So far our Holiday's have been really good. Maliyah has been sick for several days with a UTI, but is starting to feel better. She had a fever of 105.2, I couldn't even imagine how she felt.

We get Netflix and had gotten the newest Twilight movie in the mail. On the way home from school with the kids I told them that we were going to be watching a movie together. Especially because Jake doesn't like watching the Twilight movies a second time. He gets brownie points for taking me the first time. So Courtney had a friend that called to see if she could play. She told the friend that she couldn't play because she was watching a movie with her mom. I hope she feels that way when she's in high school. A parent can only hope. We are still waiting for the day when she is embarrassed of us. So far so good. Maybe it helps that I know most of her friends by name and they call me mom. I hope that is why.

Justin has been saying some pretty funny things lately. He loves to talk about the mice we had, he says they had gravy's, he means rabies. We also read as a family before bed and after each word he reads he adds "of". It's pretty fun, but takes a little longer to get through. He also says cause instead of pause.

Austin has come up with a phrase he says, easy peasy lemon squeezy. The first time we heard that was right after his wrestling match. We were laughing really hard. They are both such witty boys. I need to carry around a book and write down all there clever phrases.

Now about our kitchen fire. Yes, everyone is fine and no damage. Thought I would get that out of the way first. I was making steaks and baked potatoes for dinner. Jake and I were talking in the kitchen and teasing Kendra and Maliyah about the oven blowing up(we always tease the kids and they do the same to us). And while we were doing that I saw out of the corner of my eye a fire that had started in the oven because of the grease. I yelled fire and probably shouldn't of looking back, but I did. The girls freaked!!! Kendra went running out the garage door as fast as she could, it was 30ish outside. Maliyah took off downstairs with a mouth full of food, crying. Courtney ran up the stairs to see why she was crying. She spit out the food on the carpet. To tell her there was a fire. By this time the fire alarm was going off. I controlled everything why Jake was laughing. Brought Kendra back in the house screaming and crying. We always have such a great time! :) It's funny everything that happens on a daily bases here. Just wish I could remember all of it.

I have one final and a final paper due in school and I'm done for several weeks. I 'm doing more than full time next semester. I really want to get done with school soon, at least with my generals. I have along way to go for my degree. It's interesting trying to take care of everything and find time for school and studying. But it worth it to set a good example for my kids. I just hope they get through with college or whatever they need to before having a family. It's much easier.

Here hoping for a good rest in the coming weeks. Wishful thinking I'm sure. Hope you are all enjoying the holiday's. Be safe!

The boys have one more meet and the wrestling will be over. I'm so glad!! I hated them doing it. But it was cheap and the boys wanted to try it. The last practice the boys went to a kids punched the boys in the stomach well wrestling. I had a feeling that was going to happen. Jake was the one that really wanted them to trying it. I wanted something more like karate that would teach them discipline, so they can learn at an early age to be driven.

We have had a lot of drama with mice in our house. Trying to figure out the best way to take care of them. The kids didn't want to kill them, so I thought we would see if that was possible. So the first day we just caught and released them. I didn't want the kids to see us kill something.

The day I found out we had mice was so funny now looking back. I was in the half bath and saw the stupid mouse run out from the corner where it was stealing Allie's food. I called Jake crying, which he thought was really funny. Later on he would figure out how unfunny it really was.

Jake woke-up to do his morning P90X and opened the pantry and saw something drop. He started pulling stuff out. And finally found the mouse. But it ran under the refrigerator. Jake pulled it out but was never able to find it. He also saw another one in our mud room. He woke-up Courtney because he knew I would be no help in him catching it. Courtney and Jake were trying to catch it, Jake said it was like playing hockey. He said it was really sick and scary to have this thing run at you. I told him he shouldn't have laughed when I called him crying about the mouse in the bathroom. :)


But after several days of doing this I decided it wasn't going to be possible. Mainly because of one incident.; I was doing Kendra's hair on the floor in the bathroom. Jake was taking care of some of the traps before he left for work. He was filling the nasty traps with food. All of the sudden he yelled mouse. And out of the corner of my eye I see this mouse run by my leg, it was so close. I FREAKED OUT!! I jumped on the toilet screaming and Kendra was grabbing the counter top screaming and trying to get up on it. I felt terrible leaving Kendra on the floor. I jump down grabbed her and held her on top of the toilet with me. I was very mad at Jake for letting the mouse out, of course he had no idea it was in there so I couldn't stay mad at him long. My dad came over when Jake was at work to help me setup the real traps, I had also gotten DCon, which is poison. I couldn't handle being scared and grossed out in my own home. So within 2 days we caught and killed all of them. The kids were so mad, they cried. Justin yelled at Jake for killing them. He said that "they help us live." I have no idea where he got that idea. So after they saw the first one dead, we decided it was better if we were really quiet about when we caught another one. We got a totally of 6 mice, 3 we let go and 3 that were killed. Glad that is over.

Kendra and Maliyah's physical therapist is incredible. This last Wednesday she talked about taking the girls to the swimming pool to better learn to use there legs. They are able to walk on the treadmill for 10 minutes without anything to hold on to. They are able to walk with their crutches on the floor with there "leg"as well. But the goal really is for them to walk unaided. They get closer everyday. Miss Jess at school is working really hard with them on walking and physical therapy. She is so good with them and they can't stop talking about her. She makes their day so much better. They had great teachers and instructors too. This year has been great so far.

Courtney dance and school is going very well. But the boy stuff is funny to listen to. The boys notice her more then I would like. She has a "friend" that has a crush on all the boys that either like her or she likes them. It makes me mad because this "friend" isn't a real friend. Hope Courtney will take my advice and stop talking to this "friend". I'm worried that when she starts middle school next year, this girl is going to be a nightmare. Girls are just weird!!

Jake has roped me into doing P90X with him. It's really not as hard as he and others have made it out to be. It's a great workout, but some of the classes I take at the gym are a lot harder then P90X. I love working out. Jake is liking it too. I weigh less than in high school and feel so good.

We are doing really well and everyone for the most part is healthy. Couldn't ask for anything better then that. We are also not sure if we are still going on the family cruise we had planned. We are still trying to figure that out. We have until January to figure that out.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to add I disinfected everything in the house. Also threw away a lot of stuff just in case the mice were in, by or touched it. Just SICK!!

I had taken the kids to Carl's Jr for lunch and a play date with my friend Melissa and her kids. I had fed the kids before we went because they are never ending pits. I also got them chicken nuggets and fries with drinks when we got there. Kendra came up to ask me if she could have some more fries. I told her no because she has had enough to eat. Needless to say when I wasn't looking she got into my purse and took my credit card and ordered herself more french fries. I was SHOCKED!!! Not that Kendra would steal my credit card, but that Carl's Jr would accept it from a child. When kids want something they will do whatever they can to do it. I was really stern with Kendra at the time. But when she walked away from her timeout Melissa and I couldn't help but laugh. It was very funny!! Good thing it was only a couple of dollars. I think she learned her lesson.

Courtney had her MASSIVE birthday party. She was really worried about not inviting someone and hurting their feelings. So the list grew to around 32 kids. There was only one kiddo that didn't come. I was surprised that everyone came. I was counting on about half the kids not showing up. We normally do pizza, but Courtney hates pizza and our family was really into soup. So I suggested that we make homemade soup and tomato soup. Then we added more to that. The once small planned party slowly turned into a LARGE event. We couldn't just have soup for the soup we needed to have bread bowls. Then Courtney's favorite things I've been making a lot of is banana bread and pumpkin chocolate cookies. So we took two days of baking to make her favorites. She was in heaven baking with me. The kids were so excited for Courtney's birthday, they talked about it for weeks before it happened. It turned out so good for everyone and Courtney had a great time. Jake and I were exhausted. He was such a big help through the whole party. It was a group effort. I think he knew how much I needed his help and didn't even need to ask, he just jumped right in. He was even great about getting all Courtney's favorite music on an Ipod for dancing. After the party was over I asked Courtney if she had a good time and if she ate a lot of food. She said that she had a great time, but never ate anything. I was a bit mad about that, but knew she was busy with all of her friends.

The girls are slowly getting over their surgeries and getting stronger everyday. Their physical therapist is planning on taking the girls swimming in about 3 weeks. That will be when the girls incision can be submerged. The prosthetics can be submerged and that is the reason they are going to start with the swimming.

Justin and Austin just finished soccer, we were proud of how hard they tried, but they really weren't that into it. So we got a flier about a wrestling class they could take, so we thought why not have them do something they do everyday anyway, over and over and over and over. So they started wrestling this week. I don't think they knew how hard they were going to work. The coach had them do 100 pushups during practice, and showed them actual wrestling moves. They really liked it. Jake helped coach their little group. One of the kids in their group started hitting another one while they were wrestling, so Jake had to make sure he knew that was not allowed. We will try it for a month and see how well they like it.

Jake and I were also going to the BYU vs Wyoming football game the day after the party. It was freezing and there are two things I hate, being cold and football. So as you can understand I wasn't excited for this date. We dressed warm and headed off for the hour drive to Lavell Edwards Stadium. Jake has to get there an hour and a half before the game starts so that we don't hit traffic. I started getting sick in the car, I hadn't eaten and was so exhausted from the day before, things just weren't going my way. We finally get to Orem and I'm very sick. We stop to get some food because I'm sure that's why I wasn't feeling well. We got parked and ate in the car. The rain and wind was really heavy, but my stomach was feeling much better. We bundled up and started walking toward the stadium. Before every game there is an alumnus that will come and talk for the pre-game. It's just happened to be in a really warm room with nice bathrooms. We warmed-up and waited for the game to start. We had blankets that turned into ponchos, but really have never used them before. But this day we had to use them. Jake was so sweet!! We were sitting in the pre-game room and he wrapped me up with these blankets and making sure I was warm. He even told me how glad he was that I come with him to these games, and how he knows that I hate football. It was incredible to have such a great man making me feel like I'm his world. It was a great day to freeze. We had a great time.

We have also tried to have cheaper ways to have our date nights. We have a place called Hopekids that is a life saver for our family, but there was recently a event for the parents to go learn how to ballroom dance. Jake doesn't really enjoy dancing, but he knows how much I love it. So he RSVPed for this event. It was such a fun night with other adults that have children that are sick or dying. It was really fun to meet these neat parents. The parents of Ellie were there, and we learned about their challenges. They told us that there little girl was diagnosed with cancer when she was 2 months old and when she was 6 months old they found out that she has a bad heart and needs a transplant. Ellie is 2 years old now and they have been through so much with her. Many times almost loosing her. What an amazing couple that have stuck together through thick and thin. Ellie is unable to have chemotherapy or radiation because of her heart, so I'm not sure how they are going to help her. But the paren'ts faith will help them and their family through. It was neat to share our story with them and to hear theirs as well. Life is so short and hard at times, but if you have a strong enough support you can make it through anything. Thanks to Hopekids for making life easier and finding support through other parents.

Tis' the season for everything to break! Everything seems to be going up in smoke. Jake's car really needs to be fixed. His car is 14 years old and we really want to have his car another 14 years. I HATE car payments!! My car needs new tires before the snow comes or I will never be able to make it up the hill. And of course the cars need to be registered. But there is always an upside to things. Hope that comes soon.

Kendra and Maliyah just had surgery on the 14Th of October. Maliyah seemed to just pop back to normal until we took her home from the hospital and she was doing too much playing. Kendra had some bleeding issues that seem to be getting worse with each back surgery she has. She was in a lot more pain than Maliyah was. Maliyah returned to school today and Kendra stayed home in bed. Both the girls are able to wear their 'legs' all day. They both are using their crutches more.

Justin and Austin are really needing to get their aggression out, so I'm putting them in karate or something that will work for them. Boys have such a hard time with their feelings, they can just hold everything in for so long. That can't be healthy.

Courtney is getting ready to celebrate her 11Th Birthday with a BIG party. I'm really excited to of planned this whole event for her. Should be really fun! The kids are excited to wear their Halloween costumes. I'm even going to dress-up for her party as a cowgirl. Easy and already have a shirt that will work.

Sorry it's been such along time since my last update. No news is always good news. :)

Anyway, Justin is loving school and doing very well. I was worried that he wasn't ready for Kindergarten and he proved me wrong. The teacher has emailed me to say how well Justin is doing at school. Austin on the other hand I thought was more then ready to start, boy was I wrong. He doesn't enjoy school very much and says he only likes to go for recess. Austin cries when he was to do his sounds and handwriting, but he is getting better. I just remind him that if he gets his writing done on Monday he only has to do his sounds. I try and get those done in the car on the ride home from school. Makes it easier for me. But they are both catching on to everything, so I can handle the crying. :)

Kendra is doing so well with her "leg". I'm proud of the progress she is making. She is wearing her "leg" everyday for physical therapy. But started getting a sore on her hip, so we had a back off some until I can take her on Monday to get her leg refitted. That is one of the reasons that starting slow is the best way for using the legs. There can be skin breakdown and it needs to be caught early. Other then that Kendra is doing so well. The rod in her back is staying clean of all infections. At night I am helping her stretch on an exercise ball, that is helping with some back pain she is having. I got the ball for my ab workout and turned out to be great for her too.

Maliyah wore her "leg" for 3 hours yesterday. That was a HUGE thing for her. The girls have a great aide at school that is motivating the girls to do their very best. They get to pick out of a treasure box for working so hard. She has been getting sick with UTIs a lot lately because we were trying to get her off the antibiotics. We also tried again to get her off the feeding tube, that didn't go over very well. She got very weak without her feeds at night. She has finally hit 35 pounds, so now she weigh as much as Kendra.

Both of the girls are working on walking on their "legs" without any assistance. At the PT appointments they are doing something called "flying". They put a vest on the girls and they practice walking on the treadmill with a pulley that holds a lot of their weight. They were both very scared at first, but both LOVE flying now. They are getting so close to trying it without any vest. I never thought they would be making so much progress. It's helped a lot that they are healthy and have energy enough to work hard in PT.

Courtney just started back at dance. She changed dance studios so that she could take dance with her cousins. She loves it!! Her 11th Birthday is coming up and she is very excited. She wants a new bike. For her party this year I want to take her and some friends to a haunted house. Courtney is too scared for a haunted house yet.

I am doing very well at school and finally figured out the degree that I want to persue. I am looking to change schools to better match my degree. I volunteer at the kids school several days a week and am always busy. I lost weight over the summer and so on one of our dates we went shopping for new clothes. I went down 4 pant sizes!

Jake started doing the P90X workouts. He is getting up every morning at 4:30. He is enjoying it. He's traveling more with work.

We are getting ready for our Disney Cruise, which the kids are excited for. We were asked to go on a show in Greece, so we might taking the family there. It would be a lot of work, It would be a once in a life time opportunity.

Kendra and Maliyah's next surgery is scheduled for October 14Th. I just hope there is no complications so they can recover in time for Halloween. I will be updating more pictures today, so check those out. VERY CUTE!! Have a great day. :)

How can the summer already be over? It went by to fast. All the kids are in school, Justin and Austin are in kindergarten, Kendra and Maliyah are in 3rd grade, and Courtney is in 5Th grade. They come home each day from school and tell me all about their day. I thought it would be lonely and boring being home alone, I am neither. It's a lot to still take care of her and school will be starting again for me tomorrow. I was going to take more then full time school, but realized that would be to much.

When Jake and I dropped Justin and Austin off on their first day of kindergarten, I thought there would be some tears. We were really glad that wasn't the case. They have a great teacher Mrs. Huber, so I know they will be in good hands. When Austin found his seat he was setting next to another boy. He is so outgoing and started talking to him. We were still in the back of the classroom when he ran over and said that he had a new friend. Austin had a huge smile on his face. Justin on the other hand was setting next to a girl. He is really quiet and shy, it takes him awhile to warm up. So he didn't talk to anyone. They even have some recesses with Kendra and Maliyah. So that makes it even more fun. I am glad my kids are so close in age.

This is going to be a great year for everyone!!

We went to Uncle Jim's cabin over this last weekend. It was a great break from life, even though it was just overnight. I finished my summer semester and will get about 2 weeks off before starting again in the fall.

Now onto probably,the best night of our summer. Several months ago we were invited back for a reunion for Thursday Night Hero at BYU University. In 2007 our family was invited to BYU to meet the players and them to honor Kendra and Maliyah. It was a dream for Jake because BYU is his favorite team. And Kendra is a huge fan. So tonight we went back to not only meet the other Thursday Night Hero's but to meet the new team for 2010 season. It was so much better than expected. The players and coaches were amazing with the kids.

Austin was in charge of getting all the players and coaches to sign a BYU football. Jake has a BYU room in the basement. So when Austin would walk up to a player he would tell them, and that his mom isn't a fan but she cheers. He even got some of the players to race him around the field. After some of the players signed the ball they came up with an idea to have Justin and Austin tackle one of the lineman. So J & A run full speed into this huge man, knocking him down and his cellphone went flying out of his hand. I am sure he was just playing along with the boys. I don't think he knew how rough they can be. It was really cute!!

One of the other Thursday Night Hero moms Linda was talking to Kendra about school. Linda asked Kendra when school started. Kendra answered in a excited voice, one week and one day. The summer just flew by!

I put up a lot of new pictures as well.

On one of the pictures you see the boys on the backs of some of the players and Courtney in between them. I was joking with Courtney before I took that picture that she needs to marry a boy like them. She was really embarressed, I didn't say it loud enough for anyone else to hear.

For most of the night Maliyah played on the jumping toys, she had no interest in doing anything else.

All the way home the kids were so excited! Laughing and talking about the night they had. We just want to thank the BYU althetic department for putting this amazing program together.

We just got back from a weekend of fun. We left on Friday and drove 8 hours to Sparks, Nevada. About half way there I realized that we forgot our camera. So the same night we arrived, Jake went to get us a new camera and save the day. :) I never leave home without one.
I was really sick of school and putting everything into it. So I talked Jake into getting some work done in Reno, Nevada since is company has branches there.

Jake went to work Friday. The kids and I headed to my cousin Kirsten's house to visit her family. It was neat to finally meet her family, Justice 2 and Kelsey 5 months. And then that night we went swimming. The Hotel Nugget has a outstanding pool. There is a huge hot tub several cold smaller pools and a swimming pool with a waterfall. We have stayed there before when Courtney, Kendra and Maliyah were small, but this time it was a lot more fun for everyone.

I am originally from Reno, so it was so much fun to show the kids where I used to live. My old childhood home, the parks I use to play at, and the old western town Virginia City where my Grandpa Warren has built and restored homes since the 1950s. Some of the pictures show the incredible craftsmanship of Grandpa Warren, the kids great grandfather. He loves to find old artifacts. Virgina City is the prefect place for him to live. Justin has a fascination with trains, so we took the kids on the train to the gold mines, about a 30 minute ride. And then spent the rest of the day playing with cousins. That night we got together with my uncle Greg and met his new wife Kay. The kids had a great time.

We just arrived home and the kids were excited to play outside with their friends. It was a lot of fun.

Jake realized that he is going to have to travel more. But we hope he can schedule some of his trips so we can all go. After going to Reno to visit family I realized that we need to go and visit Grandpa Warren more often. He is getting older and he has a lot to teach my children. It would be great to have him take my kids on treasure hunts like we did when I was young. I tried to get ahold of the kids great grandma, but couldn't. She is having a lot of health problems, so it would be nice to visit her in the next couple of months. I hope this will be possible. I am so glad my kids have great grandparents that they will remember. They will leave legacies that our family can be proud of.

WOW!! Time has flown by this summer!! The kids have 6 more weeks of freedom before school starts for them. They really have had the best summer. I haven't been able to entertain them as much this summer, but they have done a great job of that themselves. I just uploaded several pictures of family reunions we have gone to this summer. In one picture there are 4 generations, Great Grandparents, Grandparents, Jake and I and then the kids. On my side, the kids still have 3 out of the 4 Great Grandparents still alive. On Jake's side they have all passed on. So it was neat to get that picture with them. It will be a great memory!

In the next week, Courtney will be starting violin lessons. She is very excited!! Jake ordered her violin several months ago. This will be Courtney's last year of elementary school. She is excited for junior high, but the other kids are going to miss her. I was talking to Kendra's about Courtney going to junior high, she said "that there are always rides over to the secondary school", Kendra just thinks she can go visit whenever she wants. What a sweet little girl.

The girls are doing so well!! I am so happy that we haven't had any surgeries or sicknesses since April. Kendra had a fever of 104.2 in June, but that has been it. :) I think this is the longest break we have had in years!! We feel so lucky for the girls.

Jake has been helping the boys learn how to play soccer and got them a soccer goal. They start in the fall. I really enjoy watching the three of them play together. We have such a great family!

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, and fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small doesn't serve the world.” (Marianne Williamson) My favorite quote that has been on my fridge for years. I know it's not exact, but still is very meaningful.

This summer has been one full of memories that the kids will never forget. And it's not because we spent thousands of dollars on trip and toys, it's because the 5 of them have become closer over this summer month. When I talk to other moms they say all their kids do is play video game most of the time in the summer. My kids are just the opposite, they play outside from morning until late night. We have so many kids on our street that they end up playing night games together.

They are also exploring the world around them. I was walking out to head to the grocery store and Courtney was walking up to the car holding a snake with a glove. It was a small snake, but it still scared me. Sometimes it would be a lot of fun to take the kids back to Alabama where Jake spent some of his childhood. Jake tells stories of the places and things he would do in the forest. The desert has some fun wildlife, but it's hard to find them, unless you are a Herrin kiddo. lol

The girls health has been up and down but manageable, they have stay out of the OR and hospital for several months now. They still need blood draws and doctors appointments, but better then staying in the hospital. Kendra's blood work is getting abnormal. So in the next week we will have to make a decision on rather or not a broviac will be in the near future. I sure hope not.

The separation anxiety is starting to not only effect the boys, but Kendra who has a hard time being away from us. I have setup some play dates in hope that she can become more confident and feel safe being away from me.

Melissa a friend and I had taken are kids to Carl's Jr to play. We were talking while the kids were playing. Courtney came over to me and said that Kendra had just used my credit card to buy food. I was very surprised to find out that Carl's Jr took a credit card from a little kid. It made me mad!! I had fed the kids before we went, bought them something there, yet Kendra was still hungry. The kids can eat a lot, but they do play hard and burn calories fast. :)

As you can probably read, we are doing so well. Everyone is so happy and healthy. We have been given a break with the girls health. Everyone needed that!! Hope you all are having a great, safe and happy summer.

Wanted to share a new article that our family is in. They are on the front page of the Deseret News. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700041931/Formerly-conjoined-Herrin-twins-always-connected-to-family.html?pg=2


Thought I would also update about last week. The week was so relaxing, for the most part. We had a great family week. We finally got the front yard to look amazing!! Jake had his 30th Birthday!! Jake and I went out to dinner and to a comedy club. We had a great time!! It's really nice to be married to my best friend! He also had a great Father's Day!! We spent a lot of the time at my parents house celebrating the kids Birthday's and Father's Day.

I will update more when I have time.

The boys just celebrated their 5th Birthday!! We had the boys favorite food, pizza. They got a lot of water toys for the Summer. I can't believe my babies are that old. Their teacher at church asked them what they wanted to be when they grew-up; Austin said, "a soccer player" and Justin said, "a snowplow guy with a big fat belly". His answer came from a conversation I had with both the boys over the winter. After a snowstorm they would set by the window and watch for the snowplow to come by. Justin was dead set that he was going to be a snowplow driver when he grew-up. To deter Justin from that job, I said that they have big bellies and that he wouldn't want one of those. Thought I was pulling a fast one on him. But to my surprise he came up with wanting to be a snowplow guy with a fat belly. What a clever little man he is!! It goes to show that he will find away to be whatever he wants, just like me. I am proud to say that he is a mini me. :) He definitely has my strong will. The Mother's Day answers were even funnier. I will have to share those later.

Kendra and Maliyah have been working hard on their PT and walking. Wow, the strength they have is incredible!! Their "robot legs" are very heavy for them, so their core strength has to be very strong. The girls overall health is getting better. I was finally able to take Kendra off the antibiotics without her running a fever. That was a huge step in the right direction. Maliyah is starting to eat better as well. I hope we will be able to get her off her feeds at night, the goal is before our Disney Cruise. There has been a lot of problems with Maliyah anti-rejection meds. The levels in her blood have been low, but I am working with the doctors to get those back where they are suppose to be.

My summer school isn't going so well. I think my mind is focused too much on the fun of the days and studying isn't a priority to me. It should be since it was very expensive. But I will get things together now and still pass my classes. :)

Jake has the whole next week off of work. We are very excited!! He is also having a HUGE BIRTHDAY on Thursday!! So that will be fun. Nothing too exciting planned, just going to our favorite restaurant and hope someone will offer to take the kids for the night. But that is wishful thinking. For Jake's Birthday I saw that the UFC was coming, so we got tickets to that. That is probably the only sport that I really like.

Courtney has been a help this Summer. She has a knack for finding animals like a nest of baby birds and an injured mole. Courtney is a kid that loves to take care of animals and find them. She wants to be a vet when she grows-up.

Today after school, I picked up the kids like always. We pulled into our street and I could tell there was something crawling across the street. It freaked me out for a moment, but then realized it was a turtle!! That is something that you will never see in Utah. And the turtle has a phone number taped to it. LOL So the owners will be coming later to pick him up. The kids are having fun playing with it. :)

I can't believe that my baby boys are graduating from preschool. At the ceremony we realized that they will be graduating from high school in 2023. It just seems like such a short time away. Who knew that if you blinked everything could change this quick. It's such a bitter sweet moment for me. I want them to move forward and progress, but their is a big part of me that just wants them to stay little forever. I was on the Amanda Dickson Show and the other lady's on the show were talking about their children getting married and having children. On the way home I realized that it wasn't that far off for Courtney.

Maliyah had her Kidney clinic appointment this last Tuesday. Her liver enzymes are slowly rising, the doctors reassured me that everything was still okay. As a mother I can't help but worry about her health. Maliyah recently had a UTI and the doctors said that they are getting really worried about oral antibiotics even working for Maliyah anymore. So that is starting to be a concern for her. The plan for treatment for Maliyah will be changing if this becomes the case. I really am not worried at this point, but with be even more careful with her health.

Kendra's infection that she had over Christmas that nearly took her life ,is trying to come back. We tried several different times to remove her antibiotics, but the result was an instant fever. So ID is worried that she may need to return back to IV drugs. We all want the IV therapy to be in September, so we can have a fun Summer.

The girls are working very hard at school and making huge strides in their PT and also in their core strength. Their Robot Legs are taking a lot more time then I thought.

I can't wait for the Summer Time!! I am really getting sick of all the projects and homework the kids have. The girls have 5 more days of school. Which seems like it will never get here. I got some great advice from D Wright today. She said, don't over schedule your kids during the Summer because the best creativity comes from boredom. So I thought that was a great thing to take into account with the Summer coming. And it takes a lot less pressure off me to entertain the kids.

At the kids school they have a fitness goal. They are tested on different level of fitness. Courtney came home with a paper that said she had hit the National Goal in fitness. She was very excited about that. She worked very hard to achieve that goal.

I will update pictures later today. Have a great day!! :)

I know your inbox is full. I know you get a lot of emails. Thanks for reading mine! : ) Let me share with you why I send this every day.

Here is a quote from Dave Dravecky, the major league baseball pitcher who lost his pitching arm in his battle with cancer:

"I'll never forget the feeling in the pit of my stomach and in the depths of my heart when I first heard the word 'cancer.' My world ground to a halt. I desperately needed information. I needed encouragement. I needed hope."

Dave's quote reflects my heart in sending you these HopeMinute emails. It is my prayer that they offer you and your child hope and encouragement when you need it most. That they remind you that God is still on the throne, that He loves you more than you can comprehend, that He wants a deep and personal relationship with you, and that He promises to either calm the storm or calm you in the midst of the storm.

Hope is indeed a very powerful medicine. I have seen it work miracles. And wherever there is life, there is hope. Always.

Please join us for the first Annual Faces of Hope Event here in Utah. This Charity has given so much hope to our family.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/92141/hopekids/invite_resources/foh_invite.html

Thanks

This past Friday Courtney's bird Shelly pasted away. It was a very bad time! All the kids cried, but it was worse for the girls. To make matters worse the bird didn't die of natural causes, so that made things harder because it could of been prevented. But on an upside, all of the kids are safe, so a bird can be replaced.

These last several weeks have been very nice and relaxing. I finished up the last of my finals last week. The girls have last minute school projects to finish and then it will be summer for everyone. Can't wait!!

The kids are going to be taking swimming lessons. The boys are getting signed up for soccer in the fall. Can't believe in a couple of weeks, my boys will be turning 5. Time goes by so fast.

Maliyah's broviac broke and ended up taking her to the ER to get it fixed. It took 4 hours and then we were finally able to come home. When the tube broke there was blood everywhere and Maliyah was afriad all of her blood was going to come out. It broke my heart to see her like that. Courtney went with us to entertain and play with her. It was a fun night other then being at the hospital.

I have been getting a lot emails from everyone, so thank you. The kids love reading them too. I had no idea our show was on Discovery Health, I just thought TLC was going to show it. The kids still enjoy watching it, I on the other hand never want to see it again, LOL. It's really weird to watch ourselves on TV.

I promised Courtney that she could earn some roller blades. She did so well these last several weeks, that we went out and got her some today. Courtney is having a great time.

I needed some new running shoes also. I try to run at least 4-7 miles several times a week. My shoes were getting torn up. I hope these shoes will help my feet from becoming numb. It's really a big pain, and it seems to happen around 3 miles. I am not really training for anything, just trying to stay healthy. I have even gotten Jake to get his butt out to exercise too. I am to the end of Spring Semester, finals week is the next 2 weeks.

Jake was outside getting the sprinklers up and running for this summer, he turned them on and was trying to fix different things. Austin walked up to Jake and said "what in the hell are you doing". Jake really tried not to laugh. He told Austin that hell was a bad word. He said he was sorry. Of course Jake blamed me for Austin's mishap. I do have to laugh about it. Kids really say the funniest things.

This year has been extremely stressful. The girls have had many infections and surgeries. I can't even remember all of them. I like to block most of that stuff out.


I am finishing up my second semester of college. I have aced all of my classes so far. Even with all of the girls set backs I have been able to stay on top of my school work. I will be starting the summer semester. It's my escape for right now. Kendra and I were on the way to one of her surgeries and got into a car accident. That is her 2nd. She just cried for a second. The police officer that arrived at the accident was really helpful. He also knows Jake's cousin that is a highway patrol officer. He was so good to Kendra. We made it to her surgery on time. The doctor was a little mad that we were late, but I wait for them all the time so it's his turn to wait for me.

Jake just finished another part of his schooling. He is one smart man!! If only I can get him to figure out the yard that would be so great.

Courtney is doing very well in school and will be starting back up in her competition team in June. She is excited and has missed dance. I on the other hand am not excited!! It's a lot of work to get Courtney to all the practices and performances, she will start dancing 10 hours a week. We are hardly going to be able to see her. But she enjoys it and that is really all that matters. We got a new cage for her bird Shelly, she is so messy. Courtney got sick of vacuuming her room everyday. She also wants roller blades, so is trying to earn those through chores around the house. She only has one more year of elementary and then she is off to middle school. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. She gets prettier everyday. The boys are starting to notice too. A couple of them showed up at our house a couple of weekends ago. Jake wasn't happy about that. He is very protective of the girls.

Kendra is the life of the party. There is nothing that she can't do. We took the kids to Classic Skating and both of the girls put on roller skates and were able to get around very well. It was great to see both of them so brave. Kendra looks more like Courtney everyday, well all my girls look very much alike. She was also baptized in March. I took Kendra and Maliyah to get special white dresses for the occasion. It was the prefect day for her. Kendra recently got tested at school for next year and she is testing at a 5th grade level. She loves school!

Maliyah has had a really tough year so far. She has had far more surgeries this year then Kendra. She is on IV antibiotics for an infection. I just do them at home every 8 hours. It's really not bad. The medicines are making her throw-up, so we are working on getting them changed to something else. Regardless of the year Maliyah has had, she is still testing at a 5th grade level as well. We have tried several times to get her off of her feeding tube and she doesn't tolerate that very well. We need to make sure by this time next year she is done with it. She is getting stronger everyday with her Physical Therapy, she is getting faster on her walker and even able to take steps with her crutches. Both girls can wear their "robot leg" for about 10 minutes. I just hope they don't have to modify them anytime soon. Maliyah was baptized as well in March. She was excited at first and decided to go second right after Kendra. She got really scared, I told her everything was going to be ok and finally she agreed. I really didn't want to schedule a different baptisim for Maliyah. After Maliyah was done, she told me that it wasn't scary at all. I was so proud of her.

Justin and Austin attended their Kindergarten Orientation. I can't believe they are going to be 5 in June. They are the best little boys. Each day gets easier with them. It's nice to feel like I am on the down hill side with them. They already have gotten all their shots for Kindergarten. I really will miss all my kids. It's a bitter sweet moment having everyone in school. We got new carpet in our house last week, Justin had some friends over to play. When they walked in the house Justin ordered all of them to take off their shoes. It's really cute to see the kids taking pride in our home.

We recently found a good deal on the Internet for the Disney Cruise. They are cruising from California this next year, so we booked it. We are going to the same place Jake and I went for our 10 year anniversary last year. The kids are saving their money for the trip.

I think that is a great update for now.

I am also going to be posting new pictures, so check those out. :)

Can't believe its been so long since posting to our site. There has been so much to update, just not a lot of time to do so. The girls will be turning 8 in February, can't believe how time has flown by.

Kendra had a very rough Christmas, to say the lest. She was in the PICU because of a large infection. She under went several surgeries to clean out the infection. She is home now on IV antibiotics. She is a very strong little girl! This infection was one of the more scary ones, that made us really reflect on how blessed we are to have our children with us. Kendra is doing very well in school. She is very social with her friends, lets just say she is very popular. It makes us very happy to know that she has so many great friends. Her PT is going quiet well. She is able to wear her "robot leg" for about 10 minutes. I am very proud of her strong efforts. She is growing into a beautiful young girl. In Primary the teacher asked the students, How do they know their parents love them? Kendra answer was because my mom tickles me all the time.

Courtney has stopped dance for this season. We needed her to focus on her education, but she will be returning next season. She is an amazing dancer! I hope you all were able to see the youtube video of her dancing in one of her competitions. Courtney is really enjoying making videos with her friends, brothers and sisters. She is very photogenic! She is always making up new things to keep her from being bored. Courtney is so beautiful and really growing up to be a great example for her brothers and sisters. We are proud of her!

Maliyah is doing great even after her many set backs this last year. Since I last updated she has had several more surgeries. She just keeps on being so strong! She is very happy despite all that she is going through. She struggles everyday with pain in her back and hip/leg, but with the great Aide the girls have at school they work through them. Its a tough road for her! Her kidney continues to go strong! We thank God everyday for that! She is growing into a beautiful, intelligent, young lady.

Austin is still in preschool and enjoys going to be with his friends not to learn. He is more then ready for Kindergarten and bored with preschool. He amazes us everyday with the words that he says and the sentences he is putting those words into. He is clever beyond his years! He looks more like his dad everyday! He reminds us greatly of Jake's father Lamar. He loves Star Wars and the Wii. He is very good at video games. Austin has a hard time giving kisses and hugs now. He tells me he is to big for them, so we just tickle him and tell him we love him. Its sad to see him grow-up so fast.

Justin is still going to preschool as well. He is a BIG challenge for me. He is head strong and isn't willing to listen to us very much. He loves preschool! For Christmas he received a snowplow that he hasn't let out of his sight since. He even takes it to school with him. Jake took Austin to a Jazz game with him and left Justin at home with me, it was amazing how much they missed each other. They talked on the phone a lot, and even had to leave the game early to see each other. They have a close bond to each other. They are lost without the other. I have always wanted my children to have a good relationship with each other, and I think so far they really do. I am glad that Justin is still the baby in the family and will give kisses and hugs. I hope he stays that way for awhile longer. He isn't very excited for Kindergarten because he will have to be gone from me everyday, but I am sure with his brother with him he will be fine.

Jake and I are still going strong! We are a great team and really love our jobs of raising these wonderful children. What more could parents want in life? They make us proud each of everyday. I am still continuing my education and will do so for years to come. I am enjoying going to school. Jake has been very supportive, he is such a great husband and father. He will turn the big 3-0 this year. I hope we can do something incredible to mark the day. I haven't come up with the perfect present or surprise for him yet. But I have until June to figure it out.

I hope that I don't go this long without updating again. I will love one day my kids reading all of these entries.