Mother's Day Love

Let us remember the truth that Heavenly Father has created all of us. We are meant to live in families. In order to survive, Mothers have been given the ability to know their kids are cuter than all the other kids. Knowing my kids are the cutest ever is one of the joys of being a parent. Sometimes I want to eat them they're so beautiful!

Best pic ever from Siri

Tender!

The banner they made for me :)

A pic of my sisters in law, on the Thack side, before I was officially in the family. I love them all so much and am thankful for their examples and wisdom.

Moms used to be young and less wrinkly at one time :)

Mark's mom in about 2002

Jane's in the Primary class I teach. 

I brought props and took a pic of each kid for their mom

My Grandma Fetzer!

My mom as a young girl. I just love this picture.

Mark's family last month. A good bunch.

Mark Steve Bill Milt & Sandy Ted James Tom Anne

I glued bows on her head for months, now Siri has the most beautiful thick hair!

Happy Father's Day to Mark this week...he and Siri 2008

prego with Siri, July 2008

prego with Ruby Christmas Day 2012

prego with Ruby

prego with Jane 2010

Jane :)

sisters!

Jane

prego with Siri 2008

I'm sorry, don't hate me. I never had major problems being pregnant. I got incredibly tired and puked in the first few months, but it was a once a day and I'm better kind of sick.  I'm so thankful to have our 3 girls. They are the treasures we can take with us after this life on earth. I pray everyday that I can be better so that they'll have a better example to follow. 

unacceptable

I have crossed the line of acceptable blogging etiquette. It is not polite to not-blog for over a month. So, apologies and here are some updates!

The end of April we spent getting the townhome we rent out in Ogden ready for new peeps to move-in. We had never painted or re-carpeted and it needed it. Sadly I haven't seen what the 'after' looks like, but the new renters are in and all is well (minus the noisy pipes that I've been told will cost $500-800 to fix with a new pressure valve. Doh!).  Huge thanks to our neighbor for going with Mark and spending all day helping him paint and get it ready.

sorting out and playing with 'treasures'

dang cute

Loved doing another session of The Gauntlet training with Liz and these ladies at Crossroads Fitness. I have frozen my membership for summer so that I'll play outside more and be with the kiddos!

While Mark was working on the townhome thing, I was writing lists in the dark: We were getting ready to leave the kids for a week so my mind was just worrying and racing. I'd write things down if it was keeping me up at night. All my worry and tetris-like planning paid off. Once we left I didn't worry at all! I love them dearly, but I think it was good that I didn't miss them like I thought I would. Mark and I had a great time, and they did as well. Everyone slept and ate well, no one got sick, and we all lived happily ever after :)

Mark was hired to shoot a destination wedding in Jamaica (of a couple who lives in Utah). This was the first time he'd shot outside the U.S. and with it falling about the same time as our 10 year anniversary, we decided to make a trip of it!  I just LOVED the climate. It emphasized what a deserty desert we live in. My face was cracking and peeling for a good two weeks after we got back. The resort was nice, and even better for all the crazies who took advantage of the unlimited drinks. It took a little over an hour to get there on the shuttle from the airport. It's a run down country and there is a lot of poverty. It was sad to see, but at the same time I think its probably sad for them to see all these tourists come in and enjoy excess. And it's true, they boast Bob Marley and reply "Yah Mon" to everything. The water and beach was beautiful.

The food was good, not great, because I don't see how you can prepare really good food for so many people. I loved all the fresh fruit and vegetables that were always available like passion fruit, melons, apples, pineapple, beets, cucumbers. They had ox tail, chicken liver, lamb and terrible ice cream. The made-to-order pasta and omlets were our favorites. The jerk chicken was a lil spicy for me, but Mark loved it. I read Behind the Beautiful Forevers  and another book called The Fast Metabolism Diet, both of which I enjoyed. Mark read The Boys in the Boat and The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. We watched old episodes of The Office and The Lord of the Rings (what was I thinking agreeing to that-totally gave me nightmares). Our favorite was the morning we took a trip to Blue Hole Falls. It was a crazy bumpy ride there, but well worth it! Our guide was a 25 year old guy (who looked like a 16 year old boy) and you could tell this was his backyard. He knew every nook and cranny and jumped from crazy high heights. The entertainment they had for the guests was awesome-steel drum bands, lip syncing elvis impersonator, an NBA game projected on a screen on the beach one night, and classes and things going on all day. I had a hard time for the first day, it took time to relax and enjoy not being busy. By the end I wouldn't have minded one more day :)

Me jumping at Blue Hole Falls

our flight didn't leave until after midnight...the enthusiasm dwindled as the night/morning went on.

but then we arrived to this!

paddle boats and sea kayas to use whenever

coconuts are such a cool fruit/drink/delicious

I love reading

it was windy but nice, and only rained once

we mean business

yes, we participated in beach water aerobics

Hottie! So thankful to be married to him.

compare this picture to Nacho Libre jumping into the wrestling ring, very similar I think ;)

Huge thank you to all the peoples that made our trip possible, including the couple that got married, my mom, Liz, Tim & Sarah, Kelli, Amy, Adina, and Kris! 

It takes a village

Dear everyone who helps me in my life, THANK YOU!  I have deep gratitude for my family, friends and neighbors who help Mark and I with our kids.  Whether its while we take a trip or so we can get the things done in life that we need to. And the stranger who holds the door open or tolerates the craziness when we are in line at the grocery store etc. So thankful for my village!

A few things to share:

My sister gave me a gift card to Liberty Heights Fresh for Christmas and I finally used it this week. That is my idea of a good time shopping :)

Mark got a deal on a massage through UpZen health last week. Probably the best massage I've ever had. Yes it was relaxing, but it was the kind where you can feel it for the next couple days. I also saw a chiropractor there. Mostly for interest sake, but I also have a few issues and some random back pain. Turns out my spine is not as healthy as I'd think. He suggested doing therapy for the next 6-9 months and I can probably get the curvature back to normal and relieve my symptoms. Too bad I don't have a few thousand dollars laying around. Tell me your thoughts if you've been to a chiropractor.

We still haven't turned on our sprinklers. I type this as I look out the window to our yellow lawn.
Jenn and her fam came to visit, the best! I love playing musical children so the cousins can play as much as possible. They move into their new house today :)

Ruby is potty training. We started about 2 weeks ago. She's gone 6 days without an accident! Yesterday I took her to pick out some new undies. Kind of a big deal when  they can get their own bodily fluids in the toilet. Yay! She had shown interested a few months ago, but I didn't want to train her until she was more interested. But then she got a wicked bad rash so we'd try to keep her diaper off. It naturally made me try to get her to go on the toilet. She's been the easiest of the 3 to potty train, in part thanks to Siri and Jane for being good examples! She'll be in a crib until she figures out how to get out, so night time potty training will be a whole other task down the road.

We own a townhome in North Ogden. We are having tenants move out and new ones move in next week so we'll be busy trying to clean/paint and hopefully get in some new carpet. If you happen to be free Tuesday the 28th, Mark would welcome any company who'd like to help him paint :)

We went to St.George the end of March, loved it as usual. Easter was great. I loved having General Conference at the same time.

Ruby got xrays and saw her neurosurgeon, Dr.Brockmeyer, yesterday. He said her spine looks great and we don't need to see him anymore. Best news!  This week I got a call from a genetic counselor who said that the genetic test we've been waiting on has finally gotten approved by insurance. More best news! The test will tell us if the gene mutation that was in the mass that was removed, is  or is not also in every cell of Ruby's body. The results won't change anything now, but will help us determine how to care for her going forward.

We also got an email from the oncologist that has been working with us since Ruby had surgery. Here is part of the email:
"Long story short, the people who seem to know most about pediatric melanoma (at St Jude, USCF, and Moffit Cancer Center in FL) AND adult melanoma here locally (Dr. Grossman) feel like there are likely spots in this big lump that were removed that are worrisome for a LOW GRADE (meaning less aggressive melanoma).  USCF actually called some of the cells "melanoma", but this was also based on the CDKN2A mutation (i.e. they look the same under the microscope, but with knowing this other piece of information, they would call something more aggressive).   No one really seems to think that this is a melanoma arising from a congenital nevus which is an aggressive form of melanoma that we would definitely treat.  We are calling this an atypical melanocytic neoplasm AND feel that it has been taken out in full (i.e. there aren't any tumor cells remaining that we know of at all in Ruby's cute little body).  For this reason, we don't feel like giving her treatment for melanoma at his time is in Ruby's best interest. "

"FINALLY - for follow up - we do think that Ruby may be at high risk of developing new lesions.  I think we should see her every 3 months for now with a chest XR, a neck ultrasound, and a YEARLY MRI of the brain.  At each visit, we will get a thorough skin exam, feel for any weird lymph nodes and then use the images above to assure that nothing is going on.  I also spoke with Dr. Grimmer and he would like to see Ruby YEARLY and does feel that cosmetically, he can make her neck scar look better, but he wouldn't want to do this for a year or so to make sure that nothing is growing back at that spot."



More best news!  I mean, not the part about developing new lesions, but everything else. Seriously, Ruby is a blessed girl and I'm so happy and thankful. This is all better than the best case scenario I had imagined way back when we found out there was something wrong.

and a quote for good measure
"Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all. " -Julie Beck

meek maow

Meek Maow translates to Mickey Mouse in Ruby language.

Update on the lady: She had an MRI last Monday of her c spine and brain. We went to the Riverton location and my eyes were opened. If I ever have a chance to have an appointment or procedure there, I'll do it. It was so quiet and calm. All the rooms are bigger and the cafeteria food is better :)  Minus the part where Ruby woke up after they gave her contrast and she had to have a few more doses of sedation, it went really well.  They also drew blood so that if/when insurance approves genetic testing, we'll be able to see if she's missing the P16 gene or not. Otherwise, everything looks good! So thankful to have her, and to have her be healthy. Ohhh she melts my heart.
That afternoon we went to see dermatologist Dr. Vanderhooft. She had seen Ruby once as a baby, but not since. She said we could come back another time for a biopsy, or do it right then. After being up early for the MRI that morning and spending so much time driving,  I did not want to make yet another appt. Little did I know how ugly it would be for Ruby. Although better to just get it over with. They used a needle to numb 2 spots on her neck and then punched out 2 holes and did a couple stitches. Ruby was very very scared and sad. On the bright side, she is the most amazing patient. I'm so glad I get to take care of her during this time as a toddler. An adult certainly wouldn't be so easily appeased by a dum dum sucker.

Today she got the stitches out and Wednesday is an appointment with a Dr.Grossman up at Huntsman. He specializes in melanoma and I think our meeting is more for information and interest sake at this point.

Instead of getting a loan for a second car, we decided a water heater was a more vital investment. Our water heater was 21 years old and I had grown to cross my fingers every day that it wouldn't explode! We got a softener and a tankless water heater. I'm surprised I didn't take a picture of it to post on here to show off where our funds are going! It took them 10 hours to get all the work done, and they have to come back to repair all the drywall holes that were made to connect everything.

In more exciting news, Jenn and her family were finally able to buy a house! They've only been renting since the beginning of January, but the market is insane in Palo Alto. Your chances of being outbid are very high, so I'm thankful they were able to snatch a house and will start settling more when they move next month.



I took Siri and Jane skiing last Friday with Grandma Carol, Aunt Sheri, Aunt Liz, and lots o cousins. Jane hasn't been all season, and it takes a lot of patience to teach your own kids. I was thankful Siri could hold her own and didn't need me. It was fun to be up there with so many of us! It is scary bare up there, pray for rain or snow or any kind of wetness.

 For Pi day we got to go to an awesome Pie Party at some friends we got to know when we lived in Draper. I loved living there and am so thankful for those friendships. Oh, and the pie was awesome.

Never did I realize you could make an egg salad with tons of vegetables in it. d.lish.

hey cool girl

birthday fun!

My sweet mama took me to dinner on my birthday