either. We just walked in looked around and said, "OK. We'll take it!" Maybe it is our lack of a home for 5 months that has made us feel that way.... But, I don't know. I think this is OUR home...
The only catch is that we don't have a down payment yet. So, we put in an offer to rent for 6 months until we had a down payment together.
Unfortunately the owners were less than enthused about that idea.
So, now we are in the works to get a down payment together another way. Hopefully, we can figure something out soon! Hopefully, we get the house. I'll keep ya posted.

Our humble little condo

The Home we're trying to buy

Words to Live By

2011-10-11T22:42:00.005-04:00

Brace Face!

2011-10-11T17:30:00.003-04:00

Well, Faith finally has braces. She has been waiting and waiting forever to have her teeth lined in metal. Little did she know what braces would actually be like! Last Friday she went into the dentist to have a tooth removed so her teeth would line up better. Immediately following that appointment she crossed the hall to the orthodontist so he could put on her braces. The whole process took about 2 hours and $6500. Ouch!
She stayed home from school because she had bloody gauze hanging out her mouth. She was also in a lot of pain. Excedrin became her best friend over the weekend. In the end, she decided having braces wasn't all it was cracked up to be in her mind.

Thank Heaven for Little Girls!

2011-10-11T17:21:00.002-04:00

Is there anything cuter than little girls in dance class? They are so sweet and full of innocence and joy. The giggles. The smiles. The energy. Watching my sweet Hope in dance just melts my heart. I adore her.

Blogging, Blogging all day Long!

2011-10-07T12:00:00.002-04:00

I know that I have not been the best at blogging in this blog. I am working at it, though. Lately, I have been so inundated with full-time school work! I feel completely overwhelmed.

I actually do blog almost daily!

One of my classes actually requires me to blog. I like that. Blogging is a release for me. Go figure.... journaling as a release....
I also started a blog for my Dad. He is a gifted poet. I have been nagging him to get his poems published for years. But, he hasn't. Someday I will get his poems published for him. Until then they can be read on his blog that I run for him. It is also a slow process, because I am busy with life and school.
But, I do what I can.
Here are all my blogs to date. Some have nothing in them yet..... But, it'll happen... eventually. Check 'em out!!!

In the Fullness of Time

The Beautiful Mind

The Enlightened Poet

In the Blink of a Lens

Making Love in the Kitchen

Sunday Morning

2011-10-02T14:11:00.000-04:00

Today is General Conference, so naturally we are staying home to watch the conference on our TV. Well, some of us are.... Other members of our family are making Kesha "Blow" videos.
Ahhh.... I feel the spirit.

It Was An Accident!

2011-09-28T22:46:00.001-04:00

So today was the first time that my kids have ever been in a car accident. On our way to Hip Hop class for the kids, we hit a bump in the road... Well, a pick-up truck in the road. We were driving down the road in the right lane headed north when all of a sudden a huge, blue pick-up truck heading south turned left about 5 feet in front of me. There was literally no time to react. No screeching of tires or anything. We slammed right into it going about 35 miles an hour. The kids and I were driving the beat-up, little, old Buick. Of course, I was driving. Faith was in the passenger front. Courage was in the front middle seat. Honour was behind Faith. Justice was behind me. Hope was sitting in the middle back seat.
Right before we hit, I heard the kids scream and saw them brace themselves for the impact. Then, after the impact Honour began his scream/cry.
In somewhat of a stupor, not really grasping what just happened, I searched the kids for injuries. Luckily, they were only scared. No one got hurt! Thank Heaven for asking for protection this morning in our family prayer! We were certainly protected. The front airbags didn't even release. I am glad, because I didn't want them or the chemicals in them hitting my two oldest kids in their faces.
My poor dad.... I was on the phone with him when we hit. All he could do was listen to all my kids scream, a huge crash, me asking everyone if they were OK, and then dial tone. That would have been terrifying to hear as a parent and not know what was happening. I did call him back after few minutes. I had to call 911 first to report the accident. After I called my Dad back, I called David to let him know what happened because he was expecting us at the dance studio.
Here is how our conversation went:

Me: Hey David, we were just in an accident.

David: Who's fault was it, yours or the other guy?

Me: The other guy. He turned right in front of us.

David: Was the car damaged?

Me: Not really... The head light was busted. The fender and hood were crunched a little....

We're fine too! Thanks for asking!

Seriously!? First 2 questions out of his mouth were about a piece of crap car! He insists that he knew we were all fine. Yeah... yeah... yeah....

Later on in the evening I talked about what happened with Justice, because out of complete silence on the way home from swim lessons (Yes, we are busy..) he asked me which seat belts are the safest - the shoulder belt or the lap belt. I told him the most safe was the 5 point harness that Honour has. Next safest was his shoulder belt. And, the next safest was the lap belt. Then, I told him wearing no seat belt was the worst. He agreed then told me the shoulder belt "hurt his shoulder in the accident, but he'll be alright." I love my tough little guy! He said he was scared more than he got hurt. I told him there is no need to be scared if were are doing what we are suppose to be doing, like wearing seat belts and also when we ask for safety throughout our day in our morning prayers. It was a good talk on a nice drive home.
We are really blessed!

Look Who's 5!

2011-09-27T23:15:00.007-04:00

Justice turned 5 on the 21st of this month. That was last Wednesday. I can't believe it was 5 years ago that he was born. They grow so fast! He had an awesome day. It was a preschool day, so for his snack, he wanted to take Slim Jims for a birthday treat. That is so "classic Justice". He had a birthday breakfast with Dad at McD's. He wanted chicken nuggets, but had to wait until I took him there for lunch. Yes... I know we are horrible parents for subjecting our son to McDonald's twice in one day, but he loved it. And.... It was only one day! When we were there we sat next to 3 old men who loved visiting with us. I think I got three dates out of the visit. And, Justice snatched a few bucks from the men once they found out it was his birthday. He was so excited.
Later he went to school and had a great time. When I picked him up I heard several of the kids telling their parents they had meat sticks or flap jacks for a birthday treat. The parents didn't seem to believe their kids. Haha....!
After school Justice got to open his presents. What is the greatest gift ever for our little man? A 3ds. He freaked out when he opened it. It was awesome. We also had a yummy cake decorated just perfectly. To finish the night, he went to his favorite class, hip hop then swimming. He thanked me over and over for his awesome birthday as I tucked him into bed and let him stay up (in bed) to play his 3ds. I love that little guy.
Then Saturday we celebrated Justice's birthday by spending the day at the local hotel water park.
The kids loved it because there were no life guards on duty, so they could do all kinds of crazy things down the slides. AND...... JUSTICE LEARNED HOW TO SWIM! He is so big and so stinkin' cute!
I am so proud of him and forever grateful to be his mom...

Below is a video of him swimming for the first time without his life vest or any help. Such a wiggly fish! I love it!

(For the full effect of the slide show...

Scroll over the movie & then click the "Mute Button")

"Jibber Jabber" Honour

2011-09-24T23:28:00.001-04:00

Honour is growing up so fast! He is walking like a champ. He knows tons of baby signs. And, now he is exercising his vocals. Pretty soon we will be able to understand what he says. I really would love to know what he says! Although, I want him to slow down. He is growing up too fast! In this video he has a lot to say. He is very serious about it too. You can tell by how deep his voice is. And he is very intent on pointing that gun. He is very observant! His big brothers play with those guns all the time. So, Honour knows what to do with them.

Honour the Stinker

2011-09-21T23:34:00.002-04:00

This is what a 14 month old baby looks like after he keeps you up ALL night because he felt the need to climb all over you and nurse all night long. Needless to say, he is adorable and I am exhausted. I swear that the cuteness of babies is their only defense. And, man, is it ever a good one!

Worst Mom EVER!

2011-09-21T23:24:00.000-04:00

It is the end of the school year and so the kids are having their end of school year programs. They include singing, dancing and art to display.
Well, Hope was very excited about this. She even made me a personalized invitation to her program. It was so cute. She colored in crayon "Come to my show" " I love you Mom" "Thursday at 2:00".
Well, Thursday at 2:00 came and went. I forgot..... I FORGOT! I am such a jerk!
So, when she got home and I saw her, I instantly remembered. I felt HORRIBLE! She did too. I gave her tons of hugs and kissed with tons of "I am sorry"s . I asked how it went and what I missed... She said she sang and danced. She told me she played the xylophone. SHe also told me she missed me and REALLY wanted me there. She said. "I looked all over for you and I couldn't find you." My heart sank and broke for her.... Upon hearing our conversation Courage said, "Mom, my program is tomorrow at 2:00." And then Hope said, "Well, at least you can make it to see Courage's show..." Ugh... My heart was breaking even more. THen she ended it with "I should have told Justice (her 4yr old brother, mind you...) to remind you about my show so you wouldn't forget." I felt think a giant piece of crap!
So I took her shopping with me and bought her a donut.
The next day, I pulled her out of her class to watch Courage in his program. I had Hope sit on my lap for the hour. She told all about her program.... where she sat, what she sang, which instrument she played, and what her art looked like.
I wish I could take that day back and redo it........
Here are Courage's program pics:

Here We Go Again!

2011-09-21T23:13:00.001-04:00

Skip the chipped teeth and look at those tonsils! Poor kid's tonsils are so swollen that they are touching. So I took Justice to the pediatrician today to get an antibiotic. But in the exam, low and behold we find out he has double ear infections too!!! Here is the theory.... His adenoids and tonsils become enflamed frequently. They cause fluid build up in his eustation tubes. That causes the ear infection and problems for his ear drums. Therefore, I am checking with ENT next Thursday to see if we can get Justice's tonsils taken out. Hopefully that will put an end to his life-long ear infections, snoring, congestion, and swollen glands. I just want him to feel better and have healthy ears!

Our Preschool Grad

2011-05-25T22:08:00.000-04:00

One of the funniest things I have ever seen happened at Justice's preschool graduation. Of course when preschool children graduate they always put on a show of singing and dancing. Well, every child at the concert was so enthusiastic about the songs and dances they were performing.... That is every child except Justice. He stood stiff as a board. Motionless. Expressionless. It was absolutely hilarious! He was severely tortured up on the stage in the center of singing and dancing children. The thought sin his head were probably, "I hate this!" "Get me outta here NOW!" "Why are they torturing me?!"

It was priceless.

1st year of preschool... done.

One more year of preschool.... In Minot!

AHHHH!!!

Justice and his BF, Sarah Cannon

Zombie....

Even Daddy got to come!

We love Mrs. Woodard

Mmmmm... Refreshments! Look at all those cookies!

Faith's Orchestra Concert

2011-05-25T21:19:00.000-04:00

Last night Faith had her last concert of the school year. It was really nice. I am actually surprised how well these string beginners do at playing their instruments. I remember when I was a kid listening to the beginner orchestra students at my school. They sucked.
I watched Faith on stage thinking how beautiful she is. She is such a special girl. And, she is growing up too fast, becoming a beautiful young woman. I am so proud of her. She does so well in school. She chooses awesome friends. She is so smart. I have always said, "God gave her to me so I could keep my sanity. She is my gift."

Orchestra teacher Ms. Heffner

After Concert Treat

Decisions... Decisions...

Beautiful

Good Thoughts

2011-05-21T17:04:00.001-04:00

I have been thinking a lot about life lately and how blessed I am. I have decided it all comes down to these few quotes. These are words I live by....

“If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.” Pilgim Peace

"One person can make a difference and every person should try" John Fitzgerald Kennedy

"Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone's task is unique as his specific opportunity to implement it." Viktor E. Frankl

"Your place in life is not determined by destiny or outside forces, but by choices you have made. Make wise choices." Tera Amsbury

"Family isn't always blood. It's the people in your life who want you in theirs. The ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile, and who love you no matter what" Anonymous

David's 36th Birthday

2011-05-21T09:14:00.000-04:00

David had a fun birthday - fun for all of us... He started it out with a 5k run. You can check out that in the Dart Frog Dash post. Then we went out to breakfast as a family and with some great friends to IHOP. We enjoyed great conversation and even got to listen to the IHOP employees sing a birthday song to David followed by a pat on the head as if he was a toddler. That was priceless!
Is there anything funner than a game night with friends?

We LOVE game nights!!!

I hope when we move to Minot we can make some friends that enjoy getting together for game night. Anyway, we laughed ALL night. The game played is called "What is yours like?" Hilarious.... I highly recommend it. In the game you are suppose to describe something that is yours without giving away the answer to what is being talked about. One person has to guess what the "it" word is based on the answers of what each person's is like. Get it?
The best (and most risque) "what is yours like" answers that happened to go together coincidentally....

David's answer: "Mine is hairy."

Tera's answer: "Mine sometimes smells like tuna."

"Ours like to play together."

Can you guess what the answer is?

Our PETS!

You are so disgusting.

14 Fabulous Years Together!

2011-05-20T11:57:00.001-04:00

David and I just celebrated our 14th anniversary. That is like an eternity in Hollywood years. I can't even imagine life without David now. We have come a long. long way. We have been dirt poor, rich in life, and very, very blessed. I don't know what we did right to get this far and be so happy... But, here we are.

May 17, 1997

To celebrate we went out to PF Chang's for dinner. We love that restaurant. The last time we went there was when we lived in Arizona about 11 years ago. We talked about all our years together...
The time we lived in Florida and watched the storms together from our apartment window... The nonstop drive cross country.... Our five babies and how much they have grown.... Our future living in Minot.... Our love for each other.... Our life is perfect.
I look forward to many more years on this earth with him.

Fishing at Olander

2011-05-19T22:12:00.000-04:00

The best part of my day was fishing with my sweet, sweet little man Justice. On the spur of the moment we decided to gather together some cookies and fishing gear and head down to the lake. It was am absolutely gorgeous day for it, too! The weather was perfect. We spent 2 hours out there. We had to avoid the crazy geese who were guarding their nests. One even started to chase me down until it realized I just wanted to get into my car. But, overall it was a very peaceful and awesome time to just sit at the water's edge visiting with my baby as we casted and reeled our fishing lines in and out of the water. That is the stuff that memories are made of....

My New Camera

2011-05-19T19:05:00.000-04:00

I got a new Camera a few weeks ago.

It is a Nikon 3100.

I LOVE IT!

There are so many things about it that I don't know yet, but, I am learning and having a great time using it. David wanted to get it for me for our anniversary, but of course you all know me.... I can't wait for anything!
So, Here are some of my favorite pictures that I have taken so far with my Nikon....

Dart Frog Dash

2011-05-18T10:16:00.001-04:00

Our family is really big into running. It all started when some good friends of ours took Courage to a race 1 year ago. That race was the Dart Frog Dash. This last Saturday was the anniversary of that race. Courage, David, and Justice all entered the race. David and Courage raced in the 5k. Justice raced in th 1k. Faith helped Justice along by running next to him in his race. Hope, Honour, and I just watched the fun.
The day was very wet. We got very wet. Hope threw up at the registartion desk.... THAT was fun. I felt bad for all th people that didn't notice the puke and then stepped in it. Yuck...
This race was particularly fun because Courage had a major competition against our friend Tom, who is a 36 yr old man. The two have close racing times. So, they are really competitive with each other. It is pretty funny. In the end, Courage beat Tom in this race by more than 2 minutes! Yay Courage!
So, now they are preparing for their next competition against each other in June. Hehe...
Courage finished this 5k in 22.32 minutes. It is his personal best.
David didn't do so well in this race. Unfortunately he was still a little sick. He coughed and wheezed the whole race. He finished with his worst time at about 28 minutes.

My boys.

Getting ready to run.

Justice finished his 1k in 1st place for his age group. He is VERY proud. He wanted to make sure that I told everyone that he finished in 1st place and Courage got 2nd place. HaaHaa... Little stinker.

Pinning numbers on.

Buds.

I just love watching the races! And, I love the boys' serious racing faces!!!

I love the determination to win.

Courage's competition. Tom Burnworth.

Poor David feels awful. His chest was on fire he said.

The running group from our ward.

Look at that determination!

Running hard!!

My men an the Burnworth boys. It's awesome to have great friends!

Hope's Tooth

2011-05-09T23:24:00.000-04:00

Hope lost her very 1st tooth today! It was a momentous occasion. She has been talking about this day coming for years now. When we discovered how loose it was, I asked if she wanted to pull it out. She was all smiles with that idea. SO, I told her to go grab the dental floss so we could tie it around her tooth and pull it out. She ran up the stair like lightning! When she got back I ties the string around her tooth. It was uncomfortable. She didn't plan on that so she grew uneasy. That is when I realized it was now or never and I just yanked. Out her tooth Came!!! She was so excited and we both started to scream for joy and laugh. Of course she just had to show everyone and tell them the great news. She even ran down the street to tell the neighbors. Sweet girl. Now her tooth waits under her pillow for the tooth fairy...

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T23:14:00.000-04:00

Well, David was on call this year just like last Mother's Day.... But.... I still had a great Mother's day!

Saturday night David came home with a huge edible fruit bouquet of chocolate covered pineapples, apples, and strawberries. YUM! It was absolutely delicious. I did share. Some. Not much, but some. Then he took me out to a Mexican restaurant. It made me miss Arizona. The atmosphere was great! Unfortunately we couldn't stay out long because we have 3 sick kids right now.

Honour, Justice and Hope all have the flu/cold. So we went home after dinner.

Sunday morning my kids all woke me up at 7am. I made them go away. They came back at 8:30 to get me up. They had breakfast waiting for me on the table. Cinnamon rolls and OJ! I also got to open up some really thoughtful gifts. Too bad David missed it.

My gifts from Faith and Courage are nail polish and chocolates.

Then the kids and I just hung out the rest of the day. We missed church because my kids were sick. But, i didn't mind too much because I got to have a nap. Yay naps!

Hope spent all her money on me for these flowers.

Also from Hope. Inside is a beautiful picture of her

from Justice. I love these handprint gifts!

Life is Good...

2011-05-06T23:43:00.002-04:00

Ok. So it has been nearly 10 months since I last posted on my blog. I am going to make a serious go at it again. But, where do I start?
I will just hit the highlights I guess. If you want more info on a particular topic I will do my best to tell more about it. Here goes....

David - Nearly done with residency! Yay!!! 55 more days and counting. Took the boys to a Yankee game for his birthday and Loved it. I accidentally pressure washed him and took his skin off. Well, more like injected him with water and took skin off. He is at work ALL the time and waiting anxiously to be done with residency.

Faith - Got contacts and LOVES them. They are blue. She is getting ready for girl's camp because she is 12 and in Young Women's at church. She is the Beehive president. She is my hero every day... Such a HUGE helper. Had a hip hop recital - did awesome!

Courage - Had mono for 10 weeks and no one knew. Ran the 3000 meter in the JR. Olympics in Chicago and took 4th place (with mono). Runs a 22 minute 5k, which is amazing for a 10 yr old. Really absent-minded and needs serious help. lol...

Hope - Had her 7th birthday. She LOVES to cook with me. She is also in Ballet and had her 1st ballet recital. She did awesome! She had her 1st kiss on the lips with a boy named Diesel. She has her 1st 2 loose teeth.

Justice - Is so stinkin' cute it's insane. Had surgery on both ears hopefully for the last time. Got his hair cut- sad, sad day that was. He loves to dance! He loves HIS cat Cleo.

Honour - 9 months now. So much has changed with him that there is no way I can update it all. I am kicking myself for not keeping up with the blog... He got his 1st 2 teeth. He started crawling. He is now trying to walk. He is currently 30 lbs an 150% for weight. He is very proportionate though and not really fat, excluding baby fat of course. He had his 1st accident an got 3 stitches in his eyebrow. he loves his vegetables but not fruit too much. He definitely likes salty more than sweets. Fell out of my bed one night and so he was moved to a crib. He is the sweetest thing ever!

Me - I finally got my Nikon camera. It is a D3100!!! Stressed out about the move. Back in school and taking some fitness class, but don't really care about it - obviously. I got stopped radomly by another photgrapher to do another free photo shoot. I am kinda excited about it. Need to see a specialist about my TMJ. That Sucks. Trying to work out every day. I decided that I am going to be a Personal Development Consultant and Life Coach. I am also going into Photography. I always need something to do.... I am EXTREMELY sleep deprived.

As a family - WE are preparing for the move to Minot, ND. Not too long now. Working on the house for our renters. We started Geo-caching and love it!

Naked Morning Guest???

2010-10-03T20:25:00.000-04:00

What a crazy way to wake up! After I woke up from a dream that I had "Blocked This Application" (facebook lingo) on Honour's crying -i fell back asleep....
Then I woke up again at 8am. But, this time it was to the pounding on my door and ringing of my doorbell. It was almost time for David to get home from working the nightshift at the hospital. And, I couldn't figure out why he just wouldn't use his house key. So, slightly annoyed, I got up from my sleep/nursing to open the door.
To my complete surprise and shock, I found Justice on the other side of the front door. And, he was Butt naked! I totally freaked out wondering how my child got to the front yard on the other side of a locked door naked.
He became very nervous because I was acting totally crazy. So, I calmed down and asked him what he was doing naked in the front of the house outside our locked door.
He told me he had to go to the bathroom, so he decided to go outside in the backyard. And, of course he can't go poop with clothes on.... Yes... He pooped and peed. And, of course our genious dog ate the poop.
Well, he couldn't get the back door open again so he went through the gate to the front yard to come in the house through the front door.
I couldn't help but laugh, but I did have a talk with him about going to the bathroom in the toilet if there is one around. He agreed that he would do that from now on.

Honour's Pregnancy and Birth

2010-07-16T12:59:00.005-04:00

What a crazy delivery that was! Honour was due July 29th. He was scheduled to be born July 22nd because he would be my 4th c-section.
But, He was born July 11th.
"Why?"... you might ask. Well, it wouldn't be a Tera Amsbury's baby delivery if there was no drama!

Here's how it all went down....

The whole pregnancy was not fun. Aside from the general nausea, discomfort and fatigue...
The first trimester I had a major gush of blood that made me and David think I had miscarried. I went into the doctor for an ultrasound the next day and it turned out that the placenta just detached a little from the uterine wall and reattached. It made sort of a "blood blister". Well, that burst causing the bleed. So, all was tentatively OK. But, I had to take it really easily for the rest of the pregnancy and started going to the maternal fetal medicine doctor at that point - every 2 weeks for the rest of the pregnancy.
Starting at 16 weeks gestation, I had to start getting Progesterone shots weekly. They are the worst shots I have ever had. It took about a minute for the serum to get into my tush. PAIN! Then I would have a bruise at the shot site for a week... Just in time to make a new one on the other cheek. But, starting at about the last 3 shots I began to get allergic reactions to the shots. The last one I had put me into Anaphylaxis shock... basically I was quickly losing the ability to breathe because my throat was closing. I had to quickly use the med the MFM gave me to counter-act the reaction. It is like an epi-pen. At that point I stopped getting the shots.
Then, I started having painful contractions continuously. They caused a major sting on the site of my previous c-sections. The thought was that my uterus might be rupturing. So, back to MFM. Turned out it was just breaking up of the scar tissue. Nothing they could do about that kind of pain.
Then I started contracting like I was in labor. So, back to the hospital. This time, I was dilated to 1.5 and 70 effaced. The problem was that I was only 34 weeks along. So, the doctors decided to let me go home and take it easy. They also treated me for a UTI. Once I started that medicine all the contraction stopped. So, that must have been the problem making me contract and dilate.
From the point that I started the UTI medicine and had no more contractions, I thought that Honour would never come because I did not have any more strong contractions. That was a little frustrating, but a little nice because the sting at my c-section site was milder.
But also at that point I started to get Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction or Pelvic Girdle Pain. I dealt with that for the last 3 weeks of pregnancy and was just miserable. It apparently affects 1 in 35 pregnant women and cause intense and severe pain in the pelvic region making it excruciating to move/walk, sit, lift legs, adjust in bed, etc. I was in pain all the time.

I just wanted Honour out!

Then, when all was normal on Saturday night, David and I were watching a movie. We sat and ate popcorn, drank juice, just being together... I started to have back spasms around 10 pm, but I just blew that off to pregnancy discomfort. We went to bed about 11:30. The back pain was driving me nuts! Then shortly afterwards I started shivering. That turned into violent uncontrollable shaking. Then I began to vomit. It was getting so bad. So, to calm me down, I decided to go take a bath. I was in the tub for about 5 minutes. I got out once I was relaxed and feeling normal again paying attention to the temperature so I wouldn't over heat.

But, when I got out of the tub the shaking and vomiting resumed.
I had David check me, and I was still the same 1.5 cm dilated. Nothing was happening to my cervix. But, because I was having other intense things going on, we decided to go to the hospital anyway.
It was about 1:30 in the morning at the time so we had to wait for our friend, Crystal to come over and stay with the rest of our kids.
Once she got to our house we were out with a throw-up bucket and blanket in hand. On the way to the hospital I couldn't stop throwing up and began to feel faint. David made all the calls to my doctor and phoned ahead to the Labor and delivery letting them know the situation and that we were quickly on the way.
Once at the hospital, I was wheeled in from the parking lot up to the L&D floor.
Everyone was waiting for us up on labor and delivery. I was quickly placed in a room and began violently vomiting, so then I just began to dry heave. The nurses did a brief exam and learned that I had a 103+ temperature.
Once I was put on the bed, monitors were hooked up to me and 2 doctors came in the room. The monitors were picking up really fast heart rates from Honour. So, an ultrasound was quickly placed on my belly to confirm what was being heard. And, that was that Honour's heart rate, which was normally 140 bpm was up to 230 bpm. When everyone realized that they all got really quiet and all I heard from everyone in the room including David was “He needs to come out now." "We can't wait any longer" "We don't have time for a spinal." "She needs to be intabated now."
I became very scared and just looked for David. I began to cry when I looked at his somber face that was just blank. I was in serious pain and shaking and terrified.
The next thing I heard was one of the doctors telling me they needed to do the surgery "right now." At that second I was wheeled to the OR. David was by my side and I kept asking him if Honour was going to be OK. He kept saying to me that Honour would be fine. But, he was so somber I couldn't be sure. I must have asked him over and over about ten times on the way to the OR. Once in the OR, within seconds I saw a mask being placed over my face and heard the words take deep slow breaths. I saw the other doctors suiting up and getting instruments in their hands... and I was out.
I had brief moments of suffocation as I began to wake up. My throat hurt from being intabated and I could feel the tube still in my throat. My stomach also killed from being cut. I started to panic and I cried that I couldn't breathe. I cried for them to make the pain go away. Even though I couldn't see anything, I heard David say by my bedside, "It's OK Tera, the machine is breathing for you and they are giving you more morphine...." Then, I fell asleep again.
I woke up about 3 hours later. Hurting. Scared. Wondering about Honour.
David was at my side. His face made me feel better. He told me that Honour was fine. He was in the NICU, but he was fine. Then he went on to tell me what happened...
Three doctors delivered Honour very quickly.The pulled him out bottom first because he was also breech. But he was so big that they also had to cut 20% of my stomach muscle to make more room. Because of my fever, even my uterus was hot. And, still no one knows why I was experiencing anything that I did. Honour was in the NICU under observation in case he had an infection. He was cultured and had to be in there for 48 hours.
They wheeled me down to the NICU after I was stabilized so I could see him. I got about 5 to 10 minutes at his crib side then had to be wheeled up to my room for my own monitoring.
About 12 hours later I was able to go see and hold my baby with some help.
It was all a very scary and crappy situation. But, after learning from David that Honour was safe and knowing that I would NEVER be pregnant ever again, I was beyond happy. I can't even explain the elation I felt. I was overwhelmed with happiness for the whole day despite the pain that I was in. I couldn't stop telling David how much I loved him and how happy I was.

And, now I have my baby safe and sound on my lap as I write this. In the end...

Is it all worth it??? Oh, Yeah!

Name: David Honour Amsbury
Birth Date: July 11, 2010

Weight: 8lbs 15 oz

Height: 20 in

Gestation: 37 weeks

The first time I saw Honour

A very proud daddy

The first time I held Honour

Photo shoot slideshow

2010-06-28T16:56:00.001-04:00

My collection of pregnancy photos...

http://www.pictage.com/photographer/slideshows/viewslideshow?autoplay=1&slideshowid=18531&slideshowkey=dxmswjtlqduoftai

Go Speed Racer Go!

2010-06-26T16:19:00.002-04:00

Courage is quite the little racer. The boy can run... FAST! He loves it. I asked him yesterday why he loves to run so much. He said "because it is fun." Well, to each his own.. I guess. I suppose I would think it was fun too if I won every race like he does. And, he wins cool stuff... clothing, money, back packs, gift certificates...
He takes his running seriously, too. He practices daily, running a 2k every night before bed. That is about a mile and a half. He can do it in 8.43 minutes. He can fininsh a 1k in 4.2 minutes. It is very impressive. He trains for city 5ks that he runs every other weekend.
His last race had over 1000 people registered in it. It was one of the more serious races in town. The runners were of the more competitive variety and mostly adults. There was even a celebrity runner... An Ethiopian Olympic runner. Courage came in 104th. He was 1st place in his division (Again). He even beat his last time by 30+ seconds! The competition really gets his adrenalin going and you can totally see the focus and drive come over him. It is so cool.
I seriously think he is in this for the long haul. You just watch. he'll be taking State when he is older, and who knows... scholarships, sponsors, etc. He told me he wants to go to the Olympics to run one day. I think he can do it too!

This is his 1st 5K. He came in 16th out of 150 adults.

He was the only kid.

The size difference says it all... and it cracks me up!

More and more and More Pictures!

2010-06-24T07:16:00.001-04:00

Here are some more pictures from my photo shoot.

I love having this memory preserved!

My pregnancy Photo shoot

2010-06-22T13:10:00.001-04:00

David has a photographer friend that saw me and asked if I would pose for her. She wanted to build her photog portfolio of pregnant women. In exchange I get a free sitting and prints. So, she came over to our house yesterday for our shoot. This is the first picture she has put up on her site. I think it turned out really well. And, I am so happy I will have such beautiful pictures to memorialize me being pregnant. I think my kids will like to have them when they are older.

Check out Nancy's site. She is really good...

http://www.nancymitchellphotography.com/

My Last Pregnancy

2010-06-20T21:46:00.001-04:00

This is it. I am at the end of my last pregnancy. Even though I don't ever want to be pregnant again, I am a little sad that I will never be pregnant again. So, To remember the whole experience I have been planning a photo shoot to capture the essence of my maternity. But, I don't know if I will make it to that photo shoot. I am experiencing early labor signs and could deliver at any time. So, I had my kids take some pregnancy pictures of me. I think they turned out pretty well.

Mother's Day

2010-05-28T12:39:00.002-04:00

Ok... Not one of the most memorable....
David worked a 24 hour shift at the hospital Saturday - of which he did NOT sleep one minute. But, when he got home he was carrying 2 dozen red roses. Then, he and the kids made me breakfast. I had pancakes and eggs with my salt... haha... David might need to work on his egg recipe. But, I loved it! I also had a pile of cards on the table waiting for me. I love cards made by my kids professing their love for me.
Shortly after breakfast, my nurse came over. She had to give me my weekly shot in my tush so I won't go into preterm labor. OUCH!
Then, we went to church. Afterwards, we all came home... David went upstairs (it was about 4:45 pm). He fell alseep and didn't wake up until Monday.
So, I made the kids and myself a roast for dinner. I topped it all off by sending the kids to bed and doing homework.

Hmmm.... I hate that Mother's day gets overshadowed by everything every year. Oh well...

But, after all is said and done, I would never consider doing anything other than being the mom to my beautiful 4 (almost 5) kids. They are my life and reason for being. I am so blessed.

David's Birthday

2010-05-28T12:03:00.002-04:00

David turned a whopping 35 years old on May 14th! I can't get over that.. I remember when I was a kid that being in your 30's meant that you were OLD... Officially an adult.
We had a relaxed time celebrating it. In fact, the Friday he turned 35 our family was so busy with activities that we ended up celebrating his birthday on Saturday.
But, in the morning of his birthday, Hope and I went bright and early to the donut shop to get a dozen and a half donuts for breakfast. That was Hope's present to her daddy. She had planned it for about a month leading up to David's birthday and was convinced that he would "freak out and scream". Her words, not mine.
So, after she set the table (with the special red plate for David) all the kids and I sat down at the table and shouted "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD! WAKE UP!" Of course I gave David the warning that this would happen. I also gave him strict instructions to "Freak out" when he saw his breakfast. He did't freak out, but he acted plenty surprised and happy, to Hope's sheer delight and enjoyment. She was very proud of herself.
Then we gave David his presents.
He got some canvas Crocs

that he has been eye-balling ,

a Swiss army knife/laser pointer/USB drive, and a day of golf at a local country club.

He was happy.
The next day, Saturday, we had our good friends and neighbors come over for a lasagna dinner, cake, ice cream, and games. We really enjoy getting together with friends. We had a lot of fun and laughed all night.
I think his birthday turned out pretty well!

May Day!!!!

2010-05-28T11:39:00.001-04:00

May has been a very busy month for us. I will do my best to catch you all up. I am very behind in my blogging because I have also been in my last few weeks of school. That is all I have focused on when I had my lap top opened to do computer work.... Aside from my few minutes of breaktimes to check emails and stuff...
So, all the happenings in May...
Hope's school talent show
David's birthday
Mother's Day
Our wedding anniversay
Faith's dance recital
Courage's 1k and 5 k races
Justice's Ear Troubles
Honour's development

Hope's 6th Birthday

2010-05-11T22:33:00.001-04:00

I know it has been a while since Hope turned 6.... Her birthday was actually April 15th.... But, I have been a bit mentally occupied. So better late than never with this post....
Hope had a cute little party. We only let our kids have birthday parties on their "even" birthday years. That is the way we do it in our home because we have so many kids. We want parties to be special when they come around - instead of practically every month a new party.
Hope's ultimate dream job is to be a cook at the McDonald's by our local WalMart. So, for the longest time she has been planning a Cooking Party with all of her friends.
She invited 10 kids from school and church collectively. Together we made her Cooking party invitations. They turned out so cute, but I wasn't smart enough to think about taking a picture of them.

Then the party day came... She was so excited with all the balloons everywhere. We had planned a few activities.

When the kids arrived, the got right to work decorating their chef aprons and making their chef hats. The chef hats were made out of a cut strip of poster board and tissue paper. The aprons were disposable. I found them online for $1 a piece. We had all the kids decorate them with markers and stickers.

After the chef outfits were made, we had the kids make their own personal pizzas. All the toppings were set out on the table. Some kids got a little crazy with their topping choices...

After we made the pizza, we all had fun eating our creations. Later the kids decorated their own cupcakes. It was fun. And, man oh man...., kids LOVE sprinkles.

Later, we played hot potato - a good cooking party game. Once again the kids loved it. Some got a little too excited though, and some things got broken... :( But, what do you expect with 10 kindergarteners in the home?

David came up with a geneous idea when present time came around... When Hope was ready to open her presents he had the kids play hot potato again. But, instead of whoever had the potato when the song was over being out, the kid with the potato got to give Hope their present to open. It was calm and organized. GENEOUS!

Then when it was time to go, we had the kids sit around in a circle and play with kittens. It was all quiet and organized until the parents came...
In the end, I am happy to say that Hope had a fantastic time and I am happy that it is all over.

My little Hot Shot

2010-04-18T18:37:00.000-04:00

Justice is by far my most adventurous child and he has the scars to prove it. He is simply crazy... a dare devil. He decided a couple of weeks ago that he was tired of training wheels. He is 3 years old, so I wasn't sure I wanted to take them off his bike yet. But, his 3 yr old meltdowns made me cave. Sometimes a mom can just haddle so much.
So, I figured "fine". He'll figure out soon enough that he can't ride his bike and that will be the end of it.
Well, with his first push on his bike without training wheels, he was off!
And that was the end of that....He rides without training wheels now.
He can't seem to go fast enough, even! I guess I should not be surprised by that. He wants to be a race car, police car, and fire truck driver and fighter jet pilot when he grows up.
Even when he falls, he will usually get up and say. "That was Awesome!!!" Sometimes he will cry when he crashes. But, those times are very short lived. He gets back on the bike and zooms off. ...Crazy kid.....

'Til We Meet Again, McNugget and Lola...

2010-04-16T23:46:00.007-04:00

Poor little McNugget and Lola lost their lives one sad day. It was a battle of chicken verses dog, and dog won.
Normally they spent their days in our yard enjoying the freedom from their coop and eating the bugs and grass as they roamed and followed the kids around the yard. We could always see in their shining eyes, and hear in their little clucks, how they so enjoyed it...
But, it was a sad fateful day that they unsupectingly left this world as our friends' dog entered our yard and found the greatest game he could ever play....

Chase, attack, and kill.

It was a sad scene to come home to. But, my kids understand that our Beloved McNugget and Lola are in Heaven probably grazing on the grassy yard of Jesus' mansion on high. They are at peace. They served us well with many delicious eggs and friendship. We will always remember....

In loving memory of McNugget and Lola.....

The funeral perfectly set on Easter Sunday,

the day that reminds us death is not the end.....

Easter 2010

2010-04-16T11:49:00.000-04:00

We had a great Easter. David was even home!

The Saturday before Easter, we cooked and decorated eggs. We decided that it would be more fun to paint our eggs instead of dipping. So, that is what we did. Hope added to the idea by adding glitter to the mix. I think the eggs turn out beautifully. David even got in on the fun. I didn't know he wanted to paint Easter eggs. He kept stealing them from the kids so he could get his chance to paint. I think next year, I will add some more eggs to the pot for David to have for painting.

Then, Easter came and the kids woke up to eggs scattered all over the yard. They rushed outside at 7am to collect the eggs the Easter Bunny left. But after being out for about 10 minutes the kids started to complain about how freezing their hands were. So, they came in, compiled all the eggs and split up the booty evening between themselves. (My kids sharing skills are awesome.)

Later that day we all sat as a family and watch General Conference. I loved it! The messages were so good.

During the Break we even had a chicken funeral. What a perfect day for a funeral.... All the focus on the reserrection.

Easter night, we had a traditional ham. But, David threw out my brand new 10 Pound bag of potatos. He thought it was garbage. I am still trying to figure that one out... So, we had rice with our ham instead because it was Sunday and I didn't want to go buy new potatos. It all worked out beautifully.

What a great day!

Our trip to Erie and Kirtland

2010-04-14T19:19:00.001-04:00

David was asked to go do "Hopital Day" in Erie again this year. Since we lived there for 4 years and we haven't seen David much, we decided to make it a famiy trip.
After our three hour drive there, we checked into the hotel. That was kinda bitter sweet because it it always fun staying in a hotel and David's work was paying for it, but it as a water park hotel... Justice can't go swimming. He has ear problems that make it so he can't (or shouldn't) get water in his ears. But, that is another story...
So, we had fun hanging out in Erie. We did all the fun things we use to for 4 years. The highlight was driving around Preque Isle at night and spotlighting the wildlife. We use to do that every Sunday night. It was a family tradition that we created. We do miss it... we counted seeing something like 13 deer, 12 racoons, 13 or 14 skunks, 10 rabbits, and i can't rememeber what else.
We went to the zoo the next day and were excited to see the oragatans had a new baby.
We also went down to the lake and skipped stones. It was really a good time.
Then we did other non-Erie fun stuff, like we saw How to Train a Dragon. LOVED IT! I highly recommend the movie. It was so fun. After that we went to Olive Garden. The best part of it all was that David's work paid!!!
It was a fun weekend stay in Erie.
On the way home we stopped in Kirtland, Ohio. That was nice since we haven't been there since Justice was about 6 months. We snuck in on a tour. the kids were having a hard time being still and quiet listening to the missionaries talk about the historic sites so I gave them my camera and told them to take pictures of the most interesting things that they saw in each building and room. This is what they thought were the coolest things in Kirtland...

1st Thing David did was check out the game in the room. Surprise...

These are cool statues from a local artist. They are all in his front yard and made out of cars. Justice freaked!

Welcome to Kirtland!

My sweet kids.

Justice Loved this bust of Jesus.

Hope thought the coolest thing in the room were these flowers.

Her face fit her personality. :P

Someone thought David's Stomach was the coolest thng in te room.

My boys lookng at the ashery.

I wonder if someone is trying to tell me something here.... Hmmm..

The theme for the day.

This looks like a weird toupe, but it is really a pile of furs.

Thank goodness for modern stores!

The coolest thing was the window... Maybe they wanted to escape...

We did sneak out of the tour just like we snuck in.....

Scriptures.

This doll creeps me out. I wonder if kids in the 1800s had nightmares....?

Not sure what this was about.

This was my favorite picture.

Hope picking flowers.

I think Faith is looking at the creek.

David and me.

The House of the Lord.

Kirtland Temple - the 1st Mormon temple ever built.

My little Piccaso

2010-04-14T17:37:00.002-04:00

Faith was selected to have her artwork displayed in the Town art show. It was pretty fun to go and see her painting. Of course she was very proud. Her picture is of Stonehenge.

This is a picture of all the kids in the school district chosen to be in the show. We made it just in time!

There she is... She is very proud to show us her Picture.

Faith and her art teacher.... Her teacher raved and raved about how awesome of a studnet Faith is. Yeah.... we know.

Faith is gettingher picture taken with her painting for the local newspaper. What a SuperStar!

Princesses on Parade

2010-03-26T16:26:00.001-04:00

I bet by the title of this blog post you thought I was going to talk about my girls... Well, I'm not.
Nope. This one is all about Justice - again.
For that last, well... 3 years... he has been mistaken for a girl because of his awesome long blond hair. We absolutely love it! But at times I have been pretty bothered by others calling him a girl. He is just so "BOY".
However, today he undeniably and without question looked like a little girl.
Justice has 1 friend that he plays with on a regular basis. Her name is Sarah. She lives right across the street, which is really nice because my friend Carrie and I can get together at the drop of a hat to let the kids play.
Sarah is also a girlie-girl who loves sparkles and pink. I think she majorly rubbed off on Justice. And, we may need to branch out and find some boys his age to play with....

Yesterday he told me he wanted to play "princesses" with Sarah. And, today.... Well, you can see that he did. He is wearing a lovely shade of pink that sets of his skin tone quite nicely. He is also accessorized with a lovely crown and fancy red Snow White shoes. I think he is trying to pull off the reverse Heidi Klum 2008 Oscar red carpet look. Very chic.... He has taste in fashion.

When it was time to leave Sarah's house he even sulked like a girl. He became very moody because he wanted to keep playing princess. The only way to get him to leave the house and dress-up clothes behind was to tell him that if he did I would get him chicken nuggets for dinner.

He reluctantly took off the dress, crown, and Snow White heels. But, true to the boy he is, he couldn't pass up meat.... ummmm... sort of meat.
But, let it be known that the only time you may address my son as a "princess" is when he is dressed like one - which actually may happen from time to time.

Back in School

2010-03-24T10:36:00.001-04:00

Well I just had a great 2 weeks just sitting around doing nothing for my vacation in between terms. The sun shined for 1 week during my time off and I enjoyed it thoroughly. All of you Arizonans truly cannot appreciate the sun... You need to go without it for.... say.... about 6 months and then you will truly be a worshiper when it comes around.
I also got started on fixing up my backyard so I can begin my garden. I will be planting peas and lettuce. Yum! I am hoping for a better garden this year.... One without dogs eating my crops and with better soil for more produce.
But, alas.... School begins again starting today. I am so dreading it. Just think, at one point I thought going back to school was a good idea. Not so much now.... I am really struggling with it. I am not struggling with the work. I just don't want to be focussing on school. I was to be pregnant and care-free. I want to just be "Mom" right now. So, I am not so moltivated at all to be in school.
But, luckily, this is my last term before Honour is born. Then I will be taking off 2 terms of school. My finish date for this term is June 1st. I am counting down.....

Any ideas...?

2010-03-23T13:33:00.000-04:00

Time for a new post, but I am plum out of ideas at this time. So, Someone give me a topic. Any topic... and I will expound on that. Make it a good one!

Getting my pap smeared

2010-03-17T20:41:00.000-04:00

Going to the gyny is always a blessed event..... yeah..... sure..... Today is my day coupled with an OB check-up. Luckily, I have a gigundo belly and can't see the faces being made on the other side.

For these special visits, I get dressed up in my best date night clothes, amazing hair, shave above the knee, do a "girlie" trim, and wear my favorite shiny, lip plumping lip gloss on top of my movie star worthy make-up. I even pop in a breath mint and bake some sort of treat. FYI - Gyno offices love brownies, cupcakes and rice crispy treats.... (Just a little tid bit I'd let you in on so your next visit can be super-duper.)
However, this time is not a time for experimenting.
Case and point.....

Worst gyno visit ever. 1st time I did a bikini wax. I had a horrible reaction to the wax and ended up with writhing blisters and a bright red "virginia." My appointment was the next day and I couldn't cancel because I would have been screwed by my insurance and "no show" office charge. So, I went. But, before I did I tried to cover up the mess by putting on sunless tanning cream. Ummm... yeah.... Holy Crap, did I ever make a bad situation worse!!! I had mutant looking; now brownish-rust colored blisters all over my sacred girlie spot. Horrifying!
To make matters worse, my doctor at the time was fine. No, I don't mean he was an OK doctor. I mean he was Fine, hunkalisious, easy on the eyes, babe-o-rific.
"Really, Hot Doctor Sir... I don't have gonorrhea."
What is worse than an embarrassing looking virginia...? Complete and utter silence during the appointment.
So, ladies I'm gonna let you in on some inside information... if you are going to the gyno looking freakish, disease ridden, smelling down there like a fishing dock at high noon, or have a collection of flies swarming around your wahoo, somebody's gonna here about it. That's right. You heard me. Somebody will be sitting at dinner with a shriveled up face and a lump of puke at the base of their throat listening to the story of a foul woman who couldn't clean herself prior to her lady appointment.
I can't even tell you how many times I have heard these nasty tales of skankiness from David - Still being in line with HIPPA, of course. ;) And, to those of you who he has been talking about.... Oh my word! For the love of all that is holy, clean yourself! Don't make my poor man suffer so.

All fun aside; make an appointment today to get yourself checked out. It would be a needless waste and shame for a woman young or old to ever die from a girlie part cancer.

Courage's Scouting Day

2010-03-17T09:31:00.000-04:00

Saturday was a big day for Courage in the world of scouting.
He qualified in the district pinewood derby race because he placed 1st in our local troop race. He was so excited to go and was looking forward to it for about a month.
When we got to the district race, I was floored by how seriously some people believed the race to be. Many people were all business.

And, then there was my family...

Courage was running all over the place acting like his goofy self just giddy with excitement. Hope and Justice were a bit under the weather, so they were actually pretty behaved. David was just taking in the sights and sounds, Faith was a growth on my hip (as usual), and I was just overwhelmed from the smell of delicious nachos. That was really all I cared about...Food.
We waited in line to check into the race for about 40 minutes and entertained by the super serious, super freak derby racers.
Then off to the races! Courage followed all the scouts over to his section of the bleachers in the gym where the races were held. I took my family to quite possibly the best spot in the gym with the best view.

The races started.

There were 45 little Wolf scouts racing. Race after race Courage won. David and I took notice and that was all it took for us to get totally into it. To be honest, we didn't think he would do as well as he was doing. But, he just kept winning! You could just see in his face the pride and elation from every win. But, he was trying really hard to act like it was no big deal.
But, then there was David and me... We both started getting nervous every time he would be called up to a race. I even chewed down all my finger nails!

The Final Round

Well, after about an hour and 15 minutes, the preliminary races were done. Then we waited for a while for the wins to be counted.
After that, we heard Courage's name called into the district finals. We were so happy for him and he was thrilled.
So, they raced some more. There were only 13 finalists. Courage won a few races, but mostly he came in second at the finals. When all was said and done, Courage took 10th place in the whole district. So, counting all the kids that didn't even make it to the district races that would be a few hundred kids that Courage beat.

YAY for COURAGE!

We also noticed he was one of only 2 finalists that did not race a "wedge" shaped car. The top 6 winners were even wedges. We think the wedge shape might be the trick into winning.... So we have decided that next year's car will be a wedge painted to look cool.

Mouse Hunt

2010-03-15T06:07:00.000-04:00

We have had a little grey mouse living with us for a while. I first realized this when I was sitting in my living room and heard my couch squeak as my kitten was viciously trying to eat through the side of it. My friend and I tried to find the mouse by moving the couch, but of course that was a futile attempt. It didn't work.
Then a few weeks later I was sitting in another room nauseated and strung out on the couch while watching TV. It was then that I saw the filthy little bugger scurry out of my living room into the room I was in. It dashed under the TV dresser, up the fire place, and into the dark wood cove.
I immediately grabbed a cat and coaxed her into the fireplace. She wanted no part of it. So, I grabbed the kitten who was so eagerly trying to catch the mouse weeks ago. He was not so interested anymore. I pulled all the wood out and saw that the little mouse had a little home through a crack in the side wall of the wood cove. Apparently, the only thing my cats care about is posing for the judges....
Day after day our routines are the same... wake up at 7. I sit on the couch as the kids eat breakfast. And, I watch the mouse make its daily run from the living room to the TV room, under the TV, up the fireplace, and into the cove. It was getting ridiculous.
So, off to Walmart we went for mouse killer supplies. Justice was very excited about this. We picked some traps and some cubes of poison. He liked the packages with the dead mice on them. So those were the ones we got. All day he talked about getting the mouse. He told his friends and siblings multiple times about the coming event... He was very excited.
We set the trap that night we bought it. I put a nice hunk of cheese on the trap. By morning it was gone, but the trap was untouched. Later that day I saw our little mouse making his daily run... Taunting me... Like we were on the set of Mouse Hunt the movie and he was following the script.
A few days went on like this. He would even come out and stared at me as I stared at him from the couch. It was becoming a morning ritual.

He was a picky eater.

I would expect nothing less in my home....

During this time I learned of several foods that the little mouse did not like. Clearly, he was a cheese lover.

So cliché'!

Now I had to figure out how to get him from taking the cheese without avoiding the trap. Somehow he would get the food and not trigger it. Or he would get the food and trigger it, but avoid being caught. I have no idea how... and, I was annoyed yet impressed by this little mouse's cunning geniousness.

PEANUT BUTTER...
There is a reason it is one of the greatest condiments!

I deduced that the mouse needed to tug the cheese in order to trigger the trap. It worked! After about a month of watching this little guy run my house on a semi-daily basis, he was caught.
The weird thing is that I put the trap in the fireplace and he ended up dead in my kitten. Bizarre...

My New Phone

2010-03-09T11:47:00.000-05:00

David gave me a new phone for my birthday. I have already ranted and raged about it. So, you know the one...
Anyway, I gave it a second try and I really like it! I had to spend a few more hours figuring it out. As a result, I have learned that there are definitely some things I don't care for about it. But, they can be fixed or I can work with them.
Overall though, I am enjoying the phone. I am sure in time I will be a pro at it.
So, thank you Babe. You are the best!

The Birthday Phone

2010-03-05T16:27:00.000-05:00

So David gave me a new phone for my birthday. I loved it at first sight... Totally caught off guard, but loved it. It is called a Sciphone. I never heard of such a one. Apparently it is a knock-off of the iPhone. It looks identical, but there are a few differences. First, it has a stylus that you have to use to get around the different applications. It is a dual sim (whatever that means). It has an FM radio and a "shake" feature that will change the music you are listening to that you have downloaded - kinda like "shuffle". I am pretty sure it gets on the web. And, it is suppose to do all kinds of other things.
But, here is the issue I have with it. It sucks, plain and simple.
The phone's screen sensitivity does not recognize that I am trying to touch it to get to different places on the phone. When it does sense that I have touched it with the stylus, it will jump to somewhere else that I don't want. I can't figure out how to make the phone ring. I am not even sure how to dial a number for an outgoing call. It takes really bad pictures. I can't figure anything out on this phone and what I have figured out won't work right!
Now really.... I am not a dumb person. I am an honor student. I was invited into the national honors society and who knows how many other honors leagues and sororities.... So, I SHOULD be able to work a simple phone. No so....
Well, after trying for a long time last night, I gave up. I was frustrated and didn't want David to know I didn't like the new phone, yet.
I was determined to try again this morning... I worked on that phone for hours. I had my computer on my lap looking for help forums. There really weren't any! And, after trying to work it out on my own again with the phone for about an hour and a half, it died! I had it charging all night and it died after 1 1/2 hours! Come on!
I had had it! But, I was so worried about what David would think. I never wanted to touch the stupid thing again, and here he was so excited and proud of himself for getting it for me. He would certainly know I wasn't using it. But I was trying to figure it out in my head.... I could change the sim cards before and after he left to work from the new to old phone and back.... I couldn't re-gift it. David would wonder where the phone went and I want to keep my friends.... I was stuck. There really was no way out.
So, I ended up calling David at work this morning full of guilt to confess my disdain for the crappy new phone. I ended up bawling like a baby apologizing for hating the phone. He reassured me that it was OK and his feelings weren't hurt. He is such a great guy.
But, now I have a non-returnable phone, that I hate, sitting in a box by the door.
I think maybe I will just carry it around to look cool. It does look like a cool phone.....

1/3 the way to 100

2010-03-05T12:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a nice day. It all started off with my good friend Carrie and her family coming over the night before with a plate of carrot cup cakes with cream cheese frosting. (My favorite!) They also gave me a "never to be broken, always reliable can opener"( I have horrible luck with can openers and am now on my 5th since I have lived in this house.)
Then she and her daughter Sarah came over in the morning after the kids headed off to school. She was bearing chocolate gifts. It could have all ended there to complete my day, but there was more...
I took a nap. I took a shower. My brothers and dad remembered my birthday this year. It's the little things folks....
Unfortunately, David was confined to the hospital until 6 pm. (Sheesh! Some women think the whole world needs to be put on hold because they are having a baby!) So, he called to tell me that he was sorry about that. And, he wanted to tell me I wasn't allowed to make dinner. So, he told me to get pizza take-out... What a hero! But, again my good friend Carrie came through and supplied my favorite pizza for dinner at her house. (It is Vito's Hawiian.)
David finally came home and I got to open my gifts. David and "Justice" gave me a Northface jacket size XS. It will look great on me when I can wear it next winter! David and "Hope" gave me a touch phone. Very awesome at first glance and for the first hour..... Then I wanted to shatter it into a million pieces after hours of trying to get it to work. (Here's the thing... Just because it is a "touch phone" doesn't mean it is a good phone.) Faith made me a very sweet card and bought me a skin cover for the phone that I now loathe so much.
Finally David and "Courage" got me a mint and chocolate ice cream cake. Yum. Yum. They brought it out all ablaze and accompanied by a booming chorus of "Happy Birthday." But, I was too full from stuffing my belly with pizza to really enjoy a full piece.
It was a good day. Just what I wanted.

Sybil is in the House!

2010-03-03T16:52:00.008-05:00

Why is it that pregnancy turn women into crazy psychopaths? Seriously, the hormones wreak havoc on pregnant women. They are uninvited little monsters that feed on the growing life inside of her. They take hold and will not let go for 9 months.
It is a cruel fact of life that makes the pregnant woman feel even worse about her already shape-shifting, unexpected noise making, insecure self. She doesn't want to be crazy. It just happens. But, beware... If you ever call her on her psycho "out to get everyone" and "self-loathing" pregnancy hormones, she will seek you out and make your life a living hell. You would be sooooo much better off agreeing with whatever she has to say, feel, complain about, cry about, and even laugh and have joy about. It is for your safety. And, I do need to touch on the point that you DO NEED TO laugh and feel joy about the same things as she does or you will spiral her into insecurity and disdain for you, my friend. I am serious when I say that you should agree with EVERYTHING she is going through. Because whether you do or do not agree with her, in the end you will wish you did.

So, I have come up with 10 rules everyone should learn when dealing with a pregnant woman.
1. You are wrong. Even when you are right, you are wrong. When you don't admit you are wrong you will wish that you were wrong... Thus, rendering you wrong.
2. A pregnant woman's mood may change at any moment. This may even be when you agree with her when YOU know she is wrong, but you agree anyway following rule #1. She may at this point feel patronized and angry that you caved. Jeeze! Get a backbone! What you need to do at this point is just hold her and let her know that you know you are a crap head for making her cry.
3. It will take a fraction of the time it use to for her to get upset. We are talking about 1/4th the time. Always have a back-up plan. Keep new jewelry in your pocket to give to her. The surprise of shining things will distract her. OR... Let her know that you feel awful and that YOU need some ice cream because of what you did. DO NOT... I repeat DO NOT say "let's get YOU (the pregnant woman) some ice cream." She will know you are full of crap, and just trying to get her to shut up and act normal.
4. She will get freaked out by a lot of dumb stuff. It is your job to let her know her worry is legitimate. But then you must not forget to solve or dissipate what is freaking her out.
5. If you do not sympathize with her, she will feel alone. That will spiral her into a depression that she will try to overcome through shopping since all other addicting behaviors are off limits during pregnancy. When she comes home from her shopping trip she will feel better. If you want her to stay feeling better, tell her that you thought about it and now understand how she feels. Then tell her you are excited to see what she bought followed by "Wow! You got some awesome stuff! Great job!"
6. She will look different. She will have a huge and fast growing belly. Her thighs will get bigger and wider. She will have dark circles under her eyes. She might not feel energized enough to put on make-up or do her hair. She will walk around in frumpy clothes. You WILL want to tell her everyday that she is glowing and looks amazing; that you are totally "into" her pregnant look.
7. She will be tired all the time. Husbands, get use to doing extra chores because she won't. Friends, don't expect her to call or initiate get togethers because her mind will be mush and can't think that far in advance.
8. She will make strange and bizarre bodily noises. Do not draw attention to these sounds unless you are going to join in. If you do, you will just make her cry. At that point you will need to imply rule #3.
9. She will be hurting from the changes her body is going through. Never let her get to the point that she needs to ask for a back, foot, boob, leg, neck, etc.... rub. Offer. Offer all the time. Sometimes just say, "Give me your feet (Or back, neck...). I want to help you feel better."
10. She will feel more affectionate and emotionally drawn to her loved ones even though it may not show. This must ALWAYS be reciprocated or she will feel unwanted and ugly. Then you will be dealing with rule #5. If you are a husband who neglects this rule, then she will suspect you have a lover. You might want to take a few days off of work to have some quality time.
Kids need to beware, also. To help them understand Pregnant Mommy's issues, they may need to view this video illustrating just how crazy it can get.

This blog is dedicated to my Melissa and my own little family. I still love you. Half way there...

I Want My Comfy Warm Bed!

2010-02-27T09:00:00.003-05:00

Justice threw a fit today.

"I DON'T WANT TO GET OUT OF MY COMFY WARM BED!!! IN!!! IN!!! IN!!! PUT MY BLANKET BACK ON!!!!! IT IS WARM AND COMFY!! I WANT MY COMFY BED!! I WANT TO BE BACK IN MY BED!!!! MY BED IS COMFY!!!!! IT'S WARM!!!! IIINNNNN MMMYYYYY BBEEEEEDD!!!! I WANT MY COMFY BED!!!! ...cry..cry...cry.....!"

I feel your pain, Buddy. There have been many a days that I wish I could scream the same things.
How I wish I could acceptably behave like a 3 year old. Everything I say could be uncensored. The most challenging issue I would deal with in a day would be deciding which toy to play with. And, if I ever got a booboo or got my feeligs hurt, some one is always there to make me feel better.
Sometimes growing up stinks. Everything always has to be so serious... The morgage. The credit cards. The relationships. the political correctness. The state of the world.

Today act like a kid... Throw all caution to the wind... Just have fun....

1. Make a silly face at a stranger.
Everyone likes a silly face. I bet you'll crack someone up.

2. Eat ice cream for dinner.
The fun part about being an adult is you can do what you want when you want. We are already aware of our immense responsibilities so for one night let it go.
3. Go to bed early. Some kids hate bedtime, but once they're down they sleep like rocks. Give yourself a ridiculously early bedtime one night this week. You can TiVo your shows and watch them another day.

4. Pretend you're a robot. Walk down the street or through a store with mechanical movements, adding 'zzzzzt' sounds with each motion. Pretending to have a motor broken in, say, your left hand can add at least 30 seconds more entertainment.
5. Color or draw something. Coloring brings back memories for most of us. Dig up some of your old coloring books if you can. They're better than the new ones, although the Care Bears are back!

6. Try to say the alphabet backwards. Kids are great at crazy tasks. They try with all their might. I learned to say the alphabet backwards fast as a kid. It was my favorite party trick. See how fast you can say it.
7. Have a race. The next time you are walking with a friend race them to the corner. It's fun to see other adults reacting to spontaneous racing.
8. Skip down the hallways at work. Mid-day sluggish getting to you? Skip to your meeting and you'll probably brighten up the whole office.

9. Wear what you want. Kids come up with interesting outfits when they're allowed by their parents to dress themselves. Come up with your own interesting outfit one day this week.

10. Try a handstand. Do it just for fun and don't worry about falling over.
11. Adopt a bizarre twitch (e.g. flicking your head irregularly, twitching with eye or busting out sporadic cough noises) and try it out when you go shopping.

12. When you are out in public use a foreign accept when you talk.

My kids love doing this. OK... so if you use an Italian accent, include flamboyant shoulder shrugs for added impact, or go for a Marlon Brando set of grunts.

Have Fun Today.

Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat?

2010-02-26T09:54:00.000-05:00

I am struggling with weight right now.. It is all centrally located in my belly. It drives me nuts because I can't move.

I can't bend over to grab stuff off the floor very well. And, if I am trying to do that while sitting I should just forget about it.
What is funny about the matter is that I am taking a fitness science class right now and I learned to calculate my BMI or Body Mass Index for those of you who are, well.... uneducated.. heehee..

So, my BMI last week put me at being underweight. This week I am considered a normal weight (even though if I wasn't pregnant I would have the biggest Beer gut EVER!) And, next week I will be obese.

Seriously.. not much difference, minus the belly hair.

Yup... I am feeling it. My belly is bigger. My hips are wider. Pregnancy has a way of making me feel not so sexy even though David tries to convince me I still am, and even more so now...
I have always said that I would be in a world of hurt if it wasn't for my genetics keeping me thin. But, I am reminded, now that I am pregnant, that that would never be the case. I get to a certain size, think I am fat, and start freaking out. David says I should never repeat this to anyone and that I have body dysmorphia. But, it is a fact. It is my reality.

So, I dream about going back to the gym. I salivate at beginning P90X, which is quite possibly the coolest workout system available right now... I learned about it one early morning when all there was on TV were infomercials....
So, that is by beef today. I want to lose this baby weight... I just need to have Honour first.

No more Peepee in the Bed.

2010-02-23T20:47:00.000-05:00

I am so proud of Justice. For 2 nights in a row now he has not gone pee in his bed. This is a big deal. And, he is proud of himself too!
All of my kids, except Faith, have had problems peeing in their beds when they were younger. It is the last step in their potty training. Well, for a long while we used pull-ups to deal with issue. But, I swear that they just make the peeing worse. The kids can't feel that they are getting wet, so they don't wake up. And, over time they pee more and more in bed.
So, when Courage was about 3 I searched around for a better solution. I found out through my hours of internet research about this cool little thing.

It is a potty alarm.

You attatch it to your child's shirt and it also has an attachment that connects to their underwear. When your child wets their underwear, the alarm senses it and starts to sound and vibrate. That will wake up your child and you so you can help them go to the bathroom in the toilet. Because the underwear gets wet, they need to change it. But, the more times this happens, the easier they wake up and the less they pee in their bed.
Courage was the worst about going in his bed. He would go about 4 times a night. So, it took him about 2 months to finish going in his bed. Hope took about a month to stop going completely in her bed. And, Justice is the quickest yet. He use to go pee in his bed about 2 times a night. The first pee would always be at 1 or 2 am. The 2nd pee would be at 5 am. Then he dropped to 1 peeing in the bed at night, or I should say morning, at about 5 am. That lasted for about 3 days. And, now he is 2 nights in a row with no peeing in the bed. He is just 2 weeks into his potty alarm training.
He wakes up so happy and lets everyone in the house know he didn't "go" in his bed. We all make a big deal about it of course.
Anyway, I totally recommend it for kids of all ages.

What the????

2010-02-18T09:37:00.000-05:00

I honestly don't understand people. How can people still think my son looks like a girl? Yeah, he has long hair.... Have they never seen a boy with long hair?
I mean, I dress him like a boy. He will only play with cars, trains, balls, and other "boy" toys. He sounds like a boy. He acts like a boy.
The kicker today was when Justice and I were at the gym. He wanted to see where I exercised. So, I took him. When we were in the fitness center of the building, he saw some men lifting weights. That started a conversation about how he would do that some day. I went on to tell him as we walked hand in hand, "Someday you will do that. You will be big just like Daddy. And, you will have hair on your chest. You will have hair on you legs and your face. And you will have big muscles and be tall, just like your Daddy." He freaked out when I told him about all the hair he would have..... But, that is beside the point.
The point is that some 20 something girl at the check-in counter was listening to our conversation. And, when we made it to the door to go outside and leave she said, "Have a nice day, ladies."

LADIES!!!

Are you freaking kidding me!!! I was standing there telling my son who looks like a boy that he will be just like his Daddy and have hair and muscles all over his body!
It blows my mind....

This is Justice today. These are the clothes he wore to the gym.

Seriously? A girl? Dumb...Dumb...Dumb...

I am a Boy!

2010-02-17T08:34:00.006-05:00

It is totally official, at least for David. I have known even before this baby was conceived that he would be a boy. Call it "divine intuition." But, david always has to see proof. He just has no faith. He is a man of science, ya know.
So we went to the ultra sound appointment. I always get treated really well because David works with the people at the doctor office. Yes, being a doctor's wife does have its perks....
They checked my cervix length. That was a nice 39 in length - I am not sure if that is cm or mm. It doesn't really matter to me just as long as they tell me it is good and I am not on a path to early delivery.

Then the sonographer went on to check Honour's anatomy. He is slowing measuring bigger and bigger. Now he is bigger than his age. But, I don't care about that because I don't have to push him out. When he will be born I just chill out on the OR table and let the doctors do all the work. Then I take a long warm nap in recovery while David takes care of everything... Honour in particular.
During the appointment Honour was a mover, flipping and turning. That is nothing abnormal he has been kicking and stretching for weeks now.

But most of the time he kept his legs wide open so we could definitely see that he was a he. Yup, all my boys are show offs.

They take after their dad.

This is his cute little foot print.

Best Commercial

2010-02-12T11:39:00.002-05:00

This is possibly one of the funniest commercials on TV right now. I had to mention it on my blog because I WILL be quoting from it. So deal with that Lint Licker!

It's Not You.... Well, yeah... It IS You!

2010-02-11T04:19:00.001-05:00

The word,"friend", is used to define an active, mutually satisfying relationship. Nobody breaks up with a friend. So, why do we have to break up with people in our life like they are friends? It's not like you can say, "Let's just be friends" as we would in a boyfirend/girlfriend relationship. We weren't friends and we don't want to be friends. Shouldn't we just say, "I am not going to talk to you anymore"..? Or better yet, why doesn't just making yourself unavailable work? The answer is simple.... because some people just don't "get it."
Yet, the question still remains. How do you break up with someone in your life? This is a tough question, especially when you see them all the time, and even harder when you are related. But, as we come to terms with the idea of an existing "non-friendship" it becomes easier to take the necessary steps towards practical separation. You'd think.....
Sometimes the rational ideas of breaking up such as 1. Cancelling all dates and stop making new ones, (2) Filtering out all telephone calls, text messages, instant messages, and avoid all comments on cyber-social networks, and (3) Letting them fade away just won't work. Sometimes these relationships that you wish were no longer are unavoidable like parasites sucking your life away and there is

NO WAY OUT...... EVER....

And, sometimes even moving away won't work. These relationships will follow you until the the day you die and the person is going to make sure of that, quite literally even.
So, what do you say? Its not you, it's me.... That would be lying. Wouldn't it be nice if we were kids and we could just say, "I'm not going to talk to you anymore," and then walk off to go eat a cupcake? Ahhhh, to be 5 years old. No, I am thinking more like, "You are a crazy person, we can rehash this relationship after you have had psychiatric therapy."

Events of the Last Few Weeks

2010-02-09T13:12:00.002-05:00

I have been really busy the last few weeks despite my attempts to hide under a rock away from all human contact until I am no longer nauseated or tired.

I was invited to a girl's only party a while ago. I learned some shocking information about the women at my kids' school and it wasn't gossip either. The information came straight from the horses' mouths. Let me just say that hanging out with drinking women who led colorful lives is extremely different than hanging out with Relief Society women.

I also had a litter of kittens born to one of my female cats. She had five very cute kittens. The morning after they were born, I heard my kids in the room fighting over which kitten would be theirs.

Oh! I also found out that the baby is a boy...unofficially. When I saw him at my 12 week ultrasound appointment, it definitely looked like something was "there." But, the doctors won't confirm it. I do have another ultrasound on the 16th of this month. So, I will let you know for sure.
I also had a strange happening yesterday. I was sent to the hospital because it was a concern that I may have had a blood clot in my leg. So, I went, but didn’t want a big deal made of it. I was happy that it was pretty low-key. However, the ultrasound tech pushed the machine into my leg so hard that it hurt for the rest of the day. But, I am happy to report no clots.

And, today is a snow day. I am glad about that because I am very sick today. Having my kids home means that I get help while I crash on the couch.

So life is busy. I am hanging in there.

The Pinewood Derby

2010-01-30T22:57:00.001-05:00

Courage requested that I blog about his pinewood derby tonight. How can I say no to that? Although, if you have read my last post you will know I have no camera. So, I am very unmotivated to blog because of that too now. And, I am bummed that I have no pictures of Courage's race tonight.
When I finally get another camera, I will post pictures of his cool car.
It is a shiny yellow car with flames and skulls on the side. It also has yellow wheels.
All week he and David have been working on the car and getting very excited about the race tonight. But, I think Justice might have been the most excited about tonight. He has been asking to go to the race all week. That boy is obsessed with cars.
To get ready and even more excited about the derby tonight, David decided to take the boys to the Toledo car show this morning. They had a great time checking out the sports cars and trucks.
But then the time came for the races.
We got to the church where the races were held. David and Courage checked in while the other kids and I checked out the other cars and picked out our seats. It turned out that Courage's car was .1 ounce heavier than the accepted 5 oz. So, they had to drill a big hole in the underbelly of the car. They finally got the exact 5 oz weight that they wanted and then sat down with the rest of us waiting for the races.
I was impressed by the track and the technology that made viewing the races capable. We said the pledge of allegiance and sang the national anthem, and then the races began.
Race after race everyone chanted COURAGE! COURAGE! He was so excited. Only one car ever beat him and that was twice.
So, when all the times were averaged Courage's car came in 2nd for 4 or 5 wards. An explosion of cheers rung through and he was beside himself with pride and excitement. It was a fun night.
He got a certificate stating his 2nd place and a king size chocolate bar. Then we ate tons of junk food refreshments. After it all, we spent the whole ride home listening to the play by play of every race, which were about 10 races in all.
Now because Courage was in the top 3 winners tonight and 1st place for our ward, he is invited to the district race. He is already talking about winning nationals. Funny kid.

My Camera AKA I Hate Cannon

2010-01-27T12:38:00.001-05:00

So, when we went to Sea World at Christmas time a stupid dolphin splashed my camera. Well, the camera went kaputt. That totally sucked for the rest of our vacation because I had to buy the disposable cameras that suck. But, in the long run I figured "OK. No Sweat. I bought the extended warrantee."
I sent the camera into Cannon Services to be fixed. They should fix it right??? I had the warrantee. I paid $11 for shipping and postal insurance to get the camera to Cannon Services.
Did they fix my camera? NOPE.
This is what they said.... To be fixed we owe them $140. (Keep in mind I already paid $240 to buy the crap thing. I had it 3 months.)
They said the warrantee does not cover:

"Incidental or consequential damages. pre-existing conditions. damage from accident, abuse, misuse, introduction of foreign objects into the product, unauthorized product modifications or alterations, failure to follow the manufacturer's instructions, accessories and supplies including but not limited to batteries, antennas, cartridges, styluses, records, audio/video disks, tapes, computer software disks, print elements, external power supplies, vacuum cleaner bags (wierd), and belts, bulbs, spark plugs, filters, trimmer lines, or exterior pipes and plumbing, acts of god, preventative maintenance, other than 2 annual head cleanings provided under this plan, inherent product defect, comertially used products or multi-user organizations, public rental, or communal use in multi family household, damage which is not reported within 30 days after expiration of this plan, loss or damage to stored data, repairs to installed software, compuer viruses, cracked or physically damaged screens or computer hardware which is added after original purchase, burned in phospher in cathode ray tubes or any other type of dispay, any damage to recording media including any software programs, data, or configuration setup information resident on any mass storage devices such as hard drives, cd-rom drives, dvd drives, floppy diskettes, tape drives, or tape backup systems as a result of the malfunctioning or damage of an operating or non-operating part, or as a result of any repairs or placement under this plan, products with removed or altered serial numbers, loss or corruption of data and/or the restoration of software and operating systems, loss and/or theft of the product, loss of use, loss of business, loss of profits, down time and charges for time and effort, any failures, or parts and/or labor cost incurred as a result of manufacturer's recall, damage covered under any insurance policy, or any other warrantee or service plan."

So, when I called the stupid Cannon company I asked "What on earth did I get when I purchsed the warrantee? Clearly you guys cover yourselves so you don't have to be held accountable for anything!"
Then they sent my camera back to me the same day FedEx. So, they didn't even give me the option to OK the service charge to fix my camera. If i want it fixed, I have to pay another $11 to send it back to them.
Long story short: I HATE CANNON! They are not honest in their dealings. I will NEVER buy Cannon ever again. I will also read any warrantee BEFORE I purchase the piece of lying crap paper. But, most likely I will never purchase a warrantee again.

Repentance

2010-01-22T08:50:00.000-05:00

Oh.... The guilt. The shame. The disgrace.....
Today I was camp out on the couch - as usual - when a news report came on about blogging. The woman the story was about spoke of her "responsibility" to her readers. That she is letting them down if she were to not write on her blog.
That is when it hit me. I am a slacker. And, it was almost as if Divine intervention was speaking to me. I think I may have actually seen a great light above me calling me to justice... Calling me to repent of my non-writing sins. Or... It could have been the black out from dry-heaving.... Regardless, pregnancy is no excuse. I am a sinner, not fulfilling my commitment to write.
Actually...., I have written. I have a lot of drafts. I just haven't finished the stories for one reason or another. the reasons to be included, but not limited to are nausea, too tired, and my brain is out of commision making the stories noncoherent.
But, just to prove it to you here are the drafts....

Amsbury Family Vacation 2009: the parks
Wow. It has been a while I need to finish this story.
We had a great time at the parks. When we arrived in Florida after driving all night to save another day from being lost on our vacation, our friends that went to Florida with us came over to get Faith and Courage. They took them to Disney World while David and I napped. Hope also went over to play with her friend.......To be continued.

Girls Day Out
Saturday was fun. It's all about the boobs.

It's a Strong Pregnancy So Far...
One of the best predicters of a strong pregancy is how sick you get. So, when I am not sick I tend to get very worried.

Yesterday was one of those days. Worry. Worry. Worry.
I felt nothing. Well, I was tired.... Just not nausious.
So, I found myself petitioning to my Father in Heaven (unintentionally in rhyme...) "Please make me feel sick.... Let this baby stick..."
I know all you ladies who get pregnant just by washing you underwear with your husbands and have really strong pregnancies think I am crazy to want to be sick.... And all I have to say to you is ! You just wouldn't get it.

McNugget on the Run
(that is as far as i got.)

OK. So That is it. From now on I, Tera Amsbury, promise to do better when writing my blog. I will be more dedicated despite my mental handicap which has taken over my life and knocked out about 5 million brain cells from my knoggin. Amen.

Blogging Break

2010-01-19T11:54:00.000-05:00

I have been so tired and unmotivated to blog. Pretty much every day I just sit on the couch looking around at all the things I need to be doing. But, alas... I better get to it.

Be Grateful

2010-01-14T12:59:00.000-05:00

In light of the Haitian earthquake, I have been brought to awareness of the many blessings that I have. I can sit myselfish self down on my couch and complain about how sick or tired I feel while at the same time there are Haitians sitting amidst the rubble of torn streets and buildings. I can complain about my dirty un-vacuumed home while Haitians reside in the nearby parks afraid to enter their homes or don't even have one anymore. I can complain about how my children are demanding and get on my nerves with temper tantrums while there are Haitian parents who recently had their children taken away by such a deadly force and children crying in the streets or under debrit hidden by fallen buildings looking and hoping for their parents.
We are a spoiled people here in the United States. We can sit and complain about our little lives, our corrupt government, and economic strife; or we can realize that there are those so much worse off than we are. WE have food, shelter, families, and saftey. We live in the greatest country in the world, which despite its flaws protects not only us but others throughout the world.
Be greatful. Share what you have. There are millions who really need our help right now. Their needs are great. Dontate now.

http://www.unicefusa.org/

This is for you cuz....

2010-01-12T21:48:00.000-05:00

Seriously! Does this look like 11 weeks and a few days to you?!? All I am saying is this doesn't look right to me.

Gotta love Pregnancy

2010-01-10T22:18:00.002-05:00

I LOVE being pregnant. But, I will have to admit sometimes it can be a bit much. I realized this as I spent 45 minutes throwing all my clothes out of my closet and rummaging through my maternity clothes in the pile next to my bed. I knew there was no hiding my baby bump at church today. So, the goal was to find something that actually made me look like I had a baby bump and not just like I had seriously "let myself go over the holidays." This was a major challenge today because everything I tried on, I felt, made me look like a giant blob. Maybe the process of picking out clothes wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't have to keep lying down on the bed because I was out of breath and about to throw-up.

That is probably the worst thing about pregnancy... feeling like a giant out-of-shape whale. I mean seriously! I have a HUGE stomach. I am just about 12 weeks pregnant But, I look like I am 5 months gestation. It is just a huge mass that is taking over and I can do nothing about it, but encourage it by eating everything in site because I cannot satisfy this insatiable hunger of mine. It is like my giant growing blob is just screaming "FEED ME! FEED ME!"
The tiredness, while it can be very annoying at times is actually kind of nice because I can always get away with a little nap... Ahhhhh, peace and quiet me time.
The nausea sucks big time. I have it all day every day. But, that just means that the baby is going strong. So... I'll take it.
I am out of breath a lot. But, that ensures me to not do too much work. It is like a free ticket for laziness.

I also LOVE the pregnancy boobs. This time of my life I actually have perky lifted boobs instead of my saggy hose boob skin flaps that resemble those of the women in National Geographic. I'll definitely keep that part of pregnancy.
Frequent peeing I could do without. I had a small bladder to begin with. So now I spend a ridiculous amount of time in the bathroom. I should just start reading a novel in there. I could have it done in a couple of days.

I also love the new hormones. David loves them too. I feel like a teenager that just hit puberty with a brand new boyfriend. Every time I see David I jump with enthusiasm and giddiness. I am soooo in love.
Yup, pregnancy for the most part is awesome. And at the end I will have an adorable tiny baby. It is just the Blob image that I would rather do without.

Justice the Crazy

2010-01-10T21:23:00.002-05:00

I fear for the life of my child. The poor thing is crazy and I kinda feel like I should write a column or start a TV series like Bear Grylls did; except it would be a series about "How to survive childhood as a boy: from A Mother's perspective." Or better yet, "How to survive motherhood with an insane and wild child."
Yesterday Justice was at his best again. I had just finished making breakfast. I felt so proud of myself because I made the kids a healthy breakfast of eggs and toast with orange juice. All the while I tamed my nausea and included my kids in making the food. I also taught them a valuable lesson about staying away from the stove when cooking because it gets so hot it would burn them very badly. Over and over I had to tell Hope and Justice to get back away from the stove because it will burn them. I thought they got it...
Well, breakfast was made. The kids loved it, especially since they were the very first eggs laid by our chickens.
Then after the kids finished up eating, I had to sit down because I was nauseas and tired. At about that time Justice came up to me whining for a snack. I said, "No, you just ate breakfast. You can wait a while." Upon hearing that, he left. 2 minutes later I heard screaming. I immediately jumped to my feet knowing full well what had happened. Justice pulled a chair up to the stove and climbed on it in order to get to the snack cupboard. He was standing on the stove, both feet on the recently used burner.
I grabbed him down and sat him on the floor. Then, I rushed to get some ice packs from the freezer.
He of course screamed and cried for a LOOOOOOONG time. His feet were red with a few blisters. I was upset also. I had just gotten through giving him an important lesson on stove safety!
Then to make things worse - FOR ME - he kept crying for Faith. I said, "I am here, Baby...." He kept saying over and over, "NO! I want Faith! I love Faith! She is better!"
Well, I wallowed in self pity for the rest of the day feeling inferior to my 11 year old. AND, I was the one catering to Justice's every need and demand as he sat all day on the couch with his feet on ice; changing ice packs ALL DAY LONG, fixing his pillows, scratching his back, carrying him to the bathroom, and Yes.... getting him snacks and drinks.

Sometimes I wonder if motherhood is worth it....

The Amsbury Family 2009 Vacation: the new car

2010-01-06T16:13:00.004-05:00

Dad was able to get a mechanic friend of his from church to come over on Sunday to check out old suburban. The verdict was that the car was totaled. It needed a completely new engine.
Well, I told David that there was absolutely no way on this green earth that I was going to put one more red cent into fixing the darn thing. And, luckily he agreed with me this time. So, no fighting began.
David was completely upset though. He just kept saying he wanted to go home..... Just rent a van and go home... I just couldn't see spending a few hundred dollars on a car rental and driving home to Toledo to look for a car, though. Our vacation would have been totally over that way.
I felt at peace with what happened anyway. I knew we were being watched over. We are ALL the time. We see little miracles happen for us here, there, and everywhere... I mean, for heaven's sake, of all places we could have broken down on the road to Florida and it happened to be 5 minutes from my dad's house. Way to coincidental! Plus, it was nice to have some extra family time to strengthen bonds.
And, I wanted to stay on our vacation or salvage what we could of it anyway. My dad felt the same thing. So we ganged up on David to get him to agree to go look for a new car on Monday. He didn't like it and it got a bit tense at times. I understand though. It is difficult for some people to accept change and spend several thousand dollars on a whim. David is one of those people. I, however, love buying new things and have no problem spending thousands of dollars. But, I did tell him that if we didn't find anything for our family that we felt good about then we could just go home in a rental.
It was Monday morning and we were off to buy a new car, or at least try. We ate some breakfast, kissed the kids and headed out the door into the freezing wind.
David and I said a prayer in the car for the Lord's guidance to be with us on our task. Then we drove to a GM dealership. We have 4 kids and one on the way, so we needed a car that fit everyone and had luggage room. That eliminated everything but passenger vans and suburbans.
The challenge was that there were very few car dealers in town and even fewer vehicles the size we needed.
The GM dealer did have 1 suburban on the lot. We sat in it, tested it out and fell in love with it. It was a 2010 model with 2 DVD screens, heated seats, and a video screen that turns on when backing up. And, that is all to start... There were so many awesome things in that car. The problem was that it was $61,000+. The car salesman tried to find us a cheaper car, but it was 150 miles away. And, even that one was too expensive. They didn't seem to care that I said, “I know you can make this work, so come back with better numbers and we'll buy the car today." They came back with worse numbers so we walked out.
We had one other dealer to see in the town and then we were going to rent our car to head back to Toledo. I'm telling ya... it is a tiny podunk town.
So, we walked on the lot and were greeted by an good ol' boy with a heavy accent. We told him we needed a suburban and we needed to buy it today. He said, "Well... all I have that size is a Cadillac Escalade." Then he walked out to it and we followed him. David hit me on the shoulder and had a huge grin on his face when the guy, whose name is Smitty, wasn't looking. I just smiled back and thought, "How weird that God wants us to have a new Cadillac Escalade!"
It turned out it was the right price, so David and I took it for a test drive. While driving he began hounding me with questions. That drove me nuts. He wanted me to tell him what to do, but I didn't know what he wanted me to say because he kept going back and forth about this being a good car and not being good. I may have had a mini meltdown.... But, I will not confirm that.
When we got back, we told Smitty to work out the numbers and that we would buy the car if the numbers were agreeable. When we were giving him our deets, he learned that David was a medical resident and that we were on our vacation. He felt badly for us, so he took off a few grand from the price. We appreciated that.
So, then Smitty disappeared into the vortex wherever car sales guys go to check credit and work out financing. It was a very LONG time. It was so long that I had to go to the bathroom about 10 times (Gotta love pregnancy...) before he came back and told us we just about got the financing just fine. But, we might have to stay in town longer than we wanted to. We told him we didn't want to do that and that we might as well go home to look for a car in a town with many more options available to us.
Upon hearing that, he sent us to the finance guy's office. The finance guy said we got approved sort of.... He was pretty sure that the bank he sent the loan app. to would accept the loan, especially since David would be a full-fledged doctor in a year or so. But, the girl who approves the loans was out of the office. Fortunately, the town is really small and he and girl went to high school together. They stayed in touch and he called her at home. But, unfortunately she wasn't home and was not answering her cell phone.
The finance guy asked us to stay until the next day's morning. We said that wasn't going to work for us. There would be no point in staying because our vacation would be too short to salvage for us. We said we would just go rent a car and go home if we couldn't have the car right then. Oh yeah... and we demanded 0% down so we could still have money for our vacation.
The guy felt bad and said he didn’t want to tell anyone they couldn't go on vacation, so he quickly talked to the general manager.
He came back and said, "Take the car."
I said, "Well, we don't want to put you guys out. What if we don't get approved tomorrow morning when your friend gets into work?"
He said, "Don't worry about that. That would be on us, then. And you would get a free car rental for your vacation. If the financing doesn't go through just return the Escalade after your trip. Enjoy it."
David and I just looked at each other and said, "Umm.... O.K."
And that is that. We walked away with a Cadillac Escalade under blue book value that worked awesome and have so many cool features it made our heads spin.
We left for Florida Monday night about 5pm. We drove straight through, so we could have 4 full days left for our vacation. The ride was sweet. Heated seats warmed the front and back seats. We listened to XM radio the whole way. And the snow we drove through was no big deal because we had all wheel drive. And, it has a built in touch screen navagation system. I LOVE MY NEW CAR! I had fun reading the owner’s manual about all the other features too! I just might have an Escalade from here on out....

Driving out of my dad's little town.

David unloading the Escalade at the condo we stayed at.

Yeah... We're flashy money bags now.... Hahaha... yeah right. We dread going to church Sunday. We expect a lot of looks. OY! If Only everyone knew it was only car we could afford.

That even sounds crazy to say and hear!

OH! By the way... Our old suburban is now at the local junk yard in my Dad's town.

They gave us a $500 check for it.

The Amsbury Family 2009 Vacation: the trailer saga

2010-01-05T07:30:00.004-05:00

We ended up staying at my dad's house Saturday night, Sunday night, and then again during the return home Saturday night.

The kids camped out at my dad's double wide with him and his wife, Sarah. They had a great time. Hope and Justice strung out on the couch. The two big kids set up "blanket-beds" on the floor. All were in the living room area. It was a fun sleep over, especially since Mom and Dad were sleeping next door in a separate single-wide trailer. It was a little tight, but we fit. And most importantly we slept.

But then, how quickly the sleeping came to a quick hault.... Eyes wide open from a dead sleep, David and I heard extremely loud sirens. And, not just any sirens..... TORNADO SIRENS!

HOLY FREAKIN' CRAP!!! Our car died the day before and today we are going to be swept away in a singl-wide by a tornado! I know how these things go. I watch the news.. sometimes. Single-wides and tornados don't mix. I just had visions of us in the trailer swiring round and around through the sky.
David and I quickly got dressed and headed over to the double-wide where our kids were. After all 2 single wides connected have to be safer than one! Right? I hoped.....
When we got inside, my dad told us the siren was just calling the volunteer fire department guys. Thank goodness no tornados today!
But, on the overnight stay coming home, we got to my dad's about 12:30am. We put the kids to bed in the same set-up as before. Then David and I walked over to our guest trailer. After 20 minutes of lying in bed in the dark, I heard someone walking around. I couldn't tell if it was inside the trailer or outside. I just new I was in for a long night...

I hit David and told him I heard a noise. He woke from his snoring sleep to listen then fell back asleep shortly thereafter. 10 minutes later I hit him and told him I was freaked out. I made him get up and look around. All the while I was thinking it was a ghost; That it was watching me and walking the hall of the trailer....
Totally serious... And it isn't that far fetched either since the trailer is right next door to the town cemetary.
I heard the walking and scratching all night long. And, long night it was. Both David and I could have fit on half of a single bed because I was squishing up so close to him.
In the morning we told my Dad and Sarah about the noises we heard. Upon hearing that, Sarah said, "Ya know... I think that trailer is haunted. I have always had that feeling when I lived there."
HELLO!!!
I can sense things. It is like a 6th sense I have. Sarah has it too, apparently. And, here she was confirming my suspisions. I will not be sleeping in that trailer again until the spirits have been exorcised.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-01-04T12:18:00.003-05:00

New Year’s is a time to look deep within yourself and make changes for the better within your life. If you actually think those changes will happen at the stroke of midnight Jan 1st, you are insane. But if you don’t try to make a resolve to change, you are just lazy or a quitter before you even start. Maybe you are both.

Regardless, here are my resolves….

Be more patient with my kids and stop yelling WHAT! WHAT! WHAT! WHAT! WHAT! at my kids when they yell MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMMY!
I will Cut my hair and wear fewer dresses so my neighbor will stop thinking that I am some crazy religious zealot from a religion whose women are oppressed.
I will look deeper within myself to make personal improvements instead of telling David to go find a new wife when he gives me critisism.
I will start being more honest with people. When they are annoying I will tell them, instead of listening politely to their bull crap. After all, how else will they improve their annoying qualities? I am helping!
I will take more showers…. Starting tomorrow.
I will keep my resolutions this year, unless I don’t. Then I resolve to forgive myself for my imperfections. But, in that case I will remain perfect.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The Amsbury family 2009 Vacation: the departure saga

2010-01-04T09:41:00.006-05:00

Ring… Ring…Ring…
I hit David in the gut, “Answer the phone!” I yelled.

Holy Crap! It was our friend Crystal calling and waking us up because she was expecting our dog over half an hour earlier. Thankfully she and her family were going to watch our dog Charlie for us while we were going to be in Florida. (And, thanks to Carrie and her family for watching our cats!)

David set the alarm to wake us at 7pm instead of AM. Oh well… so we’re gonna be a little late on our vacation start. We had waited all year looking forward to some family time away from the daily grind.... We were all full of excitement....What else could go wrong? We had everything ready to go and in the car..... The car just got back from the mechanic with the “OK” to go on a long trip..... After all, we just spent about $3000 on 2 sets of new brakes, rotors, ignition, water pump, fuel pump, radiator, and more…. the car SHOULD work! And who cares that we had to roll down our driver side window to open our car door from the outside. It ran and that is all we cared about…. So we were set! All bases checked!

Florida here we come!

We headed out to West Virginia first. We were about an hour behind schedule, so we expected to see my dad about lunch time. (He lives near Charleston, WV.) The 5 hour drive was not bad. The car ran smoothly. And traffic and weather was in our favor. The kids were literally attached to their DSes and Leapsters. All is well.

This is Justice stuffing his face with hard boiled eggs.

When we got to Dad’s, he had pizza waiting for us. YUM! I am in a major pizza faze right now with my pregnancy cravings. The question now was, How much can I eat? Next he had gifts waiting for us. My boys got "new to them" snow hats. David got a jacket to match my dad's. The girls got stuffed animals. And I got skinned animals. That is right fur. It is a mixture of 2 colors of fox, mink, and baby sheep.
We visited for a while, but wanted to get on the road for our vacation. So off we went…..

Hillarious! I was rolling with laughter looking at these nerds. But... I still love them.

But, about 10 minutes from my dad’s house while driving the highway out of town our car just stopped working – completely. David coasted to the shoulder of the highway. And, we sat. Amazingly, we were still in my dad’s town so we could call him to come get us.

He arrived in about 20 to 30 minutes because he was busy at the Tea shop he owned with his wife Sarah. He took the kids and me. But David stayed with the car to wait for the tow truck. David finally got to my Dad’s home about an hour later. (This is my view from the inside of the dead car.)

Now… what to do? It was Saturday night after Christmas. Our car was dead. We were stuck in podunk WV, where the accents are so thick that our untrained ears needed translators to translate the words we could not understand.
We couldn't go home. We couldn't go to Florida. We had no idea if the car could even be salvaged.
No mechanic was at work. We just needed to wait until Monday for the mechanic shop to open to know for sure what was going on…. But, we had a pretty good idea that either the engine seized (meaning we needed a brand new engine costing $3000 to $4000), or we needed new sensors -whatever those are.

The kids patiently waited for Mom and Dad to fix everything....
Our vacation very likely might not going to happen at this point. Regardless, we were definitely pushed back 3 days. The words just escaped us.

2nd Cast Removal

2009-12-25T19:06:00.001-05:00

Justice finally got his 2nd cast off! It has been nearly 2 monthssinnce we could see his bare arm. So, he and the rest of the family were very anxious to have him get it off.
This time the removl went very smoothly. No tears like last time. Justice was all smiles.

Everyone in the office knows Justice by name now.

And, so, they also know to stop calling him an adorable little girl.

This guy, I think his name is Howard, is super nice. He put on both of Justice's casts and took them both off.

Waiting for his bajillianth Xray.

Such a big boy! Because I am pregnant I couldn't go into the Xray room with him. But, the tech was really nice and Justice and she had a great time visiting during the Xray process.

Getting his "fig leaf" to protect his little giblets.

Holding perfectly still for the Xrays.

Now..... His cast was off at 2pm. We went home and had a mini celebration. Then at 4:30 he wanted to go outside to play in the snow with his siblings. Well, he fell. And then the flood gate of tears opened. He screamed and cried holding his arm like he did the last 2 times he broke it. I started freaking out! It was only 2 1/2 hours! How could he brake it so soon?!? His arm started to swell and he would not let me get close to his arm to check it out.
I called David, who was at work - of course. We decided to wait it out through the night. We were hoping that he just over stretched or bent his arm too much. After all, it was used to being in a cast for 2 months.
By the morning Justice's arm was feeling much better. His arm was still stiff, but didn't seem to be broken.
Now if we can only keep it that way!

Pregnancy Brain

2009-12-25T07:09:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't been writing hardly at all lately. And, some of you have had withdrawls from that or so I am told... But there is a very good explaination .
I am now 9 1/2 weeks pregnant - YAY! And, so, I am totally and completely exhausted.
My heart wants to blog, but my brain says, "hgshgde sdhgsdihg jjheidhiu ZZZZZZZzzzzzz....."

To illustrate my point, below I have a diagram of a pregnancy brain.

Notice the very small section dedicated to organizanization and blogging. And, notice that blogging is in a fog. These are facts that couldn't be made up. Also, notice that the majority of the brain is dedicated to basic needs and keeping sanity. Pregnancy is no easy task!

So, I will make an ealy resolution to get back in the swing of things when it comes to blogging. All I have to say about that is, "Don't expect too much."

7am Wake-Up

2009-12-21T15:28:00.000-05:00

This morning as I was half conscience at 7am I heard the phone ring. Knowing it must be David because sometimes he calls to remind me to do things during the day, I answered it. Otherwise, I would have ignored it and cussed out any other freak for calling so early.
It was David. I answered, "Hey, Babe. What going on?" "I need you to come get me. I've been in an accident." His voiced was shaky and I was suddenly wide awake.
It has always been a concern of mine.... him going to work before the crack of dawn - especially now with all the snow and ice on the roads. He left at 6 am this morning and now it was 7am! What happened in between the times? I was so worried. I asked if he was OK and he assured me he was. He said the block wall he hit 30 feet off the road saved him from hitting a sign and rolling into a deep trench. I am not so sure he should have told me that.... Obviously, I was relieved that he was OK, but the thought of him spinning out of control and rolling the car into a trench sent panic through me.
I quickly grabbed some clothes, woke Faith up to watch the little kids and I took off out the door.
He told me he crashed at a funeral home. So, thanks to all the spirits who reside at funeral homes! Cause they protected my sweetheart! After seeing the accident and how it happened, I know David was being watched over. It could have gone much, much worse.
As I was driving to the funeral home, I realized I didn't know where it was. Luckily after driving a little further, I saw a glow of police car lights flashing in the dark about a mile and half up the road. I was worried about what I might find. But, when I saw David I parked the car and rushed over to him to give him a great big hug. He looked perfectly fine. The car which had spun around looked perfectly fine despite that fact that it now had a flat and was on the top of a bunch of blocks. The rest of the wall was down in the trench. I just prayed to God giving thanks.
I waited with David for the tow truck to show up. We just hoped now that the truck could just pull the car off of the blocks and David could still drive it. And, you know what? That is exactly what happened! Aside from a flat tire, the car worked! It really was a miracle! And, if you could only see how close David was to hitting the sign and rolling, you would agree.
Here are the pics.... and despite what you think, I did not think to grab my camera, because I was too worried about David. I did have my cel phone though to make calls if I needed to. It just so happens to have a picture application.

My Day is Now Complete

2009-12-16T18:19:00.000-05:00

No day would be complete if I didn't have Justice run up to me on his little tippy toes, buck naked, smiling ear to ear and shouting, "Mommy! Do you want to see my REALY, REEEEAAAALLLLY BIG poo?!?!"

So much excitement always comes with this question that I can't help but exclaim back to him, "I TOTALLY want to see your REEEEAAALLLY big poo!"
We then take a few moments ooo-ing and awe-ing over the bowl and he begins to describe the shape, size, color and number of pieces that came out of his bottom. All the while that his analysis of his poo is going on, I am trying as hard as I can to hold my breath because if I don't I will surely end up with my head hanging over the bowl puking. And, that would be the death of me because that is where the offending odor is coming from. The scenerio would be a viscous cycle that would never end except with my life.
This daily event always ends with Justice spread eagle against the wall with his legs wide apart, like he is being patted down by the police, so I can wipe his behind.
What is it that makes poopig so exciting to a 3 yr old? And, if it is accompanied by tooting - all the better!
I mean sure.... I understand the whole feeling of relief and satisfaction that comes with eliminating. We have all felt it. But, you won't see me running up to David shouting, "HEY BABY! COME SEE MY REEEEAAAALLLY BIG POO!"

I just don't understand the excitement. But, apparently this topic is so appealing to kids, and not just mine, that a book titled, "The Scoop on Poop" was written telling all the exciting facts about it. There is even a traveling exhibit named after the book. I think I will try to get our COSI museum to schedule it. The traveling exhibit is available February through September, 2010. And then at least those in my area will learn the secret behind the exciting poo.

That Which Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

2009-12-15T10:15:00.004-05:00

As I stood dry-heaving over the blue berry pancakes that I made this morning, I couldn't help but reflect on things I am truly grateful for. This last week was a tough one for me. You might have noticed since I have not posted anything on my blog.
What a week I have had.
It was finals week for my school. That meant 4 papers and 2 research projects to write by tonight. I thought I would never make through. But, I did. I turned in my last project this morning at 6am. Writing a research paper is not what I wanted to be doing at 5 in the morning, but I couldn't sleep... And, it is finished! Yay me.
But, the biggest trial I had this last week that nearly did me in happened on Sunday.
Everything with my pregnancy had been going perfectly according to plan. I was completely exhausted. I was utterly nauseas. And, I was most of all completely elated that I was pregnant with my baby boy.
While sitting surrounded by my family enjoying time together before church, I all of a sudden and by complete surprise I felt a massive gush come out of me. I immediately knew something was wrong and rushed to the bathroom. I found an unbelievable amount of blood-filled fluid, like my water had broken. The bleeding became worse and worse and the cramping that came with it was pretty severe. I just knew that absolutely no way could I still be pregnant. There was way, way too much blood and cramping. And, what was the fluid if not the fluid from the amniotic sac?
David and I were both devastated. We were also in shock. Throughout the whole day I was either crying or catatonic staring at the walls in complete depression. Thankfully David took the kids to church and I was able to have some time alone. But, it didn't help. I couldn't believe it. How could this happen? I was so sure that we were supposed to have this baby.
I asked David if we should go to the ER. But, he said there is nothing they could do in the 1st trimester. He told me that the best thing to do was to wait for the ultrasound I had scheduled for Monday, the next day.
Wait. Wait. Wait. Torture.
Late into the night David and sat waiting and holding each other.
The next day David moved my ultrasound appointment up from 2pm to 10 am. He wanted to be there and the morning was the only time he could be.
So, we went. As David and I silently walked the dark halls of the hospital basement I dreaded lying on the ultrasound table listening to the news that nothing was there anymore.
The tech put the warm gel on my belly and placed the instrument on me. Then she announced after a couple of minutes, "There's the heartbeat."
WHAT?
David smiled at me and asked if I could see it.
We were both so surprised and in shock again. But this time for a very good reason. WE STILL HAVE A BABY! I couldn't understand how this could be because with all the fluid, cramping and blood loss no baby should have survived.
But apparently after analysis and study of the ultrasound pictures it was determined that I had a sub-chorionic bleed... or something like that. I was told that it was basically a mild rupture of the placenta. And, when it started to heal it created a pocket that filled up with blood. Blood kept building up and building up until it ruptured. And, that is what I experienced on Sunday. I suppose it is pretty common. At least that is what I am told. And, it will heal up to be a perfectly normal pregnancy. But, we need to keep on top of it now. I am now visiting a maternal-fetal medicine doc regularly.
I guess I am in for another drama boy....
So, here it is! This is the very first Ultrasound of Honour. He is measuring perfectly at 7 weeks and 3 days. His heartbeat is just perfect at 150 beats.

He is the blob on the left in the black center.

Who Wants Some Money?

2009-12-10T21:20:00.002-05:00

I've got $100 monopoly cash in hand for the first person who can tell me who the heck SNOPES is.
I want details... Who are they? What are their credentials? And I'll give a bonus 50 monopoly bucks for the best answer as to why every person and their dog blindly believes everything SNOPES has to say. What does SNOPES even stand for? Smug -N- Ostentatious People Evermore Reference Snopes??? One catch... NO SNOPSING YOUR ANSWER!

I am so sick and tired of receiving emails from people that others feel the need to SNOPE. No.... I am mostly sick and tired of receiving response emails of the emails that were SNOPED. And, the sick and tiredness aren't even pregnancy related! I mean really! Who gives a rats???!!!

Mostly all anyone pays attention to in those emails are the pictures anyway. Does anyone even read their emails, at all? If you feel the need to SNOPES, then you either have way too much time on your hands or you are the braniac in the front of the class that always needs to be right. Either way, life is much easier if you just let it go... I'm just sayin'....

It is because of you SNOPERS that I rarely forward emails. If that is what you were going for, then mission accomplished. But, before you gloat, let me just inform you that you prevent heart-warming stories of peace and love from spreading across the land. If you do that then you, in essence, spread sinicism and are anti-love.
I would not be surprised if SNOPERS are the end of the world!

I think I should start a web site named "BECAUSE I SAID SO." It will contradict anything anything SNOPES has to say. Then, all of us who really don't care can add "Checked by BECAUSE I SAID SO."

I Boycott kindergarteners!

2009-12-09T08:16:00.001-05:00

I was the reader guest for Hope's kindergarten class today. Hope was very excited. She picked out the book "How Santa Got His Job." I was cool with that. It is a fun book and perfect for the season.
So when I got to Hope's school, she saw me walk into her class and was very excited..... naturally, cause I'm awesome.
But, some other kids were excited too. And, I was soon cornered. I was happy to see the kicks and share with them my literary skill. That was until after eyeballing me up and down a little girl asked,

"Are you Miss Irmen's mom?"

CHOKE! EXCUSE ME???? Just how old do you think I am, kid? I mean really... Don't they teach you anything in Kindergarten???? I know Miss Irmen is a young teacher and unfortunately I am aging, but I don't look THAT old! And, I could not possibly have a 22 year old daughter! That would have made me 10 years old at the time of giving birth.
The naughty little girl with an obvious visual imparment made me so insecure that I had to call David and ask him how old I looked. And, my mirror time was a little extra long.... like for the rest of the day.

Anyway... To do list today...

Get a pore and wrinkle shrinking facial mask
Call for a hair appointment
Do some squats
Follow up with arm curls

Christmas Shopping..... The meaning of Christmas????

2009-12-08T13:51:00.001-05:00

In the words of my good friend, "There are only 16 more shopping days left to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior." - Cannon
Tis the season to be jolly.. and shopping. My kids wanted to join in on the fun. So, they begged me to take them out to Meijer. (It is like a small version of Super Wal-Mart.)
At first I was all for it. I knew we were done shopping yet. But, then David made a stink about not wanting to go. (He can be such a poop about shopping!) Ugh... Well, the kids were begging, and I was faced with taking all 4 by myself. I was reluctant, but went.
Getting down to the store was not so bad. Then we entered. The kids acted like they have never been in public before! The little ones were mostly fine. It was my big kids that gave me holiday strife.
We walked up and down the toy isles over, and over, and over, and over again. I began losing control not only of my children, but my mind. At one point I turned the corner of an aisle and found Faith 4 feet in the air horizontal as a skate board was speedily racing toward me. (Apparently she is jealous of all the attention Justice has been getting lately, and wanted to take a trip to the ER after our shopping.) Another time Courage had bounced a ball so high that it got away from him and through oncoming shoppers, until he could find it no longer. Justice thought that was cool, so he tried it too.
After an hour of antics like these, I was done. My holly jolly turned into HOLY CRAP GET ME OUT OF HERE!
But, when I told the kids that we were leaving, they all complained that we didn't buy anything! What? Are you kidding me? I thought holiday shopping meant walking around until you'd rather poke your eyes out than see another Christmas gimmick....
Well, that is when Hope began her melt down. She sobbed huge crocodile tears because I told her we'd try again another time (buy a present for her friend.)
So what did I learn?
I love Christmas. I love shopping. But, I am not so sure about combining the 2. And, I am definitely sure that when kids are involved it is just gonna suck a big one.

Pray Always

2009-12-06T18:59:00.000-05:00

The lesson today at church was to always be in prayer or have a prayer in your heart. But, after what I had recently witnessed I don't think that should always be the case....
The bedtime routine in our home is to have the kids gather around as we read the scriptures as a family. Then we have a family prayer. That is simple enough. Right?
Afterwards, we have the kids march upstairs and do their final "bedtime" routine. That is they go to the bathroom, brush teeth, set out clothes for tomorrow, etc.
Well, as they were all doing that I shouted to them all, "Say your personal prayers before I get up there!"
A few minutes later, I walked up stairs and saw Justice standing in the bathroom at the top of the stairs. He was saying his bedtime prayer. ".....And thank you for my mom and dad. Please help me to be a good boy. In the name of Jesus Christ.....", as he had his underpants down to his ankles and had a firm hold on his little tail with pee streaming out of it. I quickly said, "Justice! Not now! That is not reverent. Wait until you are done peeing. Then you say your prayers kneeling at your bed." He just looked up at me with a huge smile and those big brown eyes of his.

I love that boy.

FYI - "Tail" is what we call "Penis" in our home. It has been that way for a couple of years now; ever since Hope told us she wanted a tail like Courage and Daddy. It makes sense. It is in the right area and it hangs like a tail.

I'm famous

2009-12-05T13:35:00.000-05:00

I just discovered that my blog is listed on Alphainventions.com. The blog post I first found on there was "Waking from the Land of Nod." I must admit that that is one of my favorite posts also. I think David likes it too, even though he acts like he doesn't.
After the initial grumble from him about it.... "Tera, that's not even funny! Why would you do that?!.. et cetera..., I caught him secretly looking at it while in mass hysteria of laughter.
But, I wonder how my post got on the alpgainvention site...? It is a mystery that may never be explained. But, I am just glad someone appreciated what I had to say enough to share it with such a huge audience.

My Big Secret

2009-12-04T22:36:00.003-05:00

Ok, against my better judgment I am going to share some totally exciting news with you, because I just HAVE TO talk about it....

I AM PREGNANT!

The last pregnancy ended horribly and that is the hesitation for sharing the news this time. But, I just have to talk about it. Plus, our kids know already and are begging to tell their friends. And, everything so far is looking fantastic! Hormone levels are really strong. I am sicker than a dog, exhausted, and I have some crazy cravings. I have an ultrasound to make sure everything "looks" good on the December 14th. I am a little nervous for that one. My last ultrasound was a disaster.

Anyway, David and I have decided to only share with people who read my blog. We want to be happy about it and not telling anyone almost feels like a defeatist attitude. However, I am still a little scared. So, I ask that you also keep your discussions about it limited to this blog. Please don't talk about it at church. Don't mention it on facebook. Let this just be our secret for a little while longer. Then when I say, feel free to discuss amongst yourselves. I just don't want to tell everyone I see the bad news that I lost another one... Should it happen - and then to get all the sympathy looks and gifts... (But, I think this one will take. :) Pray for the baby anyway... Thanks....

OK... So be happy for me. And expect some crazy future blogging from me because I have some crazy happenings going on already involving this pregnancy.

BTW - I am 6 1/2 weeks today. The baby is due July 29th, 2010. His name will be Honour. Yes. I can feel it is a boy!

Dr. Mom to the Rescue

2009-12-04T04:25:00.021-05:00

I the midst of illness and writhing pain, I would tell my dad at times when growing up, "Dad, my stomach hurts." "Does your face hurt?” he'd reply. "No", I'd answer. "We'll it's killing me!” He would always end with.
I learned to go to my mom whenever I was sick.... She would run me a steamy hot bath, make me some "suicide tea", give me a glass of juice to wash it down with, and pump me full of white willow bark, Echinacea, and golden seal root. And, then she would lather me up with Sunbreeze, which in the natural equivalent to Vapor Rub. But because it was natural, I even had to put it ON my tongue.

Moms are the doctors in the home. Even in my own home, David may have the medical diploma out for everyone to see, but I do the doctoring.
When Hope gets one of her many UTIs, David just says "that girl!", and continues whatever he is doing. I on the other hand give David his script pad and tell him to not come home until he has an antibiotic in hand.
Tonight Faith came in our room crying that her stomach hurt and she felt like she was going to throw up because her throat hurt, too. David gave her blank stares. I on the other hand administered Pepto and gave her a sore throat lozenge. She is currently sleeping peacefully.
The other day when Justice got into whatever "yellow water" that poisoned him for 6 hours David went to work. But, I cleaned up after Justice, kept him full of fluids, called poison control, and ultimately took him to the ER.
When Courage was younger and almost died from his infection, who wanted to wait out the fever until morning? And, who rushed Courage to the ER? You guessed it. David waits. I rush. The doctors said he would have been dead by the morning. And, waiting even a couple more hours would have required amputation of his leg.
Yet, somehow David feels justified in making fun of me to his doctor friends and peers, because I take charge when the kids are in sickly peril. Why? Because after all HE is the doctor.... And, I am the lowly stay at home mom.
But, answer me this... Are we dealing with vaginas? Who needs their uterus taken out? Yeah. That's what I thought. And, who is the one who takes initiative when the kids are sick? Right-O! It's me.
So next time you feel inclined to joke about "Dr. Mom"..... SHUT IT! Dr. Mom ALWAYS comes to the rescue. And, Dr. Mom is always right. It's called "Motherly Intuition." Don't mess with Momma.
As a side note... David is a FABULOUS ObGyn! If you are prego, have a rank or "cheesy" wahoo, need your uterus yanked, or even need your fallopian tubes roto-rootered go to him. He's your man.

Oh My!!! What Now????

2009-12-01T23:35:00.008-05:00

Well, if CPS didn't call you yesterday. They might today.
I was woken up this morning at 5:30 am by Justice. With my eyes closed and as I was still trying to sleep, I heard Justice gagging by the side of my bed. He sputtered out, "Mommy, the yellow water hurts my tongue. Mommy I keep throwing up." Upon hearing that, my eyes shot open to see that he was covered in throw-up and had foam around his mouth and hanging like a beard down his chin to his chest.

I FREAKED!

I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom to get David who was showering. I told him to get out and repeated to David what Justice said to me. David hit panic mode, also. I rushed to see what Justice could have swallowed. And only found a sippy cup with water. David tasted the water and said that it had a soap aftertaste. But, we couldn't imagine that a soapy residue could have this effect of a 3 yr old.

Just to be sure, I gave him some milk to coat his stomach.

So, I watched Justice for a while to make sure he was doing OK.... He fell asleep and then woke up vomiting again. It was the milk that came up, very thick and in huge curds. He started begging me to take him to the hospital. His belly hurt severely and he had back pain, and vomiting.

I called poison control. They thought that it sounded like soap residue. And they told me to give him fluids. I did.

But an hour later they called back and I could only tell them that he wouldn't stop vomiting and crying to go to the hospital. They told me that that is not normal for dish soap residue and that I needed to take him to the hospital at that point.

I decided to give Justice a bath because he was covered in vomit. Then he decided he was better, and appeared to be looking better. I wanted to test that so I took Justice across the street to his friends to see if he in fact felt better. The last thing I wanted to do was walk into the ER with this same child - AGAIN.

But after about 5 minutes of being with friends, Justice said he wanted to go home. I knew at that point that we really should go to the ER. Plus, when we got back home from visiting friends Justice threw up all the water that he had just drank. He was keeping nothing down.

I got us ready, grabbed Justice, a blanket, and a throw-up bucket, and drove to the hospital. We met David at the ER. And, the nurses took us right back. Everyone just laughed (thankfully) at his crazy antics and misfortunes this last month. I am now getting pretty uneasy when I walk in to the ER carrying Justice... again, and again, and again.

We were in the ER for about an hour and a half so Justice could be observed. Since we really didn't know what he drank there was nothing we could do but wait and see what happened... No work up....

As time went on, he did improve in his demeanor and appearance. Of course at that point we were 6 hours into the whole ordeal.

The nurses gave him about 15 stickers and 2 popsicles, which he loved! I am glad he ate the popsicles and kept them down. But, notice the bed pan that came with the popsicles? I almost needed one too because I was going to start puking! He was EATING over it. I know it was sterile, but still. So, SOOOOO GROSS!

The doctor said 6 hours is the worry period. After that, if nothing happens, all is well.

We were then signed out of the hospital, but told that if Justice throws up again he needed to go back in.

Well, driving home Justice became sick again. His belly and back started hurting again. And, he demanded that I give him the bucket to throw up in and also that I turn the car around to go back to the hospital.

Sadly, I knew there was nothing they could do, so I went home knowing Justice had to make it through this.

When we got home Justice immediately fell asleep and collapsed on the stairs. To avoid any further accidents, I grabbed him and took him up stairs to his own bed. But, he still felt like throwing up and wanted the bucket, so I gave it to him. He put it on his face and fell asleep with it there.

Happily, I can say that when he woke up from his nap, it was like it was all a dream. He looked, felt and acted perfectly fine! Whatever was in his little system, left in 7 hours.