July 29th Cardiology visit

We left Powell yesterday afternoon and drove as far as Scott and Molly's house in Montpelier  Idaho.  We enjoyed the evening catching up with them. Emma was so excited to stay with Sadie. We decided to let Emma and MaryAnne stay with Molly and Scott. We are grateful they are willing to let them stay. Karan will bring them home later this week and stay a day or two. We are also grateful the children will have Grandma there for a visit. We spent the night at Molly and Scott's then got up early this morning to make it to Primary Children's for a 9:30 am appointment.  It was a beautiful drive.  We made it just in time to do chest xrays, an EKG and an echo.  We visited with Doctor Menon. He said Joshua looks good and he is happy with his heart function.  He is concerned about Joshua's size, he isn't a very big boy.  If he is too small they can't put as big of a tube in as they want to, but he doesn't think it will really be an issue.  Joshua is wearing a holter monitor tonight. It will watch his heart beat for 24 hours and make sure he isn't having any rhythm issues. If I can get pictures uploaded I'll put a picture of him with his holter monitor on.

We were blessed to get into the Ronald McDonald house. It will be such a blessing while we are here. It is close to the hospital, and it has a well stocked kitchen that is free to be used.  Tonight we had to find our own dinner, but the rest of the week there are groups signed up to fix meals for the families staying here. What a blessing this will be for us.

Joshua has to be at Primary Children's at 6:00 tomorrow morning. He can't eat or drink after midnight.  He will be in the cath lab tomorrow and it is possible he will spend the night, depending on how his recovery goes.

Tonight we are all tired and ready for a relaxing evening.  Thanks for your prayers.

A wonderful surprise....

 On Wednesday we bought a 2007 Kia Rio. We decided to let Bethany take the Cavalier when she goes to school. We wanted another small car.  It is a fun little car to drive.  This is what it looks like.




  It was exciting to buy a new car, but that wasn't the best news of the week.  Wednesday was also the ward Pioneer day picnic.  The primary was in charge.  It went so well! Much less stressful than the Christmas breakfast last year.  It was much easier because I ordered food and didn't try and cook it all myself.  We had square dance instruction that was so much fun.  There were lots of new members and part member families there to fellowship with. It was wonderful!!

We got a wonderful surprise on Friday afternoon when Rebecca called to say she was on the way home for the weekend.  This weekend has been such a blessing to have all ten children home together before Joshua's surgery.  I needed to have them all here and spending time together. I am so grateful she came home.  She has loved being with all her brothers and sisters.

Neil took Matthew, David and Dallin to Renner Reservoir Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning.  They had a great time together.  They caught lots of fish but they released them all after.  That is my kind of fishing.  Those of us who stayed home had a good time together. We watched a movie and made pizza on Friday. Thursday we had some technical difficulties with the freezer alarm, but it wasn't too big of a deal.

Today has been a good Sabbath day. It is so nice to stay home and have all the children here.  Next Sunday we will be leaving for Utah. I am not ready for this, but my faith is stronger than my fear. I just have to remind myself of that.  I found a story that is a good way to think about Joshua's heart.  Here it is:

It's a beautiful day up in heaven. Jesus is rounding up his tiniest angels, to go live on earth, and be born. One of the sweetest angels says to Jesus 'I don't want to leave, I like it here, and I will miss you'. Jesus reassures the scared little angel that everything will be okay, and that he is just going for a visit. He is still not swayed on this idea. So Jesus kneels down, and says, 'How about if you leave half of your heart here with me and take the other half with you, will that be okay?' The angel smiles and says, 'I guess that will work'. But the little angel is still a little scared. He asks, 'Will I be okay with only half of my heart?' Jesus replies, 'Of course you will, I have other angels there that will help out, and you will be fine.' Then Jesus gives the angel more details about his plan. He says 'When you are born, your mommy will be scared, so you have to be strong, and when you feel weak just remember that I have the other half of your heart. Enjoy your time with your family, play and laugh everyday, And when it is time to come back to heaven, I will make your heart whole again. Always remember that you are not broken, just torn between two loves.' -Author Unknown 

Thanks for your prayers for Joshua!!  We are so grateful. Please also pray for our other children that will be staying home alone for who knows how long.  They are responsible and capable, but it will be difficult at times.  I know there is a plan and I trust the Lord will take care of us.

Our week activities, Paris pictures and we have a date for the Fontan surgery

We had a busy week around here, I think that is usually the case. It is good to be busy.  Julia and Emma went to girls camp Tuesday through Thursday. It was a ward camp this year instead of the whole stake. They had some interesting adventures. They had a rattlesnake in camp on Thursday morning. Julia was glad she was still asleep in her tent when it decided to come into camp for a visit.  They went on a 15 minute walk that turned in a 2 1/2 hour hike. The joke is no 15 minute walks.  They had a great time and came home tired. We are grateful for the amazing leaders who planned Girls camp and spent the time to go with them.   Thanks so much!!!

Yesterday Neil, Matthew and Emma went kayaking at Bighorn Reservoir. They went with the Forest Service on an organized trip. They had a good time kayaking for a couple of hours.  They stayed after to fish for a few hours. Matthew only caught one 4 inch baby catfish, but he just loves fishing even if the fish aren't biting.  Bethany and I clogged in Powell yesterday for Crazy Days.  Funny story...I forgot to go out for one of our songs. I saw Bethany and Lisa go out and didn't think much about it. Suddenly I realized I was supposed to be out there and had to hurry out. It was easier to smile through that song because I was still laughing at myself.

Here are some pictures the girls took in France. They had a great time together.  They came home tired, but glad they went. They experienced a pick pocket in line behind them, but none of them had anything stolen.  They nearly didn't take their camera, they forgot it and had to come back to get it. They took some neat pictures, but not as many as they would have liked. They didn't have the right kind of charger for the battery to use in France and had to borrow chargers from others in the group. They saw some amazing things and I am glad they went, but more glad to have them home again.

I have been thinking about getting my hair cut for several months and looking at different styles I might like. I finally decided to just do it. I really like my new hairstyle. It is so fast and easy to do.  Here is a look at the new look.

 

We are headed to Salt Lake on July 28th for Joshua's fontan surgery. He has appointments at Primary Children's on the 29th and a visit to the Cath Lab on the 30th. He is scheduled for surgery on July 31st.  I have been afraid of this surgery for a long time (ever since I knew he would have to have it). Our faith is stronger than our fear and we will get through it.  We are leaving all the other children here in Powell while we go. It will be a challenge and I will worry about them, but I know they are able to help each other and take care of each other.  In a way, I am glad to not have to always have this surgery in the back of my thoughts.  I know the Lord has a plan for Joshua, I just have to do my best to trust and follow that plan. 

Tomorrow is a big day!!

Tomorrow our sweet baby girl turns 21!!!  We are so proud of the amazing young lady you have grown up to be, Rebecca!!!  We love you and wish we were there to celebrate with you. We will bake a cake here in Powell and sing to you.  Hope you have an amazing day and year ahead!!!  Love, Mom and Dad

This week in review

This has been an interesting week at our house. It has been like going back in time and having the oldest child be 14.  Neil, Bethany and Julia left on Sunday afternoon to go to Denver.  Bethany and Julia flew to Paris on Monday morning and Neil began an exciting bike adventure.  He wanted to get 1000 miles in a week.  He planned out a route before they left, but the wind didn't cooperate on the first day. He ditched the plan and rode with the wind.  I just talked with him on the phone and he said he made his goal of 1000 miles.  He rode 2000 miles in June.  I don't think I could ever do that. 

I haven't heard much from Bethany and Julia.  Hope they are having a good time.  The younger children each took a turn being sick before the girls left. I have been hoping they haven't gotten sick in Paris.  That would be rotten to have time in France and be sick in your motel.  They are flying into Denver Monday afternoon and then driving home.  I can't wait to hear about their adventures.

The children here at home and I tried to do something fun each day so we wouldn't feel like we were just staying home and working while others were out having fun.  Monday we went to Monster University.  We don't very often take our children to the theater so they thought it was great.  Tuesday we went to the library and got ice cream cones. Wednesday we had an epic water fight at the park. It was so much fun!! Thursday we went to the Safari Sally program at the library. It was an adventure (never take a potty training child to the library without a change of clothes, you would think I would remember that by #10).  Friday I let each child make their own pizza and we watched Alice in Wonderland (missed having you here Rebecca). Saturday we played fairytale charades to earn a family reading ticket from the library.  We have had a good time at home.

I did something funny to my shoulder on Wednesday and can't move my right arm very much.  I need help doing lots of things that used to be easy. Unfortunately it begins to really hurt each night and I can't sleep very well. I hope it heals soon because I am getting very tired.

Well that is our week in review. Hopefully next week I'll have pictures of the France and bike adventures to share. Maybe I'll let them do the post for next week.

Road Trip 2013

We took a little road trip as a family from June 11th through the 16 th.  Neil actually started the trip  a day  earlier than the rest of us. He rode his bike from Powell to almost Thermopolis (100 miles) on Monday.  He kept riding on Tuesday until we caught up with him. He made it as far as Lander before he was tired of fighting the wind and turned around to find us.  We made it to Herriman about 10 pm Tuesday. We stopped and saw Rebecca on our way. It was so good to see her!! Does my mother heart good to see her.

Wednesday morning we were blessed to be at my parents house for my dad's birthday. I am always grateful to see them, but especially when we get to celebrate a birthday with them. It hasn't happened very many times in the last 20 years.  We left after breakfast (by the way, thanks for making breakfast on  your birthday dad) to head to Bryce National Park.  We did lots of hiking and loved seeing the beautiful canyon.  Matthew carried Lydia on his shoulders for the second half the the 3 mile Navajo Loop trail. She was so tired she fell asleep riding on his shoulders. Lots of people were taking pictures of this good big brother carrying his little sister. Unfortunately, even carrying Lydia, Matthew was well ahead of the rest of us and I didn't get any pictures.  We enjoyed our day in Bryce and then drove to Great Grandma Sharp's house in Hurricane.  We drove through Zion National park on our way.  The tunnels there are so amazing!!! They used to be my favorite part of going to Zion when I was younger.  Driving to Hurricane sparked the memory that my dad used to like Bumbleberry pie from a small town near Zion. I found the pie shop and bought him a pie.

Thursday we went to the Grand Canyon.  It is so amazing there!! We hadn't been there in about 20 years.  It brought back so many memories. When I was 15 I went with some of the girls from our ward and hiked from the South Rim to the North Rim. It was a wonderful, but hard adventure. It took us three days of hiking in the heat carrying everything we needed on our back. There were times I wasn't sure I was going to make it, but I did.  Those are fun memories.  Neil and I took Rebecca to the Grand Canyon when she was about a year old (Karan, Candice and Molly went with us) . I have some really cute pictures of her sitting in a log rocking chair. I wanted to take a picture of Lydia in the same rocking chair, but we couldn't find it.  We didn't hike too much, we just enjoyed seeing the beautiful canyon.  It was really windy while we were there. I was glad I had attached a ribbon to Lydia's hat and pinned it to her shirt. I am sure we would have lost her hat if I hadn't.  Did there used to be buffalo on the way to the Grand Canyon? There was a herd there when we drove in. If they were there before I forget about them.  On our way home we stopped to see Pipe Spring National Monument. I remember going there when we lived in Kanab, but I didn't remember it being such a nice museum. It was almost closing time when we got there so we didn't walk out to see the spring we just enjoyed the museum for a few minutes. We got back to Grandma's house in time to enjoy dinner with her.

Friday we spent the day at Zion National Park.  We did lots of hiking and took lots of pictures. I loved going to Zion when we lived in the area. Hiking up to Emerald pools was about as hard as I thought it got. It was always so refreshing to swim in the upper pool before hiking back down the trail. I was sad to learn that you can't even get your feet wet in the pools now.  It was a hot day in Zion so a dip in the pool would have felt great!!  We only hiked Emerald pools, Weeping Rock and the Narrows.  Matthew really wanted to give Angel's Landing a try, but it wasn't possible with all of us. There is a reason they call it Angel's Landing. It will have to be an adventure for another time.  It wasn't easy doing all the hikes carrying Joshua and Lydia, but we made it.  Neil, Matthew, Emma and David really enjoyed hiking up the Narrows. Bethany, Julia, MaryAnne, Dallin, Joshua, Lydia and I stayed back and played in the river without hiking up it.  We all had a fun time. The squirrels in that area were so aggressive!! We watched one steal a can of nuts from someone's backpack. It was kind of funny until I realized another squirrel was trying to get in our backpack. We had to defend our oreos with rocks. Those squirrels didn't give up very easily.  When we got back to Hurricane we ate at Grandma's house and then took some of the children to the splash park. It was a good day!!  Thank you, Grandma, for letting us use your house as home base.  We loved spending time with you.  Thanks for sharing your family history stories and information.  We love you!! 

Saturday we went to Nephi to the Sharp reunion. It was great to see so many of my Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and of course Grandma.  Aunt Kathleen did a fantastic job putting the fiesta together. She had mexican food, a pinata and games.  It was a fun day!! When we got back to Herriman we attempted to take family pictures. Everyone was a little tired and fussy. I haven't looked at the pictures yet to see how they turned out. Hopefully there is a good one in the bunch. Thanks, Dad for being the photographer and for having the perfect yard to take pictures in. It isn't easy to get 12 people to look at you at the same moment, at least the roses in the background will look good. 

Sunday, Father's Day, we had the privilege to listen mom and dad speak in Sacrament meeting before leaving on their mission to Scotland/Ireland. They each did a terrific job.  I am going to miss them so much, but I am glad they are serving a mission. I was so glad to see Uncle Bruce and Peggy and to get to be there to hear them speak.  We made sandwiches at their house after Sacrament meeting and then gave them tearful hugs before heading down the road to Powell. It isn't fair to have to say goodbye to my parents and Rebecca at the same time, but we did it anyway.  We got home about 10:00 Sunday night.  It was a great road trip!! Lots of time in the van together, memories and beautiful scenery. Thanks, Neil for doing so much of the driving and for making memories as a family.

Here is a slideshow of some of our pictures. Hope you enjoy the show!!

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A few projects we've been working on

We have been busy around here.  A few months ago I really wanted to create a walk in closet area for all the younger children's clothes.  It really mattered to me so Neil helped me make it happen. Thank you so much, Sweetheart!! I love having all the clothes in the same room, now the challenge is make sure they get put away everyday. Here are a few pictures of what we created.

Neil always has a list of projects he wants to work on over the summer.  This year I told him I had been dreaming of having a window seat by our dining room window for my birthday.  I found this picture on the internet and it was what we used to plan.

Here are some pictures from our project. I think it turned out nearly perfect!!  We did the whole project by ourselves. Neil built the shelves, and the cupboard doors himself. We worked together to make the padded cushion. It has been a great project and I have loved having the window seat.  There is almost always someone sitting there reading or just enjoying the soft seat in the sunshine.

I hope MaryAnne can get out again

The inside of one of the cupboard doors. Thanks Neil, I love you too!!

 

 

The finished product. I love this bench seat!!

One last project I worked on. I wanted to do a mat for the Living Christ for Neil for our anniversary in April.  Here is the finished project.  I enjoyed looking at all the beautiful pictures of the Savior and deciding where to put them. I like how this turned out.