Happy Day!

After weeks of packing we are finally moving today.

But, even more exciting--

Today Mark and I have been married for 16 years!! It's so amazing how much we still love each other and how much fun we have. We laugh all the time. I'm so excited to celebrate this day, even though we are packing and moving.

Sidenote--this year on my birthday we were moving out of the old shop. This has been a year of change and I think I'm OK with that.

So, my dear sweet Mark--here's to the next 16 years and the eternities to come. I love you so much.

Updates....

Alot has happened the last few weeks:
Mark is being sent to a kidney specialist because he's having pain and his creatinine(sp?) level is really high.
I am trying to pack and keep up with all the dr appointments.
Kyra has had several choir concerts and is trying to get people to donate to the choir fundraiser that will help them get to Boston early next year to compete nationally.
Alaina is hyper as ever and is trying so hard to get ahead in school and adjust to the idea of moving.
Jenna is busy with friends and worried about moving to a new school but she makes friends pretty easily so I'm not worried about her.
Jake is very busy with cross country and working on a play for Christmas--he's "King Herod". Jaren is enjoying running club.
Natalie is also working on a Christmas play--she's "the angel to the shepherds" and she's going through more testing to find out why she is getting repeated infections and having alot of kidney pain.
This is a good time to add that kidney problems run in Mark's family--his sister is currently on dialysis and the transplant list.
Ty has started some new meds for ADHD and is doing so much better in school and is even spending more time in the mainstream classroom, yeah!!
And of course--we are moving December 5th! I am trying to pack up a house that we have lived in for 7 1/2 years and we have also gained 5 people since we moved in. That's alot of stuff! We are excited/scared. But it's a new adventure and apparently one that Heavenly Father wants us to experience because He is making it happen. So, even though we never planned to move--bring it on! New neighborhood, new ward, new friends, new schools, new experiences, new problems, new blessings. We have felt His hand in so many things in our lives lately. He knows us, He loves us and He knows where we need to be and why. Good thing, because I don't! I am so thankful to have an eternal perspective on things and to know that though I am not in control--I know who is and I know He cares.

The Bumm's are on the move...

As some of you may heard, we are moving. We found a great home. We are still in Queen Creek. Unfortunately, not in the same ward or stake. But we aren't going very far. It's only at Crismon/Ocotillo. Most of our kids will be changing schools at the end of the quarter. The house we are moving into is bigger and less expensive! It's in a great neighborhood with lots of kids (which we haven't had for almost 8 years) Our kids are excited to have other kids to play with. I'm excited to be on a real road so my car stays clean. We are close enough that we will see everybody quite often. But, we will miss the awesome people that have become extended family that we have become so close to in our ward these past several years. Thank you all for your love and help as our family has grown and changed. We will miss you so very much!

ALT FUEL SYSTEMS

We have had many questions recently about our business. So--here it is in a nutshell. Alt Fuel Systems is no longer in business. However, we have opened a new shop with a new name. Some of the same employees but some are gone. We are now "Green Energy Conversions" We do all of the same work--regular automotive repair and of course anything to do with converting/repairing propane and CNG vehicles. So, if you need anything done to your vehicle please give Mark a call. Our new business number is 480-709-6414. Thank you!

Happy Birthday to an awesome man...

Mark's birthday is tomorrow. We will have a busy weekend so I'm taking a minute this morning to honor him.
Mark is a wonderful father. He was thrown into this role at a young age and totally stepped up to the plate. We were married very young and the plan was to wait 5 years to have kids...didn't happen! Then the plan was to have 2 or 3 then maybe do foster care. 7 kids later....he loves our children, he loves to goof around with them, play video games, go on trips, he LOVES to tease them. He is a fun dad!! He is super good at helping with homework and talking with them after they've been in trouble. He's much better with a few of them than I am.


He is a wonderful husband! He makes me laugh every single day. We can talk and laugh for hours after the kids go to bed. He can read me very well. He knows just what to say to cheer me up and get me back on track. He will always help cook, clean, put kids to bed, deal with a problem child or just hold me when I have a bad dream. We have been best friends since we were 16. We got married so young we grew up together, and I look forward to growing old together. We have been married almost 16 years. Sometimes it feels like we've always been together and sometimes it feels like the time has flown by and I can't wait to see what the future brings for us.

One of his favorite things to do is go to the Dunes and have fun! He loves to ride. He's so happy when we go. He doesn't mind all the work it takes to get 9 people to California just to camp out for days. He loves to load everybody up and go on a family ride with everybody lined up together. He loves to take the boys up to competition hill and watch the races. He absolutely loves to ride up a huge hill, that alot of people wouldn't even think about, with his wife and children looking on in amazement! Unfortunately, with the state of finances right now, he was even willing to give up all the toys and hope that one day we can rebuild our collection. So sad, but just one more thing to show how much he loves his family and the sacrifices he's willing to make for us.

He is also always so willing to help anybody or take in anybody. We have had 2 siblings live with us. We had over 20 foster children. Now his mother lives with us. When it came to adopting our kids, he didn't even hesitate. He just knew we needed to bring them into our family and love them. There aren't very many 34 year old men that are willing to be in his position. But he LOVES it. He's GREAT at it. He makes it look so easy.

We are so blessed to have him as a husband, friend and father.

Mark-thank you. We appreciate you. We love you. Happy Birthday my love!

Back to school...

Today my sweet children returned to school after a 2 1/2 week break. We spent the time:

• doing yard work
• making s'mores
• playing card games and video games
• going winter shopping
• making more s'mores
• moving more of Pam's stuff from her old house
• more yard work
• deep cleaning the house
• coming up with Halloween costumes
• exercising/training Jake for cross country
• finding new recipes/cooking them
• going to yard sales
• playing hide-and-go-seek and tag in the house

We certainly tried to keep busy. It was definitely helpful having Pam around to keep the kids entertained. She is even teaching a few of them to sew, which is good because I'm not talented in that area in any way, shape or form!

While it was nice having them home, it's nice having them back at school too.

I realized over this break that although being a mom of 7 kids is very challenging...I actually love it...remember I'm the one who always told my mom "2 kids tops"! But I feel their love and appreciation and the smiles on their sweet faces and it makes it hard to remember the not-so-fun times. I'm starting to realize how quickly they are growing up and how I need to treasure every moment with them. Wow, the Lord definitely knew me better than I knew myself. He knew I would love having a large family gathered around me. Of course if I didn't have such an awesome husband it wouldn't be this great. Thanks honey, you're a blessing!

Feeling peaceful

My life is crazy right now. Being the planner I am and having every almost every aspect of my life being up in the air is very hard for me. Normally I have lists. Lists of things to do, lists of places to go, lists of what money is coming in and lists of where it needs to go. Lists of who needs what from the store. Lists of who needs to go where and when. My family knows "if it's not written down, it doesn't get done"

Lately there have been no lists (almost no lists, I can't be totally unorganized) No amount of planning or scheduling or list making will help me. There is too much in our lives right now that we just don't know! Luckily due to some of my last posts I don't need to go to that place right now. Despite all the unknown, unplanned, crazy going on--I am learning to find reasons that some of these things are happening and being grateful for them.

Our family has had a hard year. Physically, financially, emotionally. BUT-- our family has learned:

• to be patient


• to live within our means


• to talk through problems before they get out of control


• to read scriptures together on a regular basis


• to say personal prayers more often(we were already doing pretty good at family prayers)


• to forget our problems and help others through theirs


• to be more giving


• to speak kind words more often


• to find cheaper entertainment (which can be more fun)


• to talk about our fears, hopes and dreams, openly and honestly


• to solve problems together (not just letting the parents make the decisions, kids can have some great input!)


• to ask more often--"what are we supposed to learn from this?" and "what does Heavenly Father want from our family, what are we supposed to be doing and where are we supposed to be doing it?"

We are so much closer as a family. I feel so much closer to the Lord and pray that my family feels the same. Mark and I have been married for almost 16 years and I feel closer to him than I ever have. These trials have pulled or maybe pushed us closer. We both have our moments of weakness, but we seem to take turns and pull the other through. I am so thankful for Mark and for every single one of my sweet children. I am also thankful for having Pam living here. She is such a big help in every way and lets me vent. She is having trials of her own and I do my best to help her in turn.

So--despite all the insanity--I am feeling peaceful. I know that many prayers have been offered on our behalf. I know that prayers are heard. I know that our Father in Heaven knows our hearts, our wants, our needs. I know that He has a plan for us and is just lining things up to carry that plan through. I have felt Him carry me and hold me many times in recent months. I am so thankful for that comfort. If these trials are what it took for us to learn so much and become closer to each other and our Heavenly Father, then I am thankful for what we have been given. Good and bad.

And that makes 10

We were supposed to have 2 weeks notice to paint, pack, move, etc for Mark's mom (whom I will refer to as Pam from here on out) to move in. We found out yesterday, due to some crazy uncontrollable circumstances, that we have today to paint and the weekend to not only move Pam in but help Mark's brother move also. AAAHHHH! Can there be more crazy added right now?? So, after a desperate call to our RS Pres, I got lucky enough to have 2 awesome boys (thanx Connole's) come and knock out the painting in little more than an hour! WooHoo! Mark just has to paint around the ceiling and it's ready for occupancy.

So, after this crazy weekend, we will have 10 people living in our home. We are excited to welcome Pam, Gramma, Mom into our home. The kids love her and I couldn't have asked for a better mom-in-law. We get along great, she's a huge help, likes to cook and naturally wakes up early enough to take the girls to zero hour so I can sleep YEAH!

Now all I need is for Mark's business to pick back up so we don't lose our house. I cringe just thinking about having to find a new place for 10 people....YUCK!
So, prayers are welcome and encouraged on our behalf. Better business or a whole new job, whatever it takes to stay where we are...we love our ward and don't want to leave it. But at this point we go where the work is. So, even if that means we leave here, it would just be nice to have a house to live in and a job to depend on.

So, on to a new chapter in our lives...the beginning of living with Gramma...fun times ahead!!

Loooong weekend!

Friday:

1. Picked Ty up from school at 9:30
2. Took Ty to occupational therapy in Mesa
3. Had to have Mark pick up Jake from school and meet me in Chandler so he could take Ty back to school and I could take Jake to the hand surgeon to have a cast put on his broken wrist.
4. Picked kids up from school
5. Took Natalie for allergy shots (10 minutes late)
6. Fed the kids.
7. Got to go for a break with friends (dinner and movie)

Saturday:

1. Woke kids up at 8 to get ready for Mark's dad's funeral
2. Left for funeral at 10:30
3. Headed home about 4
4. Went grocery shopping
5. Friends came over to BBQ and help finish Kyra's room so we can get started working on the room that Mark's mom will be moving into.

Mark's brother,Scott, gave a beautiful eulogy and then all the grand kids sang "Families Can Be Together Forever" Two of my kids were crying so hard they couldn't even make it through the song. It was really heart-breaking.

Mark's mom's RS served a wonderful lunch and wouldn't let us help with anything. It was really sweet. We had some relatives from Utah come down for the weekend so after the luncheon we went back to Mark's mom's to visit for awhile. It was nice to see them since we haven't been up there for 4 years.

Sunday:

1. Overslept and missed church
2. Went to Mark's mom's house to start going through and packing everything and to have dinner and visit with family some more
3. Left her house around 7
4. Came home and moved Kyra's stuff into her new room

By this point my back and legs hurt and everybody was exhausted!

It was a very long and emotional weekend for all. But it was fun to be around family and see the love that surrounds this family. We are all experiencing financial and/or health issues right now. But when it comes to being there and showing love for each other, this family is NOT in short supply!!

So, over the next few weeks we will finish prepping Pam's room and packing some of her most treasured belongings, having a charity yard sale (selling almost everything else she owns) so she will have money to live on for awhile and moving her from her home to ours and moving Mark's sister into her new apartment....

Farewell and a birthday...

This is Mark's nephew, Vince. Sunday we went to his farewell party. This 'do' was one of his last freedom acts. He left yesterday for boot camp for the Air Force. We are all very excited for him! Despite how he appears in this picture, he is insanely smart and super sweet and we love him to death. Good luck Vince!!

And now on to Alaina--HAPPY 15TH BIRTHDAY!

Alaina Rochelle was born at 6:03 pm. She counts down to the minute every year. I can't believe how fast the past 15 years have flown by. It seems like yesterday I was getting frustrated because she had colic and Mark slept right through it.

Alaina did everything early.

She crawled at 4 months, walked at 9 months, spoke complete and understandable sentences at 18 months, started kindergarten at age 4, got her teenage attitude at age 9 but mostly outgrew it by age 12. Now she is trying to graduate a year early.

We are so grateful to have Alaina in our family. She tries so hard to do what's right and she can be very spiritual. She always thinks about others and does things without being asked. She loves to clean and organize which is nice since my other 3 daughters don't share that passion!

Alaina--you are awesome! Stay just the way you are, we love you so much. Happy Birthday,baby Llama.

Everything update...

OK. I haven't posted in awhile but that's because I've been waiting for Mark to download the pics from my camera cuz I still don't get it. (sad,I know!) But whenever he's home,I forget. So,here's yet another post without pics!

School started a few weeks ago. I thought I was excited to not have the kids home saying "I'm bored" 15 times a day.

I.was.wrong.

My schedule has been so insane,I can't think straight. So,here it is:

Kyra has been doing a little better this year at keeping up with homework and actually turning it in. Her attitude is getting better, most of the time. And after groundings piling up on top of groundings--finally after 11 months--she is free!! And hoping to stay that way so she's watching everything she says and does.

Alaina is still having alot of problems with pain from what we think is arthritis but they still can't find any proof that anything is wrong. The dr said it could be beginning stages but that could take awhile to show itself. But she is taking an extra class at school cuz she is trying to graduate early. She is very motivated cuz she wants to hurry and start college courses for fashion and design.

Jenna is still doing great in school. She is not as motivated as I would hope but we're working on it. But she's still as fun as ever and keeps the kids laughing (even during homework)

Jake has finally hit some growth spurts.He has complained for so long about being short and now all of a sudden I have had to buy him new shorts (twice in 6 weeks) new shoes and shirts cuz he keeps growing.He also has a love/hate relationship with junior high. He loves some of his classes/teachers. But of course there's some he doesn't like. Mostly he loves that he made the football team. Out of the 105 boys that tried out, only 32 made it and he was one of them! Daily practices are making him tired and he's trying to adjust.But he's doing awesome! His first game is today so we'll see how it goes!

Jaren is in 5th grade and that means he gets to play an instrument! He chose the alto saxophone and he loves it. He is doing better this year at being organized and getting things done.He has grown a little too.

Natalie is in 4th grade. She has had so many health problems this year, it's hard to be excited about school. She is having a ton of stomach problems and had to go through some not-so-fun meds and treatments. We are being told (if it's what they think) it could take 6 months to 2 years to get her back to normal. Long road ahead.....

Ty is in 1st grade. Back at his old school but with a new teacher. We've had some ups and downs but this new teacher is doing a good job to make sure there's more ups. He's still in self-contained but will be starting in with some mainstreaming soon.

Mark and I have had our own health issues to deal with. The scary job situation doesn't help the health situation much. But we are having faith that Heavenly Father knows what He's doing. I hope He does cuz at this point--WE DON'T!

I'm trying to end this on a more positive note....sorry....I just don't have anything right now.

A Little Help

I need recipes for a diet that will lower cholesterol. Preferably meals that my whole family will be willing to eat. Recipes for desserts and snacks would be helpful too. Or if any of you are a nutritionist or dietitian, we could use your help. Thanks!

My crazy is leaving

Alaina has been hired to go on a 9 day trip with some people she regularly babysits for. She will be going basically as a nanny/extra set of hands. I'm a little nervous for her. I hope this doesn't totally wipe her out. That's alot for an almost-15-yr-old to handle. She's excited partly because we haven't done anything major exciting this summer and aren't planning on it and partly cuz of the money. It's not going to be a huge amount but to her "money is money" Good luck Alaina, we'll be prayin' for ya!

Happy Birthday baby boy!

WOW! He's 6 years old. That's crazy! We love our little Ty Ty. He is such a sweetie, even when he's not. We are so lucky to have this entertainer in our family. Ty will be going to first grade in a few weeks. For his bday he chose to take his friends swimming, go shopping for Transformer toys and going to see Transformers. We made the movie a family event since Jaren's bday was a few weeks ago and he wanted to see it too.

Double Digits!

We have yet another child who has entered what we call "the double digits"

Jaren is now 10!! He has been a blessing in our lives for 6 years now. He has changed so much. He went from a quiet, shy little guy who went along with anything and never stood up for himself--to a loud, obnoxious, crazy boy. But he's still a sweet helper. He jumps up whenever anybody needs anything, even if they've been arguing. He has learned to be daring and dangerous, as boys should be. He loves to talk about where he wants to go when he serves a mission, he only has 9 years to go! He hardly ever gets in trouble. I've told him if all children were as easy as him, everybody would have 20. We are so blessed to have Jaren in our family, as we are with all of our children. So,

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY JAREN !! WE LOVE YOU BUDDY !!

The last 2 weeks....

Natalie had her first choir concert. She had a speaking part introducing a song. She used such enthusiasm, it was so cute. I really hope she continues with choir.

That same night (we had to run from one to the other) Kyra had her final choir concert for the year. She had her 1st solo and did an AWESOME job!! The following week she tried out to be advanced and got it! She is now in the 2 upper choirs. Unfortunately we didn't get any good pics.

Jake had a band concert. He plays the baritone and does an awesome job. He has played for 2 years and I hope he continues as he enters junior high next year.

On to the not-so-fun part of the last few weeks. Alaina was sick all day, so she wasn't eating or drinking. That evening I was in the kitchen getting her some medicine. I turned around to get a stool 'cuz my shortness can't reach the meds, and BAM! I heard her hit the floor. I turned around to see her having a seizure. So of course I screamed for Mark and he came running. He picked her up off the floor and was about to help her walk to the couch and she went limp and started shaking but the 2nd time it was more like she passed out than a seizure. It was taking her long enough to come out of it that we decided we better call 911. They got here and decided she needed to be transported. Keep in mind we lost our insurance the week before this happened--Yeah! Anyway, they got her to the hospital, ran tests to make sure it was safe to come off the backboard (cuz she hit her head so hard on the tile) it took over 2 hours and she was getting really mad. So to add to her mood, I took a picture :) It was decided that her sodium level dropped enough to make her blood pressure drop and that caused both episodes. So we are pushing all the stuff she needs to stay healthy. She hasn't had any problems in over a week so I'm sure she's fine. But the picture captured her mood...
At least she has an ambulance story. I've never had to be in one and neither have most of the people I know. Just more excitement! Always somethin' goin' on with the Bumms!

New Header name

Some of you may have noticed my change in header name. It used to be bloggin' bumms. I thought that was a little boring. I decided to personalize it. But in the process, I need to explain it. With a houseful of noisy people, it's really hard to get every ones attention when and where you want it. Whenever I need to speak to everybody in a certain room (this happens alot, saves repeating) I stand in the middle of that room and yell "front and center" The kids who heard it will run to the ones who didn't and yell "front and center kitchen" (or whatever room I'm in) They drop what they're doing and come right away. I never have to say it more than once. I didn't train them to do this. One day I was joking around and yelled it. They responded so quickly because they were curious, that it became "the thing to do" and it's worked every time since then. Keep in mind it only works when I yell it for everybody to come. If I want just one or two people and call their name(s) I have to call them 3 or 4 times and send somebody to track them down or go on the hunt myself. But they never question "front and center" Alot needs to be said for military tactics! So, our blog is now personalized!

More Blessings

Last night our family was the recipient of service. I'm not going to go into detail because the person that did this took great care to be sure it was done anonymously. I'm just hoping that whoever it was is a blog reader because I want to send out a HUGE thank you. It seems like every time things are looking down, a prayer is answered. So, thank you. Thank you for following whatever prompting you got to answer our prayers. I hope I am close enough to the Spirit to do that for somebody else.

Bday and a funny dream...

OK--my birthday was on Friday. I feel the old-ness creeping in. Anyway, Mark and the boys were camping (I'll share pics later, Mark let Ty take them ALL) Alaina had a party to go to, Kyra had to babysit. So, Jen and Natalie went to my friends house to hang out with her kids so she could go have fun with me! It was me, Angie, Jody and Pam. First we went to Texas Roadhouse, had girl talk, giggles, etc. At the end we decided to go to a movie that started in 10 minutes so I got outta there without sitting on the bday saddle and being embarrassed. WOO HOO!! On to the movies. The one we wanted to see had been replaced by X-Men because of high demand. Jody decided to work her magic. The theater messed up our plans so we each got 2 free movie tickets. Awesome! After the movie (it was 11:15) we decided it was time for dessert. The only place open after 11 was Village Inn. So, pie it was! After 2 hours of pie, more talking, more giggles, we decided it was time to go home. By the time I took Jody home, Picked up Kyra, took Angie home and picked up the remaining girls and got home to bed--it was 2:30!! I'm too old for that :) But, since the guys were gone and the girls were tired, I slept in til 10 HEE HEE!!

The next 2 days were spent finishing moving and cleaning our business (partly to my house) Unfortunately that meant working on Sunday. But we had a deadline and no choice. Sunday was also supposed to be the day that we were going to BBQ and do the family bday thing. I called Angie about 5:00 and was filling her in on the 2 days of back breaking labor and commented that my bday dinner would wait until Monday because we were too tired to cook. No biggee! We finally got home around 7:15 ( I think) To our surprise there was our sweet friends, Angie and Brian. They had cleaned my kitchen, BBQ'd my bday steak, made baked potatoes and veggies and even baked a pan of brownies. They ordered us to go take a much needed shower and left us to have our family dinner ( we finally ate at 8:15) I almost cried, I think I was too tired though. It was so cool. I love surprises. After dinner it was time for jammies and the rest of the bedtime routine cuz it was 9:00!

On to this morning...
I woke to Natalie sleeping on the floor next to my bed. When I woke her up I noticed her bear smooshed between my jewelry box and nightstand. She is very protective of her stuffed animals so I was surprised. When I pointed it out to her she commented with, " I know, I was afraid to sleep with it"
She proceeded to share her dream with me which had me rolling in laughter (partly cuz it was 7 am & I didn't get much sleep) but I didn't want to forget it so it gets to be posted for later reminder. The dream...
We were asleep in the house and an alarm went off. I said to Natalie "yes, that is the teddy bear alarm" so we all went outside. All of the teddy bears in the world had come to life. They ate her tortoises ( her favorite thing since she loves animals) then they started to eat everybody else.
I laughed so hard. She said "it was really scary, not funny" But when I couldn't stop laughing, she thought maybe it was kind of funny now that she's not scared.
It was cuter to have her tell it. But at least I can look back later and remember the moment.

Our lives are such a roller coaster right now. We go from excited to mad to sad to goofy and any other emotions that are possible. Sometimes that's just in an hour. But I'm enjoying it, at least we aren't bored!

WOW!

OK-I know I just posted this morning. But,wow! It's amazing when you are going through a trial and people come out of nowhere/everywhere to help. Especially in this ward. I hope we never have to move. We were reminded today how much we are blessed. How so many people give a darn! I was also brought back to reality--it could be worse. I need to suck it up and count my blessings. We are still having issues but some great things came out of this day. I have no doubt that it's because of the prayers and the fasting( I love that my kids voluntarily fasted with us). I have literally felt the love today. I love that there are people in my life that let me vent. I love that it's ok to feel sorry for yourself as long as you don't let it consume you. I love that my biggest desire today was to serve somebody. I love that even though it seemed that our whole world was turning upside down, I had a peaceful feeling. I love that my sickie is better. I love our friends that are willing to put their lives on hold to help us. I love that people show up without being asked. I'm feelin' the love people!!

No matter what you are going through, there are people who love you. There are people praying for you. There will always be somebody to help you, it's ok to ask and it's ok to accept it. Just accept it! People want to help. People want to feel needed and we all need the blessings.

I love that I learned something today!!

Bring it on!

Yup,bring it on! I'm to the point now that He's gonna have to carry me, so I can handle it, right?? I feel like it's being dumped on right now. Does that mean things will be getting better soon???

So...as of today, our shop is closed! We have fasted, prayed, etc. So, the only thing I can go by right now is "He closes a door, He opens a window" otherwise, I'll go crazy!!! I know we need to have faith that this is all part of the plan-- the plan needs to hurry up and do somethin' else!

On top of it all, I was supposed to go in and help move everything from our shop to our house so they can still work here and try to get some moola comin' in but one of my sweeties blew that out of the water when he woke up sick this morning (YAY!) So now I'm stuck home feeling completely helpless AND useless.

So,I really NEED to start doing daycare to help out with the moola situation. Know anybody lookin'? I need to start selling stuff (anybody want a 2007 Tahoe, cheap??)

Because I'm desperate, I'm gonna throw this out there too--Mark is a mechanic, he does computer repair, computer networking, anything with alternative fuel (propane,cng,etc) on almost any vehicle. Give us a call, his schedule is pretty open.

So,off to the Father & Son outing tomorrow (which also happens to be my bday). Hope none of the guys get injured (seems to happen EVERY year)

I'm NOT asking for sympathy!!I hate to complain but if I keep it all to myself, I'll freakin' explode. This is alot to handle. I have been telling myself for weeks " others have it worse than me so I need to suck it up and stop complaining". But I realized that everybody is given their trials at their time. There will always be somebody worse off than you. That doesn't mean that your problem should be made to look like it's nothing. Because to the person going through it, it's something. Never demean your problem by saying "somebody out there has it worse" cuz you have it worse than somebody else too. I've always done that. Not anymore! (even though I know I'll do it with the next trial, it's just in me) It's OK to feel sorry for yourself once in awhile. It's called taking care of yourself, women have a problem with that! So,ladies join me.....say it (c'mon say it):

"my challenge is my challenge and it's ok to feel sorry for myself!!!"

Now repeat that 3 times and take a deep breath!

OK-now get back to what you were doing, I'm off to put on a movie for sickie and do yard work..........

What we've been up to...

I feel bad that I haven't put anything on here in awhile. Mostly because this is our journal and there's been alot going on. So, for memory sake--here's the latest:

• Jake went on a scout camp this last weekend and had a blast. He loves his new scout leaders. I love that they are organized and give us a calendar. It's months in advance. Pretty impressive for men!
• Ty has been home sick since last Friday. He's doing better and is tired of being home. He's goin' back tomorrow!!
• Natalie is back to going through kidney/bladder problems. We're back to working with the specialist on a regular basis. I thought these days wouldn't return after her surgery several years ago--but here we are again!
• Alaina is being looked at for arthritis. She's been having lots of joint pain/swelling for months. She takes after me,yeah! :(
• Mark is working hard to keep our business going. It's been stressful. I hate the situation this country is in. I hate that it's affecting us (big time)
• I'm trying to start doing daycare again. I know there's alot of moms trying to go back to work. I need to make money without leaving 7 kids to do their own thing. Especially since we are always at the Dr. for somebody. So,if you know of somebody looking,pass the word along.
• My parents are adopting child #7 tomorrow. I will have a new 7 year old sister. The next oldest child from her is 26 years old. Now my parents will be even with me!
• For now, my grandparents will not be moving in any time soon. Grampa had major surgery a few weeks ago and can't travel (probably ever) He's up and down and we just pray that he's not in too much pain. He could live a few more years with this surgery being done but won't be able to travel. But, if he doesn't make it very long then we have to discuss whether Gramma will be moving here or not. But we are planning a family reunion in California in July. I hope we can make it, it will be a blast to see cousins my kids have never met.

I know most of this post is not fun news. But, these days is life really that exciting?? And I need to remember the stressful times right along with the good times, right? We do have some fun stuff coming soon. Father & son's outing, Mother's Day, My birthday,band and choir concerts,etc. So I will be able to post some fun stories and pictures in the next month.

Stay tuned........

Jake is the big 1 2 !!

This is the last of our family bdays for a little while. Jake is 12 today. He gets to receive the priesthood, go to mutual and pass sacrament. He's excited and nervous for these big changes. I'm excited and nervous for him. The past few weeks he's been watching the other boys pass it and taking mental notes.

In a few months he'll be going to junior high! He is growing up so stinkin' fast.

He's great at sports and loves to do anything "boy" He loves to mow the lawn and loves it more when people hire him to mow theirs. He's already putting money aside in his mission fund and college savings.

He is doing great in scouts. He was serving as patrol leader until today, he gets to move up to the older scouts now. He can't wait for the week-long camp-outs (much more exciting than the over-night ones) He has earned so many patches!

He does awesome in school and is determined to continue doing well so he can get a scholarship. He has alot of schooling ahead of him--he wants to be a brain surgeon. I think that is an awesome thing to strive for!!

Jake--you are a sweetie. Thank you for being a great son, big brother and little brother. We love you and appreciate you. Thanks for bringing your sweet smile and fun personality to our family.

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Natty!!

Today is Natalie's birthday! My baby girl is 9!! I can't believe it's been that long since I've been pregnant (my body still isn't back to pre-baby shape) We took her friends swimming for several hours and then did cake and presents. Everybody is worn out. It was a fun-filled day.
Natalie, thank you for bringing such spirit to our family. You are so much fun. I love how much you love animals (too bad you're allergic to everything) I love how you love to pray and read scriptures. Keep your sweet spirit and your desire to do good and be good. You are going to make such a difference in this world! We love you Natty!!

We're Making Progress

After 6 months of testing and lots of meetings, we are finally getting answers. It appears that Ty has ADHD and sensory processing disorder. At first I argued with the ADHD diagnosis but was told that it's not the "typical" ADHD so he has different symptoms. But the SPD fits perfectly. It was exciting to have a name to the issues. Now we know what we can do to help him. Step one--after spring break he will be transferred to a different school and be in a self-contained classroom. It is being said that he will only have to be there for 1-2 school years before coming back to our school and being main-streamed.

Step two--he needs a private occupational therapist which we are working on through the insurance. The one the school provides doesn't give hardly any one on one.

And, of course, there are some changes to be made within our home to help him. We've already started and they seem to be working.

I'm having fun doing research and talking to other people who are experiencing this with children. It's fun to put the pieces together of things that have been a problem for several years and realizing that it all fits! It's fun because now I know there's nothing I did wrong. It's not my parenting skills gone awry and there is something we can do to help him. If any of you have input on this I'm open for more. I appreciate any insight I can get. And I want to say thank you to those of you who have been asking how it's going and being excited with me that we have a "diagnosis" and for those of you that know about this and have given me advice and a great book (thanks Shannon) Now we just plug along and try new things. He's an awesome, cute, sweet little guy. We just need to help him through this little trial.

JENNA'S 14!!

Happy Birthday chicky!!
We have been blessed to have Jenna in our lives! She's been with us for 3 1/2 years. WOW! Has it really been that long? Jenna has grown so much-- physically, spiritually and emotionally. She is a hard worker, especially when it comes to homework. She has the MOST awesome laugh. When you hear her laugh, even if you don't know why she's laughing, you can't keep from joining in. She has a beautiful smile and a beautiful singing voice (when she's not afraid to share it). She doesn't care what others think of her, she is her own person, especially when it comes to her sisters. She is HILARIOUS!! Catch her in the right mood and she'll have you wetting your pants! She loves to make people laugh.

Jenna- thank you for entertaining us and for your sweet spirit. We love you!

To be or not to be...........

This is my sweet grandparents. This picture is a few years old and I "borrowed" it from my cousins website, but I love this picture. As I said before, they are supposed to be coming to live with us soon. Last Friday Grampa went into the hospital and had a very hard weekend. My dad drove over to see him, my aunt flew in from Texas, my uncle went to see him. I have another aunt that was already there and has been caring for them for about 6 years now and another uncle that couldn't make it. Needless to say, we all thought it was good-bye. He's very weak and gets tired just talking on the phone. Tests have shown that he is working with 10-15% of his heart capacity. He's on oxygen 24 hours a day. He actually coded twice on Friday but asked them not to shock him again because it hurts. So, they had to make him a DNR. That was hard!
So,my dad sat with him for quite awhile on Sunday morning. He went in for (what we thought)the final "oldest son to dad talk" Near the end of the talk my dad asked him if he was ready to go and offered him a release blessing. He's been in pain for a long time. He can't do much without getting completely exhausted. Basically what happened is that he told my dad there will be time for that, but it's not time yet. He told my dad he's just not finished but he'll let him know when he is.
He spoke of coming here to be with us. He commented that he still has a great-grandchild he needs to get to know (he hasn't met Kyra yet) He did speak with all of the kids on Sunday. Even though Kyra hasn't met him, she ended up crying and saying what a sweet man he is. Which is very true. He helped me through some rough patches in my teenage years. Telling it like it is and trying to get me to listen to the people around me that cared the most.
So, my uncle, who is in the medical field, is trying to find a way to move him here without anything bad happening. He can't fly. He can't handle the long drive from San Diego. I don't know what's going to happen. But, my dad says he is determined to live until he can get here.
I spoke with Gramma on Saturday. She said even if he doesn't make it, she would still like to come live here. I don't know if that will change. I just know we are taking it day by day. Which is killing me since I'm a planner. But there's so much in my life right now that is unpredictable and un-plannable. I'll just have to get over it!! So it's just a waiting game with lots of praying. I really want to see my Grampa again and I know my kids would love to get to know him better. But we all know how hard it is for him to fight and we just want him to be able to rest.
So,here's one of those many times where we put it in the Lord's hands and accept what comes our way.

Running Club update

I never followed through with the other 2 running club events. Bad mom! Both races have come and gone. The 2nd race--Jake, Jaren and Natalie all qualified and they ran their little hearts out. Sadly, none of them placed. But they did their best and that's all I ask. By the time race #3 rolled around--Jake had an eye infection, Natalie had a bladder infection and Jaren didn't want to run by himself. So we missed that one! Last week was the party for all the runners. Ice cream and every topping you can imagine. Farewell running club until next year. It was fun!!

My sickies

Whenever one gets sick, especially with something weird, they all join in!
A few years ago Natalie scratched her cornea (no idea how) she ended up needing surgery and expensive drops and almost permanently lost her vision in that eye. At the same time this was happening, Jacob (who was 9 at the time) had a kidney stone. That's right folks--a kidney stone!! That was fun. He had to pee through a screen until we were sure it was gone. Lots of pain later, he passed it. Yeah!! Natalie's eye finally healed. And I think I remember that a few of the other kids were sick with normal stuff at the time but that was the least of my worries.

So,here we go again! Almost the same kind of problems but they switched places. Natalie has a SUPER bad bladder infection. They did an ultrasound of her bladder and kidneys to make sure it's not another kidney problem like she was born with. She had surgery for that when she was 1 but has had problems on and off her whole life. Jake has an eye infection! He is now on expensive drops. Alaina has had colds on and off (more on than off) for the last few months. She is sick of being sick. I told her I'll deal with it when the other 2 are healed.

On top of all the sickness and pain, we are having more problems with Ty and his issues. The school is still trying to be helpful but some of them seem to not be handling it as well as they should.

I just keep telling myself it could be worse! At least they don't have anything fatal or anything that requires major treatments (for now). So I will continue to love and enjoy motherhood as long as I can. I will be grateful that my children are alive and fun and cute! Let's just hope it's another 2 years before we have anymore weird things happen :)

Jury Duty

I was always told that if you weren't registered to vote, you couldn't be given jury duty. So,not wanting to ever do jury duty cuz of my schedule, I never registered to vote. At one time my grandmother pointed out to me "if you don't vote, you can't complain" So,I've always tried to not complain about our elected officials cuz I don't have the right. After all, I had nothing to do with them being elected,right?? So here I am, 30-something, and I've never voted! Well, that just went out the window folks!! Turns out you can get jury duty if you aren't registered to vote. Dang-it!! So now I guess I'll go register to vote and go do my jury duty in a few weeks. Hopefully it's something exciting!!

A Childs Prayer

Every time we have a meal prayer or family prayer, Natalie and Ty fight over who gets to say it. They both LOVE to pray. That's one fight I don't mind listening to!!
Last night, Ty won the fight. We have been trying to teach our children to not say the same repeated prayer and to put thought and love into the words they are speaking to their Heavenly Father. So, part of Ty's prayer went like this "Please bless that Heavenly Father won't get sick or poisoned. Please bless that we will be respectful to everybody around us." I thought it was a very original and sweet prayer for a 5 year old. I hope my kids always love to pray as much as they do now.....

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYRA!!

I can't believe we are the parents of a 15 year old!! Kyra has come so far in the past 10 months that she has been in our family. We are blessed to have her with us. Yes it can be a challenge at times but what 15 year old isn't a challenge?? So, as a tribute to her, the other 8 of us got together and wrote down some things we love about her. Since she's 15, we did 15! :) And I included who said some of them:

1. She's entertaining


2. She tells great stories


3. She's a great dancer


4. She's nice


5. She stands up for Ty (Jaren)


6. She's pretty


7. She plays with my hair (Natalie)


8. She has a beautiful singing voice


9. She breaks up arguments


10. She cuddles with me (Ty)


11. She has a strong spirit


12. She stands up for herself (and is learning to do it respectfully)


13. She is great at making omelets


14. She has a great sense of humor


15. She has a strong testimony of the church and isn't afraid to share it

We hope you have a great birthday and we love you!! And please stop reminding us that you'll be driving in a year, we aren't ready for that!!

More Changes!

As if we don't have enough going on around here! If I posted the daily happenings it would overwhelm you people. And with not posting it all it's easier for me to forget the chaos. Of course one day I know I will miss it. This weekend:
Saturday: Kyra got extentions,they turned out aweful and most of her bday money is down the drain. I feel so sorry for her. She's deciding today if she's going to tear them out. But, she wanted to do it. She chose the person (her friend) to do it. I had nothing to do with it and I tried to warn her. But,do teenagers ever listen to their parents? So we had Stephanie come over to try to "fix" it so it would look good enough to go to church.She did a pretty good job and I feel bad that she had to spend 1 1/2 hours of her Saturday night at our house.But we kept her entertained with dumblaws.com. You should check it out!
We also cleaned out the garage, went grocery shopping, took kids to friends houses/picked up kids from friends houses. Cleaned the house. And debated on the rest of the "to-do list" that we decided can wait til next week.
Sunday: We woke up for church and found that Mark and Ty were both sick so they stayed home and I took the other 6 to church. We were on time! For us that's huge. In the afternoon some people came to meet me that want me to start babysitting their newborn in July (no,she's not born yet) They were super awesome and I hope I can manage, it's only part time. In the evening I had to go to a fireside at the church. It was all about our teenagers and warning signs and stuff going on at the high schools we should be aware of. Almost makes you want to homeschool--almost :)
Then my aunt from Cali called to inform me that the final decision has been made. In the middle of March my grandparents will be moving in with us! Yes, I am adding to the crazy. Now we will have 2 crazy parents. 7 Spastic kids. And 2 elderly people with lots of medical issues. YEAH!! My days with no kids will now be filled with dr. appointments and handing out meds.
Don't get me wrong. I love them and we are excited that they will now be in Arizona. We have missed them. I'm just afraid of how I will handle it. Please pray for me to have energy, sanity and great organizational skills.
I'm sure there will be lots more to come on this subject once they get here. Some of it may be incoherent ramblings but I'm sure the stories will be entertaining for you! So wish me luck as we grow to a family of 11!

Running Club race #1

4 of my kids are involved in running club.In our school district they provide this in an attempt to get kids off the couch! They run at the school twice a week and after about a month they compete with other schools in the district.They get into it and love it! Yesterday was the first race (there are 2 more so loook for more results) Jake and Jaren are the only 2 that qualified.Ty walks more than runs and Natalie misunderstood. On qualifying day the coach told them it was time to qualify for the meet. The boys did their normal,Natalie was being lazy. She was really upset saying that she would have tried alot harder to qualify but she didn't know "meet" meant "race" Live and learn!
There were about 300 kids running in this race. Jake came in #8. Jaren came in #31.If Jake came in 2 people sooner,he would have placed and won a ribbon. He may have even made it but on the course he tried to pass a kid (who did get a ribbon) and he shoved Jake into a tree! Bad Sportmanship!!! It's hard 'cuz we know the kid. So I told him next race run faster,and avoid the kid who wasn't taught good sportsmanship.Good luck for the next one guys! And I'll try to remember the camera next time--sorry!

My hugs

This post is more for me to remember (since this takes the place of my journal most of the time) than for you guys.
Background--when I was dating Mark,the first thing that started turning "like" into "love" was the way he treated his mother. He was very affectionate,sweet and protective. He didn't care who was around,he always gave her a hug and told her he loved her before leaving the house. And he showed alot of respect to her.I have always told my boys that the way they treat their mom is the way they'll treat their wives.And I always add that most girls know that and will pay attention to how they treat me once they start dating.My boys are pretty great.But I worry as they get older how their friends being around will affect this.
So,here's what happened today. Jake forgot something for his science fair project that they were working on today.He just HAD to have it,quickly. Of course it was first thing in the morning,I had just gotten kids off to school and was still in pj's.I quickly got ready for the day and rushed off to the school.When I walked into his classroom his face lit up! He was so excited he got up,ran to me and gave me a huge hug and told me he loved me! Right there in front of his entire 6th grade class. No hesitation. He didn't care who was around. He loves his mom,respects his mom,and loves to give hugs!!
I don't care how old they get,it's the little things that count. And no mom can EVER have too many hugs!

Recommendations anyone??

I hope this isn't too personal. But, just about everyone reading blogs is female. We all know how important it is to find the "right" doctor. I don't think my current one is the "right"one. So I'm sending out a plea for help. Tell me who your favorite Gyno is and why. I don't like females for this type of Dr, too many bad experiences, don't ask! I prefer one no further than Mesa. So--here we go ladies....help me out!!

Explosions and White Trash

We started off New Years Eve by having a BBQ with The Clausens and The Brinkerhoffs.


Then we shipped the kids off to the Brinkerhoffs to have their own party with Jenna and Kami babysitting. They had a ton of fun!
We decorated for the adult party while the guys did their own preparations out in the backyard. Imagine watching 4 grown men walking across the yard carrying a large tree and placing it on top of a LARGE pile of wood.Follow this with an explosion and 4 men running as fast as they can toward the house. This continued for most of the evening.These guys had more explosives than should be legal.I'm just happy my house is still intact.

The fire was alot larger than it looks!We had a pretty good turn-out for the party.It was a ton of fun with lots of yummy food and entertainment.
The next day we were invited to go with the Brinkerhoffs to their family New Years Day party which is appropriately named "White Trash New Years"
It consists of a bunch of people BBQing,riding quads and shooting guns.We were barely there 15 minutes and the 1st accident happened.One of the friends of the family was riding too fast without a helmet. He crashed of course. He thought he was turning onto a trail which turned out to be a 30 foot cliff.Nobody knew he crashed so he had to climb out,across a creek and up the cliff,out to the road so somebody could see him.Later we found out he did this with a broken vertebrae,broken pelvis and broken ankle!

This is what it looks like when a bunch of crazy guys feel they can load an injured person into the back of a pick-up and everybody wants a look!

This gives an idea of what the quad looked like when he was finished with it.The crazy guys drove him out to the road,trying to take him straight to the hospital.The women in the family,not trying to be matcho,called 911 to have an ambulance meet them on the highway. They decided not to wait for the ambulance. But by this time the highway patrol knew what was happening. So they ended up shutting down the highway to look for the pick-up with 4 guys holding onto the guy in shock. They hunted them down and called the ambulance. By the time it got there he was out of it and had no pulse in his leg. It was decided that he needed to be air-lifted to Scottsdale Osborn (we were just south of Payson)

This is a pic of the cliff he flew off of. It's much larger than it appears. He flew over the creek and landed 15 feet on the other side of it. Luckily he didn't have a head injury!

We ended the day by roasting marshmallows. This was the end of 2 weeks of crazy!
I'm tired. Now I have a few weeks to recover before everybody comes over for the Superbowl party which my house was again volunteered for!

Christmas Day

We started the day off with the normal--kids sitting in "their spot" opening presents.Fun fun!




Later in the day my parents and my friend Jody came over for dinner. Alot smaller than the night before but just as entertaining. Jody had "the queen of pranks" (Kyra) making prank phone calls to several people. What Kyra didn't know at the time was that most of the calls were to Alaina's cell phone with Alaina disguising her voice. It was hilarious! Kyra referred to herself as "Boomquesha" from the "How was your Christmas Foundation" She's very talented at pranks!

Christmas Eve

Both of these parties took place at our house this year. Christmas Eve is with my moms side of the family, always a blast. I rarely get to see my cousins except for this one time a year.

Alaina played Christmas songs while everybody joined in attempting to sing. My family is not musically talented.But it works!


This is just my cousins goofing around like usual! They're a blast

The Dunes

We,being crazy,decided to go to the Dunes the weekend before Christmas.We weren't finished Christmas shopping, hadn't started wrapping presents and we were having Christmas Eve and Day parties at our house which required cleaning,extra decorating and shopping for food. As crazy as this move was--we had a blast!! We went with Mark's older brothers family, including his 2 girls visiting from Utah. None of them had ever been before so it made it that much more exciting.

Mark's nieces,Jordyn and Kayla


Kyra and Mark's niece,Hannah


Jenna playing golf


Mark showing off