Dadam took the kids along for the ride for dropping off Uncle Troy at his meeting. While Uncle Troy was in him meeting Dadam took the three oldest to the West Gate in Glendale. The kids loved playing in the splash pad and obviously taking a few pictures for Dadam :)
Addison's fight with Crohn's disease is daily part of her life. Tonight we celebrated her uniqueness and strength at the Take Steps for Crohns and Colitis walk at the Phoenix Zoo. To prepare for tonight I visited Addison's school on Friday and had her classmates, teachers, principal and friends sign her team banner. She is truly lucky to be loved by so many!
As we waited for the walk to begin we enjoyed catching up with friends and family. We were joined by Alex's habilitation worker Lacey and her husband, friends from church, college friends & Uncle Troy. Our family has gotten to enjoy Uncle Troy visiting this weekend for a work meeting. Addison was thrilled to to learn that so many people were coming to walk with her!
Walking at the zoo creates a great atmosphere for the walk. Uncle Troy has never been to the Phoenix Zoo so it was fun to share with him. The animals were out in force tonight as well so that made things even more fun!
As you can see Ms. Lacey and Addison are carrying the banner. Before the walk started Adam approached Ms. Lacey and her husband and delegated them the banner holders. He was wanting to push his baby sister during the walk. Little did he know she would want out of the stroller just as the walk was starting! The stroller ended up being pulled in the wagon!!
Enjoying our treats after the walk.
The splash pad and carousel were available for the kids after the walk. We came prepared to get wet! Addison was very excited to participate and not have a plastic bag tapped on her arm :) Adam thought the water was too cold!
Having fun on the carousel.
Our evening coming to a close...we had such a fun time with our friends :) Thank you to everyone that came, donated and loves and supports Addison. We know how lucky we are to have each of you in our lives.
When we returned from the walk everyone was asleep in the van except Uncle Troy and me. Adam and Addison headed straight up stairs, Amelia and Alex didn't have as much success! Amelia enjoyed a quick snack and snuggle time with Uncle Troy. When Dadam went to take Amelia up to bed he found Alex on the bottom step of the stairs. He ended up falling off the bottom step and then I helped him up to his bed. A fun filled day indeed :)
Addison was able to get her cast off today!! The doctor asked us a lot of questions about her activities though. The doctor said no bikes, scooters or excessive activity for the next three weeks, but showers & swimming are totally allowed :)
Grandpa told Addison that getting her cast off would tickle. She took that to heart as you can see. I was surprised she didn't want to keep her cast!
Alex was diagnosed (4/18/12) with the Norwegian flu after throwing up in the car (four times). He also had an ear infection! His illness lasted two weeks. Ameila and Adam got sick as well ( I actually kept all 4 kids home on the 25th), but they were only sick for two days. All of my carpet got a steam clean and the van got it twice! Just for added fun Dadam was in India for school so we were going through this fun all by ourselves for the first week.
The very next week Addison started complaining that she had a swore throat. I took her into the doctors office and she was diagnosed with Hand, Foot & Mouth virus as well as an ear infection. I was lucky enough to get this virus as well...it is yucky!
Why would this be the end though...I started to get a very bad swore throat and thought that it was strep, but it was a sinus infection. Alex was also having a hard time breathing so I took him in as well, he too had a sinus infection. His doctor thinks that his first medication didn't completely cure his infection.
I have been diagnosed with polycystic
ovary syndrome and have to much testosterone. My doctor has put me on a few medications, but he wanted to do a small out patient surgery (5/4/12). I was down and out for three days and then started feeling better. Thank you Mom & Dad for the flowers :) On Thursday night I started hurting again and suffered through the weekend. I went back to the doctor on Monday (5/14/12) and learned that I have an infection from the surgery. I am now on a few antibiotics and am waiting to not be in pain anymore! The saddest part of my ordeal is the fact that I have been working so hard at going to the gym and trying to get healthy. Because my body is resisting insulin and my hormones are out of whack I am actually gaining wait in record time. I HATE THIS... Surgery is possibly on the horizon and as of tonight I am ready and willing!
I really don't know how much more of this I can take! With school coming to an end I really need to be healthy and so do my kids! What a month this has been...
Over the past few months we have learned that Addison's battle with Crohn's Disease is far from over. She has a deformed part of her intestinal track and inflammation is still present in her system. Please support us in raising money for research and a cure for our Addison and the many others that suffer from IBD.
Addison's class is studying farming right now, their teacher brought a few friends to spend the week with the class this week. She sent a note out asking parents to host their new friends for a night. Our family signed up for tonight. I met the kids at the end of school and we brought home three baby ducks. All of the kids are having a great time with them. Amelia even tried to feed them her almond milk ice cream after dinner.
Tonight we cleaned their home (a rubber maid container) and put down new wood shavings for them. We filled their food jar and changed out their water. They like to swim in their water dishes so we have to clean them a lot!! The baby ducks head back to school tomorrow, but we have enjoyed having them as our pets for a night!
Thanks to the Easter Bunny the kids and I enjoyed a fun afternoon at Disney on Ice. Addison dressed at Princess Tiana and Alex was a pirate of course :) We all took our fun lights and enjoyed a wonderful production. All of the classic princesses, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy & Donald and their friends came to skate and truly entertain us. I loved watching the kids faces as their favorite songs were sung and skated to by their favorite characters. We had a great time, thank you Easter Bunny!!
Dadam in half way through his Masters program!!! Today he left for India as part of his curriculum. The kids played around with him a bit before school and then took a few pictures at home before school. Alex, Amelia and Mommy took Dad to the airport while Addison and Adam were in school. We will add some fun photos of India when Dadam returns home from his trip :)
Alex was invited to attend a field trip with the inclusion class that he gets to spend time with each day. They went to University
of Arizona agricultural farm down in Maricopa, AZ. Addison had a doctors appointment today so Nanee went with Alex and enjoyed the day with Alex. They picked radishes, played on tractors and did a few crafts. Alex liked riding on the bus and getting to bring radishes home to share!!
After everyone returned home from the field trip the teachers met with me to discuss Alex's year of Kindergarten. We are so lucky to have so many wonderful people surrounding our Alex to help him become his very best self!! I will be excited for him come August :)
Grandma Greg has been so excited to come to Arizona and watch Adam play baseball. I was thrilled that they were able to come and watch the team come from behind and win the game. Adam started the rally with a hit and the team continued and won the game.
Adam has played catcher a few times this year and I am so proud of him. He has been hit a few times while behind the plate. They use a pitching machine so I know the pitches are packing a little heat. This last time that he played catcher he was hit in the neck and he was able to bounce back really quickly and continue on with the game. What a tough ball player!!!
Easter morning was fun this year. The Easter Bunny hid the baskets from the kids or put them out of their reach!! Once all of the big people came to we retrieved the baskets and enjoyed watching the kids discover their goodies. The Easter Bunny gave each of the kids tickets to Disney on Ice. Nanee filled baskets with candy, Lego kits, Hello Kitty & puppies. Great Grandma Greg filled eggs with money to put towards summer classes and fun for the kids. Adam is really excited about his Lego building class!
Grandma and Grandpa sent the kids a fun package for Easter. Alex received pirate magnets, Adam go a fun quilt of the U.S. and Addison and Amelia got dress up stuff :)
Swimming on Easter is only for the brave here in Arizona! Dadam and Alex were the only brave ones this year. They had fun, but I think they enjoyed their warm shower when they were finished freezing to death!
Each year our church has an Easter hike up south mountain and then breakfast. This year we added an Easter Egg Hunt to the mix. Pancakes, bacon, yogurt & fruit was the perfect start to our morning. The kids had a great time hunting for eggs and playing on the playground.
Nanee and Great Grandma Greg came to town for Easter. We enjoyed getting to spend time with them and build memories. The kids were great models for Nanee at the park!
After a fun morning of hunting for eggs, enjoying lunch at Joe's Farmhouse and watching Mirror Mirror, we came home to dye eggs! This year I bought pirate and princess kits for the kids to use. Most of my pictures are in India right now, but I will add them when Dadam returns from his trip!!
Alex loved his eggs so much that he played with them for three days. Needless to say they were never eaten, but watching the joy he was having with them was so worth it!!
Twice a year our family enjoys a weekend of waffles and ice cream for breakfast. Conference Weekend has truly become a special event at our house. We get to have ice cream for breakfast and hear the words of our church leaders and Prophet!
April Fools Day Dinner
Tonight for dinner I made meat loaf and mashed potatoes that looked like cupcakes! I even cut flowers our of butter to look like cup cake toppers :)
The kids were very excited about dinner until Adam took a bite of his cupcake and said the frosting was mashed potatoes. Addison just looked at her plate and Alex got up from the table!! Amelia and Adam were good sports though and they gobbled down their foolishly fun dinner :)
Receiving packages is always fun, but it is rarely a priceless gift let alone gifts that arrive at your door. Friday when the mail was delivered I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of not one, but two priceless gifts from my Sister-in-Law Ashley.
Ashley is an amazing artist. A few months ago she offered to paint portraits of my little ones. Knowing what an amazing treasure these would be I was very careful in my selection of the pictures that I gave to her. I pondered the ages of the kids as well as the backgrounds and physical features.
Knowing that I change our family photos out every year I decided to capture some of their first smiles caught of film! Each of the children are around six months old in their pictures.
I am overjoyed with Adam's & Addison's that arrived in the mail on Friday! I couldn't wait to call Ashley and share my excitement. What a wonderful talent she has and I am so blessed that she has shared it with me!! I can't wait to see Amelia & Alex.
I told Ashley that these will have to be professionally framed to half way do the paintings justice. I would never want anything to harm these masterpieces.
Teacher by trade, Mother by choice! Being a Mom is nothing that I expected and everything I expected and more. I have four wonderful children and they are each special in their own ways. My job each day is to love them care for their needs and make sure that no one takes advantage or gives them the shaft. The industry calls me an advocate, but Mom works just fine for me :)
