Sunday Morning Walk

Maria (my sister) sent me this picture of Kai, I think it's from the summertime. Makes me smile.

This morning we skipped church because we have 2 sick kids (Kai with cold, Koen with who knows what) and I need to be in the dark. Fortunately it was perfectly overcast this morning so we could get out for a walk!

Jackie, do you notice Koen wearing the toque that you made?

Sometimes I can still get Kai to hold my hand...

Kai loves his `new' hoodie that allows him to hold his hands inside, he thinks its the coolest thing.

I got my hair cut 2 days ago and wanted a nice picture with it all straightened and clean etc. but I've been a bit too lazy so at least here you can see the new length:)

Mr. Happy Pants it back. So awesome to have my happy, giggly baby back. PHEW! Well, until the next tooth.....

This was the first time that we let Koen walk for part of our family walk. Not sure if it's best for his Robeez but I don't know how well he would walk in actual runners and his super cute size 4 rainboots (they are only cute because they are so small) are a little too awkward for him still.

He has never held our hands to walk, it puts him off balance and he wants to do it all by himself.

Then I wanted some exercise so we put them both in the stroller. You can tell that Kai really loved that idea:) I love that my body, besides my eyes, is feeling so good these past two days. It's very weak as I've lost a lot of muscle mass and core strength, but it feels much better! I know I have to start very slowly but I'm confident that one day, I will be quite fit again.

Kai's cold has made him such a grumpy pants which makes me exhausted. He also has to win at everything right now. First to the door, first to the van, must win in any board game. TIRING. He is looking sooooo much like Gary these days, it makes me smile. Gary's participation in `No Shave November' will end tomorrow...I wonder what kind of mustache he will create....

I'm so thankful it is so cloudy and that I am able to for walks. I'm so thankful that my eye lubricant works so well. I'm so thankful for my husband and kids. Talking about kids.....

(First day of life!)

My baby will be 11 months old in 3 days. This makes me sad. Is it okay to feel that way? I love this stage and am incredibly sad that this is likely my last time breastfeeding or watching my baby take his first steps or learn how to talk etc. Every time he snuggles with me I want to say, `Please take 100 pictures!'. I know how hard it is to get a 3 year old boy to give good snuggles, especially the ones where they want to fall asleep lying on your chest.

(Koen 2 days old)

I am so thankful for this guy, especially since he took a lot longer to come along and especially since he came before I got sick....that I got to have a second child before all this craziness. Although pregnancy is one of the instigators of Graves' Disease, I wouldn't change anything for a second. I love this guy to pieces.

Okay, can't think of a fun way to end this so have a great evening. I'll be watching Amazing Race:)

Party Day Pictures

Here are a few pictures from Kai's Party Day at school today....

He does so well with all of the actions and is very animated with his singing:)

Kai and his partner were wild and fast do-si-do-ers! My little man has moves:) How cute is it to see your three year old do-si-do-ing?!

Below they are shaking their tails (they were squirrels of course).

And below is Mr. Grumpy Pants. Terrible picture but here's his goofy face. I think he was dancing here. He's also got some sweet moves! He looks so familiar to me in this picture but I don't know who he looks like...me? Kai? Gary? He loves music. Loves to dance. He swings his arms and shakes his head and does some squats. SO CUTE.

And below is a picture of my eyes after a GOOD night sleep. My sister saw me yesterday and was like, `Well, you just look like that because you're not wearing makeup'. Um, yes, I was wearing make up! My poor, tired, tired, sore eyes.

Jellybeans

Sort of survival mode with a sick baby, Gary always at bball and me trying to get `normal'. Kai wants jellybeans and Treehouse? Sure, why not.

Koen is grumpy, grumpy, grumpy. Grossest diaper I've ever seen in my entire life today which just validates the yuckiness in his belly and teething troubles. They febreezed the entire area when I took him to the bathroom to change him, I was so embarrassed! Poor bubba. So clingy. So grumpy.

Went to the doctor this morning and got a referral for `the opthamologist' in Vancouver that specializes in Graves Disease. My doctor will fill out the info for applying for long term disability so I will try and see if I qualify. Dude, that would be so awesome because then I won't have to worry about money and it would validate my decision. If you read my thryoid blog, you will see that I now have to wear sunglasses in fluorescent lighting. So awkard, especially in the winter.

I will include pictures later but that means I actually have to take them, upload them, post them.

Noooooooooooo

Koen has been barfing this evening. Flu vomiting. Crap. Poor baby. Poor shag carpet. Poor me (it will be a sleepless night). He cannot barf on his little blankie Blue or we are in trouble. He had his 1st H1N1 shot and was supposed to have his booster tomorrow. Maybe it's something he ate? He doesn't seem to lethargic so maybe it is something he ate. The whole milk I tried to get him to drink? Curry that he's had before? Please, please, please don't let it be the flu......
*Update: he vomited about 10 times in 4 hours and then nothing since midnight. He was able to hold down his milk at 4am. He had actually vomited the day before but I took it as a fluke/reflux-ish. Nervous to see what the day brings. The male nurse on the health line (811) was very friendly and helpful!

Birthdays

First off, I want to thank you for reading my thyroid blog. It wasn't notifying me that people were commenting, so I had no idea! All fixed. Thank you.

This weekend we did pictures for a kids program at our church Saturday morning/afternoon. In the evening, we went to a 1st birthday party for Addison, probably the cutest 1 year old girl! We didn't take our camera there so no evidence of the cutest birthday girl ever (she was wearing a tutu, I need a girl!). In the meantime, may have to just dress up my boys?!

Sunday after church, we went to my niece, Izzy's, second birthday party. It was Dora themed as Izzy has been a Dora fanatic for over a year. Kai was running around like crazy while the girls sat nicely and played:)

I've been trying to figure out what to do for Koen's birthday (just 6 weeks away and he'll be one?!!!) and I've decided on a fondant train cake. I'm going to do a plain circular fondant cake with a small fondant train on top. Good times:)

Koen is walking like crazy, he was almost running last night. He is adorable. I've also found him dancing several times when music was on. Whenever I stop hearing the pitter patter of his feet, I know to look to the stairs. There he is, looking at me with a huge mischievous grin:) So cute. He's still teething like CRAZY which has made him grumpier than normal, however, he is still a very, very good kid.

Kai has said some funny things over the past few days;

1. Kai: `Mommy, can we go to the pet store and get our dog Bailey on Thursday?' We're getting a dog??? Named Bailey??

2. Kai (usually at dinner we talk about the best and worst part of the day....yesterday at BREAKFAST Kai says): `So mommy, what was the worst part of your day?'. Dude, I just woke up!

3. Kai had the first half of his first ever ring pop and had the rest in the fridge for the next day. When it was time to go to bed, he said goodnight to everyone and then said, `Wait! I have to say goodnight to my lollipop!' He went to the fridge and gave it a sweet goodnight. First thing in the morning, he had to give it a `Good morning!' too.

Someone asked me if I was happy to stay at home with the kids. I have to say that I'm glad that I am able to take care of my kids and that I can spend so much time with them. However, I'm sad that the choice to do so was taken from me from this ridiculous disease. I would rather work part time. I find that I enjoy and appreciate my kids more when I have a break from them:) You can't have sushi every day and still be super excited about it, ya know?

I have been having major chest pains for 6 days now...for hours and hours at a time. There's nothing like praying `Dear God, please let me wake up in the morning'. I told Gary that I can't feel like this much longer, I just can't. Hopefully the doctor can do something about it this Thursday.

Last thing....last night the washing machine started leaking and smelling like smoke. After taking out all of the clothes and draining the machine, Gary went to fix it. I was freaking out that we were going to cause a major leak or cause some irreversible damage and Gary was saying that I had to have confidence in him. It's hard for me because I know he's had no experience with a washing machine before. In the water pump, we found one of Koen's socks. I may have overfilled our machine. Crap. My bad. Now we know that Gary can fix washing machines and I am confident in his ability to do so:)

Questions For Kai

I got these off my friend Terri's blog and decided to see if Kai could do it. Here are his answers, I put my thoughts in brackets:)

1. What is something mommy always says to you? I love you (Aw)

2. What makes you happy? You (Aw)

3. What makes you sad? When I go to time out

4. What makes you laugh? The doorbell (he loves ringing the doorbell, it's true)

5. How old are you? 3

6. How old is Mommy? 3

7. How old is Daddy? 3

8. What is your favorite thing to do? WAtch my dvd's in my bed (Oh man, sounds like a couch potato! We let him watch a DVD in the morning so I can sleep in:)

9. Who is your best friend? Ani (his cousin)

10. What do you want to be when you grow up? Fix things with daddy

11. What are you really good at? fixing things

12. What are you not very good at? Puzzles (I'm surprised he knows this...I don't think I've said it out loud around him but it is true. He works on them a lot with Gary because I'm terrible at them too).

13. What did you do today? I saw the Gingerbread train (we bought a gingerbread train kit and he cannot wait to make it)

14. What is your favorite food? Macaroni (he loves all food)

15. What is your favorite song? Give Thanks Everday (from his preschool DVD `Going for Goodness')

16. What do you want for (holiday or birthday) this year? Make balloons

17. What is your favorite animal? Tiger (I don't think this is true but oh well!)

18. What is love? You (Aw)

19. What does mommy/daddy do for work? Mommy -work at the computer (editing pictures) Daddy - teacher and a coach

20. Where do you live? here

21. Where is your favorite place to go? To Ani's! (He loves going to Annika's and grammas house the most. Gramma's house has tons of toys).

Teething Pteradactyl

Oh man...Koen is a bit of a monster these days!! I know it's his teeth, I have to remember to give him his teething tablets more frequently. Two teeth are through and 3 more are just below the surface. It doesn't help that he fell down a bunch of stairs today either...he is one tough cookie! He has an insatiable appetite. Not for milk (although he loves it and is fine with breast milk or whole milk), but for food. He will eat more than Kai. He will screech and claw at whatever I am eating. He likes everything and anything, except for scrambled eggs. His newest love is vegetarian chili. I'm not a fan of this screeching and grunting. I guess I should be working on signs with him but Kai spoke quite early so I guess I'm just hoping for the same thing:) Koen is pretty tiny. I mean, he hasn't gained any weight in about 3 months (which is totally normal) but he just looks so small walking around...all 21.5lbs of him.

Kai is awesome. Today when I told said that I was leaving his room (we were playing) to go downstairs, he said, `I'm really not impressed'. He is learning all of his shapes at preschool and yesterday they covered triangles and octagons. They made the shapes by gluing Q-tips onto paper. I guess he knows how to glue now:) Kai is big. Like stocky. I can't imagine what he would look like if he didn't eat as healthy as he does. His favourite snack of the month are apple slices. He probably has 2 apples a day and would eat way more if I let him. We do not let him eat junk food, although he has been having a small smartie pack every other day or so (left over Halloween treats). I guess he also gets a super dilute hot chocolate every day...I don't know what he would do if he had a real hot chocolate one day and found out how much sugary cocoa is really supposed to go in there:) It's a good way to get him to drink a lot of milk. I find that he is really affected by sugar, not so much in energy, but in attitude. I don't need any more attitude, thanks!

Nothing really new here. I'm not enjoying this weather, it keeps us so cooped up in the house as it is so cold and windy out there.

I am feeling very `different' today. Just extremely tired (and I slept well last night) and cold. Frustrating. My heart rate is way down so I don't know which meds I'm supposed to stop taking...maybe the beta blockers? I don't know. I have started a new blog devoted to my thyroid so that I don't bore you with it here, and, I'm hoping it may be a resource for anyone who ever goes through it. I'm nervous for maternity leave ending in 2 weeks. We have never existed on one income before. Gary is not concerned, but then again, not much phases him:)

My dad has officially moved out of his house. Sad. I went there last night, and it was him and I sitting on the only two chairs left in the entire house and we talked about he good ole days. Maybe therapeutic? Okay, better figure out what Kai has gotten into....

Graves Disease

Okay, so I got a call from my endocrinologist today and she told me that I have Graves Disease. I did not expect this and was somewhat upset by this news. It's not terrible. It's just that it lasts a whole lot longer than what I had first been diagnosed with, potentially my whole life. Originally, if `just' Post Partum Thyroiditis, I would likely be 100% within 6 months. Now, I will be on my meds (PTU and beta blockers) for 2 years and then may be in remission for 6 months to life. It also has the added lovely physical characteristics of bulging eyes and goiters. Fortunately, my goiter is small, you can't even tell I have one. I don't think my eyes stick out, they just look different from the weight loss. I only have minor muscle pain around my eyes so that's fine with me.

For anyone that has had thryoid issues, you know how confusing it can be. How it takes on so many forms. How symptoms are always changing. How frustrating it is. I think I'm going to let myself feel sorry for myself today and then I will figure out how to best get better. I meet with a naturopath next week, as well as my doctor. I get to go see my endocrinologist again in a couple of months (LOVE SPECIALISTS!!). Fortunately, my thyroid hormone levels are approaching normal (as indicated by my blood tests and 7lb weight gain this week alone! :) The only new symptom that is bothering me is what my endocrinologist said was due to coronary artery spasms....it basically feels like angina or an anxiety attack. Squeezing in my chest. Apparently it's okay as long as no other crazy symptoms occur with it. I just feel really bad putting my body through all of this, I'm sure the long term consequences will not be good. Although, I had no problem smoking as teenager:)


What causes it? There may be an inherited risk (interesting...my mom was always thin but she always had low heart rate and blood pressure so I doubt she had it). Also, one of the major stressors that may cause it is loss of a loved one. Seriously, that is the one stressor that every site quotes. Now, not sure why it would occur 3.5 years after the death of my mom, but that could be a contributor. Maybe it is somewhat related to my dad getting married and the finality of dealing with my mom's death. I asked my endocrinologist what causes it to reoccur and she said it could be stress so I will do all I can to live a life that is as stress free as possible (yes, I do try to control everything). I do have to say though, that truly, everything does happen for a reason. I'm just so thankful that I do not have cancer. I have something that can be controlled by meds and allows me to live an almost 100% normal life. So what if I may never run a half marathon again, I never really enjoyed them that much anyway:)

PS I do want to say that I recognize that my Graves Disease is nothing serious in the big picture. My best friend (Lynette) has a brother, George, who is awaiting his double lung transplant for his Cystic Fibrosis. He has been waiting for 11 months now. There is a special on `The Passionate Eye' tonight called `65 roses' which documents a young woman's journey of a double lung transplant in the same hospital as his, similar journey, and he knows her. I'll def. be watching it. I could write so much on Lynette's family and the journey they have been on, her family is truly inspirational and I just pray for a happily, healthy ever after for their family. Appreciate your health, people!!

PS If you have Graves, or know someone who does, can you leave me a comment? I would love to email with others that have it!

Movie Night

I can't remember the last time I actually watched a DVD...does my yoga video count? I just didn't have the time, patience, or one that I really wanted to watch. Well, I've been meaning to find a movie that Kai might like since he has only seen `Cars' (which I have never even watched with him). Last night, as a family, we watched the first half of `Up' and this afternoon we watched the second half. There was something really nice and cozy about all of use cuddled on the couch, under our warm blankets, in front of the fire place, watching a movie together. I loved it. Koen spent that time walking around holding onto his two drum sticks (which he holds onto all day...sucking them and banging things) and periodically coming on the couch to jump on us.

Kai could follow the movie pretty well but we did fast forward the first 5 minutes as it was incredibly boring for him. It was nice to do something different as a family, usually we just do family walks but now it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too cold! Snow tonight?!

Can I just tell you how Koen baffles my mind? Picks things up, walks with big items in his hands, climbs on top of things, great manipulation of objects in his hands etc. Koen and Kai are so different and it has been evident from the beginning:) Kai would be more tentative and wonder if it's okay to wander. Maybe a careful wild. Koen is a `let me gooooooooo!!!' kind of wild. Let me explore! I love different.

Yay for family nights. Love the husband and kiddos!

Goodbye

We had our last official Dekens dinner at my dad's house. He has been living there on weekdays because he dislikes commuting and his new house, with Joanne, is in Abbotsford.

I am incredibly sad that the house is being torn down. Not sad because of the house but because whenever I'm there, I `see' my mom. I see her baking in the kitchen, I see her drinking tea at the table, and I see her sitting in the recliner. We spent many a nights having tea time together as a whole family (we did it almost every night, so cheesy eh?). I have no where to go to feel close to my mom anymore. I guess dad has a place up at Green lake but it's not the same.

I'm sad that my dad won't get to see the boys as often. I know it's good. I'm just one of those `hold onto every memory' kind of person! We built this house when I was 15 and my room was the one on the top left of this photo....

I think it's particularly hard because it's what I see everyday, as we are neighbours. At least Kai will likely enjoy the demolition:)

(terrible lighting in the house but Ani and Kai go wild there, running, running and running) Okay, on to happier things...

This morning I asked Kai if he wanted me to put a bagel in the toaster for him and he said, `Thank you mommy, you are so helpful!'. I find that his manners, and understanding of helping and sharing with others, has increased greatly since preschool. He always says, `What can I do to help?'. This is very nice but very exhausting having him `help' me! His preschool recognizes kids when they do good things. Once a month, they get a piece of paper saying what they've done that day and the whole class shouts hooray! Kai has gotten it both times, once for saying `thank you' and once for making room for a friend:) Now, I'm not saying he's an angel because he will still scream like he's dying when it's time to turn the tv off. He still hid his brother in the bathroom where Koen was facinated with the forbidden toilet. Kai really wants to make a `junior house' and it took me forever to figure out what he was talking about...he wants to make a gingerbread house. He even went outside, into our backyard, to get a good look at our house to see what shapes we need. My little architect?!

I followed Koen up the stairs and he went straight to his room to get Blue, his comfort blanket/doggie. He loves Blue so much. I love that he has an item that he receives comfort from, it allows him to sleep so much better. Both of my kids did not take soothers, but both love their blankies! I'm a little sad (oh boy, do I sound sad all the time? I'm not, I'm happy!) that Koen has teeth. Every other development is exciting but this one just seems like I'm losing my baby and gaining a young boy. I want my baby!!!

I got to speak at my old school for a Family Management Class. I spoke about conception, pregnancy, labour, delivery and breastfeeding. It was fun and I'm very comfortable talking about anything, especially to teenagers! I was only there for 45 minutes but it affirmed two things:

1. I love teaching

2. I made the right decision not going back. Toooooo exhausting.

I love my life right now. True, I really, really want to be able to run and hike again, but, if this is my new life, I can do it.

So hard to know what's going on with my thyroid. I feel like it changes daily. However, I know that the greatest things for me to maintain a sense of normalcy are; taking my meds, eating healthy foods, and maintaining a sense of calmness. I am so thankful that my trembling and fatigue are almost non existent.

I need to just say this.....all my life I have pushed myself. Hard. Do as much as I can as fast as I can. Have a huge to do list. Finish a paper 3 weeks early. Finish report cards first. Clean the house and bake and make a great dinner in one hour. People told me to relax. I was like, ya, whatever. Why would I relax? I have energy. My body and brain can do anything! Well, finally, I am no longer to do as much as I once could. Now, I only have one thing per day on the calendar. This is truly a blessing. I need to slow down, there is no choice. If I start to do too much, it feels like I'm having an anxiety attack or a heart attack. So not worth it.

So yes, three benefits to my hyperthyroidism: weight loss, relaxed life style, and...oh man, I forget the last one. That's another side effect. I have to write everything down. I just remember thinking there were 3 things. I'll think of it. Maybe it was that I get to stay home with my kids?

Have a great weekend everyone. Can't believe it hailed twice today! We're off the mall to see Dora and Kai Lan.

What do you think?

Based on several comments, I think we will use the funny pictures for our card....

Outtakes

First of all, Gary and I went out for dinner on Friday night. We never really go, well, maybe once every 3 months. Gotta use the coupon book! We went to Newland's Prime Rib buffet, it was all right. Thanks to Maria for babysitting! Yesterday, we did a yoga DVD together. So hilarious but easier to do it when someone is doing it too! Picture Gary and I both in our Warrior Two positions...I'll have to get a photo next time with us both in our yoga gear.

Like Andrew, I tried taking some photos of the kids for our Christmas card. Unfortunately, I did not get a keeper. I need Gary to help me with it. Too stressful trying to get two busy boys to sit still. Instead of deleting all of the pictures (Gary `makes' me delete about 75% of my photos so it doesn't take up much room on the computers), I decided to document some terrible ones first. Here are some of the outtakes...Maybe I should just use it as our card with `Hope your Christmas is merrier than ours!':)

The ones below are somewhat cute but no good ones together yet:)

Make sure you check out our photography blog...got to take pictures of one of the cutest families ever on Saturday.

Final thing: KOEN GOT HIS FIRST TOOTH! ONE ON THE BOTTOM. HIS TOP LEFT `FANG' TOOTH IS POKING THROUGH TOO:)

Up!

(All pictures taken with our 50mm lens, it's my favourite)
Risky to post on a Friday because no one comments but oh well, I've got some pictures to post. Me with my Kai bear.

Brothers. Kai loved an excuse to give his brother a squishy hug. Good thing Koen is a little more durable these days:)
I love this picture....

Wanted to get some more shots of the kids from above. I find that is a great way to get nice bright eyes. Koen didn't cooperate and Kai did, um, for a snack. Good thing I'm reading the parenting book `Honey, I Wrecked the Kids' right now because bribery probably isn't best. It just works so well...:)

Love the natural light in front of our south facing window!

Kai loves jumping from the bench to the couch. I kind of like it because he's been a bit of a chicken so far (totally because I'm a safety freak) so I like to see him being a bit wilder in that sense.

The Koke-inator has about 4 teeth on the way...poor guy. Not so fun. Also the top ones are the ones outside of the front teeth, that'll look awkward!

Realize there's very few pictures of me...I should probably get one of Gary too:)



We've got a few shoots this weekend (4 in one week!) and I'm confident the weather will not cooperate. Oh well, we'll make it work. Thankfully two are in the studio. Everyone wants their Christmas photos!

Gary is now into basketball. This is where I rarely spend an evening with my husband for 4 months. Usually (oh, this is bad), they don't do super well so don't go too far past February. I just feel bad for Gary because he is so crazy busy.

Here is the brochure that I took photos for. It's a fundraising campaign for the high school (and elementary and middle school) that we both teach at. Well, I guess that I've taught at:)

The girl below was on the cover....she's so adorable.

Below is Kai's first painting of a person and he chose to paint daddy. I was so proud of him as he has done nothing remotely close to that. Ever. Apparently he likes painting. Arms out of the head...love it:)

Over the past two days Koen has learned how to stand up on his own (in the middle of the room) and how to high five. So cute. Below is his teething face.

I had said I would stop breastfeeding him at 10 months and I think I will slowly wean him now. Truthfully, teeth still freak me out and also, I really feel nutritionally deprived. My nails are more brittle than they have ever been. I wonder if it will help with my hyperthyroidism to stop. So, I just need to go out and get the whole milk. Every time I go though, I just think, hmmm...just a bit longer maybe:)
Have a great weekend everyone!!

Thyroid Diet and Cute Kids

(Pictures throughout the post are of the kids at Derby Reach that I took before our friends goT there:)))
All right, my thyroid. I have decided not to depend solely on my medication because that would never work. I have realized how much my thyroid is affected by my day to day activities. I NEED to eliminate stress from my life, or change my attitude towards it. I was once, okay, probably always, been considered a bit of a stress case. I think Gary has taught me to calm down a bit as he is the exact opposite. Any kind of stress, such as trying to get somewhere on time (I always end up early), trying to find something that I put away, feeling like the house is too messy...makes my symptoms way worse. I need to change my mindset. I am wanting to start doing yoga to relax. Thankfully the kids don't stress me out. They may annoy me at times, but they don't stress me.

Foodwise, there is a `hyperthyroidism diet' out there. NO wheat, dairy, refined sugar, caffeine, saturated fat or alcohol. YES to broccoli, spinach, kale etc and protein. Obviously, there is no way I could stick to that exactly but I will def. emphasize certain foods in my day to day. I was not doing well on Sunday/Monday/Tuesday and I realise now that it was probably due to the Halloween candy left in our house and that I had tea on those days. The chocolate is currently in the garage...out of sight, out of mind! It's interesting how my body was craving beans and veggies, and that is what I am supposed to be taking. Tonight, we will be having this for dinner, but with chicken in it too.

Forgetfulness. I am very forgetful. This is tough for me as my mind was once quite sharp. I call and email the wrong people, forget names, forget to buckle Kai up (twice!) etc. I need to write everything down on paper and I def. need to buy one of those medicine dispenser holder thingy's because I can never remember what I've taken or haven't taken. I'm also going to be adding a whole bunch more vitamins and supplements because when your digestive system is working this fast, you don't get to absorb all you need to. You should hear my stomach at night, it sounds like there is a bear in my stomach.

I really want my body back to `normal-ish' because we would like to have a third child if possible. Right now, my hormones are so out of sorts AND I'm on medication that I couldn't take if pregnant so there is no way we could even try anytime soon. I know I would likely have to go through all of this again, if we had another child, but at least I sort of know how to deal with it?

Gary and I are going on a date on Saturday night, should be good! My sister is watching the kids. It's so good swapping babysitting with her. We usually do it after 7pm so the kids are already in bed:)

Gary and I have been contemplating how to use our photography skills to help the school raise funds. We are currently in a huge building project. We may have come up with something and I hope it works out. I mean, it's not huge amounts of money, but it's something we can do to contribute. I will post more on it when we've got it all figured out. I was asked to take pictures for their current `Imagine' campaign and Gary brought the brochure home yesterday. It was fun doing because I got to visit the elementary and middle school too. Cute, cute kids! I'll have to post a picture of it later.

Well, I better post this before the power goes out. Bit of a wind storm here today. In conclusion,
MY

KIDS

BRING

ME

SO MUCH HAPPINESS!