Wednesday, December 21, 2011

How life has been.


Life has been really good.  I am recovering really well from my brain tumor removal surgery.  I am physically feeling back to normal.  My hair is growing so fast at least that is what everyone keeps telling me.  For me my hair is  only needs to grow about 3 more inches or so and I will love it.  
Funny thing is right before my surgery, I remember looking in the mirror and saying I wish I could just shave all my hair off.  I think this was the Lords way of helping me get ready for all my hair to be shaved off.  However I do  LOVE short hair.  I like my hair about the length it is right now, however you can still see my scar and I don't like that so much.  I love wearing bows and headband I have made for my hair.  



Here are some cute pictures of me. 


Here is a picture of my eye's if you noticed on the first picture my eye is starting to move left.  I am super excited.  I thought that would take the longest to heal and it is healing quicker to heal than my left side of my face being not numb anymore.  What also makes me excited is that my eye does have the 6th nerve.  The doctor was never sure I did after I had surgery because he could not see the nerve.  Yea my eye is starting to move again.



Eli is getting so BIG.  He is now 16 months old.  He is starting to climb on everything.  He now running.  He loves to laugh.  I ask him to kiss me and he gives me a big hug instead.  He just got four molars in the back of his mouth.  He either moves or sleeps.  In other words he is a very, very active baby/toddler.  The other day I could hear him playing in the kitchen I thought he was playing with the dishes, like he always does.  I go in there and check on him and he had gotten somehow into the fridge and took out the eggs and broke all of them.  Not only that but he but some in his mouth.  Yuck.  Yes I had to take a picture.  Eli loves eggs and it looks like he enjoyed them raw too.  


The kids are just having fun together.  We went to a line dancing party that our stake had.  It was a lot of fun. Even Joshua lined danced.  It was a lot of fun.  Our stake will be doing it again in January.  The sports stake director is hoping to be able to have line dancing party once a month.   
The picture on the right is of the girls trying to tackle Caleb.  They had fun TRYING.  



Marysa has been super busy too.  She just finished playing volleyball.  She played really well.  I love watching her play volleyball.  She also sings in the school choir plus she has achievement days every other week.  She loves being involved in lots of stuff.  She is just getting bigger to fast.  She is one beautiful girl.  



 Caleb and Marysa are in there school Barnett's school choir.  They had a December choir concert.  I really enjoyed seeing them sing.  I like that they both like being in it.

Funny thing is that i was looking over the choir memeber's names, looking for Caleb and Marysa's name.  I looked and looked and I could not find Caleb's name at all.  I was really sad thinking that they forgot to put his name on the paper.  I finally found it and guess what it was the first name on the list.
Caleb and Marysa singing.


 Caleb has been busy.  He will be playing basketball soon.  He went to a team tryout.  The boys all show what they can do and than all the coaches get together and choose who they would like on there team.  Caleb did well at the tryout and 2 coaches came up to Caleb and asked him what his name was.

He also gave a oral report at school about Russia.  He did a real good job.  He did a power point presentation, which he did all by himself.  I am so proud of him.  He is growing up so fast.   My 11 year old is now taller than me.  I knew that one day he would be taller than me I just didn't think it would happen at the young age of 11.


I don't have any pictures yet but Caleb broke his wrist.  The brake is very small.  Azalea lost one of her front teeth.  Azalea is one smart girl.  It amazes me how smart she is.  She learns everything so quick.  I am sure she will be smarter than me by time she is  done with kindergarten.  

On Sunday Andrew and I where running a little late so we sent Marysa and Caleb without us to church so that they could save us a spot.  Josh and Azalea where not happy and took off running to catch up with them. Even though I told them no.   I wasn't happy about it but I did know that Caleb and Marysa would watch them.  I really couldn't chase them because I was outside with Eli and I could not leave him alone to catch them.  

Anyways Andrew and I get to Church a few minute after they arrived and I see Caleb, Marysa and Joshua out in the hall way.  I asked where Azalea was and they said in the chapel.   I walk in there and there is Azalea saving a row for us.  It was the 2nd row up front.  Not only that but she had the hymn book opened up to the right page that the congregation was singing.  Page 177.   I was impressed most of the kindergartners her age are still learning how to count to 100.  She knows how to count above 100.   Not only that she was on the right page.  She was also being really reverent.   

Wow,  life has been good.  I am so blessed.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Azalea turned 6 years old.


Wow, Azalea 3 days ago you turned 6 years old.   I am so happy I get to be your mother.  Your dad and I waited along time for you.  It took us about 1 1/2 to get pregnant with you.  That has been one of the hardest 1 1/2 years of my life.  I am so grateful that you came to this family.  We are so blessed to have you.  

You started kindergarten this past August.  You are doing really well.  You are learning to read and write so quickly.  You can already spell the words horse and bus.  You the other day wrote a note saying I like a horse.  You can count to 100 already.  I love that you love school.  

This picture was taken the day after you turned 6.  


Here is a picture of you just minutes after you where born.  I think this is such a cute picture.   You where 9lbs even when you where born.


Here is a  picture of you a day after you where born.    

                                                          Here you are at about 1 month old.

                                                Here you are at 6 months old.



Here you are at a year old.  I think your little brother Eli who is 15 months old looks so much like you when you where one.


  Here you are at 2 years old.


                                                        Here you are a little over 3 years old.

                                                         Here you are at 4 years old.

Here you are a couple days before you turn 5.

Here you are about 1 week after you turned 5.  You had your hair cut because you had cut it. 



                  Here  you are at 5 1/2 with even shorter hair because again you had cut it . However no matter how short your hair is you always look beautiful.

Your fifth year of life was a little difficult for you.  At 5 1/2 years old you had to have your appendix removed.   You did so well though.   You recovered quickly so you where back climbing and jumping off everything.

You had a great birthday this year.   I love you so much

Happy Birthday Azalea.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Halloween 2011

Halloween 2011 was really fun.  It pretty much went from Friday October 28th to Monday October 31st.  We went trick or treating 5 different time.



On Friday October 28th we went trick or treating at Payson Market and on Saturday we went trick or treating down Payson Main street.  We went with Amber and her kids.  The kids had a lot of fun.  We also went trick or treating on Halloween with Amber and her kids in Amber's neighborhood.  That was lot of fun also.  Look at all the fun the kids had in the above picture.


Saturday night on October 29th we had a LDS ward party.  The party was so much fun.  There was a ward soup dinner.  The soup Andrew made was the first soup all gone.  Everybody loved it.  There was also trick or treating down the halls.  There was also a room where they dyed your hair.  Even I got my hair dyed.

On Monday Halloween Day.  I first went to the kids school and saw the Costume parade.  It was outside and it was kind of cold.  It was really cute though.  What was even cuter is that the 6th graders walked with the kindergartner's so Caleb walked with Azalea.  Than after school Andrew's work had a trick or treating and the kids and I went there it was so much fun and the kids got tons of candy.  As I mentioned earlier on  Halloween night we went trick or treating with Amber and her kids.  

So by trick or treating 5 different times, we ended up with a lot of candy.  I mean a lot.  Oh how I love Halloween.




I took all of the photo's below of my kids about 2 weeks before Halloween.  It was a lot of fun.  I think I did a great job.  I am falling in love with taking pictures. 
Caleb is an escaped prisoner. 

Marysa is Alice in wonderland.

Azalea is a Witch cat.


Joshua is a skeleton.


Eli is a baby devil.








Since this post is one week past Halloween that means today is November 7th so I would like to say Happy 30th birthday to my twin sister Amy Shetter and Amber Murray.




Sunday, October 16, 2011

I had a brain tumor.


I had a brain tumor.

It was a large tumor.  It was 5cm x 5cm x 5cm.

It was on my 5th cranial nerve. 

I had an MRI done on September 12, 2011.  I had one because I had been having the left side of my face go numb once in awhile for about 60 seconds each time.  Also because since I was 8 months pregnant with Eli I had vertigo all the time.

I found out in the late afternoon of September 12, 2011 when someone called from the doctors office telling me I had a large benign tumor and that I had to go to their office the next morning at 9:30.

At the meeting they told me I had to go straight to the ER in Provo at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.  Because that is the quickest way to see a neurosurgeon.  

He told me that I would need surgery right away.  I enter the ICU on Tuesday September 13th and had surgery on Thursday September 15th 2011. 



Here are some pictures of me right after surgery. The surgery lasted about 7 1/2 hours.



Here are some pictures of my family that visited me right after surgery. 
It includes my mom, dad, sister Amber and my husband Andrew.


Here are some pictures of me in the ICU.  I do not remember talking on the phone with some one.  I don;t remember sitting there watching tv .  I don't remember taking a picture of myself.  



Here are some pictures of me that I remember taking of myself.  
I had 35 staples in my head.  



 It was a month ago today that I had that brain surgery to remove my tumor.  I am starting to feel much better.  However 2 of my nerves need to repair and that can take about 6 months.  So my 5th nerve needs to repair and so that means the left part of my face is numb.  Also cranial nerve number 6 needs to repair and so my left eye doesn't move and so I see double every now and then that will also take about 6 months to heal.  Also my left eye lid is having trouble and it droops and it will take time to heal also.  My scar is healing also.

I have had so much help.  The people in LDS ward brought me dinner for 2 weeks straight.  They have come to help me clean.  While I was in the hospital the ward helped clean up our yard.  They did  a lot of work in the house to make it look nicer.  They took out carpet and put new carpet in.  They painted walls.  They put tile we had bought in our bathroom.  They finished a lot of work that Andrew and I never finished because we ran out of money.

My mother in law has helped out a lot too.  My sister Amber also has helped out a lot to by watching my kids when I need her too.  Andrew worked from home for 2 weeks.

I am so grateful for everything everyone has done for me.  I am also thankful that people love me and that they keep praying for me.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Eli turns one (better late than never)

Eli I guess it is better late than never to talk to you about you turning one.  You have only been one for 3 weeks.  You can't blame me. Right after you turned one your brothers and sisters started school.  It has been crazy.  Would not have it any other way though.

Wow Eli I can not believe you are already one.  We have had so much fun.  We all love you so much.
You have grown so much in your first year of life.  You learned to smile, to sit all by yourself, to crawl, to walk. At one you are still nursing.  You love walking.  I swear you are either walking or sleeping.   You LOVE to be out side.
We had a family birthday party for you.  Many people who loved you showed up. Some where not able to come like Grandma and Grandpa Tolman because they live in Texas.  So sad. 
You loved your birthday cake you had so much fun playing in with it.  The cake got all over.  Thank goodness we were outside.  Out of all your siblings I think you had the most fun with your very own first birthday cake. You get your very own birthday cake on your first birthday. 

Eli exploring the world around him

Like I have already said you LOVE to be outside.  You are constantly exploring.  Getting into things.  Seeing how things work. Climbing on anything and everything. You even try to climb fences. I need to keep my on you at all times.  You really scared me about 2 weeks ago.  You where on the grass playing and I was working in the garden.  I looked up and you were gone.  You had managed to walk the up the little hill and walk down the drive way and you were on your way to the road.  You were going after Josh and Azalea.  You sure do move fast.   Being outside makes you happy you could spend hours outside just looking to see this how this amazing earth works.  I sometimes think that you like being outside more than you like me.  You could be upset but once you are outside you are happy.




Playing while at Marysa's soccer game

Playing with the umbrella at Caleb's soccer game.  
All of your older brothers and sisters are playing soccer right now.   You have just as much fun at there games as they do.  You are all over.  Daddy and I take turns watching you while your brothers and sisters play.  There is a softball field next to the soccer field.  You love playing in the dirt.  You love running to the bases.  You love laying on the bases.  You are just content because you are outside.

I can not tell you enough how much we all love you.  And how happy we are that you are part of this family.  You make us smile.

Even though it is late

Happy Birthday Eli 

Monday, August 29, 2011

Azalea starts kindergarten

Wow, Azalea I can not believe you are in kindergarten.  I can, but at the same time I can't.  You were the baby that I tried  to get pregnant with for over a year.  You are the baby that I cried and cried over to get you here.  And here we are almost 6 years later.

Now you get to go to school with your brother and sister.  You get to learn many, many things.  You get to make new friends.

The past week has been kind of slow.  Kindergarten starts a week later than the other grades.  Each day last week you would ask if  you got  to go to school today.

Today was your day.

You woke up before any of the other kids.  You got dressed in the new school clothes that Grandma Cameron bought for you.  I did your hair and put in a cute bow in your hair that I had made for you to match your outfit.
You were so excite to start that you ran down the hill on your way to school.  You did not want to wait for anyone.


You are so lucky you get to start kindergarten with your cousin Lily.   Now we know how crazy you two can be together so we asked that you be put in separate classes.  You will be able to see Lily enough I am sure.  

You were so excite to start that you ran down the hill on your way to school.  You did not want to wait for anyone.  

Before school started we ate breakfast at school.   You will be eating breakfast at school all year long.  You will be also walking with Caleb, Marysa, Sarah and Lily to school everyday.  You better behave and listen to your brother and sister. 
After breakfast we went to your classroom.  Once there you put on a name tag.  

And went to the class room rug to wait for school to start.
I had a hard time saying goodbye.  So I stood outside the door and watched you through the window for a couple of minutes.  I really just wanted to stay there the whole time.  Don't worry I took one more picture of you  doing your first thing ever in kindergarten, which was use scissors to cut lines on paper.  Than I left.  


After school your 2 younger brothers and I came and picked you up from school.  You saw me and came running to me, with a huge smile on your face.  You loved your first day of kindergarten and I hope you have many more wonderful days in kindergarten.




After I picked you up we went to the lunchroom to have lunch.  Who did we see working in the lunch room your big brother Caleb.  However you were not well behaved eating lunch in the school lunchroom that I don't know how often we will be eating lunch at school.  We saw Marysa at lunch too and she said that we at least had to come when it was her turn to work in the lunch room.

Wow kindergarten already.