Everybody PoOps....

I hate potty talk. I hate talking about pooping or anything related to it. I hate the use of the word f@rt and t*rd...they are almost as bad as some other four letter words. Potty jokes drive me crazy. Marcus and I have been married for almost seven years and together for nine years. In all this time, I have never passed gas in front of him. I wish I could say the same thing about him.... It's like I have a fear of poop and hate talking about it with other people. Just the word "poop" sounds dirty...and not in the good way. Anyway, why am I telling you this? Since having surgery, talking about poop occurs daily. Before I left the hospital, I was forced to talk about "it" with several people in the room. I thought giving birth made me lose all my dignity; I was wrong. I have been forced to face my fear dead on. Now, talking about poop is dinner time conversation. I can give you the low down on laxatives, enemas, suppositories...you name it. You have a question on poop, I'm your gal. My fear of "it" isn't as severe. I guess when you are forced to deal with something, you can't help but embrace it and deal. So go grab a magazine, turn on the fan, wipe well and don't forget to wash your hands.

Boys do it.
Girls do it.
People on TV do it.
For any of you who have seen
Elmo Goes Potty,
you can thank me later for getting that
song stuck in your head.

Family Photography

My husband's new photography website is up and running. Check it out and let me know if you want/need pictures done.

Marcus Gilbert Photography

Things They Don't Tell You When You Decide to Donate a Kidney...

As most of you know, I donated my kidney on Feb. 11. I was in the hospital a little longer than expected, but I have been home for a week now. I am going crazy--I'm not going to lie. I don't remember Marcus' recovery being this difficult. I am not the kind of person who asks for help or enjoys just sitting there while others do everything. I am very independent...or depending on who you ask, down right stubborn and hard headed. So to just have to sit around and watch others do everything is driving me crazy. I can't even bend over and pick something up that I dropped. A small child could get lost in the forest that has grown on my legs; I can't bend over to shave my own legs or even wash my own feet. I can't pick up my babies or do much with them at all. I am slowly getting better. I feel like I take three steps forward and five steps back. The pain medicine makes me loopy and tired; I am sick of sleeping my days away. Today was the first day with out pain medication; can I get a WHOOP! WHOOP!!

The doctors and living donation staff people go over a lot of info with you before your surgery to make sure you know what to expect. They do a mental health screening on you that takes about an hour. I'm still trying to figure out how I passed that part. The surgeons make sure you understand exactly what you are doing. They are so thorough on their part, I often felt like they were trying to talk me out of the surgery. The whole staff did an excellent job, but there was stuff they didn't cover.

Things they don't tell you when you deciding to donate a kidney:

1. Saying goodbye to your babies the night before surgery is harder then the surgery it's self. I had to be at the U of U hospital at 6 am so we took Christian and Emma up to my mother in law's the night before. I HATED saying goodbye to those two beautiful children. I know the surgery was safe and I was doing the right thing, but I am also a "what if" kind of person. Nobody knows what could have happened, and I could have been saying goodbye for the last time.

2. When most patients wake up from a surgery like this, they have what is called (or I call anyway) a pain ball inserted into the incision. I was sure to tell the surgeon that I wanted one as well. It makes the incision basically numb and the pain manageable. I did indeed get my pain ball, but the OR nurse didn't turn it on. The day of surgery was HELL...there is no sugar coating it. Once the pain ball took affect and I was coherent enough to realize I had my own morphine button, life improved drastically.

3. Recovery for the donor is always harder then it is for the recipient; you are perfectly healthy before surgery, they rip an organ out of your stomach and then your body has to mend. Surgery was on a Thursday, by Saturday I still hadn't been able to get out of bed; they couldn't get my nausea and lightheadedness out of control. Two days after surgery, in walks the guy who has my kidney. He wanted to see how I was doing and saw hi. He looked awesome. He was walking all by himself and looked great; pathetic little Monica couldn't even get out of bed. He also left the hospital before I did. Normally, recipients are in the hospital for at least a week, he left after five days. My kidney RoCkS!! They don't tell you the absolute JOY you will feel when you see the person you helped walk out of the hospital looking like nothing every happened. I wish nothing but the best to this great person and his family.

4. Your mother will call you EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!

5. You will be miserable, in pain and sometimes flat out questioning yourself "What in the #$@* did I just do?" But you will never regret being an example to your children about helping out other people. You will never regret giving someone a new, better life. You will never regret listening to the promptings of the spirit that told you all along to help your fellow man, even when you were scared and second guessing yourself. You will never forget meeting the recipient and his wife for the first time the day before surgery and just the pure look of appreciation and gratitude on their faces.

Look Who's Five...

On this day in 2005 at 10:37 am weighing 4 lbs 1/2 ounces and measuring 21 inches long, Christian William made this world a better place.

We were fortunate enough to become his parents a year later. That day changed our lives forever.

Happy Birthday, Buddy. You truly are a miracle and an answer to Mommy's prayers.

You are so talented, even at such a young age. You never fail to amaze and inspire me.

You have a smile and belly laugh that can make all the bad in the world seem good.

You are a free spirit and do what you want...even against Mommy's wishes.

You have made me want to be a better person. I love the fact that I got to hold you while Daddy was giving you a name and blessing; it was a very special day for us.

You have grown up so much; it hurts me to think about how much time has past and how big you are getting. You are starting Kindergarten this year. You are excited, Mommy...not so much.

You have always been a ham. You see a camera and you are ready for the shot.

I love how tender hearted you are. You are a mommy's boy and I love it!! I love how every Fast Sunday you HAVE to get up and bare your testimony. I know I complain because I feel like since I am up there with you, I have to bare mine too, but I'm so thankful that at four years of age, you all ready are gaining your own testimony and you love to share it with others.

Right now, you LoVe Buzz Lightyear, Sponge Bob, Phineas and Ferb, playing drums and guitar, playing basketball, riding your bike and playing with Daddy.

You are awesome little man!! I hope you have a great birthday and a great year! You have many adventures ahead. I know I can't always protect you from the evil ways of the world, but just remember how much I love you and how wonderful you are.

Happy Birthday, sweets!

I know that I am not always as patient with you as I should be. And sometimes you know exactly what buttons to push to send me over the edge. And sometimes you won't eat your dinner or clean your room. And sometimes you need me to cuddle with you longer than I can. And sometimes you like to be ReAlLy loud and forget what your inside voice sounds like. And sometimes you like to play your drums longer and louder than I can tolerate. But just remember that I ALWAYS will think you are the best. And I will ALWAYS be here for you-no matter what. And I will ALWAYS think you are my sweetheart--even when you are 16 and want nothing to do with me. And the kissy monster will ALWAYS be around, ready to attack. And no matter what, I will ALWAYS love you. Happy Birthday, Christian.

Love,
Mommy

Love @ First Sight...

This little dude is going to be five next week. He will be going to Kindergarten in September...excuse me while I blubber for awhile. He is an answer to my prayers and my little sweetheart. I get to be his mommy. We are coming up on the four year anniversary of meeting this wonderful little boy and bringing him into our crazy family. FOUR YEARS!! Where has the time gone? This chubby cheeked, big eyed baby has grown up. These pictures are from the first night we met him and his wonderful birth mom, Tammie.

Couldn't you seriously just chew on those cheeks all day??? Yummy!!

He was on the move that night and hasn't stopped since.

This is Christian's adorable sister, Summer. They look so much alike.

Adoption has been on my mind a lot lately. I want to share our wonderful adoption story of Christian; I just haven't had the chance to sit down and type it all up. I will work on it; It's worth sharing and worth reading.

Chave...

Marcus and Christian have started a band together. Christian plays the drums and sings and Marcus plays guitar, but is NOT allowed to sing. Their first big hit is Book of Mormon Stories. It's the cutest thing ever!!! Marcus asked Christian what their band name was, and without even thinking about it, Christian said, "Chave"...and the rest is history. Christian's name in the band is Hive and Marcus' name is Dad-doo. You can't call Christian Hive unless he is practicing with his band or he gets upset.

I know that every parent thinks their kids are great at everything and the best at what they do, I am no different. Christian has serious musical talent. This little boy can sit down on the drums and blow me away. He can figure out the beat to most songs he hears and you can even tell what song he is playing. He gets frustrated with me when I sit down to try to drum. He has sat down with me to teach me a beat and then gets frustrated when I can't do it; the four year old is better!!

They have gotten big enough to make band t-shirts. Marcus had Christian draw a picture of the two of them, and then Marcus put them onto t-shirts. I am still waiting for mine.

This is the t-shirt design Christian did.

Christian getting his groove on. He had to wear his shirt to school on Monday.

Chave!

Rock On!!

Taking Control...

FINALLY!! A new post over at Idea Emporium!! Check it out!!

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Time...

The day after Thanksgiving, the little ones and I drove to Vernal to spend time with my family. Vernal does this big day after Thanksgiving celebration to bring Christmas into full force. They have a craft fair called Santa's Workshop and then later on Friday they have a parade and a whole bunch of activities downtown. It was FrEeZiNg but the kids had a lot of fun.

Christian and Emma both got their faces painted. Emma wouldn't let me wash it for two days.

I wasn't prepared for how cold it was going to. Emma had to borrow gloves from my Mom...I will know for next year to bring ALL their snow and cold weather gear.

Luckily, we had Christian's blanket in the car with us. He was bundled up nice and cozy.



For some reason, my mom always makes me put up her Christmas tree. She is lucky that I love decorating trees!! The little ones had a good time helping me decorate it.

We came back on Sunday and put up our own Christmas tree.

I'm a little bit of a control freak with it comes to putting up the Christmas tree...okay maybe more than a little bit. We decorate it as a family, then I kick everyone out of the room so I can add the finishing touches and fix any spots that need fixing. Can you say OCD?

All Done!!

Other holiday decorations that I put up through out downstairs. I love decorating the house for Christmas. I would leave the decorations up all year if I could.

Gotta love Christian's black Santa. He is a stud!

It seems like it hasn't stopped snowing for a few days. The little ones love playing out in it....me, not so much.

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. I am a lot more relaxed about Christmas this year. In years past, it has been so stressful. This year I think I am finally realizing the true meaning of Christmas. Pretty sad that it only took me 30 years! With the sales at both restaurants being down, we don't have the money we usually do this time of year, and in a way, I am glad. We go overboard every Christmas and the kids get spoiled. I want them to know that Christmas is really about serving others and doing nice things for people. Enjoy the next few weeks of 2009!!!

Pure Joy...

The pure joy on Christian's face in these two pictures make my day. He is so awesome. To be a kid again where you have no real concerns, problems or issues...I want to experience life through Christian's and Emma's eyes. I have gotten a lot more relaxed on many of my OCD issues; it's not worth it. Life is too short. My house has exploded and is a mess right now. But I had fun with my kiddos this weekend. The dishes and laundry will always be there, but the young years of these two beautiful children will not. This week we will have another tea party, go look at Christmas lights and make ornaments for our tree. I love being a mommy.