First Day of School

No one get excited. I can't promise that it won't be another six months until I post again. So much has happened in between that I can't begin to cover it all today. I was printing out pictures of my kids on their first days of school and they were so stinking cute I had to post them.

 Becca started Kindergarten.

 What is Benjamin going to do without his siblings at home?

 Ashlyn started second grade!

 Ryan started 6th grade! Last year of elementary school. How did that happen?!!

 Makayla started 4th grade. Yes, 4 in one school. I will be volunteering up the wazoo!!

This fall will keep us very busy. Between the oldest three being in piano, Makayla starting violin, Ryan in scouts, Makayla in activity days and the four oldest in soccer with Ryan in competition which means two games per week PLUS two practices per week, well, it will be quite busy. I have only 12 piano students right now which is good because as you can see, I don't have time for more!!

Busy Benjamin

So, Benjamin is growing like crazy. He isn't getting super tall or fat, that kid has yet to break the 10th percentile for weight!! He is growing in smarts. He is starting to talk, or at least he thinks he is talking. He is very specific in what he wants and it is a guessing game half the time. He loves to climb and to eat and especially to make messes. I have already posted peanut butter pictures. I wish I could say that was the last time, but oh no. I have worse pictures. You would think I would learn. The problem is, sometimes siblings leave out the peanut butter in the morning and I teach a few piano lessons in the morning.....the two don't go too well together!!
Yeah, not too happy about that one, but I still had to take a picture!!
Another day I made bread. I decided I was going to grind enough wheat and make two batches that day. I made one batch and had it sitting out to raise. I was downstairs vacuuming when I noticed it was awfully quite. That is NEVER a good thing with little ones about the house. I thought to myself, great I am going to have a ton of little finger holes in the bread. I ran upstairs and was very happy to see my bread was untouched. Then I rounded the corner of the cabinet to discover this.....
My text to Brad, after I took the first picture on my phone was, "How is your day going?" He said he started laughing and was in a meeting. He then had to show everyone. Benjamin was the hit of the meeting!! I had forgotten I had left the bowl of the wheat flour still on the counter.

And as if this wasn't enough, a few days later Becca got out the hot chocolate to fix herself a cup, without me knowing. She left it out to Benjamin's delight!!

Yes, the hot chocolate mix is hidden so Becca and Benjamin can't get to it.
So, I hope if you don't have children, or if it has been a long time since you have a toddler, that you will be slow to judge. Remember that the kids can't stay by your side 24/7. They need to explore this world. A lot of these catastrophe's happened in a blink of an eye. I can even be in the same room and it can happen, oh so quickly!! At least I can say life is never dull with this little guy. And one day, in the future, I will miss these moments.....right?!!!

At least with Benjamin we have fun times that don't involve food. This kid has the funniest personality. He has the funniest laugh, when he really gets laughing. No one can make him laugh like his siblings. He absolutely adores them. He loves to play with them and their friends. He is the favorite in the neighborhood with all the kids, even the older ones!! He smiles and laughs all day long, when he isn't crying that is!! He has been getting his molars and has had a cold and a cough, so he hasn't been feeling great. Between that and having a definite opinion as to what he wants, he does have his very unpleasant moments. I just have to remember how cute he is at those moments when I am pulling out my hair!!
I really love when this guy is sleeping. He is so adorable, and no messes can be made!!

Makayla's Singing Debut

So, Makayla was invited to sing the National Anthem at the University of Utah basketball game at the beginning of January. I know, big stuff right? Okay, so it wasn't just her. It was her Children's Choir that she is singing in. She was so excited, not even nervous!! The only bummer is that they had the parents sitting on the opposite side of the arena. Seriously, who thought that through? (Okay, you BYU fans, just hold your ridiculous comments to yourselves on this one!!)
We are proud of Makayla for always being excited to share her talents.

A big month for Ryan

In January Ryan had a big month. It first started with the science fair. He is in 5th grade and it is optional to do. He, being the achiever that he is, opted in. It sounded like a ton of fun for him until it came time to do it!! For his project he decided to test whether consumers could hear the difference in sound quality between 3 different quality headphones. We had a pair that was $20 another pair that was $50 and a third pair that was $200 (Thank you ZAGG for letting us use product!) He tested 32 different people ranging from 6 year olds to adults. He found that the kids did better at distinguishing the better headphones than the adults.
He worked so hard and it paid off. He was awarded an Einstein award. We were quite proud of all the effort he did for the project.


The next big event for him, which happened the very same week as the science fair, is that Ryan got his insulin pump!! He is so excited for this new found freedom. It is difficult in that he is always attached to his pump through tubing, but being a boy he just clips it to his pants and takes off. He can take it off to shower, play sports, and swim. He loves being able to eat whenever he so desires and by a few simple button pushes he has insulin!! So much better than giving himself a shot.
Before we got the pump I was warned that it can be pretty difficult for awhile to adjust. I knew that, but really didn't know what that meant. For the first month we were in communication either daily or multiple times a week with a care manager from the actual pump company. We had to keep track of every time Ryan tested, which he needed to do before meals, two hours after meals, before bedtime, and for the first several weeks multiple times during the night. Yes, I felt like I had a new baby. Ryan was such a trooper. When we would test him at night he wouldn't even wake up. The problem has been that his carb ratios and his basal amounts (which is how much insulin he gets spread out over the hour all day long) had to be adjusted all of the time. He was dropping way too low, and some nights that was scary. Other times he was going way too high, which has fear at night as well. We also have been struggling with changing the insulin site every 3 days. It is quite the process, but we are getting it down. The problem is we have to change the area on his body every time. We were trying different areas besides the easy ones (which are the behind and the hips...because they have fat on them). Nothing else worked. It either hurt him or the site didn't work because this kid has NO fat on his body!!
So, long story short (believe it or not, that is the shortened version), it has been a long 6 weeks, but we are coming along. His ratios are seeming to stabilize, but we always have anomaly numbers. That is just the name of the game. Ryan has been such a trooper through all of this. I really think he just loves how much faster it is for him to eat!!

Basketball Star in the Making

For Christmas Benjamin got a small basketball hoop and tons of balls. This kid loves balls. He wants to play with them all day. Well, one night last week he was playing ball before bed. He shut his door, backed up to by his closet and well......watch the video to see.



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Two-faced Toddler

How can one baby make me on the verge of a breakdown one minute and the next do the absolute cutest things ever? That would be my two-faced toddler. My own little personal Jekel and Hyde. I will post pictures tomorrow. He is into throwing fits (terrible twos start early). He has an opionion on what he wants to do and eat, but he still can't talk so we both get quite frustrated. All day he wanted this and that, and then he didn't want it. He made messes up the wazoo (just wait for the peanut butter pictures!). But, tonight, as I was putting him to bed he waved bye bye to Makayla, gave me kisses (without me prompting), and hugs. Then as I sang him "I'm a Child of God" he sang with me in his own way. Thank goodness for small moments with these little ones.

"Free" education?

You know that our education isn't really "free" when you are cleaning up the kids play area and find the following note that was used as they were playing school:
"Dear Parent,
Please can you make some donation for a big math test the donation is for money for field trips. Thank you, Jessica Allen."
Yeah, I think my kids caught on how often and how much their teachers were asking for donations.

(don't worry, I don't blame the teachers one bit. I always donate because I don't want them pulling it from their own small salaries!)

Funny Things

So, I don't have time to post regular events in my house, but the funny things my kids say, well I just have to make time. The other day I got a "night off" for following my health goals. I don't go anywhere, I usually just hibernate in my room while Brad puts the kids to bed and makes sure the house gets cleaned. The other night it was time for my night off. After family scriptures and prayer Brad told the kids "Okay, say goodnight to your mom. She gets the night off." Ashlyn responded, "You mean she has a date with the bathtub!" Oh, how my kids know me so well.

We're In Trouble!!

Ashlyn's primary teacher passed on this quote that Ashlyn said yesterday.....
"God made hair bows and pretty girl dresses so we could attract the boys." giggle, giggle, giggle.
I think I am in BIG trouble!!! She is only six.

Cute little Becca Boo

Last night Becca received her present from Grandma Sweeney (who was on vacation on Becca's birthday). She got the talking backpack from Dora the Explorer (which Becca is obsessed with still). She was in heaven. She was playing with all the fun toys that came in the backpack. We let Benjamin play with one of the small toys to keep him happy. Well, Ryan decided he wanted to look at the pretend video camera. So he started playing with it. Becca was quite upset. She said harshly to Ryan "No big boys allowed to play!" We do love this vivacious child!!

Ryan...our champion

I truly believe we are given specific personalities to deal with trials in life. That is the case with Ryan for sure. I have had so many people testify to this as well. Ryan has always been a serious minded child well beyond his years. He has always been concerned about his health and doing the correct things. Well, Ryan has handled this huge trial well beyond his years. It has been one month and today he did his first shot by himself at school without me there (he does his own shots all the time...but I have had to go to the school everyday for lunch until today). Of course his numbers were really low today and I was wondering why I wasn't there. We got through it though. He is such a champion. he doesn't cry. He doesn't complain. He did have his first break down last week when I called him up for dinner. He didn't want another shot. He cried for a bit, and then was just fine!!

He has slowed down on eating knowing if he eats for than 15 carbs for his snack then he needs a shot. He mostly chooses not to. His numbers are all over the place, which is to be expected. I have to call the doctor every other day and he makes new adjustments to the insulin doses and carb ratios almost daily. I sometimes get overwhelmed by that, but then I realize there is a reason we have a doctor. It is his job to worry and figure out this game, and my job is to follow his instructions and pray it works!! I have full confidence in our doctor. He is amazing and always seems to be a step ahead of the game.

It is amazing how much support we have had. It has made life so much more bearable. I have a wonderful contact at our insurance agency, the diabetes center up at the U of U is incredible. I have talked to so many people that know someone close to them with diabetes and they lend us so much support. This is a life long struggle and some days I lose it. But, those days will eventually become less and less. I couldn't ask for a better situation because Ryan is SOOOOO incredible. I really can't believe how well he has done. So, I have to say our entire lives have changed in this past month...and at the same time so much is the same!!

9 months old....already?

Yes, my sweet little baby is now 9 months old. How did that happen? I swear these last 9 months flew by way faster than the blasted pregnancy. Benjamin is getting so big...well, not size wise...just in what he can do. He has learned to crawl in the past 2-3 weeks. He actually has a very funny crawl. He goes on both hands, one knee, and his foot or bum. He crawls and scoots. If I can figure it out I will have to post a video of it. It is pretty hilarious. I do have to say, though, he has kind of out grown it. He does it a little bit, but is going on both knees more.

Benjamin is by far my smallest child. I took him into the doctor today. He weighs 16 lbs 3 oz (which is the 1%-yes 1% not 11% but 1 %). Yeah, usually my kids are that at 6 months. He is only the 15th% for height. Just a small little guy. My doctor is wondering if it is because of his growth stunt in utero, but we still don't know why. I just have to beef him up. We aren't too worried, just something more to do....I am getting tired of food and my children. I have one child I need to make sure eats certain amounts at certain times and count the carbs. Another child who is on the high side of the BMI so I need to make sure she isn't eating too much and is eating healthy food and now a baby who I need to shove calories down!! Seriously....no more food issues. Not to mention I still have a few baby pounds to lose.

Back to the darling baby. He is still as happy as can be. He is now starting to get anywhere and everywhere. We still need to get a baby gate (please remind me why we got rid of our last one?) He loves his siblings and all the neighbor kids. His favorite song is I am a Child of God. He loves to clap my hands together and has started clapping his. He sleeps well at night (most of the time) He just brings us so much joy. I am so grateful I took the huge leap of faith to have another child!!

What's in a Day?

There are certain days in the year filled with memories. On Christmas day you can think of years and years of happy memories. October 1st is filled with many happy memories (12 to be exact) as that is my anniversary. Each of my kids birthdays are filled with happy memories of their births and of fun times on their actual birthdays. Well, there is another day that has changed my life forever now in two different years. That day is January 17th.
On January 17th in the year 2004 my life changed. I lost my little boy when I was only 17 weeks pregnant with him. I won't go into the story, but I spent the entire day in the hospital waiting to birth him and then spending time with his tiny, yet perfect body. My life changed spiritually that day. I also learned that life is full of many hardships that can either make or break you. After I picked up the pieces of my heart I decided to let that experience make me!!
Well, January 17th 2011 will now go down in history. And once again it includes a hospital stay. Yesterday, the 17th, Brad and I took Ryan into the doctor for a physical. We had some concerns and wanted to make sure all was okay with our sweet 9 year old. Well, come to find out our '"worst case scenario" as far as his symptoms came to pass. Ryan was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes!! The doctor did a urine test and found the glucose in his urine was over 1000 which is not good. He also had ketones in his urine which is another sign. They then did a blood glucose test. It came up so high that it couldn't give us a number. It just said, "Too high to read". We all sat there in shock. Brad and I weren't as shocked as Ryan because we knew it was a possibility. He had no idea, and really didn't know what it meant. Dr Glade, our fantastic pediatrician, said we needed to head up to Primary Children's hospital immediately. He got a hold of the endocrinologist who said to get there quickly so we could get the process of correcting and educating started. We ran home, grabbed essentials for the next couple of days, and then headed up.
Now we sit in Primary Children's Hospital trying to soak in everything. I still feel like I am living a dream, not necessarily a nightmare surprisingly enough, but not a good dream either. Ryan had a very difficult time going to bed last night as he was trying to grasp how this would change his life forever. He stated that he too was still in shock!! Can you blame him?
Let me back up and answer the question that everyone has asked so far. How did we know to take him in? Well, we almost didn't. The past few weeks Ryan has been drinking.....a lot!! He was always needing a drink and always complaining of being really thirsty. Secondly, he was going to the bathroom all the time. I mean, all the time. Brad and I mostly noticed it in the evenings when we were around and things were slower. We all thought it was linked to him drinking so much, but I was starting to get concerned because he was only getting drinks out of the drinking fountain and such. I kept thinking to myself "Can he really be getting enough water to be needing to go to the bathroom that much?" Also, he was eating constantly and tons! I was so glad he was finally eating, he is such a small kid and usually doesn't eat that much. The strange thing was this past weekend I was noticing he was looking a little guant in the face and his ribs and bones were protruding more than normal. At first Brad calmed me a bit by saying that was a Bell thing, which it very much is. But, on Sunday Brad himself started looking at all of these things and we both noted that Ryan was way more tired than usual and wasn't his normal perky self. We decided to take him in to get a physical. I called first thing Monday morning and they scheduled a physical for 10 days from now. She also put in a note to the nurse to call us in case she thought we should go in first. I wasn't surprised when our nurse fit us in for 2:40 that afternoon. What a blessing that was. Now we are on top of the diabetes and in the process of healing. I am afraid if we had waited until next week Ryan could have gotten pretty darn sick. He is already doing so much better now that he is on insulin.
It is funny. 8 months ago we sat in the hospital praying for one sons glucose numbers to go up enough and stablize so we could go home. Now we pray that another sons glucose will go way down, which it is, and regulate so we can go home (after we do all the "educational" stuff of course)!! I have to say that Heavenly Father works in miraculous ways. When I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes last February I was scared to death. Once I got information I was fine and did everything I could do manage it. I learned to count carbs very well. Now, I am using that new found knowledge to help and to educate my sweet son that will be doing that for the rest of his life!! Also, I went into this experience not near as scared as I would have been because I knew that once I had knowledge we would all be okay. I was able to pass on that advice to my son knowing exactly the fears he was feeling!! I have been told that the trials I have now will prepare me for what is to come on the marrow. This is a perfect example!
Ryan is taking this all in so well. He is keeping up with Brad and I on all the education. He doesn't cry with the injections (although he HATED having to give himself the finger prick this afternoon). Tomorrow he gets to try injecting himself tomorrow. Wish him luck!! His only big incentive is that once he injects himself he gets to test Dad's glucose levels!! Brad's not super excited. Ryan is, of course. I am so impressed with his attidude. It is also wonderful seeing the effect of the insulin. All of my doubts wondering if he really has diabetes (which is a very common doubt of parents with kids diagnosed with this) are diminished with seeing how much better he looks, is acting, how much less frequently he is going to the bathroom, and even his appetite. It will be wonderful to see the old Ryan back!!
Another miracle to note. I decided to finally bite the bullet and sleep train Benjamin. I have been wanting too, but he has been sick whenever it was convenient with work. I let him cry it out on Friday night and Saturday night. Sunday night he slept for 11 hours straight. I couldn't believe it!! Well, last night I was worried, because I wasn't home, that he would wake up. But, he slept through the night again!! Let's pray he does tonight. Brad needs all the sleep he can get. Also, he slept 2 1/2 hours for my sister Tiffany today. He never naps that long for me EVER!! What a blessing!!

Is this better

There just was something not quite right about the last temple picture. The temple wasn't standing out enough. Let me know if this is better, or if you prefer the other one.
Thanks for all your advice!!

Testing

So, I love the temple. I love seeing temples everywhere and would love to visit all the temples in the world one day. That was my goal, until we started building them everywhere!! Now my goal is to see as many as possible in my lifetime. Along with that, I love taking pictures of the temple. I have just started and haven't done very many. I also love all the new temple pictures out there but don't want to pay an arm and a leg for them. So, I have been experimenting with doing my own. Here is my first attempt of the Los Angeles Temple. I actually got in trouble taking these pictures because I was at my brother in laws wedding and thought we were done with group pictures. So, I went off taking pictures of the temple. Well, my frantic mother in law came and got me after a while because we WEREN'T done. I am afraid she and others weren't very happy with me!
Anyway, here it is. Let me know any changes you would make. Ask yourself, "If I were to display this in my home, what would I want changed (besides the actual temple!!)"

Thanks for you help in this.

(Click on the picture to see it larger)

Christmas Picture

Here is an adorable picture of all of my kiddos around the Christmas tree!! How blessed I am this Christmas. (So, I have four color versions). I need opinions on what people like the best!!
#1-Normal Color

#2-Black and white with some color
#3-Pure black and white#4-Aged color

Creativity at it's BEST!!

This is the product of 3 very creative boys on a snowy day!! They love Club Penguin!!

So Fast?

How do little people grow up so fast? Last week we went to California for Thanksgiving. Before we left Benjamin could sit up a little with our help and was barely eating solids. By the time we left California he was downing jars of baby food and sitting all by himself. Also, he is doing so much better at rolling over. However, sometimes he gets stuck on one side so he starts army crawling, by default, he doesn't really mean to. It is completely insane how fast he is growing up!!

Look how big I am!!!
This was a scene I happened upon as Makayla was playing the computer.

Benjamin with his sweet cousin Easton. It will be so cute to see them play as they get older. Easton was trying to hold Benjamin. Easton is about 10 months older than Benjamin!!

6 Month Stats

Okay, so my little guy is still so little. By far my smallest of all of my kids. He either has the Bell metabolism (that I did NOT inherit once I got married....darn it!) or my milk isn't cream this time. Anyway, he weighed in at 14 lbs 6 oz which is the 4th percentile!! That is actually down from the 10th percentile the last time, but my doctor isn't worried at all, which is good because I really am not worried. He was almost 26 inches long which is the 27th percentile!! So, long and skinny (okay, not really that long but in comparison to his length he is still a cute little bean pole)!!
I started him on solids this week. He isn't loving it, but he will get it. I waited as long as I could because I really don't enjoy the baby food scene. But, he is always trying to eat my table food so it was time.

Let me tell you a little about Benjamin at this age. He is the CUTEST little guy. He is the smiliest kid there is. I am not joking. I went to the doctors the other day, to see if I need sinus surgery (a whole other story) and the nurse couldn't even concentrate on what she was saying to me and what I was saying back because he was smiling, laughing, and cooing at her. She couldn't get enough of him. That is pretty much how it goes. I really can't say how many people interrupt themselves talking to me because they just have to comment on how adorable he is. One person yesterday said "He is so darling. He smiles with his whole body!" Which he does. He really is a happy baby. He does still like attention which still makes it a bit difficult at times. But, his siblings absolutely adore him so he gets a whole lot of it!!

Benjamin has learned to roll over, finally. The great news is he still doesn't do it very often. He hates being on his stomach so he doesn't roll to that very much. If I put him on his stomach he rolls to his back pretty fast. I am liking that he isn't on the move yet. I am SOOO not ready for that. He can also sit up on his own for a short bit. It is getting longer and longer each day. I am ready for him to do that as life gets so much more fun for him. I have the bumbo, but he wiggles and arches his back to try to get out that it is no longer safe for him to be in it.
I love this little guy. There is not a day that goes by that I am not grateful for him. He is such a blessing to our family!!

BENEFIT CONCERT FOR MY FRIEND

Benefit Concert for Ruth Clark

Saturday, November 13, 2010 @ 7:30 PM

Pleasant Grove Jr High Auditorium

*Admission is free, but donations are encouraged*

Ruth Clark is a ‘super-mom’. She is married to her best friend Jared. Together they have 4 wonderful children: Joshua (deceased), Katie 8, Nathan 5, and Alice 1. Ruth majored in vocal performance and shares her time and talents with many people. She has organized benefit concerts for others in need, conducted choirs, directed Christmas and Easter programs, and much more. Ruth is not only musically talented but has many other wonderful attributes. She is very outgoing, sensitive to others needs, an eternal optimist, and a hard worker. She never lets challenges get her down.

Ruth will need these attributes and more to fight a disease that now threatens her life. Ruth was recently diagnosed with breast cancer which has now spread into her bones. Doctors have pronounced the cancer terminal; it is not curable and at the moment they are treating it the best they can.

Ruth and Jared have been ‘students’ for the past 10 years. Jared has been working on his PhD and was going to graduate this August, but pushed back his graduation to spend more time with his family. Ruth and Jared are struggling financially trying to meet all the needs of Ruth’s doctor appointments, tests, and chemo therapy. This benefit concert will be held in her honor with all the proceeds going to pay for Ruth’s cancer treatments. Ruth and her family need any help we can give them. Please bring your friends and family members to the concert. It will be a fabulous evening of music with dancing, piano performances, vocal solos, choir performances, flute and guitar solos, and much more!

Come and enjoy a fantastic night of music in honor of Ruth!

If you can't come but would still like to help out click on the button and donate through pay pal using a debit or credit card. It is free and completely secure.