April 6

Ok, its almost 1 in the afternoon. Im still in my pjs and havent done anything around the house. I did get going on this blog though, and got some research done. But now I need to get to work! Gotta change the puppy pads (we have a 9 week old chihuahua) and do some cleaning. I'll put up pictures of the pup later, he's a cutie. But I will talk about him more later, and the kittens that will be ready for new homes in a few weeks and all that other fun stuff. But for now, Im going to get the kitchen cleaned and get some laundry done. Those are my goals today! I walked 2 miles or so with my neighbor Judi yesterday. My hips hurt so bad by the time I went to bed! They still hurt today but I can manage. Gotta get something done, pain or no pain! Oh! Last night when my husband came home, he looked at me and said 'you look like hell, are you feeling ok?' (he doesnt usually say things like this to me, except for casual teasing) I said 'No, havent been feeling ok for awhile now. Just noticed??' Him saying that was kind of a wake up call for me. I really need to do whatever I need to do to get healthy and to feel better (well, to feel as good as I can with cfs). So, Im setting goals for myself, and my first is to do this blog (ive heard it can be helpful when dealing with chronic illness) and today I want to get the kitchen cleaned and do laundry! Wish me luck!

10 ten things I wish friends and family understood about CFS

Found this article: http//www.cfids.org/cfidslink/2009/090201.asp And this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYaCAcXD6ls&feature=player_embedded

Tyler's first riding lesson!

Today our wonderful neighbor, Judi, who has 3 beautiful horses, gave my daughter Tyler a horse riding lesson. It was her first time! She had so much fun and she did so great! She even did some trotting and some cantering and learned to change from one to the other and back to walking. I have such a great neighbor! Check out the videos below!

Workin with Willa

Ok, so we have an 8 year old Mustang mare. She was given to us last year and we have slowly been getting to know her. Lately I've been working with her a bit, after my neighbor loaned me some Pat Parelli DVDs and have been amazed at how smart she is and how quickly she picks up on things. Last week she had an accident with some fencing and got a couple cuts. I bought some wound spray and some fly spray (to keep flies off the owies). Now, Willa (short for Willamina) does NOT like being sprayed with anything. I discovered this when we tried to spray her last year to keep flies off her. So, having to get the wound spray up close enough to coat the cuts was, well.. not easy. It took both Mike and I to hold her and get her sprayed. She was NOT happy with us, and since then has been pretty distrustful. She loves apples, but was very hesitant this past week when I would offer them. So, today I took a folding chair and a book out to her pasture, sat down and started reading. Within minutes she was right there lipping my coat and chewing on the arm of the chair. Eventually I was able to reach up and scratch her head. After awhile I walked out of the pasture and closed her gate. She came right over, reached over and started lipping my shoulder and whatnot. The brush was right at my feet so I picked it up, let her sniff it and she let me slowly start brushing her. It was nice. Im excited to build that trust with her again and get to where I can start working with her and playing games. My neighbor brought over more dvds for me to watch, and Im learning so much! Willa's wounds are healing well, and I hope to someday be able to ride her confidently! I will post more as we make more progress.

Baptism weekend pictures

Ok, so I stole the pictures from Mallory's blogpage but they were so good! In the photos are Brent and Mallory (my baby brother and his wife) with William, there's one with my mom and my daughter, Tyler, and Brent and Mallory on my back porch with a nice background of our fabulous view, and Mallory being entertained by our 4 little lambs.

William's Baptism

William was baptized Saturday May 1st. Mike baptized him and his grandpa, Doug, did the confirmation. It was a great evening! Huntley (his 10 year old sister) got up to the microphone in front of a FULL chapel and sang 'When I am Baptized'. It was perfect. She did wonderfully. Everyone had watery eyes, and some of us were outright crying. It was just amazing! Their dad who lives in Hawaii came out for the week to visit the kids, and also signed papers to allow my husband, Mike, to adopt William, Huntley and Tyler. We are all so excited about this! Anyway, my parents, Ryan's parents, and Mike's parents (yes thats 6 grandparents) all came, as well as his Aunt Christina (my brothers wife) and her 2 boys, his Aunt Kristin (dad's sister) and my brother Brent and his wife Mallory. Brent gave a talk about baptism, which he just thought up while he was up there, and it was excellent! Also, Mike's cousin, Tommy and his boy were there, as well as several people from our ward. It was a great day! I will add pictures when I get them off the camera.

Pine Wood Derby

William and Mike made a derby car in an hour (still adjusting it as we ran out the door!). The car was.. well, it wasnt pretty, and we didnt expect to do well at all, especially given how many cars there were! But William won 2nd place! According to William, it was 'The best day ever!'