Juneau

Our first excursion and port we visited was Juneau. Boy was it cold! I had on two pairs of thermals, 2 jackets, gloves, hat and was still a frozen popsicle!
We ventured to Mendenhall Glacier and I was in awe at the beauty and magnitude of the huge glaciers. I knew they were big, but standing next to them is a entirely different realm. The word amazing doesn't do justice to how beautiful and grand they were.

Then, we headed out on a whale watching excursion. We saw a ton of whales, eagles, sea lions, birds and beautiful scenary. My favorite was watching the excitement in Hayden's and Thomas' eyes each time they were the first to spot a new grouping of whales. Hayden is so his dad. I LOVED watching them. We were lucky and saw a mom teaching her baby whale to jump. Priceless and so precious.
This is a whale tooth! I couldn't believe how big it was!

My boys taking pictures out on the deck. I stayed nice and warm on the inside drinking hot cocoa! Yum!
The three of us, in Alaska, on a small boat, what a dream come true!
Mendenhall Glacier was in the background.
Me and Hayden in front of the most beautiful waterfall, the sound was magnificent!
Amazingly beautiful country!

Alaska Cruise

My Dad and Bonnie gave us a trip for Christmas. The trip was listed as a trip of our choice, Hawaii, Branson, Missouri, Alaska... We decided on the Alaskan cruise with Hayden. It was wonderful! It was so much fun! We all three decided it has been our favorite family vacation ever!
Hayden and I boarding the boat!
Hayden in Skagway, so excited to see our boat!

Thomas and my favorite spot on the cruise. I need one of these lounge chairs for my house. LOVED it! It was so comfy and I loved the view out the window, while I stayed nice and warm! I read here, watched the glaciers from this spot and even took a couple of naps here!
I loved the view from the back of the cruise ship. Taking off from Seattle was gorgeous! Seattle is a beautiful city!
Thomas and I in the lounge on the ship. Hayden loved the kids club, so we were able to go to all the fun games, shows and my favorite... dancing. Yes, I still love to dance with my husband and I love cruise ships because we can go dancing at night. My favorite game was the Newlywed game. I laughed so hard I cried at some of the answers. Thomas and I made some great friends that we would watch the shows with. So fun!
What can I say? Alaska was a trip of a lifetime! We made so many lasting memories that I will always cherish. We loved every minute of it! Thanks, Dad and Bonnie! We couldn't have asked for better memories and fun times!

Rock hopping- Christopher Creek

I absolutely love being at Christopher Creek. I have such fond memories of being there as a child. We spent several summers up at Christopher Creek when I was growing up and my favorite was rock hopping down the creek. I couldn't wait to take Hayden there and let him experience one of my favorite childhood pasttimes.

Grandma and Brody on the creek.
Me and my boys in Christopher Creek.
I love Hayden's face. He had SUCH a great time!
My boy loves big rocks as much as I do. He is such a sweetie.
We had a great weekend. I love being in the mountains. I love being with everyone! It was a fun, relaxing and enjoyable weekend!

Christopher Creek

Julie rented a couple of cabins up in Christopher Creek and we all headed up for the weekend. We had such a great time! I LOVED LOVED LOVED sitting on the rocking chairs out front and just talking. Hayden and Brody played in the dirt while Julie, TJ, Thomas and I all sat and talked. So fun!
Thomas, Hayden and Brody went on hikes and explored.
Grandma Julie bought the boys compasses and set up a treasure hunt for each of the boys to find their way to their treasure.
TJ helped Brody to his stack of baseball cards and Thomas led Hayden to his electronic bugs which he LOVED teasing me with.
Brody and Hayden both had a great time playing with Grandma Julie and they led her on all kinds of hikes and excursions. What a GREAT weekend.
Along with all of our outdoor adventures, we played Scenarios and Apples to Apples. The little guys even played with us and had a ton of fun!

My Health Ride

It has been quite the two weeks, okay it has been a constant for over a year, but the last two weeks have strengthened my testimony and left me in complete awe of the love that my Heavenly Father has for me.

See the below post:

Dr. Brooks calls his friend, Dr. Hibner at St. Joe's Hospital and although they have a six to twelve month wait, they agree to see me this week. After 3 hours with their group on Wednesday, they have determined that my entire hysterectomy has to be re-done, along with fixing the intestines, fibroids and a neuroma tumor that has grown quite large.

The good news is that they will be able to surgically repair everything via a robotic procedure and then put me in physical therapy for the next six months. And then, this should all be over.

Best news, they told me to go ahead and go to Alaska and they will fix this when I get back.

I have seen the Lord move mountains in my behalf this past two weeks. He has opened both doors and windows for me to get the help I need. He has touched these surgeons and doctors hearts to do what was necessary and not worry about the wait times, etc. I have learned how very much the Lord loves me and cares and especially that he knows everything that I am going thru. Did I fail to mention that all of this happened the day after I received a priesthood blessing promising me answers and the right doctors to fix the problems inside my body?

I have such a testimony of my Father in Heaven and his great love for each of us. Of course, I am not excited for yet another surgery but feel that if the Lord has moved mountains on my behalf that he will continue to watch out and protect me throughout this next set of challenges. I do feel very blessed. And, I am headed out on a cruise to Alaska... can we say incredible timing? So very excited!

Memorial Day

Memorial Day was spent at a fun pool party at Jake and Rosie's house. We swam, Thomas made homemade ice cream, had a bbq and enjoyed being with everyone! We loved that Katie and Eric came, too!
Hayden eating his yummy homemade ice cream while sitting in the hot tub! Good times!
Hayden and "the girls". These cousins sure had a lot of fun together. Love that Hayden has so many wonderful cousins that he absolutely adores. These girls are definitely at the top of his list.
It was such a fun family day! The weather was even perfect to be able to just sit outside and chat without getting wet. Perfect Arizona day!

I Stand All Amazed

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me... Oh it is wonderful that he should care for me, enough to die for me. Oh it is wonderful. Wonderful to me.

Tuesday night I became very sick. I thought it was just the new medication the doctors put me on, regardless, I kept getting sicker and was violently sick, when I went down. I don't really remember the details. I ended up at one urgent care with an extremely long wait and decided to go to a different one. Once there, I saw a doctor that was amazing. He told me about a GYN doctor that specializes in nothing besides diagnosing and fixing GYN diseases and problems. He said the only problem was it was a six month wait to get in to him. I cried. I did. He called that doctor (his brother) on the phone right there in the office and asked me all kinds of questions. I had an appointment that next morning.

Yesterday, as I called the office to see what time to come in, they laughed at me and I asked them to go get Dr. Brooks. Sure enough, he told me to come in. Within 2 hours of being in his office, he had preformed all types of tests, ultrasounds, exams, etc. He gently told me that the good news was he found out what was wrong. He figured out what this "mass" was in my right side that everyone else was only guessing at. Unfortunately, he said that the only way to fix it is with surgery.

I was told that I qualify for a robotic surgery that is being done exclusively at St. Joe's hospital. The team that does this new surgery has a six to twelve month waiting list. I am being told they will see me next week.

I am NOT excited about the thought of another surgery, but felt so "at peace" when the Dr. explained what was wrong and all the associated symptoms of ALL my problems that this was creating. I felt understood. I felt like although the pain was so bad that this could really change things for me. He even has down the timing of when this would have occurred, a year ago in April during my hysterectomy repair.

It has been a long road. I have felt so tired, hurt and some days unable to keep going. The good news is now, it sounds like the doctors are going to be able to fix this and I will be able to put this year behind me and move on.

I received a couple of amazing priesthood blessings this week. Through those, my burdens have been lightened, my testimony strengthened and my understanding of the Savior's will is more clear than it has been. I DO know that all of these things shall give me experience and shall be for my own good. I am grateful for the lessons I have learned and for a loving, kind and gracious older brother that when my load just gets too heavy to carry that he carries me and my load. I have felt his gentle arms around me this week. I have felt him lift the burden that I could no longer bear. I have felt his strength and love. I have seen him move mountains in order for me to get the help that I need.