2010 Blessings

2010

I wish I could say this year was amazing for our little family of four, but it has been extremely disappointing. HOWEVER, there is always positive blessings that pop through the challenges.
1. Ben started his new job at Maverik and loves it
2. I finished the Medical Assisting program (except the externship) in 7 months instead of the normal 16 months.
3. Aiden started Kindergarten and is doing an amazing job.
4. Ben got promoted to a senior tech after being at Maverik only 9 months, which is the fastest anyone has ever been.
5. His bosses put him at a supervisor and come to him before going to the network people for help. WE ARE SO PROUD OF HIM.
6. The doctors finally found out what was wrong with Brynlee and she is growing better even though the problem is not gone.
7. We have a place to live thanks to Ben's amazing parents.
8. I was able to travel with Ben on his work trips
9. As much as I had a really hard time with this, Brynlee and Aiden get another brother or sister.
10. Our kids are happy.
Farewell to 2010. We look forward to a better 2011.

What a way to end the year!

The last couple days have been a wonderful way to end 2010. NOT!
On Christmas Eve, Ben took an 800 mg Ibuprofen for a stiff neck. Apparently the pill went down sideways and scraped his esophagus. He was in a little pain from this. I don't know if anyone has had a pill get stuck when it wasn't taken with enough water, but it causes a chemical burn in the esophagus, which resembles heartburn.

Ben didn't say anything to me until Christmas day when the pain got a little worse. By Christmas night he had a fever of 102, but still didn't tell me. I was so tired I had crashed. I woke up in the middle of the night because his body heat was frying me out. I woke him up and asked what was up. He told me he had a fever and was in a lot of pain in his throat and chest. I was ticked at him for not telling me in the first place. I made him go the doctor the next morning. They said it could be multiple reasons, but an infection was very rare. Well I didn't buy that answer. As the day went on, the pain got worse and Ben was unable to eat or drink hardly anything (not good for a diabetic on insulin). Monday morning I made him go to another doctor because the pain was really bad. She said again that he probably had a different viral infection not related at the same time as the esophageal pain, only because the esophagus is a "sterile" area. (BULL CRAP). However, they did set up an endoscopy to figure out if he had ulcers all the way down his esophagus from the pill.

So the surgery was scheduled for Wednesday morning first thing. Well Tuesday night the pain was so bad, he could not stand it. If anyone knows Ben well, they know he never complains of pain unless he is dying let alone call in sick to work. I knew it was bad when he called into work.

Today the results of the endoscopy showed that he most likely has eosinophilic esophagitis, which is caused by a food allergy of the esophagus. Because of the unknown food allergy, it has almost closed part of his esophagus and narrowed the rest. They took biopsies. The closing of his esophagus caused the 800 mg motrin to actually get stuck and burn a severe ulcer into his esophagus. The pill eventually dissolved. The doctors also believe a virus has attacked the ulcer, which caused the fever. So he will be on antiviral medication. He is allowed to have liquids, but anything causes excruciating pain. I, of course, worry about his nutrition and am really concerned for his blood sugars and his nutrition in general. So in the mean time, we have to wait for the ulcer to heal before he can eat normal food and we get to see Aiden's allergist to figure out what foods he is exactly allergic to so we can prevent this kind of stuff in the future. It has been absolutely horrible for him. Please keep him in your prayers.

Recovery

Remember, there are no mistakes, only lessons. Love yourself, trust your

choices, and everything is possible.

Cherie Carter-Scott

This year as part of saying in recovery, I have focused on self-love. This is an huge effort for me. I tend to be very negative towards myself. Although I wouldn't say that I am perfect at this self-love, I would say that I have made a slight improvement. It will be a life-long effort.

Today marks my 4th year in recovery with no relapse. This is a huge accomplishment in and of itself. Most people do not make it this far without set backs of some kind. It doesn't matter how tough my year is with challenges and trials, I have huge support from Ben. He helps me soooo much in preventing these little set backs. He is the only one that knows when I am struggling to the point of slipping, and he always seems to pull me back in such a loving way. Nobody really knows me or understands me like he does. I am so incredibly blessed to have him. This has been my biggest trial and challenge in life and I am SO proud of myself for beating it.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED ME SURVIVE!

"The hardest thing in life is letting go of what you thought was real."

Love yourself unconditionally, just as you love those closest to you despite their faults.

Les Brown

Princess Dress up

I focus mostly on video taping Christmas and not actually taking pictures, but his one was adorable. Bryn got a dress up chest with dress up clothes included from her Aunt Britt. She absolutely loves to dress up in dresses. Her hair was done, but of course pulled it out earlier today so it now is in her face. Gotta love it!

The Newest Grandbabies 2011

The newest grand-babies of 2011.
Star- 5 months, Irene- 7 months, Aimie- 9 months
Aimie is having a girl and Irene is having a boy. I guess I will be the tie breaker. \
Hmmm....I wonder what it is?

Christmas 2010

This is the first time my mom has had all of her grand kids together in a year and it will be the last for a long time. This is such a precious sweet moment.
Aiden-5, Veyron -3.5, Lilie- 3, Brynlee- 2.5, Emma- 1.5 years old

Gender

Today was the day we had an ultrasound to find out what our little baby will be, however I have not had a desire to know this time. Ben could not stand the fact of waiting till the baby was born to to hear "IT's a boy" or "IT's a girl" so he chose to look at the ultrasound. So as for now until our little one comes, he is the only one that knows. It might seriously drive me nuts towards the end and I might just torture him to tell me, but for now I am pretty content (surprisingly) to wait and be surprised. Ben is very good at keeping secrets. He showed no emotion whatsoever when I was trying to read his face. He was that good. So good luck to anyone who wants to torture him to tell, he won't, it will have to be a SURPRISE.