A Sample (or history lesson) of Rome

The streets of Rome. Jared is sitting on the top level of the bus. How fun is that? He also used his self-portrait capturing talents so that I could see "that [he] was really there".

The famous Colloseum ruins (there is a story about this. Should I tell it? It's kind of embarrassing... Okay. I live in my own small little secure world and really need to think outside the box and find out what's really out there. One of the souvineers Jared brought back for me was a picture of this amazing huge building. I said, "Wow, that's cool. What is it?"

Jared was a little shocked, but not too, since he's lived with me and become aware of many of my moments of ignorance over the last, can you believe it will be 10 years in Dec.?

He mentioned to me, "where the Gladiators performed? Where the early Christians were slaughtered?" Nothing rang the bell for me. I wasn't exactly a straight "A" student in History.) So now I present to you, "Le Colosseo di Roma".

Jared (I think he looks like a missionary) at St. Peter's. By the way, now he can tell you that he doesn't speak Italian, in Italian.

He got some studying done while waiting for the Pope to come out. Boards are only weeks away!

There's the Pope! Jared had a pretty good seat. Twice a week they have these assemblies where the Pope addresses the tourists and groups that go to visit the Vatican.

Jared posing with the Vatican

Jared and the friends and family of the Dr. that he did research with last summer. Can you believe this doctor and his wife have 7 boys and 0 girls? It's not too late to change your votes!

This is Jared doing what he came here to do, present his research on the drug, "Clomid". Doesn't he look great? I'm so proud of him!

Welcome Home, Dad!

We got to pick Dad up at the airport today. Jace can't hold in his excitement for Dad to open the door and see what's inside. Welcome Home!

It is so nice to have Dad back! Throughout he week, Kyle kept asking, "Da-Da? Da-Da?" Lance blessed Dad in Rome during his prayers.

Jared was so glad to be home and driving on open rodes again. He had a great time (photos from trip to come), but felt almost claustrophobic with those buildings so close to the street. As for me, I'm so glad to have my man back.

(photo compliments of Jace)

Preparations for Dad's Homecoming

Jared has been gone all week to Rome, Italy. He did some research last summer that he was asked to present at an international conference there. He comes home tomorrow. Jace spent hours making many signs for him. He says he wants to put them all over the house. Then he said, "Except I wouldn't want him to be embarrassed, like, 'Welcome to ya bathroom!'." This kid cracks me up.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My Mom has been a huge blessing in my life. I remember her having an incredible patience with all of us kids. If I had known as a child what I know now about the sacrifice and trials she went through to bring us into this world, I hope that I would have behaved differently. She had severe difficulties in getting each of us here, and still had FOUR of us! I think I would have quit sooner. Thank goodness she didn't give up, despite her doctor telling her she should stop having children after me. My Mom and Dad changed doctors at that point. I will let the one person that was by my mom's side, throughout this journey, share these experiences. I asked my Dad to send me a rough description of what Mom went through, and he tells it well:

Jimmy (my older brother) had complications, but minor, compared to the next three. Mom sensitized (developed antibodies to his blood) before he was born (that was the reason the Rhogam didn’t work). Jimmy had to spend some time under the bilirubin lights because he was jaundiced. After Jimmy, our doctors did not warn us that our next pregnancy would be high risk. We only found this out after Mom attended her first doctor appointment, after she became pregnant. Soon, Dr. Frances started doing amniocentesis procedures. It was at that time that I figured out that this was a job for a specialist. While doing the procedure, he broke out in a sweat. Our search led to the U of U where we met Dr. Scott, head OB. He was then doing research into spontaneous sensitization, which was what happened to Mom (blood was passed between Mom and Jimmy before he was born). Dr. Scott had contributed to research that resulted in mothers receiving the Rhogam shot before the baby is born.
Jenny -- We were living in Provo while I finished writing my Masters Thesis. We began going up to the U every week to do the amniocentesis with doctors there. We always went out to eat at Whataburger in SLC while we were there. (I think this is why I love eating at Whataburger now.) During those visits, the doctors figured out that Mom had a condition they called Vena Cava Syndrome. During the amnio, the syndrome caused mom to become faint. One thing that helped her is if I would fan her during the amnio. (She had to lay very still throughout the procedure. I think she told me that she prayed during this time, too, and it helped) The doctors figured out that they needed to wait until everything was ready to do the amnio before they had her lay on her back. Otherwise, her blood flow was restricted and she would pass out. When the results from the amnios suggested it was time to deliver, they scheduled us to come in for Mom to be induced. That was about 3 weeks before the actual due date, I believe. The labor was more difficult than the prior labor with Jimmy. As soon as Jenny came out, she was taken away and I followed. Mom didn’t get to see Jenny at that time. I reported back to Mom later that Jenny had Kim’s fingers – nice and long. The doctor that did most of the amnios for Jenny was ready, right after Jenny was born to schedule me for a vasectomy. He seemed to think it was automatic. Obviously, we had to think and pray hard to make a decision like what was suggested. Mom was not quite 24 years old at the time of Jenny’s birth.
(One miscarriage and SEVEN years later, my Mom was expecting another little girl.) We lived in Midland when Jamie was born in 1985 and Mom had just turned 31 years old. When Mom conceived, we started our research to find out where to go. We concluded that Texas Tech was the place; the hospital was in Lubbock. Now, the trips for the amnios were longer. We had to travel about 120 miles each time. Jamie was scheduled to be delivered early also. From the outset, we explained that they would have to deal with the Vena Cava Syndrome. Mom had to have Jamie both ways (normal and C-section), almost. Mom was induced when the time came but one of the nurses noticed that with each contraction, the baby’s heart rate decreased. After the doctors consulted, they decided that it would be too stressful on the baby to have her naturally, and they began to prepare for a C-section. They didn’t know what the problem was. When she was delivered, however, they figured out that something went wrong with the placenta and Jamie’s blood had been almost completely drained out. (I remember that Jimmy, and I were yellow babies, and Jamie was called the "white" baby.)
Johnny – This was the pregnancy where Mom suffered the most. The doctors that would be required to help Johnny were 500 miles away, in Houston. Texas Children's Hospital was the only facility in the whole US that was doing intrauterine transfusions. Because of the increasing problems with each child, the blood would have to be transfused before he was born. It was a tricky procedure then. I don’t know how common it is now. Mom had severe water retention with Johnny – she gained 40 pounds. Our doctor in Midland was consulting with the Houston doctors regularly and on our last visit to him, after he saw the results, they agreed that we need to get to Houston immediately (this was at approximately 29 weeks gestation). Grandad (my Dad's Dad, who is an airplane pilot) was allowed to borrow Roger Canter’s bonanza and we took off for Houston within just an hour or two. It was a hard ride for Mom. The air was very bumpy, she was swollen from the water retention, and she was frightened about what was next. The intrauterine transfusions have a tendency to cause moms to start labor. This was the case with Mom. They kept giving her drugs to stop the contractions but they were losing the battle. We were in the hospital about 10 days before delivery. Mom had to spend most of the time in bed. She got pneumonia during this time. Some of the drugs caused her legs to shake uncontrollably. The doctors were still trying to stop the labor and prolong Johnny’s stay in the uterus. It was about 3:00 am on the 17th of December that the doctors were preparing Mom for another transfusion when the baby’s heart stopped. She was not properly sedated for surgery but the doctors performed an emergency C-section. I estimated that from the time the baby’s heart stopped until he was delivered was about 45 seconds. Interestingly, the surgical scar from that C-section is crooked. The doctors were concentrating on performance, not esthetics, at that time. (If I'm remembering right, Johnny got the "blue baby" title).

Today, all four of us are still here and turned out just peachy (in color, that is). Aside from my and Johnny's hearing loss, we have pretty much lead normal lives (although our friends and loved ones might disagree). Since then, the family has grown a little. I am so grateful for my Mom's faith that she could do it, and that she needed to have each of us, despite the difficulties she and Dad went through.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I love you!

Happy Birthday, Dear Mom...

Mom was a good sport about putting on the Birthday Hat.

I had to throw this one in... Do you think any of this French Silk Pie got in his mouth?

Good Things Left

Yesterday we took a trip to the library to get started on our summer reading. Lance picked 3 books out that he was very excited about. Jace picked one book out, and I told him he ought to get another one because he is a fast reader. I also got Charlotte's Web for him despite him saying he didn't want to read it.

What is it about when you desire something for your child, that you know is good because you've tasted it yourself, and they don't want much to do with it? It reminds me of a Tree of Life story...

Anyway, I told him my story of how my second grade teacher read Charlotte's Web to our class and I remembered her crying in the end and I thought it was a good book because she cried. Okay, maybe that scared him away.

But nonetheless, I know this is a good book, and he's gotta enjoy it like I did! But I didn't push it on him, I just sort of left it on him.

We brought the library books home and enjoyed them during quiet time. Only Jace came to me and said, "Mom, I've read both the books I picked out." He was bummed that we wouldn't be going back to the library until next week. We will definitely bring a bigger pile home next week!

So today, at quiet time, I left "Charlotte's Web" sitting there on the couch that Jace usually reads on. We got home from church and I noticed Jace pick up the book and begin reading. A bit later, I called all the kids to the table for lunch. It was so funny; he held the book under the table and continued to read it while the other 2 boys scrambled in and got situated. I don't know if he was hiding it or just held it there out of convenience, either way, I left it alone. Except for when I asked him if Wilbur had gone to the state fair yet, and he hadn't. Ooops.

He hurried through lunch, and after clearing his place, was back on the couch engrossed again. He's now over halfway through, and may be finished with it tomorrow. Time for another trip to the library... I think we'll walk, what with the horrendous gas issues -- and we'll be making a lot of trips there this summer.

So do you think, if I put a Book of Mormon on his "reading couch", we would see the same result?

Foccacia Bread Recipe

A couple of friends have requested this recipe, so here it is!

However you say it, this stuff's good! I have enjoyed this recipe for the last 10 years since I was introduced to it at my first Pampered Chef party. It works great for summer lunches or dinners. My kids will eat it!

Fantastic Foccacia Bread


1 Tbsp. (scant) yeast
1 ½ cups warm water
2 Tbsp. oil
2 Tbsp. honey
3 ½- 4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt

Mix in bread machine on dough setting or in a Bosch or KitchenAid mixer. Divide dough in half. Roll each half of dough into a 12 inch circle.
Toppings:
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese, I believe we end up using more than this
2/3 cups (2 oz) Romano or parmesan cheese
2 tsp. oregano leaves, dried - we use Italian Seasoning instead
2 firm plum tomatoes (Roma), sliced thin - if you use garden tomatoes, the taste is heavenly!

Place dough on cookie sheets or baking stones. Spread garlic evenly over crusts. Sprinkle half of Romano cheese on crusts, then half of Mozzarella and half oregano. Arrange tomato slices in single layer over cheese. Top w/ remaining mozzarella, oregano, and romano. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly (time varies depending on your oven). Cut into squares. Serves 8.

*If I don’t have Romano cheese, I just use extra Parmesan and it’s still great!
Thanks, Pampered Chef!

Whoa, Baby!

It is time for an announcement: We're expecting! Even if I was trying to keep this a secret, it would be impossible. There's no denying this protruding belly. I no longer fit in my normal pants- unless I do the rubber band trick.

I went to see the doctor last Tuesday and when he checked my uterus, he said, "Whoa! You have a larger than normal uterus. We'd better make sure that's not twins." Okay, maybe he didn't say, "Whoa" but he may as well have.

So at this point, I was kind of excited (okay, and scared) because my friend from high school is due to have her 3rd the same day as me, January 12, and she just found out that she is pregnant with twins! What would be the odds of us BOTH having twins on the same day?

We looked at the ultrasound, and this is what we found:

Only one little ant (don't you think he looks like one, with the sections?) The head is the ball on the right, and the body is the one on the left. We could see his little arms and legs flittering as well as the heartbeat. I'm actually due a little earlier than I thought. Yeah! A few weeks for free! According to the size of the baby, I'm due on December 31st. Wouldn't that be a great party? Happy New Year!

It's too early to tell, but wouldn't it be neat to have a complete basketball team of 5 boys? If it is a girl, then she could play basketball, too. :)

For now, I will refer to him as a boy, since the odds seem to lean that way. This pregnancy has felt the same as any. Jared's sisters both have all boys - One with two and one with four. There are no girl grandchildren in the family. So with these statistics, I welcome your vote as to what you think we will have. Good luck! I hope your vote wins! :) We will find out in a few months!

As for my vote, I'm voting for a healthy baby. I am SO grateful that we've been blessed with good pregnancies and healthy, strong babies so far; here's to another healthy bundle of sweetness!

Super Mom

Ever feel like you can never measure up to be what you want to be?

Today, Lance came to me and said,

"Mom, I want you to be a Super-Mom."

What do you do with that? Say, "um no, I'm just not SuperMom material. I'm sorry I got grumpy with you earlier today, I will try to do better?"

Nonetheless, Lance saved my self-image today. He handed me a "cape", put his "cape" on, and we ran all over the house being "Super"!

Now I know what to do when I am having a not-so-super-feeling-day. I'll just ask Lance for my "cape".

My Favorite Pun

I have to share this. Every time I put a pun in my blog, I remember this joke and can't suppress a smile. Jared's good friend from high school is an awesome joke teller. Every time our families are together, he keeps me laughing. He even sends out an email every week with a couple jokes and an uplifting story. He reminds me of the hymn, "Have I Done Any Good in the World today?" which, by the way, is Jared's favorite hymn. He and Jared used to double date together a lot and plan the least expensive, most fun dates they could think of.

Anyway, here is my favorite pun. I have to tell you, there were two straight days that I couldn't NOT laugh every time I remembered it. Jared got a kick out of just watching me be so silly. It's probably more funny to me :) But nevertheless, I must share it!




A friend of mine entered a pun contest. He sent in ten different entries hoping
one would win, but unfortunately no pun in ten did.




Thanks for putting up with it.

Saturday Cont'd.

The Medical Spouse Association had a closing social - we went bowling!

Yup, that's me. I figure the higher I keep my back leg up, the better chance of a strike. Jace had a ball. No pun intended.

Check this out! They had these nice ramps for the little kids! Lance couldn't wait 'til it was his turn again! Kyle is hanging loose with Grandma Judy's necklace on. It was so nice to have Judy with us for the fun, and to help with the kids -- the kids...where'd Kyle go?

Kyle, you're not s'posed to walk there! Maybe he thought it was a runway.

Saturday

I love Saturdays. It's the only day, besides Sunday, that we have all the kids together, with us, all day. Last Saturday we decided to go on a hike. We took the Bob stroller, mainly for Kyle, Lance hiked most of it himself, and headed up to Red Butte Gardens with some friends. Again, I am so glad we live close to this!

All we need is our fishing rods!

Kyle is checking this one out. I think it jumped out of the water right when I snapped this photo! (click on it to enlarge)

Hangin' with the gecko. Jace picked this one specifically to sit on. He and Gramma Tilton have exchanged a few letters about the gecko that lives outside her house. Someday I think this kid's going to need one of his own! (In a cage, of course).

Elsa and Lance enjoying the cute baby ducks. Can you see them following their mom? They were SO cute!

Erik, Lance, Elsa, and Kyle buddying up inside the children's house.

This concluded our morning outing. Now it was home for quicky naps (for the little ones) and then up again for some bowling!

"The Sun Did Not Shine..."

"... It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house all that cold, cold wet day. I sat there with [Kyle], we sat there, we two. And I said, 'How I wish we had something to do!' Too wet to go out and too cold to play ball. So we sat in the house. We did nothing at all. So all we could do was to sit!

Sit!

Sit!

Sit!

And we did not like it. Not one little bit." (Well, maybe a little bit!)
- "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Suess - my favorite book to read to the kids. I find myself begging to read it again, and Lance is like, "No, not again!" We know it so well, we recite it in the van together, finishing each other's sentences.

Kyle kept his post by the window a lot of today. By the way, Lance wrapped him in this blanket while he sat there, and he kept it! So sweet.
Later on, Lance and I were in the bedroom organizing the bookshelf when last I heard from Jared about Kyle was that he was just there by the window, looking out. Poor kid! Next thing I knew, I went to check on Kyle, and he had put himself down for his nap, on the floor, by the window, blanket and all! I was so shocked I forgot to get the picture. So here he is, soundly in his crib once I moved him. That window watching must be exhausting! (BTW, Gramma Tilton made this quilt and pillowcase :O) Thanks Gramma!)

It is hard to believe we had just gone on this hike the day before:

Kyle is singing some more sounds of music in the hills. Lance is obviously having the time of his life. He called this a "special hike". This was our first time venturing this trail. We found this patch of yellow and decided to stop and take it in. Can you believe these flowers?!