Welcome to the Cabin

We finally made it to the cabin this weekend. Oh, how I have missed being there! We had such a nice time. Of course the kids woke up very early because they have been waiting all summer to go fishing. Grant took the kids out trolling in the paddle boat, Trevor caught 7 fish and Ben caught a couple of fish. My dad and Janis took Ben out fishing in the "small fast boat." This is the fish that Ben caught on that trip--the one we ate. Dad took Trevor and Karmin out for a ride later. The kids love playing with my cousins, AKA "the girls," and they talked my Aunt Dona into taking everyone tubing. It looked like a lot of fun, and if it would have been significantly warmer I would have gone as well. They had 2 tubes going. The girls were so patient since they had to go slower because of my kids. We had to do a little convincing to get Trevor to go, but he loved it in the end. Karmin made me a wreck. She wanted to go as well. So we put her in with Trevor and she stood up the whole time--except for when she was trying to jump out of the tube. She really has no fear. Ben said something to the effect that Karmin needs to learn that she needs to be scared about some things. First the tarantula, then sting rays, then possibly falling off of a big tube going behind a big boat in a huge lake when she doesn't know how to swim. (Okay wait, what was I thinking??) Anyway, it was a lot of fun. Every night we have the kids say their personal prayers, and then we say family prayer. And in each of the prayers, Ben and Trevor keep praying that we will be able to have 2 days open so we can spend more time at the cabin.

GI updates

Lydia had her much-anticipated doctor's appointment today with the Peds Gastroenterology Doctor. I came in with a long list of symptoms and he was able to answer all my questions and give me reasons for all of her problems. So this is what we found out. She is allergic to milk proteins, and probably soy as well. (I was hoping he would be able to tell me for sure on the soy because getting rid of milk and soy is a pretty restrictive diet.) So to be safe we are including soy in there as well. Since I would like to continue to try to nurse her, I have 8 weeks to see if it gets out of her system. I have to get her stools checked every two weeks to see if there is blood in them, and once a month I have to have her blood drawn to make sure she is not anemic or having clotting problems. If those come back okay I can continue to nurse her. However, if they continue to come back with problems then we will have to put her on a special formula. We are also going to have to be very careful with introducing foods, because apparently kids who are MSPI tend to get other allergies too. On the other end, the doctor is sending her to a Speech Pathologist to see if she is swallowing correctly (because she continues to gag and choke at different times). That will be in a couple of weeks. He put my mind at ease on a few things as well. Lydia weighed 12 lbs 4 oz (95th percentile) and was 23 1/2 inches long (55th percentile). She sure is cute. She loves smiling at us, and we enjoy her sweet smiles.

Back to the Mile High City

Grant's dad was the last of our parents to see Lydia (the Great-Grandparents are on the list next), so we HAD to take a trip to Denver to see them. Since Grant was moved down to part time he only had to take one day off and we got to go down for 9 days. I'm glad we had planned the trip before he got his new job, or otherwise we wouldn't have been able to stay as long.
While we were there, we got to enjoy a lot of different activities--and we got to see the difference between our boys and our oldest girl. Let me explain:
We got to go to a Butterfly Museum where Karmin held a tarantula and the boys absolutely refused to even go near it.
We went to the aquarium and Karmin and Ben fed the sting rays, but then Ben got bit by one, and so he had Karmin feed the sting ray with his last fish. I was proud of Trevor who was all over petting them, but had the good sense to not put his hands near their mouths!
We went to the Museum of Natural History. That was actually very entertaining. The kids really enjoyed it. And we got to go to the zoo--always fun for everyone. The kids found some foam beads that Grant's mom had at their house. Ben and Trevor had fun making necklaces, and Karmin enjoyed making roads and building with them.
Grant's parents were busy for 2 days while we were there with transfers (missionaries who were done with their missions were going home, and new missionaries were coming out). The 2 sets of missionaries each stayed at their home during these transition times. Both times we have been there, it has been great to be around the missionaries so much. They are so amazing and the Spirit that is with them is undeniable. We got to have Family Home Evening with the new missionaries. I was in and out during the lesson (tending to fussy babies and diaper changes), but I did hear 1 missionary's testimony on how they came in contact with a lady who was searching for the church. She was at a Goodwill-type store and bought a Book of Mormon and a Bible for 75 cents the week before they came across her, and she had read everything by the time they knocked on her door. She was baptized a short time later. I was totally impressed by the faith that they had, and I wanted to come home being a better person and relying on the Spirit more.
We had tons of fun. I think we were all exhausted by the end of the trip--Grant's parents kept us going! I was very surprised by all the things they have to do down there. We took the kids to a Rec center to swim for the 2 days during transfers so we could be out of the way--and I was so impressed by the facility. I wish we had 1 place like that here, but they have them all over there. Our next stop...the cabin to see Great Grandma Ellamae!

The future is looking Brighter

Tomorrow is Grant's first official day at his new job (even though he has already worked there a few times). He got a job at a doctor's clinic as a nurse manager--so a step up in the world! He will work Monday through Fridays (yea predictability!!) mostly 8-5. The pay is just a bit more than what he was making, but I think he is mostly in it for the benefits. They pay all of our monthly premiums for our health insurance, he gets to be creative in what his responsibilities are because they don't have a clear-cut job description for him (he loves to find problems and then figure out how to solve them, so he is going to thrive with this). And then get this--part of his job is that they order food from local restaurants every day for lunch for him AND once a month he gets a massage. What a life huh?
We feel very blessed that everything just seemed to work out perfectly. We both knew that Grant shouldn't work on Sundays so we decided we needed a change. It was amazing to see all the miracles that took place for Grant to get this job. We are both very excited about it.
We all went to the eye doctor recently, and just like Grant thought he needed glasses. Here's a picture of his new look--however he only has to wear them to see far away, so he doesn't have to wear them all the time. But I think he looks good in them.

What We've Been Up To

1. Time at the river
2. A Baseball game (thanks Gina & DeWayne!!)(this was the only picture that wouldn't give away our location--yes I am paranoid like that--and I always feel guilty that Ben doesn't get more pictures on here, but he always seems to be wearing a shirt that says where we live. He is wearing one in this picture too, so I guess his back side is as good as we'll get for awhile)

3. Doctor appointments
4. Job interviews
5. Doctor appointmentsLydia has been having GI problems. I feel so bad for her. I've had to take her to the doctor about 3x a week. We have her scheduled for a peds GI dr at the end of the month. It has been a bit frustrating...about the time that I think she is doing better, I find blood in her diapers again. She's been diagnosed with Milk Soy Protein Intolerance, so I've gone off of all milk and soy products which leaves me not much to eat. I don't mind though, I would do anything to nurse her and keep her healthy, but sometimes I wonder if it is my milk that is still giving her problems. When her tummy isn't bothering her, she is so sweet and has started to honor us with her smiles and coos. It makes my heart melt every time.

6. Job offers!!
7. Doctor appointments

What we have planned:
1. Doctor appointments
2. A new job!--Details to come...