It's All About Perspective

This life is really all about Perspective. When you have an issue you just have to think about others things and bring your "problem" into perspective. Ethan has been a Parent's Medical nightmare since he was about 3 or 4 months old! First we had to deal with his severe eczema that covered his entire body. After we got that under control we then had to go through his "ITP" issue. This lasted quite a while. Basically for a year we had to go to the Pediatric Oncologist and have blood drawn about two-four times a month. This also included a day and nights stay in the hospital and another day as an outpatient in the hospital. During that time we also had to deal with his asthma and allergies. Once the "ITP" was clear and gone we have really only had to deal with his asthma. About three weeks ago Ethan was up all night coughing and wheezing. We went to the Dr. the next morning. He gave Ethan a treatment and a steroid shot. We then had to go back later that afternoon to make sure he was okay. We have been giving him breathing treatments on a daily basis since then. Thankfully he is really good for them now. Wednesday night he was up coughing and wheezing and crying all night again. He wouldn't let me leave his room and wanted to sleep with me on his floor. Finally we went down to the living room to sleep on the couch. He wouldn't just lay beside me he had to be on top of me! So when he finally got to sleep and had been for a while I took him back upstairs so I could try to sleep. Chris got up with him a few times and gave him a treatment. When I woke up that morning we took Ethan back to the Dr. The Dr. was pretty worried that he had two asthma attacks so close to each other. So we had to do another treatment at the Dr.s office and then he got another shot. We then had to do 3 treatments and go back to the Dr. If he didn't see much improvement he said Ethan was going to have to go to the hospital. So we do the treatments and go back, the Dr. said he was doing better, but wants us to go to a lung specialist to make sure there isn't anything that he is missing. We got 4 Rx for Ethan to take.... As a family we went grocery shopping while the pharmacy filled Ethan's Rx's. The bag below is his Rx's only....No there isn't any food in that bag, just Ethan's Rx's... Aren't Rx's suppose to come in those little paper bags? Below are the individual Rx's....

So I know you guys are probably wondering what Perspective I'm talking about... Well the Rx's were only $80 as compared to a hospital stay which would be a lot more than that.... And I have my son who is the cutest little boy I know. (I think I might be a little bias) Point of the story is, there is always something worse that could happen. Sometimes I feel like I was given a lemon of a son. He has gone to the Dr. more than I think I ever have in my entire life! But he has made Chris and I so much stronger. I have learned so much from going to the Dr. all the time. I know that "idiopathic" means Unknown. So when there is a disease with Idiopathic in front of it, it means that the cause of the disease is unknown. I know all about asthma and the different medicines that can be prescribed for it. And I know the best cream for your skin if you have eczema... Chris and I have learned the power of prayer and fasting from this little guy. We have learned to appreciate our family and friends and have learned to realize EVERYTHING they do for us. We have become stronger as a husband and wife and as parents from these experiences. So when I put all of this into perspective I couldn't have asked for anything else. How can we truly appreciate what we have when we aren't threatened by the thought of loosing it? I cherish every day I have with my family because I know people that have lost their loved ones and know that anything could happen to them. Life is all about learning and progressing so that we can become better people. Without all of our life experiences we would remain the same, unlearned, stuck in the same position we were yesterday or the year before. When I think I have life hard or question why this is happening to me I just have to sit back and put EVERYTHING into perspective, and appreciate the lessons that will be learned from the "hard time" or challenge ahead of me. I'm to the point where I can be Thankful for the challenge after it has passed, but I'm still struggling with being thankful during the challenge! Life is all about Perspective.... It is what we make it out to be! I'm choosing to keep it as positive as possible!

Grandpa's Little Buddy

If it has anything to do with Grandpa, Ethan is all over it! This is him wearing my Dad's outside hat! Whenever Grandpa is around they are inseparable! Everyday they hang out when my dad gets home from work! They love to go outside and work in the garden, run around and hang out together! I think Grandpa is a pretty good person for Ethan to look up to! (most of the time) :)

Bath Time

Ethan was getting in the bath last night and we decided to stick Katelee in there as well. Katelee has Ethan's bad skin as doesn't get baths all that much, so she really enjoyed herself. Ethan felt like he had to act up for his audience and continued to pore water ALL over her head and splash like crazy! Katelee of course thought this was very comical and enjoyed every minute of it! She just adores her brother (even when he is mean to her.) This was the best picture we could get. We couldn't get them to look up together...

Katelee Madge

Isn't she just the cutest thing ever???!!!

The New Floor Look!

Our floors are finished! We got started around 8:00 and we finished around 4:00... This is the fourth house that this crew has done within about a year, so they are pretty much experts by now. This is about 2 hours in...Katelee was keeping an eye on them making sure they did everything right!
Even my mom got into helping. This is toward the very end!

And here is the completed look. My dad is even sweeping the floor.

I absolutely love it. I still am a little surprised when I head down the stairs and see the floors! I'm so excited... Now all we have to do is get floorboards... Yeah!

Park Time with Daddy and Maddy

Aunt Anjali and Uncle Matt invited us to attend a Breakfast in the park activity last Saturday. I had a baby shower to go to, but Chris took Ethan to the park to play. Ethan loves the park and was very excited to go. When they got there him and Maddy followed each other around. From what I hear it was really cute. Chris took some photos so here they are.... Isn't she the cutest girl you have seen, look at all that hair!
They both loved the swings!

Pretty soon this kid will be jumping from the swings....He is crazy!

He looks so small on this slide!

A Big Thank you goes out to Anjali and Matt for inviting us and also to Chris for letting me have a nice time at the shower! You are such a great dad!

Our Floors-Before...

We decided with our Tax Return this year we would put wood floors in. So we purchased the floors about a month ago. Costco had a coupon in February for like $10 off a box, so we saved quite a bit of money. All of our weekends have been busy until this weekend so we had to wait to get the floors in. Friday night we pulled the carpet up, as you can see Ethan was right in the mix of things helping his grandpa like always!

Even Aunt RaNae got in on the action, a little! Here is our floor after the carpet was out!
Stay tuned for the after pictures!

Baby Tangerines!

I just had to share this with everyone. My son is so cute sometimes. This is him at Grandma Blackburn's watching a movie and eating his Tangerines. He has to have a napkin so he can wipe his hand off after each slice. This kid can eat these things faster than anyone I know. It feels like you get the thing peeled, give it to him and by the time I get back to peel mine he is already there asking for another one! This kid loves him fruits and veggies!

Don't Forget About Soley!

It has come to our realization lately that poor little Soley is being left out a lot of the time! So I wanted to give her, her very own post. Soley was born almost 4 years ago this month or next month... I'm not exactly sure! We first brought her to live at our house June 22, 2005. From that day forward she was officially a part of our family. She is loved by the Gubler family as well, as they were her very first family for the first 6-8 weeks of her life. Thank you Gubler's for letting us have her and for taking such great care of her!

Soley is a very well behaved dog and we take that for granted a lot of the time. She doesn't bark much and usually when she does it is like a whisper bark because she knows we don't like her barking. Some of my favorite things about her are she is very low maintenance, just play tug with her for a minute or so and she is good for a week. She is really good with the kids. Ethan is very mean to her most of the time, however she is always willing to give him another try! Soley is always there to make you feel special, she loves to go for walks and loves it even more when you pet her. She can be pretty annoying to, always wanting to be on your lap or touching you. Her nails grow pretty fast which is pretty annoying, and when it rains she will only go to the bathroom on the back patio. Even when the rain has stopped she will continue to poop and pee on the cement for the next 2-3 weeks!

We always tease about giving her away, but when someone actually took us up on the offer I cried that night just thinking about how sad it would be to not have her around. So we have stopped offering her to people and have started to enjoy her and appreciate her more! So to Soley, if you are reading this (did I mention she could read? ) WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH and are grateful you are part of our family!

Hair Bows and Bath Time!

Katelee was so beautiful Sunday, I had a pink bow in her hair that actually stayed there ALL day long. It was a little hard to get out of her hair that night, but we managed!
Don't you just want to squeeze those little cheeks? Katelee is really starting to talk a lot these days. She loves her brother and can't seem to get enough of him. Whenever he is around she is all eyes on him and laughing. I can tell that she is going to be his biggest fan for all his jokes and crazy stunts... Heaven Help Us Now! But we Love her all the same!

And this is my son after bath time. He loves to combs his hair after a bath when it is still dripping wet. His hair is getting a little long, but I love it that way! (I will admit that he needs a slight trim...)

This kid can't get enough of bath time. In fact we have to spell it out most of the time, because as soon as you say anything about a bath he is up the stairs and trying to get it going himself! Chris has taught him to say "bath over" when they are letting the water out so sometimes you will just hear him say "bath over" out of nowhere! We'll be driving and he'll say "Bath Over" The boy is crazy... But we love him all the same!

Day at the Park, with Daddy

My parents went out of town today to celebrate their 31st wedding anniversary, so Chris is staying home with the kids today and tomorrow! I got this picture on my cell phone a few minutes ago. Chris said Katelee just loved the park. She loved the swing, slide and teeter-toter. I just had to share this picture with everyone, look how happy this little girl looks!

Congrats Babe!

This post is a little late, but better late than never! So the other day Chris was picking up the kids after work so I was able to leave work a little bit later and head straight home. When Chris picks up the kids I get the mail and start doing my nightly chores so I can get into bed before 10... So I open our mail box and find this.....

So this isn't the best picture, but what it's a letter from Touro University of Nevada, which is one of the Physical Therapy Schools Chris applied for. My heart goes a little crazy and I have the sudden urge to open it and see what it says. After thinking about opening the letter for like 5 minutes I decide that this really is something that Chris should open himself! (Although I'm almost positive he wouldn't have minded me opening it) So I want to do something special instead of just leaving it on the kitchen bar where all our other mail (and junk) go. So I tape it to the entrance door from the garage.... That way Chris will see it when he pulls in. So I do that and just wait... Finally I decide I really need to start doing some of my stuff so maybe we can go to dinner to celebrate. Then the thought strikes me... What if this letter is telling him that he was not accepted... My heart sinks, should I go get the letter and put it with the normal mail so he won't feel so bad if he is not accepted? Should I open it? (notice how this thought keeps coming back, I'm not usually a nosey person, but this is my families future..) I decide that I will just leave it the way it is. I start doing the dishes and hear Chris pull in, My heart goes crazy again! So I act normal, I keep doing the dishes, I don't say anything about it when he comes in and neither does he! So finally I can't take it any more. I see him behind me reading something so I shout, "so what does it say." He then reads these words.....

On behalf of the Admissions Committee, it gives me great pleasure to notify you of your acceptance to Touro Univeristy Nevada School of Physical Therapy, Class of 2012 for July 2009!

I couldn't believe it, did that letter just say that he is going to PT school? We have been waiting for this moment since we got married, and it is here! I can't believe it. I give him a big hug and he continues to read the letter...

The letter is one page and I think it took Chris like 10 minutes to finish it! By this time I'm done with the dishes and my heart rate is finally getting back to normal! We decide to go to dinner to celebrate and Chris goes upstairs to change his clothes. I decided that I had better say a pray and Thank my Heavenly Father for helping us out with this one. So in the kitchen I kneel down and just start balling my eyes out. There were so many things that just happened for us with this school. Chris did a lot of his PT Volunteer hours at Jack Close's office, who use to be my singles ward bishop. Jack is a very well known and respected PT in town. Jack told Chris that Touro was going to have a PT program this year. Without Jack we wouldn't have know that Touro had a PT program. I finish my prayer and wipe my eyes as dry as I can get them and decide to read the letter for myself. I then start to cry again, because it kicks in that we are going to be very poor for a very long time. $1,000 was due in 2 weeks to hold his spot at the school and another $2,000 is due before May... and that doesn't even come close to 1/8 of the actual cost for a year.... and the school is 3 1/2 years long! So after reading that I decided that maybe we should go to Olive Garden since we have a gift card, but instead we go to Applebees, Because nothing says CELEBRATION like Applebees! :)

Point is I'm very proud of my husband, I know he has worked so hard to make this dream of his a reality and I just want to let him and everyone else know that I'm very proud of him! He is my hero, how he goes to school, work, church and still has time for his family! Chris is the best husband and father....he is absolutely great with the kids, does everything he can for me and loves us like I could never have imagined possible! CONGRATS BABE!!!! YOU ARE MY HERO!