I don't know why I do this to myself, waiting so long in between posts, so that it takes me hours to catch up. This time of year is so crazy, and to add to my busy personal life, is my calling as the Stake YW President. It has been hectic too. When I was called to this position, I voiced my concerns about our lives being so busy I was worried that I wouldn't have the time necessary to give this new calling 100%. President Prince reassured me that this call is not very busy, just at certain times during the year would I be doing things that would take some time! Well, I can say he didn't know what he was saying!! I have been so busy with this calling, it is busier (if that's a word) than most ward callings I have had, and I never dreamed there would be so many meetings. (I'm not complaining just venting ) So I DO know why I take so much time to post on my blog .... I am too busy to be doing this!!

So I guess I will start back on the 21st of November, we went down to St. Joe's Hospital in Phx for Scott to be cardioverted again. We had to be at the hospital at 5:00am so we went down the night before and stayed in a hotel close to the hospital. They did the procedure about 8:00am which only took about 20 minutes, but he had to stay for several hours afterward to be monitored. This time it worked!! His heart converted back to it's normal rhythm. We know our prayers and the prayers of everyone else have been answered. He has to follow up with the Dr in a few weeks to make sure it is staying in normal rhythm, but for now we are so very happy. Scott is feeling much better, he will continue to be on the medications for about 6 months. If after that time everything is the same, he will slowly be taken off the meds. Yeah!! It feels so good to not have this to worry about (as much) any more. Thank you everyone for your prayers in Scott's behalf.

The next event in our lives, which is always a huge event in our family, was thanksgiving. We had it here in our home, and we love to have people in our home to party and have fun! There were a lot of us here, but that makes it all the more fun. Lenn and Leisha's family were all here, then Danna (my sister) and her youngest son Lance, and my parents all came. We had lots of good food and enjoyed each others company. I don't think we ever got to bed before 3:30 every morning, we paid the price the next day. It was so crazy we had wall to wall people, the little kids had to sleep out in the hall way, and Sawyer my niece even slept in my linen closet, I think she enjoyed it though!

This is in my upstairs hallway and only 1/2 of the kids!

All the guys spent the whole weekend playing Rock Band. They did let us Mom's in on the fun one night, and I do have to say we were good!! I could get addicted to that game if I had time. The little ones even played for several hours, I was so surprised at how well they did, I couldn't believe they could even do it, as I had a hard time figuring it all out. But kids these days blow me away at the many things they can do, they are so smart!! Staying up to play cards all night and singing Christmas songs from our childhood, and watching funny video's on "You tube"was so much fun, everyone even volunteered to help us get out our December billing which was so nice, I wish we had all of that help every month. We got it done in about 30 min which usually takes Scott and I about 4 to 5 hours when we do it alone. (Thanks again everyone). I love Thanksgiving and Christmas, enjoying the time we get to spend with our extended family is something that I look forward to every year. We love our family and feel so blessed to have their love and support and get along with each and every one of them. I don't think there is one person in either of our families that we don't truly love to be around and enjoy spending time with. I have the best in-laws (mom and dad, brothers and sisters) and parents brother and sisters in the world, and feel so blessed to be a part of these 2 families.

Scott on the drums, we could hardly get him to let anyone else have a turn!

Squeezing in my office to watch funny You Tube video's!

Notice the time on the clock (upper middle) yes it is almost 3:00am.!!

I always hate Thanksgiving weekend to end, have to face reality again and get back to life!! We really enjoyed having everyone here, we have kind of made it a tradition to have it here in our home, hope to see everyone again next year!

The Sunday after Thanksgiving Jentry and I went up to Snowflake to Brock's farewell. He is going to Chicago on his mission and will report on Dec 3rd. Jen and Brock have gotten to be good friends since becoming teenagers and getting to hang out at our Heap Reunion every year. Becky, Brock's mother is my cousin and she and I were attached at the hip throughout our childhood and teenage years. We have always been very close, we have grown apart over the years just because of our busy lives and living away from one another. It's so neat that even though we don't talk often, when we do get together and have time to visit with each other it's as if we have never lost touch. I truly love and admire Becky, she is a strong woman, and truly an example of endurance, faith and compassion! She will always be like a sister to me. Anyway, we went up the the farewell, then over to Becky's house afterward. I was able to see some friends and family that I haven't seen in over 10 years. It was so good to laugh and reminisce with everyone, it really made me miss them and a little nostalgic about my childhood! It's good to get together with people from your past once in a while, I wish it were more often! It was fun too, to spend the time with just Jen and I, I really miss her and riding in the car for several hours with just her and I was good. Brock will be a great missionary, Good Luck Brock!! And Becky!!

More posts coming soon!!

Sad Day

This is Cole with the dogs the day he returned home from his mission.

Okay you can chalk up another 5 or 6 trials to add to my list. It seems like everyday something hits our family like a brick, and today was no exception. We have 2 dogs, Ruger who is a brittney spaniel and Keesha who is a Akita. Ruger is the oldest, we got him when he was only 6 weeks old, Scott actually saved his life when he was born, he is now 14 years old. We got Keesha at about 8 weeks old, and have had her for over 13 years. Both of these dogs are great, they are a part of the family. The last few years Ruger's health hasn't been that great, he is deaf and has arthritis, and he has mini seizures once in a while, so Cole really thought he might not be here when he got home from his mission. They both were doing good, but this morning when Scott got up, he looked out our window and saw Keesha laying on the ground out by her kennel, he could tell immediatley that she was gone. He went out to check on her, and yes she had passed away sometime in the night. There were no signs as to why she died, so this made it so very hard. The kids had a really hard time going to school, and we all shed many tears today. Cole and Jen and been here for the weekend, so Scott had Trent and Cole go dig a grave for her on our property. This was very hard on Cole, he is so passionate about those dogs, and gives them the most attention out of all of us. He worries too, as we all do about Ruger, and how he will handle her being gone. After they buried her, Cole had to head back to Mesa to work. He had a hard time leaving Ruger, and just kept telling us to keep an eye on him, to make sure he was eating and drinking. We all wonder if Ruger will be around much longer now that his best friend is gone. He has been whining and crying all day, it is the saddest thing to watch him wonder around sniffing the air and looking for her. I don't think I can stand to watch him be so sad. We really thought he would be the first to go because he was the one who has been in bad health. We still don't know what really happened to Keesha, but this family will really miss her. She was the most loving, sweet, funny dog. She will always have a special place in our family!

Happy Birthday Brynee Boo!

Today is Brynley's 6th birthday, she shares her birthday with a really good friend who she says she is going to marry someday. It is Sterling Sorensen, Sterlin as she has always called him. I think they both think they have to get married since they share the same b-day and are the same age. It is pretty hillarious the way they act when they see each other!! Anyway, she kind of had 2 days worth of birthdays. Sterling invited her to his birthday on friday night. He had the neatest party, they went to a ceramic shop and each got to pick out something to paint. Then they had cupcakes, Sterling was so sweet and wanted to share the Happy Birthday singing and blowing out candle moment with Brynley. It was so dang cute. They blew out the candles together. Then because it was their birthday, they got to put a print of their hands on the wall in the little shop with their names next to it. So cute!! Sterling gave Bryn some flowers, which is now a yearly tradition. She just feels so special!
Because she got to go to the party on friday night, her birthday, we decided to have her party with family on Saturday night. That way Cole and Jen could be here to celebrate with her. She was so excited to open her presents and to have her "Hello Kitty" cake.
Brynley is a very special little girl! She has such an imagination, loves to dance and sing at the top of her voice, loves primary, thinks it is so cool that people call her little Jen, the only one in our family to adore kitty cats. She is a real girly girl, but hates to have her hair done, loves I mean loves school, and is so sad when there is a holiday with no school. She is the top student in her class, and loves to read and learn! We have truly enjoyed her sweet spirit for the past 6 years. She is one of the most precious, beautiful little girls in the world, inside and out, we truly feel blessed to have her in our family! We love you Brynee Boo, don't forget it!!

Sterling giving Brylee the traditional flowers, isn't that so sweet!!

Their handprints on the wall behind them.

Poor Coley!

Wow after this post I will be pretty much caught up on my posting for a few days. Nothing like doing about 2 months worth on one night.

Last but not least of our bad luck lately.... Cole was drawn for a mule deer tag this year which started on halloween day. He was looking so forward to this, not being able to hunt due to being gone on his mission, really made him excited to get out and do it again this year. Well while he was working on Thursday, he was spraying (for bugs) in a back yard and was up on a brick wall, when he stepped down to get off, he stepped in a pot hole and twisted his ankle really bad. I have seen many of sprained ankles in my time, (most of them my own) and this one is by far the very worst I have seen. In fact when I saw it, I worried it might be broken. He insisted that it wasn't, but was really bummed, and wondering how he was going to hunt. They do a lot of hiking up and down mountains, and he didn't know if he could do that. But of course this didn't stop them from going out. He was going to go no matter what. So we just pumped him full of ibuprophen and iced it each night. So far he has done okay, just in a lot of pain at night when he gets home.

Man I hope our run of bad luck runs out very soon!!

Halloween 2008

I'm not a real fan of Halloween, I don't know why, I guess you could call me the halloween scrooge, but I hate all the stuff that comes with this holiday. Trying to decide (or have my kids decide) what they want to be, getting them all ready the day of, then all of the candy they get, which most of it ends up getting thrown away because they don't eat it and it goes bad.

Every year the kids' school has a Halloween carnival the night before Halloween. My kids insist on attending, which is a lot of fun for them, but each booth gives away a cup full of candy everytime they play the game. So between the 3 of them you can imagine how much candy they come home with. Then on Halloween night the stake has a trunk-or-treat at the church, which is very well attended, everyone and their dog comes out to that, so that too means way too much candy. I wonder, can you freeze candy? Will it last until next year? I spend so much money buying candy for the trunk-or-treat, only to come home with more than I have given out. I need to find a way to save it for next year!!

The kids did have fun dressing up for those 2 nights, and of course Scott is hardly ever here each year to help me with this fun task, because it is during hunting season, and heaven forbid they should miss a day of hunting to spend with the kids on Halloween! Oh well maybe when I'm really old I can enjoy this holiday a little bit more.

Kids Awards

When we made the decision to buy a few acres in Cornville, (I know sounds a little hillbilly doesn't it) and build a house, this would mean moving my kids into a new school. All of our older children had attended Dr Daniel Bright Elementary in Cottonwood and we loved that school. Crue had gone there for kindergarten and first grade, so having to put them out in the Oak Creek School was a little scary for me. I had heard a lot of good things about this school, but still was a little reluctant to move them out of a school I knew and really liked. Crue started 2nd grade in Oak Creek last year, and Brynley was in the pre-school. They both really did well and loved it. This year Crue is in the 3rd grade, Brynley is in kindergarten and Kashley is in pre-school. They all 3 are doing great!! Needless to say all of my worries were for naught. The school had their quartley awards last week, Crue was awarded the math award for his class, and was on the Deans list, missing the principals list by only 2 points. Brynley was awarded the writing award for her class. They both are at the top of their classes (if it's okay to brag) and are awesome students. The school has turned out to be great for my kids, the classes are really small, only about 15 - 16 kids in each class and such a close knit student and teacher relationship. I have grown to be grateful we moved our kids to Oak Creek afterall!

Traditional Pumpkin Carving

Another family tradition for Halloween, carving pumkins!! This year we each got our own pumkin. I got the cool stencils to trace onto the pumkins, and we each picked one. Scott and I were the stencil pokers ( you have to go around each stencil and poke holes into the pumpkins following the lines on the image ) Then Scott and I were the carvers. All the kids really do is cheer us on, and they do love getting messy and scraping out all the insides. I do have to say Kashley didn't enjoy this part at all, too gooey and gross!! They did turn out really cool, but we did do it a little too early, by the time we were to take them with us to our stake annual trunk or treat, they were almost too shriveled to see what they were. Good thing we took pics!!

Halloween Tradition

Every year, my kids and I make Halloween sugar cookies the week before Halloween. I usually just make the traditional halloween cut out cookies, then just frost them with orange frosting, but this year the kids are all a little older, so I thought it would be fun to do something different. I bought all new cookie cutters, on the box were pictures of how you could get creative and decorate the cookies to look like the real thing (witch, ghost, frankenstein, spider, etc). This should be a fun way to spend Family Home evening and to get their father involved! He usually would be no where to be found when I've done this in the past.
I got all of the different colors of icing, and a few different halloween sprinkles, to really do it good this year.
We spent about an hour rolling and cutting out all the cookies, and yes Scott really got involved and we enjoyed him helping us. I think he had more fun than the kids. But when it came time to do the icing and decorating, he was "really tired and ready to relax in front of the tv!" I shouldn't complain, getting him to do that much was a treat!!

The kids and I spent another 2 hours at least, decorating and making a huge mess of the kitchen table. The kids had every color of frosting all over themselves too, but we had a great time. Even Kashley did a good job with her cookies. Two weeks later, we still have most of our cookies left, I think the kids had their fill of frosting and cookies that night!!

Trip to The Zoo

So hot had to have snow cones, needless to say they all were covered in

blue before the day was over

This Monkey was so funny, just sat there with his chin on the ledge looking at the kids,

like he was dreaming of having a bite of their snowcones

The week of October 13 thru the 17 was our fall break. This week we were so busy and poor, so we couldn't really do anything with our kids that would cost very much money. We decided to take them to the Phx Zoo, we thought the kids would really enjoy it. The night before we were to leave was when Crue broke his arm, so we weren't going to go. The Dr and instructed us to keep it elevated for 48 hours and keep ice on it as much as possible. This would be hard if we went to the zoo. Well our kids were devastated that we weren't going. Bryn and Kash cried all night. We talked to Crue, he wanted to try to go anyway. So we loaded up Crue, Bryn, Kash and Chaz and headed down to Phx friday morning. We had Crue keep his arm up and ice on it all the way.

We had a great time!! It was a little hot for mid october, 99 degrees when we got there, luckily there was a lot of shade. We spent the whole afternoon there, then took the kids to Chili's for dinner. It was a good memory maker for all of us. Crue was a real trooper and never complained. Just a little painful that night, but not too bad!! The zoo was way better than I ever imagined. Who knew Arizona could have a great zoo!!

Trials are supposed to make us stronger, right?

Fair warning, skip this post if you don't want to read about my list of trials that seem to have come all at once, and I've said it before, since my missionary has been home.

I am listing all of these things not to have anyone feel sorry for us, or to complain, (maybe I am just a little) but to hopefully one day look back at this, and laugh, and be able to pat ourselves on the back for enduring, and with faith and courage.

Let me begin my list of rotten things that seem to be never ending since September.

1st Our Roll Off truck (good one) but we have had problems with it since day one, putting about $30,000 dollars into the things since we bought it a year and a half ago. We lost the engine in the dang thing. We had to frantically search for an engine to replace the bad one. Luckily we found one the next day and had some local mechanics go to work fixing it. The day that Cole got home, which was 4 days after the engine was down, we were told there was not a major part available for this engine. We had just spent $10,000 on the new one, only to be told it wasn't going to work, and we might have to start all over. Story short we have put about $25,000 into it at this point and it still is not working right.

Our roll off boxes because of the really slow economy are just sitting in our yard collecting dust. Last year at this time, we had waiting list for our boxes, and were so busy, running about 5 and 6 boxes a day. Now we are lucky to have about 5 a week.

We were so excited to purchase a little truck for Cole to have to drive when he got home, after a lot of research and checking into this truck, and test driving it, we felt like it was the right one. We purchased it in Phx, on the way home outside of Camp Verde we lost a belt on the thing, Scott was afraid there was some damage to the engine because of some other problems. Anyway we had to put more money into that thing to get it in running condition.

We have had problems another one of our front load trucks almost on a daily occasion, putting more money into it each day, and wondering if we were going to get garbage routes done.

The Container delivery truck lost a starter, which we could not find another one for this type of truck. It was down for about 3 days until our old starter was rebuilt (luckily we were able to do that)

Jentry was headed back to Mesa after being home for the weekend, just outside of Camp Verde she had a flat tire, limped it into Camp Verde, the tire shop there called Scott to tell him the whole tire and custom rim was split and would have to be replaced. They put the spare on to get her back to the Valley. In the mean time those just our luck those custom rims had been discontinued, the company we bought them from searched for a week and finally found one for us. Then last sunday Jen called from Mesa to tell us she had another flat tire, she took it in to a tire shop and that tire was also bad and we had to buy another tire. Finally after 3 weeks yesterday we got her tires all back on and in shape for now!!

I have been having problems with our computer that we just purchased in February. About 2 weeks ago I lost the hard drive. I use my computer for all of our quick books for our business and to run our business with the program for our company. This was devastating! Dell computer company said they could have a new one to us in about 5 to 7 business days. I was so upset, not having our computer for that long would almost be impossible to run our business. They said they would put a rush on it. A blessing did come, the part came to us the next day and the Dell technician was able to put it in on Saturday. But that is not the worst of it..... I do a back up of all our quick books and our business program with an online company everyday. So after losing the hard drive I though I would be okay, I would just restore everything from our online back up company. When I went to do this, I was able to restore our company program, but there were no Quick book files to be found. I was DEVASTATED!!! to say the least. What would I do with no record of our books, payroll, accounts payable, and receivables, for almost 1 year?

I was on my knees in prayer, and with a constant prayer in my heart, hopefull that the Dell Technician would be able to recover my quick books from our old hard drive. He told me not to get my hopes up there was about a 50% chance this could be done. The Lord did answer our prayers, we were able to get these files back. Such a blessing through the trial!!

Our old computer got another virus on it after having it back only about 10 days from having the same virus taken off by the computer techs.

Found out the sleep studies for sleep apnea that Scott's Dr's wanted him to have (they think this is the reason for his atrial fibrillation) Our insurancy company will not pay for it. It is actually written directly into the policy that it will not cover sleep studies. We can't pay for this, so now what?

Crue was at football practice, when we got there to pick him up, his coach was looking at his arm, Crue was crying and in a lot of pain. We ended up in the emergency room, and Crue has a broken elbow, and will not be finishing Football season. He was so devastated by this. One of the games he will miss will be against his cousin and best buddies team. That was so sad, he cried and cried about not getting to play! He did go to all of the rest of the games and cheered from the side lines. What a trooper!!

After getting back from the Emergency room

Our business is really struggling to make ends meet with the horrible economy, and we continue to have problems with our trucks breaking down on almost a daily basis. I wonder if this is our trial in life. These are just some of the things our family is going through right now. Hopefully we will see some light in our future. Before all of this stuff starting happening in our lives, I had just mentioned to Scott how truly blessed we have been. We have really not had any major trials in our lives, and we needed to be so grateful for the blessings that we receive daily. We both agreed that we have truly been lucky.

I would caution all of you to never say anything like this outload!! It might all just come crashing down around you like we are feeling is happening in our lives now. I am sure many of you feel the same, as things are not so good in our world at this time, lots of scary things are going on, and we have been hearing warnings from our church leaders about being prepared, that there is going to be some major things coming our way. I do recognize the blessings that my family receives each and every day. I know that these trials are for our good, and that if we endure them with faith, courage and hope, that we will one day look back and be grateful for each of them. When your going thru the fire, it doesn't feel so good, but we know we must endure with a positive attitude and continue to rely on our Savior for strength and courage to get through.

Thanks for letting me vent and record all of this .

Hope everyone else is having some great and wonderful things happen in their lives at this time!

I've Been 1st time Tagged!! Thanks Kathy!

8 TV Shows I like to watch:
American Idol
Jon & Kate plus 8
Little People Big World
Entertainment Tonight
Mike & Juliet
17 and Counting
Extreme Home Makeover
The News

8 Restaurants I like:
Casa Bonit
The Tavern Bar and Grill
Olive Garden
Chipotle's
Claim Jumpers
Hacienda
Nic's Steak & Seafood
Texas Roadhouse

8 Things that happened today:
Went to Gym
Picked up Kash from school
Went to the Bank
Went to Wal-Mart
Did some phone calling for Stake YW
Took kids to Primary Program practice
Went to Enrichment

8 Things I'm looking forward to:
The Elections being over (so I can stop worrying about it)
Thanksgiving spent with family
Next week having Cole and maybe Jen home for a few days
Getting our Stake YW leadership meeting overwith
Cold weather
Having Grandkids
Can't think of any thing else (how sad is my life right now)

8 Things on my wish list:
Not having our office in our home
Having all of my children married in the temple
To have Scott healthy again
Having a beautiful green yard
Putting in a swimming pool
Not have any more equipment night mares (business)
Going on a much needed vacation with my Hubby and my kids
Take our kids to Disneyland

I tag:
Alicia
Monica
Janae
Brandi
Amber
Jen
Julie Hoggard
Kelli

Best 2 Years and Worst 2 Years!

Get ready for a long read....Yes it is the Best 2 years for our Missionary, but the worst 2 years for this mother! Not really but it is one of the hardest things I have done in my life. Our missionary is finally home!! I can't believe it has already come and gone, it seems like just a few days ago I was counting down with 5 more weeks to go. Time Flies like crazy when you look backward! Cole arrived home on Thurs the 18th. He had so many people at the airport to welcome him home, it was so very exciting. If you read Jentry's blog, she explains in her terms how excited I was, I'm sure I wasn't as bad as she makes me sound, but yes I could hardly contain my excitement and my emotions. As soon as I saw Cole walk down the corridour to us, I ran to him and squeezed him forever, and sobbed like a baby. I couldn't believe this day was here. When I sent him out I didn't think I would be able to stand it for 2 years, but yes I made it! There were so many people there at the airport it took him about an hour to just give everyone a hug and visit for a few minutes, we almost forgot to pick up his luggage. We all really enjoyed his British accent, it seems so weird to hear it coming from Cole. He says "mate" a whole bunch, he calls me Mummy, says toilet for bathroom, and his sentences have an inflection at the end that kind of goes up, hard to explain. But he is so polite, sweet and such good manners, It's hard to believe he is the son that we sent away. These are some of the people that were kind enough to welcome him home at the airport

After we were done at the airport we all went to the Texas Road House in Mesa to eat. There were about 45 of us, we enjoyed visiting and hanging out. The between Jentry, Rustin (Jill's husband) Natalie (little Nat) and my dad, a peanut and roll fight ensued, the only other people in the banquet room with us looked scared and I am sure finished their meal in a hurry. Cole was really exhausted after that which was about 11:00pm. Luckily we had reserved a hotel so our family went back to the hotel, Cole pulled out his pictures, journals, and his T -book(testimony book from all the Elders and Sisters who he served with, they wrote him a little something, put in pictures and then wrote their testimonies in this book) this was way fun, to just be together again as a family. I am getting teary eyed now just thinking about how special that night was.

Jen was so funny with Cole, She missed him terribly almost as much as I did. They were best friends before he left, and they picked up right where they left off. It was so funny, because in the car she was sitting behind him, she would reach up and just touch his face, then rub his arm or something. I asked her why she kept doing that, "I just can't believe he is really here, I have to keep touching him to make sure I am not dreaming!" How very sweet is that!! I hope they always stay close.

Isn't this so priceless, I think this hug is the only one he got teary on!

Jen talked Cole into playing house with her, notice the cute outfits and makeup on Jen

They even talked their cousin Buck to play with them, how cute is this!!\

Cole was so tired and emotionally drained, so we went to bed about 2:00am. The next day we just took him shopping for some much needed "in style" clothes and shoes. Then headed back home to good ole Cottonwood. When we drove into town it was raining, Cole was hoping to leave rain behind and enjoy the sunshine for at least a little while, how ironic was that. He left before our new home was finished, we just had the brick up for the retaining walls, so we were all excited for him to see it. Before he went in the house though he had to go play with the dogs, he missed them too, and was so glad to see them.

I failed to mention that on the way home Scott I guess was so excited to get our Elder home that he was flying, Mr. Policemen sitting on the side of the freeway didn't like that too much and decided to give him a ticket. The Officer actually gave him a break, he could have given him a criminal ticket, but was feeling nice that day, (thank goodness) and just gave him a civil ticket which still was a pretty hefty fine!
I tell you, I can tell our missionary is home. Things this week have been going down hill for us in many ways and it doesn't seem to be getting better. I know our family has been so very blessed having a missionary in the field, and we have seen the Lord's blessings in abundance, I have worried about what will happen to our lives once that missionary is home, and I can see my worries starting to unfold. We just have to keep the faith, and be positive (that's what our missionary keeps telling us) and we will be taken care of.

Some of the little cousins enjoying the quads out back

Anyway, the rest of the weekend was filled with lots of laughter, tears and stories from Cole. Many of Cole's cousins were here for the weekend so they spent long hours into the early morning playing Rock Band 2, Cole is hooked now, we could hardly pull him away from it. Nick Olson his really good friend who just returned from the London England South Mission in July came over and spent lots time visiting with Cole. It was hillarious when they were together, their British Accents were so strong, they sounded so strange! We had over 100 people here in our home on Sunday after Sacrament meeting, Cole was really missing Spanish food, so I had Alejandra a spanish friend of ours make some spanish food for us to feed all of our guests. It tasted so good!! We also had a chocolate fountain with lots of stuff to stick in it for our dessert, it too was really good.

Cole did a great job speaking in Sacrament meeting. I was blown away at how well he speaks, he was able to really keep attention of the listeners, and showed so much maturity and knowledge of the Gospel. It was so awesome for us as parents to see this growth in our son. You know the saying, "we send them out for 2 years as boys and the return as men" that is so true! He has truly "Returned With Honor" and we couldn't be more proud of him. I have to say too, that Jentry sang right before Cole spoke, she sang the song "The Masters Touch" by Jenny Phillips, this had us all in tears, she too did an awesome job, we were so proud of her, she set the tone for the rest of the meeting, you could really feel the spirit.

I know I have rattled on about this weekend, so I will quit. We had a blast getting to know our Son again. I can honestly say sending him away was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I think about Crue leaving not for 10 years yet, but I get anxiety thinking about watching him walk away from us for 2 years. It was so very heart wrenching, but I can honestly say, that it was so very worth it, seeing the young man that has returned to us as a strong, confident, faithful and righteous son of our Father in Heaven has made all the heart ache in the world worth every minute. So all of you mothers who are preparing for this day, I don't think you can ever prepare for the hurt, but just remember it will be one of the greatest days in your life to have them return again to you "With Honor". Good Job Cole, and we love you!!

Football Season is Here!

Some of Crue's Football Buddies Chaz, Crue, Chance, Carter & Josh

Crue's Best Buddy!

Crue has started his little leage football season. He is on the Marauders team again this year, this being his second year he is feeling a little more into the game. Last year he only played a little bit each game, not knowing what he was doing is probably why. This year he is the biggest boy on the team, they only had 4 returners from last year, so they are a really young and small team. Crue is getting to play both offense and defense this year, so he is playing the whole game which wears him out. He seems to like it much better this year than last. His team isn't doing that great because of the inexperience, but that's okay. I am just really glad he is wanting to play. I think it is great for these little guys to learn the game as early as possible.

I was really worried the first game, he just showed no enthusiasm or energy at all....story to follow. His first game was in Prescott and we had to be over there by 7:00am, we were running a little late that morning so we knew we would have to go over the mountain through Jerome to Prescott (for those of you who may never have been through Jerome it is up Mingus MT. Lots of switch backs and steep roads, and cliff side driving). Crue has been getting car sick lately for some reason, Iknew that with Scott driving (NASCAR) I thought I would help him out and give him some dramamine for motion sickness before we left. Well he did great, but about 15 min away from the field he kept falling asleep and said "Mom, I am so tired, I can't stay awake" I didn't think anything about it, and just thought it was due to the late night before. Warming up for the game, Scott kept saying, "what is wrong with Crue" He acts like he doesn't even want to be out there. The game started and Crue acted like he had never played before, with no energy and walked, not ran around like he was so out of it. Scott was getting more and more frustrated (you know how Dad's can be when the boys aren't performing as they think they should) Finally it hit me, Dramamine makes you sleep and feel so tired. I told Scott that I had given him that med before we left. He couldn't believe I had done that. But at least that explained his no response behavior on the field. The rest of the game became pretty funny after that. Except for the fact that Grandma and Grandpa Taylor had come to watch him play that day, he was frustrated about that. Since then he does really well, plays great, and knows what he is doing, and I havn't given him any more dramamine!

Update on Scotty

This is a picture of what an heart arhythmia looks like on an EKG

I know it's been a long time since I have posted on my blog, so I thought I would take a few minutes and just give a condensed update Scott and his heart condition.

A lot has happened with Scott's health since my last post. On Sept 10 we had to be at the hospital at 7:00am. We checked into the Cath Lab where they did the cardioversion. (This is where they put Scott out then Schock his heart and try to get it back into normal rhythm). After it was over the Dr. came out and got me in the waiting room, he told me they tried it 2 times and it didn't work. He really thinks Scott has had this problem for some time. The longer you are in Arythmia the harder it is to get you out of it. So he wanted us to schedule an appointment with an Electrophysiologist in Phoenix by the name of Dr. Tom Ross. He thought that he would probably do some studies on his heart then do a procedure called ablation, (not going to try to explain this one). I was really upset, and when I went in to be with Scott during his recovery, the first thing he said to me when he began to wake up was, "Natalie, it didn't work." He was very discouraged, and frustrated. Scott just took it easy the rest of the day, the next day his chest and ribs were pretty sore. During the procedure he must have bit down really hard, because he had a huge chunck taken out of his tongue. I think that hurt more than anything.

We ended up seeing the Dr in Phx the following Fri. This Dr asked us about Scott having Sleep Apnea, I have been telling Scott that he has had this for several years. He told us, which no one else had even asked us about it, that sleep apnea can cause arythmia and does a lot of damage to your heart. He wanted us to schedule a sleep study with a company in Phx. He increased his medication for the Arythmia, then said he would probably try to Cardiovert him again after we got the sleep apnea under control, probably in a few months. He also gave Scott the okay to get back to his normal activites, going to the gym, and working again. This made us both feel so much better. We know it is a huge blessing from our Father in Heaven, we walked out of Dr Ross' office, Scott turned to me and said all of the prayers in my behalf are working. We are waiting now for the Sleep Drs to call us to schedule the studies. We will keep everyone posted on that.

And thank you everyone for your love, concern, and prayers. It has helped tremendously to know we are thought of. We truly recognize the Lord's hand in our lives at this time, and know through faith and prayers things will work out and get better!

Long 2 Weeks

I don't have too many pics of Scott, he hates me to take pics of him, He will love this one!

I like this one, Don't you love the beard, it's getting really gray!!

So I guess I need to start at the beginning. Scott and I have been doing this "Body For Life" diet and workout program since the beginning of May. Scott had been pretty discouraged up until this point trying to do everything to try and lose some weight. Well I watched Chris and Tandy do this program, saw the great results that they got and decided I wanted to do it myself. Scott caught the bug about a week after I did, and we decided to do this together. Anyway, we have been doing it faithfully since then. Going to the gym 6 days a week, and eating very healthy, and working hard. On monday the 18th of Aug. Scott and I were at the gym doing our workout, Scott didn't feel well that morning, but thought it was just the monday hate to go back to work blues. He was finishing his workout when he called me over to him and said he felt like he was going to pass out. He looked really bad, all flushed, and pale. I sat with him for a few minutes, he told me to go finish my workout and he would stay there and try to get his wits about him until I finished. Pretty soon I looked over at him and he was sitting up on a machine and leaning against a wall, so I continued doing what I was doing. I heard a loud crash and looked over,he had passed out and fallen in between 2 machines, a man (Brian) rushed over to help him as I was running over to him. He could never feel good enough to stand on his own, so the gym owners called the ambulance. When the EMT's got there Scott was so embarassed because most of them were guys he was friends with. Anyway they got him to the hospital. When he got into the emergency room, his blood pressure was really low. They did and EKG on his heart, the ER Dr came in and told us that he was in Atrial Fibriallation, which means the top part of his heart isn't really beating, he said it is just like a bag of worms, just moving around. He wasn't sure how long this had been going on, but that he was calling a Cardiologist in. About 2 hours later the Cardiologist came in and talked to us. He told us Scott wouldn't be going home. He wanted to run a bunch of tests to figure out the cause for his irregular heart rhythm. A man Scott's age should not be having this problem unless there is some blockage of arteries, diabetes, thyroid problems or some other health issues. Scott has never had any health problems, he has been very healthy, so this was very strange to both of us. He was admitted to the hospital and they started running blood test, did an ultrasound of his heart, and scheduled a stress test and a electrocardiogram. The next morning the Dr came in to Scott and told him that the Ultrasound showed that Scott's heart was enlarged, but his other blood work and tests had all come back normal with no reason for this. He was concerned so decided to cancel the other testings and do an angiogram instead, (where they put a tube up into his artery from the groin area, put dye into the arteries and check them all to see if there is any blockage) This made us a little nervous, because the Dr seemed more concerned than the day before. They did the procedure that day, and the Dr came out into the waiting room afterward and told me they found no blockage which was great. On the other hand, he was concerned because they have found no reason for Scott to have this problem. He wanted him to stay in the hospital one more day and moniter his heart rate and blood pressure. They would let him go home the next day on a blood thinner, a low blood pressure med, and a medication that will sometimes help to get your heart back into it's normal rhythm. We were to see him the following week, after 2 more blood tests to check his coumidin levels (blood thinner) They have to keep his blood really thin, when your heart is in A-Fib (short term for his problem) it causes the blood to clot, so when it does get in a regular beat every so often, it can push these clots into the brain, and cause immediate death or a stroke. (very scary for all of us) And Scott was to do nothing that would cause his increase his heart rate. No strenuouse activities until they figure this all out. Scott has been pretty discouraged and both of us really frustrated. We have been finally eating good and working out trying to change our habits and this happens. The first few days home, I was really worried about Scott. He was very depressed and just felt horrible. Well we saw the Dr this past week, he thought at first Scott's heart had switched back to it's normal rhythm, but after an EKG he hadn't changed at all. So the plan now is on the 10th, the Dr is going to Cardiovert him. This is where they stop his heart, then do those Shock things on his chest and schock it back into a normal rhythm. The Dr hopes this will help it to stay in normal rhythm, but no guarantees. If that doesn't work, we will be heading to PHX to the Arizona Heart Institute for more studies. We are just hopeing and praying this will work. Scott is so anxious to get back to normal life, and working out again. I feel so bad for him, and worry about him. We are all hanging in there. We are so very grateful to everyone who has called, text, and ask about him. It has made us feel very loved. It is unbelievalble the support we have felt from all of our friends and loved ones. Even members of the community and the customers that we have in our business, have poured out their love and concern for us. It has made us feel very loved. Thanks everyone!!

One of the things that has helped to keep our mind off of this, is getting ready for our missionary to come home. Yeah!!! Only 18 mores days and counting. I can hardly wait!! We will be having lots of family here on the weekend he returns, he is reporting in sacrament meeting that following sunday, so we are looking forward to that week.

I did have a good day yesterday, I was able to attend the temple for our stake temple day. It seemed so good to be there. Afterwards, Jentry hooked me up with some new pants. ( one of her jobs is working for "Buckle" in the Superstition Mall) Since I have been working out, my pants don't fit anymore, so she was able to help me find some cute ones. While I was there, some of her cousins and friends came in to get her to hang out with them after work. She was supposed to come home after work that night, but she decided it would be more fun to hang out with all of them for the weekend, instead of with her boring family in boring Cottonwood. I was glad she will be with them and having fun! She will be coming home next weekend for Chaz's baptism. We will have lots of company then too, which will be fun! The next few weeks will be filled with lots of friends and family, I love that!! This will help us to keep our mind on good things instead of the unknown! Wish us luck and please keep Scott in your prayers! Thanks!

I Can't Believe it's Almost Here!

Some Pics of Cole when we said "Goodbye" at the airport

This pic is Scott & I walking Cole to the security gates

where we had to let him go. He never looked back.

32 more days and counting!! Our favorite Missionary will be home! We just received all of Cole's information on his arrival home. This is so awesome, and yes I shed a few tears, realizing that he really will be home in only 4 short (or really long weeks). I never thought this day would come fast enough. We are all so very excited to see him and for me his Mom to hug him again! He has been serving honorably in the Manchester England Mission, and has loved every minute of it. He never really got too homesick, and was always so positive, he always had a great attitude throughout the whole 2 years. We are so dang proud of him, but so happy to have him come home. It seemed like a lifetime ago we were telling him goodbye at the airport, and feeling like my heart had just been ripped into tiny little pieces. I really didn't think at that time, that I would make it thru 2 years, but it is already here. I am so truly grateful for all of the many wonderful blessing that our family has received because of Cole's service to our Father in Heaven. It makes me nervous for him to come home.
Today in our Sacrament meeting Cole's really good friend, Nick Olson spoke to our ward, he has recently returned from his mission where he served in the London England South mission. He has a little English accent, it was kind of funny listening to him. It made us all the more excited to see if Cole will share the same accent. Cole was excited about the prospect of maybe getting an accent, his thinking was that the girls love a British accent! We will be spending the next several weeks getting ready for our Missionary, hoping it goes by really fast!

Anybody out there who might have some cute sisters, daughters,cousins, friends I am sure Cole would love to be hooked up after settling into "real" life again!! lol!