14 years

14 years ago today I had the best epidural of my life. You know the kind, where you can't feel the pain, but you can feel enough to push. Yah, that only happened once in five. This little girl, from the womb, did not like chocolate. If I ate it, I got some serious headaches. After she was born, I tried eating it again, and she would scream when she would nurse. So, now you know why she doesn't like chocolate to this day. (Lucky Girl!) However, she had no problemo with ice cream. I ate it every day. Hence the 50 pound weight gain. Yikes! Okay, this post somehow became about me.

Anyway, Katie came into the world 10 days early. She was 8 lbs. 5 oz. She is such an incredible daughter. She had a tough start. At four days old she re-entered the hospital with jaundice and spent three days under the bilirubin (sp?) lights. We think that is why she is so tan. Then, she (and I) got thrush when she was 7 weeks old. So, she was quickly weaned. Then, at 6 months, I was expecting again, and she got a new sister when she was 15 months.

Katie is the perfect oldest girl. She will be the one to take care of us when we are old and feeble. Even as a little child, people always gravitated towards her. He is genuine and has a sweet personality. She has chosen the best friends. I love her so much.

Evening in Excellence

Tonight we had our Evening in Excellence activity. This happens near the end of each year as a culmination of what the girls have been focusing on in the Personal Progress Program. We had a black and white theme, with the phrase...
We had decided on using black and white, but had not come up with a phrase to tie it all together, when Jamie brought this back with her from her trip to Sea World. She had just seen the whale show, and upon leaving saw this phrase. We loved it. During the dinner, Rachael turned to me and said, "it's just like the theme at Sea World." I thought that was pretty funny, considering she hasn't ever been there.
Putting on an event like this takes a village, which is why Heavenly Father created this organization to have a Presidency and Advisors. Bringing together all the creative talents of these great women, we feel like we created a beautiful night.
From Left to Right
Karry Merrill (President)
Alison Ellsworth (Laurel Advisor)
Becky Hermosillo (1st Counselor)
Jamie Cook (Secretary)
Me (2nd Counselor)
Sherry Willis (MiaMaid Advisor)
Not Pictured:Darcel Brock (Beehive Advisor) We missed you!
I LOVE working with these women!!!!

Here is a slide show of the rest of the pictures.

Halloween Horror

I wish this had been a cruel Halloween joke. I am not one for the blood and gore. However, at 4:00 on Halloween afternoon, I rammed the corner of the car door into my ear. If you paid me a million dollars, and I could not recreate this for you.

This picture really doesn't do it justice. I actually sliced the outer part, as shown, and in the canal. When I pulled my hand away from my ear and there was blood running down my arm, I knew I needed help. So Nathan took me to the nurse duo of Ayala and Ayala to save the day. Chino and Michelle literally glued me back together. To thank them for their bravery, I had a street named in their honor.

Thanks guys!