October

The month of October was really hard on this mama, but we will get to the reasons why later on in the post. I do feel bad that I wasn't super involved during this month, but once again you'll understand why in a little bit. 

Addi tested out of Speech! I didn't know how to react when her speech teacher called me saying that she passed her tests will flying colors, even above average in certain areas. When she told me that she was testing out, I did cry a little bit. Addi started going to speech/  pre school right after she turned 3 years old. On the left is her last day of speech and on the right was her first day of speech/ pre school. We have had some AMAZING teachers that have helped her over the years. We are so blessed to have gotten her the help she needed when we did. What to go Addi! 

She also entered a drawing into the reflections contest. Their theme was hero's around us. She decided to draw pictures of the fire fighters since they did so much for us in the month of September. 

General Conference weekend was a busy one for us. Ty finally went to one of his mission reunions. He has never gone to one and he got home in 2003. It was fun to hear stories about Australia and when people would ask who I was with I would say Ty. They would look at me funny and I'd have to say Elder Jensen. Then their face would light up and they would say OHHH he is awesome. 

Sunday morning of conference we had a neighborhood breakfast. It was too cold to do it outside and so we made room in our house for everyone. We had probably around 40 people. It was a lot of fun though and we love making memories with those that live close to us. 

After breakfast was over we had to get ready to head up to SLC to make it to the last session of Conference. It was so special to feel of the spirit and to listen to all the new temples being built. We are lucky to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints. 

Red Ribbon Week at school started out with nerd day. I was surprised Addi wanted to dress up for it and she even let me do her hair in pig tails. They also had crazy sock day. They had a few other days, but they weren't as fun to dress up for. 

Lyndi carrying her baby around. So darling! 

Parker was able to preform a couple patriot songs in front of the school board. It is so cute to see these little ones singing. 

Hitsquad had their first tournament the 12-13th. All of them were pretty nervous and there were some really good teams. We are such a new team that we have a few things we need to work on. But it is still great to sit and support these girls. The weather was fantastic and the girls did have fun. 

We had a girls day with nan and grandma shelly doing our nails. 

And here goes my story about how rough October was for mama. 

On Sunday the 14th, I had really bad stomach pain right where your ribs come together. It was 8 at night and I hadn't had anything to eat since 2. I had had these pains about a week and half before, but I thought it was indigestion because I had such a big dinner. The pain then lasted for about 2 hours and then it went away. Another episode happened a couple days after that first time and once again I thought it was indigestion. The attacks always happened at night for some reason. This attack was a lot different. The pain wasn't lightening up for some reason so I had Ty run to the store and get me some heart burn medicine. I gave it 30 minutes and I was still in so much pain. I call my mom telling her that I might need her to come down so I can go to the ER. I couldn't even catch my breath because the pain was so bad. Then the pain started radiating to my back. By now it had been 2+ hours of constant pain. I text mom and tell her to head down. 

It's 10:30 at night by now and we end up in the ER. We tell them my symptoms and then they start trying to rule out the problem. It could have been lots of different things because there are so many organs right around that area. They were giving me morphine, and it was barely touching the pain. And I am a light weight when it comes to medicine. The ultrasound tech was backed up with other patients and so we waiting for about 2 hours till she got there. She did her job and then the dr. came in and told me I was full of gallstones. He gave us a number for a general surgeon to call once they opened. It was 3 in the morning by now. They finally gave me a really super dose of morphine and I was finally out of pain. I also came home with some pain killers, but they ended up not really working. 

Ty calls and makes an appointment for and they couldn't get me in until Tuesday. I sat around till Tuesday morning still in so much pain. We walk into the Dr.'s office and I had to have Ty fill out all my paper work. When we get called back the nurse says to me, "Do you need to be in an ER? You don't look well at all. This is just a consult." Both Ty and I were like no way!! I'm needed help ASAP. The Dr. walks in and thankful the ER in Payson had sent up all the info. He takes one look at me and one look at the paperwork and says you are full of gallstones. I am going to make some phone calls and see if we can get you in somewhere. He was able to get me into Payson at 1:00 that day. It was 11 when we left his office in Provo. I was definitely being looked over. 

We get to Payson and once I get of of surgery and start to wake up a little bit I hear all the details. A normal gallbladder is just a bit bigger than your thumb normally. Mine was the size of a hotdog with the bun. I guess the Dr. didn't even recognize it when he got in there. It was starting to get infected as well. I also had a gallstone pop out. That was probably the reason I was in so much pain is because it had come out. My out patient procedure ended up being a 4 day hospital stay.

I had to have a second surgery to remove the gallstone that had escaped. I also had a drain on the side of my abdomen to help drain off all the excess fluid. On the 3rd day my drain was filling every 90 minutes. The fluid didn't look bad, but it was a little weird that it was filling so much. I also hadn't had a bowel movement. They wanted me to have one of those before I left too. Oh and did I mention I started my period too when I woke up from surgery and had to use the restroom? Throwing it all out there! 

You can see my drain on the left. It was actually on my right hip though. 

This is a picture of my gallstone that had escaped. 

I went in for my follow up a week later and they had my pathology report back. My Dr. told me that he usually doesn't see these words when reading a report like this. More or less my gallbladder was eroding and soon would have been popping out those gallstones and then erupting. We honestly went in at the right time. Who know how long I have been sick. I'm thinking the sickness over the Denver weekend might have been the start of it, but who knows. I have lost 17 pounds over the last 6 weeks from all the sicknesses I have had. Not the best way to loose that much weight. 

Once I got home, I was so weak and so worn out. The littlest thing like standing up to fold towels make me loose my breath and make me start to shake. My stomach muscles were also so so sore. It hurt to even try to get out of bed. I couldn't lift any of the girls and I was suppose to take it super easy. My dear dear neighbor Emily was the girls second mom for almost an entire 2 weeks while I was down and out. I had so much help while I was sick. I had meals brought in, help with the kids, and also get well texts telling me that they had put my name on the temple prayer roll. My sister and mom were also such a big help once I got home too. Made me take a new outlook on life and those around us that are sick. Don't wait for them to ask you for help. You just step in and do something for them. Being healthy is something I definitely take for granted. It was super challenging knowing that I couldn't do basic things. I am now feeling stronger every day. 

Found more family pictures on Facebook. On the left is Ty's mom's mom's family. On the left is my grandpa's family. 

While I was recovering the older kids all went to Grandma Shelly's with Nan. I got daily pictures of things that they were doing. I don't think my kids missed me at all because they were seriously having a blast. 

Lyndi was stuck at home with mom and dad. She actually loved it because she was an only child which never happens. She found herself a great hat. 

These are pictures of Ty's mom's aunt. Deanie was really close to Ty and Julia. She helped raise them when they were younger along with his Grandma Jane (they were sisters) I have heard countless stories about her. When I saw these pictures I smiled so much because I have never seen a picture of her. Ty hadn't ever seen these pictures either. So cool! 

The bottom picture is of Grandma Jane's brother who died in a car accident. 

I also got pictures from Emily of daily things happening at her house. Lyndi giving herself a make-over. 

Parker received Student of the Month award!! It makes me as a parent so proud when teachers recognize how special my kids are. Makes me feel like I may be doing something right when raising them. 

Emmy got to wear her costume to dance class the week before Halloween. It was cute to see her in her element and to be so expressive with her body. 

Parker also started his basketball class. They taught them the fundamentals the first couple weeks and now they are playing basketball games against other teams. He does really well with guarding and is getting braver at trying to shoot the ball. I love watching my kids learn new things.