Re: Nativity

For those requesting info on the live Nativity, it was just south of the Celebration Center, but I believe that the night we went was the last night they were doing it for the season. I'm sure it is an annual thing though, so there's always next year, SORRY! This was our first year going. but speaking of live Nativities look at this AWESOME pic of my friends family here. Totally the best Christmas card idea ever!

Enjoying the season!

Well despite our current chaotic living environment, this has been such a great Christmas season. I am finally feeling like I have presents figured out and almost entirely shopped for, and we can relax for a few days at least. We're going to have to start painting and staining and flooring here soon, and I may have an entirely different attitude on the season. So I wanted to be sure and document these last moments of peace enjoying the Christmas spirit. We had the chance last night to go out to dinner as a family to a real restaurant instead of McDonald's which was actually quite enjoyable. We then went to a live nativity scene in Nibley (and of course I forgot my camera.) Even the kids seemed to really understand the significance and reverence of that Holy night by seeing that scene. We walked up a long snowy road to a farmhouse with little paper lanterns lining the way. We passed the Bethlehem Inn and stood by the fire to warm up a minute and then entered the stable. There were sheep, donkeys, goats and even a camel. It really struck me how humbling and spiritual a barn could really have been. They had a narration of the story playing while live actors played it out. There were only a few people at a time in the barn so it felt very intimate, and even the kids were very reverent while they pondered what had happened that night. Cate got so excited when she saw the star and said "the star! my found it!" it was so sweet, she kept whispering to me and pointing "baby jesus, baby jesus." We even got a hayride back to the van. I hope the kids got a much out of it as I did. With all the hustle and bustle of the season that night was just what I needed to bring into focus Christ's humble birth, and the glorious gift His life was to us all. My goal is to keep that spirit fresh throughout the holidays, so simple and so powerful. Tonight we made a gingerbread house from a kit I got at Sam's. That was the best ten bucks I ever spent. It had all the frosting, candy, and gingerbread we needed, and the kids had a blast. It only half wrecked my kitchen, which was nothing compared to if I had made it myself (which honestly I wouldn't have had the energy to do). So all I need to do now is neighbor gifts and get Christmas cards out!

What a Turkey Day!

We had a blast down is St. George with my family for the holidays. It was mostly sunny so it was great to get a rest from the Arctic north, and mostly it was great to see my sisters who live out of state. The kids just loving getting together with their cousins. We played at the pool about every single day, and hiked snow canyon with the kids. They had some simple hikes that the kids could manage, but apparently not me. I totally twisted my ankle like an idiot. I wore flip flops and was holding Cate in one arm and my mom's camera in the other. So obviously I couldn't let either drop to regain footing so I went straight down on my ample rear-end, and hurt my ankle. Every time my family goes hiking or biking I end up having an accident. My most famous one was doing a complete flip over the handlebars while mountain biking slick-rock in moab. At least I had a better excuse this time. Although the flip flops were definitely a bad idea.

I also finally got to see TWILIGHT! I went with my sisters and had a total blast. Except for the fact that Cami who sat next to me actually fell asleep for most of the movie. That's right completely passed out. She didn't read the books so that's her only excuse. I kept turning to her to laugh or comment and she was snoozing away. I have to say it was great, I don't think anyone could have nailed it the way the book did, but on their budget they pulled it off pretty well. We took the liberty of hitting Denny's at midnight since the kids were asleep anyways, and laughed until I could have puked. Everyone in the joint had to have thought we were drunk. Oh my goodness I have funny sisters! We haven't been out on the town without kids or husbands ever I don't think. Thanks to our husbands and my dad for being such good sports. Dealing with a bunch of sick kids couldn't have been fun. And true to form we all got each other sick. The flu tends to be an inevitable companion to our family get togethers, but I actually think it's worth it anyways. Here's Coley passed out on the couch with the flu.

And a big thanks to my parents for sacrificing their timeshare points so that we could all get together. It was definitely the best thanksgiving ever!

From the mouths of babes

I had to share the most darling thing that Cate just said. We were sitting at the computer finding a game for her to play when she saw the picture of Christ above the computer and said "Jesus crying mommy?" I asked "why is he crying Cate?" then she said "him hand hurt, need bandaid." For any nursery workers who think that kids aren't paying attention in class you never know what they are picking up. I just know we haven't discussed that subject in any recent FHE lessons, my boys are obsessed with the Book of Mormon stories lately, and since they get to pick the lessons, that is usually what we focus on. What a sweetheart. She can barely talk and understands at least a little about Christ's sacrifice for us. Definitely one of those "makes it all worthwhile moments."

BOO!

No one was very scary for Halloween this year except maybe me. The kids were a fairytale. Cai was a Knight, Cole was a dragon, and Cate a princess of course. She recently discovered princesses and that is about all she talks about. Chris and I were Static Cling and Dirty Laundry. I had my hair ratted out and painted blue with lint all over it and blue and white sparkly makeupon my face then I had my skirt hitched up to my knee and the kids clothes and socks pinned all over me. Chris was supposed to wear a laundry basket with clothesline suspenders full of dirty laundry, but Cate fell asleep for the ward party so she missed out and Chris stayed home with her. Halloween night the kids went to the mall to trick or treat and after we were done they were so loaded up with candy they didn't really need to hit the neighborhood, but how could we not. Grandma and Grandpa Guymon came up to hang out with us so we carved pumpkins ( Cai made the one with the face and spider on the side, and me and Cole made the skeleton hand ones). We tried to hit the pumpkin walk, but apparently it is all cleaned up for Halloween night, but he kids had a great time anyways. Now we just have to get through all this candy without any cavities!

Catchin up Again!

I really have been awful at blogging lately, but we're a little swamped as usual. Cai has been playing basketball, and he's been learning alot. It is so funny to watch 1st and 2nd graders play. Cai could barely dribble the first game but made a lot of progress. I realized I really stink at getting out and playing sports with my kids there were a lot of players that really knew what they were doing out there. Maybe I ought to learn too. We have a goal for next summer I guess.

The addition is coming along these pics are actually kind of old, we now have shingles on both roofs, all the doors and windows, soffit and facia on the addition and half of the siding on it too. The inside has all the electrical done, and insulation blown in, sheet rock is supposed to start tomorrow. My old laundry room is now a mudroom with a large cabinet to expand my pantry and a bench with storage compartments beneath and a ton of hooks for jackets and backpacks. Cai and Cole's old room is now a fully functional laundry room with cabinets and countertops. I am so loving my new laundry system. My bedroom used to be laundry sorting and folding central and now I have it back. The hardest part is still having all the kids in Cate's room, but we're making it work. The new garage has a little offshoot for a kids play house. We wanted the garage to look like a little house back there, since we'd be staring at it out those southern windows forever. We decided to go for the 12/12 pitch live in trusses so that we could have a ladder in the playroom and the kids could play in the "bonus room" above the garage too. Then when they're older it would be great for storage. I'll have to update the new pics, it's kind of hard to tell with just the trusses up.

We also got to go down to Salt Lake over UEA. Chris had to sit at the convention, so I went to my sisters and we hit the scarecrow festival. The kids had a ton of fun. They had all kinds of free games and blow up rides. The blowup rides were finally our downfall however. They were so large that once your kids headed into them you couldn't see them inside and never quite knew when they were coming back out, and after a while you started to wonder if they had already come out and were lost, or if they were hiding inside. My 3 year old nephew got lost for about 10-15 minutes and my sister was hysterical we combed the grounds and finally found him. He ran into a blowup ride and sat in a corner waiting for Cai and Cole. Then we decided we would hit another ride and Cate and the boys sat in line while Kerrie and I talked. We looked at the line a moment later and the boys had gone in, but Cate was a little nervous sometimes so I wasn't certain if she went in also. I peeked in and around but couldn't tell so I sent a worker in to look. He didn't see her so I started panicking. I searched the other rides and the worker gave her description to the other operators. No sign of her. Kerrie and I split up again to search. I went to the bouncing castles she had been wanting to go into and no sign. I went behind them just in case she wandered back there and saw an exit. I totally freaked and knew I had to get help right away so I went to talk to their EMT guys by some four-wheelers and just broke down bawling trying to describe her to them. We all started looking around and I saw my sister coming across the field with her. She had made her way all the way over to the stage area, and was climbing around on the bleachers when Kerrie saw her. I can't tell you how relieved I was. When they're lost you just start imagining all kinds of terrible things, wondering if you'll ever see them again. Needless to say after losing two kids we were DONE with the scarecrow festival! Those blowup rides were our undoing. It was impossible to be sure where they were, and there were so many kids. Anywhere else you would go with your kids on a ride, but those you just trusted they would come out the other end someday. YIKES! I forgot my camera that day so here's a cute pic of Cate I took the other day. No more giant blowup rides for her until she's 10!

Tagged!

I actually don't think I have ever been tagged, thanks Jenni. Well here goes.

2 names you go by:

-court

-courter (Quarter) I hate this name but really love the people that started calling me courter. My awesome Aunt Claudia and my cousins her children, they still call me that to this day.

Two things you're wearing right now:

-shorts (I'm freezing but we just got our laundry room in working order yesterday, so we are WAY backed up on laundry)

-sweatshirt -I just love warm and snuggly clothes. If only it didn't have to get so cold outside to validate them.

Two things I want very badly at the moment:

-a cure for cancer

-my cousin Leslie back. She always called me Courter and was always my hero. I wanted to be the kind of mom/person/friend she was. I just wish she could have had a bit more time on earth to show me more, and time for me to tell her what a great example she always was to me. She was so commited to the gospel, so funny (I will never forget her laugh), and so selfless. A truly beautiful person, and deeply missed.

2 favorite pets that I have had

-Dexter our Yorkie he was the greatest dog we miss him so much!

-Our turtle Thomas is pretty great. He's low maintenance, doesn't complain, and keeps it pretty clean unlike our Chinchilla.

2 things I did last night:

-I drilled a vent through the wall for our dryer, and did my first load in our new laundry room. I just sat on the floor for about twenty minutes in bliss watching the clothes spin. No more laundry in a tiny little closet/room, no more ironing board on my kitchen door, and no more tripping over laundry baskets trying to access the garage!

-We watched our windows go in the sunroom walls, and the vinyl banister I have always hated come off my front porch! I love progress!

2 things you ate today- today is a very bad day to ask

-about 3 snack size snickers

-nachos loaded with jalapenos and guacamole.

2 things you plan to do today:

-finish this tag

-take a nap- I love Sundays

2 longest trips you've taken in the last 5 years

-Our trip to Italy this summer

-Victoria, Canada -both without kids thanks to awesome in-laws and family!

2 favorite beverages

- trying to go Vegan (except for cheese and fish) I have developed a recent love of soy milk, I definitely prefer it over milk now.

- Ice water with lemon

No Dysplaysia!

Well I was just sitting down emailing my brother who is on a mission right now to update him on my U.C. and I got a call from the hopsital. They said that the biopsies were clean and there was NO DYSPLASIA! I am so relieved I'm just bawling. It has been such a roller coaster the last few months. At my first appointment I thought the doctor said I had low-grade dysplasia, then at my 3 month follow-up he said it was indefinite for low-grade dysplasia, and now it shows NONE! (For those who are unaware there are three stages of dysplasia indefinite, low-grade, and high-grade. At high grade it pretty much means removal of your colon which has many nasty side effects.) These results are far more accurate as they were taken while I was in remission. I am so grateful for everyone's prayers, I truly don't think it was by coincidence or accident that there was such a difference in the biopsies from last time to this time. Miracles do happen!

It's All Good!

I just went in for my 6 month follow-up colonoscopy, and things went really well. The Doc. discovered that my U.C. is officially in remission, and ulcers were healing up well. There were only a few red areas that he saw, and where they removed the polyps last time has healed up really well also. He said that on a scale of 1-10 regarding how worried he was about me he used to be a 7 and now he is less than 1. He cut me back to 2.4 g of lialda, so that will be nice. It is a very expensive prescription. He took a ton of biopsies and we should be hearing back from the pathologist by Wed. of next week in regards to the dysplasia. I am really interested to hear what these results are because the last time they were reviewed was when the disease was active, and it is far more difficult to diagnose dysplasia when the disease is active. So cross your fingers for me. Last time they said the cells were doing something abnormal but were indefinite as far as confirming or denying dysplasia (a precancerous indicator).

The joys of Boys!

To steal a line from my sisters blog. Although mine probably has different implications entirely. We all stayed home from church today (except Chris) because Cate has been throwing up nonstop since Sat. morning. She cannot hold anything down, and who knows if the boys may be contagious. Although I think the video shows they are more than healthy and rambunctious. Interesting to note the incredible differences between my boys and little girl. Please excuse our transitional living situation (i.e. air mattress in the boys room/laundry room) and the lack of sheets on my bed (compliments of Cate's puke). Also you may want to mute the music below.

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice!

Cate is getting so big. She just went over to her friends house to play for the first time last week. It was so cute and so sad all at the same time. She and her friend held hands the whole way. This video was shot of her and her friends across the street dancing on Cates drywall "stage" downstairs. She keeps dissapearing to her newfound stage, and I can hear her singing "dance, dance, dance, dance" all the way upstairs in the kitchen. We decided we would have to put a small stage in the toyroom downstairs.

Crazy Summer Fun!

I think I have blogged with that title before, I added the "CRAZY" to differentiate it, but I don't think I was all that succesful. Oh well. It has been crazy and fun so to heck with originality.



We have had so much going on lately dealing with life, but we really have done some fun things I want to post, I just haven't had the time. So bring on the slideshows!

Pictures!

It is amazing how we take the simple things for granted when our computers and electronics are all working in perfect harmony, until they stop. I am so relieved to be able to blog with pics again. Who wants to go through the trouble of reading all those words to describe what we're up to?

Anyways I finally caught Cate outside of the bathtub singin her new favorite Queen song. We Wiw Wock Coo! Fortunately our video camera is compatible with our computer.

Complete the Cure

A close friend of mine recently sent me this link in an email. Her son Toby has Leukemia and this program helps raise funds for Pediatric Cancer Research. He was diagnosed at the tender age of 3 and is nearing the end of treatment. There is so little we can do to help besides offer our friendship and support, but this site has a great way to help fund new research.
September has been designated as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. HopeKids is proud to announce they are commemorating this month by partnering with Children’s Cancer Research Fund in an interactive web campaign titled CompleteTheCure. The goal of the campaign is to bring awareness to the childhood cancer experience — the progress and the challenges. CompleteTheCure.com will feature six short video clips about childhood cancer. For each video clip viewed, a corporate sponsor will make a donation in support of pediatric cancer research. The more times the videos are viewed, the more funds that will be raised to help advance promising childhood cancer research. You can visit CompletetheCure.com, watch the videos and watch the money add up that will go to research. A couple of ideas to help spread the word: Post the website and information at bottom of every September journal entry so everyone visiting your blog site sees it and visits the CompleteTheCure.com. The more people that watch the videos the more awareness we can create about the importance of childhood cancer research and the more money we raise.

Thanks for your help every little bit helps.
Courtney

First Day of School

I seriously cannot believe that school has started. The summer was such a blur. Life just speeds up every passing year as the kids get older. Cai was very excited for 1st Grade. We went to back to school night and got to meet his teacher. She is sooo friendly and welcoming. It turns out she is one of Chris' clients. One that he always talks about. She has two Beagles, so whenever the topic of getting a dog comes up he has to comment about her GREAT dogs. The first day of School Cai had to wear his "My Band Rocks" T-shirt. Unlike Cole, Cai doesn't usually care about what he wears, with the exception of two shirts his "Caution Extremely Awesome" shirt and the band one. He was so excited to get a new backpack and shoes. He had to show everyone who came over his new Z straps for about a week. We were worried about his endurance for first grade (he was complaining that kindergarten was too long) but he has not complained once. I think the recess and lunch helps. On Thursday Cate and Cole and I went and had lunch with him at school. He was just beaming with pride that we were there. He was so sweet about it. He introduced me to all of his friends, showed Cole how to dump his tray, and had to give each of us a big hug before he went out for recess. He can be so sweet and loving sometimes.



Cole had a great time at Parent night for Billye Sue's preschool. He was very confident about everything. He too got to pick out a new backpack, which was way harder than picking one for Cai. Cole has major opinions on what he wants and doesn't want. I had a hard time talking him out of Speed racer, Lightning McQueen and Spiderman, but he finally went for a cute canvas camo one. He already has a character backpack he takes to Grandma's houses for sleepovers, but I was hoping we could find one without the cartoony look. I know I'm being superficial, sorry I really do try to let them go with their own look, and it is almost painful sometimes. I don't want to destroy their confidence and make them feel like they have to look like kids in Gap ads or something in preschool, but they just look so darn cute in those ads I can't help providing a little redirection towards good fashion when I can. Yeah that is superficial. Okay back to Coley. He made a major accomplishment the week before preschool when he began riding his bike with no training wheels. That boy is destined for a life on wheels, and it totally freaks me out. Nothing is more terrifying to me than off roading, motorcyles, and risky driving, and I can just see where his interests are forming in that direction. He is definitely going to double my gray hair. Cai just barely started riding his bike without training wheels the beginning of the summer. As with everything else Cole does it is way above his age. The first day of school Cole picked out his Hulk smash T-shirt and I bit my tongue even though I had just bought him some darling new clothes in Park City. Cole rode all the way to and from preschool his first day and was so excited to have made cookies for the whole family which he brought home in his backpack. He had each cookie assigned to a specific person and set them on the counter until Cai and Daddy got home. After Cai returned from school he saw them and polished them all off. Cole didn't realize until later and I just had to lie and tell him that Daddy had his too. It just would have broken his heart not to. Cole got a little mouse at parent night that he got to bring home and give it a name to take back to preschool. Then Billye Sue takes the kids pictures with their mouse and puts them all together in a book. He named his Softie. I'm not at all surprised Cole LOVES soft things. Billye Sue does several of these personalized books throughout the year and they are such fun keepsakes. Overall it was a great start to the new school year for all.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

Summer is soooo busy! So let me catch you up on our last few weeks of craziness. We just finished swimming lessons last week and that always messes up our routine until it's over, but the kids love it. I did mom and me lessons with Cate. I don't know how much she got out of it, but I knew I would be hard pressed to keep her out of the water. She is pretty fearless and is a little fish. I think after a few more sessions she will definitely have some skills learned. Cole was very shy at first which is normal, and cried the first day, but his teacher handled it great. She didn't let him sit it out, and dealt with the crying until he was comfortable. We didn't have one issue after that. Cai started level two this year and was excited to be in the "big" pool. He is growing up so fast by the first day he had remembered where to meet his teacher, what she looked like and her name. By the end of mom and me I still couldn't remember out instructors name. What a smart boy.

Secondly we have been plotting with our contractors for the past few months and finally broke ground on our addition and garage last week. The kids nearly had a heart attack when they saw a giant trackhoe make it's way through the side yard and start breaking up the cement patio in the backyard. They were really just parking it for the night but I guess wanted to make sure the arm would clear the roof (the patio is covered). The real fun began the next morning and I could hardly keep the kids from the sliding glass door. I had planned to be gone because I thought Cate would totally freak out (she screams if a four wheeler drives by). After some initial nervousness though she started thinking it was very cool. By the time we got back from swimming lessons they had finished the basement and were working on digigng the footings for our neighbors shop. By the end of the day they had all three holes dug. They trucked out most of the dirt besides what we would need to backfill, but I was definitely naive in calculating the amount of dirt we would have left over. The excavator left most of the dirt on our back neighbors lot (they don't have a yard yet) which very frustrating. Although they were digging out a shop too and had some dirt of their own that was not the plan. I hope they forgive us, they just recently had their lot graded. Sorry Natalie! I promise we will put it back the way we found it! They had to bring a loader in as well to make some "roads" through the dirt so that the cement truck could even approach to pour the footings and walls. I just keep thinking about the extra room and hope it is all worth it in the end. They just poured the walls yesterday, and will be cutting the hole through our existing foundation to the basement sometime soon. It is amazing what people can do. I really didn't realize how skilled excavators were to dig so close to the existing walls and under the roof! So besides digging the hole a little too close for the wall form guys, and dumping the dirt in the wrong place, you couldn't help but admire the skill involved.

The good the bad and the ugly is definitely the theme of the last few weeks. I had a follow-up visit with my gastroenterologist this week to check on my U.C. He felt the medication was slowing things down but I am far from remission yet. He gave me some different medication to try, and when they do my colonoscopy in another three months he may give me some meds during the procedure to really knock it out. I have felt almost entirely back to normal however, but for some reason I did better in Europe than I have since we got home. I swear I think Americans are poisoning themselves. I think we are way too chemical happy or something. I don't know if it is the pasteurized dairy products, the preservatives, pesticides, antibiotics and chemicals in meat or what, but we are getting it wrong and it's literally making me sick. I really need to do some more research and start going organic. Well the doc had some good news too. He is from India and is a little difficult to understand, not to mention the fact that most of what he said last visit sounded like another language with all of the medical terminology. But after a much better colitis vocabulary this time I understood that the low-grade dysplasia is actually "indefinite". Which as you may recall from my last post good news. It means that the pathologist could not confirm or deny low-grade dysplasia. The doc said there is still something going on there that we need to watch carefully, but it is not as bad as I had feared. The bad news however is that he described my colitis as moderate last time which from my reasearch meant that about half the colon is diseased, although in reading the pathologists notes he called it "pan" ulcerative colitis which the doc says means my entire colon is infected. So definitely good and bad news. He also was willing to talk statistics this time, where last time he wouldn't, and said too much was unknown at that point. He said after 7-10 years of having the disease there is an increased risk of cancer, and after 15-20 years you have a 20-30% chance of getting cancer and it increases from there. I'm not sure about the odds when they find dysplasia, but fortunately they are watching closely.

Happy Birthday Coley!

4 at last! Cole has been trying to grow up too fast his whole darn life. He just can't wait to catch up to Cai. Well he also has a hard time making decisions for himself. He had mentioned he wanted a Ben 10 Birthday party, which was exactly what Cai had. So I really wanted to be sure that what he decided for his party was all him.

What we ended up with was Monster Trucks, for the cake at least.

He finally decided on balloon plates and napkins instead of Transformer ones, and then for some reason he just really wanted the yellow horse pinata, and swimming instead of birthday party games. So we had a mish-mosh Coley Birthday far removed from my typical theme parties. But what mattered was he made every decision. He had been begging for a four-wheeler first for Christmas and then for his Birthday for a pretty long time. His cousin Gavin has one so he really wanted a blue one just like Gavin's. There hasn't been a day go by since that he hasn't riden the thing. He has started to try his hand at four-wheeler stunts. He started riding one-handed, then standing up, then fish tailing, then standing with his opposite leg on the gas pedal his opposite hand on the handlebars all spread eagle while he was driving. That was also about the time mom decided to limit our

stunts for safety sake. He is so funny, and fearless, and just my cute, silly, sparkly eyed Coley. What a boy he is!

Holy crap that is long!

and full of crap literally (sorry couldn't pass that up, and yes I might still be in Junior High). My attempt at being thorough and reducing misconception on that last post just ended up being very tedious, and did I say long. Sorry in advance.

Ulcerative Colitis

I figured I had better do some damage control before the rumor mill gets people confused about my diagnosis. I just want to make sure that accurate information is out there. I don't want anyone freaking out or worrying too much, or what have you, so after a lot of thought I figured I had better get it out in the open a little. Anyone heard of Ulcerative Colitis? I hadn't until I found out I had it. And who knows maybe this could get people who have not had colonoscopies done and should a little incentive to GET TESTED! (This is where things may get a little yucky, so If you have a weak stomach or potty talk is just too much info. for you, you may want to stop reading about here.) I had some digestive problems for the last few years, and recently had diarrhea for 2 months with blood and mucus and no end in sight. I'm very slow to go to the doctor, but with our trip coming up, I knew I had to get that resolved. No one should be in Europe with diarrhea. Sorry this is so gross. But it is what it is. I don't want to skimp on the syptoms and risk someone experiencing anything similar any doubt in getting checked out ASAP. What finally convinced me was a girl on Oprah who came on the show to thank her for a show she did with Doctor Oz which convinced her to get checked out after having bloody diarrhea, and it turned out she had colon cancer.
Anyways, got the colonoscopy and they found a few polyps but they were not cancerous. After hearing that I thought I was in the clear, but after my follow up visit my world changed a whole lot. I learned that I had moderate Ulcerative Colitis (moderate means it has affected about half of my colon) with low grade dysplasia. Ulcerative Colitis is a chronic autoimmune disease where for some reason the body attacks it's own tissues. It causes inflammation and ulcers in the lining of the colon, causing it not to work correctly. The low-grade dysplasia means that the cells in the diseased areas are beginning to become abnormal it is not cancerous but can often become cancerous. So they have to watch things very carefully. My doctor was very concerned that dysplasia was present after only approx. 2 years (we're guessing) of having UC. They generally do not expect dysplasia until you have had UC for at least 8 yrs. So due to the speed at which the cells are becoming abnormal they will do another test in 6 mos. to see if it has progressed to high-grade dysplasia at which point they will likely remove my colon, or the portion that is affected. Fortunately, I guess the treatment of UC has changed dramatically in the past 5 years. It used to be that once any dysplasia is discovered at all they would remove your colon due to the cancer risk. Now they will just watch very carefully to stay ahead of abnormal cell development and wait until high-grade dysplasia is detected. It also used to mean that if your entire colon was removed you had to deal with a colostomy bag for the rest of your life. However now about 70% of people have had success with a new procedure that fashions a sort of mini colon out of your lower small intestine meaning after 2 months with a bag allowing things to heal you can have this procedure done, and just have watery bowel movements about 6 times a day. Unpleasant yes, but it definitely beats the bag! So I am very grateful that treatment options have improved so much recently, and I'm grateful that only half of my colon has been affected. The disease starts near the rectum and then progresses upward, there are not patches of the disease here and there. Also on a positive note UC can be cured by removal of the colon granted enough is taken and any areas of cancer have not spread to other organs. The only part that still freaks me out a bit is that my doctor said it is not feasible to test every area of the colon they can only take samples in a grid type pattern, there can still be areas of high-grade dysplasia or cancer in-between the areas they take samples from. He said he sampled and sampled until he was worn out from sampling during my colonoscopy and I remember waking up to a counter top full of 20-30 bottles that I didn't remember being there when I went under. From the research I have done people with UC have very good chances of survival and early cancer detection due to close observation. Typical symptoms of UC are abdominal cramps, headache, fatigue, joint pain, diarrhea, dehydration, excessive weight loss and malnutrition. Unfortunately I have not experienced excessive weight loss. It would be my luck not to have the only symptom that I would actually like to have. It has been pretty overwhelming dealing with such news at 32 (it is typically found between 50-70), but I am truly grateful that things were discovered relatively early (not early in life but early in the disease). They have me on about 4800 mg of Asacol (an anti-inflammatory medication) a day, and a slew of supplements, and I am feeling pretty much back to normal. So I have about 4 mos. before my next colonoscopy to check the dysplasia. Then I will continue to have annual colonoscopies. We are starting to get used to the idea more everyday. It doesn't mean I don't have my moments of WHY ME, but things could always be worse. I was given some pretty incredible promises through one of the most amazing answers to prayer I have ever experienced. I was having a particularly low couple of days and spending way too much time on the computer researching the disease (I think the Lord made my computer get a virus just to make me chill out a bit, there's some scary info out there meant for doctors eyes only)(am I using parenthesis enough by the way? Sorry I'll stop). After a lot of prayer, I kept getting the impression repeatedly that I really needed to read my scriptures. So I finally did and after randomly opening the book and glancing through 2 or 3 verses I just could not believe what I was reading. I have never had the scriptures seem as though what I was reading was written so precisely just for me in a place I never would have expected. In Alma 24:14 it reads: "And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made thing things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations." I just knew that those words were coming directly from the mouth of the Lord to me, and that I will be okay, this was not going to end my life, and take me away from my children. My biggest concern was the thought of not being able to see my kids grow up, or maybe see my grandkids. I hate feeling so down sometimes because I know there are people out there who are way more entitled to tears than I am right now, and they are so strong in the face of things so much scarier! It is just inspiring. Hayley, Travis, Tara, you know who you are. So for now it is mostly the uncertainty of how fast the dysplasia is progressing that freaks me out from time to time. Symptoms are pretty much in check. I do however hold out the hope that low-grade dysplasia can be very difficult to diagnose during an active phase of the disease and it takes very experienced pathologist to determine indefinite to low-grade or high grade dysplasia. Many pathologists differ in their diagnosis of the samples, so maybe I am indefinite! I never wished to be considered indefinite before, and negative would be even better. So in your prayers remember to pray that I will be negative(sorry just trying to find some bit of humor, and double sorry for the parenthesis again)! I am the eternal optimist.

Summer Fun!

We were so excited to have Aunt Candice up here from Colorado to play with us. We played in the pool and the slip'n'slide at our house and then continued the water fun at Cherry Hill on Saturday. The kids had a blast. The hardest part was keeping track of all of those kids, who wanted to be a million different directions at once. It was so fun to visit, play, and just have a great time! We just hated seeing the Eborns go home again.

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An update at last!

I intended to blog while we were away, but it was ridiculously expensive ($60 and hr.) on the ship, and we were too busy in Venice. Then after arriving home I couldn't justify it until I had finished the laundry, mostly weeded my yard and found the floor in Cai and Cole's room. We left the house in a pretty disgraceful condition. After preparing for girls camp, doing a wedding cake, dealing with my new diagnosis, and getting ready for a long trip, my house took some abuse. Oh, well just my pride I guess.
What a dream come true, being over there was just like a fantasy. It was great to spend some one on one time with Chris. We are so lucky to have such a supportive family that lets us get away together from time to time. Every couple, especially with young children, NEED to get away and reconnect.
Well I can't very well give an update on everything we saw and ever picture we took, so I'll run down the hightlights of each city. Just click on Chris and Courtney's Travels in the sidebar under "sites we like to visit."

Bonjourno!

Hello all, we just wanted to quickly post a few things to say hello. We are having a fantastic time. I have finally caught up to Italian time. We had a long layover in New York, so the couple we went with had a sister in New York and she took us to Julliard, the temple, central park and to the Museum of Natural History(the one from Night at the Museum). then we took another red eye to Rome. Which means we literally went two nights without sleep wearing the same clothes. But after one night of sleep I quickly adjusted to the time change. We were a litte nervous when we arrived in Rome because it was pouring rain. We were lucky enough to find an awesome cab driver who we hired out for half the day to drive us around. We saw a ton of stuff, and he was so great. We never would have seen so many things so quickly on our own. Not to mention the rain factor. But the driving in Italy, AHHHHH! I must say that I have NEVER held on so tightly. whipping around streets and cars that he thought were too slow. Honking and cussing in Italian. He was pretty hilarious, but it seemed that this was the style of all Italian drivers. He could get right up to the sites on restricted streets and knew a ton about the history of Rome, the best views, the best restraunts, the best gelato! We had so much fun! Just got into Florence tonight and we'll post more later, we get charged by the minute for internet access. Can I say the dollar SUCKS right now!

le n

It's Birthday Season!

I haven't posted forever! Our computer got a virus and has severely limited my internet time. Hopefully we'll be back in business today. Anyways May is a busy month for us, with Chris, Cai and Cate all only a week or two apart. So Cai celebrated with friends on Friday and then we celebrated Cate and Cai with Grandma's, Grandpa's, Aunt's, and Uncles on Saturday. Cai has been very into Ben 10 lately so he wanted an omnitrix cake (the watch Ben wears that turns him into different aliens). So his party was all about aliens, his friends were the star commanders and we did a comet toss, a rocket race, a Q&A game with space trivia like red light green light, and of course we had to launch bombs at the aliens (water ballons) and each other of course. He had a great time and got lots of loot.

Saturday we went to Cai's last game (they won!). Then off to Pizza Plus for lunch, Casper's for ice cream, and then home to open presents and have cake, our house looked like a birthday bomb went off. Holy Cow we are going to need an extra room for all the loot. Every year we think now why did we think they needed this extra or that extra so they'll have enough. Grandparents, go crazy, Uncle Gabe (who is on leave from Iraq, horray!) went crazy, and the kids definitely had the time of their lives as a result. Cate got the most darling gift from my mom. Cate is named after 7 Catherines in our lineage, one of whom is my mom. So my mom gave her a cut crystal sugar and cream bowl from Cate's great great Grandma Catherine Hayes King. She also gave her a history of her life, and some old pictures of her and the most heartfelt letter it was really sweet.


Thanks to everyone! The kids may get a little (okay alot) spoiled but they really do appreciate what they have. Mom makes sure to remind them about kids in Africa almost daily. In fact Cai almost went for the idea of having a service party with his friends, there comes a point when we just want to celebrate and not necessarily get more toys, so he was going to have his friends bring supplies for the local animal shelter in lieu of gifts, and then he could use it as a chance to give back to people or animals that really need it(family would still give Cai gifts of course). But at the last minute his 6 year old instincts just weren't ready, and I feel strongly that he should have the choice and be then one to decide. Our neighbor across the street did a service party and gave art supplies to the local family support center and emergency nursery. It was an awesome experience for her. Maybe next year.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

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Happy Birthday Chris! This is it your last birthday you can say you're in your twenties! Thank you so much for all that you do for our family. You are such a great dad and husband. Your kids think the world of you, I am continually having to remind them when daddy is coming home, because they want to wrestle, play games, or just give you a big bear hug. We are so proud of you and all of your accomplishments. I am continually amazed by everything you do and how well you do it. I hope you know your hard work and sacrifices are deeply appreciated and admired. You work so hard for our family to provide us a great life. We love you so much.
I couldn't ask for a better companion, I know I always joke about how I have no idea how we ended up together because we were so different when we first met, but I hope you know I couldn't be happier with my choice of companions. We are truly soul mates, we couldn't be a better fit for each other. Have a great birthday!

All in the eye of the beholder!

Ohhh! Cai is having a funny week. I promise I really do have three kids, but after much debate I thought I just had to share this today. Cai came running into my bedroom to show me his "muscles." Which of course are a little overboard in the the pectoral department. He took a rice sock (a sock filled with rice makes a great heating pad when microwaved) draped it over his shoulders and stuffed it under his shirt. Ahhh the innocence of youth! It brought me back to Candices video of gabrielle stuffing balloons up her shirt calling them her "gorgeous things." He looks so intimidating doesn't he!

Pajama Party Ghost Stories

Well the boys needed some excitement tonight because it is the first day of national "No TV Week." Cole had the idea of having a pajama night, and since we couldn't watch a movie, I promised them we could tell ghost stories if they were good during our family night lesson. Cai of course really bought into the idea and told a fabulous ghost story with drama, sound effects and the works. He even came up with the idea of a flashlight in the dark. We have never done it before I don't know where he saw that. He also had a great grasp of how to tell a ghost story. Thanks to TV no doubt. I think this experience will be good for us, I have been telling Chris we need a TV detox again. When we first moved to Smithfield we really didn't want to get cable because our lives always revolved around TV and you could not get one channel up here without a major eyesore of an antenna, so we went without for about 2 years. It was really easy after the first week, we really loved it. It was amazing how much time you have to talk and be more tuned in as a family without the distraction. We finally succumbed after I stopped working and Chris was working long hours at an outside office. I just got bored and lonely I guess, so we got dish network. At least the DVR grants us more control over what we watch and when, but it is really taking over again. So we'll see how this week goes. Chris is watching "Napoleon Dynamite" as I am blogging, so the kids and I are probably on our own for this one!

Cai brought His "A" game, Mom brought her "Z" game

(Cai is number 3, way to get in there Cai) We were so excited to see how Cai's second game of the season was going to go. He has really started to pick up on the concepts of the game and did awesome at his last practice. He was really going after the ball and getting some great kicks in. At his game on Saturday he was great at first but seemed to really run out of steam after the first quarter. He barely ran after the ball and seemed so sluggish, so we laughed and joked about how we need to work on his endurance and make him run laps or something. The rest of the day he was being exceptionally whinny about everything. He went for a walk to the school with some friends to play on the playground and couldn't make it back on his scooter. I should have suspected something was up, but I just chalked it up to being in a bad mood and complaining too much. By the end of the day everything was getting on his nerves, and during his bath I finally made him get out because the bath was too cold (when it was very warm) Cate and Cole were splashing too much or stepped on his foot, etc., etc. Then as we were brushing his teeth I finally took a good look at him. His eyes were blooshot, His face was red and he was very warm. I took his temp. and sure enough fever. I felt terrible. All his complaints about being tired and achy suddelny made perfect sense and I felt like the worst most unobservant mom in the world. I had really been giving him a hard time about being whinny. So I apologized profusely gave him some tylenol and the rest of the evening went remarkably well. All he needed was a little sympathy, understanding, and tylenol. Get a clue mom! We are really looking forward to the next game!

Happy Birthday Aunt Kerrie!

To an awesome Sister, Aunt, Friend, Mom, and all around great human being! We love Aunt Kerrie she has always been there for our family to support us. Even when her heart was breaking to pieces to see her nieces and nephews during her struggle with infertility, she wouldn't think to miss a family event for the sake of her own feelings. She always shows such an interest and love for all others around her. This picture is one of my favorites, a mother at long last! Kerrie deserves all the best the world has to offer and more. She now is the proud mother of two, and she is the greatest mom to those darling boys there ever was. We love you Aunt Kerrie, we hope you have a great day!

GO LOOPIES!

Well it was hard to tell who was more excited about Soccer coming up, Cai or Cole. Cole somehow remembered after we registered Cai and hadn't discussed it for weeks, that we needed to go buy soccer shoes for soccer. He was just sitting in the car and brought it up out of nowhere. Cole has always been our little sports fan, and we were worried about how he would take things as he is not yet old enough to play. He has taken it fairly well though, and after we got Cai his cleats and shin guards Cai also became very impatient for soccer to start and asked me almost daily if soccer was going to start. Cai had his first day of practice on Thursday and then his first game Saturday. His team is the "Loopies" (all too approriate for a 5 year old team). They are very entertaining to watch. Cai had never played before, but he did awesome. He started the game as goalie and blocked every shot the other team kicked, four in all. Then later in the game they put him onto the field. He had a bit of a learning curve about where to stand and what to do when, but considering he had only a one hour practice behind him he did great. He has an awesome power kick! Cole was excited to cheer for Cai and kicked the ball around the sidelines, he can hardly wait for his turn to be on the team.

Book Tag

Well the closest book to me was on my nightstand. It was THE SECRET by Rhonda Byrne and many other contributors.

On Page 123, the 5th sentence reads:

"Focus on the qualities you love about yourself, and the law of attraction will show you more great things about you."

This is a really great book if anyone is looking for a short book full of inspirational pick-me ups. It is so positive and uplifting. It reminds me of a quote I heard that negative thinking and worrying, is really just praying for what you don't want." That came from a woman with terminal cancer. She had the most strickingly radiant personality and enthusiasm for life, she really made an impression on me. Sometimes I think we can become so focused on our shortcomings that we actually bring about more shortcomings. So focus on the positive, and envision what you do want in your life not what you don't want in your life because the law of attraction will bring it about.

I really don't have anyone else to tag that hasn't been tagged already. Maybe that's a clue I need to find more friends who blog.

Guymons Easter

Well we thawed out enough up here to have an Easter Egg hunt in time for Easter. The kids went down to Smithfield's Easter Egg hunt on Saturday, and then we went to McDonald's for pancakes, and hit IFA on the way home to look at the easter chics and bunnies. Then Grandma Guymon came up to stay with us and we had yet another Easter Egg hunt. The kids had tons of fun finding the eggs and were a little dissapointed when they were all found so they took them and hid them again themselves. Then we colored Easter eggs and talked about the real meaning of Easter. Then Easter morning the kids woke up entirely too early as mom did not get enough sleep the night before. They were thrilled with their new planet heroes and new Easter clothes. Cate's favorite was a little doll that has snap on clothes, and a Horton stuffed animal. We had Swedish Pancakes with lingon berries for breakfast, and then went to church to hear Chris sing in the choir. One of my favorite things this Easter was that Cai wrote the cutest note to the easter bunny about what he would like for Easter. All of the words are spelled phonetically with the word spacing a little unpredictable, but if you sound out each letter he did such an awesome job. He has been writing stories, letters, and notes all the time now that he feels like he an sound out any word. He gets so excited about it. Cole has done remarkably well too. He has started writing his name all by himself recently, and he drew a picture of a polka dotted egg. He also realized that he is part of the food chain. We were driving in the van one day and he said "Mountain lions eat meat, huh mom. I'm made of meat." I love being a mom to watch kids grow up and learn new things is awesome to watch. Cate has recently decided to serenade us with "E-I-E-I-O" continually, and with her 20 word vocabulary she does it amazingly well. She also has developed her own sign for swimming. When Kerrie and my mom got a hotel in Logan, the kids got to go swimming. The next day Cate kept rotating her arms in front of her when she saw I was getting her swim suit ready, I finally realized she was telling me she wanted to go swimming. The whole drive back to the swimming pool she kept yelling "MOM!" and then paddling her arms in front of her. Delighted that I knew exactly what she meant.

Happy St. Patricks Day

Well Cai was a little devastated this St. Patricks Day. He got up and got dressed by himself, and in the morning rush I forgot that it was St. Patricks Day. So of course his first School St. Patricks day experience will be traumatic. No GREEN! When I picked him up from school he proclaimed "I had a really bad day mom, I got pinched 3 times. You should have told me to wear a green shirt!" So to make up for it we went home and made green waffles for lunch. Then Cai and Chris were in charge of the Family Home Evening lesson, which of course was about St. Patricks Day. Cai was St. Patrick and wore a kilt, Cole dressed up as the pirates that kidnapped him and introduced him to Christianity and then Cai rid our living room (Ireland) of plastic snakes. Then we were treated to an Irish jig by Cai who danced to the tune of weird Al Yankovich singing about what is worn under a Kilt(nothing). Unfortunately his father treated us all to a picture of a man in a kilt on a windy day. Very appropriate for Family night eh! Besides the colorful visual aids they both did an awesome job, Chris made a matching game, coloring pages, and burned an irish CD to listen to.

The best Valentines Day ever!

Well my wonderful husband and his friends totally outdid themselves this year. Chris had meetings the week before Valentines day, so Chris and I went down to Vegas for the weekend. We went to some fun restaraunts, saw Mama Mia, and just hung out by the pool and watched movies in our room. It was a much needed break from the arctic climate of Cache Valley, and a priceless opportunity to feel like we were dating again. Thanks to Debbie for taking the kids.

Well if that wasn't great enough. Chris and some neighbors cooked up a Romantic Valentines Day Dinner. About five couples got together and the men did all the planning, cooking, and everything. We went to our neighbors house and they had decorated the table with candles, roses, and rose petals, they had Andrea Bocelli playing in the background, and then they made butternut squash soup, filet mignon, steamed asparagus with a viniagrette, Pome de Terre Anna (thinly sliced potatoes painted with rosemary butter and baked), with a crisp meringue heart for dessert with fresh whipped cream and raspberries. One of the guys was the head chef but everyone did their part. The men served us each course and then gave each of us a dozen red roses and a very thoughtful card. It was one of the most romantic things he has ever done for me.

Let us catch up!

Well since we are a little new at blogging I thought we need to do a warp tour of the past 10 years. So here goes. Chris and I met at Westminster College while attending school. about 2 years later we married August 21 1999. We bought a house in West Valley and began our little family.

You may now kiss the bride! Our wedding took place in the backyard garden of our house in West Valley. It was an absoloutely wonderful day, although it poured the night before. We planted a flowering cherry tree which died that winter. Our first anniversary we were sealed in the Salt Lake temple. On that day we planted a Japanese maple behind the koi pond where we loved to spend our evening watching the fish and talking. That tree thrived, and is hopefully alive today.

Cai: Born 2002. Cai was a little butterball as a baby. He was happy and giggling almost continuously. This is one of my favorite pics of him. He is now in Kindergarten and wants to be an artist, a scientist, and really wants to be a daddy someday.

Cole : Born 2004 about a month after moving to Cache Valley was a little ray of sunshine. His squishy smile just brightens your day no matter what. Cole was 2 in this picture. He is now 3 1/2 and he loves playing with his older brother.

Cate(Catherine Victoria): is 1 1/2 and was kind of a surprise. One night after having a dream that my grandmother (recently deceased) told me I was pregnant and going to have a girl, I woke up the next day to take a pregnancy test. The result was negative. I joked about it with family, but then a few weeks later I kept having a nagging feeling that I needed to retest. After retesting I was pregnant! It must have been too early the first time. She was our souvenier from our trip to Victoria British Columbia.