Easter Weekend 2012

April 6th, 2012 was my 30th Birthday. I got up and worked out, then we headed for Venice and Glenwood. We arrived in Richfield about 11:30 am and got a few things done that we needed to. After that we went to my parents house. My family through me a little surprise party. They had a cake for me so we had cake and ice cream. We were missing my mom and youngest sister, Shanelle, but my uncle Noel and Grandpa Cowley were there too. Following the party we took my sister, Cara, and her family through our house. Branden really wanted to take me out to lunch/dinner for my birthday so I told him he could take me to Subway. That is where we went. I love Subway and it's not a killer on caloric intake. We then headed to the Andersons. We decorated eggs with the kids and then had pizza for dinner. My sister-in-laws made cupcakes for my birthday as well so they sang to me. It was a nice birthday.

My sister-in-law had this cool spinner thing where you put the egg in and drip color on it. Then you push the button over and over and it spins to make cool looking eggs.

Saturday was a very busy day. The Easter Bunny comes to visit Brax Friday night. We try to celebrate the commercial side of Easter on Saturday and the spiritual side on Sunday. Anyway, we got up and Brax did his search for his easter eggs because the bunny hides them from him. He got a life jacket this year due to the fact his is too small. Following his egg search we got ready to head to Glenwood. Every year Branden's grandma has an egg hunt so he helps with it. Brax and I dropped him off and we headed to the park. Brax took part with three of his cousins in the 8-9 year old Glenwood Town Easter Egg Hunt. The rest of the cousins were at other locations. Following the Town hunt we headed to Grandma Oldroyd's. They had another search there. They had a lot of fun. Right after the Oldroyd family hunt we headed back to Venice to go roll/throw our eggs with my family. As we got done with them, Branden called his brother and they were headed out to the same hills just on the other side. We took one of my dad's 4-wheelers over to have some fun with the Andersons. Both rolling/throwing experiences ended in egg fights. We headed back to my brother's house for lunch. We had pineapple burgers, chicken salad, chips, deviled eggs, and treats. We visited and all got sunburnt. We stayed there for a few hours. We headed back to my parents house to change our clothes from riding the 4-wheeler. My dad then taught Brax how to drive his lawn mower. Brax mowed the lawn with a little help from my dad. I was so proud of him and he concentrated so hard. After mowing the lawn we headed back to Glenwood to play games and eat dinner.

This was the funniest thing. Luke was driving the jeep and took off dragging Izzy (the dog) behind because she was hooked to the jeep. The next thing we knew we see Luke, Brax, and Izzy coming back.

Sunday was also a nice day. My dad made us breakfast and then we went to church with him. I got to go to Primary with my nephew, Luke because he wouldn't sit in there by himself. It was fun to be back there because my calling was in Primary before we moved to Hurricane. It was a nice day to think of the Savior and his sacrifice for me. After church we headed back to Glenwood to have lunch with the Andersons and then we headed home. It's nice to spend time over the holidays with family.

Gardening

This year I decided to try to get most, if not all, of my produce out of my garden to help save some money this year. The garden process has been going for 3 weeks. Currently in my garden I have spinach, lettuce, carrots, peas, summer squash, zucchini, strawberries, beans, and pumpkins. I will plant corn in a couple weeks. I have cucumbers, watermelon, canteloupe, tomatoes, and peppers growing in the house. I got a few things going late, so I might buy some plants to help supplement those plants. My garden will definitely be full. Yesterday I bought a blueberry bush and I put it in the front yard. I'm going to also get a blackberry bush and a raspberry bush. I"m hoping to get a grape vine in. I know, that's a lot, but you'll never know unless you keep trying. I've been trying different things to help my plants grow. I'll keep you updated!

Soccer 2012

Soccer is now in full swing. Games are held on Saturdays so we don't have a free weekend. They have only had 2 games and I believe 3 left. They got started a little late because baseball games start next week as well. It is fun watching Brax begin to become more aggressive. The past few years he has been timid and if someone else went for the ball he'd back off. Not this year, he is a go getter and keeps kicking. He is no longer afraid of getting hurt. He has played goalie for part of both games. The first game he wasn't sure about when he could pick up the ball, but the 2nd game he went for it. He is getting taller as well. It is so much fun to watch him. Last Saturday he scored 2 goals. Woo hoo!

Blue and Gold Banquet

March 22nd was our Blue and Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts. Brax was so excited to make a cake. I also realized how observant my little 8 year old is. He remembered that last year the dirt/worm cake went for the most money and so that's what he wanted to make this year. His cake was a yellow cake with caramel in the middle and chocolate frosting. He put Oreos for dirt, mini M&Ms for rocks, and worms all over. We drizzled caramel all over the top.

While we were sitting at dinner, our friend came over and asked if we knew of anyone buying Braxy's cake. We said we didn't know of anyone but us. He told us he was going to make it a bidding war and oh he did. He bought it for $80. We dropped out. It was so nice of them to support him. He was so proud of his cake and yes, he did most of the work himself. I just put it in the oven and frosted it. They told him how good his cake was. I'm so proud of Brax!

Biopsy Results #2

In life, things happen that change our perspectives on things. We find out how tiny we really are. After having precancer found about 5 months ago, my perspective changed. I'd convinced myself that after a D&C and birth control that I'd still have precancer and thus have a hysterectomy. Nothing prepared me for the results I received. For me it was odd to hear the words YOUR HORMONE LEVELS ARE NORMAL AND SO ARE YOUR BIOPSY RESULTS. What????? There were no signs of precancer whatsoever. My first thought was, "How is this possible?" Then I thought, "This has to be a joke." I think I was in shock for a few hours. I was telling my parents and Branden's dad, but still couldn't believe what I was saying. I was totally prepared for a hysterectomy.

As a result of my results, I am going to start fertility drugs again next week. I'm not quite sure about that. I am not ready for the scheduling of everything, but so be it. Pregnancy is definitely an option, but I'm not getting my hopes up that it is going to happen. I've grown to know you can't expect anything because Heavenly Father will give you what you need, not always what you want.

Believe me, I am so very happy. I took a big sigh of relief. I still can't believe it. I know a lot of prayers were said in my behalf and I can't say thank you enough to everyone who was there for me. I feel a peace in my life that I've never felt before. The best word I can come up with for the whole situation is Humbling. I am so humbled by what we've been through.

Biopsy #2

So I returned to the doctor for biopsy #2. This one was so much worse than the first one. They took a large sample to make sure and check all for cancer cells. I am still cramping from the experience yesterday. Oh well, it had to be done!

So I've been going through the different scenarios of what could happen.

SCENARIO 1: Precancer cells turned cancerous and a hysterectomy has to be done immediately.
SCENARIO 2: Precancer cells still found, need to schedule hysterectomy.
SCENARIO 3: No cancer cells were found, start fertility drugs, have another biopsy in 6 months.
SCENARIO 4: No cancer cells found, continue weight loss, have another biopsy in 6 months.

My doctor was very positive, believing that no cancer cells would be present after the D&C and time. He wanted me to fill my prescription for fertility drugs right away. Me on the other hand, not so certain about it. I don't want to count my eggs before they're hatched. I'll wait for the biopsy results to make my final decision on what is going to happen in the future. I may or may not have a decision on what my future brings. Whatever happens, I know it's what the Lord has planned for me and my family.

I should have my results back on Monday this time instead of waiting 3 weeks for results and another to get into the doctor. I have a strange calm about me. I hate the unknown, but I'm not way scared either. Whatever happens, I can handle it with the love and support of my two guys. Branden was so very helpful yesterday. He stayed with me all day and helped out around the house. He's the one that keep me calm and positive. He has a calming force to him that helps me out a lot!

Anyway, I will post an update when I hear back from the doctor. Brax did get an update last week. His ear isn't completely healed. It is starting to seal over and no other problems that they can foresee. It's nice to have him back to normal.

Hiking at Zion's - President's Day weekend

President's Day weekend we were able to get a lot done. We got half the garden tilled, changed the fuel filter, went to Brax's basketball game, went out to yard sales, etc. It was quite busy. Branden's brother Brett, his wife Christal, and two of their kids (Brevan and Payton) came down to visit Sunday night. We had a good time visiting with them. They came down for the St. George Parade of Homes. On Monday, I decided to take the boys hiking after we took Macey to the vet. We got ready to go when Branden called and said that if we could wait a little while longer he'd be off work and could go along. I'd gotten a text right before that about play day at the park with women and children from the ward. We decided to go to the park for an hour, have a picnic, and then go hiking.

The boys decided they wanted to do 3 or 4 hikes. We kept asking if they were sure and they said they were. So we did a short hike to start off the day. We went to the Weeping Rock. It wept a little, but was mostly covered in icicles. The trail had quite a bit of ice on it. Brev, Brax, and I all fell on the ice at one point or another. They made it and were almost hit in the head by falling icicles. We got there when it was warming up. Following that we decided to go hike the Emerald Pools. We made it to all three. There was ice on the way to the Lower Pool so we decided to take the other way to the Grotto on the way back. The boys got tired toward the end and Brev had fallen in the mud so he was a little wet and cold. It was a fun day though. Following the hikes (about 4 miles total) we went through the tunnel. After the tunnel we headed home for frozen yogurt. The boys had fun and so did we.

Just an update, Brax returns to the doctor on February 29th and I have a biopsy scheduled for March 7th. I am getting nervous, but ready to find out the results.