another whole week has gone by...

Another week has gone by and my heart continues to be full of gratitude. It has been a week of ups and downs, lots of emotions and prayers and most importantly PROGRESS!!! Dad is now home from the hospital and doing well. He still has a long way to go, but he has an incredible attitude and more determination than anyone else I know. He has committed to be 100% obedient to the things his doctors, nurses, technicians and therapists tell him and ask of him to ensure a full recovery. And if any of you know my Dad...you know that he understands "exact obedience". We all continue to be shocked at how fast this happened and so incredibly thankful for modern medicine, amazing doctors and medical personnel and for the miracle of getting it caught and taken care of before he had a major heartattack. I believe in angels and I know that they were watching over, protecting and steering him these last few weeks.

I had originally just planned to keep my "hearts" blog layout up just through Valentine's Day...but considering that February is American Heart Month...it still fits! And who knows, I am so thankful for healthy, happy hearts...I just might leave it indefinately! :)

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On another note.... in between all of my back and forth travels to "The U.C." this week to spend time with my Dad and my family, I managed to sneak in a night with our youth where he came to speak and perform at an amazing fireside:

He was incredible, so gifted in reaching the youth (and all of us) with an incredibly powerful message in a way they understand. I was amazed that he could have them laughing hysterically one minute and just a second later, silence would fall as he would share his testimony or speak of gospel truths. There wasn't even so much as a single whisper...which with a group of teenagers, is almost unbelievable. It was truly one of the best firesides I have ever been to. I highly recommend buying his latest CD and if you ever have the chance to hear him speak or perform....DON'T MISS IT! I'm so glad I didn't...it was just what I needed this week!

my thankful heart

My heart is so full of gratitude tonight after a long day of praying, waiting, sitting, pacing and praying some more. My Dad has made it through surgery and did great. He ended up having a quintuple (yes...5) bypass and the doctor said that his left ventricle artery, one of the most important, was indeed 100% blocked. The doctor continued to say that his great health and active lifestyle saved his life and will also help him and serve him well during the recovery process. He didn't finally get out of surgery until a little after 7pm tonight so it was a very long day. It was nearly 8:30 pm when we finally got to see him. Although he was still on the ventilator and not yet "awake"... I'm confident he knew we were there and felt of our love and gratitude. Truly, prayers were answered today...the angels that my mom had dreamt about were with him and also with us.

I am so thankful for the incredible power of prayer. I am so thankful for my family and friends and for the kind words of encouragement that I recieved today and for the many prayers offered on our behalf. I can't wait until my Dad is ready for me to give him a big huge bear hug. But, in the meantime, I'll continue to whisper in his ear and tell him just how much I love him and just how proud I am to be his daughter.

HEARTS & VALENTINES DAY

It was not the Valentine's Day that any of us were planning on. CJ and I had grand plans of a lazy day working on home projects, I needed to update the blog with pictures from our trip, we planned on getting takeout from our favorite Thai restaurant and maybe making a yummy homemade dessert. You know...a quiet day together. Mom and Dad had also planned to lunch at their favorite Mexican restaurant, Mom was going to make her traditional heart shaped sugar cookies with each of our names written on them and of course Dad had set plans to watch the BYU game. Everyone else had plans of their own too, I'm sure. Its amazing how quickly you'll drop anticipated and looked forward to plans when someone you love needs you. My mom called on Friday night with word that my Dad had been having a few chest pains, had gone to the doctor, done a stress test and they were concerned that he had a blockage and wanted him in early Saturday morning for an angioplasty. This was a relatively minor, minimally invasive surgery to open things up and they expected him to be home later that day or Sunday.

We're talking about my DAD. My Dad that even in his 70's he goes to the gym and works out almost every single day (he was working out on Wednesday when he first noticed chest pain and blew it off as heartburn...he was also back at the gym on Thursday afternoon working out before finally deciding he better check in with his doctor). This is my Dad who was a college athlete and has been a runner his whole life. My Dad who cliff dives at Lake Powell, waterskis, parasails, golfs and is always up for an adventure. My Dad that hiked to the top of Mt Sinai with CJ and I only 8 months ago...


This is my Dad that was out snorkeling with us all day in Cozumel less than 2 short weeks ago, my Dad who on the cruise, when there is a ridiculous amount of food available to eat almost around the clock, ordered grilled salmon almost every single night and ate big green salads for lunch. (Sure he ate plenty of desserts throughout the week...we all did) This is my adored Dad who takes better care of himself than most 30 year olds I know and has always been in great health.

Saturday morning turned from routine and minor into shock and fear as we learned that he would need open heart surgery with atleast a quadruple, maybe even quintuple bypass. The main artery in his heart is 100% blocked and 3 to 4 others are partially blocked. The doctor essentially told him that he should be dead and that his healthy lifestyle and probably divine intervention are what has kept him here with such minimal heart function. Isn't it appropriate that the medical intervention he needed to fix his heart and continue to keep him here came on Valentine's Day? A day that is all about hearts and loved ones. My mom and I have joked that he has been so active with apparently very little proper function in his heart...we better watch out once they get him fully functioning again. Now, we really won't be able to keep up.

Dad has been in the hospital all weekend where he's been monitored and is stable and feeling good. We spent Saturday afternoon in the waiting room making big glittery posters and giant cards with the little kids to help brighten his Valentines Day and cheer up his room. This morning, in just a few short hours, they will come and take him in for what is expected to be a 5-7 hour surgery to fix him up so that I can have my Dad for another 20 years. My greatest fear as I have gotten older and have struggled with infertility has always been that my children won't have the chance to really get to know and be loved by their incredible Grandparents on this earth. I am asking for anyone who may be reading this to please say a little prayer for my Dad that all will go well with his surgery and that he will have a quick and speedy recovery and be able to fully return to the life he loves and all of the people who love him.

Dad and I on my wedding day. He was the one who sealed CJ and I

The family just before the holidays.

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And one of my very favorite pictures of me and my Dad...

There is nothing better than the safety and security you feel with your parents arms around you...

... even when you're a "thirtysomething"

The Best Two Years...

CJ:

Thank you for an incredible two years. Thank you for your love, patience, hard work, character, compassion, faith, consistency, integrity, open mind, optimism and most of all for making me so dang happy.

(and thank you for an amazing vacation and kickstart to '09)

I love you and I can't wait for all the years ahead.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

love. your lucky mrs.

Friday Flyday!

Ahhhh....

I. can't. wait. for. sunshine.

HISTORY!

Today was an opportunity to be an eyewitness to history. As I watched coverage of the inauguration this morning and throughout the day, I found myself very moved and even emotional at times by what I saw and what I heard. Although I did not vote for Barack Obama, I felt very proud and inspired to see so many Americans coming together this day. I found myself proud to be an American and to live in this free country. I found myself proud to know that we live in a land where anything is possible and there are no more excuses. And mostly, I felt very inspired to do my part.

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However, I was a little "less" than inspired and proud of this:

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What the h*#! was Aretha wearing on her head?

Gettin' out and enjoying January!

Let's be honest...I've never been a big fan of January. Period. There's always the little bit of a let down of the holidays being over, I'm always struggling to keep my New Year's resolutions, it's cold and there's usually an inversion of gross, gray haze that prevents really being able to enjoy the uplifting (and for me, necessary) benefits of sunshine!

Well... I found a perfect cure for the January blues! On Saturday, we took advantage of an incredible day and took our Young Women up to Little Dell to enjoy some fresh air, blue skies, beautiful scenery and to get a little exercise! Lucky for us, we had some great expert guides in Brad and Gina who helped many of us who were....well, not so expert!

Strapping on... ready to get out there!

Brad was such a great help in getting us all suited up!

Plus he was a great sport to hang with a bunch of girls all day!

It really couldn't have been more beautiful. (yes, the scenery AND us)

We hiked around the reservoir and then along the foothills until we came to this amazing fort, which was the perfect place to stop for lunch and a spiritual thought. This cave, made of nothing but branches (no nails or other support) was tall enough that you could easily stand up inside (especially for those of us "not quite 5'5-ers") and big enough that it comfortably held all 7 of us sprawled out inside! Really cool and definately worth the hike.

Most of the girls were "first-timers" and they were such great sports! I continue to be amazed at just how much fun teenage girls can be!

What a beautiful day!

Me and Gina...

I really couldn't be any luckier than to get to do all these fun things not only with ridiculously fun teenage girls...but also with other amazing women!

Thanks again to you and the mister for such a fun day!

Date Night

After being home in bed for most of the week and not leaving the house for a few days, CJ treated me to a Jazz game last night. I still wasn't feeling great, but I was anxious to get out and have some fun with my gentleman friend! I dressed in my fanciest leisure suit (aka...sweats) and we were off! CJ was even nice enough to drop me off right in front while he went and parked the car a few blocks away. Man, I. love. him.

So, once he arrived after parking, we found our seats, ready to enjoy a little pre-game warm-up. We hadn't been sitting there for long when who should we see coming up the staircase to settle into the row just in front of us...

Yes... President Uchtdorf and his darling wife. He has quickly become one of my very favorite apostles and church leaders, so you can imagine my excitement!

He was so kind to shake everyone's hands and greet everyone who approached him. Both CJ and I really loved seeing him casually dressed in a button-up and sweater vest. So cute! His smile and countenance was so genuine and sincere.

I especially loved this cute teenage boy, who couldn't have been older than 15. He walked over and asked if President Uchtdorf would pose for a picture with him. It was very sweet and both he and his Dad seemed like "win or lose" it had already been a great night for them.

The game was great...but I was just as entertained and pre-occupied with this amazing man on the row in front of me, enjoying a night out with his loved ones... just like me!

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(It sort of reminded me of when the Reverend Jesse Jackson sat right in front of CJ and I at a Cubs game last year...only this was BETTER)

WAY. WAY. WAY. BETTER!

We are F-A-M-I-L-Y!

{FAMILY PICTURES '08}

Getting everyone together for family pictures isn't very easy when there are over 3 dozen of you. But this year, we decided to attempt the impossible and we succeeded. It had been several years since we had done a family picture with everyone and our family has changed a lot since then. We also knew that with Logan (my nephew) leaving on his mission soon that it would be atleast another 2 years before we could attempt to get everyone together again. I am so glad that we were able to pull this off. What a great Christmas gift it was from all of us to my parents!

It all began with the 2 of them...

Then came 8 kids...

...and 17 grandkids (with more still to come we hope!)

And this is the whole gang... 38 and counting! WOW!

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It was also a good chance for me to sneak a few pictures with the mister...

Lucky Me!

G's Cookie Bake '08

I mentioned in my post about my grandma that when I was growing up, she would have all the grandkids over for sleepovers and the annual Christmas Cookie Bake. It was always one of the most fun nights of the year and some great childhood memories. Once my mom started having grandchildren of her own, she took over this tradition and has been holding Christmas Cookie Bake Sleepovers ever since. Most of the grandkids are older now and many are starting to have kids of their own, but this is still one of the best parties of the year! My mom goes to so much work and makes hundreds (literally hundreds) of sugar cookies for everyone to decorate and eat. She is such an incredible grandma and I know how much everyone loves this night!

Although the kids are older now, it's still serious business decorating all these cookies.

Cassidy and Courtney getting started...

Chauntelle, Colby and Logan with their plates of cookies...

I'm not sure that Mae had any cookies with her frosting! It looks like she just went straight for the bowl of frosting! So funny!

Riley is a great decorator, especially for an 18 month old!

Evie Mae and sweet little Trey. Best Pals

Madison even made the trip down from Idaho just to decorate cookies. She was also a big help with Riley and the other little ones.

Apparently at Grandma's house, you can eat frosting with a spoon and as much candy as you can find. This picture was taken just moments before these sweet little girls found my purse, dumped it out and man-handled every single content with those sticky little hands. Bless their sweet hearts!

Thanks Mom for such a fun night! Even though I am not one of your grandchildren, I love being invited to this party and making such happy memories!

Until next year!