I love Christmas

 

I love the whole season. The spirit of the season. The reason for the season.

And I love the Christmas tree. It kind of drives the truth that Christmas is on its way for me. We've adopted a new tradition this year. The reason of the season is to celebrate the birth of Christ. He relieved three gifts on that blessed day. And so our family members shall receive no more than three gifts each (Jed and I are usually good for gift each, one gift together, or a few small gifts to each other. We are on an awfully tight budget this year so I am financially loving this new tradition as well as loving the spirit that has been in our home since) but if Santa manages to sneak in a gift or two... So be it :)

Since I know she won't see it and no really cares as much as I do, I have to share what Blaikley is getting this year! I'm proud to have done so well despite the tight budget.

Santa has already brought one gift.... Clearance pink camo sweats and jacket we found at Cabelas in Fort Worth, TX (we were there for Jed's job, I drove all the way there in a separate vehicle than Jed and then we drove back together. Longest week ever). And Santa will also be dropping off a cute barn with a fence, animals and a farmer. the whole thing makes noise (not sure how awesome that it, but its her o e toy this year and its gonna be fun!) We got that with a Smith's and Edward's gift card I won during the Golden Spike Rodeo. Don't worry, it didn't cost the whole amount in the card, not even close :-).

Blaikley will also be getting a new blanket from me. I bought material this summer and never did anything with it, so now I will be making her a new blanky! It's gonna be adorable!

Next she will receiving a cute new outfit. I don't know where from though...... ShopKo or Old Navy most likely.

And finally she'll get new pajamas! Logan has an outlet for Lazy One PJ's, the fancy brand you see in Jackson Hole or somewhere like that and cost $40+, but kids pjs are only $5 at the outlet! I'm so excited for that!

 

Santa's penmanship is so neat :-)

Merry Christmas everyone!

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Old Boots

There's just something about old, worn down boots that does my heart good

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Yay! We have Internet again.......

Which means I'll start blogging again! It really has been way too long and a lot has happened I need/want to share but I will have to wait another day or two. Hope everyone is doing well!

- Cami

 

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I promise I am still alive

I feel a little bit bad.  I spend time checking everyone's blogs but I don't make the time to update mine.  I have a TON of pictures of Blaikley to post!!  She is getting SO big now!!  She WALKS EVERYWHERE!!  She talks up a storm.  She eats everything.  She giggles all the time, just to make everyone around her laugh  She is so sweet and cuddly, I definitely have been blessed with the best baby.  We got a new computer and as soon as I can figure out how to load all of my pictures to the external hard drive I will get pictures edited and posted, but for now here is a quick update on the last update :)

- I hate my Copaxone.  I stopped taking it for a little while, found a new and wonderful doctor now at the U of U hospital and started on it again, so the drive there kind of sucks, but I do not see double anymore so I can drive myself for now!! And the shot itself really isn't that bad, it's the terrible burning, stinging pain aftward that sucks, but if it'll help slow the progression, then I'll do it!!

- I had double vision all during Disneyland.  When you see double, you need a steady, solid point to stare at while walking to help steady and balance yourself, but when you are in a big crowd, it's pretty impossible to find such a spot.  I was so unbalanced that I ended up needing a wheelchair a majority of the time.  People really studied and stared and looked at me like "you don't look handicapped, stop being lazy" and it kind of sucked, but the best about a wheelchair is that you can usually get to the rides faster!! That REALLY irritated people, but that's the way MS goes.  It's an invisible disease.  Sometime it would be easier if I had cancer and just needed a limb amputated, (okay, not really, THAT would really suck, but at least I would be able to get over faster :) )  just something for people to see that I am not lazy, I have something wrong with me.  Trust me, no 23 year old wants to spend anytime in a wheelchair, but they especially don't want to be in one in public looking perfectly normal.  But I try and deal with it the best I can, with the best attitude I can.  We had such a wonderful time in D-Land and I hope I can find a way to go back again, just so I have something to look forward too.  But honestly, what more do I have to look forward then being with my family.  Not just my amazing parents, grandparents, brothers, in-laws, but my husband and my daughter.  There is nothing more amazing and reward then watching your child grow, seeing her learn and develop and having her be such a sweet and amazing child already.  I am truly blessing and I thank the Lord everyday for the chance I have to raise my daughter, and any future child he might see us fit to raise.  I always wanted like, seven kids, but now I pray for even three and the strength to raise them to be wonderful, kind people.

- We were able to find wonderful homes for all of Lacie's puppies!!  And we get to see/keep tabs on three of them!  They all turned out so cute and smart and lovey!!  We are very pleased to know that they all get time to work cows and be outside and using their talents.

- We traded in Jed's truck for a smaller F-150, gad, auto transmission so I have a pretty easy time driving it, even when my leg is numb (which the left one has been for about 3 1/2 weeks but I've been able to drive the pick-up to Parma and also all the way home from Park Valley.  I usually had to stop in Snowville and trade Jed because I didn't feel safe driving on the free way when my leg/legs were numb so it has been so nice to have this new pickup!).  Yeah, we really like it.  It's a Lariat, leather, and has a camper shell on it, which was so nice when we went to see my family this past weekend (the after the 4th weekend.)  It was raining when we left Logan but the dogs, the luggage and the saddle were all kept dry!  (*Side note, when we were home this weekend, Jed, my brother Denton and his good buddy Trevor rode in the Vale, OR Rodeo in the Stock Saddle/Ranch Bronc and Jed tied for second place!! Denton took 5th place and Trevor had the horse fall on her side with him so he walked away unhurt and that's huge.  Good job Cowboys!!)

- Our lead levels were low enough not to worry about moving out right way.  Bittersweet.  Jed's raise from work was suppose to be to us between the end of the year and the first of February, but we are now being told that it will be here tomorrow.  Hopefully it'll be a good enough raise for us to GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE!!  Between the HUGE spider (see my facebook page for the picture) and the snakes and the skunks and the traffic and the paint peeling and the mildew on the windows and the roof needing to be replaced and the windows and doors leaking air, I am DONE living here :)  It has been a good enough house, I am grateful for the roof over our heads and the protection from the weather this house has provided.  I am grateful for the memories made here and the opportunity to make it feel like home, but really, I think our time is up here and we need to find a new home.  Hopefully that'll happen sooner than later.  

- And we are just praying that Jed's raise will be enough for him to feel like he can just keep working where he's working and stop job searching.  If that's the case and it all works out, we'll find a low priced house to purchase and get him going in school again and have him keep going in the direction he's going for now.  Hopefully I'll be able to start selling Paparazzi soon to help out or find a few days a week babysitting job or be able to start selling furniture that I've re-done.  I have two projects to start on and once they're done, hopefully I'll be able to sell them and get some new pieces and just go go go with it.  It's hard in the summer time for me to be out in the garage working on the pieces, it's just too dang hot.  So I pray we'll get a early fall and a wonderful cold, snowy winter  

**This weekend my family all when to Owyhee Reservoir to spend the day out on the boat.  It was a wonderful day, I love Owyhee, but man was it hot.  I was on the tub with my mom and just got so hot that I felt really nauseous and sick.  And I didn't drink enough water.  I feel asleep on the way home and during my nap and after I woke up, I was really confused and disoriented and wasn't making sense when I talked.  I only vaguley remember all that happened, but Jed has to take me into the bathroom and give me an ice cold shower before I came out of it.  I guess it was kind of scary, and really I was close to needing to go to the hospital, but thanks to my wonderful hubby, I came out of it okay.  We think that the heat of the day combine with MS was a big factor (MSers really don't handle heat well AT ALL) and maybe even a little heat stroke.  So thanks to that, we decided it would be better if I didn't help move cows to the top of the mountain with the Pugsley on Wednesday, which really bummed me out but Blaikley and I had a wonderful day with Sally.   Also this weekend on the Owyhee, my dad didn't see a huge wake a big boat threw too close to the tube dad was pulling and the kids on the tube got thrown really high, really hard..  My brother Robert had both bones in his left arm broken, my brother Travis had a friend with us and she got a ruptured eardrum and my brother Scott's girlfriend got the wind knocked out of her and my brother Denton got a possible concession.  He got whipped last pretty hard on his Bronc ride and then baled off the tube and hit forehead first.  So while we all had a great time in Owyhee, it was a little rough.  Hopefully we'll get to go back one more time and we'll just have to be a little more careful next time :)

Hope you are all doing well!! Thanks for taking the time to read this and hopefully I'll be able to get some pictures posted next week.  With rodeo season getting into full swing, life will be a little busy for a bit, I'll check in!

Lots of Love <3 !

H E L L O

Howdy!
Sorry it's been so long!!  Things have been crazy busy but wonderful!  For now I'm just going to put the highlights and hopefully I'll get back to writing more details soon!

- I started Copaxone (the shot for the MS) but I'm in the middle of a relapse and my dumb neurologist is telling me it's an allergic reaction to the medicine.  He wants me to stop taking the shots and get another MRI done.  So I am currently looking for a new doc.  I am having double vision, numbness, weakness and extreme fatigue.  It's so much fun :)  but really, it !could be worse!!  I am so thankful for wonderful family and friends who have helped/are helping me, and especially my fantastic hubby!!  I can't even drive right now.  He has picked up a lot of my slack and I am so very grateful for and to him.

- My mom took Blaikley and I to Disneyland!!  My mom drove to our house and helped me get finished packing and Dad came and took Jed and my brother Travis snowmobiling the day before and the day we left.  They had a blast.  Since I couldn't drive, mom drove us to the SLC airport and we flew to the LA airport.  We got to stay in the Grand Californian Hotel (which was WONDERFUL!!) and we had so much fun!  My Grandma Jerri (my mom's mom) and my mom's sisters Jaymi, Chari and her son Gus, Carrie and her kids Thomas, Milly (Amelia) and Jack and my brother Robert all got to come! It was so fun!! I even got to ride in a wheelchair 2 1/2 days out of 5 that we were there (bittersweet) and Blaikley was so fun! Especially when we were around/near the characters!  It was wonderful!

- Lacie had puppies!! Yay!  She had 8 but laid on and squished one :(  But now we only have 3 puppies left to find home for..  They grew big and wonderful and Lacie kept weight on really well and they all are doing great!!

- We are trying to sell Jed's truck.  It's a manuel transmission and with my legs being numb, I just cannot drive it.  It's very bittersweet.  Hopefully it will sell soon so we can get a smaller pickup.  And then we might try to sell the Xterra  We'll see how that goes.

- We think we have high levels of lead in our bodies.  We have a lot of the symptoms and the family that lived here before had high levels of lead too.  So we are getting our blood tested tomorrow and we'll go from there.  Joy. Actually, if we have high levels, we'll have to/get to move out (quiet screams of joy and lots of praying that it happens!!)

- I'm secretly hoping I can find Jed a different job.  I want to move so bad and just get to that next chapter.  I'm ready for Jed to find that career that he just loves and enjoys and that really gets the bills paid and maybe even gets the saving account a little built up.  Please pray for that.

Okay, that's more than I thought I'd talk about.  It's past my bedtime and I really need to go to sleep.

Goodnight ya'll
xoxo