Just thought you all would want to know...I got a solar oven for my birthday and we baked in it today! Jake made us some cupcakes and they were fabulous. Nothing burns in the solar oven. I got distracted with the last batch and left them in WAY too long and came back to find them just perfect...waiting to be eaten. I'm going to be experimenting this week with dinners...should be fun. The weather has been great but I hear rain is on the way so we'll see how it goes...
Thank you for calling me on my birthday my fabulous siblings/siblings-in-laws and parents...it really is what I look forward to the most...talking to most of my family in one day. Thank you for remembering!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Rough Day
It has been a while since I have actually posted anything, but something happened the other day that made me think, and seeing how I am the only person in the world without their own blog, I thought I could share it with you and take advantage of Michelle's.
So I was sitting at work on Friday like any other day. Mom had called around 9:00 and I was talking to her on the phone. Then my work phone rang and it was Lisa but I didn't answer. Then within a couple of minutes it rang again. So I got off the phone with Mom and answered the call from Lisa.
About two weeks ago, Lisa had a contact replaced. It had been bothering her so she set an appointment with the eye doctor, this last Friday. She goes in and he cant see anything wrong with it and says everything looks fine. Then she mentions that Adelle has a little white spot in her eye. It has been there ever since she was born. It is a very small white spot in the middle of the black part of her right eye. We noticed it soon after she was born but never thought anything of it. Well, Lisa explained it to her optometrist and he said he would take a look at it. Because Adelle is only 5 months old, it is difficult for her to keep her eyes still for very long. He talked with Lisa about it and said, you need to get in and get this looked at right away. A white spot in the eye is a symptom of Retinoblastoma. I can't remember if he told Lisa or if she read it online that it is the number one killer of children under the age of three or something like that.
It is amazing how quickly your whole life can get turned upside down. Lisa went home and called to set up an appointment with the specialist. After being pushed from one person to the next (because they don't want you to see anyone without a referral) they are able to get us an appointment at 2:30 pm that day. So then came the fun part, waiting.
My thoughts were anywhere other than work. I thought about a huge range of possibilities. I thought everything from maybe she will lose an eye or maybe we are going to lose her. Then I thought, well maybe this will be a great missionary opportunity. Maybe it will give us the opportunity to teach everyone about the resurrection. Maybe it will help us to share the gospel with someone. In my head I was running through the principles that we have all been taught. She will be saved because she is a child. We will still be able to raise her in the millennium, and (don't take this the wrong way) but maybe it will be easier then because we won't be so tired in the middle of the night. (I know that probably sounds horrible, but she has had a rough couple of weeks lately sleeping...or not sleeping for that matter) I thought, life is going too smoothly right now. My job is good. My studying is going well. We are all healthy. Our callings are good. Everything was too perfect, its about time that something came along to keep us humble. I thought maybe she will just lose one eye. Would she have to have a glass eye? (Please, not Mr. Pletta) I thought, had I just been totally clueless? Had I missed any promptings telling me that the spot in her eye was a problem? Am I already a failure as a father?
Anyways, I was doing pretty well for a while. In my mind, I was going to be strong and it was going to be fine I could handle it. Then, I had to go tell my boss that I needed to leave early to go to the appointment. My boss (who is in my Stake presidency) is a really great guy. I really love working with him and he is a good friend too. So of course he asked, whats up? why do you need to leave early. So then I had to explain it to him. Putting the situation into verbal words was so much more difficult than I had imagined.
So I left and we got home and Adelle was fast asleep when I got there. I saw the tiny little baby sleeping on Lisa and my heart just hurt. She is such a beautiful little girl. She is a good baby. We have had a couple of rough nights, but she is a good baby. So we go to the doctor's and just sit, waiting for a while.
Neither Lisa or I had much to talk about or much to say because we were both some combination of nervous, scared, etc. We get called in and sit down and the doctor comes in. Then he puts on some crazy devices to help him get a better look at her eye. He looks and doesn't say much for a while. Then he says he needs to dilate her eyes so he can get a better look. While he was getting the stuff together to do that, Lisa mentions what the other doctor said and he says, oh no, that is not at all what that is. That is not even in my thought process. This looks like something on the lens and is completely unrelated. After further exams, he determined that it is just a little genetic defect on the lens of her eye. He compared it to a little water spot. It is not anything that will grow or change or ever be a problem in the future. He said that as soon as she is old enough to have her vision tested, he would expect her to have 20/20 vision. It should not affect her vision in any way. Wow, the relief that we felt coming out of there was indescribable. We are thinking that optometrist wasn't able to get a good view of it because Adelle was looking around so much. It is difficult to see unless you are staring right at her. Even then, the reflection or glare of the light off of her eye often prevents you from being able to see it. When you see her you probably won't even notice it unless you remember this story.
I was telling this guy in my ward, my oldest child is not even 2 1/2 and I have already had several experiences with them to make sure I know how precious they are. Between Lisa's bed rest with Sarah for 4 months, Lisa's phone call telling me to meet her at the emergency room after Sarah's seizures, the miscarriage in our bedroom, and now this, I am gaining a great appreciation for my special little girls. Then I thought about Carter's recent experience too. And Kristin's recent experience with Charlie. Luckily for all of us, things have all turned out well. We may have had some scares, but at least we are all still around to talk about it. These experiences will all serve as little reminders of just how precious these little children are. One day everything is fine, and one day it is not. You just never know how long you or they will have. I am definitely not complaining. So far I feel very lucky that I have had these difficult experiences without anything really major going wrong. I got home that night and gave Sarah the biggest hug I had given her in a long time. The hugs just aren't the same after experiences like this. They mean so much more. I just wanted to tell you all to make sure you give your kids an extra hug before they go to bed. Even if nothing ever goes wrong, they will all get old and move out eventually so we have to enjoy them while we have them.
-Matty
P.S. When I realized how long post was, I officially decided it is time to start my own blog so that I don't take up so much space on this one and so you only have to read my mindless dribble if you really want to, not just so you can get to the next post. So I don't really have a name yet, but it will definitely be a private blog though, so I will be in touch for email addresses to tell you when I get a blog.
So I was sitting at work on Friday like any other day. Mom had called around 9:00 and I was talking to her on the phone. Then my work phone rang and it was Lisa but I didn't answer. Then within a couple of minutes it rang again. So I got off the phone with Mom and answered the call from Lisa.
About two weeks ago, Lisa had a contact replaced. It had been bothering her so she set an appointment with the eye doctor, this last Friday. She goes in and he cant see anything wrong with it and says everything looks fine. Then she mentions that Adelle has a little white spot in her eye. It has been there ever since she was born. It is a very small white spot in the middle of the black part of her right eye. We noticed it soon after she was born but never thought anything of it. Well, Lisa explained it to her optometrist and he said he would take a look at it. Because Adelle is only 5 months old, it is difficult for her to keep her eyes still for very long. He talked with Lisa about it and said, you need to get in and get this looked at right away. A white spot in the eye is a symptom of Retinoblastoma. I can't remember if he told Lisa or if she read it online that it is the number one killer of children under the age of three or something like that.
It is amazing how quickly your whole life can get turned upside down. Lisa went home and called to set up an appointment with the specialist. After being pushed from one person to the next (because they don't want you to see anyone without a referral) they are able to get us an appointment at 2:30 pm that day. So then came the fun part, waiting.
My thoughts were anywhere other than work. I thought about a huge range of possibilities. I thought everything from maybe she will lose an eye or maybe we are going to lose her. Then I thought, well maybe this will be a great missionary opportunity. Maybe it will give us the opportunity to teach everyone about the resurrection. Maybe it will help us to share the gospel with someone. In my head I was running through the principles that we have all been taught. She will be saved because she is a child. We will still be able to raise her in the millennium, and (don't take this the wrong way) but maybe it will be easier then because we won't be so tired in the middle of the night. (I know that probably sounds horrible, but she has had a rough couple of weeks lately sleeping...or not sleeping for that matter) I thought, life is going too smoothly right now. My job is good. My studying is going well. We are all healthy. Our callings are good. Everything was too perfect, its about time that something came along to keep us humble. I thought maybe she will just lose one eye. Would she have to have a glass eye? (Please, not Mr. Pletta) I thought, had I just been totally clueless? Had I missed any promptings telling me that the spot in her eye was a problem? Am I already a failure as a father?
Anyways, I was doing pretty well for a while. In my mind, I was going to be strong and it was going to be fine I could handle it. Then, I had to go tell my boss that I needed to leave early to go to the appointment. My boss (who is in my Stake presidency) is a really great guy. I really love working with him and he is a good friend too. So of course he asked, whats up? why do you need to leave early. So then I had to explain it to him. Putting the situation into verbal words was so much more difficult than I had imagined.
So I left and we got home and Adelle was fast asleep when I got there. I saw the tiny little baby sleeping on Lisa and my heart just hurt. She is such a beautiful little girl. She is a good baby. We have had a couple of rough nights, but she is a good baby. So we go to the doctor's and just sit, waiting for a while.
Neither Lisa or I had much to talk about or much to say because we were both some combination of nervous, scared, etc. We get called in and sit down and the doctor comes in. Then he puts on some crazy devices to help him get a better look at her eye. He looks and doesn't say much for a while. Then he says he needs to dilate her eyes so he can get a better look. While he was getting the stuff together to do that, Lisa mentions what the other doctor said and he says, oh no, that is not at all what that is. That is not even in my thought process. This looks like something on the lens and is completely unrelated. After further exams, he determined that it is just a little genetic defect on the lens of her eye. He compared it to a little water spot. It is not anything that will grow or change or ever be a problem in the future. He said that as soon as she is old enough to have her vision tested, he would expect her to have 20/20 vision. It should not affect her vision in any way. Wow, the relief that we felt coming out of there was indescribable. We are thinking that optometrist wasn't able to get a good view of it because Adelle was looking around so much. It is difficult to see unless you are staring right at her. Even then, the reflection or glare of the light off of her eye often prevents you from being able to see it. When you see her you probably won't even notice it unless you remember this story.
I was telling this guy in my ward, my oldest child is not even 2 1/2 and I have already had several experiences with them to make sure I know how precious they are. Between Lisa's bed rest with Sarah for 4 months, Lisa's phone call telling me to meet her at the emergency room after Sarah's seizures, the miscarriage in our bedroom, and now this, I am gaining a great appreciation for my special little girls. Then I thought about Carter's recent experience too. And Kristin's recent experience with Charlie. Luckily for all of us, things have all turned out well. We may have had some scares, but at least we are all still around to talk about it. These experiences will all serve as little reminders of just how precious these little children are. One day everything is fine, and one day it is not. You just never know how long you or they will have. I am definitely not complaining. So far I feel very lucky that I have had these difficult experiences without anything really major going wrong. I got home that night and gave Sarah the biggest hug I had given her in a long time. The hugs just aren't the same after experiences like this. They mean so much more. I just wanted to tell you all to make sure you give your kids an extra hug before they go to bed. Even if nothing ever goes wrong, they will all get old and move out eventually so we have to enjoy them while we have them.
-Matty
P.S. When I realized how long post was, I officially decided it is time to start my own blog so that I don't take up so much space on this one and so you only have to read my mindless dribble if you really want to, not just so you can get to the next post. So I don't really have a name yet, but it will definitely be a private blog though, so I will be in touch for email addresses to tell you when I get a blog.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Some Malia moments...
It's been awhile. malia has one liners ALL THE TIME but I haven't posted any lately...so here's two. Sunday naps are my all time favorite thing to do. So, this Sunday I asked malia if she wanted to take a nap with me and she said yes. So, we crawl in my bed, her hogging my black pillow, and settle in. She happily sucked her thumb for like 5 minutes and then looked at me and said, "Mom, I'm just going to take a short nap today, okay?" I said, "Okay." Then she said, "Mom, what time is it?" I looked at the clock and told her what time it was. She looked at me and said, "Oh good, that's what time my nap is over."
Nice.
A couple of days ago, I bought her a cute new spring dress for her school pictures. I showed it to her and she loved it. Then, today on the way home from preschool, she said, "Mom, I ordered a sparkly dress for my pictures, not a PINK dress."
Really, she ORDERED a dress? From where????
Nice.
A couple of days ago, I bought her a cute new spring dress for her school pictures. I showed it to her and she loved it. Then, today on the way home from preschool, she said, "Mom, I ordered a sparkly dress for my pictures, not a PINK dress."
Really, she ORDERED a dress? From where????
Monday, March 8, 2010
Demented conversations between Mother and Daughter
This is for those of you who understand Kristin (she has no idea I'm posting this).
Background: Charlie drinks a formula blend. We mix formula from two large 32oz canisters, we call "jugs", ones a standard Lipil formula, the other is a Lipil with rice starch to help keep Charlies spit-up to a minimum. We cant give her the straight rice mix because it gives her too much gas. So tonight, Mackenzie decides to help with feeding Charlie....
Kenz: "How do I make her formula?"
Kristin: "Pull out the two jugs".
Kenz: "What jugs?"
Kristin: "Right there, your two jugs, pull them out and feed the baby."
(At this point, I look at Kristin and start laughing, I can see she knows full well what shes saying but Kenz is oblivious to the innuendo).
Kenz: "I cant find them."
Kristin: "What do you mean you can't find your jugs....Fine then pull out my jugs and feed her."
Kenz: "Where are your jugs? I cant find the jugs and whose Jugs should I use."
Kristin: "It doesn't matters whose Jugs, I don't care, just pull out two jugs and feed her."
Kenz: "Are these the jugs?"
Honestly I cant remember the rest, it did continue...I was too busy laughing...Kenz never caught on. Some demented version of "Who's on First".
Background: Charlie drinks a formula blend. We mix formula from two large 32oz canisters, we call "jugs", ones a standard Lipil formula, the other is a Lipil with rice starch to help keep Charlies spit-up to a minimum. We cant give her the straight rice mix because it gives her too much gas. So tonight, Mackenzie decides to help with feeding Charlie....
Kenz: "How do I make her formula?"
Kristin: "Pull out the two jugs".
Kenz: "What jugs?"
Kristin: "Right there, your two jugs, pull them out and feed the baby."
(At this point, I look at Kristin and start laughing, I can see she knows full well what shes saying but Kenz is oblivious to the innuendo).
Kenz: "I cant find them."
Kristin: "What do you mean you can't find your jugs....Fine then pull out my jugs and feed her."
Kenz: "Where are your jugs? I cant find the jugs and whose Jugs should I use."
Kristin: "It doesn't matters whose Jugs, I don't care, just pull out two jugs and feed her."
Kenz: "Are these the jugs?"
Honestly I cant remember the rest, it did continue...I was too busy laughing...Kenz never caught on. Some demented version of "Who's on First".
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Look Who's Talking
Charlie is at such a fun stage right now. She is starting to find her voice and to smile her goofy smile often. I thought I'd post this little video clip of her talking to Mackenzie (especially for those that haven't got to meet her yet). It's pretty cute!
Monday, March 1, 2010
What I love about Bella...
Bella turned 7 yesterday. She got to celebrate with two of her favorite people...Nana and Emily..in Valencia. So, I thought I'd post a few things I love about her...
She is kind. Her brothers aren't very nice to her sometimes but she bends over backwards to do nice things for them...color a picture, make an ez bake, share her candy, etc.
She is a great student. Her teachers love her because she is on the ball. She works hard and she loves school. She will let the teacher know if something is not being done correctly.
She has plenty of self-confidence...she'll sing, dance, act, whatever...in front of whoever will listen.
She is adventurous. She loved the roller coasters at Disneyland and California Adventure. She will try any sport. She's pretty much game for anything.
She thinks she is 16. She knows who she is and what she wants. And...she'll tell you too. She likes to hang out with older kids because they're well-suited for her. She is not intimidated in the least by anyone, including adults. (Sometimes I wish she was intimidated by me, but she's not...)
She is sensitive to others' feelings. She notices when people are sad or upset and she tries to make them feel better...especially Malia.
She is a good example. She knows what's right and she likes to do it.
She goes the extra mile. When she has her heart into something, she will give it 110 percent.
She is missing one front tooth! IT is funny to look at!
Her freckles and curly blonde hair. She started getting freckles before she could walk and I love them on her. Her hair is getting curlier every day and I love how it looks on her. She is a beautiful girl.
She has her own sense of style. She has been picking her own clothes for a long time and I love that she knows what she likes. She has started doing her own hair now which is kind of fun too. It doesn't always turn out how I like it but she doesn't seem to care!
She loves, loves, loves babies! If there is one around, she wants to be holding him or her forever! She is great with younger children too, but has a definite soft spot for those snuggly babies.
Bella is a wonderful girl. We are lucky to have her in our family. We love you Bella!
She is kind. Her brothers aren't very nice to her sometimes but she bends over backwards to do nice things for them...color a picture, make an ez bake, share her candy, etc.
She is a great student. Her teachers love her because she is on the ball. She works hard and she loves school. She will let the teacher know if something is not being done correctly.
She has plenty of self-confidence...she'll sing, dance, act, whatever...in front of whoever will listen.
She is adventurous. She loved the roller coasters at Disneyland and California Adventure. She will try any sport. She's pretty much game for anything.
She thinks she is 16. She knows who she is and what she wants. And...she'll tell you too. She likes to hang out with older kids because they're well-suited for her. She is not intimidated in the least by anyone, including adults. (Sometimes I wish she was intimidated by me, but she's not...)
She is sensitive to others' feelings. She notices when people are sad or upset and she tries to make them feel better...especially Malia.
She is a good example. She knows what's right and she likes to do it.
She goes the extra mile. When she has her heart into something, she will give it 110 percent.
She is missing one front tooth! IT is funny to look at!
Her freckles and curly blonde hair. She started getting freckles before she could walk and I love them on her. Her hair is getting curlier every day and I love how it looks on her. She is a beautiful girl.
She has her own sense of style. She has been picking her own clothes for a long time and I love that she knows what she likes. She has started doing her own hair now which is kind of fun too. It doesn't always turn out how I like it but she doesn't seem to care!
She loves, loves, loves babies! If there is one around, she wants to be holding him or her forever! She is great with younger children too, but has a definite soft spot for those snuggly babies.
Bella is a wonderful girl. We are lucky to have her in our family. We love you Bella!
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