Lemons

Yesterday, while taking Caden to early-morning Seminary, our Yukon broke down.  I'll spare you the death-defying details, and simply say that it sounded like our car was going to explode with us in it.  It was freaky!!  After much craziness, we had to borrow our neighbor's rental car to get the keys back to our Yukon for the tow truck.  We also had to pick up Randy's car from the Service department of the local Dodge dealership for a recall matter.  Of course it had to be in the shop just when we needed to take our other car in.

After all was figured out, I quickly ran to the store to grab some lemons for Tyson's Halloween party.  She had asked me weeks in advance, but I didn't want to send him with anything other than fresh lemons.  It would have been fine if the car had performed normally.  On this morning, it was pretty much a disaster.  I ran into the more expensive (which tends to have more selection) grocery store and grabbed the first bag of lemons I saw.  We raced to the check out, giving me 15 minutes to make the five minute drive home and cut those lemons into 23 slices.  I about died when the total came to $9.00.  In my haste, I had grabbed the Organic specialty lemons.  11 tiny lemons for $9.00.  For a Kindergarten Sensory party.  Awesome.

Moral of the story:  When life gives you lemons, hope they are organic.  The lemonade you make will be that much sweeter.  Obviously someone had to pay for those golden sour globes.  They are probably broke now.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Older brother, Little Sister.

I have tried many times to put Keilie's dance experience into words.  

I just can't.  

Nothing compares to hearing her sweet, high-pitched giddy voice, telling of her dance with a boy named Mason.  No words can capture the sweet look of innocence and excitement on her beautiful face as she shyly admitted to asking Mason to dance again, because he was standing next her her when they said it was Girls' Choice.  And only one word can describe how I felt hearing that Caden had asked his little sister to dance- (Giddy, high-school girl almost-whine) "AAAWWWE!!!"

{Hand flying to my chest, head tilted to the left, tears glistening my eyes}

I sure love these two!

Oh, and Ashlee had her sweet Everly Rachelle.  Born October 29, 2015 at 5:33am.  7# 19.5"
CONGRATULATIONS, WILSTERMAN FAMILY!!!

Halloween Dance

Last night I took Keilie to her first church dance.  {Gasp} {Sniff}  She wanted to be Minnie Mouse this year.  She pulls it off adorably, don't ya think?!

 It was so much fun making her costume.  It was super easy, that's why.  The tutu took me less than 30 minutes, the headband took me less than five, the spray-painted shoes (that stink because I never wore them with sock- EW!  I love giving my kids my sick cast-aways) took me the longest at an hours worth of dry time, shirt/tights/gloves purchased from one of my many Target trips, and wah-lah the cutest Minnie alive is born.

 Can she really be 12 and able to go to a church dance?  Sigh.

Caden didn't want to dress up this year...

Wait, what's this?!

Doth mine eyes deceive me?  Nope.  It's Clark Joseph Kent!  Otherwise known as Superman.  See, he took off his glasses.  Such a great disguise.

And look, he's saving the damsel in distress.  You can see from this fun picture how excited they both were.  Crazies.  How fun is it that Keilie gets to go to her first church dance with her big brother.  Love that!!  I can't wait to hear if anyone asked her to dance.  With a face like this...

I can't imagine she'll be a wallflower for long.

I sure love these two!!  I'm glad their relationship has gotten stronger.  Cuties.

I was able to take Caden, Keilie and three other 12/13 year old girls to the dance.  Oh, the giggles.  Oh, the swoons.  Oh, the secrets.  It was LOUD in that car.  At one point, I looked over at Caden in the front seat, forehead resting on two fingers, elbow propped on the door, staring straight ahead with glazed eyes.  I had to hold in the laugh.  I'm sure he is thanking me ten-fold for finding him a ride home with Zachary and Parker Bagley!  I can't imagine the decibel of the talking on the way home!

Danielle saw the finished tutu and jokingly asked if I would make Payton's costume.  She had one ordered online, but the girl said she couldn't make it in time.  Danielle was bummed.  She showed me a picture, and I got to work.  If this Minnie and Superman had a baby, this is what she would look like...

 I was super happy with how it turned out.  I felt quite proud of the shirt symbol.  I cut out the red, then cute the yellow into little pieces and ironed them in place on the red.  I squealed at the final product.  It's not 100%, but I can confidently say it is a solid 95% perfection.  However, this face...

Brings it to a solid 100% amazing costume.  Love her.  Love my Superman.  Love my Minnie.

Relief

I had an appointment on October 12th that has been long overdue.  Years.  Come to find out, they have changed the guidelines from every year to every five years, if you'd had clean results come back.  I had before, and I have now.  So, while I was worried that I wasn't getting in before now, come to find out, I'm not as horrible as I thought.  All good things, all good things!

While meeting with her, I told her of the cancers that are throughout the Burrell/ Kimber bloodlines.  I told her that I would like to schedule a Mammogram, because cancer just freaks me out.  She told me that insurances don't allow more than one between the ages of 35-40, usually, so unless there was cause for me to need one, I should just wait.  Done.  She said that she wants me to go to the Geneticist for some testing, though.  If there were markers of any kind, they would be the one to schedule me for the Mammo.  Understood.  I would only be getting a Mammo if she found something in her exam on the 12th or if the Geneticist found any markers.  Done.

I called the next day and set up an appointment in February.  I was pleased to find out that I would have plenty of time to call all of my family members that have had cancer and find out their diagnosis and age of diagnosis.  There are many family members with many different diagnosis, so February sounded fine by me.  I needed to get through Caden's scan on the 14th and his Eagle on the 17th and then I would get back to getting myself up-to-date on my own health.  All was going well.

However, on the morning of Caden's Eagle, I got a call from the Mammography department.  They had orders from Dr. Branson for me to get a Mammogram.  My heart burned, my stomach dropped to my feet.  She said the only reason she would order it was if she had found something in the exam, otherwise we would wait for the Geneticist!  And, yet, here were the orders from the doctor.  I almost passed out.  I was on a serious adrenaline low after finding out just three days prior to this call that Caden had no traces of cancer in his body...and now I might.  I had to pretend for the rest of the Eagle day, weekend, and week that all was ok- that I was just a little tired.  Truth be told, I was having a major freak out in my mind.

Thankfully the Mammogram did not hurt me in the least.  I had heard how awful they were, and was actually imagining tears streaming down my face as I held my breath in agony, clinging to the machine with white knuckles and bloody fingertips.  I have a very imaginative brain, people.  When she took the first picture, after telling me to let her know if it was too much, I actually asked her "is that it?"  I almost did cartwheels in the hallway, it was so easy.  Except those "gowns" are even more revealing than at the OB!  I waited until I was fully clothes to do a little dance.  You're welcome.

They said that sometimes you get called back to take a few extra pictures, so not to worry if I got a call.  Good to know.  I was told that I would know in 48 hours.  The clock started ticking.  Life went on.  I finally have my news.  All clear!  If you hear of freak flooding in Richland Washington, know it is from my thankful tears.

I have had such spikes of days-upon-days of adrenaline.  I have had some serious lows coming off of them.  I am SO tired.  I feel as if I could sleep for days and days.  I don't want to leave my house.  I don't want to get dressed in anything but sweats.  I don't want to eat anything but junk food.  I don't want to do anything but veg.  I am quite done with October 2015- month of dread. 

Now if Everly would decide to be born, that would end my anticipatory month from Hades.

Funny

Everly (Russ and Ashlee's fifth little girl) was due on October 25th.  We are all waiting around extra patiently.  Just kidding, we are all chomping at the bit for her to get her cute butt born already!

Russ set up a Labor Line group text, testing it out for the big day.  We all thought it would be yesterday, but so far, nothing.  To say that Ashlee is upset would be an understatement.  Me, more so.

With everyone weighing in, giving their Hello's and Good Luck's, I made the super hilarious comment, "Love you Everly and Rushlee."  Get it?  Russ and Ashlee's name meshed.  Genius!  Man, I am funny!  Danielle and my Mom thought so, too.  My mom asked, "Steph, where do you come up with these cute and funny things?"

'Super hilarious whit:  Born with it!'

Which reminded Danielle...

Her Story:  That morning, while joking around with Payton, she said, "I'm so funny.  Probably the funniest I know.  I don't even know where I get it from!"

Payton:  "Probably from Aunt Steph.  She is SO funny!"  I'm glad I'm known as the funny one.  And not the stinky one.  Oooo, or the lame one.  Yikes, that would be tragic.

True Story.  Danielle's.  And that I am funny.

No?!  *Cough* *Blush*  Guess you had to be there.

You know what is not funny?!  Late Babies!!  Can I get an Amen? 

Oh, no!

While helping Keilie clean and organize her closet, she pulled this

out of the back and threw it away. I'm glad I happened upon it. It was a poem she wrote last year for Language Arts. It struck me that my daughter has words. Keilie is a poet. 

Primary Program

Today was our Primary Program, my most favorite Sacrament Meeting of the year.  I am so lucky to be in the Primary again.  I miss the Relief Society, but love the simple testimonies of the children that pierce straight to my heart each week.  They are so cute.

Tyson:  I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love me, because they gave me a home.
Brennon:  Jesus made people see and walk again, and he filled their fishing nets.
Shelby:  I wanted to be baptized so I can live with Heavenly Father again.

Sweet Innocence.

I was able to use my flute talent.  Although it wasn't my best performance ever, I am still glad that I was asked to contribute to the song, I Know That My Redeemer Lives.  We were joined by the choir and congregation for verses two and three.  The best part was when they had only the children end the song with their voices ringing out, "I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES."  It was very powerful.  And then they asked me to say the closing prayer.  Um...how can I speak through my tears and burning heart?

It was a beautiful program.  It was a beautiful testimony. 

In Shelby's excitement having her hair curled with a flat iron, she announced as I was getting her off of the counter, "I am so glad everyone will get to see my bouncy hair!"

We caught her a few times pumping up the sides, smiling to herself. I love glimpsing my girls feeling beautiful without them knowing I'm watching. 

Stolen

Randy got a call last night that caused some drama in our lives, if only for a few hours.  It started like this:

"Hello, this is Randy...yes, but we have now parked it at a friends' house around the corner...no...no...well, if the deputy is looking at it right now, then it is stolen."

That was all I needed to hear to take of running barefoot down the street.

Last week we got a notice from our HOA that anyone that had something parked in the alley behind our houses needed to move them, that the City had come to say that it was causing too much of a hazard in case the Fire Department needed access, and that we had until the 19th or our things would be towed.  We immediately complied, asking a friend that is temporarily living in Louisiana for two years if we could use their driveway to park our little trailer.  Trailer moved.  All was well.  Until we got this call.

As I ran down the street, descending sun making it hard to see their driveway, I was instantly relieved to see it still there.  My mind was racing, trying to remember the last time that I'd taken the long way around the loop to drive past it.  I knew it hadn't been more than a day or two, but in my nerves I was having hard time concentrating on more than my manic running. And maybe my mind was revolting that I was running at all, who knows?!  My mind tends to go all, "You can't do this! You are dying!" whenever I try to run.  I must have been in imminent danger to be running!!  As I saw Randy pull around in the Yukon, I flagged him down, trying to convey that they had the wrong trailer, ours was still parked there.  This had the opposite affect on him, he continued on to our trailer.  As I once again turned to the trailer, I made it to him in time to hear, "Yes, the license plate is missing."  Hm... We did have a theft on our hands, after all.  And the criminals had been caught.  Or so we thought.

The city of Pasco had gotten a call on a Trespassing charge.  Upon arriving, they found a few trailers and cars still parked on the lot, eviction notice plastered on the doors.  Our "trailer" was parked on the lot.  They ran the plates, seeing as the people that had been evicted were known to be thieves, and found us.  The trailer our plate was affixed to was probably stolen as well.  Our plate was most likely stolen while parked behind our fence.  We're not sure of the exact time, but we know that it was after April when we re-registered it for this year.  The criminals have moved on.  The police don't know where. 

The plate was returned to us last night after the City of Richland called us to file a claim, as well as the City of Pasco that filed a claim to get it back to us.  Lots of drama filled about two hours of our lives.  Glad it's over, yet a feeling remains.  I can't explain it.  I can't name it.  I just know I don't like it.

Yelling

Conversation with Brennon on the way home from Taekwondo:

"Mom, what are we going to have for dinner?"

"Brennon, we have already had dinner and snack."

"Well, we were yelling a bunch tonight.  Yelling makes me hungry!"

Ravenous, apparently.  He ate another corn dog before dinner.  Where does he put it?!

Picture Perfect

I love pictures.  It's as simple as that.  But what I love most is when pictures come to me that are absolutely perfect- like this one I got from Brother Walker.  He was in the Eagle's Nest and captured this for me.  To the far left of the pictures is Caden's best friend here in Richland, Zachary Bagley.  The Eagle on the left is the man of my dreams.  The Eagle on the right is Caden's Mentor and our friend, Andrew Bagley.  The left sleeve on the right-hand side shows the troop that Caden belongs to.  And the sign on the wall portrays a very beautiful truth that I believe- I Know my Savior Lives.  And right there in the middle, giving his 'Thank You Remarks', is the boy that stole my heart the moment he entered this world.  I would say he stole my heart through my entire pregnancy, but that would be a lie.  Because... the entire time he was in-utero, he was supposedly a Keilie!  I can still hear Dr. Marko, "Here she comes.  Here she comes....It's a BOY!?!"  Priceless!

Birthday Sign Surprise.

Shelby and Brennon woke up earlier than they normally do on Tyson's birthday to surprise him with...

He was so excited with their little gift, he asked me to take this many different pictures so that he could pose with it this many times.  He was sad when it got rearranged later that same day.  He thought they had meant to give it to him to keep.  Good thing we took so many pictures.

Personality

Yesterday was the last time we got to practice the Primary Program before the final performance next week.  It was somewhat of a mess having to try and practice half of it in the Chapel before the next ward came, and then doing the other half in the gym with chairs set up to mirror the Chapel stage.  It was also hard to get the kids calmed down in-between our own Sacrament Meeting and our practice start time.  While practicing a song that includes the kids, and then the choir, and then the congregation, ending with just the kids and adding me on the flute, it was kind of chaotic.  The kids were a bit rowdy.  The choir director stopped the song and told the kids that they needed to stand extra still, that they needed to watch the Primary chorister the whole time, and that it really adds to the Spirit when they are behaving.  She told them that it was really distracting to have just a couple kids moving around, and asked the kids who wanted to be the only one that the audience looked at.  She realized her mistake as soon as one hand shot up in the air.  Tyson.  That boy's hand shot up so fast, I think we were all surprised that anyone had been listening at all.  Seeing the quick movement, many other kids shot their hands up as well.  It was pretty cute.

While having dinner, Randy was telling us about his lesson during Sunday School.  He teaches the 17-18 year old kids, and taught on Parables.  He told us a parable about how we each get the same reward, no matter how long we have been a member of the church.  I'm not sure the exact question that Randy posed to us, but Tyson spoke up quickly in an "Alvin" voice and practically screamed "Yes!"  It startled me, which added to his cute little excitement, got our family laughing.  He looked so cute grinning and giggling at his silliness.  It was so fun to be able to see Tyson's personality, in two different settings.  He really is a funny little boy.

Court of Honor

 Saturday, October 17, 2015

Caden Dirks' Eagle Scout Court of Honor

 The Eagle's Nest

Andrew Bagley, Wayne Burrell, Nathan Haggard, Rusty Walker, Parker Bagley, Ryan Burrell, Randy and Stephen Dirks.

 Oh, how I love this boy.

 Ashlee asked me if we wanted to quickly get a picture before I bawled my eyes out.  We were about to begin, so I told her it was ok not to.  I now wish we would have.  My puffy, cry face is not my favorite.  Oh well, we all know I'm a cryer.

 Caden chose to give his Mentor pin to Brother Bagley. 

 He is more than just a Scout Master, he is our friend.  He said that Caden was more like his own son.  I cried when he was released as the Scout Master a couple months ago.  I cried when he was chosen as another boy's Mentor a couple weeks ago.  I cried when he was chosen by my own son.  

He is an incredible man.

 Caden is now officially an Eagle Scout.

 Brother Haggard, the new Scout Master and his climbing instructor.  He rearranged his schedule, telling me that he wouldn't have missed this for the world.  He is more than just a Scout Master, too.

 Grandma and Grandpa Dirks

 Grandma and Grandpa Burrell

CHECK

Don't ask me what I was thinking when I accepted the scan schedule for the day after Tyson's birthday.  It was either have it on October 14, or wait until November.  I didn't really want to wait, so I accepted the appointment.

I am happy to announce that Caden has NO cancer in his body!!

He is STILL CANCER FREE!!!

I can only say that I am now completely exhausted!  With a 12-hour anxiety filled day after two nights of sleep totaling 10 hours, trying to get everything ready for Caden's Eagle Court of Honor on Saturday, getting ready for an additional 10 people to sleep in our bustling home (that makes 17 humans in one 1735 sq. ft. mini-mansion), gathering food to feed 27 people four meals, and making an awesome Baymax cake,

I am beat!  In my defense- when he said Baymax, I knew this was how I was going to do it.  I was SO happy that he had chosen such an easy character.
Make cake✔️
Make fondant✔️
Sharpie circle eyes✔️
Draw a straight line between eyes✔️
That's how it's done, folks!  I was done in mere minutes.  With my nerves stretched tight with cancer stress, this was a blessing...that turned out to be a bit of a crestfallen face when he saw it.  He thought I would be able to make the cake into Baymax's actual body.  Not to worry!  I totally redeemed myself with this...

BOOM!  He said he wanted Legos and Minecraft Stuff.  Chalk one up to a perfect find!!

October 13- Tyson's 6th Birthday✔️
October 14- Caden's 1st 3-month✔️
Cancer Free✔️
October 15- Welcome 4 guests
October 16- Welcome 10 guests
October 17- Caden's Eagle Court of Honor @ 4:00.
October 18- Say teary goodbye's and collapse from all of the action. And then welcome the cancer-free Holiday Season!!!

It's a good life!

Today

6 years ago today, I had my last baby.  Tyson was born at 3:35AM, mere hours before Aunt Ashlee was due to arrive.  He was born, had a few minutes with daddy before he had to drive to Denver to pick up Ashlee, and then chilled with me all day.  We got to go home that same night.  Bliss!

We were all in love with this sweet little angel. 

I wanted to capture each little detail that I LOVED.  I wanted to remember every second.

I still do.

 

With a personality like his, who could blame me?!

Happy Birthday, Tyson!!!  You are loved!!

SIX is AwEsOmE!!!