The Arizona Woodwinds Symphany

Last night the boys and I went to Tempe Center for the Arts and watched two incredible bands perform. The Arizona Woodwind Symphony has two members that we know. One of them is Ms. Parker, Grant's band teacher; and the other is Mrs. Wilson, a math teacher I work with. The musical numbers that the bands performed were varied and fun to listen to. The really cool part was that each ticket was only $6. I guess our family can afford to be a little cultured once in a while!

The boys had to dress nice for our special night out on the town.

Grant has such great expressions for the camera.

Mitchell didn't want his picture taken the rest of the evening. However, notice how dirty his hands are. I guess these are working man hands!

A little bit of work...

Brent's friend Brad is in the real estate business. From time to time, Brad needs to clean up a property or fix things up on a property before he can sell it. This last Saturday he called up and asked for Mitchell to come and work for him for the day fixing up a house. Mitchell was able to get his first "employment" experience. He learned how to do many tasks including how to caulk things. When he didn't do it correct the first time, Brad showed him how to do it correctly. Mitchell was then able to do the caulking really well. This pattern repeated itself throughout the day with all of the projects he was given. We learned that Mitchell does better when he is shown exactly how to do something. Then he can do it with no problem or mistakes. He worked hard from 11am until when I picked him up at 7pm and he was paid for his work. Mitchell now has a taste of the "real world."

The Very Busy Grant

Grant has become a very busy young man. He currently plays the clarinet and the bass clarinet for the 6th grade Pueblo Band. His spring concert is on March 3rd at 7PM. This month Grant chose to go out for the school track team. He is excited to do the shot put and the high jump. His first practice was last week on Thursday. He came home hungry and exhausted. He didn't want to do anything the rest of the evening. I think I will really like track practices :) His first track meet is March 3rd at 4:30PM. March 3rd will be a VERY busy day. Grant is also very active in his scout troop. During his first year as a Boy Scout, he has just about completed his Tenderfoot, 2nd Class Rank and 1st Class Rank. Today his troop took a 5 mile hike at the San Tan mountains. I really wanted to join them but my lungs just aren't back to normal yet. Grant enjoyed the hike and being with his troop. Although Grant is a busy young man, he still finds time to play video games and hang out with his friends. Fun, fun, fun!

Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday and Happy Valentines Day!

For Christmas and my birthday I have asked Brent to hang this old painting in our living room. The painting was Brent's grandparents and sustained water damage quite a long time ago. Before the picture could be hung on the wall, it had to be repaired. Brent has had intentions of fixing the painting for several years, long before we even met. So for Christmas I asked to have the picture fixed and hung. It didn't happen. For my birthday I asked to have the picture fixed and hung. Brent purchased the supplies to start it. For Valentines day I asked to have the picture fixed and hung. So here it is, February 16th, 2009 and the picture not only was fixed but it was hung on the wall!!!! Yippee!

Pneunomia

Last week on Thursday, I came home from work not feeling very well. All day I had the chills and then felt hot. I had so many household things to take care of so I dug in and got to work despite not feeling well. Finally, around 9PM while I was sweating buckets and doing the ironing, I took my temperature. It was 103! Yikes, I realized I really was sick. This was just the beginning of a very long and sweaty illness.

The rest of that night and all day Friday I did nothing but freeze for a few hours and then would be sweating with a high fever for a few hours. Then the process would repeat. At 8pm that evening when my temperature was 104.2, I had Brent take me to the emergency room. They did a chest x-ray and blood tests and everything was in the normal range. They said I could have a virus so I should get lots of rest and drink lots of fluids.

The next four days were the same as Friday: back and forth with high fever and chills. I had a blessing Saturday afternoon and was very hopeful that I would be well soon. However, after missing my 3rd day of work (Tuesday the 27th), I called my doctor's office to see if they could see me. They didn't have an opening until the next day at 4:20PM. I figured I would be in the emergency room by then or would be well. I made the appointment anyway.

That evening I had another priesthood blessing. In the blessing it said that I would be able to figure out where I should get treatment. Later that evening my fever was back to 103 and my head hurt really bad. I kept thinking to myself that the Emergency Room needed to run more tests, there was something they missed. I told Brent that I needed to go back to the ER even though it would cost another $150 copay.

The ER ran the tests again. This time they compared my chest x-ray from Tuesday with Friday and found that I had pneumonia. They did a CT Scan of my chest to confirm the diagnosis. I was grateful to have a diagnosis because then I could get treatment. I wasn't expecting to admitted to the hospital for a few days for that treatment. But it was just what I needed. On Friday the 30th I was released from the hospital with no more fevers! I have lots of medicines to take to clear out my lungs. I still have shortness of breath when I walk around the house but it is improving.

Brent did an amazing job running the household, taking care of the boys and running his business on the side. My ward family started bringing in meals this week too which was a big help. Thanks for all of your phone calls and prayers to get well. In a few weeks I should be back to normal.

Fun in the Snow!

On Sunday we headed up up to Flagstaff to spend some time with the Padilla family. We got there just in time to see the Cardinal's victory. We listened to the game the whole way up but its so much better to see it on TV. That evening we had a "Settler's of Catan" competition. If you haven't played, you should find someone to teach you. It was lots of fun. Mitchell dominated most of the games. He is very competitive.

On Monday we headed off to play in the snow. Although is been a few weeks since it has snowed in Flagstaff, there was still plenty of snow near SnowBowl to play in.

Mitchell and Andrew were inseparable on the snow. This was their first time down the baby slope. The rest of their adventures were MUCH steeper!

Mitchell & Andrew are on a sled at the bottom of the hill. Andrew is tucked safely between Mitchell's legs. This was the fastest hill to to down at this location. They went down this hill a dozen or more times together. I think Andrew may be a thrill seeker like his big cousin Mitchell.

Sledding Buddies: Andrew & Mitchell. Andrew is almost as tall as Mitchell's sled.
Grant had his own sled and pretty much did his own thing the whole time. We hardly saw him the whole time we were there. My super sweet niece, Payten, came sledding with her Dad. However, when her and her dad went down the hill and the sledding devise disintegrated, she wasn't interested in sledding anymore (no one was hurt!!!!) So it surprised me when she wanted to sled down the little hills with me. We took turns with Mitchell's sled. Andrew would go down the hill head first on the sled and then him and Mitchell would haul the sled back up. Then Payten would get so excited and tell me it was her turn and then would ask me if I would sit on her lap. It was super cute. We went down together close to 10 times. After each trip down, she would tell me that it was Andrew's turn and then we could go again. What an adorable little girl!

Andrew, Payten and Daniel had a little soda break. The two little guys were so excited to have a soda. Needless to say, they both had to go and use the outhouse shortly thereafter. Daniel does have good taste in soda; he gave Andrew and Payten a Mugs Rootbeer, my favorite!

Counting Our Blessings

Yesterday, Wednesday, January 14th, around 3:45pm, Mitchell was hit by a car. Mitchell was crossing a major road with 7 lanes. He was riding his new bike and was on his way home. He chose to cross the street at an intersection but it wasn't an intersection at a stop light or with a cross walk. The road was clear for the first 3 lanes that he crossed. When he reached the median to finish his trek across the street, three cars were coming, one in each of the next 3 lanes. Instead of waiting, he sped out in front of them on his bike. In his mind, as he raced across the road, he realized he would be hit by the 2nd car. But he was lucky, he made it past that car and was hit by the car closest to the sidewalk he was aiming for.

The car hit Mitchell's back tire. When it hit, he was thrown off of his bike onto the street. He thinks he landed on his hands and the skidded on to his elbow, hip, and legs. After impact, he got up. The cars all stopped, someone called 911, and Mitchell quickly surveyed the damage. He determined he was alright and just wanted to go home. He looked at the lady's car that hit him and noticed there was a scratch on her bumper. He told her he was sorry and asked her how much it would cost to fix it. She must have been in shock too.

The police arrived and interviewed all of the witnesses. They all said they couldn't believe that Mitchell was walking around. They expected to see a dead body. They all told the police that Mitchell cut across the street right in front of them. This street has a speed limit of 45mph. The cars were approaching an intersection so they may have been slowing down and been going 30 to 35 mph when Mitchell was hit. All of these witnesses were witnessing a miracle.

The fire department and paramedics checked Mitchell out and determined that he was okay. Then they called me on my cell phone at work to let me know the news. I was so grateful he was okay. I arrived at the accident scene right before the lady who hit Mitchell left. Mitchell was pretty shaken up and walked up to me immediately and gave me a hug. He was trembling but still trying to act like he was just fine. He just wanted me to take him home. The fire department released him to me and advised that he get checked out further but that there was no immediate emergency. The police officers gave Mitchell a ticket for "failing to yield to traffic" and Mitchell has to go to court next month for that.

Mitchell and I went to the emergency room and waited for treatment. He had road rash on his arms, check, hip, knees and leg. Nothing was broken. He had a really bad headache but never hit his head. While we waited for a CT Scan, Mitchell finally broke down and cried. The reality of how close he came to death finally sunk in. We talked about how he was protected and that it wasn't his time to leave the earth. We talked about how he has an important work to do in his life which is why he only has scratches.

The CT Scan came back saying there was nothing wrong. So they cleaned all of the cuts and sent him home. Mitchell is sore today and bandaged up. His back rim of his bike is bent so he can't ride his bike.

Mitchell with his bike after the accident and the emergency room visit.

This rim is too bent to spin.

Mitchell is showing his injuries. I am so grateful that he wasn't hurt worse. I am amazed that he has NO broken bones. What a blessing.