Snapped a picture first!

This morning I told Kyler to go put his clothes on while I got dressed for the day. However, two minutes later I hear:

"Waaaa! Mommy help! Wahhhh!"

I ran to his room to find that he had pushed his stool over from his bathroom to his desk, in order to play with his noise maker that projects images onto the ceiling...then I guess he realized he couldn't get down and panicked. I of course took a picture to send to Jared before rescuing him because, come on, it's hilarious.

Also this morning, I retrieved Kyler's booster high chair back out from storage closet, because he couldn't handle eating his meals in a big boy chair. It was taking him 30 minutes just to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, because he kept getting out of his chair to dance around the kitchen and play with toys in-between every bite! As you can see, this (almost) 3 year old wasn't too thrilled with my decision.

Lastly, I shall post a happy picture because, really, most of the day he is a happy child. Especially when I give him a few pieces of candy before taking him to preschool. I'm sure his teachers really appreciated that :)

The Pumpkin

I've seen so many cute pumpkin patch family photos floating around instagram and facebook recently. All of the cute pics made me want to go out and buy cutesy fall matching outfits just for family pictures at the pumpkin patch, but that didn't happen. It's hard enough getting one family photo per year in the summer haha. So we went to a lame tiny pumpkin patch in our Saturday chore/cleaning clothes... Kyler grabbed a hideous Thomas the Train hat on the way out the door, because he wanted to wear a hat like daddy. I snapped the pictures with my iphone.... they aren't anything fancy, but I love them anyways :)

Jared designed and carved the pumpkin....I love it!

I can't believe it's almost Halloween!

Bathtub Paint

While I was recovering from surgery (I believe it was 4-5 days post surgery) Jared needed to study for a test, but with our noisy (but sweet) two year old running around the house, it was difficult for him to concentrate. Sooooo, I filled up the tub for Kyler and put some colored shaving cream (just add a tiny bit of food coloring) in some muffin tins...and this kept our toddler busy for 1 hour and Jared got some quiet study time. I just had to sit on a chair in the bathroom and supervise Kyler... he did very well!

Bathtub paint!

Clean up was really easy...Kyler did most of it with a wet rag, but I had Jared come in and clean it out really good afterwards just in case Kyler missed any spots. I'm sure younger and older kids would love this activity too, but I don't think I would go any younger than 2.5 while recovering from surgery...just because I feel like younger toddlers might want to splatter the bathtub paint outside of the tub...so you would need to be on your toes and involved more.

Today, was my first day back into our normal routine; I'm slowly starting to be able to do the things I used to do, and it is amazing! Small things that I never thought to be thankful for before, I am definitely thankful for now! Just to name a few:

-I'm grateful that I can just sit down on the couch, and relax with no pain! I was in extreme constant pain when I had appendicitis, and I remember wishing when I was in the hospital that I could just have a break for 2 minutes of not feeling any pain at all. I'm there now- and it is wonderful!

-I'm grateful that I can walk up and down the stairs easily.  Those first few days home from the hospital were rough, and stairs were particularly exhausting. 

-I'm grateful that I can wash dishes, and..... wait for it....do laundry. There I said it. These chores were piling up while I was recovering, and I just wanted to jump up and take care of them so bad! Now that I can, I'm loving being able to. Ask me how I feel about those chores next week and I may have a different answer hah... but for now, I'm off to do some dishes, and I couldn't be happier-- :)

The Closet

I've been taking it easy this week while recovering from surgery. This gave me some time to play with my new favorite app... Polyvore. My closet has been looking very ugly and slim lately....which means it's shopping time. I'm SUPER picky when it comes to buying new clothes. It seriously takes me forever just to buy one shirt....but I still like shopping, because who doesn't love new clothes?!

Anyways, I like this app, because you can browse for clothing, mix and match items (like put different shirts with different pants, and add different accessories) ... to see what goes together, and then you can see exactly where each item is from, and how much it costs. Sweet! Shopping just became a MILLION times easier for me (I'm sure my husband isn't too thrilled about this new app haha). Here are a few outfits I have created recently....now I just need to buy them!

 I definitely need some new church clothes. I've been loving gold accents lately. The shirt below is only $15!!

I was curious to see how big Polyvore's selection was, so I searched for the PJ pants that I am currently wearing, and they had them listed! Kinda cool. Victory Secret pj pants $34...they are soooo comfy!

I'm obsessed with the jeans pictured below- they are $60 which isn't bad!

I'm trying to decide how much I like the bracelet below... Aeropostale $13...hmmm

One more outfit below- This one is just wishful...So cute, but I would never spend over $400 on a purse haha. The shoes are very doable though $25 from Charlotte Russe- Love that store!

Now, if only I could make all of these outfits magically appear in my closet without spending a penny, that would be great!

On the road to recovery

I don't even know where to begin this blog post. I guess first of all, I want to thank each and everyone of my friends for their thoughts and prayers, and for their help with taking care of Kyler and bringing us meals.

I woke up on Tuesday morning, and everything seemed like a normal day. All of a sudden, around 9am, my abdomen started to hurt. The pain kept getting stronger and stronger every minute. It became so strong that I felt nauseous, but throwing up did not take the pain away. I didn't know if this was just a bad stomach bug or something worse. At 12pm, the pain was so severe that I made an appointment with my doctor for 4:30. 30 minutes later, I knew I there was no way I was going to make it to 4:30, so Jared rushed home from work and took me to the Emergency Room. I have never felt anything quite like what I was feeling. I read some articles online and thought it might be my appendix. While in the ER, they performed a CT scan to take a look at my abdomen. The only thing that made waiting in the ER bearable was the Morphine and something called Dilaudid (another pain killer). The report from the radiologist said that my appendix appeared normal. The doctors didn't know what was causing so much pain, so they decided to have an Ultrasound done as well. After 9 hours in the ER, they concluded that I had an ovarian cyst that must be causing the pain, and sent me home with instructions to make an appointment with my GYN.

Around 3am Wednesday morning, the Dilaudid wore off and the pain returned with a vengeance. I took the prescription pain medication that the Doctor sent me home with, but it barely took the edge off. Jared made an appointment with my GYN as soon as their office opened. The car ride to the doctors office was one of the most miserable experiences of my life. Every single bump in the road and turn made me double over in pain. Once we saw the GYN doctor, he said that the cyst could not be the cause of so much pain. It was actually a very small cyst, that he would consider completely normal in other circumstances. He thought there was probably something else going on, but wasn't sure exactly what it was. He gave us 2 options: be admitted to the hospital, or schedule an appointment with my family doctor so that he could refer us to a specialist. Neither of those options seemed desirable. A hospital admission would be SO expensive, and we weren't even sure it was necessary. At the same time, I couldn't imagine going home again in so much pain. We passively decided to go home and were walking out the door, when the GYN changed his mind. After seeing me hunched over, barely able to walk, he STRONGLY recommended that I were admitted to the hospital. That way, they could control the pain and figure out what was going on all in one place.

As soon as I was settled into my hospital room, a Surgeon came in. She had been consulted by the GYN doctor. She said that she took another look at my CT scan from the day before and it was DEFINITELY appendicitis. She said that I was going to be rushed down to the Operating Room for emergency surgery. I was so relieved that the doctors finally knew what was wrong, but also scared about having to go to surgery. Jared said that this Surgeon was really good and would do a great job. That gave me a little bit of comfort. A few hours later, I was waking up in a hospital bed and the pain that had been my constant companion for over 30 hours was finally gone. It was replaced with a dull pain from surgery, that was much easier to deal with.

By the time the surgeons began the appendectomy, my appendix had burst. They were able to remove it and clean everything out successfully. The surgeon told Jared that most of the appendix was dead, and had become gangrenous by that point. Luckily, the part that was attached to my large intestine was still alive, which made the removal part easy. Had we waited a few more hours, part of my intestine could have died and needed to be removed as well. In the end, everything worked out. I was discharged from the hospital the next day (Thursday) and am recovering in the comfort of my home now.

Throughout this scary, traumatic, and painful experience, so many people stepped up and were willing to help. Within an hour of being in the ER, I was able to receive a Priesthood blessing from Jared and another Elder from our Church, who happened to work at the hospital. I am so grateful for that. We had no idea what was wrong with me or what was causing the pain, but I received a great deal of comfort through that blessing. Jared also gave me another blessing of comfort right before surgery the next day. He was by my side the entire time, and even slept at the hospital on one of those uncomfortable fold out chair/beds. While in the ER, Kyler was whisked away in caring arms by his former nursery teacher from another Ward. The next day my Relief Society President and my brother Calvin took care of him. Another dear friend Amanda, and one of Jared's co-workers also took turns watching him. Another one of our friends took care of Bauer for a few days, and others brought us meals. I am so grateful for the many words of support and prayers that were offered in our behalf.

Day 3 of my hospital stay- the day after I had surgery.

 

I now find myself at home dealing with the reality of what all just happened. The whole experience was traumatic for me, and I'm still having some anxiety about whether or not I am healing properly, but I do find comfort in re-reading some talks that were given at General Conference last week. One of my favorite talks was given by Jeffrey R. Holland. While I was in pre-op there were a few moments where I think I was starting to have a panic attack. The nurse had briefly left my side to get something, and I was overcome with worry and pain. I flashed back to the blessing my husband had given me, and I took the time to stop and say a prayer of my own. Today, as I was reading Jeffrey R. Holland's talk I flashed back to those moments I had in the ER, and received and am continuing to receive comfort. These words I know to be true:

"So how do you best respond when mental or emotional challenges confront you or those you love? Above all, never lose faith in your Father in Heaven, who loves you more than you can comprehend. As President Monson said to the Relief Society sisters so movingly last Saturday evening: “That love never changes. … It is there for you when you are sad or happy, discouraged or hopeful. God’s love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve [it]. It is simply always there.”⁴ Never, ever doubt that, and never harden your heart. Faithfully pursue the time-tested devotional practices that bring the Spirit of the Lord into your life. Seek the counsel of those who hold keys for your spiritual well-being. Ask for and cherish priesthood blessings. Take the sacrament every week, and hold fast to the perfecting promises of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Believe in miracles. I have seen so many of them come when every other indication would say that hope was lost. Hope is never lost. If those miracles do not come soon or fully or seemingly at all, remember the Savior’s own anguished example: if the bitter cup does not pass, drink it and be strong, trusting in happier days ahead.⁵
.....

Trust in God. Hold on in His love. Know that one day the dawn will break brightly and all shadows of mortality will flee. Though we may feel we are “like a broken vessel,” as the Psalmist says,¹⁰ we must remember, that vessel is in the hands of the divine potter. Broken minds can be healed just the way broken bones and broken hearts are healed. While God is at work making those repairs, the rest of us can help by being merciful, nonjudgmental, and kind.

I testify of the holy Resurrection, that unspeakable cornerstone gift in the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ! With the Apostle Paul, I testify that that which was sown in corruption will one day be raised in incorruption and that which was sown in weakness will ultimately be raised in power.¹¹I bear witness of that day when loved ones whom we knew to have disabilities in mortality will stand before us glorified and grand, breathtakingly perfect in body and mind. What a thrilling moment that will be! I do not know whether we will be happier for ourselves that we have witnessed such a miracle or happier for them that they are fully perfect and finally “free at last.”¹² Until that hour when Christ’s consummate gift is evident to us all, may we live by faith, hold fast to hope, and show “compassion one of another,”¹³ I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

The full link to his talk is HERE . Again, thank you again friends, and family for taking such good care of us and for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. I really do feel them. Love you all! -Char

Imaginon

On Friday Kyler and I went to storytime at Imaginon with my friend and her little girl. It was my first time going and I was really impressed! The storyteller was really good, there were so many activities for the kids to do, and best of all it was all free! 

I've decided it is well worth the 25 min drive, and we will definitely be going back soon!

Malu in Hawaii

Just over four years ago I lived in Hawaii while attending BYU-H for a semester. One day, my friend Ali and I were doing homework/tanning on Sunset Beach. I had my headphones in and was reading when all of the sudden I saw an oddly shaped shadow come up from behind us and then I felt hot breath on my back. It startled me! Ali and I both jumped up, and when we turned around we saw an adorable black lab wagging her tail. What a pleasant surprise! We looked around for the owner, but nobody was there. Then we noticed she was really skinny and thought that maybe she was homeless or something, but she was very friendly and clean looking. I snapped a picture of her:

Today, (just over 4 years later) I saw a video of her on youtube! Apparently, a guy rescued her, named her Malu, and taught her how to surf. Check it out:

Okay, okay, it might not be the same dog, but what are the odds...a homeless black lab, on the same beach I was on 4 years ago.... then I checked the date that the above video was uploaded... 2008 so he found her in 2004 back when I was in high school in GA. Guess it's not the same dog after all. Haha. 

During my last week in Hawaii, I told myself that someday, Jared and I would come back and live in Hawaii together with our future family. It made parting with paradise a LITTLE easier. Jared finishes grad school in 20ish months (not that I'm already counting down or anything haha)...and then wherever he gets a job after that is probably where we will stick around for a while...I asked Jared if he would at least look at potential jobs in Hawaii. He said yes.... he would look in Hawaii, along with about 7 other states we would like to live in (UT, CA, NC, SC, NM, AZ,CO).... but Hawaii is my number one pick :P Watch, now we probably won't end up in any of those states, but that's okay- I've decided we can be happy living anywhere.