Christmas 2010

Here's a quick recap of the last couple weeks, in no particular order.

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

• more than 12 fantastic presents

I was definitely spoiled this year. My mom gave me an iPod touch, which I was not expecting. I LOVE it! My dad also gave me an emergency jump starter, which I have been wanting. I leave my headlights on way too often and kill the battery. Now I won't have to call my brother-in-law Ron to come jump my car anymore at work. :)

• 11 different treats to eat...we definitely had a lot of good food this week!


• 10 nieces and nephews....but we missed Brock, Kris, Taylee, Porter, Amy, and Luke! (The pic of Taylor and Ian was supposed to go up here too, but it's in the wrong order.)

• 9 hours of card games (we played lots of games throughout the week). Ilearned how to play Monopoly Deal, and Bananagrams, both of which I loved. You know me, I'm down for a good game.


• After 8 hours of work on the Tuesday after Christmas I met my friend Amy at Cafe Rio in Twin (one of my favorite places!) It was nice to see her again. We always have nice chats. Once again though, I failed to get a picture.


• 7 days with family...We got together at my Aunt Bev's house Christmas Eve and played games and such. Christmas Day Tysi and Chad and their families came. Monday night we got together again at my Aunt Lora's house. My Uncle Kendall and his family were coming through on their way to Utah. Chad left Monday and Tysi left Tuesday. Tuesday night Kelby came with Taylor and Ian. He had to work in Twin Wednesday and Thursday and brought the boys since they are out of school. Amy and the new baby didn't come because the baby is still pretty little. Wednesday I stayed home with Taylor and Ian. They left Friday morning and Friday night we went out to Bev's again for New Year's Eve. My cousin Lindsay has been visiting from Chicago, so it was good to see her and her family again. We had a great time with family this week!

Katelyn, Jamie, Me, and Sydney on New Year's Eve

Lindsay and I on New Year's Eve

My mom and her two sisters Lora and Beverly.

Taylor and Ian after opening their new shirts and lego helicoptors from Grandma.

Halli and I after church Sunday. The stinker cried if we took her pacifier away. :)

Chad's family after church.

Tysi's famly after church.

• 6 presents to buy (I had fun buying presents this year since I actually had money. When I was in school I was usually flat broke by December.)


• 5 days of strep throat....I started getting a sore throat on Wednesday the week before Christmas. I went to work Thursday thinking I was ok but ended up leaving at noon. By the time I got home I had a fever, chills, and body aches, along with a very sore throat. I went to the Evening Medical Clinic since Dr. Wells was full. I was there for 3 1/2 hours! I got there at 5:00 and they open at 5:30. There were four people in front of me but it still took forevor. They gave my a shot in the leg, and when I got home I cried like a baby. In the middle of the night I threw up a little and Friday I slept most of the day and threw up a little again Friday night. Saturday I finally started to feel better, and by Monday I was back to work. It was not fun!


• 4 dozen gingerbread cookies...We went to St. Anthony when my sister-in-law Amy was having her baby. She had already made dough but had not had time to make the cookies so my mom and I made them with Taylor and Ian. It made a ton!..but they were very tasty!

• 3 days with my new baby nephew Luke...we went down Thursday night (the 9th) and he was born the 10th. He is so sweet and so cute. This picture was taken the next day. Taylor and Ian adore him. Ian kept saying, "Jill I think baby Luke wants to cuddle with me now."

• 2 Christmas trees....as I mentioned in a previous post, we went in the mountains and cut down a tree. We still used our artificial tree and put the real one in our basement. It was fun having two trees!

• and 1 awesome phone call with my missionary brother Kyler! My mom and I talked to him for about an hour and 45 minutes Christmas morning. He was quite the chatter box. I probably talked to him for about a half hour. He sounds really good and is doing really well. This picture was taken at his last transfer day. There's a lady who takes pics at transfer day and posts them on facebook, so I look through them every once in awhile and find pictures of Kyler. He is on the bottom left of this pic.

Well, that was my Christmas! I love this time of year and am so thankful the opportunity to remember the birth of our Savior. It's my New Year's Resolution to remember Him more throughout the year, and not just at Christmas.

Before My Heart Stops

I just read this amazing book. I saw it at Deseret Book on Saturday, bought it, and finished it Sunday afternoon. Paul Cardall is a pianist who records LDS songs and hymns that he's arranged, along with his own music. I really like his music that I've heard. In his memoir he tells his story of being born with a congenital heart defect, and his journey while waiting for a heart transplant. He shares many quotes by church leaders, and his story is so inspiring (at least to me). I found it a little repetitive at times, but the story was still interesting and helpful to me in my life. Even when we go through trials, or should I say especially when we go through trials, Heavenly Father blesses us and definitely does not forget about us.

His book is filled with blog posts that he wrote while waiting for his heart, which you can find here: http://mytricuspidatresia.blogspot.com/. He has now moved his blog here: http://beforemyheartstops.blogspot.com/, and his website here: http://paulcardall.com/

Life...

...is so frustrating sometimes. But it teaches us patience. Which I need to learn. About a month ago I started not feeling so great. Which was frustrating. I had just been thinking how nice it was to feel GOOD. I had actually felt better than I had felt in a LONG time...Then it started again. I had an appointment with Dr. Smith for a checkup so I just dealt with it for a couple weeks until my appointment. I was having a lot of stomach pain and feeling sick. So I went and saw Dr. Smith and he suspected I had some sort of infection.

He thought that since I had C. diff a few months ago, that I could have it again and that could be what was making me feel so crummy. If it wasn't that he thought it was probably just my normal bout of pouchitis. Either way I needed an antibiotic, but he needed to know what it was before he could give me one. So I got tested and it came back positive for C. diff. Well no wonder I didn't feel good. (C diff. is a bacteria that gets in the gut when there's not a lot of good bacteria there-this can happen when you take a lot of antibiotics, like me.) I had a few days before Thanksgiving especially where I was exausted, wasn't sleeping well, and just plain didn't feel well. My mom kept asking me if I was ok. It took about a week before I got the results because of the holiday and everything, which was frustrating. I was calling Dr. Smith's office every day and they never had an answer for me. So finally I got an antibiotic which I have been on for 5 days and I already feel much better. I'm still tired all the time which is frustrating, but at least I feel better.

In the couple weeks that I wasn't feeling well, I realized that I lost about 6 pounds. Which was frustrating. For me that's a lot to lose when you can't really afford to lose any weight. Dr. Smith and his nurse seemed a bit frusrated by this as well. Last time I was in there they were so proud of me for being up to 96 pounds...It takes me months to gain 5 pounds. Which is frustrating. I have been trying to gain some weight since then but I just havn't had a good appetite. Nothing ever sounds good. Which is frustrating.

I was also having a lot of joint pain. Before just my knees were hurting, but then my hands starting to become sore as well. Which was frustrating. Dr. Smith actually suspected rheumatoid arthritis. About a year and a half ago when the knee pain started he tested my ANA which was high, so he said that indicated arthritis. (ANA is a blood test that can identify an autoimmune disease). Now because it's getting worse and because of the high ANA test, he wants me to see a Rheumatologist. I couldn't get an appointment until the middle of January. Which was frustrating.

I had also been feeling very short of breath at times, for no reason at all. I would be sleeping and roll over in bed and suddenly my heart woud start racing and I would feel like I had just run a marathon. Or I would just sit up and feel like I couldn't catch my breath. Which didn't make sense...and was frustrating. I opened my big mouth and told this to Dr. Smith as well. He listened to my lungs and then told me I needed to get a chest X-ray and an EKG. He seemed a little concerned about my history of a blood clot in my lungs. Kind of scary, but they actually came back normal and I stopped having any problems. So that was one thing that was NOT frustrating. :)

I don't mean this to sound whiny because it really isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. It's more annoying, really. But when things like this happen it gives me a chance to really stop and be thankful for what I have. I have an excellent Dr. who is very thorough, cares about me, and knows what he's doing. I have a good job with health insurance., which can make a $300 antibiotic cost only $80. I have a wonderful mother who takes care of me. I also have an amazing little brother serving a mission who in his last letter to me wrote, "Tell yourself each morning that you are awesome and it will come true. Pray for the well-being of those around you and work to serve God-this will make you happy. Learn something new from the scriptures each day, this will help you progress. Magnify your calling-that will fulfill your purpose." I am continually trying to be patient and not get frustrated so easily, and remembering the good things in my life are what get me through.

One of my favorite quotes is from a talk by Julie B. Beck in 2009, "Women who know love the Lord and bear testimony of Him. They are strong and immoveable and do not give up during difficult and discouraging times." So even though sometimes I get discouraged (or frustrated), I keep telling myself that life is good and things are going to be ok, or as Kyler says...that I'm awesome! :)

Thanksgiving 2010

We had a really good Thanksgiving. It started off with me bringing Jenna, Kade, and Kalan home with me from Twin Wednesday night. Jenna and I went to Harry Potter because neither of us had gotten to see it yet, and the boys stayed home with Grandma. Jenna and I both really enjoyed Harry Potter! Tysi and Chad both came Thursday morning. Thursday morning Jenna and the boys had fun playing out in the snow and building a snowman. Thursday afternoon we ate a yummy dinner and just relaxed. My aunt Bev and her kids Sam, Zach, and Sydney came over. Sydney, Kelsi, Jenna, and I watched Back to the Future. Poor deprived Kelsi and Jenna had never seen it. Friday I had to work :( and everyone else stayed home and did some more relaxing, with a little bit of Black Friday shopping mixed in there I think. That night some of us girls watched a chick flick, and we all snacked on pie, popcorn, and muddy buddies. mmm... Saturday we went up in the mountains and cut down some Christmas trees. We got one for Chad, one for Tysi, and one for my mom and I. I had never done it before and I always here the stories from my siblings of how they used to cut down a tree every year before I was born and how fun it was. I have to say I was a little dissapointed because I ended up sitting a lot in the snow and sitting a lot in the car with some little kids, but it was still fun to all be together. I think all the little boys had a blast sledding. Halli and Landon weren't that impressed either I don't think. I don't think they loved being so bundled up and out in the cold. Anyway, it still turned out to be a good day. We went home and all watched yet another movie. There was a lot of football watching going on throughout the weekend as well. Tysi and Ron left Saturday night and Chad and Fran left Sunday morning. I went to my branch correlation meeting and then went to church with my mom, which was a nice change. Sunday night a bunch of family came over for dinner. My aunt Shirley, and cousins Alisen, Lizzie, and Brandon were stuck here on their way back to Utah because of the roads, and my Uncle Kevin and Aunt Beverly were here visiting from Arizona. All of us cousins played a rousing game of pit and then of course played some Super Mario Brothers Wii. My nephews will be glad to here we passed the whole 7th world. :) It was really fun seeing everyone. Halli and Landon are both at such fun ages and as an added bonus, they both adore me. :)
Here are just some fun pics from the weekend:

We had a very nice Thanksgiving and I am so thankful for my wonderful family. We missed Kelby and Amy who couldn't travel because Amy is so close to having her baby, Brock and Kris who thankfully will be home from Boston for Thanksgiving next year, and of course good ol' Kyler, who says he had a great Thanksgiving in the great state of Texas.