Sarah's condition

Sarah is my oldest sibling. She has been fighting brain cancer. In May things got pretty scary for a few weeks. Then with chemo treatments she was living very well. She definitely had changed and was living with my parents and her boys had moved in with their Dad, but she was functioning and thinking very well. Before Christmas, Sarah's started showing short term memory loss again and her December 28th MRI was devastating. The doctor's told Sarah and my parents that chemo could no longer do anything for her and it was time for her to spend quality time with her family. She has changed by leaps and bounds in the last 5 weeks. Her short term memory is nonexistant. She cannot do the simplest of tasks without help. Her left side is extremely weak. She cannot balance on her own. Hospice is visiting a couple times a week. My mom has been at her side every minute. My mom is physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. My sister Emily was able to come down from Utah for four days and spend a lot of time with her while she was staying at the in care family hospice facility getting her pain meds figured out. The reality and severity of her condition has hit all of us hard. It is really difficult to see the changes that have taken and are continuing to take place.

One amazing thing going on around us though is the kind, unselfish acts of those who want to show their support to our family. Women from my church have been amazing. It felt strange, when I was not sick to have these wonderful women bring dinner for me and my little family. At first I felt selfish to accept. However, it was amazing to feel the burden of my heart being lightened in this way. Having one less physical demand of my time was such a relief. Feeling that these women cared for me and wanted to help me and my family lifted my spirit. Just last night, my sweet cousin who has a new baby brought me a meal as well. For some reason it is just the sweetest show of love and support and it has meant so much to me. Not to mention the many friends offering to take my kids so that I can go and spend time with my sister. Even the act of bringing me a fountain drink has brought me the best feeling of being buoyed up by those that love me.

I know that my parents are experiencing this same kind of show of love and support from so many and I can't imagine how we would all get by without it. So thank you to everyone who has been offering support, thoughts, and prayers for Sarah, her sons, and our family! We couldn't do this alone.

Charlotte turned 6

So, Charlotte's birthday is December 26th. We did have a celebration with Trent's family at the beginning of the month at the same time we celebrated her Aunt Jen's birthday and her cousin Ashlyn's.

On her actual birthday she woke up to a new bike and some barbies. She had outgrown her other bike and was really ready for a new one. The one Trent had gotten was actually a little too big, so he ended up taking her to go pick out a new one. That was after he took her to go get doughnuts for breakfast. The kids spent most of the day outside with Trent, riding bikes and scooters and enjoying the nice weather. Then Charlotte requested we all go to Souper Salad for dinner. It was so nice spending the whole day together as a family. We stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's on the way home to see Trent's sister and her family who had gotten in town from Idaho.

It was too late when we got home to make a cake, so I promised we would do it the next day. When I tucked the girl's in for bed, I sang them a song and when I turned to leave the room I saw Trent standing in the doorway. He wanted us to sing "Happy Birthday" to Charlotte before she went to sleep. I really think he is the cutest Daddy alive.

Christmas 2011

Christmas Day we enjoyed new scooters, a new bike for me and lots of fun presents. Then we ate sticky buns and headed off to church. I sang in the choir and got asked to bear my testimony and enjoyed the lovely spirit of the day. We enjoyed our toys, some naps and some more family time. We got to see Grandma and Grandpa Summers one more time before they left town.

Christmas Eve 2011

We spent the evening at my parents with my brothers and sisters eating soup, chili, and rolls, opening presents and letting all the little cousins run wild. We played a fun Christmas song guessing game and all had a great time!

Christmas happenings 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas. the celebrations for us started the 23rd when we had a wonderful evening with Trent's family. We had our traditional Mexican dinner, gift exchange, pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa, nativity scene with the grandkids, me singing a solo, and Grandma reading "I Believe in Santa Claus". We love spending time together as a family and its always a treat to have Grandma and Grandpa Summers visit!

Since I have been super lame at blogging (and many other things) I need to put together a year in review post. But at this moment I just have a jumble of things in my head that I have decided to spout off.

My husband is super handsome and I hate that he is always leaving the house super early lately. I like waking up with him next to me.

My children are darling and funny and always (okay maybe not ALWAYS) put a smile on my face.

I love the smell of a live Christmas tree and sitting in it's glow.

I love the smell of the little cutie clementine oranges the kids have been eating all day and hope my hands smell like them all night.

I'm so glad we took a day trip to the snow, even though our plans of cutting down our own tree were thwarted by closed roads.

I am currently still telling myself that I will take pictures of the kids and send out a New Year's card, since I hate the fact that I didn't get a Christmas one done this year.

I am sort of excited for Christmas to get done so I can start focusing on the nursery. Although, I do love Christmas, I'm just feeling exhausted by it this year. I still haven't bought my in-laws gifts. I have 4 days. . .

I love the holidays

This week is so exciting! I love all of the activities and meaning surrounding the holidays! I am hoping to whip up a cute advent calendar asap. Pinterest is so helpful in saving the cute ideas I find all over the internet. I've already found great recipes and crafts that I can't wait to do.

We have never done Elf on the Shelf, but it looks really darling. Has anyone personally done it with your family? I would love to hear about it.

I love shopping the internet for gift ideas and imagining what to get the kids. My sister recently asked me what things I wanted for Christmas. I had a fun time dreaming of ideas for me as well :) I tried to update my amazon wishlist.

It mostly involves cute colored or patterned tights from kohls.com, shoes, a camera bag, a camera lens, and some books. I also dream of things to make my house cute, like pillows, lamps, and curtains. Isn't Homegoods the best?

Anyway, I think I've gotten carried away. I am just super excited for cooking and hanging with my family this Thanksgiving and then getting out all the Christmas stuff. I hope you are all looking forward to it as much as I am!

November thus far

november has been beautiful. the weather has cooled just perfectly, blessing us with chilly mornings, the occasional shower, and perfect afternoons in the 70's. I have begun the fun (and daunting) task of Christmas shopping and even put up a small (4 foot tall) lit tree. I have been feeling up to a bit of crafting even. We have been enjoying riding bikes and playing at the park and generally leading a charmed life (between the snot and bruises).
Henry ( 4 1/2 years old) is now riding his bike sans training wheels and is so proud of himself! And so are we :)

We enjoyed celebrating Grandpa Wes and Uncle Bart's birthday on Sunday!

 And yesterday was the perfect park day.

Halloween 2011

 My sister Karen with the kids.

 Henry and Weston.

I've been such a lazy blogger. I think it's just become easier to post pictures on facebook and I neglect my blog. However, I still want to keep this up. so I'll try to do better.