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.

The girls are going to be on the Oprah Show tomorrow. Its just an update show. Happy watching!