Knee News

after tolerating my knee pain for the past few years, i finally had enough. i met with the orthopaedic doctor and he said surgery was my only option. not what i wanted to hear! but i was brave and scheduled it....then i went out to my car and cried! i am too young for this lol

the big day: fri, sept 24th

the technical term: right knee scope, lateral release, chondroplasty

activity for the following day: nada! and so, as the doctor ordered, this is how i spent the weekend....jay was such a great nurse! he was always ready with ice or pain meds or food whenever i needed. thanks honey!

today, monday, i was finally able to remove the dressing and shower. yay!
two little incisions marked with stitches.
jay asked if there was a knee cap in there somewhere...very funny!

i have been up and around with no crutches all day....those things are awful! i am able to bend past a 90* angle and put full weight on it. yay!

special thanks for all of the loving people who checked in on me. we were blessed with having our girls cared for, meals, calls, messages, beautiful flowers, get-well brownies.

thank you all so much for your love and concern! xoxo

A Day To Remember

today i shook hands with an apostle of the lord.

yes, today i shook hands with elder robert d. hales of the quorum of the twelve apostles of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints.
our family arrived an hour before the meeting was scheduled to begin. the church building was expected to be at full capacity....and it was. although our seats weren't the greatest, as soon as elder hales entered the room, a sweet spirit was felt. to be in the presence of a man that is called to do the work of the lord was very humbling. during the meeting we heard great words of counsel from our local church leaders as well as elder hales. at the conclusion of the meeting, our family walked toward the front of the room and were able to shake elder hales' hand as he walked passed us. i know it was only a second, but to look into this sweet mans eyes and to feel his spirit has changed me forever. my testimony was made stronger today. i am looking forward to general conference in a couple weeks where we will be able to hear from all of our beloved church leaders, even president thomas s. monson. i know that this church is true. i know that our savior died for my sins and that he lives again. i know that as i strive to live the commandments to the fullest that heavenly father will continue to bless me and my family. i am grateful for the book of mormon and it teachings. i know that as i read it daily with my family, we are growing closer together and closer to our savior. i the name of jesus christ, amen.
***if you want to learn more about jesus christ or have any questions about the church, i urge you to visit mormon.org.***

I Heart Nick!

who wouldn't?! lol

jay heard that the jonas brothers were coming to glendale and he got an incredible deal on tickets so we decided to surprise the girls. we told them on sunday night and they were pretty excited. this was their first concert experience! happy girls!
watching things get set up.

i love that the jonas brothers are a wholesome band that the whole family can enjoy!

hard to see but here they are on stage.

ariana was dancing and singing and having a blast.....

while her sisters were so tired they fell asleep!

parting gift: free jonas bros tote bags! awesome!

which jonas brother is your fav?!

Go Cards!

ariana has been a cardinals fan since she was very little. we even made sure we checked out their new stadium after it was open. after the tour and we were on our way back to the car she started to cry. i asked her what was wrong and she said that she 'never saw the show'. ??? oh, poor thing thought we were going to the game. lol well, she has continued to support the cards. she wears her jersey and uses her fav cardinals pillow faithfully.

and she was even selected to participate in cardinals camp at her school yesterday. they had the kids do and obstacle course, big red came out to play and they even got to meet a cardinals player. #14 stephen williams.
she even had her jersey autographed! ariana had a blast!

Ariana's New Room

what's new:

paint: 3 walls are light pink while the other is super stripped! bordered with orange, it has light and dark pink stripes in the middle! they came out absolutely perfect!

went from a white 5 drawer chest of drawers to two black side by side dressers

awesome long black shelf - we really do love ikea!

bed side table

two rectangular orange picture boards (made by mwah)

new accent orange blanket

toy bins that nicely hide under the bed

Alexis' New Room

what's new:

paint: two purple walls and two green walls

two bed side tables

curtain

purple circular picture boards (made by mwah)

cd wall art

colorful vinyl stickers

purple cork board

Caprice's New Room

what's new:

paint - a lighter pink on 3 walls and a darker shade of pink on the other

went from a white 5 drawer chest to two side by side black dressers

bed side table

pink polka dot circular picture boards (made by mwah)

fabulous art display - gotta love ikea!

vinyl stickers for some fun!

and other little odds and ends

So So

i have said before that i have not a lick of talent but if i see something cute or crafty, i'll attempt to recreate it myself. well, one of my super crafty sis-in-laws made these super cute shirts and i have been just dying to try and make my own. i borrowed my mom's sewing machine and invited myself to a friend's house (so i could have supervision) and got to work.

what do you think of the final product? i am super happy with how it turned out. as soon as i showed the girls, they all asked if i would make them one.....

what kind of mom would i be if i said no?!
don't they look stinkin cute?! i love that they were so proud of me and each could not wait to show off their 'one-of-a-kind' shirts at school. ariana's didn't turn out all that straight but she didn't even seem to notice.
caprice said she'll be the star of the show (her class was putting on plays today) in her new t.

lex loved the swirl!

i still have my mom's machine and am working on some new projects! who knew i could be good at something?!

and here's a blog with instructions for you to make your own.

Garden Update

i have enjoyed tending and caring for my garden. while the summer heat took its tole, some things are still growing very nicely!

like my watermelons! can you see the teeny tiny baby one in this first picture?

(right in the center, about the size of a pea)

this one is a bit bigger and still really fuzzy.
(about the size of a grape)
the girls were excited when this one got its stripes.
(about the size of a walnut)

and this guy took me by surprise. i water my garden ever day but it was so hot that i wouldn't really check things out too much. well, back in aug (8/11) i spotted him. he was about the size of a tomato. as you can see, it has continued to grow very nicely!

i even have a very nice looking cucumber too!