the surgeries just keep coming

Luke had his seventh surgery this week. Everything went well. Before we went in I thought for sure that the hemangioma had slowed down it's growth but I was wrong. The doctor showed me pictures afterward and the thing was HUGE! His recovery has been kind of hard this week. On Saturday, I had to take him back into the ER because he was having difficulty breathing. They gave him a breathing treatment and a shot of steroid in his leg (thank goodness that they didn't give him and IV because last time they tried they poked him 7 times and never found a vein - it was torture!). After the treatment and the shot he was doing much better and has been doing good ever since. We will be going back in 5 weeks for another surgery. He is such a trooper.

field trip at the zoo

The preschool year is wrapping up and Jimmy got to go on a field trip to the zoo. I went with him and took Luke along for the ride. My friend Sarah watched Ben for me. I couldn't believe how easy it was to go on an outing with just two kids. I think that three just puts me over the edge some times. We enjoyed the day. Luke was so good. He just enjoyed the scenery and stayed nice and cozy in his stroller. It was a little chilly. Jimmy had fun. His favorite animals were the zebras. We also got to go into the animal hospital and watch as they worked on a baby gazelle. They had to pull a tooth and do a biopsy on his kidney. Jimmy thought that was cool.

Jimmy was getting pretty tired by this time. We were walking along and all of the sudden he just stopped and layed down. His little legs walked a lot that day.

This is inside the pachyderm building and it was very stinky. Jimmy didn't want to stay there very long. If you've seen one elephant you've seen them all.

Jimmy's show and tell

Jimmy decided that he wanted to take Luke for show and tell at preschool. It was fun once I got past the swarm of germ infested preschool hands wanting to touch my baby. The kids loved it. They wanted to see Luke crawl but he got stage fright and just sat there on the floor staring at the kids. There are 21 kids in Jimmy's class and 6 of them are girls and 15 of them are boys. Those poor teachers! I was actually quite surprised that it was the boys who were more interested in Luke.

happy mother's day

Today is mother's day and we have had a really good day. Jim and the boys got me an ipod. I'm so excited! We were feeling kind of sad because Grandma Ostler (Jim's mom) is in Israel and we couldn't call them today because they are taking a trip to Egypt this weekend. So we decided to make a video for her and for Grandma Garfield (my mom) who is in Montana so the kids could wish them a happy mother's day. So this is for you mom. We love you and miss you!

almost sick

Today when Jimmy woke up he had the sniffles and he was laying on the couch acting sleepy. This is very unusual for him because he usually wakes up going about 90 miles a minute. He also had preschool this morning and he loves preschool. He wouldn't want to miss it for anything. So this is how our conversation went:

Me: Jimmy are you feeling okay?
Jimmy: No, I feel sick.
Me: Do you need to stay home from preschool today?
Jimmy: No, I'm almost sick. I'll be all the way sick after preschool.

I don't think he was feeling sick at all because when he got home from school he forgot that he was actually supposed to be all the way sick. It made me laugh.

a little clarification

I just realized that some of you have no idea what I am talking about when I say that one of our kids was in the hospital and that we are moving. So here's the lowdown on what's going on in our lives. First of all, yes, we are moving in August. We will be heading to sunny, southern California. Jim is going back to school to get his PhD in Business Policy at UCLA. The program lasts 4-6 years but usually it takes 5. I have been telling Jim that I wanted to settle somewhere for longer than 2 years and I guess I am getting my wish in a round about sort of way. It will definitely be a challenge living the student life with 3 kids but I think it will turn out to be a great experience for our family - at least we will be minutes from the beach!

Also this past year we have had some major health challenges with Luke. When he was 3 months old we found out that he has a hemangioma under his vocal cords. It was almost completely blocking his airway when we discovered it. In case you are wondering what a hemangioma is it is like a vascular, raised birthmark. You often see them on people on the surface of their skin but it is pretty rare to have one under the vocal cords. Hemangiomas usually appear at 2-3 months of age and continue to grow until about 9-12 months of age. By about age 5 they are usually completely gone. So Luke's hemangioma has been growing like crazy for the last 6 months. He has had 6 surgeries with his 7th scheduled in a couple weeks. When he has the surgery the doctor has to go into his airway with a laser to cut it off. Then after a few weeks it will have grown back so they just have to go in a do it all again. We are hoping to see the light at the end of the tunnel soon. His breathing is sounding better so I think that not only is his airway getting bigger as he grows but the hemangioma's growth is also slowing down. He has had to deal with a lot in his short little life but I am thankful that it is not something worse and that he is totally healthy otherwise. We will keep you updated after his next surgery. Thank you all for the concern and prayers in his behalf.

a glimpse in the life of a 2 year old

I'm not playing favorites by posting all of these pictures of Ben, but I just think that 2 year olds are so funny. God had to make them so dang cute to keep parents laughing instead of crying when they do all of those crazy 2 year old things. You have to just enjoy the moment because when they are 14 you are going to wish that they were 2 again.

"bee grateful"

A few years ago President Hinckley gave some great counsel to the youth. He said to be grateful. He said, "The habit of saying thank you is the mark of an educated man or woman. . . Let a spirit of thanksgiving guide and bless your days and nights. Work at it. You will find it will yield wonderful results." For some reason I have been feeling a little bit down lately. I think mostly because the demands of motherhood sometimes leave me feeling overwhelmed and inadequate. I started to think about this wonderful counsel from an incredibly inspired leader and I realized that I need to take some time to reflect on the blessings in my life. These are just a few of the things that I am grateful for (in no particular order):

1. A wonderful husband who tells me he loves me every day.


2. Three sweet little boys who constantly bring smiles and laughter into our home.


3. Beautiful, sunny spring days.


4. Wind to fly a kite.


5. A mom who is always just a phone call away.


6. Amazing doctors who save my child's life.


7. Great nurses who put me at ease when my baby is lying in a hospital bed.


8. Incredible parents who love me and taught me well.


9. Sleeping children.


10. Laughing children.


11. Date night with Jim.


12. A husband who is willing to help me with the kids and housework.


13. An inspired Prophet who guides my life.


14. Renting rather than owning our home (especially when we have floods that destroy our basement and kids who get poop all over the floor - the flood happened 2 years ago, the poop happened today.)


15. Friends who accept me for who I am.


16. Friends who inspire me to reach higher.


17. Clean Laundry.


18. A working washer and dryer (At least for a few more months until we move into student housing.)


19. Dishwashers (including Jim).


20. Bryers double fudge brownie ice cream - yum!!


21. A playroom for my kids (I will enjoy that until we move!)


22. A husband who is wise with money and helps me to be.


23. A husband who lets me put my cold feet on him.


24. Clean sheets.


25. Singing kids.


26. Modern technology that allows me to find information on anything and everything, email, blog, download, upload and create anything I want.


27. A husband who will let me cry on his shoulder when I need to.


28. Children who are entertained with just a shovel and a truck.


29. Disposable diapers.


30. Kids who potty train easily (thank you Jimmy, let's hope Ben will do the same).


31. New York strip and loaded sweet potatoe at Texas Roadhouse - YUM!!


32. Incredible grandparents to my kids.


33. Incredible great-grandparents to my kids.


34. An opportunity to move out west this summer and be a little closer to our family.


35. A husband who works hard to support our family.


36. The opportunity to stay at home with my kids - even during the times that I would rather be anywhere but home!


37. A husband who loves to learn and TRIES to teach me what he is learning about (tries is the key word).


38. Hearing the sweet prayers of my children.


39. Kids who love to have family home evening (lets hope they do in a few years too).


40. Kids who get excited to read the scriptures.


41. Kids who get excited over the popcorn blossoms on the trees, worms, butterflies, rocks, mud, clouds in the sky, leaves changing colors and everything else in nature that I take for granted.


42. Finding new recipes to try out.


43. HGTV (even though I don't own my own home or have a garden it's still fun to watch).


44. Scriptures.


45. My Savior.


46. Church callings that challenge me (I better not say that one too loud!)


47. Days when I actually get up before my kids.


48. Capris - they're not too short but they still keep me cool in the summer.


49. Good books to read.


50. Hearing my 4 year old read a book to me all by himself.

So I know I said only a few things but once I got going I just couldn't stop. There is so much more that I could add to this list. It has been extremely helpful for me to focus on my blessings. It's like therapy. There is a lot to say for the power or positive thinking.