Fresh Hell April 2-7 2018

The term fresh hell is a very horrific phrase. When someone says something is a piece of fresh hell you know that they are serious. This week I went to my dentist because one of my teeth felt extra sensitive, like I had chipped it. Much to my dismay I learned that I needed to get a root canal and had a pretty bad infection. With the help of my mom I was able to get the root canal done a day early. The root canal was a painful process in and of itself but the days that followed were horrific. Pain medication did nothing to ease the pain except for some oxycodone. I know many people abuse this drug and it's been said that we should take it off the market but I am so grateful that they have not done it. Ibuprofen couldn't touch this pain with a ten-foot pole. It is because of that drug that I am still here today. As the days went on my face began to swell I contacted the surgeon and sent a picture of my face and they had me come in for an emergency visit on Friday. The infection was so bad that they had to open my face up so that the pressure and infection could drain. Because the infection was so bad the doctor told me that most likely the anesthesia would do nothing for my pain. He was right. I have never felt that kind of pain in all my life, that's after natural childbirth and an appendicitis. I cried like a little girl. The moment I met this doctor he said this is going to hurt and you're not going to like me. I think I internally cried first because I've been hurting so bad all week. I gripped the armrest silent cried like nobody's business trembled and just prayed for it to be over. He would stop every now and then and ask me if I was ok, no I'm not ok but just keep going. Lindsey told me if your going through Hell just keep moving. So true!The the doctor said he's never seen that much pus in all his procedures, and he wasn't a young man. This experience was a fresh piece of hell. It's what I imagine kidnappers and Terrorists do to their victims. It was horrific. I'm not out of the woods yet I have watch out for fever, additional swelling and not making sense. If that occurs i need to go to the ER for IV antibiotics. Arguably one of the worst weeks of my life. I couldn't even teach preschool. I'm so glad my mom was able to run the show with the help of my daughter Olivia and my niece Brighlynne, there is no way I could have worked. I can count on one hand how many days of preschool I've missed in the eight years that I've been teaching. Fresh hell.

See that big black circle above the tooth, that's not supposed to be there.

The Tuesday afternoon when i went in for the initial root canal I texted the kids to have them clean their common rooms (the rooms they are in charge of keeping clean) and make sure the kitchen was clean. Coming home to a clean house can really speed recovery :) I went straight to bed. We said prayers as a family in my bedroom and facetiously thanked them for cleaning the kitchen thinking there is no way it got done. Then they all piped up on how they were the ones to clean up, fighting on who should be the one getting thanked. I bit me lip thinking that no one had and flet glad I didn't say what i was thinking. The next morning I made my way down stairs and looked in the kitchen and this is what I saw.

They literally were fighting over who crammed all the dirty dishes in the sink! Are you kidding me?!  the island was cleared off though...

To make matters worse I get a colonoscopy on Monday. Hoping for a clean bill of health. They don't usually recommend them till 50 but I'm having complications. Being 40 blows!

Benjamin has had his own close calls. Coming out of the temple two weeks ago he couldn't feel his left side of his body and his chest felt tight. Urgent care thought he had a TIA and sent him to the ER.  Luckily there were not signs of a heart attack or stroke, but hey wanted him to follow up with specialists as soon as possible. He saw a cardiologist on Friday he has had a heart murmur since birth that they want to keep an eye on. He also has to follow up with a neurologist.... Long story made short (too late) it seems both Benjamin and my warranties are up! 

Kids protesting their hearts desire and fish

My kids are all fired up for gun control much to their Dads dismay, but Benjamin couldn't be more proud that they stand for their convictions. I'm all for raising gun purchases to 21 with background checks and consequences for families who  don't lock up their guns.

Do you see the sweet little cat cuddling with Olivia? This sweet little kitten named Fish brought a ground squirrel to an inch of his life. Anna and Holman rescued the ground squirrel and put it in this secure Tepee in the hopes that the little fellow would recover...he joined little critters in the sky the next day.

Surprise times two

My tricky husband was up to a lot of no good this week. He planned two surprise parties, that's right two. The first surprise party was with my preschool kiddos and their parents it was the decoy party and boy did he have me. He had emailed the families and arranged for the parents and kids to have a little cupcake and cookie celebration for my 40th. I was quite surprised. No makeup that day for school, not really looking my best 😌. It was all a decoy the real surprise came on Friday night. All day Benjamin and I hung out did basically nothing. We had a relaxing day and then Bella came home from school and we went out with Olivia, Adrianna and Nana to go prom dress shopping. Little did I know Benjamin was racing around and getting things ready for a surprise party. We got back from shopping to a house full of people saying "we've been expecting you." My wonderful husband was busy all week preparing for this crazy double surprise. What a guy he makes 40 look sooo good. So glad I have spent 20 of my 40 with you ♥️♥️♥️!!

My love

Didn't take pictures but at least  we got these 😁

Goodbye 30"s

The day is here, the time is now, the 30's have left the building. I feel like my twenties were about finding love and starting a family, changing diapers, building career, enrolling kids in school and trying out school, physically its a lot of work. The thirties have been about being there to help kids emotionally and to help develop kids work ethic and their vision for their future. Its about finding my own goals and dreams and developing s plan on what i need to do to get there. To me its about caring less about who's right and focusing on being kind. Its about appreciating the body I have been given and focus on being strong.  This is a big decade to recap.  (30) bought some land and moved out to the beautiful dessert in Mescal Az. Lived in a travel trailer, an army tent with Scott and Suzie's family. No electricity, no running water all for a dream house that never got built.  (31)  Moved to a double wide mansion in Mescal. Had my last kiddo Adrianna. The hardest delivery of them all, she flat lined twice and needed to stay in the NICU for 10 roller coaster days. (32) Our dog Luke lost his eye sight and an anonymous donner paid for his treatment!! What the what! (33) Moved back to Tucson. Started Kokopelli Kids Preschool (34) Sold the land out in Mescal at a loss. (35) Fifteen years of marriage!! Celebrated in Canada! (36)The year of the radical, knocked out an insane amount of debt from the dream has house bust.  Became foster parents (sorta) to a great teenage boy. Got the most surprising/ generous gift we have ever gotten.  Paid the debt in full to the bank!  (37)  My last child goes to kindergarten, tear. (38) Easter morning we get the news that we are going to be able to buy a dream house! (39)  We have Chinese foreign exchange students live with us for the entire school year. We (Benjamin) built a preschool! We start goat farming.

What a decade!! It's amazing what one decade can bring. Ten years ago yesterday I started this blog. What a journey. I'm so thankful for the ride. In the next ten years all my kids will be adults, why does time fly for adult and us so slow for kids?

Lindsey and I at about 7 :)

March 8th Bella's 17th birthday!

Bella turned 17, what a great number that is! Last year before she becomes an adult, sigh. Where has the time gone Bella?! What a terrific woman you are. Strong, fiercely independent, crusader for the little guy,  artistic and kind. Bella life guards, mock trials, teen courts, lends her elegant dresses to any one who needs a nice dress. One more year of high school, one more year at home and then on to exciting things! Love you Boo Bear our family Jule!

March 3rd Howe Attorney team storms the court! And a doctor in the house.

What a long title..
At the beginning of the year Bella and Olivia joined the mock trial club. They have been practicing for months on a fictional case. The club culminated in a big event downtown at the city courthouse. Teams from all over the city came to try this case. They each took different turns being the attorney and being witnesses and being expert testimony witnesses. Bella was lucky enough to try her case three times. Olivia only got one time to do the mock trial, luckily Olivia's one time she was the attorney. At the end of the day both girls were awarded best attorney from their opposing counsel. Bella also got voted best witness testimony. Benjamin I went to watch, it was great fun seeing are opinionated, confident, fast thinking daughters do an amazing job!

Holman would like to be a surgeon someday so he looked up online ways to practice. He decided he would take a laundry pod a knife and some straws and see if he could cut the straws without puncturing the laundry pod. So funny and then he sewed it back together. What an awesome dude.

February 22nd and 23rd Rodeo Break, Ski trip, Stake conference

For rodeo break we went to go ski with the Whettens at Sun Bowl in Flagstaff Arizona. It was everybody's first time including Benjamin. They all took ski lessons and after the first day they were all pros. I had gone skiing the year before with Sherry whetten for my first time and I didn't accomplish near as much as the family did with their first time although I did have a lot of fun :-) Parkin went off ski lifts that I didn't think were possible but because he did it everybody else got courage to try them too. Soon we were all doing crazy hard ski runs at least crazy hard to us. Anna enjoyed drinking hot chocolate in the lodge with the Whettens daughter Sydney. The two Whetten Brothers and our family stayed at a very nice big house it was great to combine meals and save money and hangout and talk it was a rodeo win, all the kids want to repeat it for next year.

 Bella was hauling down a slope and took a nasty fall, they bandaged her up like a civil war soldier.

 (Before the eye injury) Sherry Whetten posing with her look a like daughter wearing matching shirts.

 I had preschool on Tuesday and Wednesday. Nana got a broken wrist ( thanks to a preschool injury 😩) and was getting a cast so Bella and Anna helped out. We left for our ski trip on Wednesday afternoon.

Bella was asked to speak at Stake conference, she did an an amazing job. She talked about keeping yourself unspotted from the world. She wove in elements from her biology class as examples of keeping yourself unspotted. Poor girl delivered this talk with a big black eye from her ski injury but she looked fantastic and got a new outfit to celebrate.