14th Anniversary

We've survived 14 years together. 7 children, 2 moves, living with the in-laws. Too many vehicles to count, three car accidents for Michael and one for me; 4 jobs for me, 7 for him. One minor surgery for Aaron, sicknesses too many times to keep track, life flight for Annie, hospitalizations for four  kids(multiple times for Aaron), a major breakdown by me. Should I continue on.. :)

We've always come back together and stood by each other. That's what counts. Here's to many more years together.

Allergies part 2

Annie had her allergy test done this morning. She was very brave and had the needle pricks done. She is allergic to (trees)Chinese elm, Black willow, (molds)Alternaria, Aspergillis, Botrytis, Candida, Helminosporium, Cat hair, Dog hair, Feather mix, Horse hair, Cattle hair, Cockroach, Egg, Rice, Crab, Strawberry, Banana, Coconut, and Apple.

She was totally bummed about eggs and apples. Eggs because it's in everything and apples because she likes them.

Mold, and more mold

I guess one room with mold wasn't enough, we found more mold this week. Previously we had to have the master bedroom redone because of a mold problem. Now we've found mold on the basement wall under the wash machine. It's kind of a blessing in disguise. I was so mad at James because he had pulled the drain hose from the washer out of the drain pipe in the wall and I had done a few load of laundry not knowing it was out. So the wall and the stairs got soaked, the water heater got enough water in the bottom of it to put the burners out and the basement floor had about an inch of water on it in the corner around the drain.

We decided that we would rip out the sheetrock that had soaked up all the water before it got moldy. Well Michael started ripping it out and found that it was already very moldy, old mold that has been there a very long time. So now we've got to take care of the mold. We're not sure if we have to redo the stairs yet or not. They have very old vinyl tile on them and Michael can't get it off to check the condition of the stairs.

So we're just going to go ahead and also redo the laundry room floor at the same time. The vinyl tile on it has peel so much that there's a big spot where the washer and dryer sit that doesn't even have any and the floor under it has gotten moldy. So depending on how bad the floor is in there we might be replacing a huge chunk of it. We're also going to re-tile it with real tile.

Good thing it's tax return time. This is going to be a semi-expensive project.

Family Picture

This is the family picture we had taken on 13 October 2012, done by Robins Photography.

Promptings

I didn't follow a small prompting I had the other night when I was doing wash to check the laundry room. So...I ended up with water all down the stairs, in the wall, and under the washer & dryer. Apparently James got into the laundry room and pulled the drain hose out of the drain pipe. I have been trying to be more aware of promptings that I have.

Allergies

I went in for allergy testing last Wednesday hoping to possibly find some answers to my headaches. The results were that I am allergic to Milk, Wheat, Pork, Strawberries, & Bananas. That's just the food, there are about 18 other weeds and pollens that I'm also allergic to.

Okay, cutting out the fruit and the pork isn't too bad but going without milk or wheat! I didn't think about all the things that have wheat in them until I started looking at what I could or couldn't eat. And some things if there isn't wheat in it then there is milk. It's going to be a long road ahead.

Christmas

We had Christmas on Sunday night with Michael's family. I had my camera with me but forgot to take any pictures. We ate dinner, the kids decorated gingerbread houses, played a few rounds of bowling on the wii and exchanged gifts. The kids all got a quillow(a small blanket with a pocket to fold it into a pillow) and Michael and I got a quilt from Michael's parents. Tyler had us in the family exchange and gave us a $25 gift card to iTunes.

On Christmas Eve we stayed home and watched tv.

Christmas morning the kids were excited to find that Santa had brought them just what they had asked for. Ammon, Annie, and Ethan each got 3DS systems. Emily and Erica got iPod's and James got a big toy car that he can ride around in.

After opening the presents from Michael and I we went to my parent's house and had breakfast. Then we opened presents there from Grandma and Grandpa. We later had lunch and played games. Most of the day was spent playing on the electronics that we had gotten.

Elf on the Shelf

We got our Elf today, the kids decided to name him Tinsel. Apparently some of the elves are mischievous and mess things up but I don't think our elf is going to be like that. He's a good elf watching the kids for Santa. Annie's classroom has an elf named Mr. Day in her classroom and apparently he does all kinds of mischievous things during the night and over the weekends. I should take a picture of him and put it here but I'm too lazy right now. Maybe later, besides he's on his way to report to Santa.

Ditching and Ear Wax

So my friend is bailing on me. She hurt herself at work today so she's not feeling up to going tomorrow. I was really looking forward to going with her. I know I should be good and just go by myself but I don't think I can bring myself to do it.

Took Annie to the Dr. tonight because she's been complaining for the last few days that her ear hurts and it feels like there's a bubble it in. He tried to see her ear drum but it was blocked by 'ear wax'. The nurse came in and flushed her ear until it came out. It wasn't really wax, it was a small piece of paper. She has no idea how she got it in her ear. But I'm glad she finally got it out. I thought it was related to her strep that she's now had twice in the last month.

The Forgotten Carols

If you've never seen The Forgotten Carols with Michael McLean you have got to put it on your calendar for next year. I had heard the music but I'd never seen the musical. It was beautiful.

Michael and I went to the Matinee in Orem on Saturday, it was a full house. But such beautiful music and a wonderful story. If you ever get the chance you should see it.