Saturday, July 18, 2009

Happy Birthday, Mariah



A Birthday Party for Mariah
On Saturday, June 27th we celebrated Mariah's 2nd birthday with a big party at Grandma Laura's and Grandpa Jim's home. Family and friends came from near and far to join in the festivities. Mariah's dad cooked hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill and prepared three types of salad: Pasta, Potato, and Frog Eye. Mariah's parents rented an inflatable water slide to entertain guests of all ages.
Here is Mariah (and her mom) as she blows out her birthday candle!




Kyla's High School Graduation




A Modest Prom Dress for Kyla!

A Modest Prom Dress for Kyla!

Purchase 4/25, Prom 5/2

Cody invited Kyla to go to Prom with him which meant she needed a Prom dress. It is impossible to find a modest Prom dress in our area on short notice (it takes 6 weeks for a special order dress to arrive). The natural solution, of course, meant a trip to Utah to find the perfect dress and shoes for the occasion.


This is Kyla all dressed up before she met up with the group of friends.



This is the group of friends. Cody is missing from the picture because of his work schedule. He met up with the group for dinner.


Sunday, May 3, 2009

A New Grandson!

Sunday April 26, 2009 our first grandson was born at 2:58pm. He arrived 5 weeks before his due date, so he wasn't very big at all - 4lbs 13 oz, 18.5 inches long! He will be in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) until he can regulate his own body temperature, take all of his feedings at the breast/bottle and have no more bradycardia episodes . Because of his early arrival, he didn't have a name for a few days. Now he goes by Landon James. His big sister, Mariah Rose, absolutely loves baby Landon!

April 30: 30cc at the breast during Landon's 9:00am feeding with 3cc from the bottle and 3cc gavage (a tube which runs through the nose into the stomach).



Landon likes to have his hands near his face most of the time. So much so, that he pulled his gavage tube out three times. Finally, after he pulled it out the third time, the NICU nurses decided to just leave it out.


Thursday, April 2, 2009

Tribute to Mom and Grandma Laura

A few weeks ago my daughter presented me with the opportunity to share my knowledge of breastfeeding and self-care with a friend of hers who had recently given birth. It was such a pleasure to serve this new mother who was struggling with breastfeeding her newborn baby. She did not have a mom or a grandma who could help her in this process. This situation made me realize what a blessing it was to have both my Mom and my Grandma Laura teach me the finer art of breastfeeding.
Here is a quick overview for successful breastfeeding:
  • Latch: It is very important to ensure the baby has latched onto the breast properly. Improper latch is the leading cause of cracked and sore nipples.

  • Limit: Suckling for 5-10 minutes on each breast every 2 1/2 to 3 hours is sufficient, especially in the first few weeks. If the baby wishes to suckle longer, offer a pacifier. Contrary to popular opinion, it is OK to wake a sleeping baby. If you breastfeed your new baby every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the daytime, the baby is more likely to sleep for a 4 to 5 hour stretch during the night time.
  • Lanolin: The hospital gives you a sample tube. However, Grandma Laura suggested Bag Balm instead. http://www.bagbalm.com/index.htm This is what she used on the cows to keep their teats from cracking in the harsh winters of northern Wyoming. It works much better than the lanolin.

So, many thanks to Mom and Grandma Laura for sharing their knowledge and experience of the art of breastfeeding with me. It has been such a joy to share this with others.

Friday, February 27, 2009

February 24, Miss Saigon





Kyla is in the final days of preparation for Mountain View High School's production of Miss Saigon. She has the role of a bar girl named Mimi. As part of her preparation she needed to dye her hair black. I was planning to color her hair on Saturday, but she decided she wanted to make the change on Monday night. It had been nearly 30 years since I had colored hair, but it all came back to me once I got started. Ryan had me dye is hair blue for his role in Loveland High School's production of a modern day Romeo and Juliet. That was ten years ago. Coloring short hair is much easier than long hair! Of course, this process would not have been successful without the help of my regular hairstylist who told me what kind of product to purchase.






Here are before and after photos of Kyla.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Prayers Answered.

Our Father in Heaven answers prayers! For the past several months we have been praying for Tara to find employment as a Phlebotomist. She completed the training program in late August through The Phlebotomy Learning Center of Denver. She worked a temporary job on October 8 at the CSU Annual Health Screening and volunteered as a Phlebotomist at the 9Health Fair in Denver on October 18. After applying for over 40 different jobs she had only had four job interviews, two of which were over the telephone.

The first interview was on November 14 with Mrs. Muelller at Longmont United. The interview itself was an answer to our prayers. We were hopeful she would be extended a job offer; however, that was not the case. Her forth interview on December 30, 2008 with Mr. Smoot at the Greeley Medical Clinic. As part of the interview, Tara signed some paperwork for the Clinic to do a background check on her. After some encouragement from us, Tara sent a letter the next day thanking Mr. Smoot for the opportunity to tour the clinic and answer his questions.

Tara was getting discourage. It was hard to be told 'you have not been selected at this time' over and over again. At our suggestion, she took the National Phlebotomy Exam on January 10. This would allow her to get a job somewhere besides Colorado. Perhaps she could get a job in another state where family was located: California, Utah, Nebraska, Nevada or Arizona. She passed the practical part of the exam with flying colors. However, the results of the written portion won't be available until sometime in March. She had quit her job as the cashier at Lorenzo's Italian Deli so she could focus on getting a Phlebotomy job. Since she had so much time on her hands, she enrolled in a two week long, eight hours per day, five days a week Certified Nursing Assistant course through the community college. Classes began on January 20th.

Tara was in a single car accident sometime in the early morning on January 15, 2009. Even though her Tiburon was a total loss, Tara was not injured and neither was anyone else - just her car. Tara was feeling very discouraged. She had quit her old job, couldn't find a new job, and now she didn't have a car and she still owed money on it! While Tara and I were taking care of things regarding her car accident, Quinn called my cell phone. He wanted to tell me that Deb from Greeley Medical Clinic phoned the house to talk with Tara and she needed to return Deb's call before 5 o'clock. However, I was busy talking with the gentleman at the collision repair shop about the car, so I told Quinn I would call him back later.

After that stressful day, Tara wanted to hang out with her friend, Shea. While waiting for Shea to return home, Tara and I sat in my car having a little heart-to-heart chat. I was trying to do all I could to reassure Tara that the accident was just a little hiccup in the road of life and that we still loved her and Jesus did, too. Of course, she felt like her entire life had been one big hiccup. So, I reminded her of the poem Footprints in the Sand by Mary Stevenson and told her that the Savior was carrying her through this difficult time. About this time (4:45pm), I had the distinct impression to return Quinn's phone call. Just imagine how trilled both Tara and I were when she learned she needed to call Greeley Medical Clinic before 5 o'clock.

Tara was offered a job as a Phlebotomist/Receptionist at Greeley Medical Clinic. She needed to pass a urine analysis the following day and the job started on January 20. After the test was completed, I took her shopping to buy her several different scrub uniforms. Of course, she didn't need to take the Certified Nursing Assistant course at the community college, so she withdrew from the class. After all, that was just something to do to keep her busy until she found a job. Tara willingly posed for a picture in her new scrubs. She will be an awesome phlebotomist! My heart is filled with gratitude that Heavenly Father answered our prayers.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Another Delicious Apple Pie



It is tradition in our house to serve several homemade pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. This tradition began because everyone has a favorite pie. We usually have apple, cherry, cheesecake, pecan and pumpkin. The missionaries happened to stop by our house on my pie making day. I suggested they stop by for dessert on Turkey Day, but they declined because they already had a two dinner appointments. So, I suggested they could come by at Christmas time because there would be several pies once again.

Well, I did not make as many pies for Christmas this year. Perhaps because I over did it at Thanksgiving (11 pies!). By the time the missionaries stopped by, there weren't any pies left at all. Not even a crumb!


It is never a good idea to promise food to a missionary and then not follow through. So, I finally bake an apple pie and a pumpkin pie for the missionaries on Saturday.

Doesn't that apple pie look delicious? However, looks can be deceiving.

I left this pie to cool on the front burner of the stove. Someone, who shall remain unnamed, turned the burner on by mistake. Here is a view of the bottom side of the apple pie.
This afternoon I baked another apple pie. The missionaries stopped by this evening and enjoyed both pies and some fresh baked bread.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Traditional Christmas photo of the children gathered around the tree.