Went to UT for Thanksgiving

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I haven't written for a while. We ended up flying out to Utah for two weeks in November, and were there over Thanksgiving. The best part for me was seeing James finally get to make snow angels. He'd been practicing for weeks makeing carpet angels, and pine straw angels in our back yard. When he finally got to make his first snow angel he had the biggest smile ever on his face. He even got Grandma down there doing it with him.

I also enjoyed just being with the family and our friends. Going to Utah for a short while tends to make me miss it all the more. I know we'll end up back there eventually, but I'd rather it be sooner than later. Anyway, we enjoyed ourselves.

Now we are back home and setteling in for the Holidays. The outside lights are up and inside most of the decorating is done. We still need to get our tree, but that'll happen by the weekend. Beyond that we're just hoping to spend some time working on our home and enjoying our kids. I hope this blog finds you all well.

Merry Christmas,
Elizabeth

Not going to Utah in October

Hi Everyone,

Good news & bad news. The good news is that we'll be spending the Thanksgiving holiday in Utah, the bad news is that we're not coming out in October. Jake's Captain felt he simply couldn't get the Unit set up here at Ft. Bragg without Jake's guidance and leadership, and was concerned that it need to be done & completely "mission ready" by October 16th. That is when they will be put back on first alert for the Homeland Security Mission (ie: earthquakes, hurricanes, chemical spills, basically any kind of national disaster).

So we've canceled our trip for October and re-scheduled it for the end of November. We're planning to come out sometime around the 20th or so, and stay until the first week of December. Although I miss everyone and wish to see them sooner, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving as my sister & her boyfriend will also be visiting Utah at that time.

Otherwise the family is doing very well. Jake has had some good exposure with his photography business (he runs it on the side). He's also getting ready to start college classes again on Oct. 23rd. In addition he's preparing to go to the promotion board for E-6 in the next month or two, He's also accepted a position in our church as a counselor for the Elder's Quarom President. He's busy, busy, busy, and balances it all and our family time amazingly well.

James is loving his pre-school. He was in charge of his classroom snack on Friday so we made "ants on a log" (raisins & cream cheese on celery). Apparently it was a big success. We also did a group field trip to the Clark Park Nature Center last week, and he still talks about seeing the big snake. In addition he is regularly earning his Thomas the Train & Friends for going number 2 in the toilet. I can finally say the potty training is nearing an end.

Mikey is into everything. He's truly a monkey, the other day I had to rescue him from the tree in the back yard where he'd climbed a few feet up and got his foot caught. It's hard to believe, but he'll be 2 in a couple months, and he's starting to act the part of a troublesome two year old. We get quite the tantrum show regularly, and often applaud his grand efforts. He loves shoes and often throws his best trantrums if you take them off, that boy demands that he be able to go to bed with his shoes on.

Evey is the opposite, she follows in Grandma Mac's footsteps - being completely barefoot as much as possible. Sandles are tollerable if necessary. Thank goodness we live in a climate where you can get away with sandles year round. Evey also dazzles us with her vocabulary. She still uses he baby babble but throws in big words too. The other day she was playing with her doll, singing her usual nonsense and then I heard "go downstairs baby" and she stood up walked to the stairs and tossed the baby doll down the stairs.

I'm busy keeping everyone else organized. I've gotten to know several women in our neighborhood and really enjoy our weekly play group. I'm also teaching the 10 year olds at our church each Sunday. Between those regular activities, the unit FRG stuff, projects around the house, house guests, and helping out with the odds and ends of James' preschool I stay busy.

In general, we love being here in North Carolina. We've been blessed with a great church, great neighbors, a beautiful home, and good health as of late. When you remember those kind of blessings the challenges that come seem much more bareable. I hope you all are able to deal with the challenges your lives bring, and still remember the blessings too. We miss you.

Love,
Elizabeth

Great News - Jake's Home

Hey Everyone,

I'm sorry I haven't posted for a while. Jake is home for good now. We've really enjoyed the 10 days he had off. We've had many lazy afternoons in the backyard hammocks watching the kids play. It's been nice to just enjoy being a family in our new home.

On Monday Jake will start in-processing here at Ft. Bragg. That means back to work, and back to a normal routine. James loves being in pre-school and wants to go every day which also keeps our routine regular. However; it won't stay that way for long as we are going on a family vacation to Utah.

We'll be there for 19 days visiting family and attending Jake's 10 year high school reunion. Boy does time fly fast. I look back over the past few years, and realize how much has truly changed, but also how much I feel the same as I did graduating high school. Well, maybe not as insecure and innocient.

Anyway, I'm just happy Jake is with us permanently again.

Have a Great Day,
Elizabeth

Just an Update

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to post a general update. Jake is home for the long weekend, and we love having him here. His unit is on National Homeland Security alert (the 1st unit on the list is at the Washington wild fires). Until the unit goes off alert they can't proceed with the move, which means we're left waiting to find out when Jake will be home here for good.

Otherwise we are doing well. The kids have the usuall fall colds, but they're not slowing us down much. I've been busy with back to school shopping for James. Also, Evey has grown out of most of her clothes so I've been shopping for her too. Poor Mikey rarely gets anything new because he has so many hand me downs from James. I got him some new jammies just so he wouldn't feel left out.

James enjoyed his first day of preschool, however; we've decided to switch him to a school closer to the house that better meets our needs. He'll have his first day with "Kids Under Construction" on Wednesday. Anyway, all is well and we feel very blessed.

Elizabeth

Lost the Baby

Hello Everyone,

Unfortunately I have some sad news to share. I ended up miscarrying our baby. Two days after I took the positive pregnancy test I started spotting. I called my Dr. and he said that sometimes when the placenta stregnthens it's attachement in the uterus there can be a light spotting. When it became a little more period like, he told me that given my history of 3 miscarriages before James, I was probably going to miscarry again. Also, he said if the bleeding continued for more than 4 days without passing the fetus, or if I had sever cramping I needed to go to the ER for an ultrasound and possibly a D&C. Otherwise he'd just see me at my appointment on the 7th and do a pelvic exam and give me a RhoGam shot. (I'm Rh negative.)

My best friend, Cara arrived Sunday night to visit for the week and help me out. She was out here a few weeks ago, and had problems with the airlines so they gave her vouchers. When we talked that afternoon she told me she was loading the kids up and heading to the airport to come out. I ended up passing the fetus during that night. Since then my bleeding and cramping have stopped, and I'm just trying to get back to normal.

I know that God had a hand in everything. I figure that there must of be a reason we had a miscarrage; and he knew Jake would be gone so he arranged for Cara to be able to be here with me.

Anyway, I'm doing okay and it is wonderful to have my best friend here with me. I had a priesthood blessing given during all of this and felt there was a special spirit waiting for us, but that my body needed to go through this process before I could be ready. So I know all will be okay and that it won't be long before we can annouce baby news again. We're going to give my body a few months rest before we start trying though.

Thank you so much for all of your love and support. I know many of you have been praying for us, and it is greatly appreciated. The kids are doing well, and we will have Jake here with us for good in 2 weeks. May God Bless You All!

Love,
Elizabeth (Jake, James, Mikey, & Evey)

Baby Blessings

Good Morning Everyone,

That's right I took a test this morning because I was feeling off and things were running late. Surprise we're pregnant. My due date will be May 2, 2007; and my first Dr. Appointment is scheduled for Sept. 7th. The twins will be just shy of 2 1/2 yrs. old and James will be 4 when our new one arrives. Also Jake and I have decided that after we deliver a healthy baby I'll have my tubes tied.

Elizabeth

Typhoid McDonald takes down Evey

Hey Everyone,

So Typhoid McDonald gave us a visit today. Evey has had a runny nose for a few days now, and today she started messing with her ears. I took her in to the ER and waited 3 hours to be seen. As I knew she would, she had a double ear infection. The part that gets me is that it was only 15 minutes from when we were escorted back to the room to when we walked out the door. A quick chat, look in the ears, nose, and throat and listen to her chest... here's tylenol, motrin, and your antibiotics, have a nice night. I'm greatful the exam and diagnosis was so quick, but really why did we have to wait 3 hours before hand? The only reason I went in the first place was to get the antibiotics, I already knew what the problem was.

I guess I really shouldn't complain. There were a lot of other people there who had more serious things than us. I'm also greatful the army gives us such great health insurance that I can take my daughter into the ER for an ear infection and know I'm not going to end up paying a dime. I'm sure there are plenty of people who's kids have to wait out the weekend for this kind of thing, until they can be seen by their regular physician. Anyway, Evey is doing fine and feeling better.

I'm also greatful that Jake was here this weekend. It was nice not to have Mikey & James in tow at the ER. But even more important, it was nice to have him here with the family. This morning we had a great breakfast, wrestled and played together, then took morning naps. After lunch we went to the children's museum and then walked around the historic downtown of Fayetteville and went to the Chocolate Lady's shoppe for some yummy treats. After the scenic route home the kids all took naps and I got to cuddle up to my hubby and watch a movie. (If anyone likes witty comedy/chickflick you should rent "A Good Woman" with Scarlette Johannsen and Helen Hunt).

My point? Well, even though Typhoid McDonald has struck Evey there wasn't much damage and we're greatful for the many blessings in our lives. I hope ya'll are as blessed.

Elizabeth

Love our neighbors

Okay, so I know in the bible we are taught to love our neighbors as ourselves. Well, up until now I haven't exactly struggled with that, but then again there was no love lost between us when we moved. I probably sound like a snob saying this, but in our previous neighborhoods we've always been from very different backgrounds, and really had nothing in common with our neighbors.

Anyway, that has now changed. I love our new home, our neighborhood, and our wonderful neighbors. We've joined a playgroup with several of the women who live very near us and it's fabulous. The other ladies and I have similar standards, our children have manners and are disciplined, and we're from similar socio-economical backgrounds. All our kids play well together. I just really couldn't have asked for a better group of women/families.

I know that our move here has been blessed by the Lord. We have so much to be greatful for, and I find myself wanting to shout from the roof tops- HURRAY! My only wish is that Jake will be able to join us here soon. He now has his personel orders and should be arriving around the end of August, or begining of September. Until then we'll enjoy our few weekends together and be greatful for the many blessings in our lives.

-Elizabeth

Happy Lady

Hi Everyone,

So I'm a happy lady today. First and foremost because my husband was able to come home for the weekend. For all of you who don't know he's still working at Ft. Stewart, GA and the kid's and I are up in Fayetteville, NC which is about 4 1/2 hours away. He arrived last night and will be with us until late Monday afternoon as they have a long weekend.

The other good news is that they finally have their personel orders and Jake should start out-processing from Ft. Stewart on August 13th which means he could be permanently here with the kids and I as soon as August 20th. I'm really looking forward to having him here with us again.

I'm also thankful that his back seems to be mending. He's pretty much back to normal as long as he remembers to take his muscle relaxant. Hopefully he won't even need that soon. Last night I gave him a good back massage and he forgot to take his meds, but managed to sleep pretty well. He didn't take another dose until this morning.

The other good news is that the kids and I went to a neighborhood playgroup on Thursday and got to know some of our neighbors. We've been invited to a cookout this evening and I'm looking forward to it. Prior to this home we've never lived in a neighborhood that I felt comfortable associating with the people around us. Not that they were "bad" neighborhoods, just that I didn't have anything in common with most of the people who lived around us. Anyway, it's a nice change.

Fayetteville has really been good to us. I love our home, our neighborhood, and how close everything is. It's nice to live in a real city again, but it's also nice that it's not overwhelmingly huge. There's also so much available for the kids to do. I was looking at the youth center on post and they have classes for the kids - like dance, gymnastics, karate, swimming lessons, ect. - even for the little ones.

I also really like the children's museum here. We bought a family pass for the year because the kids like it so much. Also the museum brings in people on Saturdays to do special activities for the kids, and it's all included in our family pass.

So basically, I'm a happy lady. I'm enjoying our new home and am just plan greatful to my Heavenly Father for pooring out his blessings upon us. May He bless you too.

Elizabeth

The Typhoid McDonald wasn't as bad as originally thought

So I was pretty upset when I posted last night's blog. Today, I've simmered down. Jake went into the PA again this morning and was doing much better. He's still on the muscle relaxant and 800 mg IB-profin, but is back to work as normal. The PA told him it'd take a week to feel back to 100% and to come in if it gets worse or doesn't go away. I'm still not happy about the medical treatment there, but I'm greatful my husband is doing better.

More good news is that the twins had their 18 month check up and are doing well. Evey's still a little fussy from the 2 shots they got. All traces of Mikey's pnemonia are completely gone. Mike has a little weight to gain back since his incident at the begining of July. Before he was 30 lbs. Today he weighed in at 28 lbs, which puts him just a little above the 50%. Evey was 24 lbs, which put her just below the 50% - a jump from before when she was at 25%.

Since they had their Dr. appointment this afternoon, I decided to make the morning extra fun. We ran by the bank and then spent 2 hours at the Facisnate U Children's Museum here in Fayetteville. They love running around in the mini-town and roll playing. Today James' specialty was grocery shopping & checkout. Evey liked driving the Newspaper truck, and Mikey just loved running around with the other kids. (Or running off in the totally opposite direction; leaving me to chase him down and bring him back to the other two.)

Anyway, the Lord has blessed us yet again. I'm so grateful that Jake is doing better and Mikey as well. I need to learn to relax a little and let the Lord guide me. Well, have a great day!

- Elizabeth

Typhoid McDonald struck Jake

So every time we seem to be getting things in order and balanced Typhoid McDonald strikes our family. We say this jokingly, as it was our family's nickname in California, implying we were a always dealing with one illness or disaster after another and to beware.

Anyway, Jake was doing PT this morning and bunny hopping across the gym with the rest of his soldiers when all of a sudden his back went into spasms and caused him incredible pain. The gym medics took him out on a strecher and drove him to the Troop Medical Clinic via a field ambulence. At the clinic he was examined by a PA and told that it was tight muscles. She gave him a pain killer there and a prescription for a muscle relaxant and told him to lay down for the day then come back the next morning.

I'm a little upset because...
1. They didn't even have him see a real doctor
2. The PA didn't do an MRI or X-ray
3. The PA didn't prescribe him anything for the pain after he got home.

Now I don't have a very high opinion of the Troop Medical Clinic in the first place, to me it seems to be a joke. However; I have seen some fabulous doctors at the Family Practice Clinics/hospitals. It seems like Army Medicine doesn't care to give it's soldiers quality care, but keeps their families happy.

Anyway, I'm really worried that Jake isn't receiving the care he needs, and that he's in so much pain he won't "fight" for better care. He was in so much pain today that he avoided moving at all costs. I'm also frustrated because he's 5 hours away and I can't do a thing to help him. I keep thinking if I were there I could "take care" of him and help fix it. Being so far away and helpless is horrible.

So please everyone, keep him in your prayers.

Thanks,

Elizabeth

Me in a Nut Shell

So this is me... I am a mother of 3 beautiful children. My oldest is James, 3 yrs. old. Then there are the twins, Michael and Evelyn who are 18 months old. Not only are they beautiful children, but most people would classify them under the "handful" catagory too. I just love them and spend most of my time trying to keep up with and enjoy them.

I'm also a wife. My husband, Jacob, is the perfect match for me. In some ways he is my complete opposite, which allows us to balance each other. In all the important ways we are of one mind, which unites us. The most important being our faith, and love for God. We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We love our church and would be happy to tell you more about it if you are interested.

In addition my husband is in the Army, which requires a lot of love and support on my part. Not to mention having a personal stregth that allows me to thrive despite the risk that he could be shipped off to some foreign place at any time. The benefit of knowing that, is we spend the time we have together as if it could be our last. When you know you can loose someone, you value the time you have with them all the more. We've been very blessed that he has not had to deploy since our oldest son was conceived.

As you can tell, my family and faith is the most important thing in my life. I also have several very close friends who are my "sisters." The family I've choosen through the years. Cara, Misty, Katie, and Heather - I love you all! The funny thing is that each represents a phase of my life, and although we've each moved on our friendship remains and binds us close.

Although my family consumes most of my time I also have a few hobbies... cooking, cleaning, laundry... just kidding. I enjoy music and play the flute. I also enjoy photography. My husband is a professionally trained photo-journalist for the army, and has taught me a great deal of how to take a good photo. I love to bake & eat sweets, but lately have avoided it due to my need to thin out my waist line.

I also enjoy looking for that good bargin buy (thanks Cara!) I love garage-saling, flea markets, thrift stores, and "free yard sale day" otherwise known as bulk trash pick-up. The part that really thrills me is when I find that perfect piece of furniture and then get to re-finish it.

We just bought a new home and I'm a big fan of home improvement. Call me crazy but I like painting, peeling wall paper, changing lighting, building, sanding, just plan working with my hands. I like to walk into a room and see the greater potential it has, and then make it happen. With my husband being in the Army we get to move, alot. So each time I get to try something new. Luckily my husband is pretty handy himself and shares my dreams (but keeps them with-in our budget).

I also have several hobbies I used to enjoy regularly before we had kids, like rock climbing, skiing, camping, hiking, swimming & diving. Someday I'll get back to those, but for now my children are more important.

Anyway, that's pretty much me in a nut shell. Please add comments if you know me well enough to do so.

-Elizabeth