Getting Ready

I thought I'd start out with these adorable mugs so that those following us can't be too mad for taking so long between posts. 

Our little Kade is nine months and in the 99th percentile for everything.  He's over 25 lbs and 30+ inches tall....so a monster.  He crawls all over the place and pulls himself up on everything from the couch to my leg.  Not to mention he is FAST.  We'll set him down in one room and in the blink of an eye he's already in the bathroom or kitchen, the places we don't want him.

Maya is a closet red head....full of fire! Her speech is increasing and getting better everyday.  She always keeps us on our toes.

Arthur is wrapping up his semester and next week he will officially walk across the stage that gives him the right to feel like a graduate!!  Even though he's received his diploma, he feels like this will seal the deal.  We are all so proud of him and are looking forward to the future.

I'm just being me, which means I get to stay home with the kids and enjoy every minute of it...well almost every minute. ;-)

A few days after we celebrate Arthur's graduation, we'll pack up and move back to California to wait out the interview and acceptance process for PA school.  Most of the programs begin in June of next year.  The earliest starts in January and the latest starts in the fall.  It's very exciting and we're anxious to hear in the next couple of months where we'll be headed.

Ummm, no words.

Hopefully people still wonder what we're up to.  So, for those that come to our blog and wonder what the heck is going on with us...I'm sorry it's taken SO long.  Maya is now in high school and Kade is excelling in sumo wrestling.  Hahaha!!! Nah, Maya is three going on too old and Kade is almost six months.  I can't believe how fast time has gone.

The little man! He's a actually not little at all.  He's very, very big.  We'll find out next week just where he is falling in the growth chart.

Sassy pants Maya.  She is a firecracker and we love it. She's wearing the "M" necklace she got from GG Jensen.  She loves to wear it.

We've been busy, busy with Arthur getting ready to graduate.  We found out about a month ago that he could be done with his Bachelor Degree this semester if he customized his cluster.  We thought about it and decided to go for it and then just take some pre-req classes for PA school during the summer.  Now that he has officially finished this semester, we're kinda wondering what we're going to do while we have him around.  It's definitely weird because for the past four and a half years he's been checked into school...completely!!  We've supported him as a family because we knew this is what he should be doing.  It's been very nice having him around!

Next semester he'll be enrolled in two classes and working part-time at the Student Health Center.  We are so blessed to be able to have Arthur continue to work on campus.  They sure do love him over there!!

Let's see, in a nut shell, here's some pictures documenting the last couple of months.

Maya got a hold of a Sharpie and was making herself 'beautiful.'  At least that's what she told me she was doing.  Apparently the floor and the wall needed to be beautiful too! :-)

This dress was mine and ever since Maya has gotten into her princess stage (everything Disney Princess), she feels she needs to wear something fit for a princess.  My mom sent this and thought she'd like it....she LOVES it!!! Thanks mom!!

We took some family pictures about two/three weeks after Kade was born.  A guy in our ward offered to do it so I jumped at it.  This was our first real family photo shoot.  It was really fun.

Here's Big Hair, as Grandpa Jensen likes to call him.  I'm not sure why?! ;-) He's playing in a borrowed exersaucer.  Let me tell you, I LOVE that thing, probably more than he does.  It lets me actually get stuff done.

Our sweet kids. They are such a joy, even when they are testing my patience to the maximus.

I'm going to try really hard to be better about keeping in touch through the blog.  I can't make any promises but I will try. Our family is thriving here and can't wait to start our new adventure. 

Adorable

Our little one must have been praying when he fell asleep!!

As soon as we laid him down, he stretched out his little legs.  He must've been in that position for 45 minutes.

He's growing up so fast.  He'll be six weeks tomorrow and I really can't believe it.  Where has the time gone??  He's gotta weigh at least 12 pounds and he has gotten so long...all that praying and stretching I guess.

The first surgery and hopefully the last!

So as the husband I feel it is my duty to fill in for Amy and blog. I hope I do her justice!

We arrived at the hospital at 8am to find out that we were early, apparently someone made a mistake with scheduling and we were not supposed to be there till 9am! What??!!.....are you serious? We need sleep right now! Well, Amy needs sleep and I need her to sleep because if she isn't sleeping than that means she is tired and not her wonderful chipper self!! Tisk Tisk Tisk Kade. Anyways, our room had a television monitor so we decided to catch up on Full House and some other ABC Family shows that were on in the morning. After an hour or so the nurse comes in and asks Amy a few health related questions and shortly after she is given an IV and some "floaty" drugs that make her feel sleepy. She was then taken into surgery around 10am and about an hour later she was done. The Doctor per Amy's request gave us the "stone" or what I would call the "whopper" since it looked like one of those chocolate covered malt balls that no one likes in our household! Amy was in and out of sleep for the next 6 hours. I would describe her as being narcoleptic....one moment she would be alert and then the next she would be out...she denies she slept but let me tell you, she was asleep. Her pain level was at a 6 out of 10 for most of the time and finally it came down to a 4 and half. She was able to drink broth and juice but still had challenges with going potty. The nurse came in about 4:30pm and asked how Amy was feeling, Amy replied by saying she felt about the same but did not have the urge to go potty yet. The nurse responded by saying that it was not a requirement before being discharged from the hospital. We decided that 5pm sounded like a good time to leave the comfort of the hospital and its amenities. Amy is such a blessing to our family with ALL that she does and now as a husband I get to find out first hand just how much work she does EVERYDAY! I hope I survive and become a better husband and dad through this unique time in our family's lives. Just one thing....keep us in your prayers to all of our loyal blog followers...my wife and kids especially since they will be in my care. YIKES! ; ) Till next time...

Surgery

I'm having my gallbladder removed tomorrow.  I have to admit, I'm a little nervous.  I've been in touch with a girl who was in our ward who had the procedure done last year.  She's been letting me know the truth about this surgery...it WILL take time to recover.  She mentioned the surgery lasts about 45 minutes, but the hospital recovery time is several hours. 

I've been especially nervous about how my post-baby body will react.  I'm nursing and I've been told that I need to pump and dump the day of the surgery so that baby doesn't get any of the yucky meds/drugs.  After that, he should be fine.  I will be on some pain killers but the pharmacist told me that it won't have any adverse affect on the baby beside maybe making him more tired.  I just think, he's a newborn, how much more tired can he be?!

Maya is all squared away for tomorrow, a friend of mine is going to watch her until we get home and then she'll most likely go to her little friend's house after that.  My biggest concern is how Kade and Maya will fend the days to follow.  My mom recommended having someone come in and check on me to make sure Kade's ok.  How sad is that?! I have to have someone come and make sure my baby is being taken care of.  Well, now is definitely the time I'm going to take advantage of all of my friends who have kids close to Maya's age.

Wish me luck!!

Missed :-(

I missed blogging yesterday due to an unforeseen schedule.  Oh well. I kind of figured I'd fall short posting everyday this month.  Hopefully this is the only mess up.

Last night I had an idea for a post, but now I've forgotten.  Darn!!  I should've got out of bed and began a post.  Eh.  The weather has turned for the worst here in Rexburg.  Last week it got very cold and has continued to get even colder this week.  A few mornings ago, Arthur woke up to get ready for work and it was 11 degrees outside.  BURRRR!!!  He's been riding his bike faithfully this semester but that morning it was just too darn cold that I wouldn't even let him ride if he'd wanted to.

The next thing that comes with the colder weather is snow...lots and lots of snow.  I believe this winter won't fail to impress with how much snow will fall.  We've lived here for three winters, this will be our fourth, and we are always surprised how soon it snows and how long it snows for...October to April, really?!  We should be prepared and use to it by now, but I am never ready for these bitter-cold and snowy winters.

I think my biggest issue with the winters here is how hard it is to keep our home warm.  Just when we think it's warm enough to turn the heater off, within a few hours it's freezing again.  Our poor babies...Maya's got a thick skin already, but Kade is just learning about the terrain he was born in.  The worst is bath time...the warmest rooms in the house are typically the kids' room and the living room, only if you're right next to the heater.  After Maya's bath we get her all ready for bed in her room because it's warm in there.  Kade on the other hand, we bathe in the sink and haul him over to the living room right next to the heater and get him dried and dressed.  He HATES it.  He hates the bath in general but the cold after the bath...no fun for baby, or this mama.  Even I hate getting out of the shower.

Chalk it up to another winter in Rexburg that we're not prepared for!!  Hopefully by next winter we'll either be on our way to somewhere else or have thicker skin!

The Gallbladder

Last night I had one of the worst experiences of my life. I would not wish it on anyone!! Arthur and I got home from one of Maya's friend's birthday party and we were just hanging out when I got an intense pain just under my rib cage on the right side. I was trying to find a comfortable position but just couldn't. I felt a constant pain that got worse at times and it was very tender to the touch.

I headed to bed around 10 and tossed and turned for about an hour and finally couldn't handle it anymore. I got up and walked around but that didn't help. It hurt so bad I could not control my tears. I'm sure Arthur was wondering what was up with me. He offered a blessing and I accepted. What a beautiful experience, receiving a blessing from my righteous husband.

After the blessing, by now it was midnight and I tried to get comfortable again, but about an hour later the pain was just too crazy. So, I told Arthur I needed to go to the hospital. Since our kids were sleeping, Arthur stayed with them and Steve came to my rescue. He hauled tail over to our house to get me and hauled some more tail to get me to the hospital. They pulled me back right away and started the assessment. They asked me all kinds of stuff and got me hooked up to some pain meds. Those helped me SO much. They made me quite loopy for a few minutes. Steve witnessed this right before I was discharged because they gave me another dose. Anyhoo, the doctor came in and pushed on my stomach and with it being to tender it made me catch my breath. He did the Murphy test; pushed on my abdomen while I exhaled and that was even worse.

Steve was allowed back once they got all the info they needed. They took some blood and a half hour later I went to have a CT. From the CT they saw that I have a few gallstones. The doctor recommended I have my gallbladder removed but didn't push it. He gave me the contact info of a local general surgeon and today we went and met with him, Dr. Coray. He strongly recommended to have the surgery. It's an outpatient procedure so it will only take a day. Next Monday is the day that I will become one organ short!!

It's supposed to be very routine...even so, keep me in your prayers. Thanks!!