My New Baby

I am the proud new owner of this beeeeeeeeautiful 2003 Yukon Denali!!!!!!

We had been thinking about getting a bigger vehicle for some time, but had never decided on anything. We were basically waiting until we found the PERFECT vehicle. This was all thrown out the window, however, when Rob's mom and little RM brother came to town for General Conference.

Terry, my mother-in-law, had mentioned several times before that she was looking for a car, so that Kyle, Rob's little RM brother, could have his car back. When they came to town for Conference, Terry mentioned that she still hadn't found a car. I replied, "Well, do you want to buy my Malibu?" She surprised me when she said, "Sure!"

So Rob and I searched and searched lot after lot of cars for "THE" car. No luck. Then we went to KSL.com and searched the cars there. Finally, after Rob was sick of searching the web, he told me to knock myself out looking for a car.

Rob headed up to bed on Monday night, and I headed down to the office. I went to several dealership sites, and found nothing interesting. Then I searched KSL.com, and still found nothing. Then I searched autotrader.com, and I struck gold!

I found "THE" car!!! I went up and showed Rob the stats and pictures I had printed. He was asleep, although he claimed he was really awake, and remembered nothing of our conversation in the morning. I waited until I could get a sitter, set up a test drive, and went to pick Rob up at work. We drove it a little ways up the canyon, and were impressed with what a smooth ride it provided. I was really excited about this car, and I WANTED it.

The next morning Terry and Kyle left with the sold Malibu, and I was left without a car for the day. Rob and I thought about it, decided it was a good deal, and bought it.

It was ready the next morning at about 10. Rob came and picked me up, we loaded in carseats and kids, and I took him to pick up his Honda. It was finally MINE!

I love my new car. It has heated, leather seats, and is in great condition for a used car. If you can't tell by the picture, it is charcoal grey, not black. I love it!

Our Family Look-a-likes

Just in case you were wondering who our kids look like. I tried about 5 different pictures of Andie, and they all came up as "looks equally like mom and dad." Interesting. Maybe tomorrow I'll try it with pictures of me and Rob as kids.

Dearer Than Any Other

My mom.

Mother. Mama. Mommy. Madre.

To my girls she is "Bama." When Kate was little she tried to say "grandma" and "Bama" came out instead. The name stuck.

My mom just celebrated her 22nd anniversary of her 29th Birthday. A "real" woman never reveals her age. :)

Seriously, though. What can I say about my mom? Words are not enough to express my feelings towards her. Now that I have my own children, I truly appreciate all she has done for me.

Mom, thanks for all the stinky diapers you changed.

Thanks for caring for me and loving me.

Thank you for teaching me right from wrong. Do you want to come teach Kate the same thing? Apparently the way I'm teaching her is not getting through.

Thanks for teaching me the gospel. For sitting through Sacrament Meeting with whiny kids, missing out on Sunday School lessons, and suffering through the 3rd hour with a tired, cranky kid.

Thank you for letting me explore my surroundings, even though I might have fallen down or got hurt.

Thank you for letting me sleep with you when I got scared at night.

Thanks for teaching me to stand up for myself.

Thanks for teaching me how important it is to have good friends.

Thank you for making sure I did my homework.

Thank you for lovingly guiding many of my decisions.

Thanks for letting me test some of my new-found freedoms of "teenager-hood."

But thank you for giving me a curfew and making me wake you up when I came home.

Thank you for supporting all the things I was involved in. Drama, cheerleading, seminary, ect.

Thanks for helping me get through those rough teenage years.

Thank you for teaching me the importance of family.

Thanks for leading by example.

Thank you for allowing me to move out on my own. I learned many lessons the "hard way," but somehow I am stronger because of them.

Thanks for being a shoulder to cry on. More than once.

Thank you for being my ally, my aide, my biggest cheerleader, and my friend.


But most of all thank you for being my Mom, and for teaching me what kind of mom I want to be.




I love you, more than words can say.

The Ultimate Gift

A story that just keeps giving.

"When his wealthy grandfather dies, trust fund baby Jason Stevens anticipates a big inheritance. Instead, his grandfather has devised a crash course on life with twelve tasks – or 'gifts' – designed to challenge Jason in improbable ways, sending him on a journey of self-discovery and forcing him to determine what is most important in life: money or happiness."

Plot summary from http://www.theultimategift.com/movie.php.

If you have not seen this movie you NEED to! It is excellent, and it's rated PG. This movie will make you laugh, and will make you cry. It is definitely one of the best movies I've seen since Secondhand Lions. So, get out to the nearest Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, or Redbox, and see what you've been missing!

P.S. If you click on the picture, it will take you to

http://www.theultimategift.com/home.php?cid=4294967295&cat=home.

Our Miracle Child

DISCLAIMER: This story contains graphic pictures and text.

Wednesday night, March 7th, 2007, at about 6:45 pm Kate fell through the second story bedroom window (in our house) on to the driveway below. Rob was in the room with her, but had his back turned to her, changing Andie's diaper. Kate had seen the neighbor boy, Mackie, across the street and climbed up into the window seat to wave and say hi to him. The window had been open for ventilation since it was a beautiful day and I had been painting in our room earlier in the day. As she was waving she must have leaned on the screen, and fell through. I was in the kitchen at the time, and heard Rob yell something. I went in to see what was going on, Andie was laying on the bed, and both Kate and Rob were gone. I found out later that Rob had jumped out the window after her.

Rob brought her inside (he realized later that he shouldn't have moved her), and I asked Rob if I should call 911, or if we should just drive her to the emergency room. Rob didn’t answer me and just looked at me like I was crazy. I asked him again if I should call 911, and he said yes. Later I found out that he had yelled “call 911,” as he was going out the window after Kate.

I called 911, and stayed on the phone until a police officer arrived. The 911 dispatcher asked me several questions, address, telephone number, what the emergency was, and such. Then she started asking me questions about Kate, was she conscious, was she moving, ect. Then she told me to go outside so the ambulance and police officers could make sure they had the right address. As soon as the officer pulled up, I waved my neighbor, Sabrina, to come over, and I handed Andie to her.

Kate was rushed to the Emergency Room at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center here in Provo.
They checked her out, gave her some pain medication, and decided they wanted to do a CT Scan. Right before they moved her to do the scan, she started vomiting. At first it was a deep red color, and my first thought was, “She must be bleeding internally.” That was the first time I started crying. Rob just held me and told me that everything was going to be okay. The doctor explained that she had some abrasions on the inside of her mouth, and she had probably swallowed some blood which can make you nauseous. The pain medication could also have made her nauseous.

They moved her into the room to do the CT scan.

Then they moved her back into the room in the ER while we were waiting for the results. During this time, many nurses and doctors were coming in and out of the room. I recognized one of the nurses as Jamie Skousen who had lived in Batesville while I was in high school. I used to babysit her kids. I talked to my mom, and she said that Jamie was there to give me a hug because she couldn’t be there.

While we were waiting for the results, they cleaned her facial wounds. As you can see, Kate didn't like that very much.

The results from her CT scan came back, and at first they told us that it was clear, and they were going to move her to another room in the hospital. About 10 minutes later, the doctor came back and explained that they had missed something; she had fractured some bones around her left eye. They decided that she needed to go to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City (about 45 minutes away). I asked if they were going to life flight her, and they didn't know yet. Later they decided that she could go by ambulance, and that I could ride with her. If they had decided to life flight her, I would not have been able to go with her.

As we were preparing to transport Kate to Primary Children's, the doctor noticed some swelling in Kate's left arm. They did an x-ray, and found she had fractured both bones in her left arm. The splinted it, and we were taken to the ER at Primary Children's. I rode in the ambulance with her. She slept the entire way. I got so many calls on my cell phone. I talked to my mom, Lara, and Crystal. My good friend Lisa Mayberry also called me. Rob had called them to tell them what had happened. Grandma Terry, Rob's mom, and Aunt Jackie, Rob's anunt, met us at the ER, and Terry even got Kate to talk to her. Brian and Kim Campbell, Rob's boss and his wife, also came up there to check on Kate, Rob, and me. We are so blessed to have so many friends and family who love and support us.

Once we arrived at Primary Children’s they immediately did a "once over" to assess the situation and her injuries. Shortly after arriving (1- 1 1/2 hours later) they transferred her to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. They kept a close eye on her all night, and she slept well. Even with the tube down her nose suctioning out her stomach, a catheter, and a neck brace. They were still worried about possible neck or spinal cord injuries.

There was a glider next to her bed, and I tried to get some sleep. Rob went up to the next floor and found a couch to sleep on. In the middle of the night Kate woke up and asked for her daddy. I called Rob’s cell phone, but Kate had already fallen back asleep before he made it down to see her. Then Rob sat in the chair, and I found a couch just outside the PICU to sleep on. Rob and I each got about 2 hours of sleep that night.

Thursday morning, we had to leave for an hour while the nurses changed rotations. Because of the curtained walls and HIPPA Privacy laws, we had to leave. Rob and I left the hospital to go get some breakfast. We told her that we were going to get some food, and that we would be back later. Her nurse, Ken, sat in the glider and watched TV with her. Later that morning, Kate was complaining of pain in her right wrist as well. So they did another x-ray and later we found out that both bones in her right arm were fractured as well. Thursday morning she was also transferred to the Neuro Trauma Unit. A nice change from the curtained walls of the PICU. They were able to remove the neck brace, the catheter, and the tube down her nose. The doctor said she even helped him pull the tube out. Kate slept most of the morning, until about noon, and then she was awake the whole afternoon and evening. She even got up to go to the bathroom a couple of times. She did so well! She had her own TV, and got to watch whatever she wanted. We had several visitors that day. Aunt Jackie came to visit that morning while Kate was sleeping. Grandma Terry came on her lunch break. Bishop Pace came on his lunch break, and even brought Rob and I some lunch. Lara and Crystal brought Sara and Andie to see Kate, too.

Thursday evening, the nurse suggested that we unhook her from her IV (saline) before she went to the bathroom for convenience reasons. That was the best thing for Kate. After she was done going to the bathroom, the nurse suggested we take her on a walk around the halls. The walk soon turned into skipping, hopping, and running! Although, we had to be very careful and help "guide" her from bumping into walls. (Her left eye was completely swollen shut.) Kate explored every hallway and corner in the unit! She loved this freedom!

That evening Katie, a girl Rob works with at the Pharmacy, and her mom came to visit Kate. They brought her a Build-a-Bear complete with two outfits and shoes to match as well as a pair of pajamas for Kate.

That night Lara and Crystal brought Andie, and Angela (my boss from the flower shop) up to visit. Rob and I still hadn't eaten dinner, so after our walk, we decided to go down to the cafeteria to eat. Kate was able to come with us, and even got to ride in a wagon!

Once she saw me eating some french fries there was no stopping her. She wanted some french fries, and when I told her no (because she had thrown up apple juice earlier in the afternoon), she threw a MAJOR tantrum. I have never been so happy to see her throw a tantrum in my life! She ate french fries, part of my grilled ham and cheese sandwich, a pickle, and some of a push-up popsicle. And everything stayed down!

Friday morning, Kate ordered pancakes, scrambled eggs, and a strawberry smoothie for breakfast. She ate all of her eggs, and it was a big helping! They were able to take off her IV and all her monitors except the one on her toe monitoring her heart rate, and oxygen levels. She loved it! Once when the doctor came to check on her, the nurse told him that he had just missed her skipping down the hallway. The doctor replied, "She's out of here! If she's skipping down the hall, then she's ready to go home!"

Around lunch time my neighbor Stephanie, brought her girls Taylor, Ali, and Sabrina, who is the same age as Kate, to come visit. Kate was napping, and Stephanie and the girls decided to go get some food, and then come back to see if she was awake. When they came back, Kate was awake, and wanted to go on a walk. She showed Sabrina all around the hospital. It was so cute.

They released her Friday afternoon around 4:00. This is our family leaving the hospital. We went straight home, and found this...

Gerb and her family had "heart attacked" our garage door. Kate thought it was pretty cool. We took a picture of Kate and her Daddy under the window she fell from. That night the Relief Society president brought us a delicious meal for which we were very grateful. We all slept so well that night. I got more sleep that night than I had the previous two nights combined! I think it was just what the doctor ordered for all of us!

Kate continued to heal quickly. We had to wait about a week for the swelling in her arms to go down before they could cast them. Kate picked pink and purple casts. She thought they were pretty cool.

She had her casts on for 3 weeks. During those 3 weeks, she was not allowed to take a bath. We did lots of "baby wipe baths." She could not feed herself, dress herself, or go to the bathroom by herself. She did come up with some creative ways to feed herself towards the end of the 3 weeks. She would put food on the edge of the table and then suck/slurp it up. It was pretty cute.

Three weeks later the casts came off. It took Kate awhile to get used to using them again.

There was lots of dead skin under the casts that took a few days to flake off.

We have been so blessed. I know there were angels watching over Kate, and that prayers are answered! Enjoy the time you have with your loved ones, you never know when it will be over. Luckily, for us, our story has a happy ending. Kate is truly our miracle child.

Where were you?

Five years ago, today, our world was forever changed. Rob and I had been married for a little over a month, and were still settling into our new apartment. We woke up when our alarm went off, just like any other day. We got ready, Rob for work, and me for the gym. We only had one car at the time, so I was going to drop him off at work and then head to the gym to work out. We got in the car and started discussing our plans for the evening. We didn’t pay any attention to the radio that played softly in the background.

I dropped Rob off, and headed to the gym. I turned the radio up and realized that it wasn’t playing music. I changed the radio to another station, and it too was only playing news. I tried several other stations to no avail. They were all playing news. I gave up and started listening. What I heard petrified me.

Terrorists had hijacked a plane and had crashed it into the World Trade Center. I instantly changed direction and headed home. As soon as I got there I turned on the news. Then I called Rob at work to see if he had heard. He had, and they were listening to the radio to stay updated on the situation. He spoke some words of comfort and then said goodbye. I called my mom and dad, and my sisters. Suddenly family had become extremely important to me. My mom also had words of comfort for me. She said that our country was strong and that we would get through this hard time, and because of it we would become stronger.

I was glued to the news all day. I watched in fear as a second plane crashed into the other tower. I listened as yet another plane crashed into the Pentagon. One more plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field thought to have been headed for the White House. I thought of all those who were killed or injured. I thought of the families whose loved ones worked in those towers, and what they must be going through. I thought of my friend Sara who worked in downtown NYC, and wondered if she was okay. Her husband worked in the towers. I tried calling her, but couldn’t get through. It was a scary day for me. I wondered what lay ahead for our country and its people.

As I look back to that day, I realize one thing is certain. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Freedom is NOT free. It comes at a heavy price. We have learned many things from the attacks of 9/11. And though the fight on terrorism is not over, we are fighting for our freedom from terrorism. My heartfelt thanks goes out to those serving both here and over seas for our nation. May God bless you and watch over you as you fight for our freedom. Know that we are praying for you and our country’s leaders. May we never forget…

P.S. Feel free to tell me where you were when you heard about the attacks?

My Daddy, My Hero

My dad recently celebrated his 57th birthday. You are probably thinking, so what, big deal. Well this is a big deal.

In November of 2003, the same month and year Kate was born, my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Did you know that pancreatic cancer has THE highest fatality rate of all cancers (99% mortality)? Usually from the time of diagnosis a patient will live 3 to 6 months. Five year survival is much less than 5%.

My dad has beat those odds.

And almost 4 years later, it is a miracle he is still with us.

My dad is my hero. He is the best dad in the world. My dad has 3 daughters, so growing up we were his boys. We went camping, hiking, fishing; anything a father would do with his sons. I tell you, this man should be a Saint! Living with so much progesterone in one household. I'm sure it wasn't easy living with a wife and 3 teenage daughters.

My dad is the most patient man I know. He has taught me so much. My dad taught me how to bait a hook, start a fire, and how to run a lawn mower. He also has taught me to value the most important thing in life. Family.

This is my dad holding Andie about a week after she was born. I've never seen such a proud Papa.

My dad owned his own painting company. He painted houses. He worked hard to provide for our family. He loves to read. He reads stories to his grandkids, complete with voices for each character. He has accepted each son-in-law as one of his sons. He has a tender heart. He cries over chick flicks. I must have inherated that from him.

Through his battle with cancer he taught me to trust in the Lord, and to have faith. He has showed me how to "endure it well."

Dad, thanks for everything! I love you!