The Story of Siobhan's Knee

Back around Christmas, Carson and I noticed a bump on Siobhan's knee. At first, we didn't think too much of it. We figured that it was just an injury from her incessant climbing. It stuck around, but we continued to shrug it off. Well, in March, I noticed that it hadn't gotten any better and, in my eyes, it actually looked worse. Well, the bells went off in my head and I decided that we needed to go into the doctor. I've known too many people who have had bad things happen as the result of a wonky, bumpy knee. It may not have been that bad, but I didn't want to take a chance.

This is what her knee looks like. Taken April 1st.

I made an appointment for her and lucky for us, one of the doctors at our pediatricians office specializes in pediatric sports medicine, so I knew that he would be the perfect person for her to see. He looked at it, poked around and did a bunch of movement tests and told us, flat out, that he didn't know what it was. So he sent us over for an x-ray to see if there was any damage. The x-ray came back negative meaning that there was nothing wrong with the bones in her knee or leg. Our doctor then referred us to a pediatric surgeon. OMGosh!

I made the appointment with a surgeon at children's hospital for the next week. We went in on April 1st and met with the good Dr. He took a look at her, did movement tests and then told us that it was out of his area of expertise as he usually deals with vital organs, not joints. So he sent us on to an Orthopedist. Luckily, he was able to get us in for that same day and it happened to be the same doctor who treated her for her broken leg so I knew he was good. Dr. Glancy took a look at her and did some really cool tests that I had never see before, like shining a flashlight against her leg to see what shadows appeared. Pretty cool. He also asked her to run up and down the hallway and walk to and from him and then watched her scale a chair with the greatest of ease. Boy, if he only knew what she scales at home on a daily basis.

When all the tests were done, we were presented with good news. She didn't have a tumor or growth or anything scary. She just has an anatomical difference in her right knee. The only thing that's wrong is that her joint capsule is loose in her right knee which causes soft tissue to get pushed into the pocket that's created when she bends her knee. It's really nothing to worry about as it doesn't bother her and doesn't effect her movement at all. He also said that if it was something scary, we would have seen other symptoms like fatique, weith loss and pain. We were instructed to keep and eye on it and if any of those symptoms come up are we notice it getting significantly bigger, we need to bring her back in. So we'll keep an eye on it, but I'm sure we have nothing to worry about.

We're so grateful that everything is okay. And while it has been a few weeks, I want to thank my family for fasting and praying on her behalf.

Sorry Kermit, Sometimes it is Easy to be Green

Back in March, my cousin Alison posted on her blog about how her and her husband are going more green. You can read about it here. I've always wanted to be live a greener lifestyle. I mean, come on, I'm from Oregon. How could I not live a green lifestyle? Even though I won't get the extra points for not posting on St. Patricks Day, I still felt that it would be a good thing to take account for how our family is working to decrease our footprint. I have a my issues with the whole 'global warming' thing (because lets face it, the world is going to burn and we're not going to be able to do anything to stop it) but I still feel that we were given a beautiful Earth to live in, and it is our responsibility to beautify and sustain that Earth to honor and show appreciation for that gift. So without further delay, here is our list.

Green (What we're doing now)
*We started a compost bin (FYI-you don't need to spend a ton of money on a compost bin or heap, you can build one with chicken wire and wood stakes. I made mine with a $4 rubbermaid container that I drilled holes in)
*Planted our garden with almost every vegetable that we use in everyday life (Tomatoes, red poppers, peas, herbs, etc.)
*We use a manual push mower instead of a gas powered one (Great exercise too)
* I wash almost everything in cold water and use minimal soap
*Combine as many errands into one trip
*Keep our one car in good working order including properly inflated tires and regular oil changes
*We don't have air conditioning
*Use compac florescent lightbulbs
*We just swithed to useing cloth napkins and using more towels instead of paper.

Not Green Yet (Things I would like to do if I had the space, time and resources)
*Drive a hybrid
*I would love to use cloth diapers
*I would love to live on some land so I could grow my own meat and more veggies.
*Creat a sustainable home.

Not Green Now (Things we should be doing)
*Line dry my laundry
*Take shorter showers
*Make homemade baby wipes
*Clean behind my fridge to make it work more efficianty
*Turn off lights when I'm done in a room. I have problems with that.

I'm sure that there are more things that I could be doing and if I really thought about it, I could come up with more thingst hat I would like to be doing, but I'm actually impressed with my list.

How green are you?

Dear Mom,

I miss you a lot. I've been thinking about you a lot lately. Not just today but for quite sometime. Of course, not a day goes by that I don't think about you and want so badly to call you up and talk to you and tell you all of the things that the kiddos are doing. But since I had Mr. Will, I've thought about you more often. I will always be sad that you were not able to be with them in this life, but I know that you were preparing them to come to me. I have a feeling that you were with them the day that their name was called and they were sent to our family.
I want so much to be able to call and tell you how much the kids are growing up and everything that they are up to. I wish that I could tell you how much I love them and how wonderful it is to be their mother and to tell you that I learned from the best. I know that you see them and watch over them, and you probably know them better than anyone else, but I just want to be able to tell you. I know that I will get that chance someday, and I look forward to it.
I hope that I am making you proud. I wish everyday that I do things the way you would. That I mother the way you would. I'm making my own way and doing things in my own way was well, but I hope that I'm doing them with the same love and care that you would. Thank you for your example. Like I said, I learned from the best.
I know that the Lord called you home for a reason. I just wish that I knew what that reason is. There most be something amazing going on. I miss you so much and I know you are smiling down on my little family. I love you.
Love,
Meghan

Just wanted to give a shout out my cousin Neil. Yesterday he was able to return home after spending a few months in inpatient rehab following his car accident. You can read all about it here. Neil is such an inspiration. He has worked so hard to get to this point and it has really paid off! The Lord has truly blessed Neil and his family as they have gone on this journey and we know that the Lord will continue to be with them. We love you Neil! You are such an inspiration to us and we are so honored to be a part of your family. Keep up the good work Neil!

Total Body....

Disclaimer: this it totally random and I had to share it. I won't be offended if you choose not to read, I just thought it was hilarious!

I was folding laundry this afternoon and flipping the channels when something caught my eye; Total Body By Gilad on the fitness channel. We only have expanded basic cable so I have no idea why we actually get the fitness network, but should I ever choose to do Nameste Yoga or belly dancing, I have the resources available I guess. So Total Body was hilarious today. If it wasn't for the location, I wouldn't have given it a second thought, but this just made my day. They were broadcasting from Jerulsalem, because when you need a good work out, that's where you go right? But the best part wasn't watching a grown man in stretch pants or watching them all prance around in early 90s style Reebok sneakers (Or were they LA. Gear? I'm not sure. All I know is that they were pure white hightops with velcro around the ankle). No the best part was the old Israli man sitting on a camel bouncing up and down to the beat of the awesome live native music. Yeah, he took the cake. A close second was when the the belly dancer came out in a blue spangled jumpsuit at the commercial break. It was awesome!

Mr. Will's Blessing

Last Sunday we had Mr. Will's blessing at church. It was such a special day for our family for a few reasons. First, it was just about the best way that we could have spent our Easter Sunday. What better way to celebrate the resurrection than by honoring new life. We were also very priveleged to be able to spend the occasion with Grandma Nadene, My dad and Carson's Parents. Mr. Will was completely silent through the blessing....a first for our little family. He looked so adorable in white. Carson gave a wonderful blessing that was so full of love and you couldn't help but feel the spirit. I am so grateful to be married to such a wonderful man who is a worthy priesthood holder and who honors that priesthood so fully. I can't think of a better example for my son. After church we had a nice luncheon for our friends and family. I was sad that more of our friends were not able to make it, but it was Easter Sunday after all.

I'm really tired and I really don't feel like monkeying around with the pictures to get them in the order that I want them in. I might try some more tomorrow.

Snow!

Here are some pictures from the snow storm. These were taken right when the snow stopped falling after coming down for almost 48 hours straight! Carson had a heck of time shoveling our drive way. And we were very productive while being snowed in today. We cleaned almost the entire upstairs and did a bunch of laundry. Not bad if I do say so myself!

April Showers...I guess

Have you ever had one of those days? You wake up and think to yourself, 'April 17th...middle of spring. It's going to be a glorious day! Spring sun, birds chirping. Maybe I'll work in the yard. Take the kids for a walk. Transplant the garden that is currently on our windowsill and lay in the grass and look for shapes in the clouds. The girls and I can sit on the porch swing and sip lemonade because it's the middle of spring and that's what you do.' So you finish having this conversation in your head and you hop onto the floor out of bed, run over to the window and open the shade and you see.....8 inches of snow on the ground. What?!?!?!? Didn't I say it was April 17th? Where's the sun? There's a garden to be planted and a swing to be swung in and lemonade to be drunk. I want to look for bunnies in the sky not look at a white blanket of clouds. Meanwhile Carson woke up and checked his work email and low and behold....University of Phoenix was closed for the day. The one good thing about getting pounded with snow in the middle of spring is Daddy getting the day off.
Oh spring, you were good to us the for the two weeks that you decided to make your presence known. We enjoyed being able to wear short sleeves and walk to the park in March. I loved that my grass was starting to grow a lovely shade of yellow green as opposed to the dead brown that we had been 'enjoying'. It was a fun couple of weeks and that will not be forgotten.
But, Mother Nature, what do you have against us. Why is it that I look outside and it hasn't' stopped snowing in thirty hours and we have two feet of the wet fluffy stuff holding us captive in our home? Why didn't you send this to us back in, oh say, the winter months when it's supposed to come our way. Really, this is a dirty trick to play on us.
We did venture out yesterday when it looked like the snow was lightening up. We went to go see Monsters vs. Aliens but it wasn't a huge deal as the movie theater is just down the street from us, the result of a law in Castle Rock regarding theaters and their proximity to liquor stores....but that's a for another post. When we left the house, the driving and snow fall was really no big deal. But when we left the theater, it was pretty much a white out. FUN!
So, I hope you all are enjoying the spring weather that you are enjoying in your respective parts of the country. And please say a prayer for us that our heat will stay warm and our food supply will hold up while we thaw out this frozen tundra.

None Were With Him