Easter Pictures

My Mom & Sister

I was able to talk my mom and sister into visiting. We all live in different states and do not like it. It's hard missing so much of each other's lives. Anywho. They came for a week and a half and it was nice to be together. We didn't do much except try to keep up with all the kids, lots of shopping, and stay up too late :) You got to make every minute count when there isn't enough time. It came and went too fast. We were taking pictures to send to one of our brothers. This was the least scary one... ha ha.

The first Friday they were there, Daniel stayed home from work and Staucie stayed home from school so we went to Pump It Up. Always fun for all ages, even Grandma who raced through the obstacle course, but not Addie who hates it and cries the whole time. She is terrified of it for some reason. 

Tyne is jumping with the 3 older kids in these 2 pictures. Tyne and I practiced our backhand springs in this bounce house too. It gets scary to do the first one when you're old and haven't done it for a very long time. But super fun once I did it!

We took turns holding Tyne's baby, Riley or sitting with Addie who wanted to be as close to the door as possible. She at least stopped crying after awhile.

And those are all the pictures I took while they were here. We are not good at remembering to take pictures when we are together. Too many other things to do!

Addie's 2nd Eye Surgery

Our sweet Addie had her second eye surgery on March 20th. The first time Dr. Yen weakened in the inner eye muscles and this time she tightened the outer eye muscles. The night before Addie's surgery Daniel gave Addie a blessing, and me because I was beside myself with worry. I don't know what was wrong with me, but I was horribly worried about her. We first explained to the kids what was going to happen to Addie in the morning. The boys kept saying, "They're going to CUT Addie's eye." Very mater-of-factly. Staucie seemed to understand a little more and told us that she was sad for Addie. She seemed scared for her little sister. Sweet Staucie. After we put the kids to bed that night I went downstairs and knelt on the floor and bawled. I didn't take it this hard the first time. I don't know what the deal was. Daniel came down a little later and held me and talked to me and made me feel better.

The next morning Addie and I left at 5:30am to drive down to Texas Children's Hospital. Addie had to fast and her surgery didn't end up starting til almost 9am. There was also a huge storm going on outside but we didn't have to drive in any of it, luckily.

 Addie did really well while we had to wait. I took lots of pictures to send to her dad and grandparents.

 This was after she had her gown on and we were in the smaller waiting room where all the doctors, nurses, and people talk to you and then take your baby. We waited in there longer than anyone else. I was starting to get quite frustrated. I don't know if Dr. Yen got stuck in the storm or what. They never apologize at these places for keeping you waiting. They are all mighty and you are just the patient who needs them.

 She was so sweet with her blankie and baby. Blankie and baby accompanied her to her surgery. They even had their own hospital tags.

 In recovery. Addie had a hard time coming out of the anesthesia this time. She was screaming, which is normal. But I guess the nurse thought she was in a lot of pain by the way she was screaming and put morphine into her IV. I didn't know that is what she gave her, otherwise I would have said no. When Addie is upset her body stiffens and she screams and she does act like she is in a lot of pain by the way she moves and cries, but that is just her. The morphine knocked her out, but then everytime I would try and wake her and give her water she would throw up. In this picture she is in her 3rd outfit. I am sure it was the morphine.

 I had to change her a few times with all the tubes and wires attached. She threw up on her beloved blanket several times too. We ended up getting out of there a couple hours later then I thought. She would not wake up. And then when I finally got her in the car, she threw up again and then had to ride the 45-60 minute drive home in her throw up. When I got her home I changed her and asked her if she wanted to go to sleep and she said, "yep." She slept for an hour and a half and then woke up much better.

 Our friend Tami brought us over dinner that night and Addie ate a whole plate full. She had some Tylenol and has been doing great ever since.

This is her eye the day after surgery in the car.

This is the second day.

 Both eyes looked the same, but the right eye was a little brighter red so it stood out more. I don't know why she is holding her neck :)

 This is like a week or more later. She had a little bruising under her eyes and looked a little abused for awhile.

Now it has been over a month and as of now her eyes are straight. They are still a little red on the outer parts but they look good. There is no way of knowing if her eyes will turn in again. It could happen tomorrow, in a few months, in a few years, or never. She will just always see an eye doctor. We love our little, crazy girl!

First time Fishing

The kids were able to go fishing for the first time a little while ago. Not sure if is was February or March... Our friends Tami and Caleb invited the kids and I to join them at a park by their house to fish with their boys. Caleb was running around putting minnows on all of the kids' hooks and releasing their fish. He did all the work. The kids all caught 1 to 3 fish each. They really enjoyed it. I was so worried they were going to fling their hook at someone or brake a fishing pole, but I think it was all okay. Addie didn't like it and kept saying she was "scared." She would let Tami hold her sometimes while I helped the kids. I think we were more work for them then fun! Ha ha. We had fun though. So thanks, Caleb, Tami, and boys!

Maybe this was during Spring Break...

"What do you do all day?"

I just had to post this because I think it is so funny and so true. Not that Daniel asks me what I do all day, he knows better. Ha ha. But, sometimes I wonder what I do all day. I feel like I go and go, but then I feel like nothing was done. On Monday the kids broke a jar of salsa all over the kitchen floor after grocery shopping. There were groceries spread across the floor because they were "helping" me put them away. There was also all of Mr. Potato head parts and cars spread all over the kitchen floor. And now there was pieces of glass and salsa all over the floor, the groceries, and the toys. It took a long time to clean up. And then it was time to get Staucie... Anyways, this little story just made me laugh...


A man came home from work and found his 3 children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn around garden, The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and no sign of the dog, walking in the door, he found ...an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, the throw rug was against one wall, In the front room the TV was on loudly with the cartoon channel, the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door. He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel... She looked up at him, smiled and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?' She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world do I do all day?...
''Yes," was his incredulous reply..
She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it.'

Spring Break

Spring Break was during the middle of March. I tried doing something fun every day with the kids.

The first day it was raining so we went to the mall to play on the indoor playground, visit the pet store, and

 Ride the Merry-go-round! Addie and I sat on the bench.

 Another day we went to the movie theater to watch The Lorax with some friends. It was the first time Addie had gone to the movies, the second for Bensen, and the third time for the other two. It was kinda hard towards the end.

 We went to a few parks.

We also had to take Addie to the doctor because her eye surgery was going to be the following week. Don't you just love waiting and waiting in the tiny exam room in the doctor office with all your kids while you all go crazy waiting and then want to just run screaming out the door?? :) I do like our pediatrician though.

 Another park. It's nice when there is room for four!

Spring break was fun. I hope we will enjoy the summer. I am looking forward to having no schedule!

Pictures, gymnastics, etc

I am really behind on my blogging. I think I have lost my mind also. My body is struggling and I have had some major fatigue on some days. I am tired of feeling tired. I was talking to Daniel last night about how I can't remember things sometimes and then he remembered a lupus sympton: "Headaches, confusion, memory loss." There are a lot of symptons and my lupus is active right now and when I looked this up I just laughed. At least, maybe, I am not just crazy!!! Ha ha. maybe.

(The first time I tried posting this 'post', I posted it on the wrong blog...)

Some pictures of my cute kids... I have no idea when some of them were taken. Not even sure what month, which is not like me...

No matter what we do at the table, Bensen always ends up sitting on top of the table. Here they are creating with Play Dough.

The weather is starting to warm up now, but this could have been in March or something. Or February... 

 The mall. The boys, most of the time, do a great job watching out for Addie.

 The kids are playing in a pile of sand on the grass at the neighbors.

 It entertained them for quite awhile.

 One time at a park there was another kid there playing and I thought it was pretty funny that my kids were on one side and he was on the other side. They sure stick together.

Staucie finally got to start gymnastics. I waited til she was finally not sick, after a couple months. She has been loving it so far. After the summer I will be moving her up to the more advanced class. This one is starting to drive me crazy, but she is having fun.

 Parker is jealous and wants to do it too. Not in the budget for now. So, this is him showing me his "gymnastics" while we were watching Staucie.

I have lots more pictures and I can't even think how to organize it all into posts...