My sis-inlaw, Kati, has this picture on her blog and it made me laugh. Since most of you who read my blog can't see hers, I decided to figure out how to put it on mine, too.

Enjoy!

Guess what we did last night?

Probably no big surprise since I talked about it yesterday.

We had a great time, and the kids were very creative this year.

from left to right -

Emma's, Kimi's, Josh's (the spider), Aaron's (carved by Daddy), Ben's, and Andrew's (carved by Mom)

Happy Halloween!

by the way, No Cavities! Yay!

So now it's Tuesday and I went back to the doctor's office today.

They really just wanted to check my blood pressure because the medication can make your blood pressure drop, and she was worried that would happen. My blood pressure is great and the pain is gone. Well, almost. I traded the sharp stabbing pain for a very small dull ache right behind my eyes. Most of the time I hardly notice it. I would gladly make that trade any day. It has been so wonderful to not have to take Tylenol just to nurse Andrew and then sleep with the heating pad. My research time was well worth it!

Today is the family dentist trip. I do not like this day. I'm not really against seeing the dentist and having my teeth cleaned. What I am against is having all my kids in the waiting room by themselves for the half hour it takes to get my teeth done. I am also not a fan of the hygenist talking to me like a young child about how to floss and how often I should do it. I know all that. Doesn't she remember that she told me all the same things six months ago? I have to explain to her everytime that I floss as often as I can. I realize that it isn't everyday like she wants, but I do it probably four times a week. Most days I can't even find the time to eat breakfast. How am I going to find the time to floss? Maybe she'll go easy on me this time.

We may be carving our pumpkins tonight. We scraped out the goo on Saturday, but we ran out of time before we could carve the faces on them. If we do, I will post pictures tomorrow.

Have a super day!

Today I am having a FANTASTIC day!!!!!!!!

The only bummer about the day so far is the fact that I went to vote and realized that I didn't have my driver's license with me, so therefore I couldn't vote today. That makes three times that I've been there and haven't voted yet. Oh well. Another day.

What has made this day fantastic is the fact that I paid $2.85 a gallon for gas (isn't it sad that I'm excited to pay $2.85?). But wait, that's not all.

I have had horrible pain everyday since the middle of June. Sometimes all day, sometimes just when I feed Andrew. Four very long months. I had mastitis once for a few days, but that cleared up with medicine, but the pain did not stop. I have continued to feed Andrew anyway, and I must admit, sometimes I have not been very happy about it. I knew that if I just gave it up I would be more unhappy though, so I stuck it out. I talked to a nurse yesterday, and she said it sounded like Raynaud's Syndrome. I had no idea what that was, so I did a little research. It turns out that I probably have had Raynaud's Syndrome for a long time - like twenty years or more. It is a disease that makes your body act all wonky when you get cold. The capillaries shut down and your blood flow is restricted, so you have pain. It usually manifests itself in your hands and feet, but can be other places too. I have always, at least since high school, had problems with cold hands and feet. In the winter I have to put on gloves before I go outside because if the cold hits my hands they instantly hurt. Sharp, knife stabbing, kind of pain. I found out through my research that sometimes you can get it when you breastfeed and it affects the blood vessels and so there is the same sharp, stabbing pain. While I was reading about this study, I just was crying and crying. It was such a relief to know that it is a thing, and that something can be done about it. I immediately picked up the phone and called my doctor for an appointment. I went this morning. I told her what was going on, and showed her the articles I printed off of the internet about this study. She had never heard of such a thing and wanted to talk to some of the other doctors in the practice. She did so and they all agreed that it was something wonderful that many of their other patients would benefit from too. It said in the article that you can take a very low dose of a medicine that is a calcium channel blocker and it doesn't pass through the milk and the relief of the pain is almost immediate. She gave me a prescription and wants me to come back on Tuesday to see how it's working. I SO HOPE THIS WILL WORK! The study included 12 women and it worked for all of them. I will be so wonderful to not have pain all the time, and it is extra great to know that maybe my research can help other women too. I'll let you know how it goes.

Plus, I have a no kids date with my husband tonight. We are going out to dinner with my parents and all my brothers and sisters and their spouses. My brother, Scott, is home for a couple of weeks from Afghanistan, so we are having a night without kids so we can visit and have a good time without all the noise and disruptions. Should be fun!

Okay, Kati, quit bugging me. I've been super busy.

So, I went to Oregon. We (My dad, sister Jolene, Andrew, and I) left on Thursday morning around 10:30 am (Sept. 25). We pulled into the driveway of my grandparents house - now my cousin Lisa and her family live there - at 11:50 pm (Utah time). My siblings - Monique, Rick, and Brian arrived about 5 am (Oregon time). Jannette and her kids arrived that morning too, but I don't remember when. My Mom and Eric flew up on Thursday, so they were already there. (Scott was in Afghanistan still, although he is home now on a two week leave - YAY!) My grandparents have 19 grandkids and all but five were able to make it. Some of my cousins I haven't seen for 17 or 18 years. It was nice to catch up.

One of my favorite things about my grandparents house is all the hydrangeas. They have walls of them growing around the yard. It is past the time of year when they are in bloom - usually around early September is the peak of color - but there were still a few blooms around that still were vibrant. This blue one is my favorite kind they have.

The funeral was on Saturday, September 27, 2008. It was very nice. My grandma is buried in a beautiful place on a hill with lots of trees that looks out over the valley. The one drawback is all the squirrels that live in the trees. Grandma HATED squirrels!

This is a picture of my Grandpa, my Uncle Val, my mom, and my Aunt Julia (standing) at the family viewing on Friday afternoon. (I wish I always took fabulous pictures, but alas it isn't so.)

This picture, however, is one of the best I've ever taken. It is looking north from the Devil's Punch Bowl just north of Newport, Oregon.

Here are some more pics of the coast. The one on the left is my baby's first time seeing the ocean. (Devil's Punch Bowl) It was cold, foggy, and very windy. We didn't spend too much time actually on the beach. Dad and Jolene took Andrew back to the car after a few minutes, and my brother Eric and I wandered and gathered shells and rescued starfish that had been stranded by the tide for probably fifteen more minutes before we were too cold to stay out.

We decided to leave to come home on Monday (Sept. 29) after we got back from the coast. We left Corvallis about 9:30 pm (Utah time) and drove through the night. We got home at about 11:00am. It was a long trip, but worth it to me to go. (Thanks Tom and Barbara for making it possible!)

My Grandmother was an amazing person. I treasure the quilts that she has made for me, and it breaks my heart that there will be no more. They warm my body and my soul. She taught me how to make baked apples and yummy chunky applesauce. She tried to turn me into a lady by telling my to not chew my ice, and never put more on my fork than I could put in my mouth. I loved being with her and playing cards with her and being in the garden with her. I loved the smell of her house (which is gone now by the way). I just loved being in her presence. I loved her. I will miss her.

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This is what I found when I poked my head outside at 7 am on October 12, 2008. It was so quiet in our neighborhood that I could actually hear the snow falling.

This is a cute picture of a couple of my favorite people.

It's been a busy couple of weeks.

Here is an overview of what's been going on around here
(I only have a few minutes).

We've been doing some of this-

A week and a half ago (Sept. 13) we put sod in our backyard.

Thanks go to the twelve or so "extras" that appeared to help us.

I've been doing A LOT of this-

Seventy quarts of golden deliciousness, plus enough peaches in the freezer for about 50 or so pints of peach jam. Yum-O!

We've been doing some of this-

Aaron turned three years old on September 21.
(Happy Birthday to Aunt Sara on that day, too!)

That was the last day of doing peaches so of course the birthday dessert was a peach cobbler.

Josh has been doing a book report. He read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

His book report had to be a diorama so he made a Quidditch Game.

I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but he made little guys on brooms flying around. They were all made from those little twist ties you get with garbage bags sometimes. He twisted them into little people shapes and painted the heads and arms and legs then made them little robes to wear. It was very clever. (If you click on the picture you can see a larger image to see the guys better.)

The reason I only have a few minutes to post today is because my Grandma Ballard died last night. She was born October 9, 1915. She would have been 93 years old in a couple of weeks.

She hasn't been doing well for a long time. She fell the first week in April and broke her hip. She has been in a nursing home ever since. My Grandpa has been living in an assisted living center and going back and forth to be with Grandma everyday. The situation has been hard for them both. Grandma had a hard time remembering things and was in a lot of pain. It is a good thing that she died, but we will all miss her very much. I wish I could have visited them more often over the years, but it just wasn't possible. I am probably leaving tomorrow (Thursday) to go up to Oregon for her funeral on Saturday and will return on Monday. I need to go and make arrangements for the trip and to figure out what to do with my kids while Mike has to work. I hope it all works out. I'll try to post again around the middle of next week.

On Saturday, September 6, we had the opportunity to attend the baptisms of Mike's nephews, David and Nathan.

Here's their family. I'm pretty sure that left to right it's

David, Keri, Cameron, Shane, then Nathan.

(I'm sure about who they all are, but I may have switched David and Nathan, but I don't think so.)

Anyway, it was the neatest baptismal service I have ever been to. It was their ward baptism, but they were the only ones, so it was just friends and family. Nathan was first. He went right down. The water came to about the middle of his thighs, so it wasn't very deep. His feet came up so he had to be rebaptized. After he was done it was David's turn. David is very afraid of the water. For the past year, at least, they have been talking about baptism and what will happen when you get baptized. When it was David's turn, he had a really hard time overcoming his fear. He cried and cried. He really wanted to be baptized, but he was almost paralyzed with fear over going under water. Finally, he went down on the first step, holding to the railing the whole time. Then the next step. Then the next step. Finally he was standing there next to his Dad. Shane said the prayer, but David couldn't make his legs bend. After a few minutes, Shane said that they would have to try again another time. David said "no" that he wanted to be baptized and could they try again. They finally got some swimming goggles for him to wear and he overcame his fear. I know he will be blessed for giving up his fear and trusting in God so that he could be a member of the Church. Unfortunately, his head didn't go all the way under before his feet came up so he needed to be baptized again. He said he could do it, and he did. It was so neat, and the Spirit was so strong as these boys became members of the Church. We almost decided to not go because we have a lot to do in the yard (we are getting sod for the backyard on Saturday), but we went anyway. I am so glad we did.

Here is a photo of all the grandkids on this side of the family, except Emma. She had just left with Grandma and Grandpa to ride with them to Keri and Shane's house.

Here's a cute picture of my oldest and youngest boys.


While we were down in Utah County, we decided that we needed to stop and see Grandma Kathryn. She just turned 91 a few weeks ago. It has been a couple of years since we have been able to see her, and I'm sure that our chances of spending time with her are few from now on. She enjoyed having us there and meeting Andrew.

Here's a picture of Emma with her namesake.

Mike with his Grandma

She has been such an example to us! I often think of her on days when I would like to sell my kids and wonder how she did it with ten kids. I know that times were different then. She didn't have to battle the video game or the television and things like that, but I'm sure there were things then to tempt her kids and take them away from the things that they were supposed to be doing and learning. We will always love her, and we miss being able to see her and Carolyn more often.

Moving on to other subjects-

Here are some cute pictures of my little guys. Aaron likes to lay on his tummy next to Aaron and play with him and have a talk. I think it's pretty cute!

Kimi was assigned to do a "shapely book report". It is due tomorrow. She was supposed to pick a book on her reading level and make a book report that was in the shape of a major element in the book. She chose to read "The Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson. When she was trying to think of how to do the shape, she said,"too bad I can't make it 3-D." I said, "why can't you?" and she said, "yeah, why can't I?" so she did. This is a picture of her finished bridge.

She came up with the idea, and I only helped with figuring out how to make it work. I also punched out the flowers with one of my punches. She did the rest. She also has to attach a summary of the book and a few pictures that she has drawn of some of the things that happen in the book. She has worked really hard on this project for about month, and I am proud of her for her determination to make it a really cool book report.