Crazy Life and Lovin' it!

This school semester, so far, has been interesting.

I found out that I was pregnant a week or so before Thanksgiving.  I thought that I had the flu.  I kept waiting and waiting for it to end.  I took "The Test" and it showed not one, but two bright pink lines.   Yeah, I took 3 more.  All of them had the same result.

I called the Dr. and made an appointment, there was shock on both ends.   We had the first ultrasound on December 27th.  To my great wonder and surprise, there was a creature in there... with a heartbeat.

Ever since then, I have been trying to come to terms with another pregnancy.  Olivia WAS the final child.  Was is such a good word.   We have since found out, through a multitude of Level 2 Ultrasounds, that SHE is wonderful!  There are no flaws to be found.  Her spine and brain are beautiful and normal.  I'm still trying to adjust.

Olivia and all the kids are excited.   I am not worried about Olivia's reaction to having a little sister that can walk.  I'm pretty good with explaining her legs not working.  She knows she has a scar... she knows that others can walk.  She has no problem telling people that she needs help and she can crawl faster than some kids can walk!!!!

This semester, I have not been helping out at the schools.  I have been staying home and enjoying the time that I have left with only Olivia at home.   She's super smart and the school district has said that when she starts preschool, she's going to be in the older class (though she's the youngest).  She'll just barely have turned 3 and she'll be in a class of 4-5 year old children.  Her verbal skills are some of the highest they've seen for quite some time.  She blew them away when they asked, "Does she talk in simple sentences?"  I told them to ask her.  They did and she replied with, "Mom, what is a sentence?"  We laughed and I got to look pretty smug at my smart little child.  Hayden was with us and they watched the interaction between them.  They were really surprised at how well they responded to each other.  She doesn't speak with just one word... unless it's a word that she's repeating to see how it sounds to her!

Alyssa has been having a great time since her friend, Lilli, was able to go to the same school as she does! 

Aaron, got a longboard for his birthday and has not died...YET.

Hopefully, I will get a chance to post things more often.  If I remember.

~Holy Christmas, Santa!~

Oh. my. stars!

I am feeling a little crazy these days and am totally loving this year's Christmas!

I had most of our Christmas shopping done by December 1st!  HOW?  It's easy.  We decided years ago that we were going to whittle our list down to 3 things per child.  The 3 Wise Men gave our Lord, Jesus Christ, 3 gifts and so our children receive 3 gifts from us.   I will explain our Santa in a minute.

These 3 gifts fall in these categories: 1 need, 1 want, 1 spiritual/educational.  They usually choose the big gift to be in the want category.  The big gift is from Mom and Dad.  The want is from Santa and the spiritual is something that we feel they need to increase their faith or education.  Aaron and Alyssa last year received their nice sets of scriptures to use for Seminary in the next few years.  This year though, I think it's going to be a family gift... that's my one gift that's left to purchase.

Our Santa Claus has always been more of a personal shopper and therefore the Parents have to pay Santa to find the gifts.  If it's not in the budget, it's not sent to Santa.   Santa then, purchases the gifts and "Santa's Helpers" (UPS, FedEx, and Postal Service) are the heroes and deliver them.  Then on Christmas Eve, the elves stop by and wrap the gifts (which are already wrapped before they are sent, by the company we purchase from) and Santa pops his head in to make sure they get set out "just right".   It's pretty easy and my kids love seeing when the helpers deliver the presents.   

I am then free to focus on the real meaning of Christmas.  Jesus Christ is the focus in our home and every Christmas since the kids were little, they must watch Mr. Kruger's Christmas, Joy to the World (MOTAB) and Luke 2  before they are even allowed to wake up Mom and Dad.  This way, we start the day with Christ in mind and they remember that it's a celebration of His birth.  

I have found that in our home, we are really focused and there aren't many, "I want..."s, there are more "Can I give...?".

I just finished last night playing piano for the Kindergarteners for the Franklin West Christmas Concert.  I loved these little voices and understand that there were a few (as there always are) kids that were shaking booty, waving to everyone, and goofing off on stage!  As happy as I am that it's done, I will miss these funny little kids waving to me as they pass by the piano!

OH!  I almost forgot, I had a friend tell me I needed to post this on my site!

To backtrack to Thanksgiving, however,  we are building a tradition of writing what we are grateful for on a mirror.  I  have always told my kids, "You are a reflection of the things that you are most grateful for."  This way they are grateful for others' kindness and service, and live to be more kind and service-filled.  This is done on a mirror that is in a prominent place in our home, one that we use most and they see often.  We have had many discussions through the days of how we can be grateful for more than just these things.  Some of the more serious subjects on the mirror are: The Gospel, Jesus Christ, Generosity, Scriptures, Missionaries, and Prayer.   The more fun subjects are: monkeys, turkeys, hot water, gravity, and wifi.   I love to see all of these intermingled and we are so grateful throughout this season to have a constant reminder of who we are and those things that we love.

I hope you all have a very, Merry Christmas!!!!!  *hugs* and *more hugs*

Christmas is coming...

and the goose is getting fat.

I don't know why, but I really love this little song!

I have been swamped for the last few months.

Curt has been adjusting to yet another job change.  His supervisor at Dignity left for a different position and  the new supervisor was someone that I knew from what Curt had relayed was going to be someone difficult for Curt to get along with.  I applied him for an IT position with Banner Healthcare and so he went to the interview and they offered him the job on the spot!  I was so happy.  He works across Country Club and can ride his bike or walk to work and we feel so blessed.

We have found ourselves without a car, but have found that we have a wonderful support system!  We are trying to save up for a car to purchase outright rather than finance one.  It's been a challenge, but we're working on it.  We have found some blessings in this!  We ride our bikes more and a dear friend gave us a bike that he never used!  It's become my bike and I ride it everywhere!  It's been good for us to be forced to exercise and walk a lot of places.  My legs have gotten strong and my kids complain less about being late!  They have to plan how long it will take them to walk/ride to where they need to be!  We also have great friends who, if they are heading to the store, ask if I'd like to come along.  When needed, I can borrow a car from someone.  

I have also been playing piano a lot more often.  I am playing for the Junior High Choir... mostly I assist because they have someone who is MUCH better than I and she's been doing it for years.  I have never played for a choir and it's been a new, frustrating experience! 

Marching band season is over and they kids made it to Super-State and places 10 out 64 bands from all over!  I was so proud of them and yet sad that I wasn't able to go that day.  I went with them to NAU Band Day and loved traveling with all the teenagers!  They have all become very near and dear to my heart!  I love seeing their trials and challenges and being the Mom to them.  I get the best part because I help with the uniforms and make sure that they are all dressed correctly for competitions and games.  It really helps me to know what Aaron is dealing with at school and I can keep track of him, but not have to be an overbearing mom. 

Aaron was happy to have me be there with him.  He's been playing the vibraphone this year, but really wants to play the snare and march next year.  I've been really impressed at his dedication to the band.  The "Pit-Crew" are such a great and wonderful example to him.  They have become really close and the don't want to split for next year.   

Alyssa is happy to have me play for choir and she's also looking forward to starting the winter season of Color Guard.  She loves that I'm there to hang out and get to know some of the kids that she sings with.  They poor girl has shot up and is about and inch shorter than I am.  I don't know what to do with her... she's just turned 13 and she still has a lot of growing to do!  Argh!

The "Littles" (Hayden and Olivia) are still awesome and funny!   They are both doing well and Olivia hasn't had any really big problems lately except for a cold that her and Hayden shared.  This is the only time when I don't encourage sharing, but they do it anyway.  Hayden is now 6 and had a great birthday with a lego cake and lego toys!
Olivia is ready for Sunbeams, but alas, she will have to wait one more year.  She's loving Nursery and her "Nursery Mommies".  Especially Misti Blackhurst and Janet Wood.  She's SO in love with them that when we see them and we're out and about, she's automatically throwing her hands up and yelling, "Hold Me."  She's a chatterbox and has even had to be put in timeout for calling Aaron a, "Butthead".  Yeah, she did.  We're working on that.

As always, I'm trying to do more blogging, but haven't had a whole lot to blog about on a daily basis...we'll see.

Life is good!

I have been feeling very blessed lately.  I'm thinking that there are new doors to open for the better if we just can find them and we have to seek dilligently for them. 

In our last Stake Conference, our Stake President challenged everyone to get off of government assistance if they could.  We felt at the time that we couldn't with Curt's job being in limbo.  Lately, He has been working for Dignity Health (formerly Catholic Healthcare West) and really likes the people he works with.  This has been hard financially for us, however, and we have really lived by the saying, "Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without".  We are used to this and feel that we will be blessed with living super frugal and therefore try to make it on our own.  Things have been really HARD and we've had to have some help along the way.

This last Friday, Curt interviewed for a permanent position with Dignity Health.  They are getting rid of the contract positions and making the IT guys into DH employees.  We are really praying hard for this change. 

A few months ago, we followed our Stake President's encouragement and have ceased help with the belief that we will only accept this if necessary.  This means right now, our family is receiving no healthcare and assistance.  It scares the life out of me, but believe that we will be blessed with help because of our faith.  We have all been pretty well except for a stint of sharing a flu for a few days.  We have learned to eat very inexpensively and use the internet as a source for some great recipes!

I have enrolled Olivia in SSI Disability and Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS) and if accepted, this would be beneficial in for her health.  Since we are not on AHCCCS, her wheelchair will be delayed until we receive benefits again.  We are excited, for Curt if he gets the job, but in addition they have wonderful health benefits! 

I really love the 13th Article of Faith: the part that says,"... We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of  good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."



 
We, in our home, have started to make an extra effort to seek for things virtuous and lovely.  We do believe all things, we have endured with hope and we will continue to hope... 

Come what may.




 

First day of school

 Alyssa started 8th Grade at Carson Junior High.  

She's such a smart little thing and was excited to be at a different school than Aaron

Speaking of Aaron, he's in 9th grade at Westwood High School.

This is hard for the Mama who's a Mesa High Jackrabbit through and through.

I'm learning to wear Blue and Orange, but I still bleed Purple and Gold!

I didn't get his first morning picture because he was off bright and early for 

Marching Band Practice.  He's on the Drumline and so far this year they've put him in "The Pit"

So, he's playing xylophone and other fun things!

 Tato started his first day of Kindergarten at Franklin West.

He was so nervous and scared of "the unknown" as he put it.

His teacher, Mrs. Jankunis is super awesome and he really likes her.

 This was on the way to school.  He's happy!  YAY!

Here he is at his desk on that great day!  

I'm so happy that he's in just 1/2 day Kindergarten.

I was nervous to send him to Franklin because he's such a Free Spirit, but he's thriving!

I have Olivia at home with me in the mornings.  It's SO QUIET!!!

Wheelchair Clinic... and a happy girl!

 Olivia had wheelchair clinic last week and she loved it!  She tried the blue one in the corner first and had a hard time maneuvering around.  They brought in this other one and she started cruising ALL over the place.

She's so excited to be getting her chair in a few months. 

She has a mobile stander and I'll post pictures later for that, 

she's speedy and loves running into people (we're going to have to break that!)

Sick Day!

 Today was an interesting day.

Olivia woke up with a fever and runny nose.  Oh, yeah, she was cranky, too!

We cancelled everything we had to do today: PT and piano help for the Jr. High.

I tried to keep her happy until I realized that I have a cold too.  

I just get achy and sweaty, so I hope it'll end soon.

 After Tato came home from Kindergarten, he helped keep her happy.

He spread cereal all over the front yard and had her watch for birds.

They are so cute together.

Where I've been.

My life has been a little crazy lately.

 Curt's contract ended on Decemeber 30th and so we are back looking for a job for him.  They told him on the 20th that it would be ending.  I'm not fond of Wells Fargo at the moment.

Christmas was an adventure.  We had a very hard last 6 months.  Between Curt's job that ended in June and the one that ended this month, we've been living  minus $500 a month.  Needless to say, it's been a struggle.  We are ever hopeful that he's going to find a steady income sometime.  I guess I should say "prayerful".  That's more accurate.  Faith is a great helper.

We had for Christmas this year, financial help from a sibling, parent, and extra awesome anonymous elves.  We used most of it to pay rent, our car payment and get a basketball hoop for the backyard!  We also bought Just Dance 3 and Star Wards Unleashed 2.  Hayden got a bike that I found on Craigslist.  The previous owner of said bike included a smaller bike... we gave it to Wyatt, my nephew.

I had surgery on December 15th that started a 5 year clinical trial.  It's called the Recharge study.  Essentially, I have a pacemaker for my stomach.  It's attached to my Vagus nerves and so I'm supposed to feel full faster and 1/3 of the patients receive an inactive one.  We won't find out for a year if it's active; after that, if I don't have an active one, I can have another surgery to put one in.  They also include in the study nutritional counseling, fitness counseling, and anything else that I need (This is why I joined it!).  I'm doing pretty well and I'm happily on my weigh down the scale!  I've never noticed some of the bad habits that I've picked up food-wise and now that they're being pointed out, it's nice to be able to stop them! 

Olivia's doing fantastic.  She's an awesome crawler and we are hoping to get leg braces on her in the next few months, get her into a stander to help strengthen her legs and muscles... and possibly into a walker by her 2nd birthday!!!!  She's learned a bunch of new words and in the morning, she yells "UP! Momma!  UP! GET UP!"  It's a great way to wake up; I'll take it over crying anyday.  She's not "turtelling" anymore.  She recently learned to roll over, which has taken a while to learn.  She's a speed demon on her knees and get's out the door if you leave it open.  She's still the cutest little thing though, she hasn't gained a pound in 9 months.  She weighs 18  lbs. and is 18 months old.  We're working with her to get some extra calories and are hoping that the Dr can get the insurance to cover Pediacare.  We have a goal to have her gain 3 lbs by February. 
She still has UTIs about 1 every other month, but she hasn't been hospitalized since April and we are every grateful for this.

I gotta go and get to bed.  ♥s to all!

Today while the Sun Shines.

Today, While the Sun Shines,  work with a will
Today, all your duties with patience fulfill
Today, while the birds sing, harbor no care;
Call life a good gift; call the world fair.

The last line says, "Prepare for tomorrow by working today."

This has always been a morning hymn to me; another hymn that I love is There is Sunshine in My Soul Today.

(Being a native to the valley, I don't appreciate sunshine as much as friends who don't live here.  I wait for summer to be over and I love the few months that I don't have to stress about my A/C bill!
I wish for rain, I pray for rain, and I cherish the rain.  I love that it makes the ground soft.  I love that it helps plants grow.  I am in awe of thunder and lightning, I am grateful when the newscasters say it's going to rain and it does. I'm happiest when the sky is overcast and gloomy; I'm like Eeyore.)

HOWEVER...

I think the reason that these songs are my favorites is because it's talking about the soul.  I find that when I sing these songs, I feel loved.  I feel calmed and reassured that the Savior is closer than we know.  I'm happy because they make me feel like the work that I am doing in my home is not futile nor is it worthless.  These hymns make me feel like smiling and more willing to serve others around me.  I was told in my blessing that I need to start the day with a song,  and I find that these two are particularly dear to my heart. 

I usually end my day with a song also.  The top 3 for that are Abide with Me - the long one, The Army of Helaman, and I Need the Every Hour.  There are other hymns that I sing, but Abide with Me really is the best one to end the day with.  It makes me fall asleep as I remember that regardless of how the day went, I am not alone; that He is always aware of me and my needs.

Be Still My Soul will always be the song that I link to my dear little one Olivia.  It's amazing how much this song calms my soul when I think about Olivia's future.  I know that the Lord is in charge and I'm grateful for the little things.  I'm blessed to have a child who teaches me to slow down!

I didn't notice before!

I have a Nook Color and I have been very frustrated that the Pandora Stations don't project very loudly.

Since I can't do anything without playing music, especially chores; life has been very frustrating  

UNTIL...

I noticed an old pair of computer speakers in Curt's computer closet while putting 

away a stray computer-mouse.

I plugged them in and VOILA! 

I have music!   

LOUD, glorious music! 

Can you see my GINORMOUS smile?!??!?!?!????

October is SB Awareness Month.

 October is Spina Bifida Awareness Month.

So, I thought I'd share some thoughts about Olivia!

She's super happy... most of the time.
If you zoom in on this pic, you can see the one front top tooth 
and the top fang that came in
as well as her cute 2 bottom teeth!
She's also tiny for her age (a first in our familly).
She wears big 9 mo. size or normal 12 mo. size!

 She will let you know when she's mad at you.

There's a scream that goes with the pointing.

You're okay NOT ever hearing it.

Think "Angry Howler Monkey".

 This is how she normally sits on the floor.

We're working on her fixing her own legs to put them out in front of her.

She sometimes sits with them both to one side; very lady-like.

 She's a fanatic about her nail polish.

We use polish bottles for her daily therapy.

She's learning to army crawl!

(If you zoom on this pic, you can see some of her scar.)

 She's happiest around her Daddy and her siblings.

Her first phrase was, "Hi Daddy".

Yep, she's a Daddy's girl.

I wouldn't change anything about this awesome Baby-girl!

Well... I could do without the Angry Monkey yell, but we'll deal with that later.

Um... boys... those aren't muscles.

 Hayden with his "chest muscles"

 Wyatt with his "chest muscles".

 Bosom Buddies?

 "My boobs are bigger than yours."

 Superman is Stacked... um...Built!  Yeah, that's what I meant!

 We're just happy to be here!

This picture makes me laugh.

It reminds me of the end of "Meet the Parents"

Where Ben Stiller looks into the picture frame

and give a message to Robert DeNiro. 

What's that? You want me to what?
 You have another question? 

Sure. I got one question for you.

It's can you deal with that?

Tech advanced?

There are 2 things that I with me at all times.  

One is Olivia.

The other is my Nook Color.

 My biggest problem with this is that Olivia loves to play with the Nook.

 I set this down to use... er... um... the "facilities", 

and came back to the little girl, that I thought was sleeping, was not..

She was playing my game.

I'm just glad she didn't finish it with a better score than me.

Olivia's 1st Birthday

 I realized that I'd forgotten pictures of Olivia eating her first cake!

Here she is trying to shove her fingers into the cake.

So, we gave her a slice to dig into!

 

 She was one happy baby.

 Of course she had to show you that she's ONE!

and she was headed for ONE huge clean-up!

Headshots?!

I was looking through my camera and noticed that there are a lot of pictures of people's faces/heads.  Aaron and Hayden are the biggest offenders, but there are some others who just can't resist taking pictures of themselves.  Isn't this MY camera?

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Just one year...

can make all the difference!

July 22, 2010

About 2 hours old

First Birthday!

July 22, 2011

We love you Olivia.

300!!!!

Yep, here's post #300.  I can't believe that I've written that much.

So, in honor of this, I might just update the world on the Mellor Family.

... or not.

Just kidding.

Olivia turned one.  Yessir, ONE.  I can't believe that this little creature that the Drs. told us might not live is ONE!!!  She's a living testimony of the power of the Priesthood.  We all adore her.  She's been a talker and singer for a while now.  She says Mama, Dada, Hi, Aya (Alyssa) and she's constantly pointing her finger and saying, "Ooooo".  She's sitting up really well on her own, and she's moving around.  We'll put her on the ground and she'll move while we're not looking!  Her goal right now is for her to be able to pull herself into a sitting position from laying down.  She's getting pretty good at it.  She's a smiley little girl and there's always someone playing with her!

Hayden's 4 1/2 and talks constantly.  We get a lot of laughs out of this guy.  He
s seriously a funny kid.  This picture is very typical of Hayden.  He runs around in the store and people marvel at his energy.  As you can tell from the previous posts, he's very involved and loves to sing.  He's always making up things and stories.  He's not very shy... which can be a blessing and a curse.  He's just awesome.  He just started preschool and comes home smiling and tells me all about it!  His teachers are pretty awesome and he loves them a lot! 

Alyssa just started 7th Grade at Carson Jr. High.  She's loving Jr. High. She and Aaron ride their bikes to school, which is new for her.  She loves having a ton of different classes and gets along great with everyone.  She also LOVES being able to wear sandals and shorts to school.  So far, she says that Jr. High is WAY easier than Franklin and she's in the excelerated classes.  We'll see how is goes as the year progresses!  She's still the world's best babysitter... seriously, if you need one, call her.  She's terrific!

Aaron, ever the goof ball, spent his summer tormenting his little sister about Jr. High.  He was excited to get back to school  We debated all summer about whether to send the kids to Carson, but after we learned that a lot of teachers and the principal left, we became much more comfortable with this idea.  Aaron had a very difficult time with teachers last year that seemed to have given up on the kids.  He struggled through the year trying to balance life at home and school.  He's become friends with his sister and they have no problem hanging out together.  It's been wonderful having them both grow up a little and be willing to be nice.  We aren't perfect, but we're working on it.

This is where I spent my summer.  I love having a pool.  It's a trial not to live in it and just swim all the time.
I'm glad the kids are back in school.  If I have a rough night where I don't get enough sleep, it's a blessing to ship everyone off to their destination and go back to sleep for an hour or so while Olivia takes her morning nap.  My life pretty much revolves around my kids and it's nice to take some time for myself~ 
My house is much more cleaner than it was in the summertime!  We have instituted a rule in our home.  No friends Monday through Thursday.  If the kids have done all their chores and their teachers have signed their planners with good grades, then Aaron and Alyssa can have friends over on the weekend.  It has made schedules more sane than I ever thought!!!

Curt spent the summer growing a beard, kind of.   He actually spent the summer looking for a job.  He was laid off on June 1st and since he was a contractor, they can terminate contracts when they want.  Long story.  Anywhoo...  He left his job just in time to go with Aaron to Camp Geronimo and spend the week up there.  (My house was so quiet!)   I kept job hunting the whole time he was there.  He started a new contract with Unisys/ Verve when he got home and they had issues with paying us, so he left that contract and went to work for Wells Fargo.  I don't really know what he does, but he says that he's a cubicle monkey.  I think it's hilarious.

There's the update.  I'll post more later!   ♥ HUGS!♥

... and now...

... it's time...
... for ...
Silly Songs with Hayden!!!!


"I'm a little pee-pout
Short and sprout
Here is my handle, here is my scout
When I get all steamed up
Then I shout
Tip me over and I'll fall out."

Followed quickly by,  "... I think."

 The other one that he's constantly singing around the house
is Katy Perry's ET.

" I'm an aaaaalien
I'll be so foreign
I'm supermatural
I'm tra- tra-torial." 

Usually followed by my laughter.

Hayden's First of Preschool.

From the mouth of Hayden:
"There's a watertable! We play with colored cups and we 'Boo' at people; you know, scare them?  I ate breakfast, they gave me a biscuit hamburger with a chicken nugget inside and they gave me milk.  I drank it all.  Olivia's cute.  She fell over and got back up.  My teacher's name is Mrs. Dillon and everyone else calls her 'Miss Hope'.  I don't call her Miss Hope, I don't know why they call her that.  But sometimes they call her Teacher Hope.  She's happy and has white hair.  Maybe because people 'Boo' at her.  I played with play-doh, uh, legos, and the watertable the other day and I'm just silly today.  Ring around the rosy, pop a toe batosee...  everyone is 4 and 3.  There was a little boy that cried and cried until his mom came, but Mrs. Dillon was all, *imitating spanish* and he stopped for a little bit.  I made a friend, I don't know his name, he's just a black kid.  I'm the only white kid.  She put my name on my back so that she could tell me apart from other kids.  I don't know why.  I'm Hayden, the white kid.  I hope there are more white kids next time.  (There are,  but we had a nice discussion about this topic.)  Can you get off the computer so I can play Club Penguin now?  I don't want to tell you anymore about preschool."

What I wish for Curtis.

I was talking to Curtis the other day about the kind of Grandpa that I want him to be.  I was really trying to find the right words to explain to him everything that I hope that our grandchildren feel about him.

This picture popped into my mind.

I want him to love his grandchildren SO much that he'd be willing to wear a tu-tu for them!  The other day we had Cow Appreciation Day and Noelle's grandpa showed up dressed as a cow and wearing glitterly pink eyelashes.

(Everytime I have met Noelle's grandfather he's just doing something fun.  He's willing to wear costumes!) 

Yes, Curt. This is what I wish for you in the future. 

Glittery. Pink. Eyelashes.


Photo taken by Whitney Dibble