Not a very good couple of days!

I found out yesterday that Babette's son, Malachi, was beaten severely by an asian gang in Ogden for trying to protect his new fiance from their harrassment. He was placed in critical condition at McKay Dee hospital. They beat him bad enough that his brain stem was shoved into his spinal column and was brain dead upon arrival. Malachi passed away at 3:30 this morning. I haven't seen my cousin, Babette, for quite some time. And haven't been close to her kids since I was young. But they are great people! And Malachi will surely be missed! The police arrived on the scene very quickly after being alerted to the beating. The gang was still beating him when they arrived. The police were able to arrest 9 and are still looking for at least two others. In my opinion, they need to hand down the maximum punishment allowed for this senseless cruelty...murder! I can't really afford to do so, but I am going to go to Utah for the funeral as soon as the body is released from the investigation. I feel like the family could use all of the support that they can get right now. Bambi, (Babette), is really having a hard time right now. She has not eaten since she found out about the incident. And she has a really bad heart murmer that could cause a lot of problems for her. She not only is mourning the death of one son, but is also worried about Malachi's fiance and her other son that was involved. Micha, the other son, tried to intervene and was beaten as well. They knocked him out cold. His fiance, Sarah, got away long enough that she was able to run into the bar to tell them to call the cops. However, when she returned to the scene, they went after her and knocked her out as well.

My heart is broken for my family today! This shouldn't have happened! What is wrong with the world that an inocent man, trying to avoid confrontation and protect his family at the same time, has to suffer so much pain and end up dead because of it?!

It's amazing...

I knew that I was struggling in the past year or so to be my happy self. I use to be so easy going, such an optimist, usually very happy and spontaneous. But I have struggled with a short temper and irritability. And I hated it! I especially hated being short with my kids. I would get mad over the littlest of things. But I have noticed that, since my surgeries, I have been a much happier person! I laugh about things instead of getting mad. I play with my kids more. And I am much easier to get along with. I think that my body knew it was sick and just was unable to deal with things the way that I would have liked. I could be reading too much into things, but my attitude has completely changed in the last month. I am a happier person and I am loving and enjoying life again! I love it! And I'm sure that those around me are loving it too...I know my kids are!

I am going to make this short and sweet tonight. I have been busy cleaning house today, it's getting late and I am exhausted. I finally just decided that I am tired of the clutter in my house and am starting to do something about it. We just have too much stuff for our little house. So I decluttered one of the counters and the top of the white cabinet in the kitchen. As well as the top of the fridge. I am planning on taking this next week to declutter as much as I can. Along with the day to day things that need to be done...dishes, laundry, picking up toys, etc. I am just to the point that I have to do something. Otherwise, my head is going to explode!

I have also decided that I am going to start doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred again. Starting on monday. I had started to do it a couple of months ago. But, due to the increasing frequency of my gall stone attacks, I was unable to continue. But I had started to lose some weight with the few times that I had done it and I have lost some after my surgeries. So I definitely want to keep that trend going. And I am going to do everything that I can to do so. I am looking forward to feeling even more healthy as I lose the pounds. I know that it will boost my attitude even more as I feel better about myself.

Well, I think that is it for tonight. I am struggling to keep my eyes open. So off to bed, I go.

Not much time lately...

Seems like life is speeding up again. Not necessarily because there are a lot of specific things going on. But just because I am chasing kids non-stop, running errands, cleaning house, and what ever else comes my way on any given day. I haven't had much time to write in the past couple of days. It has been relatively uneventful, but busy.

However, two days ago, we found out that Skip's prostate cancer has returned. He is suppose to go back in a few weeks from now to have it frozen again. But the doctor only gave him a 50% chance of getting it all this time. Which aren't the greatest odds. But we have to keep our hopes high and allow the Lord to take care of this situation in His way. I know that whatever happens, it will be the way that the Lord wants it to be. It doesn't make it any easier, knowing that it could mean a miserable battle for my dear father-in-law. But knowing that Heavenly Father is the one in control eases things a little bit. We just have to remember that He loves us and will take care of us all. And there is always that other 50% that will take this burden from Skip all together.

Mom and Dad should be here again this weekend. I am really looking forward to that. Even though they will be working on going through things at Grandma's again. I just really miss my family. I wish that they were closer so that we could spend more time with them! I know that my kids would benefit from that as well. They love their grandma, grandpa, & Aunt Sarah! And they love all of the time that they get to spend with them! But it would be GREAT if those times came in more of an abundance. For now, we just make the most of the times that we do get.

What a long day!

Well, after I updated the blog late last night, I didn't end up going to sleep until around 1:30 or 2:00 a.m. Ava woke up around 3:30 needing her diaper changed. Jayson woke up shortly after that. And then Kasey was up at 5:00 to go to work. So, needless to say, I didn't get much sleep. I sure hope that I can get out of this insomnia rut soon! It sure makes for a long day!

After the kids woke up this morning, we got ready and went in to Grandma Larson's to help Mom & Dad go through some of their boxes that they have in the garage. Grandma still isn't doing very well. The dimensia is getting worse. She told Aunt Pat that she was trying to remember her name the other day. Therefore, she is still in the home in Bountiful. And she will probably remain there until the day that Grandpa comes to take her home. It saddens me to think of her sitting there day in and day out. Not remembering that Grandpa is really gone and losing more of her grip on reality. I wish we were closer to her so that we could go and visit. Anyway, all of the siblings are coming to Burley sometime next month to go through all of Grandma and Grandpa's things in the garage and the house. Grandma has, in times of more normalcy and recognition, requested that it be done as soon as possible. But that means that Mom and Dad have to move all of their stuff so that they know what is what. We ended up not being any help. But it was nice to be able to spend some time with them.

After that, I took the kids to Taco Bandito for lunch. It was nice. Well, except for all of us being a bit tired. So after that, I brought the kids home to try to take a nap. Ha Ha! They absolutely refused! First time in a long time that they have done that. So we went up to Skip and Lola's, ate dinner and spent some time with them. And now the kids are both in bed asleep. Which is where I am planning on heading very soon.

So it wasn't an eventful day. But with the lack of sleep, it sure made for a long one! Hopefully I can get some sleep tonight so that tomorrow will be better.

Wow...So that didn't work at all!

It has been so long since I have written! I don't know what I am going to have to do to get into the habbit of doing this, but it has to change! This is not only a benefit for me, but for my kids as well. They need to know what they did as little kids and how we spent time as a family. They need to be able to read about their accomplishments and everyday happenings. I have got to do this!

So much has happened since I last wrote. To start off, Ava had her 1st birthday and is now15 mo. old! I can't believe how fast the time has flown by! She is now walking all over the place and is into absolutely everything! lol She has a few more teeth, and her hair is starting to grow! It might actually become long enough to put into a couple of pony tails some day! She is in love with books and her brothers leap frog alphabet train that she rides on everyday, all day long. She has also developed and attatchment to her pink and red flower and stripes blanky that Mom made her before she was born.

Jayson is now 2 and 1/2 yrs old! And boy, is he a smart one! He blows my mind with all of the things that he is learning! And I can't even take the credit for most of it! He picks things up from his cartoons, movies, and I don't know where else. He is recently learning about going under, over, up and down. Everytime we go near a bridge, he tells me if me are going under or over it. And anytime we go near a hill of any kind, he tells me if we are going up or down either side. He is still completely addicted to Thomas and Friends. And his collection of trains is growing all of the time. He knows the names of all of the trains and will gladly tell you who is who when we go to the store to pick out a new one.

Kasey is still working hard. He is currently working on a project in Twin Falls. They are re-doing a parking lot and landscape for an LDS ward building. He took me by there to show me last weekend. It sure is a mess! lol He has also been working hard on moving some of our sprinklers and trying to figure out problems with the pump that runs them. All along with the day to day stuff that happens around here. He is a busy boy!

And then there is me. I had to have my gall bladder removed two and a half weeks ago. And they had to go back in two days later to remove more stones. Let me tell you, that was not a fun experience! But I am glad that it is over! I have been dealing with gall stone attacks, without knowing exactly what it was, for 10 mo. now. The first ones occurred last October and they were horrible! I just all of a sudden was writhing in pain and was literally grunting and gasping for air! It hurt SO bad! And it happened twice withing about 20 minutes of each other. With both lasting about 10 minutes each. Kasey insisted on taking me to the hospital. But all they told me was that I was having muscle spasms and offered me muscle relaxers. But since I was still breastfeeding Ava, I told them that it was not an option. So they told me to go home. But the attacks became more frequent in the past couple of months. So I finally went to the doctor. And two days later, I was in surgery. Mom took the kids to Utah for a week so that I could recover. That ended up being bitter sweet. Bitter, due to the fact that it was the first time that I had really been away from the kids! I missed them so much! I ended up calling several times a day just to check on them and hear their voices! But, sweet, due to the fact that I really needed that time to heal. And Kasey and I got to spend some time together. We just spent the evenings together watching some of our favorite shows and enjoying each other. It's been a long time since we were able to just relax and spend some quality time together. It was really nice!

Kasey and I just recently celebrated our 5th anniversary as well. There is another example of how fast the time has flown by! I can remember so many details of that day. Just like it was yesterday! But it just so happened that our anniversary fell on a friday. The day before Mom was going to bring the kids home. So I made a really nice dinner, we watched a movie, and just spent the evening enjoying each other. The next day, Kasey and I went to Twin and just bummed around for a while before Mom and Dad brought the kids back. Of course, we had to get the kids something fun. So we got Jayson a train (of course) and a dinosaur. And we got Ava a book and a little tinkerbelle pail. (She loves to hang them on her arm like a purse and carry them all over the place! lol)

I was SO excited when the kids finally came home! I couldn't stand to wait the last few minutes before they got here! I watched out the window and even sat out on the steps when I finally saw them at the end of the road! lol It was worse than a kid at Christmas waiting for Santa to come on Christmas Eve! And ever since, Ava hasn't let me out of her sight! lol Anytime that we go up to Skip and Lola's, she is afraid that I am leaving her again. (They are the ones that watched the kids during my first surgery.) Jayson is more secure with it though. As long as he has his trains to play with and his blanky, he is just fine. lol

Well, it is getting really late. So I guess I should go and try to get some sleep. I started into some insomnia while the kids were gone. I guess I missed them TOO much! But I am finding it hard to kick it. Some nights I sleep like a baby, and others I can't sleep until midnight or later. It stinks! But, if I want to keep up with the kids tomorrow, I had better at least try to get a couple of hours. So I will continue tomorrow...Goodnight!