What's that White Stuff on the Ground??

Last Sunday afternoon we were surprised with a hail storm in Casa Grande. Avery had never seen hail before, since it is such a rare occurrence here, so she asked me, "What's that white stuff on the ground, Mommy?" I told her it was little balls of ice that were called hail. She didn't really understand it, but she had fun watching it come down.I couldn't believe all of the ice that was on the ground when it stopped. It was pretty crazy. Avery didn't want to go outside, so she stood in front of the doorway to get a pic with the ice in the background.

So that's our closest thing to snow we'll ever get here. It only lasted for a few minutes but it was nice to have a little change in weather. Happy Arizona winter!

25 Random Things About Me

(I was tagged by my friend and college roommate Amy:)

1. I had my tonsils taken out when I was in 4th grade
2. I could eat ice cream at any time of day, every day, and not get sick of it
3. I don't really have a favorite color, but today I really like red
4. Brandon and I met in our high school sophomore English class 11 years ago
5. I am completely obsessed with clearance sales; I rarely buy something that is not on clearance (my recent clearance purchase was a pair of black flats that were normally $30 and I got them for $2.99)
6. I applied for dental hygiene school when we were engaged but decided that being a mom was more important to me
7. Our first baby was born 9 months and three days after our wedding day (she was 3 weeks early, but yes it was fast)
8. I have dreams about playing volleyball almost on a weekly basis, but I haven't played in years
9. I ran a marathon a month before Brandon came home from his mission
10. I love Mexican food - bean & cheese burritos are my favorite (we call them "beanurritos")
11. I watch the show Jon & Kate plus 8 all the time (it makes me feel less crazy)
12. I have never broken a bone in my body
13. Brandon and I were in a bad car accident on the night we went to the Sadies dance (the paramedics said if we hadn't been wearing our seatbelts, we could have been ejected)
14. I cut my own hair about a month ago
15. I have a really hard time waking up early in the morning, especially when my kids are still sleeping
16. I belonged to a book club when I was younger, but now I am not much of a reader
17. Scrapbooking is my favorite hobby - it gives me a break from motherhood and life, and I love to go back and look at the pictures with my kids
18. Brandon and I used to write notes to each other all the time in high school and we both saved almost all of them
19. I had my last baby without an epidural and it was probably the craziest thing I've ever done
20. I love meeting new people, although I am not very outgoing at first
21. Brandon is really good at shopping for me - he has picked out the majority of my clothes and shoes
22. I, like Amy, can't believe I will be 27 soon - I still feel like I should be in high school
23. Brandon and I both have three sisters and no brothers
24. Although it gets pretty emotional at our house sometimes, I love having three girls - they are all fun and unique in their own way add so much joy to our family
25. When Brandon and I hung out together for the first time, I wrote in my journal that he had qualities I wanted in a husband. We have been through a lot over the last 11 years and I love him more every day that we have together. I am so grateful for all of my blessings:)

Mommy, Can We Say...?

Lately, we have noticed that Avery likes to repeat a lot of the phrases and things that she hears on TV or movies, so we have to be careful what she hears and correct her if she says something we don't approve of. For example, if she repeats something like, "You're stupid," we tell her, "Avery, we don't say stupid." She is catching on to this and is now asking us if she is allowed to say something before she repeats it.

Yesterday the girls were watching Nemo and this was what she asked me:

Dori: "Nice trench."

Avery: "Mommy, can we say trench?"

Me: (laughing) "Yes, Avery, we can say trench."

(later on in the movie)

Dori: speaking in whale language

Avery: "Mommy, can we say blah?"

Me: (laughing even harder) "Yes, Avery, we can say blah."

Happy Birthday Hayden

Hayden's birthday was last Wednesday - she turned the big 3!! Since there really isn't much she can do as far as activities right now, we decided just to have a little pizza party at our house with some kids from our neighborhood and ward. We had pizza and cake and ice cream and then watched a movie. It seemed like they had a good time, and I think Hayden enjoyed having other kids come over.

Hayden got to have round 2 of cake and ice cream that night with the family. We got Hayden a Smart Cycle for her birthday, but obviously she can't play with it yet. Avery wanted us to open it right away, but we told her she had to wait until Hayden gets her cast off so she can try it first. She is having a hard time waiting to play with it, but it is a good way to teach her patience!

Hayden gets her cast off in 3 weeks from Friday. The doctor said it will take her a few days to get comfortable with standing and walking again. It will be interesting to see how she does once the cast comes off. The Smart Cycle actually may be a good way for her to build up her strength in her legs again. We'll see how it goes... In the meantime, we are counting down the weeks! Happy Birthday Hayden!

Five Weeks to Go...

Hayden has been in her cast for almost three weeks now. We thought she would have it on for only six weeks, but we found out at her one-week checkup that it is actually eight weeks. She is scheduled to get it off on Feb. 20th, which is five weeks from today. Woohoo! We figured out how to get in her in the stroller so we can at least take her outside for a few minutes or push her up to the table to eat dinner with us like this. This picture was taken after the first week.I took this picture of the girls today. This is Hayden's usual position on the couch. Avery is enjoying watching all of the movies with Hayden of course. I have noticed that there is a lot less fighting around our house lately, which is nice. Avery has been pretty good about being sensitive to Hayden and letting her play with toys that they normally would fight over. And it helps that they can't chase each other around the house or push each other over or hit each other. Besides the DVDs playing over and over again, it's actually pretty quiet around here most of the day. (Sorry these pictures are so blurry. I can't figure out how to get my memory card from our camera to upload, so I have been using my cell phone to take pics).Avery was getting jealous of me taking pictures of Hayden so she had to pose for a photo too.

In general, the last three weeks have been a little overwhelming at times, but for the most part they've gone pretty well. None of us slept much the first week. Hayden would cry and scream a lot, partly from pain (we think) and partly out of frustration - I can't blame her for that. But, thankfully, she is sleeping a lot better now at night and only wakes up one or two times crying, but goes back to sleep after I go in there. There have definitely been some adjustments and Brandon has gone to the store several times for me since I can't leave the house during the day. And our ward members and neighbors have been so wonderful! We had dinner brought to us three days in a row this week! I am totally being spoiled. I am so grateful to all who have helped babysit, drop things off, make dinner, take Avery for the day, phone calls, emails, etc. We are so lucky to have so many wonderful friends and family members. Thank you!!

Merry Christmas and Happy Emergency Room

Well this last week has been quite adventurous for our family! Christmas was really fun this year. It seems to get better and better as the kids get older. Avery got a new bike from Santa. She was so sad it was raining that day and she couldn't ride it outside. (By the way, it was so great to have a rainy Christmas this year. It felt more like "winter" here in AZ.) Hayden spilled her orange juilus all over her pajamas, so I had to take them off after breakfast. After I took Hayden's pjs off, she pushed her new baby doll and stroller all around the house in her birthday suit. Of course I had to get a picture of it.Kiley was in heaven with all of the toys, wrapping paper, and goodies to play with on the floor after all the presents were unwrapped. We had a really nice, low-key Christmas. And thank goodness it was low-key! The two days after Christmas were spent packing up and moving to a different house (only about 10 min. away). After spending all day at a friend's house, we picked up the girls and brought them to the new house. They were so excited to be in a different place - they were running around and jumping on everything.

Brandon and I were rearranging furniture in the living room and Hayden was jumping around on some pillows and cushions on the floor. All of a sudden she slipped on one of them and we heard a "crack" as she landed. She immediately started screaming and holding her right leg. Brandon and I looked at each other with the, "Oh no, what do we do now?" look.

So Brandon took Hayden to the local hospital where they took x-rays and discovered she had broken her femur! She was transferred by ambulance to Phoenix Childrens Hospital and I met them there at about midnight. The following day (Sunday) she was put under general anesthesia while they put her cast on. The doctors thought she may need surgery, but thankfully it was not needed. Because of the location of her break though, the cast goes all the way down her right leg, up around her waist, and halfway down her left leg.This was Sunday night at the hospital. We came home from the hospital on Monday to a house full of boxes. Thankfully, Brandon already had the week off of work and we have had a lot of help from family and ward members. It is almost impossible to get her in and out of the car like this, so someone will have to be home with her at all times. It's going to be an interesting 6 weeks, but we will make the most of it! Hayden spends most of the time on the couch at home and enjoys watching lots of movies. Considering her condition, she has done remarkably well and she still has her spunky Hayden personality. There are moments of frustration on everyone's side, but we get through them. It's funny that just the other day Brandon and I were talking about how great things were going for us lately and we both mentioned that something bad was bound to happen at any time. Unfortunately, we were right. That's the way life goes!

Truly Inspiring

Well, it has been a long time since I have posted anything on here and there are many reasons for that. There have been so many things going on lately and to be honest I haven't really known where to start. About three weeks ago, a very special person died from cancer. Her name is Susan Mortensen Turley and she was 25 years old. She is my brother-in-law's sister and a friend of Brandon's from high school. She had just gotten married to her husband Justin in January of this year and was diagnosed with colon cancer in July. She went through several rounds of chemo and surgery to remove the large tumor in her colon. Unfortunately, her body became too weak to fight anymore and she passed away on Dec. 5th. She and her husband kept a blog throughout her whole treatment and experience and on the last day of her life she used what little energy she had left to tell Justin what to say in her final post. Susan expressed her gratitude for the love and support of others and finished with her powerful testimony of the Savior. It moved me to tears and was incredibly touching.



Although I did not know Susan well before this whole experience, I have learned so much about her through reading her blog, from the comments of her friends and family, and through the stories told of her at her funeral. She was such a positive person and even when she was so weak and in immense pain from her illness, she always found something to be thankful for and expressed her gratitude often to those who cared for her and showed their love and support to her. She put the feelings of others above her own and truly had Christlike love for everyone around her. I have learned so much from Susan and her example has changed my life in my many ways. I have found myself making more of an effort to be kind to others and smile, even when I don't always feel like it. I have noticed myself giving Brandon and my girls a few extra hugs and kisses. When I am having a bad day and I start to feel overwhelmed, I think of Susan and the pain and struggles she endured and suddenly my 'problems' don't seem so unbearable anymore. I think the most valuable lesson I have learned from Susan is that what really matters in this life is what we do for others and the service we give - not because we have to, but because we love the Lord and want to serve Him through others.



That is what I will remember the most about Susan and take with me throughout my life. It is obvious that she was much better prepared to leave this world than I am right now. I have a long way to go to be like her and to have the spirit and attitude and light that she had that affected so many others. I will forever be grateful to her for sharing her thoughts and feelings with us during her difficult trial. I admire her husband Justin for his unconditional love to Susan and his example of how we should all love our spouses. My heart goes out to him as he struggles in the weeks, months, and years to come. I can't imagine what it would be like to go through something like that. It seems like things like this only happen to the best people and to those who have much more faith and patience than I do.


If you want to read Susan and Justin's blog it is http://www.lemonademakers.blogspot.com/ , or you can click on their link under my blog list. The latest post is the program from her funeral, as well as the talk her father gave at her funeral. You will see how beautiful she is, inside and out, and why so many people love her. It is truly inspiring.