Happy 3rd Birthday Bella!

My darling niece Bella turned 3 today! We had a celebration for her yesterday and it was so fun to have everyone together.

She was just so happy and here is the gang gathered together having dinner!

Auntie Heidi with Bella...it's been so fun to watch Bella grow into a darling three year old! I love you Bella!

Cake Time!

Bella was excited to put her own candles in her cake....

Here she is blowing them out...all three of them!

Kyler and Bella pretending to blow out the candles again!! They just had too much fun!

Bella with her Mommy...

Present Time

Aunt Heidi just loves giving Bella and her sisters clothes! She got some darling jeans with a matching sweater and a monkey shirt and socks. Then she also got this darling ladybug rain jacket. Bella was so excited that that...she was wearing it all around the house it was so cute. Amy said she was really excited about having a jacket and had been talking about it to her mom before.

Bella asked me where the rain pants were to go with the jacket!! She is so darling!

Ok so the outfit is from Gymboree and they run big....so these pants have like 3 inches to grow into!! I guess it will be awhile till she can wear them! But she can wear the sweater and the shirt now. The rain jacket is a size 3/4 so Bella and both of her sisters will get lots of wear out of it over the next few years!

Kyler and Bella are just 1 1/2 years apart and they love to play together. It's fun to see the cute friendship that they have. Here they are being silly together waiting for us to have cake!

Party Hats!

Bella was so very excited about her birthday party and especially her party hats. Here are some photos I took of her having fun getting ready for and enjoying her party!!

Here are the kids with Bella celebrating with the party hats!!

What a smiley birthday girl!

Dallyn giving loves to Abby who really isn't sure if she likes the party hat idea!! =)

Hayley

Yesterday I got to spend some time with my darling niece Hayley. She is smiling now and has grown so much in the past three weeks since we got together last time. She sure looks like her sisters! It was fun getting to visit her!

Because of RSV season my kids haven't been able to be around her (Dr.'s orders) but I get to hold her and Scott fed her a bottle..its been awhile since that was a part of our life.

Kaylie's good friend Allie was in the friend magazine yesterday! Kaylie was really excited and wanted to take a photo. It's fun to see your friends in the Friend!

Happy Birthday Tyler!

My darling nephew Tyler turned one this month and we got together to Celebrate on Monday. He is just so darling and the kids love having him around! Here are a few photos from the other night!

Tyler having a fun time playing with his puzzle from Grandma and Grandpa Black! Such fun times!

Andrew's Baptism

Well 2010 started out with a bang as my brother in law Andrew made the decision to be baptized on January 1st. It was such a special day and lots of family was able to be together for this very special day in Andrew's life. There was such a special spirit there, it was so wonderful to see Andrew take this step in his life and to move forward with faith, enthusiasm and dedication!!

Scott's Dad Jim was asked to baptize him. Everyone in the family participated in someway. Scott and his brother Richard were witnesses and all the children in the family sang. It was really special!

Here's a photo of Andrew with the Elder's that taught him. He is a living example of 'never say never'!! =)

This is one of the family photos that we took at the baptism, we had several different family groups. It was so great to have everyone together. Scott's brother Richard and his family from North Carolina were here. Scott's sister Lara and her family from Sandy came as well. Then Scott and our family, then Lisa and Andrew and their kids...the family of honor. Then Scott's younger brother Brad from CA and his Brother Robby and Sister Robin were there from Logan. Add onto that Scott's step-sister Danielle and her family (not in this photo) and we had a really awesome group. Thanks to Andrew for making this monumental change that brought the entire family together and united us all!!

Catching Up...

Last week my boys said farewell to their reindeer friends they made while Grandma and Grandpa Black were here. They wanted to take photos of themselves with these pals. So here they are....

Last week Cameron raced his car in the pinewood derby races at Cub Scouts. He did a great job and had a fun time! It was great to see him up there having so much fun doing this! Love you Cam!

A few good days

Well, I need to post about good days because I am SO grateful to have them! I have not had a seizure in 5 days and WOW what a difference that makes! My leg is pretty numb and I am limping today but otherwise I am doing really good! Hooray! I'm grateful for the small miracles along the way and this is one---no seizures in 5 days---well, just had to count my blessings. I hope you do the same today!
Love, Heidi

Heidi's January 22d Update

Well I am sorry it has taken me awhile to write an update. I have not been able to write because I didn't find out news until yesterday afternoon (torture) and then I had such a bad headache and had a trip to the temple planned that I wasn't able to get on and type. I hadn't slept hardly at all the night before too so last night I was just wiped! So sorry!

Here is the update on me:

My Dr. didn't call me Thursday because he really isn't sure what is going on with me. That is comforting isn't it?? =) He wanted to get some other opinions before calling me back. His main concern is how much swelling has appeared on my scan since 3 weeks ago. It's really surprising him. Usually after radio surgery (and I've had three) swelling isn't seen until 6 months after surgery. My last surgery was in November and at the end of Dec we are already seeing swelling. This doesn't follow the textbook at all! So once again I am leaving the Dr.'s with questions.

For now I am on steroids to manage the headaches and as much as I HATE that drug I am so grateful for it too as it has made life worth living again...I was in SOO much pain for several days! I am also on anti-seizure medication down from 3000 mg to 2000 mg which keeps me from having grand mal seizures but also allows me to function. On 3000 I just couldn't stand the headaches. Yes....two things cause headaches right now...one is the swelling and the other is my medication so it is a double edged sword!

On 2000 mg I have a lot of seizure 'noise' so I have to be careful of what I do every day and try not to overdo it. But I just couldn't stand being on 3000 mg..I'd rather have small seizure episodes and be able to function so that is a decision my Dr. confirmed with me yesterday. I have to titrate between symptoms and side effects. For today I am doing well with it.

A few other issues, I have lost probably 75% of my feeling in my foot and it extends up my leg in varying severity depending on the day. I am grateful for good days when I can walk more. My right eye is very affected, I see double vision and my eye gets tired and its hard for me to read sometimes. I couldn't read for several days, Kaylie did some for me, and Scott, as my eye was going into spasms too much. I haven't had a seizure in 3 days and today my eye is better so I can see that that is directly affected by it. Another new issue, my hearing is affected now sporadically I lost hearing in my right ear. All of this is textbook for my Dr. He said he is surprised that I didn't have more of these symptoms back in July. After all they were expecting more vision issues then. So I can count my blessings there.

He said the trauma to my brain is hitting harder right now because the swelling is just a whammy to what has already been seriously damaged. All the symptoms may be harder for me to handle now that my brain has been through so much. There is still much we don't know...my Dr. feels that in March we will see a clearer view of whether I am dealing with new growth or primarily swelling. We know there is new growth but the amount is up for debate (swelling vs. growth...only time will tell)

My Dr. is cautiously optimistic that the surgery still may work but said we will have to take it a week at a time and see how I do. He said my symptoms will speak volumes so I am grateful for better days. On days I don't have seizures I can type, spell, think and accomplish things and its awesome! I'm grateful I'm even well enough to post on the blog! For now my Dr. said to go enjoy our Hawaii trip (We go in 2 weeks) and I'm hoping for good health to carry me through this much anticipated vacation with my family. Thanks to all of you for your support and love as I continue this battle with cancer. I'm grateful for the little things in life more that ever and for the friendship that I have with each of you!!
Love and Hugs,
Heidi

Wed IUdate

Well I really don't have much to update you on. I spent Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues in more pain than I can remember having in almost 2 years. It was HORRIBLE!! Scott called my nurse and told her that I needed pain management (what I had was NOT working) or else I was going to check myself into the ER. It was awful. Lasts night I finally opening my eyes and got and small glimpse of what life can be like. Curious as to why? I am on steroids again. Yuk!

I should know more tomorrow Thursday.
I can not type it is really hard on my head and my thinking.
sorry
Heidi

Too many headaches..another MRI

Well, life doesn't ever seem to be boring for us, that is for sure! The past few weeks since my grand mal seizure have been ridden with headaches, smaller seizures and lots of fatigue.
Bottom line...I'm grateful for strong drugs, I am on THREE TIMES my usual dosage of seizure meds. I'm grateful I haven't had a seizure in 3 days (hooray!) and I'm grateful that my Dr. has decided that something doesn't seem right (really?) and so he he is bringing me in Thurs for a current brain MRI.

I have never had two in one month ever before, so if that tells you how worried he must be. I'm anxious to get some answers but meanwhile I am grateful for the minutes a day that I don't have headaches. It truly is a blessing!!

Spelling is really hard for me so I won't write much. The seizures have really affected my ability to communicate so I am sorry about the short email. Hope you are all having a great January!! Hugs, Heidi

HomeBound

Well, I've put off this post long enough I guess. I haven't wanted to post this, maybe hoping if I didn't post about it maybe my reality would go away? Well, not likely! Anyhow, I had a horribly scary seizure a week ago, they call them 'grand mal seizures'. It happened when my parents were here which I am grateful for, and I was pulled over at the side of the road because I could tell my leg was going numb and I wanted to be safe.

With grand mal seizures you can lose consciousness which is what happened to me. I told my mom to call 911 as I thought I was having a heart attack. It was a seizure like episode that continued going up my body until I passed out. I don't remember about 15 minutes or so of what happened. After a few minutes my seizure subsided and Scott decided to cancel the ambulance and have me recover at home. I came to awhile later and was so confused about what had happened and so very scared too! I didn't want to be left alone!

My sister had epilepsy as a child and so my parents have dealt with grand mal seizures before so it was great having them on board to help. And Tyler, my personal Dr. who is awesome at making house calls saved the day as well. I'm really grateful for all the help I have received!

Unfortunately I am unable to drive for at least 3 months. Go figure how you can do that as a mother of 4 active kids??? Needless to say I am overwhelmed but I am trying to be brave and count my blessings!! I just started back on seizure medication and am struggling with the fatigue associated with that. Hopefully it will pass within a few weeks as my body adjusts. At least its not steroids...i really can count my blessings!!

Family Events

We almost forgot to take a family photo this Christmas! We snagged one right before our family Christmas dinner on Sunday!

This is a family photo we got with all of Grandma Salisbury's grandchildren. It has become quite a big group now!

Here is a photo of Scott and his siblings. Lara in the green sweater is the eldest. Then Richard in the red shirt. Next is Scott and then his sister Lisa, the blond one and then Brad. Then comes Robby in the dark shirt and Robin is the baby of the group in the stripes. It was great to have all the children together for this special occasion!

Jacobsen's Visit

Last weekend we had our great friends the Jacobsen's visit us for a few hours. It was so wonderful to be together!! It's been too long since we have been together!!

Here's some photos of the entire group of kids...one being serious...

One being silly.....

and one of Kaylie and Emma last time we were together which was about 2 years ago!! =)They sure have grown up since then!

Christmas Fun!

Grandma and Grandpa Black did some fun crafts with the kids. Here they are with the Rudolf reindeer!

Here they are making their yummy mix balls!!

Kaylie and Emma loved getting together if even just for a few hours! They have been best friends since they we\ee three!

More Christmas Fun!

Sheridan had her 11th birthday while she was staying at our house so we had a little celebration for her. We went out to the movies and took the girl cousins to see Tangled so that was fun. It was great to spend time together!

For Christmas Eve the children got to choose sugar cereals to eat, which is a special treat since mom never buys that sort of stuff except on birthdays or Christmas! The boys were pretty excited about it!

Here is our family gathered for Christmas Eve Dinner! It was great to be together!! We had yummy ham and other good food!

I was there too....we had to get a photo with Scott and one with me....I sure LOVE my Snowflake dishes!! =)