School's in session!

The boys have been so excited to start school, especially Drew he has been counting down for awhile. I took the boys shopping and they had tons of fun picking out their new shirts and getting ready for the big day. Here they are in front of our house.

Drew all ready with his sling.

Here's a close up. Oh he has glasses now too, can't remember if I ever posted about them (which probably means I didn't)

Here's Jerrod, he wanted to stand in front of the tree for his picture.

Gideon wanted his picture taken too. Do you like his shirt? I think it's hideous but he picked it out and it has become his favorite. He also has his "snack bag" because he was getting ready to go play at a friends house for a bit.

Here's another one of Jerrod, I had a hard time getting a smile out of the boy.

broken arm

So the previous post I posted about Jerrod and some of the new developments with him. Well one day when Adam was taking Jerrod to the dr for a follow-up our great friends the Babcocks were gracious enough to watch the kids for us. The boys were having tons of fun jumping on the trampoline and the story has it that they were playing tag and poor Drew was the unfortuante boy who when he got tagged fell backwards through the net, that ripped and landed on the ground on his elbow.

Adam got him and took him into the peds office who asked us to bring him in and they would send him off for films. They saw the Dr on call who thought he may have broken both his humerus as well as his ulna or radius. The good news is that he only broke his humerus but the bad news is that he broke is through his elbow joint. The even worse news is that the ped first of all did not even read the report until lunch break the next day, and then mis read it and thought he broke the shaft of the bone rather than the joint. If this was the case he would have been fine waiting a few days to see the dr, but with a joint he needed to be seen right away. So after arguing with the ped, and then calling the ortho on my own, getting them the report, and then the films they wanted to see him immediately. He has a pretty serious break and surgery was a possibility for awhile and would have most likely been a necessity if we had waited like the ped wanted. He wears the cast for another 1-3 weeks and he'll be as good as new.

Because it's a pain to get shirts over the cast we have been letting him sleep without a shirt, now it's fun because all of the boys think it's awesome to sleep shirtless. Another new adventure in a house full of boys.

adjustments

So we are trying out best to get into the swing of things with my school starting and getting the boys ready to start school. In addition to this we also have some changes with Jerrod. From the time Jerrod was little we knew he struggled to stay on task and follow directions, he also seemed to overreact to stimuli and seek out stimuli when it was calm and quiet.

We have talked to our pediatricians about this multiple times and they always wanted to wait and see. When he had his yearly check-up for school we brought it up again and the doc said he in no way had ADHD, but he may have a sensory integration disorder. This means that he perceives input differently than you and I.

While I don't know what this entails I do have access to wonderful drs at school. I sent an email off to a Psychologist at our school and she gave me some things to read and some recommendations to have him seen by a Psychiatrist. Jerrod had one visit before our summer trip, and then had some testing done when we got back.

We got the results on Wednesday and Jerrod was diagnosed with ADHD (what I have always thought he had) along with a sensory integration disorder. We just started him on some medications to help him keep his anxiety under control while we start with a 40 session treatment plan for him to learn how to control his body and emotions better.

I'm excited to have things to do to help him, but I also worry about labeling him. Adam and I get the task of figuring how to to fight for what he needs while still treating him like he is the same. I know we are up to the task and I am so glad we are working on this now before it has become an issue at school and with friends. Jerrod is such an awesome kid and I can't wait to learn how to help him learn better.

long time!

Wow it has been awhile since I have blogged. I am going to try and do more small posts more frequently. I always felt like I had to post about all of our activities, and well I just don't have time for it.

So here is the rest of the things we have done to get you all caught up and then I'll start blogging from here.

I missed posting about Sammie's first birthday, and well she turned 1 last March, the 22nd to be exact.  She is walking, jabbering up a storm, and causing problems as much as possible. The beginning of the summer she also got her first real haircut after Gideon gave her a trim on the top. I was so sad.

Gideon is as funny as ever and loves playing with his brothers. He has a love of hiking and riding his bike. He has also now ridden all of the rollar coasters at disneyland, including Splash Mountain.

Jerrod got a hair cut, shaved it all off for summer. He has lost 2 teeth and is a huge help around the house. He asked to ride the tower of terror at california adventures if you ever ask him what he wants to do.

Drew, well Drew is our reading machine. He's pretty cute and will read anything he can get his hands on. He loves just about any genre and always wants to go to the library.

Our summer was fun, but short. We had the opportunity to move into a little house in the nearby neighborhood with, wait for it, an awesome pool! We love it and use it almost every day. I had to remediate a course from first year and passed it, yay for moving on! Then we went on a long vacation, first to seattle for a week to see my dad and go to a friend's wedding from school, and then to Utah. Adam had his work conference, and then we stayed in a cabin in Eden for a week and relaxed. We then made the trek home and tried to get the house in order and then I started school again yesterday.

So there is our summer in a nut shell.

Goal=post more!  See you soon!

Academic Decathlon

So the boy's school does an academic decathlon where the students all compete in different subjects in their classrooms to see who is the best and then those students get to complete with the students in different classrooms to get the school champions. Both Jerrod and Drew got to compete and we are so proud of both of them.

Jerrod had the opportunity to show his mad math skills with story problems. Here he is with his competitors.

 For one problem Jerrod wrote an answer, then erased it to write a "fancy 2" that looked more like a 3 and got the answer wrong. Bummer. Then he dropped his pen and got flustered and had a hard time remembering the problem.

 He did a great job, and even though he wasn't the school "champion" he is the smartest 6 year old I know.

 The next day Drew got to compete for reading. This kid is a reading machine. He flies through books and thoroughly enjoys them. Here is a picture with the classroom champions.

 Here he is cutie Drew, he is seriously the sweetest boy I know, look at that smile! Drew got down to the final 2 and then they asked a question about antonyms. Well since he has never learned that that word means opposites he got it
wrong which stunk.

 On the bright side I'm glad that both Drew and Jerrod had the same result though, because it would have been hard to have one win and one not.  Good job boys, and next year we get the chance to do it again!

Jerrod's 6!!!!!!!

Ok I'm super late I know, but Jerrod turned 6 back on February 22nd and he totally deserves a post of his own. :) The lucky kid got the celebrate 3 times, I know how awesome is that? So we started the celebration with a sunday dinner of his choosing,which was bbq salmon, salad, and cheesecake. It was delicious!

Blowing out his candles.

Such a handsome kiddo!

Our friends the Babcock's came over for the cheesecake and presents. They have 3 kids, Karli who is 8, Kloe is 5/6 9not sure which but same age as Jerrod) and a son Zyan who is 18 months. They are so cute and get along with my kids great.

Nothing like finishing the night out with some Glee Karaoke.

On Jerrod's actual birthday we had some brownies for dessert complete with candles. I had to be at school all day so not much of a party.

When my class had finished and I had a free afternoon we picked the kids up from school and went to Disneyland. It was fantastic, the place was empty and we got to ride all the rides we wanted to plus some in the time we had.  Silly boys waiting for Midway Mania.

Here is Jerrod on his favorite ride, Screamin'. It's so much fun to watch him get excited. This ride was extra special because he kept his hands up the whole way! Impressive I know!

Here's the proof of the hand raising.

Hold on, Gideon is one crazy driver!

Have to show our muscles and pull the sword from the stone.

I didn't get any pictures at dinner, which stinks, but the Babcocks came and joined us for dinner at the Cafe Orleans. It is one of our favorites places to eat in the park because they have fabulous Monte Cristos. You should try some next time you go!

Hereare all of the boys spinning the big ball.

And yes Sammie and I were there too.

Happy Birthday Jerrod, we love you and are so grateful that you are part of our family!

Struggling

Tonight Adam and I were able to go on a date, which was wonderful and much needed. I miss having time with him so much. After we got home, put the kids to bed I came back to look over some pharmocology material and thought I would do a quick check on facebook first. Well facebook was done so I went into my blog, not to post mind you, but to check the blogs of my friends and family. I saw that my cousin Lauralee had posted this video and while I usually choose to skip videos, especially church ones why? I'm not sure, but I do. Well I'm so glad I had.

Here is the video for any of you who actually read my blog and if you want to take a minute to watch it.


Well there it is and it's how I feel. I am having a hard time, life is so hard right now. Medical school is harder than I thought it would be. It is currently taking so much of my life and time that I am forgetting about some of the more important parts of life. Along with that I have let so many hurtful comments affect me more than I should have. Most of those have come from people at church and I have to admit I have grown harder and more calloused than I like to admit. While this message is powerful, what is more powerful is the spirit I felt while watching it. I been seeking the spirit and tonight it was a sweet reminder as well as an answer to prayers.

I do have a testimony of the gospel, I know the Savior lives and cares about me. He cares about how I feel as I try to memorize and learn an overwhelming amount of material. I know he wants me here,  he wants me to be successful, and more than that he wants me to seek him out. I will continue to ask for his help and as I rely on him he won't let me down. 

crafts

Here are some of the projects I worked on for Christmas presents.

I made this throw quilt for my sister. I used an Arcadia honey bun and my favorite Kona Snow for the white. I really loved the way it turned out. I backed it with soft flannel, hopefully this quilt gets lots of great use, I hope you like it Carly!

For all of the nieces and nephews I made these little bags. The bottom pocket is used as a crayon holder and it's the perfect size for a coloring book and a few other toys for church or anywhere else they want to take them. I also made one for Gideon who likes to drag it around everywhere calling it his purse.

For Bethany and Hannah I felt that they needed something a little more mature, so I came up with these using a Giddy charm pack, some random pieces of Bliss and some scraps. I think they turned out pretty cute.

And the back

Here's Hannah's, I think they both turned out really cute. I was really overwhelmed with the thought of making these before I started. The bags are all completely lined as well as the pockets for the girls. Now I think I'm going to make me a new bag for my medical supplies and a couple of scripture bags for Drew and Jerrod.

The back of Hannah's bag.

I also made a bunch of table runners, but I didn't get any pictures of them :( Oh well, maybe next time. Now on to finish some more bags and a quilt for my mom.

Happy New Years!

I can't believe it's 2011! I'm excited for the start of a new year and the time to reflect on the past year. Last year has brought a lot of changes to our family such as:

1. Having a suprise bonus baby=Sammie that has brought many blessings and smiles to our lives
2. Moving to California for med school
3. Adam starting with Western Govenor's University that allows him to work from home
4. Jerrod starting kindergarten
5. trying to find balance between school-family-church-exercise-and all of the other little activities that happen
6. Gideon getting potty trained=love only having 1 in diapers
7. Getting to buy girl things!
8. Watching the boys become better friends (I just asked them their favorite things and they said spending time together and playing with each other, how cute is that!)
9. Spending Christmas at home without family around.
10. Watching Drew grow and love scouts.

These are just a few and I'm sure I could continue this list all day. We have been very blessed this past year and are so grateful for all of our experiences.

With this reflection I have been trying to think of what I can do to help our next year be even better. I know one of the hardest things with our family, and I'm sure many others, is trying to fit so many things into so little time. Combining medical school with a family and 4 kids is definitely a challenge and now that I know a little bit more of what I need to do to be successful in my many roles I feel equipped to make some changes and goals for myself.

The goals I am going to make for this year are going to take constant balancing and stretching of myself, but that's what it's about right?

1. I really want to plan out my days better and make sure that I follow through with my plan the best as I can. I know things will always come up and I can be flexible with that, but when I set a goal to get up to get things done I really need to try and follow through with that.

2. Read my scriptures. I was thinking about when I felt I was the most spiritual and I believe it was when I was in high school and further pondering about why that would be I believe it is because I was very diligent in working on my testimony. I am going to try and fit in 5 pages every day, I think that will help me stay focused without taking as much time away from my school and family.

3. Lose 20lbs. I really want to get back into the rest of my clothes. Having 4 babies has been hard on my body but now is the time to get the rest of the weight off and be comfortable with myself.

4. Continue with keeping my evenings and Sundays study free family time. It is such a good break for me and lets me spend time and enjoy my sweet family.

That is all I am going to make for now, I may change/add/delete these but this is where I'm going to start.

Bring it on 2011, I'm ready!

Pigtails!

Last night while Sammie was eating her yogurt I tried to get some pigtails in. I think they turned out pretty cute. They only lasted about 30 minutes until she had pulled them out, but it was fun while it lasted. She really hated me putting them in, I think we'll need to work on it so she can get used to having her hair done.

 A little about Sammie, she is now 9 months old and quite the little mover. She has been crawling for about a month now and started pulling herself up on everything she can about a week ago. Since then she has figured out how to walk holding on to her little walker and has attempted to stand by letting go of whatever she is holding onto. She has been able to balance for about 10 seconds before she sits back down. She is such a smart little thing and we love having her around.

Gideon is her favorite person and she laughs more when he's around than anyone else. She is still a petite little thing and I just today packed up some of her 3-6 months clothes. She is still wearing most of her 6-12 months clothes, but with how much she loves food we'll see how long that lasts. She enjoys her freedom and moves all over the house. One of her favorite things is to sneak outside when one of her brothers leaves the sliding glass door on our patio open. We have to keep a close eye on her and Adam has some creative ways of blocking her into "safe" spaces so he can work and she can move around safely. I really can't believe how fast she is growing!