Parenthood

It's official!! Fall TV is here, and one of my favorite shows is premiering tonight!! Got the DVR all set! I hope you are all tuning in or setting your DVR's because Parenthood is one of the best shows on television!!

What are some of your favorite shows that are starting this month?? I'd love to hear about them!

Double-Owwwie!

Jordan has had a rough couple of days. It started with a bad time at one of his best friend's birthday party last Saturday, basically Jordan was hit with the reality of the limitations the muscular dystrophy has placed upon his body. Especially, with how much the disease has progressed in the last 6 months. I won't go into all the details, other than to say it was a heartbreaking night, with both Jordan and I crying ourselves to sleep.

The following night, Sunday, as we were heading to bed Jordan was complaining that his ear hurt. Sure enough the next morning he was still complaining and his right ear was covered in goop.

I am surrounded by earthly angels. Two of my best friends offered to take us to the doctors (Matt is still in Orlando), but in the end my mother-in-law was able to leave work early and get him to his appointment. Turns out Jordan has a double ear infection and was given a 10-day prescription of antibiotics. The doctor also took a culture of the ear goop to make sure there isn't any bacteria along with the infection that would require other meds. Because Jordan wasn't running a fever he also got a flu shot & a pneumonia shot that his pulmonary doctor requested he get. And another round of "kudos" goes to my M-I-L for convincing Jordan to get the shots, usually Matt has to pin him down for any type of shots or IV's.

Silly me thought 'he has the antibiotics, he'll be good to go'. Nope, not even close! He was up whimpering and complaining about how badly his arm was hurting from the shots almost every hour. Then at 2:30am, he was up sobbing because he was in so much pain. At this point I'm thinking ok, who do I call to come take us to the hospital......after saying a prayer, I felt calm and had the impression to try the warm wash cloth again. He was able to get back to sleep and woke up again at 5:30am- this time it was because the alarm went off that is for Chloe to get ready for early morning seminary. He was still complaining of arm pain and also his arm pit. Even more troublesome was that I could feel heat radiating from him and his temperature read 101.9. I gave him the last dose of Motrin we had and back to bed we went (after getting Chloe out the door of course!)

After a couple more hours of restless, whimpering sleep he woke up ready for breakfast and his antibiotic. Thankfully, one of my besties came over after running to the store for more Motrin and also helped us get the milk out of the fridge that was too heavy for me and Jordan's arm was too sore to lift.....my friend also confirmed that although his fever, swollen arm, sore arm and arm pit, and now the lovely rash that was mainly squiggly lines all around the shot site that he was now sporting were all worrisome, but not quite "sound the alarm" type of worry.

We drew (or rather, she drew) a circle around the rash. We started a log to document all of these things. And watched him through out the day. Thankfully the rash ceased to spread- only one squiggly line went a tad outside the circle she drew. The light pinkness of the lines have faded even more by this evening. He says his arm hurts but isn't in pain like last night and this morning. He still has a fever which stays down with the Motrin, but overall I would say he is on the mend. I am hoping he can get some good rest tonight, kick the fever and be back to school tomorrow!!

Again, I am so very grateful for the many loving friends and family that are so supportive during these times of crisis! I feel so very blessed!

Sixteenth Anniversary

Matthew and I celebrated our sixteenth wedding anniversary on Friday! We originally had a trip scheduled to St. George, but Matt had a business trip come up so we rescheduled the trip for the first week of November.

My sweetie has been working 18-20 hour days the past two weeks as he prepared/trained/and launched a new computer program for work. Top that off with a cold/fever combo that he came down with Thursday night, there really wasn't much celebrating going on.

He came upstairs about 1:30 PM and said he'd be right back. He came back with Cafe Rio for lunch, yummy! I did eat it alone, since he went straight back to work. I saw him again about 4:30PM when he came upstairs to go pick Chloe up from school. He wanted to go out after he dropped Chloe off at her friends. I wasn't about to let that happen, seeing how he couldn't stop sneezing and had  a temperature of 101 degrees!

We decided to watch X-Men:First Class, which turned into me watching X-Men:First Class and him snoring 10 minutes into the movie. He did wake up 10 minutes before it ended- mainly because his alarm went off reminding him to go pick Jordan up from his friend's house. When he came back, he was back to work and I didn't see him again until 2:30am!

This has been the craziness of our lives for the past little while. I can't wait for October to get here and work hours to get back to normal!

In between all this craziness, he did give me my favorite-EST card ever.

It's Purple and Sparkly! And perfectly, perfect! And the inside has the sweetest things written in it that completely melted my heart! All I could think is "yep, he's still got it!" I love it when he gets all Romantical on me!

And to go with my perfectly, perfect card------------>
Life doesn't get any better than iTunes money to burn! Which I've already burned through half!! Good thing Christmas is around the corner!!





I am so thankful for the sixteen years we've had, and I'm even more thankful for the many years a head. I am such a lucky, lucky girl!

Mimosa

Two weekends ago, we were at a luncheon following the baptism of my best friend's son. Now to set the picture up clearly in your mind let me fill you in on a few tid-bits. It was a luncheon following a baptism into the LDS church, which we are all strong members. My best friend's husband happens to be my husbands best friend and is also our Bishop. And the last thing you need to know is that I am an IDIOT!

The Scene:

I was chatting with my best friend and her mom, who happened to be leaving. We were chatting about hair and then her mom's necklace caught my eye. It really is one of the cutest things I've ever seen and so clever. It was this teeny-tiny glass vial with a petal/strand from a dandelion inside the vial, and next to the vial was this tiny silver plaque with the word "wish" en graven upon it. My description doesn't do it justice, and what made it even cuter is the fact that my best friend's mom made it! This revelation led to this conversation:

Me: "You are so talented. It is such a cute necklace."

BFF's Mom: "Thank you! I want to make one for each of my daughters and nieces honoring their grandpa. He loved mimosa, do you know what that is?"

Me: "I do! It's that orange juice and champagne mixed drink."

At this point my BFF and BFF's mom burst out laughing, almost falling over, they are laughing so hard. I'm just looking at them with a questioning look and I say, "What?? What did I say?" Finally through their laughter they say, "No, he loved the mimosa flower!" Now I burst out laughing as I say, "Oh, I'm sorry! Of course it's a flower!" We're all still laughing our heads off and I'm laughing so hard I have tears streaming down my face! "I can't believe I am that clueless!"- is what I'm really thinking.

When I got home that day, I of course, googled the mimosa flower! I could not help but crack-up over my stupidity all weekend long. Especially as I realized the three major flaws to my brain power that day.

#1 Like my BFF's Mom is going to be referring to alcohol at an event like that!

#2 Like my BFF's Mom is going to mix up a batch of Mimosa and pour it into those teeny-tiny vials!

#3 Like my BFF's Mom is going to give her daughters and nieces a vial of alcohol to wear around their necks!

DUH! DUH! DUH!

I should not be allowed to speak to people in public!

2011-2012 School Year Begins

Chloe and Jordan stared school last Wednesday, August 24, 2011. I was annoyed that their school decided to start in the middle of the week, but by Friday I was so happy we only had three days of school the first week- maybe their school knows what they're doing after all! hahahaha!


Chloe is in 9th Grade. Chloe also started early morning seminary! She is excited for this school year and her favorite two classes are Chinese & Geometry!

Jordan is in 8th Grade. Jordan's favorite class so far is Science and is also very excited for this school year!

Good-bye Summer

I can't believe summer is actually ending. School is starting for Chloe and Jordan tomorrow, which brings the dreaded chaos of homework, enforcing bed times,  and no more sleeping in. It is so depressing! With school starting, the kids and I each made a couple of goals for the first term. The kids only had to make three school oriented goals and one spiritual goal. I, on the other hand have a bit more time on my hands so I have a few more goals. I decided if I write mine on here, maybe it will motivate me a little more. I won't share Chloe and Jordan's, they can if they want to.....

~Finish Disney 2011 scrapbook by 9/4 (thankfully I only have a few pages to finish!)
~Finish Prague scrapbook by 10/28 (thankfully I only have a few pages and touch-ups to finish!)
~Finish Jordan's K-7th scrapbook 10/28 (this is a biggie!)
~Finish Chloe's K-8th scrapbook 10/28 (I only have touch-ups and 7th-8th to finish!)
~Start 2011 scrapbook
~Read THREE books
~Read half of the Book of Mormon by 10/28 (this is for the BOM challenge to be finished by 12/31
~PJS everyday!! (Prayer, Journal, and Scriptures everyday! I am in a completely different head space when I  am consistently doing these three things everyday!)
~Blog at least 3x a week (I went on a little blogging hiatus starting in July because I had my feelings hurt and I couldn't get over how certain people treated other certain people at some events over the summer and I really didn't want to make my blog a negative-space. Every time I went to blog all of the hurt and anger kept spewing out, so I took a break. I know I can't control other people's actions or feelings, but it makes me sad that I no longer have the loving, supporting friendship of someone once close to me. Enough said!)

My goals don't seem too daunting and I am looking forward to seeing how the kids like their new teachers and classes!

MDA Summer Camp Pictures!

                           Jordan and his awesome volunteer, Brady!!

Another 15 minutes of Fame!

Jordan is in the newspaper again! This time it is all about MDA Summer Camp! We are so thankful for MDA Summer Camp! Jordan is still talking about it a month later!

Check out the article:

http://www.mywestvalleyjournal.com/pages/full_story/7426/Summer-camp-provides-fun-and-friendship-for-local-youth-with-MD/


I still need to post pictures from his time at the camp.....soon. I promise! :)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to the most amazing man in my life! I couldn't ask for a better father to our children! I am thankful for how hard Matt works to provide for our family. I am also thankful for all the love and time he gives to our family. Most of all I am thankful that he honors his Priesthood and we are blessed to have such a wonderful example of service in our home. I could go on and on gushing about this man, but I'll end with words Chloe used in her talk today at church, "He is AwEsOmE!" (I'm hoping she'll post her talk on here later, it was great! It even made Matt cry- I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen Matt's eyes water from emotion, it was very sweet that his daughter touched his heart like that!)

We Love You!!

Happy Father's Day!!!

I {heart} iPad2

I'm still crushing on my iPad2!

To me, it is still the coolest, most magical toy ever invented!

My iPad2 made it crystal clear these past 11 days, while Matt has been in Connecticut, exactly how cool and magical this device really is. We were able to use FaceTime (video chat), we played Scrabble a couple times, emailed, and Twittered (tweeted? what's the right verbiage??) It was definitely fun to be connected to Matt, in that way, while he was away on business.

Other things I'm loving on my iPad2 at the moment: iBooks, The Daily (a newspaper), Qwiki (a daily encyclopedia-type excerpt), Gospel Library (I do my daily scripture study from here), and 7 Words (my favorite game at the moment!)

I also love being able to do Facebook and Pinterest from my iPad2. Oh, don't know what Pinterest is?? Well, that is a whole other blog post that I will be doing soon, because Pinterest is my new hobby/obsession!! The fact that I can do Pinterest from my iPad2 gives me warm fuzzies! ;)

1 {heart} iPad2!

MDA Summer Camp 2011

Jordan returned from MDA Camp, today. He seems like he had a blast!! It's nerve-wracking sending your kid off with strangers for a week. All I could do was pray that he connected with his volunteer and that Jordan would be safe for the week, AND my prayers were answered. Jordan and his volunteer, Brady, hit it off and had a week of fun!

Jordan's favorite things from MDA Summer Camp 2011:

-Hollywood Connection (Jordan and Brady played in the arcade and a round of miniature golf!)
-Video game room at the hotel
-Swimming
-Playing card games (especially Monopoly Deal!)
-This is the Place Heritage Park (it rained right after they left, Jordan said they felt LUCKY!)
-Carnival Day!
-Magic Show
-Yummy Food (catered by Chick-Fil-A, Subway, Olive Garden!)

Jordan is already looking forward to next summer!

Jordan & Brady

Meow Monday

 Between the cat and the kids, my bed never ceases to be rumpled or disheveled after it's been made!



Reading up a Storm

The past two months I have actually been able to read some books that aren't from the kid section.....I pride myself on raising two kids that LoVe to read. And because they LoVe to read, they often want me to read the latest "great"book they've just finished. Don't get me wrong, without my kid's insistence I never would read the Fablehaven series or the Hunger Game series. All really great books.

These are the few books I've finished:

I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait for the movie coming out this August!

I also enjoyed these next two books, but they have some sexual content and be prepared to cry- ALOT!

This book was recommended by a friend. I absolutely loved it! Unbroken is an incredible survival story, but I love the history I learned from this book the most and it really made me appreciate what our service men and service women have done and continue to do for our country!

Now that summer is here, I am hoping to get busy reading!! What are you all reading this summer?? I'd love to hear, even if it happens to be a kid book! ;) Happy Reading!

Celebrity in the House!

In case you missed it, Jordan had an article written about him in the local paper, the Deseret News. If you follow me on Facebook or are a close personal friend or family then you probably saw it. I still like to document these things on here, since this is basically our family journal.

Here's the link: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700134650/13-year-old-is-a-hero-to-family-friends.html

Here's the article for people that don't like to click links:

13-year-old is 'a hero' to family, friends

WEST VALLEY CITY — The next time you're feeling a bit down, in need of a perk-up, here's the perfect remedy: head to Jordan Roblyer's house.
There you'll find the affable 13-year-old going through his regular routine: telling jokes, playing video games with his friends, baking another delectable s'more pie or helping his parents wash the dishes and weed the flower beds.
He does all this despite muscular dystrophy and a cleft palate requiring that he wear a metal "halo" to realign his jaw.
Completing the simplest of tasks — from brushing his teeth to putting on socks — is a challenge for the Monticello Academy seventh-grader, "but he never gives up," says Jordan's father, Matt Roblyer. "He's a hero, but don't tell him that. He's uncomfortable with the attention and sees himself as any other teenager. From the beginning, he's tried to get as much out of life as he can."
Impressed by Jordan's courage and positive outlook, his great-aunt, Pennie Kirby, suggested that I join him and his family for a Free Lunch at their West Valley home, where Jordan has been holed up for weeks because he can't risk falling or being bumped at school while his jaw heals after another surgery.
"He never complains, even though his pain is off the charts," says Kirby. "He's simply a fine young man."
Jordan wasn't happy that his aunt put him in the spotlight, but he agreed to a visit as long as I brought along some mashed potatoes and gravy from KFC — one of the few favorite foods he can eat with a mouth full of metal.
"My parents are what get me through," he says as we gather around the kitchen table in his family's modest brick rambler. "They taught me that there are kids out there with more to deal with. I guess it's just easier to enjoy life than to complain."
It's a philosophy that Jordan picked up from his mother, Diana, who also has muscular dystrophy and now uses a wheelchair to complete daily tasks.
"I have to stay positive for Jordan," she says, "because even though the path ahead is difficult, there are still fun things he can do in life and so much to be grateful for."
Her eyes fill with tears as she remembers the day her son was born: "He had all 10 fingers and all 10 toes — we immediately loved him. We knew that he'd need a lot of surgeries for his cleft palate, but we were hoping he would be spared MD. My mom and grandma also have it, but it's the kind that usually doesn't develop until you're in your 40s. It's very rare that Jordan got this so young."
Now that he's having more difficulty keeping his balance, Jordan's doctors have gently suggested that he get a wheelchair like his mom's, "but I'm not ready," he says. At school, he refuses to sit on the sidelines during gym class, choosing instead to lie on the floor and attempt a few push-ups or sit-ups with other students.
He goes to Scout camp, plays percussion instruments for the school band, dreams of becoming a professional chef and enjoys dining out with friends in his quest for the perfect cheeseburger. At home, says Matt, "he has the same chore chart as his older sister. He can be stubborn, but that's what gets him through. We don't give him any short-cuts."
Jordan flashes his dad a look of pretend anguish. "Yeah, but I still want that riding lawn mower, Dad."
No doubt he'll be mowing the front lawn with one this summer. "He never gives up and that's what people love about him," says Matt. "Every day, we feel blessed to have Jordan in our lives."

We were very surprised to get a call from Cathy Free, saying she wanted to do an interview about Jordan. We decided not to tell Jordan until the day of the interview because he reacted just as we expected.... basically flipping out because he doesn't see what the big deal is about his life, "he is just busy living it!" Jordan also pointed out that there are people in our lives that deserve the title of "hero!" And he named some people we know, I thought that was really sweet of him and the fact that he can see other people's struggles and difficulties says something about Jordan's character. In the end, Jordan agreed to talk with the reporter and we had a nice lunch, (I guess if you consider KFC nice, but Jordan was on food restrictions at that time and loved mashed potatoes so he was n heaven!)

My Garden

My bestie surprised me one day last month by calling and saying she was heading to Lowe's the next day and did I want to come along. I, of course, suffering from 'Cabin Fever' jumped at the chance to get out of the house. My friend brought her little girl, and I brought Jordan (which turned out to be a big blessing!!!)

I had every intention of buying some flowers for my flower patch that lines our ramp. And possibly some flowers for the big empty barrels sitting in our yard  just waiting to be used. I ended up buying flowers for the ramp, and the barrels, plus 4 tomato plants, 2 bell pepper plants and some marigolds. All of which were insisted on by Jordan. He loves tomatoes and loves the color orange (the color of the stinky marigolds we bought!)

After I brought my flowers home I had a bit of buyers remorse, and then a flood of panic because I have only had pale pink thumbs, without a hint of green ever!! Once again my bestie came to the rescue, instead of watching our favorite show we had back logged on my DVR, we went out and planted the ramp. I use the term "We" loosely because she is a super fast gardener, I think I did a total of two plants, while she did all the rest on the ramp patch. She did show me the ropes, and I was able to finish the rest of the barrels and tomato patch with Matt the next day. I am so excited to see how things grow and if I get any tomatoes. My flowers look lovely and I love having flowers lining the ramp! Here's a few pictures!

Summer is Officially Here!

The kids had their last day of school on Friday. To celebrate we did our annual Leatherby's and movie, right after school! Leatherby's has the yummiest, tastiest, most divine caramel I have ever tasted. I even broke my own personal rule for this caramel. It's actually the movie theaters rule "No Outside Food or Drinks" but none of my friends or family seem to be able to follow this rule and I have always prided myself on following this rule! And then the moment arrived, I had just finished my sandwich and cheese fries. I had no room left for the best part, and there was no way I was giving up my caramel sundae!!

So now I had my caramel sundae in a to-go container, I couldn't possibly leave it in the hot car so I took it into the theater with me. And now that I had it in the theater it was just sitting in my purse tempting me! Of course I ate my sundae during the movie!! I would say I feel guilty, but it was just too delicious to feel any guilt about breaking the rule! :)

X-Men:First Class was a good movie. Jordan really liked it. Matt liked it, except the part where Wolverine drops an F-bomb. I really liked the Mystique storyline, and Chloe thought Mystique was dumb for the choice she made.

As we were driving home, Chloe was asking what Matt and I were doing for the rest of the night while she was at her friend's party and Matt replied with, "Well, knowing your mom like I do, we are probably going to be watching our X-Men movies we have at home." This made me crack-up because while we were leaving the theater I had the thought of having Matt bring all the X-Men dvds upstairs so I could watch them while doing chores like laundry or whatever.....I guess he does know me pretty well! :)

Save the Date

I had to get this down in print because although Chloe insist she is not going to grow out of these dreams/desires for her future, Matt and I think these set ideas she has for her future are very cute!

In the past month Chloe has been telling us different ideas she has for her wedding- mind you, the girl is only 14 years old! We are totally fine with Chloe getting married, as long as it's in another 10 years!

Chloe has informed us that she will be getting married on June 17th. She will only be getting married in an LDS Temple,(this one we hope she doesn't grow out of!) He has to propose to her by singing "Marry Me" by Train, and she will answer him by singing back the Colbie Caillat's "I Do." Her wedding song to be played at her reception is the Randy Newman song, "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3. Her honeymoon will be in Disneyland so they can get the bride and groom mouse ears to wear around the park!

Isn't she cute?? The boy she's going to marry someday doesn't even have a choice right now, hahaha! I have no doubt that whatever boy ask her to marry him will do whatever sweet Chloe wants! :)

Courage

I have so many things to blog about from May, so I will be playing catch-up for the next few days. I thought I'd start with a post about my beautiful, sweet Chloe......

In May, Chloe ran for Student Body President at her school. She had a great campaign. Her theme was centered around Star Wars. Here is a picture of her campaign posters. My favorite has the saying, "The force is strong with this one," with a picture of Chloe.

Here is Chloe's video:

Here is Chloe's video:

Although Chloe made a valiant effort, she did not win.(Big Frowny Face) I thought she would be devastated, but the SBO Advisor pulled her aside and told Chloe she should be proud of herself, it was a close race. Chloe thought the advisor was just giving the standard "cheer-up" pep talk, so Chloe just said, "suuurrrreeee." To which the Advisor said, "Really, Chloe, it was only a 4 vote difference!"

FOUR VOTES!!

I am really proud of Chloe! I think it takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there in front of peers, a lot of courage to take a chance on something new, and most of all to handle it all with courage, pride, and grace. Chloe is aWeSoMe! I know she will continue to step out of the box and try new things and I am so happy she continues to do it with courage!

Here's a little saying I found that I thought fit this whole life experience perfectly:

It takes strength to be firm and it takes courage to be gentle.

It takes strength to conquer and it takes courage to surrender.

It takes strength to be certain and it takes courage to have doubt.

It takes strength to fit in and it takes courage to stand out.

It takes strength to feel a friend's pain and it takes courage to feel your own pain.

It takes strength to endure abuse and it takes courage to stop it.

It takes strength to stand alone and it takes courage to lean on another.

It takes strength to love and it takes courage to be loved.

It takes strength to survive and it takes courage to live.

- Unknown

This Angel is Missing His Halo

After 64 days, a little over two months, Jordan's halo was taken off today!! It was earlier than originally planned, but his jaw moved into place quicker than anticipated and we are all overjoyed!!

We drove clear down to Provo for Jordan's first appointment of the day, with Dr. M this morning. Dr. M isn't usually in Provo, but after being in China most of May, he was in Provo doing another clinic and this is the only time we could get our two docs lined up and Dr. M didn't want Jordan to have to deal with the halo longer than necessary.

We had no idea what to expect with the removal of the halo, after all it required a surgery to attach to his head....we followed the instructions given at Jordan's last appointment. We got his prescription for the numbing cream, slathered it on where the screws went into his head and covered it with saran wrap before leaving the house.

It really turned out to be nothing at all in removing the halo. It was probably worse for Matt and I as we sat there watching the doc unscrew these incredibly long screws from his head. We both looked at each other at one point, cringing while remarking at "HOW LONG THOSE SCREWS ARE!"

We got to bring home his halo as a souvenir. Not quite sure what to do with it, but cool...I guess! Matt and Jordan want to sell it on ebay, after all it's titanium! We also learned Jordan isn't quite in the land of freedom, yet. Jordan still has restrictions with food, just not as strict. Mainly, no hard stuff like peanuts, apples, carrots, etc.. Jordan also has to be careful not to get hit in the face, and basically needs to avoid being a rambunctious boy for awhile longer because his bones are still healing and setting. Dr. M also told us that Jordan could have the reconstruction done on his nose in a year/year and a half, and then Jordan would be finished with these surgeries!

Dr. Y was appointment #2 today. This visit was even more surprising because all along Matt and I were under the assumption that the night mask he would be getting was some kind of panty-hose type ski mask (yeah, we're obviously not doctors and misunderstood the doctors when they explained it at the beginning.) It turns out the doc left in the mouth part of the halo, so Jordan has the two prongs still sticking out of his mouth and then some gadget type rubber bands/face plates with hooks attach to the prongs. The good news this is in the wee hours of night that he wears the attachment, so all anyone is going to see is the two prongs. This is for another 6 weeks and then another 6 weeks after that depending on the progress and healing of the bones.

Jordan chose iHop as his first meal! He loved eating bacon, and sausage for the first time in 64 days! He has chosen Dominos Pizza for dinner. He has been craving pizza the most, I think. *Update* Jordan has just informed me that he is still full from iHop and wants his pizza tomorrow!

I am kicking my self for not getting pictures of the halo being removed and THOSE SCREWS, but Matt & I were both sitting with our mouths open watching and didn't think to capture that kodak moment. I did convince Jordan to let me post some picts with his halo on and now with his halo off.
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Still an Angel!




Slacking

Slacking is what I do best, especially when it comes to blogging!!

I promise I will get back in the blogging groove, starting tomorrow! lol!

There really is so much I have to blog about and I can't wait to share all the fun happenings here in the Roblyer House from the past month!

MAY 25th

May 25th is our family's new favorite day! After scheduling, then rescheduling because Dr. M is going to China in May, Jordan is finally getting his halo off on this day!!

Jordan is happy, because when we first heard about Dr. M's China trip, we had to reschedule back to June and Jordan wouldn't have been able to return to school for the last little bit. After seeing Dr. M on Wednesday he said Jordan is healing very quickly and that Jordan has been through so much he shouldn't have to wait any longer than necessary and to work it out with his scheduler for the week of the 25th no matter what. Turns out we're driving clear to Provo cause that's where Dr. M is that week, then driving clear back to Primary Children's for the second part with Dr.Y that same day!

Happy news! We are all happy, and Jordan is doubly happy that he gets to return for the last week of the school year! Other happy news, Jordan got the ok from Dr. M to eat a cheeseburger, as long as he cuts it into teeny, tiny bites. So, Jordan had his first cheeseburger from Wendy's on Wednesday! It's the little things like this that make this boy HaPpY!!

Kindness of Strangers

I am always amazed at the kindness of strangers. I'm not being sarcastic either! The thing I love most about this kind of kindness, is it aways comes when I least expect it. It's those moments when things are fine, life is challenging but manageable, and ta-da someone shows up with beautiful flowers and then you realize, wow! life has been a little overwhelming and my Heavenly Father knew this and someone listen to a prompting and brightened my day!

The picture doesn't do this bouquet justice, the entire arrangement was probably about 3ft tall. Absolutely gorgeous!

Jell-o Creations

Since Jordan's surgery, he has been surviving on soft foods since March 21st. He still has a month and a couple weeks to go. Thankfully, we've been finding fun things to make so he hasn't been stuck on just mashed potatoes, pudding cups, yogurts, and smoothies.
My mother-in-law is letting me borrow one of her Jell-o cookbooks and we've made a couple things from it. Here are pictures of the latest recipes Jordan and I have made:

Blue Sky

Rainbow Ribbon Salad

There were some jiggler eggs, but Jordan gobbled those up before I could get a picture. I'm sure there will be more Jell-o creations in our future, so stay tuned!

iPad 2

They finally arrived!! The iPad 2 was officially released March 12th. We happened to be in Disneyland at that time and I tried to tell Matt to just order them and have them shipped to our house. Especially since Matt went to Connecticut two days after we came home from Disneyland.
Matt was determined to buy them in person from the Apple Store. He tried the New York City store, the Stamford Connecticut store and the Salt Lake City store (multiple times). After 3 weeks of these shenanigans I finally convinced him to just order them online. Had he listen to me 3 weeks sooner I would have had it 3 weeks sooner- because of course there was a 3 week shipping date!!
Last Thursday they both arrived!! Mine is white and Matts is black. I can't even begin to say how much I love, love, LOVE my "white wizard"! Yes, it's that magical that it has its own nickname!! I'm even blogging from it- HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!?
My favorite is when we play scrabble together on our own iPads!! Of course I have to add that so far I have the most wins, but who's keeping track- oh, I am!! :) I am also currently reading 'The Help' on my iPad! Loving the Bookshelf app!
I'm sure this won't be the last you hear about the COOLEST invention, EVER!!

Meow Monday

Our itty bitty kitty has been being extra cute lately......

Jordan and I cleaned his room a couple weeks ago. Since then Princess Fuzzyboots has taken over as if it were her room. She never liked to go in there before, but now that is where we always find her all curled up on Jordan's bed.

I finally got Matt to go to the doctor because he has been "hacking up a lung" for the past 3 weeks, and come to find out it isn't pneumonia or bronchitis like we thought, but is either allergies or asthma!! And the doctor said we shouldn't have a cat!! AAHHHH! For now Matt is doubling up on medication, he also sees the doctor again on Monday to possibly get an inhaler. He's been trying to steer clear of the cat. Problem is he likes her and the cat LOVES him......

Princess Fuzzyboots in a box in Matt's office.

Princess Fuzzyboots checking out Matt's new iPad 2 with him.

I'm hoping the medicines bring Matt some relief, I'd really hate to see Matt go!! :)
Just Kidding! Ultimately, I choose Matt!! I guess I'll have to change 'Meow Monday' to 'Matt Monday'!

Three Weeks Down.....Nine More to Go!

Actually, we can shave some weeks off our countdown! Jordan saw the Doctor this morning and received some AwEsOmE news.....He is getting the halo off on May 18th!!!!

We were totally shocked, surprised, and floored by this news. Dr."M" is pleased with the progress Jordan has been making and everything is moving into place much quicker than anticipated.

Jordan is beyond ecstatic that when he gets the halo off he gets to eat "REAL FOOD" again, and return to school for the last two weeks of the school year!!

We attribute this progress in his recovery to the many prayers that have been offered on Jordan's behalf and we are so thankful to each every one. We are also very thankful to our loving Heavenly Father, who has given Jordan the strength to go through this journey. And we are thankful for all the love, support, and comfort our Heavenly Father has given Matt and I during this time. The power of prayer is AMAZING!!

DiSNeYLaND 2011 - Part 8 (last and final page, I promise!)

DiSNeYLaND 2011 - Part 7

DiSNeYLaND 2011 - Part 6

DiSNeYLaND 2011 - Part 5

DiSNeYLaND 2011 - Part 4

DiSNeYLaND 2011 - Part 3

DiSNeYLaND 2011 - Part 2

DiSNeYLaND 2011 - Part 1

Two Weeks Down....Ten More to Go!

Another week has passed. Just in case you forgot what we were counting down, Jordan has ten more weeks until the halo comes off. In the last week we've seen good things happening. And also had a few bumps in his recovery this week. We turned Jordan's "key" for the last time on his halo. HOORAY!! Now we are waiting for the bones in his jaw to re-grow and set. Every time I say that sentence it makes me think of Harry Potter and how he had to drink the "Skele-gro" when the spell to fix his broken arm goes awry and he has to re-grow the bones. If only it was that simple of a recovery for Jordan. The bumps in his recovery start with Jordan deciding to stick his fingers in his mouth Sunday night. He was convinced he had a loose tooth. The second Matt and I saw his fingers in his mouth we both exclaimed in terror, "GET YOUR FINGERS OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!" Of course, two minutes later he was crying of pain. We had to give him some pain medication and he still didn't get to sleep until 3 AM. Then by Monday afternoon he had a low-grade fever. He was still complaining of pain and his right cheek was a little more red compared to his left cheek. I have to admit I had a little bit of panic going on inside of me because one of my best friend's sister-in-law got an infection after having a baby and she lost both legs and parts of her hands. Although Jen is an incredible story of survival and strength, knowing what some of her symptoms were made me a little paranoid for Jordan. We put a call into Jordan's doctor, but of course he is on vacation this week. Luckily, he left us in good hands with a fellow doctor. She had Jordan come in first thing Tuesday morning warning us of three possibilities: infection, food caught up in the surgery site, or Jordan could just be getting "plain ol' sick." After doing a thorough check she found no infection and no food!! WHEW!! Turns out Jordan is just getting "plain ol' sick." The doctor told us not to worry about his temperature, unless it spiked past 101. She also told us Jordan would be having his ups and downs with pain for the next ten weeks and the redness is attributed to the swelling that comes and goes. She was very reassuring and said we could call her at any time with any concerns until our regular doctor returns next Tuesday. We actually have an appointment to see him the following morning. Obviously there is some kind of "sick bug" in our home because in the past two days not only has Jordan not been feeling well, but Matt has been coughing and sneezing non-stop. Poor Chloe came home from school not feeling well (we know it's bad if she misses Young Women's!) I don't have "sick bug" symptoms, but I tweaked my neck and it has been annoying me the past week and a half. We're just a sorry bunch right now! Glad we can mark another week off!

Rough Day

Jordan had a rough day. The moment he woke up this morning he was complaining of pain. We gave him some pain medication, and it seemed to help. It was basically a mellow day of watching some Veronica Mars on Netflix and playing Mario on the Wii while he laid on the couch. He said that when he stands up the pain is 10x worse. We're pretty sure the pain is from the adjustment/tightening the Doctor did at the appointment yesterday. He is now off to slumber land thanks to more pain medication. Hoping he wakes up tomorrow without this pain and discomfort......

FOURteen

I can't let March end and not mention the fact that my Chloe celebrated her Fourteenth BiRtHdAy on March 15th!! I feel so lucky to have such an amazing daughter. Miss Chloe is always so ready and willing to help out around the house (I rarely have to bribe her ;)) She is also an amazing example in her faith and continues to surprise me with her strong values and is a great friend, but enough gushing already....

Here are 14 FuN FaCtS about Miss Chloe:

• Favorite color is PURPLE


• Favorite t.v. show is Modern Family


• Favorite movie is Inception (cuz she's cool like that!)


• Favorite food is Tacos


• Least Favorite food is Tomatoes


• Favorite treat is a Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake Shake from Artic Circle


• Her Besties are Candace and Jarrah


• Her Favorite subject in school is History


• Her least Favorite subject in school is Chinese (& I would say Art because she complains everyday about this class- mainly about the teacher.)


• Her Favorite things to do are to watch movies and play games


• Her Favorite board game is WHAT?? (there's really a game called What?? AND it's fun!)


• Her Favorite Song is First Time by The Script


• Her Favorite thing that's happened so far this year- "Going to Disneyland with family & friends!!"


• The thing she is looking forward to most this year- "Being in Mia Maids!"

PhD (not referring to Doctorate or Doctor of Philosphy)

This post has nothing to do with the current doctors in our life at the moment, but is more about the nurses we encountered last week while Jordan was in the hospital.

First off, I have to give a SHOUT OUT to Andrea, Jess, and Lauren! They did an excellent job!! Anyone who has stayed in a hospital for longer than an hour, knows that nurses either make the stay less miserable or add to the misery of being there.

Andrea was our nurse the first night there. Every time Jordan threw up his bucket full of blood she was right there. Every time one of his machines even started to beep, she was there before it could even get a full beep out (which is key because machines beeping is really not conducive to rest/sleep.) She was awesome!

Jess took over for Andrea the following day. Bringing along his student nurse, Lauren. Jess is the first man-nurse we've ever had and he did an great job. The PhD comes into play with Jess. At some point during one of Jordan's vital checks, Matt (who had been on a work conference call in the room, talking his techie mumble jumble earlier that morning) made a comment that I don't recall exactly what it was, but a few minutes later Jess turns to Matt and says, "Oh, I forgot to ask you what part of the medical field are you in and where do you practice." This of course made us laugh, because this is not the first time Matt has been mistaken as a member of the medical field. Matt's PhD stands for Phony-Hypocrite-Deceiver instead of Doctor of Philosophy! LOL! Matt explained that he has nothing to do with the medical field, but is in fact just a computer geek in the technology world. This didn't seem to faze Jess who continued to pop in, aside from the usual vital checks, to chat about everything from Disneyland to Career advice (Jess wanted Matt's opinion because there's a path he could take that would delve deeper into the technology side of nursing.) Even at the end of the day with his coat and bag on, Jess still stopped in to wish Jordan luck and say good-bye to our family. That shows that nursing is more than just a job, Jess was awesome!
Lauren, Jess' student nurse really grew on us. We couldn't help but give her a hard time after my dad had asked her a question, she threw her arms in the air and said, "Don't ask me, I'm just a student nurse that doesn't know anything yet!" It was young, cute, and naive of her. But Lauren really showed she was on her way to becoming an awesome nurse. Especially on our third day she was back, this time following another nurse and she really shined as she helped clean Jordan up from all the blood and drainage from his nose before we headed home.

I am so thankful to those nurses that went the extra mile in making our stay a little more tolerable and for giving us the laugh of Matt's PhD!

One Week Down.....Eleven More to Go!

Today, Jordan had his first follow-up with the surgeon since his surgery on March 21. All went well at the visit and Jordan even came away with good news.....

Jordan is healing nicely from the surgery. The doctor seemed very impressed with the progress the halo has made. Originally, he had another two weeks of turning "the key" on his halo (which is basically a little wrench that we use to turn the little knobs on the front mouth piece of his halo), but things have moved into place much quicker than expected and this Sunday evening will be his last turning of "the key." After the last turn of "the key" it will be waiting for the bones to set and re-grow for the next eleven weeks with the halo still on.

The icky, painful part seems to be behind Jordan. The hard part is he's already asking to go back to school. If there wasn't such a high risk of him falling or being bumped we would send him back tomorrow. The doctor feels it's safer to have him home during this time. So for the next eleven weeks while he has his halo on, he's stuck with his boring parents! ;)


Jordan is looking forward to June 8th, the day he should be getting his halo off and his freedom RESTORED!! (Especially since that's the day BEFORE he leaves for MDA Summer Camp!)

MeOw MoNdAy

My kitty would call me a traitor, but this is too cute not to share. Enjoy!

Missing Pants

When there are narcotics involved and parental lack of sleep, there are comical moments bound to transpire in the course of the recovery period.

One of those comical moments came Saturday night/Sunday morning. It had been a long night. Jordan was not feeling well. He was in a bit of pain and had an upset stomach. He never threw-up but felt nauseous the whole night. He finally fell asleep around 3:30 am.

When he finally woke up around 9:30 am he was no longer wearing his red basketball shorts he went to bed in, but was now wearing plaid pajama bottoms. Both Jordan and Matt had no recollection when the switch had happened during the night or why the switch had happened.

I'm still wondering if Matt had some of Jordan's Lortab before going to bed! :)

Recovering

It has been one week since Jordan had his Le-Fort 1 surgery last Monday, and he seems to be recovering very nicely. It was great that he only had to spend 3 days in the hospital. The swelling has gone down substantially and he has some bruising on his face and jaw line. Jordan is eating/drinking a fair amount, as parents we would like to see him eat a bit more, but it will probably increase as time passes. He hasn't complained much about pain and only takes pain medication at night to help him relax and sleep. He's only had two bad nights since being home from the hospital and hopefully that will be all! Jordan decided he needed some "fresh air" so he went with his dad into the office for an hour while Matt filled out an expense report for his last business trip. It seemed to tire him out a bit, but he seemed to enjoy getting out of the house for a moment. Jordan sees his surgeon on Wednesday morning to check the progress of the movement of his jaw line and his incisions to see that they're healing correctly. We are so thankful that everything has gone so smoothly and we are thankful for all the prayers on Jordan's behalf. All of our family and friend's have been so supportive during this time and we are grateful!! We will keep you posted on what the doctor says on Wednesday, and hopefully Jordan will let me share pictures of his journey then. (He has threatened me that no pictures are to appear on Facebook or the family blog at this time.)

Meow Monday

I love it when our kitty sleeps on my legs. Princess Fuzzyboots mainly sleeps on my legs when Matt is out of town because Matt likes to sleeps with his legs intertwined with mine and this annoys our kitty and she gets off the bed in a huff.

Princess Fuzzyboots being her sweet self!

The winter's have been brutally cold, cold enough that my kitty comes and climbs inside my jacket and cuddles for hours at a time.

The dilemma I'm having with my itty-bitty kitty at the moment is that we are leaving for vacation in a week and the people we normally have take care of her are joining us on our trip.....Now it's a process of who wouldn't mind doing us a favor/who will our kitty tolerate and not attack??? I guess I should clarify that she is a full-grown cat, but because she is a runt she looks like a year old kitten, we call her itty-bitty kitty! I guess we'll just have to leave the toilet seat up and the bag of cat food out like my husband suggested. SO NOT HAPPENING!!

The Sleeping Beauty

Matt took me and Chloe on a date last Friday night! We went to The Olive Garden for dinner and then to The Sleeping Beauty by Ballet West at the Capitol Theatre. This was our first professional ballet experience, and it was AMAZING! I don't think Matt enjoyed it quite as much as Chloe and I did. At one point he even leaned over to me and said, "I'm about to be the sleeping beauty!" Luckily, he has many months to gear up for The Nutcracker in December ! :)

JORDAN TURNS THIRTEEN

Jordan celebrated his 13th birthday on the 12th of February! He is growing up so fast, I wish I could slow down time somehow, but in the mean time Jordan brings much joy and happiness into our family!

13 Fun Facts about Jordan
-He loves tacos! (I feel bad that we don't have them more often, that's how much he loves them!)
-He hates asparagus. (I think he's been influenced by his dad on this one!)
-His favorite colors are blue & green.
-History is his favorite subject in school.
-English is his least favorite.
-His favorite place to go eat is Golden Corral. (Again, I feel bad because the only time he gets to eat there is when his Grandma Montague takes him.)
-Tanner and Gavin are his two best friends.
-His favorite TV show is Everwood. (We've been introducing the kids to all our favorite series that are no longer on the air.)
-His favorite movie is The Dark Knight.
-His favorite game is The Force Unleashed 2 on the Wii.
-His favorite place to go is Nickelcade. (It's a nickel arcade that his Roblyer grandparents take him every year around his birthday!)
-Pumpkin Pie is his favorite dessert.
-Jordan thinks the best thing about turning thirteen is he now has a Facebook account!

Happy Birthday, Jordan! We love you and your amazing example!