Bekkah's Update

Our little Rebekkah had her cardiologist appointment at Phoenix Childrens' Hospital on Friday. We were excited to hear that her Holter Monitor (a device attached to leads on her chest to record her heart beat for 24 hours) came back negative. Her Doc is planning on taking her off her medication in the spring if everything continues to go well with her WPW (Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome). That's great news because the medication she is on makes her very sensitive to the sun, and she gets blisters when she's out in it for very long. I don't think she could take another summer inside!

We also got the results of her echo cardiogram (ultrasound of her heart). This was not quite as good of news. Her Ebstein's Anomaly has been upgraded from a mild to a moderate abnormality, which basically means the malformation of her tricuspid valve is getting worse as she grows. The good news is that the leaking of the blood from one chamber to another is still not substantial enough for the surgery. He said as long as the leak is minimal, we just "watch it". This means that if she turns blue we need to call him. No pressure huh! But the surgery is very tricky, he called it an 8 1/2 or 9 on the scale of difficulty, 10 being the hardest. So I guess we just watch and wait and do it all over again in March. And in the meantime, enjoy having our sweet little princess!

Tea Party

Bekkah had her favorite BFF over this morning. She and Gracie had a tea party complete with cookies and water. Bonus: Once all the water was wiped up my floor was clean! Thanks girls

College Kid!

Can you believe I have a kid in college? I can't, I'm not old enough!! Ok, I am and yes Tres started college at MCC today. He's taking Philosophy, Biology, Food and Culture, and Pharmacy Technician Prep. The tuition was free because Dan works at the District. The fees and books are not covered so it cost him most of his savings, but he's excited (and nervous) about going. Dad takes him in the morning on his way to work, and he rides the city bus home in the afternoon. Good luck Tres!

Jury Duty

I received THE letter in the mail a few weeks ago (amazing because we lost our mail key and only get it when we happen to see the mailman out there). I thought about trying to get out of it. I went through the excuses. I have 8 children. I have no sitter. Jack's still nursing. Bekkah's got a heart problem and I can't leave her too long. The younger kids get out of school first, no one will be home for them. The list goes on and on. But sense of duty won out.

The day before you serve you are told to call a number and listen to see if you are still needed. I made my call at 4:30 pm and the recording said to call back again the next day at 11am to see if I was still needed. Apparently they think I sit around all day by the phone. I called again and the recording told me to be there in an hour. So I left Tres in charge of Jack and Bekkah, along with the phone number of a close friend in case of emergency (like a diaper change! Thanks Trinity!!) and headed off to court.

I've never sat on a jury, never made it past that phone call, so I was very glad I brought a book. There is a lot of waiting involved in the American legal process! I was finally escorted in to meet the judge along with 30 other people. This is where we were all asked a lot of questions to see which lucky nine of us would spend the next few days together deciding a man's fate. Ok it wasn't that dramatic, apparently a guy stole a piece of farm sprinkler equipment. Our tax dollars at work!

Each of us had to stand, tell what we did for a living, what our significant other did, how many children we have and their ages. Most people seemed to work for banks or fast food. Some were full time students, others were retired. I was the only one in the room who was a homemaker (I guess all the other ones got out of it!) When I got to the part where I said I had eight children there was an audible gasp from the other jurors. And when I struggled with the ages (hey, that's a lot to remember off the top of your head) there was a little giggling. Oh well. Apparently the attorneys don't like unemployed housewives with 8 kids, because an hour later I was excused to go home to my family with the assurance that I would get another opportunity in no less that two years. Maybe I'll fulfill my civic duty in 2011!

Utah Vacatation

We spent a great week in Kanab Utah with Grammy last week. We swam, and took walks. We went to Pipe Springs, and to the movies. We visited an animal sanctuary and drove to Toquerville to visit cousins. It was a nice relaxing week playing games and hanging out. Thanks Grammy and Papa Oscar for the fun time!

Be NICE!

At the Priest camp out last week Bishop Walker challenged the young men to "be nice" for 24 hours. Being nice was defined as, no rude comments, no yelling, punching, pinching, or teasing, no tantrums, and definitely no sarcasm. President Hinckley said the following: "I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort." So Dan thought it was such a great idea that he challenged our whole family to do the same. Not as easy as it sounds. I've started over many times. I was so close last night. Then a little sarcastic comment slipped out, only a couple hours before bed. So I'm starting again this morning. Wish me luck!

If you want to read the talk by President Hinkley here is the link: http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=6055

The Loooong Drive Home

Question: What possesses a mother and her eight children to drive the 7 hour trip to southern Utah? (Dad had used all his vacation for youth trips) Answer: EFY in Cedar City and a visit with Grammy.
The drive home had it's ups and downs:
Downside - Friday night 5 year old starts vomiting
Upside - Finally settled down about 2am
Downside - Had to wake at 5 to drive to Cedar City (1 1/2 hr drive one way) to pick up 18 year old at EFY by 7am
Upside - Had a great time talking one on one with a young man who had a wonderful time.
Downside - Already getting sleepy
Upside - Kids were nearly ready to go when I got back (thanks Grammy)
Downside - 5 year old still sick
Upside - Thankful she can use a barf bag
Downside - Sometimes she misses
Upside - 2 year old falls asleep within the first hour
Downside - She closes her eyes right before the first rest stop (sorry guys, you'll have to hold it)
Upside - Four month old falls asleep too
Downside - Both babies wake up before second rest stop (and they aren't happy!)
Upside - Everyone agrees on McDonalds
Downside - Costs us a fortune!
Upside - 5 year old eats a little and feels better
Downside - 4 month old throws up in high chair
Upside - Made a new barf bag at McDonalds for the 5 year old - just in case
Downside - She had to use it!
Upside - Smart enough to double bag it - wet french fries are heavy
Downside - Backseat is starting to smell a little funky
Upside - 7 year old spills his chocolate milk - seems to diffuse the odor
Downside - My eyelids are getting heavy
Upside - 11 year old wakes me up with a bloody nose
Downside - He uses the whole box of kleenex - and needs more
Upside - He was traveling in a old shirt
Downside - Blood freaks him out and he throws the tissues out the window
Upside - No police were around - sorry to all the drivers on the I-17
Downside - Missed the turn off to the 202
Upside - Hopped on the 60 just in time
Downside - The two year old is DONE!
Upside - Whole family starts singing Popcorn Popping and other primary songs to distract her
Downside - Construction
Upside - We made the trip in 6 hours and 53 minutes - 7 minutes ahead of schedule!