Summer is here!

Today was Roman's last day of preschool, and yesterday they put on a special program for us- it was DARLING! They sang 4 songs, played a song with bells, and each said a little line. This song was my favorite! Roman sings it all the time at home, but today was the first time hearing it for real- it brought tears to my eyes!! So sweet!

 

his class. the little boy on the front row, left side is the other Roman in his class. They're pretty good buddies!

Roman saying his part! He said, "Here is a strong snap dragon- As big, and as brave as Dad!"

 Roman with his teacher, Miss Arlene. She's amazing!!


I'm so proud of my boy! He has learned so much this year- he can write his name, count to 20, knows the days of the week, months of the year, and all the colors & shapes. He's learned the Pledge of Allegiance, a ton of cute songs/ poems, and has made the cutest projects that will probably turn me into a pack rat because I don't know how I'll ever be able to throw any of it away! Roman is such a smart boy & I can't wait to see how much he learns in his next year of preschool.... but until then, I'm going to enjoy our summer off together!!

PS- In other, not so happy, news the turtle has been missing for probably 3 weeks now- the boys some how lost him in the back yard. Well, today we found him... dead :(. He was in the trunk of Sterling's tricycle & the poor thing must have cooked to death! Ster's always hiding his favorite things in there, too bad the turtle was one of his favorite things!! And too bad we didn't think to look in there!! I think we're going to steer clear of the pets for a while!

Mother's Day

 It's been a lovely day! I've been able to enjoy my children & reflect on what a blessing it is to be a mother. We did our typical Sunday morning routine- got ready for church and Anthon & the boys made me some really sweet cards! I was SO excited for Roman to sing at church with the primary for the first time, but that didn't work out so well :(. He refused to even go up to the stage, so Anthon went up there with him but he didn't sing... he just cried the whole time! Ah, such is life with toddlers, I guess. They're unpredictable & won't do anything they don't want to do! There's always next year (& every year after that until he turns 12!) to hear him sing mother's day songs to me in sacrament.

Mom Had surgery this past week to repair her left hip& it went really well! It wasn't nearly as extensive of a procedure as they were anticipating & she's recovering really fast! We went to visit her this evening & she was so happy to see all of us! I'm really lucky to have such a great example of patience & faith unwavering for a mother!!

I don't ever want to forget how grateful I feel today to be a mother! It's such a noble calling, & I'm humbled to think how much the Lord trusts me to allow me to care for 2 of his tender little spirits! Next to being Anthon's wife, being a mom is the best part of my life!



Under the sea birthday party!!

Yesterday was Sterling's birthday party & it was a LOT of fun!! We kept it pretty simple- ate lunch, played outside in the water, opened presents, & had cupcakes.
Here's all the "kid food"

Octo-dogs. Sterling thought they were super cool!

Fruit beach balls

 Snacks- Cheese balls, fruit puffs, & goldfish

 Sterling was so excited when he saw his cupcakes! I realized with Roman's birthday party that buying the cupcakes was SO much easier than trying to make them or a cake myself! They bake & frost them perfectly, and all I have to do is add a little decorations & a candle :)

 The magnet board with all his pictures on it over the last 2 years and party favors for his guests. We gave them a little sand bucket with a shovel, rake, beach ball, sun glasses, & shark fruit snacks. They were a hit!

 After lunch, we moved the party outside! We had the slide into the pool for the older kids, a inflatable splash pad for the toddlers (which they all hated!), water balloons, side walk chalk, & bubbles. The weather was perfect- Not too hot for us parents, but not to cold for the kids to play in the water!

 Some of the party-goers :) Kelly with Livvi and Michele with baby Ryan and Grant.

 Grant loving the bubble machine

 Here they are singing "Happy Birthday" to Sterling... he loved it!

 Cup cake & present time!! He was a fan of the cupcakes and loved opening his present!

He got some fun Lego's, a fast car, some water toys, and some motorcycles (his favorite!)
It was such a fun day & I'm glad Sterling had a good time! He's such a sweet kid & I'm so thankful he's mine!!

The BEST day in a LONG time!!

Today was awesome for 2 reasons!

 1) Anthon & I finished school today &

2) It's Sterling's birthday!!

Time to elaborate on these events!!

1) We survived the semester!!!

This was us last week.

This is us today.

Needless to say, we're pretty relieved that this semester is over- it has been a douzey!! But, even though it was extremely tough, we were blessed SO much!! I know the Lord was helping us every step of the way- we were more organized than we've ever been and were able to figure out the balance between all our commitments so we didn't feel like we were slacking in any area. Oh & did I mention we both got A's?!?! Yes, I got an A in the hardest semester of nursing school!! & yes, Anthon got 4 A's- count 'em, 4!- while working & picking up my slack around the house! Oh yes, the Lord blessed us!! It truly is a miracle & there's no way we can take the credit for it... we can only express our gratitude- it's all because of His tender goodness!! We are SO thankful!!!

 2) Sterling turned 2!!!  

 Last night, Anthon & I carried out our birthday tradition & decorated Sterling's bed. He was so cute when he woke up & saw all the balloons! He just kept, "Ooo-ing" and saying "Balloon!" while pointing to them!

Of course, Anthon & I had to go to school & take our finals, but once we were finished we took him to do a couple fun birthday things.

First we took him to Krispy Kreme to get a birthday donut.

 Then, we took him to the mall to ride the carousel.

His actual birthday party isn't until this Saturday, but we had planned to have Mom come over for dinner, cake, & ice cream. It turned out that most of Anthon's family were down here today, but were going home before Saturday so they all came over to party with us. It was a full house & SO much fun!! I attempted to make him a cute birthday cake, but it wasn't as cute as I had hoped! 

 Thankfully, Sterling didn't care!

He got so many fun presents and was so adorable to watch open them!  

 

 

We are SO thankful for this sweet, special little boy! He has all 3 of us wrapped around his finger and our family would not be complete with out him!! Heavenly Father was so incredibly kind to bless us with Sterling and celebrating his birthday was the perfect way to be reminded of just how many blessing we have!!!

Today has been SUCH a good day!!

 We are truly blessed!!

 

Goal met

My heart is full. I set a goal at the beginning of this semester. The goal was to read one non-nursing book. More specifically, to read The Book of Mormon by the end of the semester. I'm happy to report that today I accomplished that goal!

I cannot even begin to tell you how much this goal has blessed my life!! Most people who pass nursing school say block 2 is the hardest. Most people who end up repeating a block, repeat block 2. It's tough- the content & course requirements are HARD!! But it doesn't matter. "... If ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me." I had faith that Heavenly Father would bless me get through this block, and I asked Him for help ALL THE TIME!! Not just with school, with every aspect of my life- my kids, my calling, my house, my marriage, my health... & He delivered! "Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you." I KNOW that promise is true! I KNOW God hears my prayers & answers them with perfect timing, in better ways than I could ever imagine! I feel so blessed from working toward this goal- almost unworthy of all the blessings I've received. All I've done is ask for what I've needed & believed that He'd help me, and I've been given SO much! Last semester, my goal was to not study on Sunday. I kept that goal last semester, carried it thru this semester, and know that I was given blessings because of my faith, but they seemed more specifically toward my academics. Reading The Book of Mormon this semester has blessed EVERY aspect of my life! It has strengthened my testimony so much!
 I know my Heavenly Father knows me! He knows my concerns, my weaknesses, my strengths. He knows what is best for me, He wants me to be happy, and all I have to do is ask Him. I asked... a LOT... this semester, & I am so happy I can't find sufficient words!

The end is near.... end of the semester, that is!!

 I haven't blogged too much about this semester, but today was my last day at clinical, so I figured it would be a good time to talk about it. I REALLY enjoyed my clinical group/ instructor & facility this semester! I was at Chandler Regional Hospital and had a lot of opportunities to see/ perform some really cool things!! Ok, maybe to some people watching operations, starting IV's or putting in a Foley catheter isn't that cool but to a 1st year nursing student, it's the COOLEST! I actually felt like I was doing real nursing tasks this semester, instead of just doing the dirty work licensed nurses didn't want to do or being a gopher! And not to brag or anything, but on my exit interview my instructor told me that I was her best student this semester... she may have said that to everyone else in the class (since the reviews were done one-on-one) but it sure made me feel good!

This was on the day I got to go to the OR and watch some surgeries! Super neat to see some operations, but kind of disgusting at the same time!

 This was my FAVORITE day in clinical! My friend, Jenn, & I got to go observe in the ER for the afternoon & saw some super cool things!! This was taken right be fore we watched a central line get put in.

My final is in a little over a week (on Sterling's birthday, to be exact) and this is how I'll be until then- Study, study, study!! Honestly, I'm pretty much OVER this semester- especially fluids & electrolytes!!! But, I think an A is in sight & it would be really awesome if I can get it... Wish me luck!!

Father's & Sons outing

Anthon took Roman to Father's & Sons this past weekend & they had a really fun time! He debated about taking Sterling, but we eventually decided that it would be best to wait another year before he gets to go... he still seems kind of young! Plus, Anthon took our friend's 2 boys since their dad had to work, so his hands were already pretty full! They went up Friday night, had dinner & a camp fire, slept, got up Saturday morning, ate breakfast, went on a little hike, and then headed home. Short & sweet! Anyway, here are the pictures Anthon took of their trip:

Roman on Saturday morning- I love that his belly is showing! Shows how big he's getting- those are size 4 pj's!

All ready for the hike, walking stick & all! I love his goofy expression!

 At the top of the hill, on the radio tower ^ & throwing rocks!

 

 Teagan, Rayle, & Roman- not sure what they're doing, but the poses are pretty cute!

 View from the top! I love that they have this special tradition every year! I know Roman really enjoys going camping with just his daddy- they get to bond in a way that they can't at home, and I love watching their relationship grow! Such a sweet daddy, & such a darling son!

Foreign body removal

Back in November, Roman fell off of a quad & got a little scrape on his hand. The scrape has since grown into the bump you see circled in red. His doctor referred us to a plastic surgeon, who suggested we remove whatever the mass was before it became an issue (by obstructing a nerve or something in his hand). We agreed & today was the big day of surgery!  

 

We had to be at the hospital by 6am, which means we had to leave the house by 5:30am. Roman was in unusually good spirits despite it being so early!

Well, he was in good spirits until they made him change out of his clothes into purple "girl" clothes and started talking about taking him away from me. Every time I'd talk to him at home about what was going to happen the day of the surgery, he always freaked out about the part when they take him to the OR & I go back tot he waiting room, so I asked the Dr. if they would give him something to help him relax before they took him. They gave him some versed & BOY did it make him relax! He acted like he was drunk- saying the funniest things, slurring his speech, having zero balance! It was hilarious- & definitely made it easier for both of us when they took him back!! When the time came, he just hopped in the little red wagon, laid down and said, "Bye, mom! See you later." like it was no big deal.

 

 This is him on the versed^ & below is in recovery when he came out of surgery.

 Everything with the surgery went great- turns out the foreign body was a cactus spine. But, when he woke up the anesthesia made him SUPER sick & he couldn't stop vomiting :(. After about an hour of throwing up, they gave him a shot to help calm his belly & he finally stopped vomiting.

 Once he got the shot, he was able to relax & fell asleep. He was snoring SO loud!! After about another hour of observation, they let us go home. He has a few stitches in his hand & a dressing over it, but I learned all about dressing changes this semester so I'm not too worried about it ;). 

As his special reward for being brave he got the helicopter Rescue Bot, Blades, which completed his set. He was SOO excited to have all of them!

He played with them all afternoon & acted like nothing had even happened this morning! I LOVE listening to him play with them! He kept saying phrases like, "Come on, fellas..." & "... Autobots, roll out!" His little imagination is darling!!

I'm so thankful that it's over & behind us! I'm especially thankful  that everything went well & that his little hand won't have any nerve damage!

Last month of being one!

I can't believe that Sterling is going to be 2 next month!! I haven't done a post on just him since he was 18 months, so I figured I might as well do one more while he's still 1! He's growing up so fast, but still seems like my little baby (course, it helps that he really is physically little- He's barely fitting into size 18 months)! His little personality is really starting to shine & it seems like he's learning/ doing new things everyday! Here are a few pictures that I've taken of him at 23 months old:

Even though he's small for his age, the boy LOVES food! He definitely is my good eater!

This is him seeing a horse for the first time... they both just stared at each other, like they were both thinking, "What is THAT?!?"

 Haha- He loves to be tough like his Daddy!!

 He's learned to jump on the trampoline... & it's pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen!

 He loves to "help" do dishes, which basically consists of pulling all the dirty dishes out or putting all his toys into the dishwasher.

Independent eating= lots of messes for me to clean up, but I don't mind! Like I said before, the boy loves his food!

I sure do enjoy this boy- I refer to him as my angel child probably more often than I should, but he really is a pleasure to be around all the time! He has such a sweet/ tender disposition and is always willing to give us hugs & kisses! My favorite is when he grabs my face, kisses one cheek, then turns my head & kisses then other cheek, & repeats that several times! He is such a joy to have in our home & I ADORE him!! I'm dreading the day when he hits the terrible two's & my sweet baby days are over :( I wish I could freeze time & have him stay this way forever!!!