Things I Am Thankful For.....

One day while painting with the boys Landon ended up with more paint on him than on the paper. Luckily it washed right off.

Some of the other things Lucas and I came up with when thinking of things we are thankful for:

- Our Family

- Our Friends

- Our House

- Food

- Our Health

- Our Truck & Car

- Our Toys

- Schools & Teachers

- Books

- Music

- Being Alive

and then of course

- T.V. & Movies

We ended up with 12 leaves with things we are thankful for and so on Thanksgiving day the four of us sat down and took turns drawing three leaves each and sharing what was on each leaf. The boys had so much fun doing this and when it was time to stop playing so we could go to Grandma Judy's house for dinner the boys did not want to stop.

Once we got to Grandma Judy's the boys had fun playing with Maddie. Below is my attempt to get a picture of all three kids smiling and looking at the camera.

Thanksgiving Vacation

Lucas has been looking forward to Thanksgiving Vacation for quit some time now. He kept asking me how many days off he would have and so we figured with the two weekends he would have nine days total. I had found some leaves online that I printed off and he helped me write things he was thankful of on each leaf and then we colored them fall colors. One of the leaves said he was thankful for t.v. and movies which we managed to watch a couple of those last week that the boys selected from the library.

Landon wanted a vest like his brother had made at school so we made him one at home.

They love to pass the time playing cops and robbers which brings back so many memories of my own childhood. We also used to love playing cowboys and Indians.

We did get a pretty big storm that dropped 12" of snow in some parts of our yard. The boys enjoyed playing in the snow while Steve shoveled the walks and helped some neighbors shovel. I really wanted to grab a shovel and help as well but guess I better wait to get the go ahead from the doctor in a week or so. I did enjoy catching up with some neighbors and taking lots of pictures of my boys having fun in the snow.

Steve's sister Cathy and her daughter Madeline came into town on Sunday before Thanksgiving from Chicago for a visit. It was really nice for Lucas and Landon to get to spend some time with their cousin whom they had not seen for almost a year.

It was so fun to watch Madeline copy things that Landon was doing. We are so used to Landon mimicking his brother and so I think he really enjoyed being the leader for a change.

Lucas and Landon also got to make a trip to the dentist last week for a checkup. While waiting for the dentist to come in the boys both got to lay back on the chair and watch their movie that was playing on the ceiling. This lasted about 2 minutes before they were pushing each other and fighting.

On Monday, Nov 22 my good friend Sarah had her little baby girl - Isabel. I went to the hospital on Tuesday morning to visit Sarah and her new little one. She is so precious and I am so happy for the Armstrong family - now that is something to really be thankful for.

Brothers

Happy Halloween

Thursday before Halloween Lucas had his Halloween Parade and Party at school. Grandma Janice and Aunt Tonia helped me get both of the boys ready in their costumes and then Aunt Tonia dropped Lucas off at school. Grandma, Aunt Tonia, Landon and I then headed back to the school 30 minutes later so that we could watch the school parade. I was sad because I was supposed to be helping with the Halloween Party for his class but was unable to do much of anything. I am just thankful to have had the help with the boys and thankful that I was able to attend the parade. Friday evening we brought the pumpkins in from outside so that we could transform them into jack-o-lanterns. At first Landon did not want anything to do with putting his hand in the pumpkin and getting all gooey but then we could not stop him from cleaning out the "guts" and seeds. He even decided on the face for his pumpkin and I just did the carving.Lucas was not hesitant at all about getting dirty and told us exactly what he wanted the eyes, nose and mouth to look like.Saturday morning Lucas had his last soccer game of the season and luckily Grandma Janice and Aunt Tonia were able to attend his game. We then headed home where, as for tradition, I started a big ol' pot of chili. We had Grandma Judy, Papa and Aunt Erin over for dinner as well. Then because the state of Utah decided to trick-or-treat on the 30th of October rather than the 31st; Grandma Janice and Aunt Tonia were able to be here for the festivities. Since it had been such a busy day I was not feeling real great but did manage to go to the first couple of houses with the boys before sending Aunt Tonia out in my place.

Around 7 pm the boys were done trick-or-treating and wanted to stay home and hand out candy. We had a couple of groups of kids after that but not a whole lot. The boys tried to stay up extra late but the sugar rush from all the candy wore off and they both wanted to go to bed. Barley must have been tired too because he decided to retire for the night with Landon.

Sunday morning we were all sad to see Grandma Janice and Aunt Tonia head back to Wyoming. I am forever thankful for all they did during their visit but I knew it wouldn't last forever and knew I had to be prepared to go it alone.

Luckily my friend Sarah set up a schedule for my friends to bring dinners to our house and so for the last two weeks we have had food deliveries every other night. I am so happy to announce that I am almost 3 weeks post surgery and I'm feeling great. My back gets a little sore by the end of the day but each day that gets a little better. I am still supposed to limit my driving, no lifting anything heavier than a gallon of milk and no bending, lifting or twisting for another 3 weeks. I keep having dreams about running and can't wait to get back out there but promise to wait for the go ahead from the doctor. I want to thank all my family and friends who have been there for me through this whole thing. I love you all.

Back Surgery

Sunday after getting back from Wyoming and Nebraska I went to Insta Care to try and figure out what was wrong with my back and leg. They gave me a couple of prescriptions and told me if it didn't get better by the end of the week to get an MRI. After 4 more sleepless nights I went to the emergency room where they took and MRI and then sent me to another hospital to see a Neurosurgeon. By four o'clock in the afternoon I was being wheeled from my second emergency room of the day up to my "suite" on the 14th floor. I was diagnosed with a severe herniated disc and scheduled for surgery first thing Sunday morning and would be staying in the hospital for pain control until then. Not exactly how I thought I would be spending my weekend but I was relieved to find out why I had been in so much pain and was now on my way to solving the problem. The view from my room was absolutely beautiful and I was able to see the sun shine, a rain storm and a gorgeous rainbow at the end of the day. I had multiple visitors and telephone calls from family and friends while I was waiting for surgery and am so thankful to have such a large group of people who reached out to me during this difficult time. One of the hardest things about being laid up in the hospital bed was knowing that my Ragnar Team was in Las Vegas without me running the 200 mile relay race - including my three legs of the race. I felt like I was letting my whole team down despite my friend Abril's best efforts at lifting my spirits. In the end my team finished the race thanks to Abril's husband TJ picking up my legs. I just hope to be healthy enough to train for the Wasatch Back Ragnar in 2011 and may just have another chance to run the Vegas Ragnar as well.While I was in the hospital Steve brought the boys up to see me as much as possible. They would go downstairs to the food court and bring their meals up to my room to eat with me and we made sure they had lots of toys, books and things to color while visiting me. When it came time for them to leave at the end of the day the boys would get sad which would then make me sad. They did get to spend lots of time at grandma Judy's and Papa's house where they even got to have a sleep over one night.

I was released from the hospital Monday around lunch time. Steve took Monday and Tuesday off from work so he could take care of the boys and wait on me - when I was awake that is. Tuesday afternoon my mom, my sister Tonia and Barley Dog got into town to help out with the boys so Steve could go back to work.

Wednesday we got a snowstorm that brought enough snow for the boys to go out and build a snowman with Aunt Tonia. I am not sure who had more fun - the boys or Aunt Tonia. Grandma Janice and I watched from the front door as Frosty came to be and the snowballs flew through the air.

Lucas and Landon had so much fun playing with Aunt Tonia and Barley. She was up at the crack of dawn each day - getting ready, getting the boys fed, dressed, delivered to school and ready for the day. By the end of the visit the popular phrase from the boys was "I want Aunt Tona to do." Grandma Janice tried to help with the boys, the house and meals but for the most part Aunt Tonia was three steps ahead of all of us. I am so thankful for the two of them and relieved that they were able to be here when I needed them most.

The King/Revelle Wedding

The day of my brother Robert's wedding Kathy and I woke up and took Lucas and Landon swimming for a couple of hours. Then us girlies had to take a couple of hours to primp before we headed to the church to have pictures done.Landon decided to take a little snooze before having any pics taken.