Hopefully the last surgery for me!

When I had Evan, the c-section took 2.5 hours. There was so much damage to my muscles that needed to be repaired, along with a ton of scar tissue that needed to be taken care of. The pain afterward was awful. Then, when I got pregnant with Kendal (just a few months later) everything was ok, until the last few months of my pregnancy. Then I started to get really crampy, constantly. When I went in to have her, and they put me on the monitor, I had a very irriatable uterus. It was just really really crampy.
Ever since she was born I have always had a dull, cramping pain. I've learned to just ignore it for the most part, and got used to it- until recently. Running the half marathon in January, and again in April, made me realize how bad it really was. After the race in April, the cramping was really bad and lasted for 3 or 4 days. So I finally went to see my OB. He said he has always wondered how I would do, after how bad my c-section was with Evan, it was one of the worst he has ever seen! He did an exam, and my uterus a so tender I almost hit the ceiling because the pain was so bad. He then did an ultrasound, and my uterus was enlarged 3 times it's normal size... It was time to get it out- soon!
I was ok with it. I knew we weren't going to have any more kids, so I didn't have any issues with that. I couldn't wait. Now that I was aware of everything, the cramping was driving me crazy! Strange how I learned to live with it, but once I knew what was really going on, I couldn't wait to get rid of the pain and cramping.
I went in for surgery on June 18th. When I woke up, I still had a catheter in, and the doctor told me the scar tissue was so bad, it had adhered my uterus to my bladder. He had to cut my bladder in order to get my uterus out...ugh. I knew this meant the catheter would be with me for a while. The surgery itself went fine. It was done laprascopically with a robot that the doctor controlled. They went in through my belly button, and then I have two tiny incisions on each side of my abdomen. I wont really have any scars, you can barely see them now. I spent one night in the hospital and came home (with the awful catheter).
I was supposed to rest and take it easy, but that hasn't really happened, so I have been much more sore than I think I should be. But, this is 6 weeks I get to spend with my kids that I don't have to work, so I'm not going to miss a minute of it! The catheter came out after 6 days (should have been 7, but I just couldn't do it for one more day, and pulled it myself- since the doctor told me I could when it was time). I have never been soooo happy to pee on my own before Lol!
Now I am almost 4 weeks out and doing good. I still get a little sore, but my biggest problem is how easily exhausted I get. Yesterday, I fell asleep at Haylee's gymnastics practice, twice! Hopefully my energy comes back soon! But, never having a period again (or the cramping pain) makes this whole ordeal worth it:)

Just some random thoughts..

It's been a while since I've updated our lives. We have decided to stay in Las Vegas. As much as I would move to Texas in a heartbeat, Vegas seems to be where we are planted, so we are determined to bloom here. What does that mean for us? It means Bryce will soon be a UNLV Rebel ( but he will NEVER admit it:) A big deciding factor for us to stay here (along with endless prayers and temple attendance) is Cade's football coaches and the Rams organization. We were very blessed to get him into this organization. They are the best in Southern Nevada, and his main coach is the football coach at Western High School. The Rams organization have 6 of their boys (men now) playing college football. These coaches are in it for the long haul, and have complete faith and dedication in Cade and his quarterback abilities and talent. This is such a great opportunity for him, and one we may not find anywhere else. So as long as Cade and the Rams both live up to their end of the deal, the one question we keep coming back to is *why change a good thing?*
Which brings me to my next thought (if I am boring you at all, feel free to skip this post, I am just putting some thoughts out there) What to do with our house. We have been working on a home modification loan for exactly one year. The bank finally came back to us with a somewhat reasonable offer. We have plenty of things that we love about our house, and plenty of things that drive us crazy. Now we have to make the decision to stay here or go and rent. There are plenty of pro's and con's to each. Some of the con's being: repair/maintenance - they both take time and money as a home owner. Neither of which we really have with Bryce in school full time, me working 3 days a week, and 4 kids all in different activities. We also have HOA dues, home owners insurance, pool maintenance, etc.. On the other hand, the kids love this house, the yard, the pool, the neighborhood, the space, etc.. but is it worth the extra money to stay? After praying hard about it, I'm leaning more toward renting, still within the same school boundaries. The kids love their school and teachers, so we really want to stay in this area. Of course being a homeowner is ideal, but at this point in our lives is it really the right/reasonable thing to do? We don't know for sure. I do know that whatever we do decide it will be our decision based on what we feel is best for our family, relying on the Lord for guidance in our decision.
Another aspect of *why change a good thing?* goes to the school portion. I have learned of a charter school nearby that does K-8th grade. Apparently it is pretty popular around here. I think there are definitely pro's and con's to this as well. I'm not one to jump on the "bandwagon" with the majority, but I can see why some do. Some of my thoughts on charter schools is that it would be nice for Junior High age, to give the kids more attention and focus on striving to improve their skills and encourage higher learning. Not throwing them into Middle school in Las Vegas - that is definitely a huge bonus. If I thought bad things were going on in middle school in Utah, I can only imagine what goes on here in Vegas. However, with that being said, the other thoughts in mine and Bryce's minds were - have some faith in our kids and their strengths. Can we truly have faith in them and their decisions if we put them in a "bubble" during elementary and Junior High? It is true that a lot of LDS kids go to this charter school, so what's going to happen when they get thrown into high school with the whole mix of kids and personalities, behaviors and choices that they have not had to deal with and stand strong against? So far Cade has made lots of friends at school, and football. Kids he would be going to Junior high with. Suddenly those kids would be gone, and he would be forced to start all over again. Haylee as well. She has some good friends at school. Although both would have some friends from chuch at the school, they still have plenty of friendships they have developed at school. Which brings us back to the question *why change a good thing?*
I know they are only in 1st and 4th grade, and a lot can change between now and Junior high years. I am not looking through rose colored glasses, I know they will have their struggles and trials. As a mom, my first instinct is to stick them into this charter school and save them from middle school in Las Vegas. But, after stepping back and looking at the big picture, I truly believe
that my kids are strong enough and have faith and core values needed to survive. I think we will at least give them a try. Bryce and I both agree that the more we talk openly and communicate with our kids, and not try to hide the evils of this world, they are better prepared to take it on, and stand strong. We have watched Cade with this and football. He is surrounded by not one single LDS kid on his team. He has seen how the kids talk and act. He realizes their choices are different than his, but he stands tall and is not afraid to be different and stand up for what he KNOWS is right. Haylee hasn't had to deal with this as much yet, but I feel we need to give her the chance to make her decisions and see what happens. We can take it one child at a time, one school year at a time. If things start to take a turn, then we can look at other alternatives, but at least we gave them a chance to make their own choices.
I think it is safe to say Bryce and I have been through it all. We have both made extremely bad and extremely good choices. We both grew up with the wrong crowds making all of the wrong choices. I now believe that as parents, it will help us as we raise our kids. We know what is out there, and we also know how accepted everything else is here in Vegas. That is why we know that every single day we give it our all to incorporate the gospel into all aspects of our kids lives. The kids are learning to pray just as hard as we do that we can make the right decision regarding our house, Bryce's schooling, me working and just our lives in general. We involve them in the good and the not so good in our lives, so they can learn how it feels when the blessings finally do come. It's a great testimony builder for them, and a great teaching tool for life in general for them to be involved.

So in my theme of *why change a good thing?* I guess I seemed to be answering some of my own questions. I do know that Bryce and I have great attitudes about this entire situation, considering everything going on. It seems to be contagious as our kids are pretty optimistic about whatever may happen. I believe we have already given them a firm foundation so that they already know that we will make the best of whatever may come our way.

I know some of you already do the charter schools and some do regular public school. So if you have made it through this entire post without falling asleep, I would love to hear your input on either side. The good and the bad of both sides. Hopefully I haven't offended anyone, just putting your thoughts in writing can sometimes help you realize what deep down you already knew:)

Every family has a story...

and our story started when I was just 16 and Bryce was 17 (babies, I know:)

and here we are 14 years later...

This is pretty much a typical day with our family

Now I get to see an incredible relationship everyday with these two. They have such similar personalities, and are best buddies. They laugh at all the same silly things, and love to hang out together.

My boys - the love(s) of my life!

Ahh, brothers. So glad they have each other. They will be tearing up the football fields together when they get older (who am I kidding, they already do now!)

Cade is such an amazing kid. He is so smart, athletic and loves the gospel. He was just 'drafted' (yes, at 9 years old) to the Rams for Pop Warner football. They hold the championship title from last season, and their quarterback just moved up in the division. So, Cade is now their new Quarterback. It's amazing at this age you have to make videos and send it in to the team, and everything else that goes into it. He's excited to be quarterback for a real team (some of the others have not been very organized) He has a big season ahead of him, but he is excited.

Then there is my sweet, tough little Evan. I love this kid! He is so fun, crazy, and busy all at the same time. He can take a hit from Cade, a tumble off a wall (or couch or chair) or anything that would send most other kids crying, and shake it off and keep going. He has the cutest smile and the best laugh ever!

Haylee is all sugar and spice. She is so carefree, and loves to dance. She is the nurturing one, and loves to help out with Evan and Kendal. She is super coordinated, and is the only one in this family that can stand on her head, and do the splits - all at the same time lol!

I am so bummed that weather was so bad! Kendal was freezing and this was the best picture we could get. Yes, I realize she looks miserable, but I had to have one with her wearing this cute dress! She is the princess of our family. She is the girly one who will only wear dresses, and changes them 15 times a day! She is the baby of the family, and she knows it by the way everyone loves her and spoils her!

These two are so sweet together. Haylee is such a great sister to her, and they will spend hours dancing in their room together. I hope they always stay close.

That is our story so far.. I love my family, and love the people my kids are growing up to be. I love the fact that I met my husband so young, and have been able to grow up with him. I love him more everyday and can't wait to continue our story...

Where we go from here..

I know everyone is wondering what on earth we plan to do with our lives now that Bryce has been laid off. Well, it wasn't as if it was a huge surprise. His company has been letting people go as jobs were completed, and even letting go a majority of the office staff. We almost felt as if we were 'walking the plank' as we were waiting for his turn. That is just the reality of construction these days - even for a superintendent. So back in September, when it became official, we looked at eachother, and decided we had better come up with a plan.

I should start by saying, he has been my rock through this. He has had such a positive attitude, which isn't easy to come by in this type of situation. He is there for me, each time I suffer a nervous breakdown and just want to cry my eyes out lol. One of the first things he did, was go talk to our bishop. What a difference that made. He helped him to see that this could be such an incredible opportunity, if we make it one. Sure, there are lots of people losing their jobs, and just struggling to find something else to get a paycheck. But, we have the chance to take this 'burden' that we have been given, and turn it into a blessing.

Several years ago, when I was going to nursing school, I seriously thought I was going to die. Seriously. Why was I killing myself to get through school, have my third baby, and be pregnant with my fourth, all before I graduated??? Well, I did it because it was what I knew I needed to do. Why? I wasn't sure. At the time, Bryce was making more money than he ever had in our lives. But, I did it anyway, and graduated with high honors. I certainly didn't do it alone, I had Bryce, the kids, our families and I'm certain a whole army of angels bearing me up to get me through - and I did it with flying colors!

Fast forward to 2009. We have our 4 kids, I'm 29 and Bryce is 30, and he gets laid off. Here is where I start to count my blessings that I pushed forward and graduated from college, even with as hard and impossible as it seemed at the time. It has turned out to be one of the biggest blessings we ever could have imagined. I already had a job, all I needed to do was pick up one more shift a week (for a total of three days a week) for a full time employee. It was a great answer to this temporary issue, but what about the long term outlook? Things are not promising in construction. We have come up with 101 different ideas on what do with our lives, maybe even more. We started out by applying for every superintendent job we could find online, all out of state - mostly in Texas. However, it didn't feel right to go chasing construction all over the country with no guarantees that this same thing wont happen again in 5 years. So, it was back to the drawing boards. This has seriously taken so much prayer, fasting and temple attendance. I'm guessing that was part of the Lords plan for us. Put us in this situation, and see how much we will rely on Him. Well, we certainly have more than I could have ever imagined.

We have finally come up with a plan that we feel is right for our family. This was a decision that has taken so much more thought and prayer than probably any other decision we have ever made together. We have decided that Bryce will go back to school. He has been going to school for construction management, but we are making a clean break from construction. Starting over new, which can be a very scary reality as we are (almost) 30 years old and have 4 kids and two houses. He has decided that he will get his Bachelors in Science, with a major in Athletic Training. He firgures if he has the chance to do anything he has ever wanted to do, he may as well do something he loves.

So, here is our plan. He will go to CSN (College of Southern Nevada) for the next 2 years to get some of his general classes out of the way, and get his GPA as high as possible. Then, he will apply to BYU. They have a great Athletic Training program, and well, this gives him the opportunity to be right there with the BYU football program. His dream come true:) If he does not get accepted, then we will head down to Texas. That would be my first choice, as I would go to Texas in a heartbeat! Either way, that may be where we end up, since they have such a high demand for athletic trainers in their high schools and colleges.

That is our plan for now. Not to say that it wont change tomorrow, but for now, this is what we feel is right for our family. I will continue to work my 3 days a week, and he will do side jobs to get extra money while he goes to school. Is it ideal? Not exactly, but this is the position we have been placed in, and I think we can do great things with this opportunity. I know someone has said that our lives are falling apart... I believe it's quite the opposite. This is turning out to be one of the best opportunites, not only for us as a family, but for Bryce. He has always done construction, it is all he has ever known. Now, because he lost his job, he has the chance to do whatever he wants. We tend to do things backwards - as most people make this decision at 18. We were already married at that age, so this is now his chance. Funny how life works sometimes.

It's going to be a long road for us, but we are ok with that. Nothing ever worth it is easy. He will have me, the kids, our family, and that same army of angels bearing him up to get hime through this. Our kids are incredible, and will do great - wherever we end up. We have faith that where he does get accepted into school will be exactly where we are meant to be.

I hope all of our friends and family that are reading this will have a great Thanksgiving. I know we will:)

Bye bye hair...

It's gone.. all gone (ok, so I'm being slightly dramatic). I chopped it off today. There was seriously enough hair on the floor that it could have made two full wigs. I have been growing it out since Kendal was born. It got way too long, thick, and heavy. I think I lost a good 5 lbs. today:) Anyway, my head is so light - and this is going to be sooo much easier to take care of. Yay for short, easy hair!

What we've been up to

I realized I hadn't updated my blog in a while, so I started looking through the pictures on my camera. It was no surprise to realize that 95% of the pictures were all football pics. So, here is what we have been up to...

Going to Cade's games...

Going to Utah to go to the BYU/Utah State game...

and Bryce's family coming here to go to the BYU/UNLV game.

What else have we been doing besides going to endless football games? We went to Utah for conference. The first few days were great, but Bryce and Evan got really sick just before we came home - plus it was FREEZING up there. It was fun to see the family and hang out for a few days though. Can't wait to see my family again this weekend - they are coming for the Utah/UNLV game. Football season is definitely a fun/busy time of year for us!

Getting to know you survey

I can't remember who tagged me, it's was awhile ago. I am just now getting around to this -

1. What time did you get up this morning? 9:00 (We were all up WAY too late with my parents last night).
2. Diamonds or Pearls? I'd take either - I'm not picky!
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Twilight
4. What is your favorite TV show? Friday Night Lights and American Idol.
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Not a big fan of breakfast, but usually cereal or toast.
6. What is your middle name? Ann
7. What food do you dislike? Stuffed mushrooms - thanks to my sister making them when I was in the first part of my pregnancy with Cade.
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Daughtry - it has been for awhile.
9. What kind of car do you drive? GMC Yukon
10. Favorite sandwich? Turkey on wheat
11. What characteristic do you despise? People who think they know EVERYTHING
12. Favorite item of clothing? Anything that looks good
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where would it be? Probably back to Puerto Rico - it was sooo relaxing.
14. Favorite brand of clothing? I love my Lucky jeans
15. Where would you retire to? Where ever my kids are
16. What was your most memorable birthday? I remember most of my birthdays growing up were shared with the Superbowl parties.
17. Favorite Sport to watch? College football - LOVE it!
18. When is your birthday? Jan. 28th
19. Are you a morning or a night person? Night.
20. What is your shoe size? 6 1/2
21. Any pets? Spirit our dog.
22. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? I'm NOT pregnant!
23. What did you want to be when you were little? When I was 5 or 6 I knew I wanted to be a nurse just like my mom.
24. What is your favorite candy? Anything chocolate.
25. What is your favorite flower? The ones that I get from Bryce.
26. What is a day on the Calendar that you are looking forward to? Disneyland 5K in September. It was a great excuse to go again.
27. What are you listening to right now? Silence... which is not a good thing. I better hurry and finish this so I can find out what they are up to.
28. What is the last thing you ate? Pizza and breadsticks.
29. Do you wish upon stars? Haven't for a long time. Maybe I'll start again.
30. If you were a crayon what color would you be? Yellow.
31. How is the weather right now? Hot - I love it!
32. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? My hubby
33. Favorite soft Drink? Coke
34. Favorite restaurant? Training Table - miss it!
35. What was your favorite toy as a child? I had a couple of Cabbage Patch dolls that my girls now play with.
36. Winter or Summer? Summer - I hate Winter .
37. Hugs or kisses? I'll take either.
38. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate.
39. Coffee or tea? Neither.
40. Do you want your friends to email you back? Sure.
41. When was the last time you cried? When Bryce's mom found out she had cancer.
42. What is under your bed? Probably a sippy cup and a lost shoe.
43. What did you do last night? Went to football practice and BBQ'd with my parents around 9:30 or 10:00. We then ate banana splits. That is why we slept in until 9.
44. What are you afraid of? Something happening to Bryce or the kids. And snakes!
45. Salty or sweet? Sweet .
46. How many keys on your key ring? 2
47. How many years at your current job? I have 2 jobs. Mom=almost 9 years. A nurse= 2 years.
48. Favorite day of the week? Sunday - that day we are ALL together for the whole day.
49. How many towns have you lived in? 3 I think, but have lived in lots of houses in those towns.
50. Do you make friends easily? Yes, but the more kids I have the harder it gets.

Where have we been???

Alright, I am starting to get hate mail/phone calls (mainly from my blog stalkers.. you know who you are:) as to where all of us have disappeared to! I used to blog all the time, and as you can tell, I am one who loves to blog only with pictures to go along with it. Well, since the snow hit, and computer crashed, it has kind of been off and on as to it's workings. It no longer accepts the card from our camera, so I have a ton of pictures, but can't get them uploaded to my computer right now. So, I decided to pop on here to update, although this is driving me crazy that I have no pictures to attach yet, hopefully very soon though I will.

-We had a friend of ours do a photo shoot of our family at the dinosaur park. She emailed us a sneak peek, which is the one at the top of our blog. She got some great pics, now I just need to get the CD from her so I can post the rest.

-We had a good christmas, although, we have all been feeling sick off and on for weeks now... hopefully soon we can all get feeling better - and stay that way.

-Cade is stoked to be signed up for football again that starts in March. He is on a team with two friends from our ward, and is sooo excited.

-Haylee is loving her piano lessons. She is doing great, which I was kind of surprised at since she is so young.

-Evan..... well he is still Evan. He is sweet and wild at the same time (is that possible) He got a tricycle and helmet for christmas, and he just cruises the house all day long. We should have thought of the helmet a long time ago, he falls (or jumps) off the counter, table and couches all the time. Since christmas, I feel much safer about my crazy little guy. Normally all of his stunts don't even phase him, but the helmet gives me some peace of mind.

Kendal is still our sweet Kendal. She loves to play with the older kids. They keep her entertained. She can get quite cranky if they are not around or she is not included. She takes one nap a day, but goes to bed every night between 6:30-7ish, and sleeps for a full 12 hours.

Bryce is doing ok, better than he was. His migraines and nausea is still hit and miss, but we had several good days lately that we are all so thankful for. As you all know, he is a huge BYU fan, but is glad this season is over!

Me - well, nothing too exciting. I had gotten called to be a den leader for Cade's cub scouts, and just found out that Bryce was called to be my partner. Should be fun. Oh, and American Idol started again last night, and Haylee said we were "Rockin' a party" for it. The party was complete with all of the chocolate you can imagine!

- Our FHE group was at our house last week. Faith and Alisha were awesome (as always) to help out. Bryce wasn't feeling so hot, so he missed out on being nailed by marshmallows by all of the kids, but Matt and Steve took the hits like 'real' men -haha! Happy birthday Faith - I think we all gained a few extra pounds with Alisha's deseret. We have been doing this once a month, for almost a year now, and it's a blast. You guys are the best:)

Well, that is my update as to where we have been - no more complaints! I promise I will have pictures soon

Recovering....

Bryce is doing well recovering from his knee surgery. He tore a ligament in his knee while taking his MMA (mixed martial arts) classes at the Warrior training center. He loved training there, and he got to meet a lot of the big name fighters. For you UFC fans - that included current champion Forest Griffen.

Just some random pics of what we have been up to

Cade wrote and illustrated a story for the PBS Young Writers and Illustrators contest. He got a certificate of achievement that he was pretty proud of!



The first game of the season he was the goalie. He stopped a couple of balls from getting by him.


Haylee's preschool class on one of their field trips. They went to Plant World, but her favorite part was the cat that lives there. Evan was pretty into the cat too, he kept following it wherever it would go.

Just another typical day with Evan. He loves to wear hats, always has, and princess crowns are no exception. This was during dinner time last week. He actually managed to eat with it on, upside down, like it was no big deal. His little personality just cracks us up!

I can't believe how fast our little Kendal is growing up. She is 6 months old now, and is all over the place. She isn't crawling, but she can roll and move her little body to whatever it is she wants.

We're making progress....

Here are some of the before and after pictures of our house. This first one isn't quite the entire before. The kitchen was all blue with a green and blue boarder. By the time I took this picture, Bryce had already done 2 coats of primer.

Before:


After:
Before: yes, they really did paint those colors - and find a wallpaper boarder to match, and curtains!

Bye bye green and blue! This was the last to be painted, so I thought I would take one last picture...


After:

I couldn't get the before picture to upload. We painted, put in the new wood floors, and carpet down in the living room area.

That's it for now, we are working on the upstairs. I will post updates as we get more done.

Just a quick update......

After several visits to the doctor over the last week, and having my hematoma drained several times, I am finally on my way to healing! Thanks for all the phone calls and prayers.
Having four kids is starting to not seem so bad, now that I can function without being in horrible pain:) My mom left on Wednesday, and we have been doing pretty well. Evan and Haylee have both had colds, so that has made things challenging, but in all, we are doing well.