Cute as a Button!

A button from a Dr. Suess book, that is! When Shelley wears this outfit it totally reminds me of the cute little characters from Dr. Seuss! I just can't get enough of her cute smiles! (if you blow up the close up pictures, you can see her contact in her left eye - i'm so glad she has contacts and doesn't have to wear glasses with one HUGE lens...the contact is soo thick, I can't imagine how thick her glasses lenses would be!)
















We had some time after dinner before the kids needed to go to bed so I took them outside and played. I love having a playground so close! Shelley loves the swing! She laughs every time she's on it and it makes us smile so big! Jorgen loves all of the communal toys. He has taken quite a liking to this little scooter and it getting better and better at riding it every day. When he gets sick of riding it, he pulls it along with him EVERYWHERE...he's THAT attached! It's quite funny.

If this picture was clearer, it would be my favorite! It represents how much fun these two have together; Jorgen can always get Shelley to smile and laugh! It looks like she's giggling at a secret he's telling her.

A nice neighbor took of picture of me and my girl! How nice! And no, I did not plan our matchingish outfits!

Speaking of Eyes...

How fun are these homemade eyeballs?

1c. creamy peanut butter
1/2c. unsalted butter, softened
2-2 1/2c. powdered sugar

Mix together and form into 1 inch balls and put in the fridge for an hour or the freezer for 20-30 minutes.

12 oz. bag white chocolate chips
2 TB shortening

Melt in double boiler (I just put a bowl on top of a pot with boiling water in it). Take the peanut butter balls out and dip in white chocolate mixture (I used two forks to pull out the balls and shake off the excess chocolate)

Then make some green frosting and put a small dollop on top and then put a brown M&M in the middle. You could also use red decorator frosting for blood vessels.

Happy Halloween!

Another Surgery

At Shelley's ophthalmologist appointment today, Dr. Nyong'0 told us that she definitely needs to get the right cataract removed because it has gotten worse. I'm glad he told us this was a possibility from the beginning because it made it easier to take in this time. Two weeks ago he told us that there was a 90% chance Shelley would have to get it removed but he wanted to check today to make sure it was continuing to worsen before he did surgery. So, a week from today, Wednesday, at 7:30am Shelley goes in for her second surgery. It really is amazing what they can do these days to prevent blindness and other things that years ago would go undetected until it was too late to fix.

Shelley's left eye, the one she had her first cataract surgery on, is doing phenomenally! She can see so well and she passes all of her eye tests wonderfully! Her right eye now sees worse than her left eye. And that is the reason Dr. Nyong'o is worried. Her brain is most likely devoting more and more attention to the left eye because it sees so well and if the right eye keeps getting worse, then the brain could shut off most all visual stimulation in that eye. After the surgery, we will be patching quite a bit to even out her eye sight so equal time is devoted to both eyes.

Also, I thought taking in and out the contact would get easier with time but it is proving to be quite the opposite! The first few times were surprisingly easy and I was so grateful for that! However, last week and this week were so much harder! Last week it took us an hour and a half to get in her contact!! Poor girl! She just wanted nothing to do with it...well, she wanted nothing to do with her mom and dad opening her eye wide enough to slip the contact in. It was a rough morning, to say the least! I took it out tonight and it was still a struggle, but she did OK. I am hoping tomorrow morning goes better with putting it back in. She moves much more freely now and so I think that is part of what's changing. I don't even want to think about what putting two contacts in each week will be like. We will get this down soon though:)

Please keep Shelley in your prayers. I hope and pray everything goes as smoothly as the last surgery. I read a wonderful talk yesterday that definitely helped prepare me for Shelley's surgery news today. Susan W. Tanner talks about delighting in the things of the Lord and the quote I loved talks about the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac:

"I delight in the examples of those in the scriptures who walk by faith on their earthly journey. Each time I walk with Abraham and Isaac on the road to Mount Moriah, I weep, knowing that Abraham does not know that there will be an angel and a ram in the thicket at the end of the journey. We are each in the middle of our earthly path, and we don’t know the rest of our own stories. But we, as Abraham, are blessed with miracles."

We have definitely seen miracles already through this trial. And this trial pales by comparison with what others have on their plate. Shelley is such a special little girl and a blessing to our family!

... ... ... ...
We took a few pictures tonight at a little GSB trick or treating event. Since I haven't been out to find a patch for her pirate costume, Shelley went as a biker chick tonight. I think she looks quite adorable in her bandanna. Maybe I should make it part of her daily attire? I can't wait for her to be a pirate and Jorgen to be her parrot! Thanks, Rachel, for sending the parrot costume!

I love my family!

Family Home Videos

Tonight we watched family home videos from when I was a child. It was so much fun for Jorgen to see me and my siblings as children! He also had a blast seeing his Tutu and Dadu; he recognized them instantly. I guess they haven't changed much...still young and so much fun!

I remember seeing these videos a few years ago and wondering why on earth my dad filmed EVERYTHING! He would set up the camera and just let the it roll. Whether it was birthdays, Christmas morning, performances, or the like, he wouldn't just film a few minutes of it, or the climactic parts, no, no, he would film every little second. Now that I have kids, it is so much fun going back and just seeing what we did naturally, not always knowing the camera was recording it.

We watched a video of my second birthday tonight and laughed at all the funny things I did that Jorgen does now. Little things like how I used to squint my eyes and the way I spoke. My dad filmed us sitting around the table and talking, singing songs, opening presents and eating. I am so grateful to my parents for capturing all of these moments and also for transferring all of them to DVDs so we can enjoy them with our own kids. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Since I already compared pictures with who Shelley looks like - here's Jorgen at age two and pictures of Justin and me also at age two. I think it's fair to say that Jorgs has lots of his daddy's good looks, but definitely has lots of his mama in him too. What do you think?

Oh Happy Day!

Some of my favorite members from my mission came to visit! The Tislenko Family: Pasha, Anya, and their four-year-old son, Pasha, and almost two-year-old daughter, Polina ! The kids and I took them to the city to see the sights! It was so fun speaking Ukrainian again and it made me realize that I need to practice my language MUCH more than I do...which currently is almost never! At the same time, I was surprised at how much I remembered even without practice. We had the BEST time! I wish I could hang out with them every week!

Our first stop was the Oakland Temple. The weather couldn't have been better! So clear, warm, and sunny! You can see the city very clearly in the distance. I love the west coast!

You can't see much of the temple but you sure can see my cute boy's face!

O there it is!

Jorgen, Polina, & Pasha following each other around - not recommended...Pasha took a fall later on and got a big gash on his forehead. But he was super tough and hardly cried.

Though Jorgen and Pasha don't speak the same language, they had so much fun playing together. It was funny to see them interact. One would start clicking his tongue to make noise and then the other would follow and they would both laugh. Then one would open his mouth huge and scream (not super loud) and then the other would follow and they would both laugh! They found a language they could both speak! Both are pure boys!

We stopped by Golden Gate Bridge and then headed to Baker Beach. I'd never been there and it ended up being so much fun! What a beautiful backdrop! The water was freezing but it was so nice out and Pasha and Pasha Jr. ended up playing in the water a bit. I got attacked by an unexpected wave as well - while carrying both kids! I was soaked up to my knees!

Anya and Polina
(My camera battery died and I didn't get a picture of Pasha!!)

An attempt at a picture with me and my kids - both were too distracted!

Me and my girl!

Jorgen showing me his sandy hands.

After the beach, we went to Pier 39 and ate some yummy burritos and walked around. Everyone loved seeing the sea lions at the pier! Jorgen immitates their noises pretty well:) We then drove down Lombard Street which amazes me every time I drive down it. On our way home we drove through China Town and passed Union Square with the Bay Bridge in the distance all lit up. Such a sight!

After we got home and put the kids to bed we talked and talked and talked some more! They told me all about the members I had been wondering about and the church over there in general. Once Justin got home, we visited some more. The conversation was in three different languages - Russian, Ukrainian and English - it was pretty funny.

I will miss them so much. It was such a wonderful day! They left early this morning to drive back to Utah where Pasha's sister will be getting married on Saturday. I can't wait to see them again! It really was such a happy day!

BizKids Halloween Party

The kids and I went to the BizKids Halloween party and had a great time! Justin, unfortunately, had class so he couldn't be there with us. Jorgen loved dressing up and this Halloween he gets to dress up so many times and in two different costumes. Tonight Jorgen got to be a dinosaur (a hand-me-down costume from Mallika) and Shelley was a bee (thanks Heather for coming through in a clutch!)!

Jorgen is saying 'Raaaaaaar' in this picture.

Showing off his long tail.

What cuties!

My Bashful Bee.

Happiest Dino around!

A few of the cute BizKid kids all dressed up.

Jorgen's face cracks me up! It's his confused, half smile.

And one last picture of my sweethearts! I can't imagine life without them!

Amazing

What an adorably cute couple!!! Wouldn't you say they look like two of the happiest people you've ever seen! Yes, I am proud to call them MY parents! Currently, they are serving a mission in Samara, Russia and have been there for over a year already...in fact, almost a year and a half! Time is flying. I am so grateful that they are there and working as hard as they are working but I will be so grateful when I can give them huge hugs and kisses. I MISS them more than words can express! My parents are such amazing examples to me. They are so full of love, generosity, enthusiasm, and dedication to the Lord, His work, and His glory. They inspire me. My dad improves anything he's involved in and my mom makes everyone feel so loved and needed. They are such a great team, true powerhouses! They do so much for me and I feel so blessed to have them in my life. They emit light - pure radiant light! Sure love you two!!

More Pumpkins

This morning we went to the EV pumpkin patch where we got to pick a free pumpkin. Justin was at the church with Jorgen and the YM cleaning so I took Shelley for another pumpkin photo shoot. She got a little tired at the end of it (look at the last picture). You can see her cute little teeth in some of the pictures! She's growing up too fast!